Chapter 433: The Sky Has Already Brightened

A few unlucky ones fell with arrows in them; the rest scrambled frantically onto their horses. Not a single man charged toward Zhao Jin's side — all scattered as they spurred their mounts away.

The farther out they were, the easier to break into a run; the deeper inside, the harder to move — it even gave Zhao Jin and his men time to loose a second volley. Screams rang out, panic deepened, and by the time Zhao Jin's group charged up to them, some had only just mounted and could no longer flee.

Only then did they think of fighting desperately for their lives, but with over a dozen long spears thrusting at them, how could they possibly evade? Several more lives were thrown away.

Zhao Jin and his men showed not the slightest reluctance to break off. After chasing and stabbing, they turned and left at once. By then the Feng family's mounted troop had only just begun to wheel back around, and they could only watch helplessly as Zhao Jin's squad returned to the cover inside **** Town.

Everyone regrouped at a distance. This time every face was grim. That Old Pi and the man from the Lai family both fell silent. That salt-rice man had failed to mount in time earlier and still hadn't caught up — he must have been left behind over there.

"If we just leave like this, we won't be able to answer to Master Li. Do you want to face the family law?" one of the Feng family men said in a low voice.

The moment those words were spoken, the one who had taken charge and made the decisions shuddered. He looked left and right at the several headmen — every one of them had a cowering expression. Even the Lai family leader who had spoken up earlier now hung his head. The Feng family's own troop was still the reliable one. Looking at the sorry state of these men before him, sending them in to fight again was probably impossible.

"Everyone mount up. Surround this **** Town. The moment anyone shows his head, drive him back. Old Four, take some men back to Pizhou and get reinforcements. Post the reward high. I refuse to believe everyone's afraid of this so-called Zhao Jin."

By now Zhao Jin had also climbed onto the wall, watching the movements of the Feng family force outside. Under the torchlight, he could still make things out fairly clearly. When he saw them all mounting up one after another, Zhao Jin climbed down from the wall.

"These bastards have wised up. They're probably going for reinforcements. They'll keep us penned in here until daybreak." Zhao Jin spoke as soon as he came down.

The reason for entering **** Town was not only to hide the women and children, but also to preserve themselves. The enemy had overwhelming numbers and their mounts were in good condition. In a field battle on open ground, most of Zhao Jin's side could merely ride a horse and were very unskilled at mounted combat. Even if they formed up on flat ground, with several hundred riders charging them, the odds would be grim.

But by taking cover inside this **** Town, the narrow streets and the jumble of buildings and compounds restricted the cavalry's charge and split up the enemy's large force. Not to mention, in foot combat, Zhao Jin had confidence in his comrades.

"The Feng family really is something, able to mobilize over three hundred riders even in Pizhou." Ji Xiang remarked with a sigh.

"Huai'an Prefecture has no shortage of horses. Yutou Town and Qingjiangpu — both have so many cart-pulling horses and mules. They say seventy percent of the big mule and horse market in Henan sells to this area. That one beside our He Family Village, I hear it was quite something a few decades ago too, but it's no good now." After this bit of idle talk, everyone's expressions turned solemn.

Chen Sheng casually tore off a strip of cloth and wiped the bloodstains from his blade, speaking as he did so: "If they go back for reinforcements now, by tomorrow morning there won't be fewer mounted men, and there'll be even more on foot. What do we do?"

Zhao Jin smiled, and said with remarkable ease: "We just pick a compound inside here and hold it. I refuse to believe they can attack on horseback. Once they dismount, in a foot fight, who do we brothers have to fear?"

Everyone broke into smiles. Seeing the smiles on their leaders' faces, the surrounding household troops couldn't help but relax considerably as well.

"Go inside first and get the luggage and horses ready. I'll be right there!" Zhao Jin shouted. The household troops acknowledged and all moved out at a quick pace. Zhao Jin and his companions fell behind. The smiles on everyone's faces had already vanished.

"Tomorrow morning it'll be a bitter fight!" Chen Sheng said in a low voice.

Ji Xiang's face showed some agitation. He asked sullenly: "When can Bingfeng bring the men back?"

"Going from here to He Family Village and back, even on a fast horse it takes a day. Tomorrow night at the earliest would be good enough!" Liu Yong answered.

Ji Xiang spat on the ground. Zhao Jin said nothing and strode off toward the center of **** Town.

**** Town had once prospered. In the central area of the town there were quite a few large family compounds, looking rather neat and orderly. Zhao Jin chose a compound that had neighbors on all four sides.

The master of the house naturally dared not open the door. Zhao Jin was in no mood for courtesy — he sent men straight over the wall. They opened the gate and the large group surged in, directly taking control of the entire household, then brought out silver to buy the compound outright.

This time, heading for Grass Den, Zhao Jin had carried a fair amount of gold and silver on him. A compound in **** Town couldn't fetch much of a price anyway. Seeing the silver Zhao Jin gave, the master's resentment vanished without a trace. He hastily packed up his valuables and moved out. Finding a household in this town to put him up for the night was easy enough; even if no one dared open their doors, for this amount of money, suffering a night of cold in the wilds was well worth it.

For everything else, Zhao Jin very generously gave silver and bought it all together. He also sent men to the compound where the women and children were staying, arranging for that family to cook and boil water.

Zhao Jin's side likewise cooked and boiled water, then cleared the area near the compound walls — straw stacks and the like were all moved away. They also used furniture and bed frames to build wooden platforms. Fighting defensively from within a compound was something Zhao Camp had ample experience in, especially these core members.

A few archers had not returned. Together with men of jianghu fighter background, they were scattered throughout **** Town, keeping watch on the situation with those outside.

The whole of **** Town remained utterly silent. It seemed everyone was terrified. In this dark night, they didn't even dare step outside. Since the two warring sides had never entered any homes, it was just as well for everyone to keep huddled inside like this.

It was already midnight when they arrived at ****. After the battle, the sky had grown even darker. On Zhao Jin's side, after eating hot food, quite a few men were already dozing off. Zhao Jin went out to check several times. The Feng family mounted troop outside had indeed been beaten into caution and had not come in all along. They kept sending men to circle and patrol around **** Town. Quite a few on their side had also dismounted to rest, and campfires had been lit outside, but the atmosphere was just as oppressively grim.

"One more charge?" Ji Xiang asked in a low voice. The situation before them did look like there was an advantage to be taken.

Zhao Jin stared outside for a while, then slowly shook his head and said: "The risk is too great. Not worth it. We'll wait for daylight!"

The deepest part of the night passed. The sky brightened bit by bit. Apart from cocks crowing and dogs barking, **** Town remained utterly silent. Someone climbed up to look outside and immediately shrank back down. Someone else opened a courtyard gate, saw the corpses and bloodstains in the street, and at once shut the gate, finding something to brace it tight. This deadly affair was not yet over.

From the compound where Zhao Jin and his men were holding out, a savory aroma wafted. The chickens and ducks the master's family raised had all been slaughtered. Cured meat and eggs were also put to use. Everyone made a hearty breakfast, then placed the flatbread they had brought along into the pot to keep warm. This battle might last a very long time.

"No need to rush. They also need daylight to muster their men. If they can get here by the time the sun comes out, that's already early." Zhao Jin said calmly.

The manager of the He Family Village cart inn had been accustomed to rising early for many years, and today was no different. Habitually, he didn't trust the hired hands, thinking they would slack off and cut corners. Behind the inn counter was a small room where the manager usually slept, convenient for seeing the night-watch hand as soon as he got up.

The manager cracked the door open a sliver and saw two guests coming to settle their bill. These two were exactly those out-of-town guests with the furtive movements. They wore the same clothes as yesterday. Perhaps because it was cold traveling, both wore felt hats that covered their faces, leaving only their eyes, noses, and mouths exposed.

The hired hand, to his credit, hadn't been slacking. He diligently got up to check the ledger and tally the bill. The manager rubbed his eyes. After all these years, he had a flawless memory for guests. Why did he feel something was off about the two men before him? Similar build, the felt hats hiding most of their faces, but what was exposed was completely different from his impression.

What was going on? The manager pondered for a moment, slowly closed the door, then got into bed and lay down properly. The hired hand not slacking was a good thing. He might as well sleep a bit more himself!

The residual warmth from the heated partition wall still lingered, keeping the manager's little room very cozy. On the bed were the fur mattress sent by Wang Ziyang and the others, and he was covered with a thick cotton quilt. Yet for some reason, the manager was trembling all over, as if he were very cold.

Those two men quickly settled their bill. The hired hand diligently led their mounts over. The two mounted up in front of the door and headed straight west. No telling if they were going to Dangshan or into Henan. Guests came and went; once they left the inn, no one paid them any more mind.

Two men dressed as hired hands stood across the street watching this scene. It was just that the hour was too early and there weren't many people in He Family Village; otherwise, they would certainly have been recognized as Wang Zhaojing and Lei Cai.

"They'll travel to the Henan side, then change clothes and come back," Lei Cai said in a low voice.

"Those two horses must be killed as quickly as possible. Anyone with sharp eyes will definitely recognize them." Wang Zhaojing's face was expressionless, and his voice was kept very low.

"The clothes and everything will be brought back. We'll inspect them one by one, then burn them. I will personally oversee this matter," Lei Cai replied.

Wang Zhaojing nodded. Lei Cai hesitated a moment, then asked: "Third Brother Wang, shouldn't we tell Brother Stone about this matter?"

"One more person who knows means one more layer of trouble. You only need to report to Big Brother. There's no need for anyone else to know." Wang Zhaojing's voice was stern and severe.

Two trusted household troops of Zhao Camp, wearing Han Song's and Yan Shao'an's clothes and carrying their luggage, and even riding horses chosen for their similarity, would, after settling the bill, head all the way toward Henan. Along the way, they would pass through as many market towns and villages as possible. After entering Henan territory, they would change into another set of clothes and return.

Han Song's and Yan Shao'an's identification tokens and all credentials that could prove their identities had long since been searched out and taken. Lei Cai personally guarded them. Even the two original horses had been placed in Zhao Camp's stables.

Traveling this entire route, if anyone investigated in the future, they would learn that Han Song and Yan Shao'an had left the inn and traveled all the way west, entering Henan territory, and would know nothing else. In other words, these two men could not be linked to Zhao Camp in the slightest.

Ever since Zhao Jin had left, the entire He Family Village area had been under martial law daily. After dark, no one was allowed outside and no one could move about freely. Even the rules inside this cart inn were strict. Last night, those actions by Wang Zhaojing and Lei Cai were simply impossible for anyone to see. As for the manager's suspicions — he would bury those forever in his heart.

Once the clothes, luggage, and all evidence were set ablaze and burned, there would be no more traces or clues left to investigate.

"Assign two hidden sentries from the Internal Guard to tail them, all the way until they return," Wang Zhaojing added.

Lei Cai turned his head. Wang Zhaojing's expression was calm as he said: "To ensure absolute certainty, not a single slip-up can be allowed in this matter."

The two were silent for a moment. Wang Zhaojing looked toward the east and said: "I wonder when Big Brother will return?"