Chapter 153: A Narrow Victory

"Everyone, stop! This Governor wants to test himself against this Liu Fangliang!"

Just as the Ming soldiers were about to swarm forward and finish Liu Fangliang for good, Dong Qi, whose eyes were already bloodshot from the killing, raised a hand to halt them.

He stepped forward a few paces and casually tossed Liu Fangliang's favorite long blade back to him through the air. Though he said nothing more, the meaning was unmistakable.

After such fierce fighting, even the soldiers without wounds were nearly gasping for breath. With the situation now firmly settled, many who had been tensed up for half the day suddenly relaxed, and most collapsed to the ground in disarray, unable to get back up.

Watching this scene, many instinctively cleared a circle. Watching their own Governor-General duel a bandit one-on-one after the great battle was a fine form of entertainment for these soldiers — after all, this Liu Fangliang wasn't going anywhere.

If there was one person whose appearance had changed the least in this battle, it was Chen Qiyu, the Governor-General of the Five Provinces, who had been tightly protected in the center the whole time. Apart from the dead, the others had changed in their physical condition — but he had changed in his mental state.

Watching Dong Qi step forward with his blade, Chen Qiyu thought about stopping him, but after a moment's consideration, he finally waved his hand to let him go.

Chen Qiyu also understood that, strictly speaking, as Governor-General of the Five Provinces he could command the civil and military officers of Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Huguang, and Sichuan — but he could not impose restraints on Dong Qi, a Regimental Governor.

The main reason Dong Qi had been so obedient to Chen Qiyu on this journey was that the Chongzhen Emperor, seeing that Chen Qiyu had no troops at his disposal, had specially ordered Dong Qi to lead the camp regiments to guard him, and had instructed that all camp soldiers were to obey Chen Qiyu's commands.

Though Chen Qiyu was not a military man, he understood the minds of generals. Dong Qi was doing this either to seize the credit for killing Liu Fangliang, or to establish his authority in the army and prove himself.

Of course, there was another possibility — the martial man's competitive, glory-seeking psychology that Chen Qiyu did not fully comprehend.

Whatever the consideration, Chen Qiyu felt he should not stop Dong Qi. Doing so could only produce the opposite effect, and might even sow discord between Dong Qi and himself.

Having crammed on all the major and minor events of recent years, Chen Qiyu knew well what severe consequences could arise from discord between a Supreme Commander and the generals below him — Yang Sichang was a cautionary precedent.

Moreover, by now the soldiers had been roused, raising their blades and spears in cheers. With that atmosphere building, he could no longer intervene.

Even so, Chen Qiyu still had to make foolproof preparations. He turned and instructed the other officers to be ready to provide support at any moment, and only then did he lean quietly against the city wall to watch the show.

Liu Fangliang, who had been prepared to await death with folded hands, took the long blade and looked at Dong Qi. He gave him a surprised glance, then snorted coldly, "Aren't you afraid of death?"

"Liu Fangliang, at this point, do you still think you're some General of the Dashun regime?" Dong Qi burst into loud laughter at these words, tightening his grip on his blade, and said: "As for who will die — that's not certain yet, is it?"

"What's your name? I never kill nameless men." Liu Fangliang also laughed heartily, thinking to himself that this unknown young officer was indeed a man of extraordinary courage.

After Dong Qi answered, Liu Fangliang flourished his long blade, then pointed at him and continued: "Good. So, surnamed Dong — if I kill you, will you let me go west?"

"Little bandit, you dream too sweetly!" Dong Qi chuckled. "Not to mention that you couldn't possibly defeat this Governor — even if you somehow survived, whether to release you isn't my call to make."

Following Dong Qi's gaze, Liu Fangliang's eyes tightened. At that very moment, Dong Qi let out a great shout and struck first, swinging his blade in a horizontal slash.

"Well struck!" Though Liu Fangliang had been looking toward Chen Qiyu, the corner of his eye had been tracking Dong Qi's every move. He too let out a great cry.

After the shout, Liu Fangliang's momentum was fully built, but he did not move — he simply stood in place, raising his long blade horizontally to block.

Everyone saw a blinding shower of sparks. Before they could even say anything, Dong Qi struck first again. Though his horizontal slash had failed, he showed no panic — he simply lifted a foot and kicked out fiercely.

Liu Fangliang prided himself on having fought across the north and south and seen every kind of situation. After hearing his opponent's name and learning he was an unknown young officer, he had grown somewhat contemptuous — he never expected that after missing with one move, Dong Qi would kick out so swiftly.

"Hmph—" Caught completely off guard, Liu Fangliang took the kick square on. He let out a muffled grunt, and using the momentum, bent low and rolled several paces away across the ground.

Liu Fangliang forced himself to appear unharmed, laughing loudly: "Good lad, you've got some skill! Seems I'll have to get serious with you!"

"Surnamed Liu, let's see how many more words you have left!"

Having heard that Tang Tong, Huang Degong, Gao Jie and others had all earned merits one after another, Dong Qi was already burning with anxiety. This time he was determined to claim the top credit.

While Liu Fangliang was speaking, Dong Qi did not pause at all. His blade spun several flourishes in midair, and he pressed forward with a few strong steps to deliver a splitting-the-mountain slash.

This time Liu Fangliang was prepared. He dodged with great speed, then immediately leveled his long blade and swept it upward along Dong Qi's blade edge.

In truth, when Dong Qi had launched his first strike, he had sensed Liu Fangliang might dodge it, so his next move was already brewing.

The moment Liu Fangliang made his evasive move, Dong Qi's next strike thrust out without mercy.

And so, a most unexpected scene appeared — the two blades clashed together with a sharp 'clang', and for a moment neither man could pull his weapon free.

But Liu Fangliang reacted quickly. He let go of his blade entirely, bent down, scooped up a handful of sand and dirt from the ground, and flung it out.

Good Dong Qi! He twisted his body aside to evade the sand attack, then hurled his own blade at Liu Fangliang. Seizing the opening, he leaped backward, casually pulled a long spear from a corpse, and charged forward with a great shout.

Liu Fangliang had intended to use the sand to drive Dong Qi back, but he never expected Dong Qi to be unafraid. Seeing Dong Qi charging at him, he lowered his head to search for his long blade.

"You thieving wretch — trying to get your blade?"

Dong Qi sneered coldly, his steps quickening, and reached Liu Fangliang before he could touch his long blade.

Seeing that retrieving his blade was hopeless, Liu Fangliang could only dodge backward. But Dong Qi fought with a strike-while-the-iron-is-hot style — thrust after thrust, giving Liu Fangliang no chance to catch his breath.

Seeing Liu Fangliang on the verge of defeat, just as everyone was cheering Dong Qi's victory, Liu Fangliang's mouth curled up at the corner — and his elbow shot outward like lightning.

The blow struck Dong Qi's hand, forcing him back two steps. It was precisely in this opening that Liu Fangliang rolled backward and snatched a waist saber from a nearby Ming soldier, then thrust it with a cold gleam straight at Dong Qi's lower abdomen.

Quick as lightning, Dong Qi saw Liu Fangliang moving like a flash. Alarm rose in his heart — in such a short span of time, blocking was clearly impossible. He could only throw his weight to the left, barely evading the thrust.

But Liu Fangliang had anticipated this. He turned the blade edge and formed a downward slash. Seeing this, cold sweat beaded on Dong Qi's forehead. Judging that he could neither dodge nor parry, he acted on a life-for-life impulse — leveling his spear and driving it straight at Liu Fangliang's lower abdomen.

In that flash of an instant, the surrounding soldiers all held their breath. Even Chen Qiyu was tense with anxiety. Everyone watched as Liu Fangliang and Dong Qi each let out a muffled grunt, their bodies crossing past one another — and then neither made another move.

Liu Fangliang knelt on one knee, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Dong Qi, too, was breathing in more than out, both hands straining on his spear for support, his body swaying unsteadily — seeming as if at any moment he might topple over like a collapsing mountain.

"Surnamed Dong, you... you..." Suddenly, Liu Fangliang spat out a thick mouthful of blood, but could say nothing more. He tossed aside his saber and fell face-down flat on the ground.

After a moment's wait, one soldier finally dared to step forward cautiously to check — and found that Liu Fangliang had no breath left at all.

But before he could speak, Dong Qi too cast aside his spear and collapsed limply to the ground.