Chapter 242: Hello Chang’an
Chapter 242: Good Sword, Good Armor, Good Cui Jing
Ge Zong dragged Lou Shi through the crowd, followed by several cavalrymen laughing and cheering loudly, deliberately using the display to vent their anger.
At that moment, panic suddenly spread throughout General Xu’s army. Someone shouted tremblingly, “…General Ji has been killed!”
The news of Ji Xi’s death reached Ge Zong in a wave, one voice louder than the next.
Ge Zong’s smile stiffened. He immediately reined in his horse and frowned, looking toward the center of the army that Ji Xi commanded.
Ji Xi was actually dead? Who did it?
Was it the vengeful Second Young Master Yun?
Or… that Chang boy?!
He quickly found the answer.
Someone in the Hezhou army began shouting: “Second Young Master has slain the dog traitor Ji Xi, avenging the prefect!”
“The Prefect can rest in peace!” someone’s voice trembled with crying, yet the soldiers, previously fatigued, found their morale boosted again.
Although formations were already chaotic, courage persisted amidst the disorder, and countless Hezhou soldiers charged the enemy.
Ge Zong’s face darkened. He abruptly lifted the woman he was dragging and, bending low on his horse, clutched her by the throat.
“You’ve given birth to a capable son…” His eyes flashed with murderous intent as he tightened his grip. “I had intended to spare you temporarily, but now… I cannot.”
Since someone had killed a general in his army, he would use the Prefect’s wife’s life to rally the shaken hearts of his men after Ji Xi’s death.
“One life for a life. You’ve given birth to a filial son!” he sneered. Just as he prepared to break the woman’s unyielding neck, a sharp wind swept past his ear!
Ge Zong tilted his head to dodge. The arrow, coming with terrifying speed, grazed half of his ear.
Immediately, a second arrow followed, or more accurately, the second and third arrows flew almost simultaneously.
Seizing the moment, Lou Shi, her face swollen and bleeding to near blindness, drew out the half-arrow embedded deep in her leg with her right hand and thrust it toward Ge Zong’s arm with all her strength.
Ge Zong, preoccupied with the arrows behind him, did not anticipate her counterattack. The arrow pierced his arm, and in pain, he violently flung Lou Shi aside.
She fell heavily to the ground. A figure rushed forward, catching her and rolling to avoid the chaos of trampling hooves.
“Madam!” Xuancai Niangzi lifted Lou Shi onto her back. Soldiers quickly came to assist, escorting the gravely wounded woman to the rear.
“It’s you again, you little bastard!”
Ge Zong gritted his teeth and pulled out the broken arrow from his arm. The counterattack from the seriously injured Lou Shi had not penetrated deeply enough to be fatal.
He tossed the bloody arrow aside and looked at the “youth” holding a bow on horseback.
Chang Suining calmly slung her bow back onto the horse’s side and lifted her eyes, riding straight toward him.
As she approached, she held the reins with one hand and drew a short knife hidden on the outer side of her boot with the other.
Ge Zong did not retreat. He bellowed “Charge!” and raised his sword to meet her.
The two fought on horseback, alternating attack and defense. As their duel prolonged, they gradually moved away from the main army toward the roadside.
Here lay several corpses, fallen soldiers who could not hold on any longer. Snow lightly covered them, soft and white.
Wild grass and withered reeds, untouched by battle, were also blanketed by snow.
As the two clashed, blood splashed into the snow, like red plum blossoms blooming amid white.
The sky darkened, vision became hazy, yet the snow reflected light enough to reveal the impatience growing in Ge Zong’s eyes.
The boy had eluded him for so long, yet he could not kill her.
Though he clearly had the strength to overpower her, her movements were too agile. Whenever he thought he had her cornered, she evaded like a bird while he lunged like a hunter.
One failed strike might be forgivable, but failing ten or a hundred times bred anger and frustration.
This vexation was unlike being overpowered—it was maddening because he could clearly overpower her but could not land a blow!
Ge Zong glanced toward the battlefield. Ji Xi was dead. He should be commanding the army, yet this child kept him engaged, preventing escape!
He cursed: “…You’re deliberately trying to hold me back!”
He struck with even more ferocity.
Chang Suining dodged his blade again. “Not just that,” she replied.
She maneuvered alongside him and suddenly collided with him.
The impact seemed uncoordinated. Ge Zong barely dodged, and his horse, already exhausted, reared in panic.
Ge Zong was thrown off, rolling in the snow, spitting out snow from his mouth. He quickly stood, clutching his sword.
Chang Suining jumped down as well, standing in the snow, watching him.
Ge Zong squinted. “What, you want to fight me up close?”
She had survived thus far thanks to her superior horsemanship. Close combat, however, was harder to evade.
“Yes, try.” Chang Suining raised her sword in front of her, snowlight glinting coldly, her short knife gleaming: “Killing you shouldn’t be hard.”
Her tone was earnest, as if concluded after careful practice and analysis, leaving no room for doubt.
Ge Zong sneered between clenched teeth: “Youngster, your arrogance will cost you your life!”
Chang Suining said nothing further and lunged, her steps quick, raising snow mist with each strike.
She understood her advantages and disadvantages against Ge Zong and had been draining his stamina and patience before.
Now, it was almost over.
Ge Zong rushed forward. In their close combat, he realized her strength was insufficient, and he smirked: “Little brat, when I was killing people, you were still nursing in your mother’s arms!”
“Wrong,” Chang Suining blocked his blade, her palm tingling from the impact. She took a half-step back: “But I don’t intend to correct you.”
She knew him, yet he did not know her—perfect for her to strike.
Ge Zong gritted his teeth: “Bragging like your mother!”
He hated those half-spoken words the most.
Now, in hand-to-hand combat, he quickly realized her short knife was extraordinary. Such a thin, sharp blade, up close, should not be able to block his heavy sword.
Yet as their weapons clashed, a crack suddenly appeared on the back of his blade!
He began to breathe unevenly.
He had been striking with full force, but now off his horse, using both hands and feet, he started showing signs of exhaustion.
Yet the “youth” opposite him showed no fatigue, her attacks strong and unceasing.
Ge Zong realized—this brat had been deliberately conserving energy!
Partly correct. Chang Suining, knowing her body was weak, had trained her endurance carefully.
Ge Zong had ten parts of strength; she had five. He could strike a hundred times using all his force, yet her five parts allowed her to strike over a hundred times without tiring.
First half: she used agility to exhaust him.
Second half: she relied on endurance and patience to win.
They continued fighting. The slim youth transitioned from evasive tactics to meeting him evenly, gradually pushing him back.
Ge Zong, nearly exhausted, raised his sword again, feeling it wobble—then CRACK! The blade snapped!
Ge Zong’s expression changed completely.
With no barrier between them, her eyes, colder than snowlight, fixed on him. The snow-white blade pressed against his face.
He fell backward with a thud.
Instinctively, he tried to roll away, but in the split second, he moved too little.
The “youth” swiftly dropped, kneeling on his abdomen, sword poised to strike.
Ge Zong drew a dagger from his armor’s side and thrust toward Chang Suining’s chest.
Chang Suining did not dodge. Their blades pierced simultaneously.
Her short knife struck Ge Zong’s already wounded shoulder.
His dagger was blocked, failing to penetrate.
How could this be?
His dagger should pierce armor!
Too late to think. Pain shot through his shoulder. He raised the dagger again, aiming at her neck.
Chang Suining anticipated the move, faster, and slashed his lower arm holding the dagger.
Flesh and bone severed. His hand and forearm flew off.
“Ah!”
The pain sent Ge Zong nearly mad. He struggled violently. Before she leapt aside, Chang Suining struck his leg once more—avenging Lou Shi.
Ge Zong could no longer rise. He knelt, then collapsed, crawling slightly. Blood gushed, and he could barely move, lying in red-stained snow, gasping.
Chang Suining watched quietly. Then she approached.
Ge Zong’s face had turned pale, lips colorless. Fear finally appeared in his eyes as she stepped closer.
He raised his head weakly, retreating backward: “N…don’t kill me…”
“I can surrender…!”
The girl advanced, her blade his life in hand.
She squatted, one knee bent, listening to his trembling, panicked voice: “I… I know many of Xu Zhengye’s secrets, don’t kill me, I can tell you…”
“Should’ve said that earlier,” Chang Suining said regretfully. “Now, even the gods can’t save you.”
Ge Zong grabbed her armor, shaking his head: “N…”
He glanced behind her.
A loyal subordinate pushed through the reeds, charging at Chang Suining with a raised sword.
Hope flickered in Ge Zong’s eyes.
But the hope vanished.
Someone else emerged from the reeds, wielding a long spear. She ran through, stabbing Ge Zong’s subordinate in the abdomen.
The woman screamed, pushing the dead weight seven or eight steps. Only when exhausted did she drop the spear.
“Miss Chang?!” she shouted anxiously.
Chang Suining looked back.
“Miss Chang!” The woman confirmed, rushing forward, still panicked: “I couldn’t find you before!”
The battlefield was chaos. She had followed the enemy to find her.
“You’re safe! General Chang is also looking for you!” She knelt beside Chang Suining, smiling with relief, tears in her eyes.
Ge Zong stared in disbelief at the girl. “You… you’re a girl?!”
So, not Chang Kuo’s son, but daughter?!
No wonder… how could Chang Kuo have produced such a fragile son!
“Unlucky…” Ge Zong’s eyes burned with unwilling hatred. He had lost to a little girl!
Unlucky?
Chang Suining let out a soft “ah”: “Even worse—you’ll die by my hand. With such misfortune, you probably won’t be reincarnated!”
Ge Zong stared at her, lips trembling, barely able to speak.
“Do you still beg for mercy?” Chang Suining asked politely.
He could not answer. He clutched her armor, unwillingness left only fear of death.
“Begging is useless,” she said, raising her hand. “I don’t believe it.”
Xu Zhengye would never have entrusted secrets to such a fool.
The blade fell.
Blood spattered.
Ge Zong’s head was severed. Chang Suining tossed it aside, sitting down, hands on the snow, breathing heavily.
She, too, was exhausted. She had been masking her fatigue, but she could feel it now.
Looking toward the army, torches were lit. General Chang was commanding. She could rest briefly.
After a moment, she picked up her short knife, wiped the blood from the snow, and inspected it. Only minor scratches remained.
“Good sword…” she murmured.
She looked down at her armor. She had been wearing Yanling Armor, which blocked Ge Zong’s dagger.
She praised it: “Good armor.”
Both sword and armor were gifts from Cui Jing. She exhaled wearily in the snow: “Good Cui Jing.”
At that moment, a group of enemy soldiers approached.
Chang Suining remained seated, watching them.
The woman picked up Ge Zong’s broken sword, standing warily.
The enemy troops had hurried forward, but stopped when they saw Ge Zong’s head, eyes wide open in death.
Fear gripped them, hands trembling on their weapons.
The girl sat in the snow, watching: “Still want to fight?”
No one answered.
They exchanged glances, seeking confidence from each other’s eyes, but saw only greater fear, and began retreating.
“They’re running already?” The woman mocked, though her voice trembled. She sat back down, shoulders and arms shaking.
Chang Suining patted her head lightly. “It’s alright.”
First time on the battlefield, seeing so much blood, so many deaths, killing personally—fear was natural.
Hearing this comfort, the woman, overwhelmed, hugged Chang Suining and sobbed loudly.
Chang Suining patted her solid back.
The woman, hardened by farm labor, usually tough and rough-skinned, now seemed like a lost child, finding solace in the girl.
She cried for a while, finally calming down. Wiping her tears, laughing through sobs, she said: “…Killing this thing isn’t like slaughtering a pig!”
She had previously boasted that killing enemies was like killing pigs, but now realized the impact was indescribable.
“Not the same?” Chang Suining’s breathing was uneven, but she replied earnestly. “I’ve never killed a pig.”
“I’ll have my family pig ready next time for you to try!”
Chang Suining smiled.
The woman snickered. “What nonsense I talk!”
She was truly terrified.
“It’s good. The pigs live, the home stands, the city stands.” Chang Suining glanced at Ge Zong’s head. “We’ve won.”
The woman, eyes teary, asked uncertainly: “We… won?”
Really won? Fifty thousand against a hundred thousand?
“Almost.” Chang Suining pushed off the ground, standing, picking up Ge Zong’s head. “Let’s go.”
Chang Kuo had reformed the ranks, converging with the state army, withdrawing from the chaotic skirmish.
“Miss Chang! Miss Chang has returned!”
Someone shouted. Chang Kuo turned sharply on horseback.
Under torchlight and snow, the girl emerged from the reeds, bloodied, one hand holding a blade, the other a severed head.
A scene repeated too many past memories; Chang Kuo’s eyes welled up.
He immediately ordered his deputy: “Go quickly!”
The deputy rode forward, breaking through scattered enemy troops to protect Chang Suining.
Seeing Ge Zong’s head, the deputy’s eyes were shocked.
He dismounted, bowed slightly to the girl: “Lady!”
Chang Suining handed over the head.
The deputy lifted it on his spear, shouting at the enemy: “Ji Xi is dead, Ge Zong’s head here! Surrender quickly and live, those who yield shall not die!”
Although news of Ge Zong’s death had spread, some still hoped for luck. Seeing his head in person, the Xu army’s morale collapsed.
Amid the shouts of “Those who yield shall not die,” soldiers exchanged glances, then dropped their weapons.
Just as victory seemed certain, shouts came from the rear of the Xu army: “Who dares surrender!”
“The General is here!”
“The General has arrived! Dare to surrender, face military law!”
“The General?!”
General Xu Zhengye had arrived?!
Unsure, soldiers picked up their weapons again.
Chang Suining sat back on her horse, next to Chang Kuo, watching the Xu army rear.
Soon, the sound of hoofbeats approached.
Xu Zhengye had truly arrived.
But why now? With a hundred-thousand-strong army, he should have had confidence.
Had patience run out from the prolonged attacks by Ge Zong and Ji Xi, requiring him to oversee personally? Or… had he received other news?
“Don’t worry,” Chang Suining thought. “It may not be ‘bad.’”
Chang Kuo nodded obediently, eyes determined.
The deputy beside him glanced over.
(End of chapter)
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