Chapter 10: Monster

That's a big fish!

Shiniu, seeing this, hurriedly lifted the two great hammers and walked toward the big fish.

The imperial guards, seeing him approach, trembled like they had seen ghosts and gods, and slowly retreated.

The commander roared, "What are you afraid of! He's alone, surround him and kill him!"

The imperial guards, hearing that, gritted their teeth and charged forward.

Shiniu grasped the Double Hammers together and struck the ground hard!

"Boom..."

The ground trembled; centered on him, all the broken stones within Three Zhang rose up!

The charging imperial guards stood unsteady, swaying in all directions.

Shiniu seized the momentum, surged forward, sweeping the left hammer horizontally and smashing down with the right hammer.

"Bang bang bang..."

Like smashing a watermelon.

One hammer per target; there will never be a second strike.

The commander's face turned pale as he drew his curved sword to engage.

However, Shiniu quickly reached his front and then slammed a hammer down.

The commander raised his sword to block.

"Clang..."

The sword snapped, the hammer fell.

Helmet and head were smashed into the chest cavity.

The headless corpse wobbled and fell to the ground.

The surrounding imperial guards completely collapsed, scattering in panic.

Shiniu did not pursue; he looked toward the depths of the gorge.

There were still many Northern Yuan Soldiers resisting there, but they had been divided and surrounded by the Ming army led by General Lan.

The battle was nearing its end.

General Lan, bloodied all over, lifted his sword and walked toward him.

He stared at Shiniu for a long time before spitting out, "You… how many have you killed?"

Shiniu lowered his head, counted the corpses on the ground, could not tally them, and shook his head, "I don't know."

General Lan's mouth twitched.

He had just seen with his own eyes that this simpleton's single charge had killed at least a hundred people.

Under those Double Hammers, there was no opponent that could even match a single strike.

"Marshal Chang is right; you are a monster," General Lan murmured.

Shiniu gave no reply; he moved to the side, found a clean Stone to sit on, and placed the Double Hammers at his feet.

Then he fished a coarse cloth from his chest and began wiping the blood off the hammer heads.

He wiped earnestly, stroke by stroke.

General Lan watched his silhouette and suddenly felt that this simpleton's way of cleaning the hammers was even more unsettling than his killing.

Horn Sound came from afar.

Chang Yuchun's main force arrived.

At the gorge's exit, the Ming army banner appeared.

Chang Yuchun rode at the forefront, leading his troops to charge into the valley.

The already shattered Northern Yuan Army, surrounded on all sides, completely collapsed.

The battle ended after the burn of one incense stick.

Inside Eagle's Mouth Gorge, corpses lay scattered across the fields.

Three thousand Northern Yuan cavalry were annihilated; the survivors fled.

Chang Yuchun ordered no deep pursuit, to clear the battlefield and treat the wounded.

Shiniu sat on a Stone, watching Ming soldiers rummaging among the corpses for the wounded and collecting weapons.

His face was dried with blood, feeling uncomfortable.

He raised his hand and wiped it; his back of the hand was also bloodied.

General Lan walked over, tossed him a Water Bag and said, "Wash up."

Shiniu took it, poured water to wash his hands, then his face.

The water washed away the blood, revealing his original face.

It was still that simple, honest face, only his eyes were a bit vacant.

"Then what are you thinking!"

Shiniu looked at a Northern Yuan Soldier's corpse in the distance; it was a young man, probably under twenty, with an arrow through his chest.

"I'm wondering whether anyone at his home is waiting for them to return," Shiniu said slowly.

General Lan was silent for a moment, then sneered, "Then you should think: if they break into Zhongyuan, how many families will not see their loved ones return."

Shiniu nodded, "Hmm. Wang Ge told me that."

He stood up, lifted the Double Hammers and said, "General Lan, any other business? If not, I'll go help carry the wounded."

General Lan watched his back as he walked toward the battlefield, then shouted, "Shiniu!"

Shiniu turned his head.

"Today... well done," General Lan said.

Shiniu grins sheepishly: "Hmm!"

Turns around and leaves.

Lan Yu sits on a stone, looks at the valley of corpses, then glances at Shiniu's back, and suddenly laughs.

"Brother‑in‑law, brother‑in‑law, where did you pick up this treasure…?" he mutters to himself.

The setting sun sinks, and Eagle's Mouth Gorge is stained with a layer of blood‑red.

The Ming army begins to withdraw.

The wounded are carried away, the spoils are collected, the corpses are temporarily ignored; they'll deal with them after the battle at Kaiping.

Shiniu carries the Double Hammers on his shoulders, walking in the middle of the formation.

He helps a soldier with a broken leg carry his gear, and that soldier keeps thanking him along the way.

"Brother Shiniu, thanks for today; if you hadn't scattered that squad of Northern Yuan Soldiers, our little unit would have been wiped out…"

Shiniu shakes his head and says, "It's nothing."

He looks back at Eagle's Mouth Gorge.

The gorge lies quietly in the twilight, like a huge mouth that has just devoured three thousand lives.

The wind blows, carrying the scent of blood.

Shiniu turns his head back and continues walking.

Ahead, Kaiping City is still waiting.

The march goes on, and soon… night falls again.

In the Ming army's Military Camp, campfires flicker.

Shiniu sits beside the Fire Pit, gnawing on Dry Rations.

The surrounding soldiers are all discussing the day's battle, their words full of excitement.

Wang Gui comes over, sizes him up, and says, "I heard you killed over a hundred today?"

Shiniu swallows the biscuit in his mouth and replies, "I didn't count."

"General Lan said it himself! Now the whole camp is saying that Chang's Personal Guard has a Shiniu, a reincarnation of a killing star, with no living soul beneath his hammer!"

Wang Gui says excitedly.

Shiniu scratches his head and says, "They're being too mysterious."

"Mysterious how? I've heard it all; with one hammer you can crush both people and horses…" a soldier beside him interjects.

Shiniu thinks for a moment, then honestly says, "Hmm, the hammer is heavy, can't contain its force."

Everyone bursts into laughter.

While they're laughing, Li Cheng walks over and says, "Shiniu, the general is calling you."

Shiniu stands up and follows Li Cheng toward the Central Command Tent.

Inside the tent, Chang Yuchun is looking at a map.

Seeing Shiniu enter, he puts down his charcoal pen and laughs, "Today's fight went well."

Shiniu grins sheepishly.

"Sit."

Chang Yuchun points to the bench beside him, then laughs, "Lan Yu told me in detail about your performance at Eagle's Mouth Gorge… it was excellent."

He pauses, looks at Shiniu, and says, "But there's something I need to remind you of."

Shiniu sits up straight.

"Being brave on the battlefield is good, but you can't just charge recklessly. Today you got carried away, charging alone deep into the enemy ranks; though your combat power is unmatched, it's also risky."

"If the enemy has divine archers or has set up horse‑tripping ropes, no matter how strong you are, you'll still suffer setbacks," Chang Yuchun says slowly.

Chang Yuchun is just talking to Shiniu; if he meets others, see whether they will confront him.

"You, Chang Yuchun, aren't you the one who always charges directly? Yet you have the nerve to criticize others."

However, Shiniu doesn't know! He can only listen attentively.

"Remember, war is not a duel; don't rely on solo fights. Cooperate with comrades, obey commands, and know when to advance or retreat," Chang Yuchun says.

He actually felt a craving for that fellow Xu Da again.

"Hmm! I remember that," Shiniu nods and replies.

Chang Yuchun nods with satisfaction, then asks Shiniu several questions about battle formations; Shiniu answers them one by one, speaking little but hitting the points.

"Alright, go rest! We still have to march tomorrow; Kaiping City… is almost there," Chang Yuchun says finally.

Shiniu stands, salutes, and exits the Marshal's Tent.

Outside the tent, the moon is bright and stars are sparse.

He looks up at the moon, then touches the Jade Pendant in his chest.

"If there's a spirit in the heavens, please bless me… let me kill more enemies, finish the war sooner, so everyone can live peacefully."

From afar comes the night patrol's clanging.

"Clang, clang, clang."

It's the third watch of the night.

Shiniu walks back to the tent; the soldier sharing his cot is already asleep.

He lies down quietly, placing the Double Hammers beside his pillow.

He closes his eyes, but the day's scenes still replay in his mind.

…the terrified faces of those Northern Yuan Soldiers before death.

He turns over, no longer thinking about it.

On the battlefield, if you don't want to die, you must make others die.

Lan Yu is right.

They fell asleep.

In the dream there was no battlefield, only Fengyang Mountain Village, Shi Laosan was weaving a bamboo basket in the courtyard, and the sunset was warm.