Chapter 20: Chapter Twenty: The Youth's Thing

In the war-gaming sandbox, the three men were utterly unaware that their victory or defeat was being treated as the stakes of a wager.

The two armies faced each other across the river; at the outset, both sides dispatched large numbers of scouts to gather intelligence. The scouts wove and roamed along the battlefront edges; though the great battle had not yet begun, they were already clashing fiercely, digging pits and killing each other, deceiving one another with false information — heads rolled in the slaughter among scouts.

To win this contest, Sun Linhai had made a thorough study of Xiang Tiansheng. Before long, the balance was broken by Sun Linhai; to suppress Xiang Tiansheng's intelligence, he sent Wu Yuan personally leading troops to hunt down scouts while incidentally gathering news. The moment the two sides met head-on, Xiang Tiansheng's scout units could not withstand Wu Yuan, this fierce general; in short order Xiang Tiansheng lost many intelligence sources.

Xiang Tiansheng had long anticipated Wu Yuan would move and had prepared in advance. He scattered his cavalry into the wilderness — annihilating them when few, fleeing when many — striking Sun Linhai's forces everywhere. Wu Yuan wanted to lead troops to exterminate the cavalry units, but all were evaded by Xiang Tiansheng's seemingly prescient troop-maneuvering ability. For a time, the two sides fought with wins and losses on each side.

Xiang Tiansheng was unwilling to fight head-on; Sun Linhai's side had a fierce general like Wu Yuan, and once Wu Yuan led from the front, it was easy to rouse soaring morale — a scene Xiang Tiansheng clearly did not wish to see. Sun Linhai also had no good counter against Xiang Tiansheng; he could only order the army to forge military implements, intending to meet all changes with constancy.

On the fourth day of the sandbox, Wu Yuan finally caught a cavalry unit; over these days he had been so infuriated he gritted his teeth — this unit absolutely could not be let go lightly. To cling tightly to the cavalry, Wu Yuan led his troops and, without realizing it, had already pushed deep into the battlefield. By the time he reacted and discovered it, three of his flanks had already been enveloped by Xiang Tiansheng's forces.

Encircled on three sides with one open, Wu Yuan — having dared to pursue and kill on the battlefield — was naturally unafraid; in fact he, too, had long been prepared. Along the pursuit route, at regular intervals he had left a unit behind as rescue. Thus Wu Yuan hurriedly fled toward the gap and linked up with the unit not far away.

Receiving word that Wu Yuan had fallen into the trap, Xiang Tiansheng directly mobilized his entire army to attack, pressing toward Sun Linhai's main force. Sun Linhai also received intelligence; in truth, Wu Yuan falling for the scheme was entirely within expectations. The reason Wu Yuan had kept chasing cavalry in the wilds was precisely to serve as bait — if the bait was not taken, Wu Yuan's army morale would grow ever fiercer with each kill; if swallowed, a head-on confrontation would be forced, and Xiang Tiansheng would inevitably suffer greater losses — a naked open stratagem.

Valuing speed in warfare, Xiang Tiansheng, to hasten his advance, directly employed a Military School spell — "Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain" — and the army surged forward at increased speed. Sun Linhai, watching Xiang Tiansheng's army charging straight at him, being cautious by nature, dared not confirm what Xiang Tiansheng intended; going out to rescue Wu Yuan might be walking into a trap. He therefore first dispatched part of his forces to reinforce, while the rest held the camp; Sun Linhai also cast a spell — "Immovable as a Mountain" — earth-yellow light enveloped the soldiers, and a visible change came: resolve and calm appeared on every defending soldier's face.

Reality within feint, feint within reality. Seeing Sun Linhai hold fast, Xiang Tiansheng directly led his troops to wheel about and encircle Wu Yuan. For a moment Sun Linhai could not fathom Xiang Tiansheng's aim; before him still remained one of Xiang Tiansheng's units, facing off before the camp. Intelligence always lagged slightly; a scout reported: the unit before them was fake. Sun Linhai realized he had been tricked — this was Xiang Tiansheng's Military School spell — "Every Grass and Tree an Army."

Immediately, Sun Linhai decided to commit his whole army to rescue Wu Yuan; even if too late, he could not let Xiang Tiansheng simply swallow him. Xiang Tiansheng gazed at Sun Linhai's mobilizing host, a faint smile on his face, rather self-satisfied: "In the end, still too young."

When Sun Linhai's forces had marched halfway, reality and feint switched once more; Xiang Tiansheng led his troops to strike Sun Linhai, and a head-on decisive battle unfolded on the plains.

Axes and blades hacked, arrows flew and pierced; the two armies became millstones, ceaselessly grinding away soldiers' lives, fresh blood soaking into the great earth.

The earth began to tremble, the quaking growing ever stronger, and the friction of armor could still be heard. On the horizon a host of heavy cavalry suddenly appeared; in the blink of an eye they were already before them. Xiang Tiansheng casually tossed out a spell — "Golden Spears and Iron Horses" — the heavy cavalry all drew their sabers, golden light flashed, and heavy cavalry and army collided; in an instant they bowled over everything ahead, like a tyrannical giant beast of brute force.

The heavy cavalry kept roaming the battlefield edges, like a dull knife slicing flesh, violently peeling Sun Linhai's army apart layer by layer.

Sun Linhai watched the heavy cavalry's appearance, still breezy and unconcerned, not the least bit minding his army being slaughtered. Instead he looked toward Xiang Tiansheng in the distance, eyebrows lifting slightly, quite confidently mouthing: "You've grown old!" To face Xiang Tiansheng, he had also held back a secret unit in reserve.

War drums thundered; as the drumbeats reached the battlefield, the horses' gallop grew faster and faster, the feverish drum points finally revealing the sharp weapon Sun Linhai had forged — war chariots.

Pulled by four horses, the chariots charged straight into the battlefield; the surging chariots were unstoppable, smashing everyone in their path into head-over-heels chaos. Ferocious sharp spikes were inlaid on the wheels on both sides; the moment enemies made contact they were mangled to powder, torn remains scattering everywhere. All around were pained wails and terrified shouts; the soldiers had been killed to the point of mental collapse. The plains chariots were like meat grinders, destroying everything of the enemy.

The battlefield changed in an instant; Xiang Tiansheng, now at a disadvantage, watched the situation turn into a bloody mess, yet he did not panic in the slightest. He waved a hand toward the archers in the rear, murmuring to himself: "Let me try the thing I just learned from a certain youth."

Arrows with open flame shot from the rear; the arrows flew like sparks into the battlefield, burying themselves in the earth, and raging fire instantly ignited the entire plain, devouring the soldiers locked in combat within; the chariots that had charged deep into the battlefield had become living targets for the flames.

The situation reversed once more; gazing at the sea of fire before him, Sun Linhai could not accept it. Blue veins bulged at both temples, eyes fixed dead on Xiang Tiansheng. Xiang Tiansheng seemed to sense it; the corner of his mouth curled in a light laugh, mocking Sun Linhai unbridled, opening his mouth to mouth back: "It's you who are too young!"

Sun Linhai, enraged to the point of vomiting blood, wiped the blood from his mouth corner, shot a resentful glance at Xiang Tiansheng, and could only helplessly lead the routed soldiers of the plains to withdraw first. Xiang Tiansheng naturally would not miss the chance, pursuing on the heels of victory. The heavy cavalry on the battlefield's edge swung their butcher knives, slaughtering the fleeing troops at will, constantly chasing the routed, biting at the rear of Sun Linhai's forces, leaving a trail of corpses behind them.

Not until Wu Yuan broke out of the encirclement and linked up with Sun Linhai did Sun Linhai's forces get a moment to catch their breath. Alas, the overall trend was gone, beyond recovery. Sun Linhai asked after Wu Yuan's condition and only then realized how badly he had erred — everything had been within Xiang Tiansheng's calculations.

This bait Wu Yuan was deliberately taken by Xiang Tiansheng; Sun Linhai was cautious by nature and would not lightly come out for a decisive battle, most likely choosing to hold fast. The second time, using a spell-disguised fake unit to disturb Sun Linhai's judgment, in the switching of feint and reality, he misread Xiang Tiansheng's intent. The third time, in the plains decisive battle, Xiang Tiansheng took the lead in deploying his heavy cavalry trump card, deliberately falling into Sun Linhai's premeditation, drawing out the secret weapon war chariots to attack and kill — pity the grasslands had long been buried with fire oil.

Three stratagems attacking the heart; no matter how cautious Sun Linhai, he still had to swallow the sugar-coated cannonball Xiang Tiansheng fed him. In truth, Wu Yuan was merely besieged, not meant to be killed; Xiang Tiansheng's target had always been Sun Linhai.

The three's minds returned to the training ground; Xiang Tiansheng ignored the others, turned and walked straight away from the surrounding onlookers. Wu Yuan was currently supporting Sun Linhai; at this moment Sun Linhai's face was quite pale, his usual breezy smile now carrying a ferocity, staring dead at Xiang Tiansheng's departing back — not even a glance, simply trampling his confidence into the mud. Cheers belong to the victor; no matter how well the loser performs, no one pays attention.

Ning Ze, watching this exhilarating great battle, was shaken to the core; with many doubts he hurriedly followed Xiang Tiansheng away. Only he did not know that Wu Feng had been watching him from start to finish, half-lidded eyes emitting a cold gloom, like a snake or scorpion stalking prey — no one knew what he intended to do.

At the resting area, Xiang Tiansheng sat upright on a wooden chair, just narrowing his eyes and drinking tea; seeing Ning Ze arrive, he set down the teacup, was silent a while, then tapped fingers on the table: "Decided to leave, then? Whatever doubts you have, ask away — take advantage of this chance."

Ning Ze cupped fists in thanks, pulled over a chair and sat: "Mister Xiang, already decided — time waits for no one! This student indeed has many doubts; please answer. Reading many books, all record that State Scholars are inferior to Qi Refiners — does the State Scholar's path truly have a way forward?"

Xiang Tiansheng stroked his white beard, sighed, lifted the tea again to drink, then slowly set it down, and explained: "The ancients before had no path to walk, oppressed by all things; hacking through brambles they forged two roads, thereby establishing the ten-thousand-generation foundation of human supremacy. How can the State Scholar's path have no way? Books are ultimately not as real as walking ten thousand miles yourself; 'State Scholars are inferior to Qi Refiners' is more like human hearts making mischief. Once you observe the myriad beings, you will naturally understand much."

Xiang Tiansheng's eyes looked toward the distance, yet one felt his expression was scattered, his tone filled with desolate bleakness. Ning Ze did not understand, could only silently commit these words to memory, to await later comprehension and realization.

Thereafter Ning Ze asked again about State Scholar cultivation matters; in a series of questions and answers, many of Ning Ze's doubts were resolved.

"Mister Xiang — no, should call you Teacher; alas this student's fortune is thin, cannot stay by Teacher's side to learn. If there is a chance in the future I will surely visit Teacher again; please, Teacher, do not be stingy with guidance then." With that, Ning Ze bowed deeply in a grand salute, and withdrew from the hall.

Outside the door, Wang Pangdun and the other three were waiting quietly; seeing Ning Ze emerge, Wang Pangdun rushed up, grabbed Ning Ze's shoulders, eyes revealing longing, wanting to say something but unable to utter it. Ning Ze, expressionless, shook off Wang Pangdun, looked at each companion, hand raised in midair, then lowered again.

In the end neither side spoke; Ning Ze walked away with slow steps, seemingly unable to bear it, voice carrying a tremor: "The road is paved for you — don't betray my heart." At the corner, a crystalline drop fell to the ground, surrounding dust bouncing up proving its existence.

Wang Pangdun suppressed a roar, fists clenched, blue veins covering his arms, then released them wanting to stop Ning Ze, only to find Ning Ze had long since vanished from sight. Han Xian and Han Da, the two brothers, said nothing; they both knew this was Ning Ze's choice, hands resting on Pangdun's shoulder comforting him — this group of youths must ultimately bear the price of growing up.