Chapter 376: with translation of chapter title

Although he hadn't slept much all night, Chen Wuji still got up early the next day.

As the sun rose, the Xiao Family's settlement, which had seemed deserted, came back to life.

The soldiers were setting up camp and cooking; thin wisps of cooking smoke, carrying the strong scent of firewood, drifted through Xiao Jia Ji as Chen Wuji walked among them, lending a hand wherever help was needed and exchanging a few brief words with the soldiers.

After the meal, the army set out.

Scouts went ahead, spreading out in a ten‑li radius as the army advanced.

All along the way, the land was desolate and uninhabited.

Villages existed, but no one was in sight—only corpses tossed aside and houses burned black.

The Gu family's troops strictly carried out their commander's orders in this area.

Killing, looting, burning houses.

Chen Wuji was forced to become the one who cleaned up the battlefield.

Every time they passed a village, they stopped to bury the dead villagers and lay them to rest.

This was something he had to do.

It was both to prevent plague and to maintain civilian and military morale.

He could not pretend not to have seen it.

At the hour of Shen (3–5 p. m.), the army reached Que Wei Shan, near Baiquan Village.

This place was somewhat familiar to Chen Wuji.

His first battle in life took place here.

Here he also met his first high‑ranking official, the Triple Prefectural Pacification Commissioner Yang Yu.

"Shi Yi Shu, I remember we pretty much destroyed the stronghold on the mountain back then, right?"

Chen Wuji stepped onto a large rock beside the road, gazed at the faint mountain peaks, and asked Chen Li beside him.

Chen Li nodded, "We destroyed part of it, but not all."

"I keep getting the impression there are more structures on the mountain—have bandits taken it over again?" Chen Wuji muttered.

The mountain is too high; the buildings are half‑hidden among the peaks, so they aren't very clear.

But if he hasn't misremembered, there should be more of them.

Chen Li took a look and, not entirely certain, said, "It seems there are more. Given how chaotic Yunan is now, it's quite possible bandits have seized the mountain again."

"This mountain is a good spot," Mr. Xu said. "It's easy to defend, hard to attack; one mountain overlooks the surrounding area for several li, and it connects to Shenxian Ling—if we can't win, we can retreat smoothly into Shenxian Ling."

Chen Wuji frowned slightly, "Que Wei Shan and Baiquan Village—one high, one low—might there be some significance? If they support each other like horns, wouldn't it mean we can advance to attack and retreat to defend?"

"Exactly," Mr. Xu replied, nodding.

"We could send someone to scout the area for signs of a large army's passage; the routes into the mountain must lie to the west and south, with the north linking to Shenxian Ling and the east where we just came from— the slope is too steep there for an ascent."

"Someone, go deliver the order!" Chen Wuji said in a low voice.

"Yes!"

Chen Wuji's expression turned grave as he told Mr. Xu, "Sir, it's easy for us to jump into this pit, but getting out might be troublesome. Splitting forces would be ideal, but our troops are too few; once divided we risk being picked off one by one, yet I still want to take a gamble."

Hearing this, Mr. Xu's eyelid twitched violently.

Now just hearing that word makes him nervous.

Chen Wuji's battlefield tactics are actually something he greatly admires—steady and decisive, able to seize opportunities precisely and ruthlessly amid chaos.

But mentioning the word "gamble" still makes Mr. Xu's scalp tingle involuntarily.

One cannot rely on that word in warfare.

"How do you, the Commandant, want to fight?" Mr. Xu asked.

Chen Wuji's eyes flashed with cold intent: "We'll deliberately delay, wait for the troops of Que Wei Shan to come down, then cast aside the enemy at Baiquan Village and launch a counterattack on Que Wei Shan."

"One high, one low, supporting each other like horns—I see the enemy at Baiquan Village as nothing but bait; the elite forces must be on Que Wei Shan, so we should make them our main target."

Mr. Xu felt a weight lift from his chest; if this is the kind of gamble, then indeed it's worth taking.

"That approach poses no problem; the only thing to watch out for is avoiding being trapped between two forces. If that happens, where should our army retreat to?" Mr. Xu asked.

As the strategist, he threw the question to Chen Wuji.

His intention was first to hear Chen Wuji's plan, but instead he saw Chen Wuji looking at him expectantly and said, "Sir, I was just about to ask you."

Mr. Xu: ……

So you've only thought halfway through the tactics, right?

"Then let's counterattack again," Mr. Xu asked.

"Counterattack Baiquan Village?"

"Yes."

Chen Wuji drew a soft hiss, "Isn't this a bit too dismissive of the enemy at Baiquan Village?"

Mr. Xu explained, "The enemy's choice of this location still has its considerations—north is Shenxian Ling, east is Que Wei Shan, west is Baiquan Village, and only the south offers open terrain, which looks like the escape route they prepared for us; that apparent road to life cannot be taken."

"If our guess is correct, the enemy surely intends to send forces from Baiquan Village and Que Wei Shan to pinch our army, then drive the routed troops southward. If I were them, I'd also ambush a unit in the south—just a small contingent to slightly block and break the enemy's morale."

Chen Wuji nodded, "Compared like that, taking the Baiquan Village route does seem better."

"Their morale is high, and they certainly wouldn't expect us to launch successive Revolving Horse Spear attacks. At first contact we could feign defeat, then strike straight at Que Wei Shan, feign defeat again, and rush back to Baiquan Village—after such back‑and‑forth charges we don't know how the troops' stamina holds up; otherwise we could actually charge once more, hitting them with a sudden critical blow."

Mr. Xu shook his head, "No, three rounds of counterattacks would exhaust the troops—their bodies aren't made of iron, and they can't endure such east‑west running; not every soldier has the stamina of a Commandant."

He meant that pointedly.

Last night, the courtyard next to Chen Wuji's stayed lit all night, and from where he lived he could just see it.

After a busy night, he's still as vigorous as a dragon and tiger today; Mr. Xu genuinely admires Chen Wuji's stamina—even when he was young, tossing and turning all night would leave him sore‑waisted and listless the next day.

"Since Mr. Xu has no objections, let's settle on this: when we attack Baiquan Village, nobody needs to hold back—Lao Yang should conserve a bit of strength, preserve his energy, just go through the motions," Chen Wuji said.

"Good."

Xu Zengyi felt relieved in his heart; good, this bet wasn't a real bet, and it was even somewhat delicate.

The army rested briefly at the foot of Que Wei Shan, then headed straight for Baiquan Village.

Chen Wuji had intentionally rested here, hoping to try to lure the enemy forces of Que Wei Shan down.

The result disappointed him; the enemy troops were very good at holding their breath, with no movement at all, and not even a scout could be seen nearby.

Just as they were about to approach Baiquan Village, a monk blocked their path.

"Master, you just came to meet us like this? Isn't that a bit too over the top?" Chen Wuji saw Hongfa standing openly in the middle of the road and was somewhat surprised.