Chapter 292: Compliance and Defiance

Once Li Cheng's army began to waver, the situation became impossible to contain, and by the afternoon it had directly degenerated into total defeat and collapse.

And just as everyone earlier had forgotten everything and charged forward bravely, now that victory and defeat were decided, the opposing Imperial Camp Forward Army was naturally overjoyed and continued to press the attack relentlessly, while Li Cheng's troops had their minds go blank, only seeking to survive.

But wanting to survive—was simply running backward enough?

In fact, as soon as the rout began, Li Cheng's fleeing troops encountered a huge problem: there were too many troops in the middle, too crowded, and their equipment was too heavy... So very quickly, a massive "knot" formed in the central area of the battlefield, where congestion and trampling became the greatest source of casualties, causing deaths and injuries in an extremely short time that rivaled those from the earlier fighting!

This made the rout utterly hopeless.

Yue Fei, at the front line, saw the battle situation clearly. His instinct was to have his troops bypass the center and extend from both sides to encircle and force the enemy to surrender. But unfortunately, by this time, not only were his own men bloodthirsty, but the battlefield was so congested that it was difficult to effectively transmit orders, let alone the fact that the cavalry was trapped in the center. Helpless, Yue Fei could only plant his command flag and let the battle develop on its own, preparing to find troops he could command after the "big knot" in the center of the battlefield unraveled, to make subsequent decisions.

However, Yue Fei soon noticed another thing: Li Cheng's command flag was clearly also trapped in that knot, because he personally saw that flag retreat several times, try to stand several times, and then rise again after being submerged by the sea of men for a while. Not only that, but about a thousand cavalry, including some iconic long-saber cavalry, gathered under that flag, attempting to resist.

The pace of Li Cheng's troops' flight slowed again, and the attention of countless Song cavalry on the scene was drawn over, and fierce fighting broke out once more.

Of course, under the general trend, such resistance was meaningless. Only a moment later, before the Song troops on the scene could surge forward, Li Cheng's attempt failed again. Even that thousand-man cavalry began to rout and surrender, leaving only about a hundred long-saber cavalry continuing to put up a stubborn resistance, surrounded by Zhang Xian's cavalry.

"My lord told me, Xu Big Saber, to say a word to Small Eyes!"

Just as Zhang Xian's encirclement was taking shape and he was about to launch an attack, a general covered in blood, holding a long-handled saber, rode out. With one hand on his saber and the other pointing far off at Yue Fei's command flag in the southern part of the battlefield, he called out, "If Small Eyes is willing to come and face me in person, he is willing to surrender in person..."

The message did not reach Yue Fei. Zhang Xian, who had absolute on-the-spot decision-making authority on the battlefield, had Guo Jin go forward to respond: "Xu Big Saber, our General Zhang also said there's no need for the Military Governor to come in person. The state has its own laws. For a Song traitor like Li Cheng, who has been named and has occupied prefectures and counties, he can only surrender unconditionally, with no conditions allowed... But our General Zhang is kind-hearted and can't bear to see you soldiers die for nothing, so he gives you the time it takes half a stick of incense to decide. If you surrender, you surrender; if not, you can only die!"

That general, Xu Wen, Xu Big Saber, whose saber weighed fifty jin, said nothing. Upon hearing this, he directly returned to the long-saber formation under Li's command flag and made no further move.

And Zhang Xian was not one to be taken advantage of. While waiting, he quickly had people intercept teams of crossbowmen from the rear... The battle today had erupted too quickly, and the battlefield was narrow, with hand-to-hand combat starting from the outset. Moreover, the area of melee combat was too thick, which meant that crossbowmen and archers had basically lost their tactical function from the start, with the few arrows used being mostly individual applications.

But now it was different.

It was foreseeable that if Li Cheng did not surrender by the deadline, this last group of long-saber cavalry would be quickly finished off by a massive volley of bows and crossbows.

Seeing this, not only did Li Cheng's last long-saber cavalry show signs of wavering, but many of Zhang Xian's cavalrymen, who had been eager to fight, also suddenly felt it was somewhat boring. Yang Zaixing, who had come because he heard of Xu Big Saber and Li Cheng's reputations, directly cursed and prepared to lead his unit around this place to continue the pursuit to the rear.

However, it could only be said that this long-saber cavalry was indeed the core of Li Cheng's forces. Although they wavered upon seeing the Song army massing bows and crossbows, few turned and fled. Instead, they maintained a certain silence, as if waiting for their master to make the final decision.

"No more waiting!" Seeing that the number of surrounding crossbowmen was gradually reaching saturation, Zhang Xian no longer hesitated. Not caring how long a stick of incense took, he directly signaled to Li Kui, who had come over to join the command. "Kill them!"

Li Kui, who had some grievances with Li Cheng but some friendship with Xu Big Saber, clearly hesitated for a moment, but then immediately followed the battlefield orders, signaling to wave the flags, ordering all crossbowmen to collectively fire a dense volley at all enemies under this command flag.

Once the order was given, the nearly thousand gathered crossbowmen all loosed their arrows. The surrounded hundred-plus long-saber cavalry tried to launch a final counterattack, but as everyone expected, after one volley, before they could even pick up speed, they fell with their horses, suffering heavy casualties almost instantly. Only a dozen or twenty survived, but they had almost no combat effectiveness.

Only one general, having lost his horse, still wore heavy armor and a face mask, wielding a saber weighing fifty jin, charging like a mad tiger in a desperate counterattack. Who else could it be but Xu Big Saber of Mizhou?

Zhang Xian found it boring and was about to have people quickly draw their bowstrings to finish this man off, when unexpectedly a single rider galloped over, charging straight at Xu Big Saber from the side and rear. It was Yang Zaixing, who had originally been about to ride away but, seeing the prey, turned back.

Zhang Xian was speechless and could only stand there and watch, but in his heart, he had already decided that if Yang Zaixing lost face, he would get no battle merits this time.

However, the expected fierce struggle between dragon and tiger did not happen. Whether it was because Yang Zaixing was too strong or Xu Big Saber was already wounded, the former charged in with his horse's momentum, and the latter turned to face him. But in just one exchange, Yang Zaixing raised his steel spear, precisely pierced through the gap in the opponent's armor into his abdominal cavity, and then casually flung him onto a pile of corpses.

After finishing this man, Yang Zaixing did not cut off his head or make a report. He directly rode off, continuing to lead his men in pursuing the other fleeing troops.

However, Li Kui, who had been stunned on the sidelines, was a meticulous man. He still remembered that Xu Wen, Xu Big Saber, was an old acquaintance. He quickly led his men out in person to make the final arrangements... But at this time, Xu Big Saber, thrown to the ground, was bleeding profusely from his abdomen. Although it was clear he was beyond saving, his chest was still heaving slightly, as if he still had breath.

Li Kui sighed and went forward to remove the man's face mask and helmet.

"Brother Li!" Xu Wen's mouth and nose were filled with blood, and his eyes were already unfocused. But upon seeing Li Kui appear, he surprisingly spoke clearly again. "Back in Mizhou, everyone said you were the most meticulous and understood the big picture. Seeing you today, it's true that the rest of us deserved to die. Only you are so glorious. It shows you are truly meticulous, while we were all false bravado..."

Li Kui saw that the man was clearly in a final rally. He had ten thousand words to say, but at this moment, he was completely speechless. He could only lean on his saber and sigh some useless words: "I heard that after Old Du and the others died, you took their families into your own home in Laizhou. I can't lose face either. I'll take good care of them for you!"

Xu Wen nodded. For a moment, he seemed about to speak, but after glancing with his peripheral vision at the Song soldiers cautiously approaching the command flag, which was obscured by corpses, he chose to shake his head. In the end, he said nothing. The breath in his chest simply leaked out, and he immediately went still.

A moment later, Li Kui suddenly understood Xu Wen's strange behavior in his final moments... There was no one else under the flag. There was no Li Cheng at all. Xu Wen had been loyal to the death, buying time for the already-escaped Li Cheng.

Although the long-saber cavalry was almost entirely wiped out, it did not mean that no other fleeing troops had mixed in under the command flag and survived. Soon, a few fleeing soldiers quickly gave a definite answer—Li Cheng was indeed not there. This command flag had been secretly raised by Xu Wen himself after he found it impossible to turn back and rescue him. As for the pseudo-Qi Grand Viceroy Li Cheng himself, after failing to raise the flag three times, he had simply given up and fled directly to the northwest.

By now, he might have already escaped the battlefield.

After hearing the report, Zhang Xian immediately understood. Without waiting for further instructions from Yue Fei, he directly issued orders on the spot. He personally led the cavalry to pursue to the northwest, while also having Li Kui lead some infantry to follow, aiming to seize the city of Zichuan, which lay between the Long and Zi Rivers!

That was between two rivers, and the only city within dozens of li of the battlefield.

When the news reached Yue Fei, who had just arrived at a small hill on the southern side of the battlefield, he only frowned slightly and said nothing more... By now, the battlefield was dispersing, with a full-scale pursuit underway. Zhang Xian had made the wisest or most rational move in the pursuit. The only problem was that the Lu region in late summer and early autumn was still lush and green, with forested areas behind the hills on both sides. If Li Cheng gave up on gathering his surrendered troops at Zichuan and instead fled directly into hiding, it would be a matter of luck.

As for Xu Big Saber's loyalty, it could only be said that he upheld petty loyalty while neglecting greater righteousness. Yue Fei couldn't be bothered with it.

"General Tian." In fact, upon hearing the news, Yue Fei hesitated for a moment on his horse, then directly dismounted and spoke seriously to a general before him. It was Tian Shizhong, who was sitting on the small hill in a daze. "This is a rare opportunity for battle. Please issue orders to summon Hu Cheng's troops behind us and the scattered defenders in Yidu and elsewhere. Tell them not to hesitate, to quickly press westward, coordinate with my forces to push into Jinan Prefecture, and take Zhangqiu together."

Tian Shizhong, covered in filth and truly exhausted, looked up somewhat dazedly. He studied Yue Fei with a slightly complex gaze—half his body was also black and red with blood, yet he was spirited and composed. After a moment of silence, he finally turned and called over a personal guard. On the battlefield, he took out paper and brush, and beside a still-unstiffened enemy corpse, he dipped into a pool of blood and wrote several military orders.

After the guard turned and rode away, Tian Shizhong seemed to recover his senses. Then he bowed on the ground and said, "Grand Commandant Yue, I have two things to say and some questions to ask."

"Please speak, General Tian." Yue Fei remained composed.

"Grand Commandant fought this battle well!" Tian Shizhong sighed slowly. "With the Long River blocking the front, even if we can't catch all these troops, once we cross the river and press forward, they'll be meat on the chopping block... So after this battle, not to mention that His Majesty wants us to take one or two prefectures, the entire pseudo-Qi is basically in our grasp... Your troops are truly formidable, and you, Grand Commandant Yue, are truly formidable! I rarely admire others, but today I admire another!"

"General Tian deserves the most credit for this battle," Yue Fei said earnestly. "Truly a renowned commander under heaven."

Tian Shizhong shook his head. "That's the second thing I wanted to say..."

Yue Fei then realized that when the other said "two things," he literally meant "two" things.

"Grand Commandant Yue, this unit of mine is my Grand Commandant's lifeline..." Tian Shizhong stared at Yue Fei and continued with a sigh. "No matter how stingy he is, he has never shorted this unit's pay or equipment. The officers are all veterans who fought the Jin head-on at Taiyuan and on the Huai. But such a unit—even when it blocked that elite Hezha Meng'an and Loushi's main force at Yaoshan—didn't die as many as today... So no matter how much I admire you, after this battle, I will still heavily impeach you."

Yue Fei nodded, completely unconcerned. "If I were you, I would impeach me too."

Tian Shizhong nodded, then bowed seriously on the ground again. "But I still have one question. My unit of three thousand men is the cream of the entire Imperial Camp Right Army. That they dared to fight to this point is not unexpected. But your twenty thousand men today—though not as fearless of life and death as my unit—when I looked across the battlefield... At the start, the morale of both sides was evenly matched. Then, after two or three-tenths casualties, neither side wavered. From what I know, that already counts as a strong army. But when both sides suffered four or five-tenths casualties, that is, half, Li Cheng's side began to waver, while the Imperial Camp Forward Army did not move at all. Then, when both commanders advanced together and the fighting reached its peak, with casualties nearing one-tenth, Li Cheng's side began to totter, and their flaws showed. But the Imperial Camp Forward Army still did not lose heart, nor did their formation scatter. They remained as one body... How was this achieved? Was it just by paying full wages?"

Yue Fei thought about it seriously for a moment, but then answered immediately: "Paying full wages, ensuring equipment is not adulterated, and having armor coverage above seventy percent can only achieve not wavering under sudden casualties of four or five-tenths. But to have casualties of one-tenth and still remain one body from top to bottom requires proper training in peacetime. However, since General Tian has taken the initiative to ask, I won't hide anything... In today's battle, even if casualties were higher, around one and a half-tenths, it should still have been stable. Because I believe I enforce the law fairly in peacetime, treating soldiers as warriors, and rarely treating them as servants or driving them to do labor. As for ordinary units like the Imperial Camp Right Army, where soldiers have to build houses for officers and escort their business—even if rewards are sufficient, they don't see themselves as 'warriors,' but as 'servants' or 'laborers.' No matter what, they can't get past that hurdle."

Tian Shizhong let out a long sigh.

"Actually," Yue Fei thought for a moment and then continued, "this time we had just returned from a long march and were indeed exhausted. Otherwise, combined with our army's consecutive victories and few defeats, if we had slightly had the military scholars explain the greater cause to the troops before the battle, they might have been even more daring... But these matters of the heart must be based on sufficient pay and supplies. Otherwise, empty talk is useless."

Tian Shizhong remained silent.

And so, time gradually passed. The battlefield began to be stretched and deformed... On one side, some troops stayed behind to gather surrendered soldiers, rescue the wounded, and clean the battlefield. On the other side, cavalry and many units that had not participated heavily in the rear pursued all the way to the banks of the Long River and the walls of Zichuan, successfully forcing large numbers of pseudo-Qi troops to surrender.

But facing Zichuan, which surrendered without a fight, Zhang Xian still did not find his important target, Li Cheng.

Yue Fei could consider the overall situation and not care about a single man like Li Cheng. At Wang Gui's level, he probably didn't need to care about this merit either. But Zhang Xian and all the officers and soldiers below him could not ignore such a large piece of battle merit and glory.

So, taking advantage of the relatively late sunset in late summer, after Zhang Xian had Li Kui, who arrived later, take control of Zichuan and properly gather the surrendered troops, he then issued another order: to send out all cavalry units in detachments, determined to find Li Cheng!

But to be honest, everyone felt the hope was somewhat slim.

First, the terrain was complex; second, the vegetation was dense; third, it was about to get dark.

And indeed it was. Li Cheng, under Xu Big Saber's cover, had long since slipped away, mixing in with a group of cavalry and galloping northwest... In the middle, he abandoned his horse, deliberately chose to cross the hilly area north of the battlefield through forested terrain, then far avoided Zichuan, and went directly downstream of the Long River. By the time the situation was settled and Zhang Xian sent out cavalry to search in all directions, he had already arrived at the banks of the Long River, resting briefly, preparing to immediately remove his armor and cross the river to Jinan.

"Master, have some water!"

It could only be said that Li Cheng truly knew how to win people's hearts. Not only had those two great swords and the long-blade cavalry died for him, but even reduced to such a state, he still had over a dozen men following him. When he rested by the riverbank, someone even took the initiative to fetch river water in a helmet and present it to him, showing not the slightest lack of respect.

Li Cheng's expression was dazed, but when he came to his senses, he still instinctively asked: "Has everyone had some to drink?"

That man raised his hand and pointed. Only then did Li Cheng, who had been somewhat dazed, see that the others were all standing in the river, bending down to drink on the spot. Seeing this, the man, who was himself parched to the extreme, felt slightly reassured, then hurriedly brought the helmet to his mouth to drink.

Unexpectedly, just as he took the helmet in hand and was about to drink, he saw that the officer who had brought the water had turned and gone into the river to drink himself. He couldn't help shaking his head with a wry smile, then tossed the helmet to the ground, walked down into the shallows, and drank alongside the others in the river.

As he thrust his limbs into the water, countless strands of blood immediately dispersed. Li Cheng had intended to wait, but seeing the blood seeping endlessly from his hands and feet, he was left with no choice but to pretend not to notice, lowering his head to gulp down water recklessly in the shallows.

After finishing his gulping, this Grand Viceroy was about to raise his head and say some encouraging words, but he couldn't help freezing.

It turned out that when he lifted his head after quenching his thirst, he saw his own face reflected on the water's surface, pores clearly visible. But at this moment, his appearance—the word "disheveled and bedraggled" fit perfectly.

And as he stared at his own face, his legs planted in the river, the surrounding water flowing ceaselessly, the coolness dispelled the late-summer, early-autumn afternoon heat, yet gradually began to carry a bone-piercing chill.

This Grand Viceroy, now clear-headed, gazed at his reflection and sighed to himself... He knew in his heart that this battle had cost him all his troops, and the foundation of the three prefectures in Jingdong was utterly lost beyond recovery. Not only that, but with that man with the small eyes' way of waging war, he would never leave a flaw in the overall situation. He would probably cross the river westward immediately and press toward Zhangqiu.

And once that happened, the future situation—even without those men with the small eyes plotting it—Li Cheng could imagine it himself. Once Zhangqiu fell, Jinan would be caught in a three-sided encirclement. The Song army would surely besiege without attacking, trying to lure the Jin troops. But judging by the Jin troops' performance today, they would never cross the Yellow River and the Jishui River consecutively under such disadvantageous circumstances, sending their precious main force into this pocket to be swallowed by the Song army... They had long known that Jingdong was isolated south of the river, and that it would sooner or later fall into the hands of a Great Song that had recovered its military strength.

In other words, Jinan was also a dead end. After this battle, the Qi puppet regime had no retreat left.

But if Jinan was a dead end, what about other places? If he didn't go to Jinan but crossed the river northward to defect to the Jin, without troops, what would make them grant him the title of Marching Myriarch or Hereditary Meng'an?

At that point, would he have to settle for some idle post like a Commandery Governor?

But what meaning would such an outcome have, other than clinging to life?

After this battle, he himself truly had no retreat either.

Just as Grand Viceroy Li was in a daze, sudden cries of alarm erupted around him. He lifted his head, quickly looked around, and then followed the pointing of the soldiers beside him. He immediately saw a sight that filled him with fear and dread... It turned out that in the river ahead, several corpses were floating down from upstream. Judging by their attire, they were all his own men.

There was no need to ask—this was the fate of the few resisters and those who had hastily tried to cross the river when the Song army upstream had pursued them to the riverbank.

Reason told the battle-hardened Li Cheng that this meant nothing.

But just as he was about to open his mouth to reassure the men, he saw another corpse drifting downstream. He quickly shut his mouth, intending to wait for the corpse to pass before speaking. However, the corpse spun and turned with the current, drifting right past Li Cheng... This Grand Viceroy saw clearly—the man was no more than eighteen or nineteen, his beard not yet fully grown, his body stiff, but his eyes wide open, staring fixedly at him no matter how it turned.

Seeing this, for some reason, Li Cheng—who had traveled far and wide and never thought himself frightened by corpses—suddenly felt his stomach churn violently, and he vomited directly into the river.

This was a display of cowardice he had never shown before. After vomiting, Li Cheng grew alert in his heart, forced himself to pull himself together, and urged himself—already stripped of his armor—not to hesitate, but to swim directly across the river.

However, as his feet stepped into deeper water and his neck submerged, the clear river water once again stirred up bloodstains. Li Cheng was seized by fear and dared not go forward.

In the cold and dizziness, he felt a complex emotion of exhaustion, nausea, and superimposed fear.

"Master!"

The men around him clearly noticed his discomfort.

"Let's rest a while." Li Cheng forced himself to endure the discomfort and raised his hand to signal, turning back toward the eastern bank he had come from while making excuses for himself. "I drank too fast just now, my stomach feels a bit off... The water's too cold."

The subordinates around him naturally said nothing.

And a moment later, after catching his breath, Li Cheng tried wading into the water a second time. But for some reason, when he reached water up to his chest, he again felt that same intense discomfort.

Then, he gave up a second time.

At this point, Li Cheng had begun to feel utterly panicked and unsettled... This reminded him of the experience on the battlefield earlier, when he had tried several times to protect the command banner but could not hold his ground.

Now, after a single rout, could he not even cross a river?

The accompanying soldiers also noticed the problem. They began trying to find boats, floating logs, or the like, but found nothing. With no other choice, they found two wooden sticks, and someone took off his clothes to wrap around them, attempting to make a simple stretcher to carry their Viceroy across the river.

No matter what, it was best to cross the river before dark.

But Li Cheng refused his subordinates' kindness. He felt that being carried across the river would be as ridiculous as that corpse. Moreover, he vaguely understood in his heart that this river could be crossed by being carried, but what about a river as wide as the Jishui? Or as vast as the Yellow River? This river, he had to cross it on his own, or else he would never again be able to roam freely between the Heshuo and Huanghuai regions as he once had. And so, he hesitated for a long time, until dusk, when forced by the situation, he made a third attempt. This time, the water was even colder. He only made it to waist-deep water before retreating in disgrace, and even stumbled and fell in the water.

And once ashore, Li Cheng of the Twin Blades—who had harbored a determined ambition to make something of himself ever since the Jin troops came south—began to completely collapse. He even refused the suggestion to temporarily not cross the river and instead head downstream.

Among the soldiers, there were those who understood. They had realized that this was not a matter of the water being cold or not, but that their Viceroy, knowing after this defeat that he had no road left to take, had lost all his spirit.

It was just that the form of its manifestation was a bit strange, and the timing a bit late.

Just after the defeat and rout, many men, still hot-blooded, had taken their own lives on the battlefield.

As the sky gradually darkened and the sunlight faded, more than half of the dozen or so accompanying soldiers secretly slipped away. Among the few remaining, one officer who had received great kindness from Li Cheng simply took his own life to show his loyalty. This act somewhat pulled Li Cheng back from his dejection.

Then, these men tried once more to cross the river using the last remaining light... But it was still very difficult. When the water reached chest height, Li Cheng again could barely hold on. The few remaining trusted followers tried to grab his hands and feet, but they found that this Grand Viceroy was indeed one of the finest martial artists in the realm—even exerting force in the water, he was not easily moved by others.

At this point, these men also became disheartened. They simply abandoned this Grand Viceroy, and each crossed the river on their own, scattering in different directions, leaving Li Cheng alone in the water, unable to advance or retreat.

The scene was deadlocked for a time, and what broke the deadlock was the sound of a Song army cavalryman's horse hooves.

"Don't you be scared, fellow!" This Song general, who had a large ladle tied to his waist, reined in his horse on the bank behind him, speaking quite appropriately. "I'm not one to kill indiscriminately. I see you're sturdy enough, but your face is all ashen—you must be sick. You're no threat now... Tell me, have you seen your commander, Li Cheng?"

Li Cheng's lips were purple, and he shivered, wanting to speak but stopping.

The Big Ladle, whether he understood or not, just shook his head at the sight: "I knew Li Cheng ran faster than a rabbit. How could I find him? Last time in Dongping Prefecture, he threw tens of thousands of allied troops to block for him. This time, he threw Xu the Big Blade and tens of thousands of troops to block for him again... A man like that runs as if he can fly. He should have crossed the river long ago."

Li Cheng still stood in the water, not uttering a word.

"Go on!" The Big Ladle muttered a few things, then waved his hand from his horse. "You're lucky you ran into me. I'm the kindest of men, can't stand to see the poor suffer. If Yang Zaixing were here, he'd have shot you all dead with one arrow each... No matter where you're from, stay in Jingdong, get well, and don't be a soldier anymore. Jingdong is about to settle down. Find a few acres of land, or go work in the city—it's better than this... Since I've found the river, I won't lose my way following it. I'm heading back directly."

Muttering nonsense, it turned out that the lost Big Ladle was about to rein in his horse and head upstream along the river.

Li Cheng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, then quickly tried to cross the river again.

However, as Li Cheng took a step in the water, feeling his hands and feet unbearably cold, he could no longer hold back. He simply turned around and loudly called out to the Big Ladle:

"I am Li Cheng."

The Big Ladle, that is, the lost Guo Jin, turned back in confusion: "What did you say?"

"I am Li Cheng of Xiongzhou." Li Cheng, standing in the water with purple lips, mustered his last shred of courage to reply. "A defeated general, unable to advance or retreat, unwilling to be a captive. Since you have come, General, it is fate. I beg you to grant me death!"

This time Guo Jin understood. He took his bow and arrow from behind his horse, but couldn't help asking curiously as he nocked an arrow: "Since you're the famous Li Cheng and want to die, why can't you do it yourself? Even if you have no weapon, why not just wade into the river and drown?"

Li Cheng gave a bitter smile: "The water is too cold..."

With those three words, an arrow flew and struck him right in the throat. Li Cheng, Grand Viceroy and acknowledged foremost among the rebel armies since the Jingkeng chaos began, toppled into the river.

Guo Jin dismounted, untied his ladle and set it on the bank, then walked into the river and cut off the head right there in the water.

After climbing back up from the blood-mixed river, he hesitated for a moment. In the end, he couldn't bear to tie the head to the side of his ladle. Instead, he untied the wet hair of the head, bound it under his horse's chin, and then, using the last glimmer of light, hung up his ladle and headed upstream.