Chapter 5: Scout

The order to march north arrived on the evening of the fourth day.

Chang Yuchun stood on the Pointing Platform, his voice carrying across the entire camp.

"Three days later we will break camp and march north to Kaiping; all units, starting today, will enter a state of combat readiness!"

The soldiers below the platform replied in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

Shiniu stood in the ranks of the Personal Guard Unit, looking up at the imposing Chang Yuchun on the platform, feeling both excited and a little lost.

The excitement came from the fact that they were going to fight, although he still didn't quite understand what fighting actually entailed.

His confusion stemmed from not even knowing where Kaiping was.

After the meeting, Wang Gui put his arm around his shoulders and walked back to the tent, saying, "Shiniu, did you hear... we're going to fight."

"Hmm! Wang Ge, Kaiping… far?" Shiniu asked after nodding.

"It's far, to the north; even on horseback it would take several days, but this time we're pursuing the remnants of the Northern Yuan, General Chang said we need a quick and decisive battle." Wang Gui said with a chuckle.

Inside the tent, the Imperial Troops were packing their gear.

Shiniu had few belongings—just that pair of Double Hammers and a set of spare clothes.

He carefully wrapped the hammers in cloth, then tucked the Jade Pendant safely into his bosom.

At night, Li Cheng came to the tent to assign duties.

"Starting tonight, strengthen night patrols, two per team, rotating every two hours. Shiniu, you and Wang Gui are a team, taking the watch at midnight." Li Cheng held a torch, scanning the ten Imperial Troops as he spoke.

"Yes." Shiniu replied.

As midnight approached, Wang Gui shook Shiniu awake, saying, "Come on, it's our turn."

Shiniu sat up and rubbed his eyes.

He had been sleeping soundly, and being woken left him a little dazed.

Wang Gui handed him a spear, saying, "Take this; it's cold at night, wear more layers."

The two donned their outer garments, picked up their weapons, and left the tent.

The camp was quiet, with only the footsteps of patrolling soldiers and the distant sound of clappers.

The night wind was chilly, raising gooseflesh on their skin.

Half the moon was obscured by clouds, making the light dim.

Their post was at the northwest corner of the camp, near the stables.

The ground here is high, offering a view of most of the camp.

Wang Gui found a stone to sit on, while Shiniu stood beside him, holding his spear.

"Shiniu, are you... tired?" Wang Gui whispered.

"A little." Shiniu admitted honestly.

"Even if you're tired, you have to stay awake; falling asleep on watch is punishable by the rod under military law, but we're lucky—this post is remote, so nobody usually comes to check…"

Wang Gui yawned and said.

Before he finished speaking, Shiniu suddenly twitched his nose.

"What's wrong?" Wang Gui asked.

"There's a smell." Shiniu said.

"What smell? Horse dung? That's not normal, the stables are right next to us." Wang Gui also sniffed and said.

Shiniu shook his head and replied, "It's not the smell of horse dung; it seems like something else."

Then Shiniu lowered his spear, walked to the edge of the post, and peered into the darkness.

A sliver of moonlight leaked through the clouds, illuminating the wilderness beyond the camp.

In the distance lay dark forests; up close were clumps of knee-high weeds.

"Shiniu, what are you looking at?" Wang Gui walked over.

"Over there… it looks like there's movement." Shiniu pointed at the thicket to the northwest.

Wang Gui squinted for a moment, saw nothing, and said, "Nothing there—are you seeing things?"

Shiniu said nothing.

He had indeed seen it—the thicket was moving, not the kind of sway from wind, but as if something were burrowing into it.

He sniffed again, and the odor grew stronger.

It smelled of sweat, of leather armor, and finally of horse musk—Shiniu was certain.

"Someone's there." Shiniu said.

Wang Gui's face changed; he immediately gripped his spear and said, "How many..."

"I don't know, but there definitely is, Wang Ge—I'll go take a look." Shiniu picked up his spear and started to move forward.

"Don't! If it really is the enemy, going alone would be too dangerous! Let's send a signal!" Wang Gui grabbed him and said.

"A signal would scare the snake in the grass; I'll sneak over to have a look, and if it really is the enemy, I'll come back to report." Shiniu said seriously.

Wang Gui hesitated.

By military law, leaving one's post without permission during watch is a serious crime.

But if there truly were enemy scouts sneaking into the camp, failing to spot them in time would be worse.

"Then be careful—if you're not back in half an hour, I'll send up a signal." Wang Gui said through gritted teeth.

Shiniu nodded.

He leaned his spear against the post, took only his Double Hammers, bent low, and slipped into the darkness.

His movements were light, like a leopard in the mountains.

Wang Gui watched him disappear into the thicket, his palms slick with sweat.

In the thicket, three dark figures lay prone on the ground, slowly crawling forward.

They wore dark-colored clothes, had mud smeared on their faces, and carried short bows and curved blades.

The leader was a thin, wiry man; he gestured to the two behind him, signaling them to stop.

"Just ahead is the Ming army Military Camp; make out the position of the Central Command Tent, note the troop deployment, then we withdraw." the leader said softly.

"Boss, I heard Chang Yuchun is in the camp; if we could…" a slightly younger one said.

"Don't dream! Chang Yuchun is a Ming army general, with countless Imperial Troops around him; we're scouts, not assassins—just finish the mission." the leader hissed lowly.

The three moved forward several zhang.

They could now see the wooden palisade of the camp and the torches on the watchtowers.

Just then, the leader suddenly stopped.

"Boss..." the person behind asked.

The leader pricked up his ears, his face changed: "There's movement!"

As his words fell, a tall figure rose from the nearby grass.

Moonlight just broke through the clouds, shining on that figure's face—a boy in his early teens, shouldering two hammerheads each the size of a watermelon.

The three scouts stared, stunned.

What's going on?

The Ming army's hidden sentry.

How could a hidden sentry be carrying such a huge hammer?

And yet he stood up so openly.

Shiniu looked at them and asked innocently, "What… are you guys doing?"

The three scouts exchanged a glance, then the leader suddenly drew his sword and shouted, "Kill!"

The three lunged forward together.

Their movements were quick, obviously veterans—one to the left, one to the right, one in front, cutting off all of Shiniu's retreat.

Shiniu watched them charge, but didn't move.

Only when the leading blade was about to reach his eyes did he raise his hand and sweep the hammer sideways.

"Clang!"

Sword and hammer struck, sending sparks flying.

That scout felt his hand go numb, and the sword flew from his grip.

Before he could react, the hammer smashed into his chest...

"Thud!"

He was flung backward two zhang, slammed into a tree, slid down, lay still—clearly dead.

Only then did the men on the left and right reach him.

A blade from the left slashed at Shiniu's neck; he ducked, then hammered the man's leg with a backhand strike.

"Crack..."

His leg bone broke.

He cried out in pain and collapsed.

A blade from the right thrust at Shiniu's back; he seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, twisted sideways, and drove the other hammer backward.

The hammer handle struck squarely in his abdomen.

"Ugh…"

He clutched his belly, fell to his knees, and vomited a mouthful of sour fluid.

That's because Shiniu wanted to keep a couple alive for questioning; otherwise those two would have died too.

He's honest, not stupid—he knows the general will definitely want to interrogate them.

From start to finish, the fight took less than Three Breaths.

Shiniu looked at the three men on the ground.

One was dead outright, one with a broken leg wailed, and one knelt, retching.

Shiniu scratched his head, went over, and checked them.

Shiniu thought, collected the three men's weapons, then used their belts to bind the two who were still alive together, like tying firewood—back‑to‑back in a bundle.

Having done that, he hoisted his hammer and dragged the two men back.

Wang Gui waited anxiously at the watchpost.

Half a quarter‑hour was almost up, and Shiniu still hadn't returned.

He was about to send a signal when he saw a figure emerge from the grass.

It was Shiniu.

He had a hammer on his shoulder and was dragging something… what was it?

When Shiniu drew near, Wang Gui finally saw clearly: he was dragging two people, bound together, pulling them along the ground like dead dogs.

"Shi… Shiniu, what… is this?" Wang Gui stammered.

"Enemies—three of them, two still alive, one dead, over there." Shiniu threw the two to the ground and said.

Wang Gui's eyes widened as he looked at the two brugged scouts on the ground, then at Shiniu: "You… you captured two and killed one…"

"Yeah! They tried to kill me, so I fought back." Shiniu nodded.

Wang Gui swallowed, crouched down, and inspected.

Both were trussed up tight—one with a broken leg, the other deathly pale but still able to move.

"These are… Northern Yuan scouts, come to spy on the camp." Wang Gui searched the leader's pocket and pulled out a wooden tablet inscribed with Mongolian script.

Shiniu laughed and asked Wang Ge, "Does this count as merit…"