The Innocent Heart - Chapter 84

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s head over there quickly! It might be a passing merchant caravan. We can just give them some silver to have them escort us back to the Pass!” Chen Zhi leaned in at this moment and spoke with great excitement upon seeing that flickering firelight.

Huo Qubing and Guan Yueyao turned their heads at the sound, both looking at him with a touch of wordless exasperation.

This person’s mind is so simple; if it weren’t for the Grand Princess of Guantao being as formidable as ever, who knows if he would have survived until now, the two of them thought in unison amidst the night.

“Aren’t you afraid they might be Xiongnu wandering outside the Pass?” Guan Yueyao asked Chen Zhi in response.

Chen Zhi was stifled by her words and shrunk his neck back. After a long pause, he asked again, “Then what should we do now?”

Hearing this, Huo Qubing pondered for a moment before suddenly turning his gaze toward Guan Yueyao beside him. “I will steal over to scout the situation. Ayao, you stay here and keep an eye on Chen Zhi and our horses. We will decide what to do once I return.”

“No! I’m going with you to scout. We don’t know the situation over there yet—how can I let you go alone!” Guan Yueyao rejected Huo Qubing’s suggestion immediately without a second thought.

“Exactly, I want to go as well. With three people, there’s always more support!”

Before Huo Qubing could convince Guan Yueyao, Chen Zhi leaned in again, sporting a righteous look as if he were ready to live or die alongside them.

Huo Qubing did not adopt their suggestion, however, and shook his head even more firmly. “No. Precisely because the situation ahead is unclear, we shouldn’t act rashly. There isn’t much cover here; three people are too large a target and would easily expose our movements. You two stay here and wait for me; I will be back shortly.”

Seeing this, Guan Yueyao knew that Huo Qubing had certainly made up his mind. Moreover, she felt his words were reasonable and not an act of bravado, so she stopped insisting. After thinking it over, she spoke again:

“Fine, we won’t follow you, but I want to follow at a closer distance to wait. That way, if there’s a sudden emergency, we can still support you.” Seeing Huo Qubing open his mouth as if to object, Guan Yueyao hurriedly added, “Wherever you tell me to stop, I’ll stop!”

Under the moonlight, Guan Yueyao looked at Huo Qubing with an earnest gaze that warmed the boy’s heart. Facing such a situation for the first time, Huo Qubing appeared calm on the surface, but in truth, he had no real certainty in his heart. Thinking that his friend could back him up from a closer distance made him feel somewhat more settled.

Huo Qubing finally nodded slightly and no longer objected.

Thus, the three youths crouched low, being careful not to make a sound, and began to steal toward the back of the mound that reflected the firelight.

“Hey, Guan Yueyao, do you think it might be a Han merchant caravan? Once we reveal our identities in a bit, maybe they’ll excitedly bring out all their delicious food to entertain us. If that’s the case, when we return to Chang’an, I must have Grandmother reward them properly.”

Huo Qubing had already moved quite far ahead, leaving Guan Yueyao and Chen Zhi on this closer mound.

Guan Yueyao had no mind for idle chatter with Chen Zhi. She lay prone on the mound, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the direction Huo Qubing had gone. The starlight was brilliant tonight, but fortunately, the three of them were dressed in black armor, making them difficult to detect under the cover of night. Even as Guan Yueyao strained her eyes, she could only see what appeared to be a blurred black shadow moving silently atop the mound ahead.

If a focused observer found it difficult to detect, what of those who were completely unaware? Unsure if an unexpected situation would arise, Guan Yueyao’s right hand had already moved to the hilt of the blade hanging at her waist. Her body was tense, looking as if she were ready to burst forward to support Huo Qubing at any moment.

Fortunately, the situation she feared did not occur. After a short while, Huo Qubing slipped back as silently as before.

“What exactly is the situation over there!” Guan Yueyao and Chen Zhi both went to meet him, asking in low, hushed voices. In truth, seeing that Huo Qubing returned without a joyful expression, they had already guessed most of it.

“It’s a small squad of Xiongnu. There are also several Han people with their hands and feet bound—men and women—who look like they were captured to be enslaved by the tribe. I counted five Xiongnu, but I don’t understand their language, so I don’t know their objective.” Huo Qubing briefly explained the situation he had scouted near the campfire.

“So what should we do next?” Guan Yueyao was somewhat undecided. There were only three of them, all youths, while the other side had at least five grown men.

“What else can we do? Naturally, we hide somewhere while they haven’t noticed us, endure until dawn until they leave, and then find our way back,” Chen Zhi said dejectedly, lying back on the mound in frustration.

“No, I want to attack them,” Huo Qubing said calmly while looking at Guan Yueyao.

Unusually, Guan Yueyao did not immediately respond to Huo Qubing’s suggestion this time. Instead, she lowered her head to think for a moment before asking, “We didn’t bring bows or arrows today. If we want to attack them, it must be close-quarters combat. We are outnumbered; even with the element of surprise, I don’t know what our odds are.”

“When I was just over there, I saw that those Xiongnu were already somewhat drunk. I want to wait a bit longer until they are all fast asleep before launching a sudden attack. Then, we can take advantage of the chaos to untie the bound Han people. At the very least, our numbers will reverse the disadvantage.” Seeing that the doubt in their eyes had not fully dissipated, Huo Qubing carefully mapped out the plan in his mind before laying out the entire strategy.

That night, the three youths lay prone on the hilltop where Huo Qubing had previously hidden. Guan Yueyao saw the full view of the camp for the first time.

In this small temporary camp, four large Xiongnu men were sleeping haphazardly around the campfire. A bit further away, one person remained, seemingly on night watch. Whether from the alcohol or not, though he was awake, he appeared drowsy. Not far from the fire, seven or eight people dressed as Han huddled together; most were male, with two or three women among them.

“Chen Zhi, sneak in from the left. Once Ayao and I start over there, you quickly release those Han people,” Huo Qubing instructed while looking at Chen Zhi.

A look of reluctance remained on Chen Zhi’s face. This was his first time facing the Xiongnu directly, and he was secretly terrified, yet he was unwilling to show it for the sake of his pride. “Un… understood.”

Having received Chen Zhi’s reply, Huo Qubing nodded to Guan Yueyao. The two turned in perfect sync and began to creep forward from opposite directions.

Their target was that Xiongnu sentry.

The distance between them closed inch by inch. Both youths involuntarily gripped their hilts tighter. No one spoke; they simply locked their gazes on the Xiongnu man who was nodding off, struggling to stay awake.

To keep him from making a sound, I must slit his throat in one stroke… Huo Qubing subconsciously muttered in his mind. As he walked, he rehearsed the coming confrontation countless times in his head.

Guan Yueyao, walking beside him, was not faring much better. She had been in countless fights and participated in innumerable competitions since childhood. However, using the Miao Dao in her hand with the intent to kill was truly a first. Her hand trembled uncontrollably, and she felt as if her heart were about to leap out of her mouth.

It’s fine, it’s just like a competition. Once I’m actually on the field, I won’t have time to worry about anything else, she comforted herself with her past competitive experience.

Finally, they found a suitable position and stopped, hiding their bodies in the shadows. The Xiongnu was very close now; his curly hair looked somewhat fuzzy, and his head hung low as he seemed to have drifted into a daze.

Now was the time. Huo Qubing did not hesitate; he lunged forward, covering the man’s mouth with one hand while drawing his blade across the man’s neck with the other.

Warm blood spurted from the throat. Huo Qubing couldn’t dodge in time, and his face was splashed.

Perhaps out of survival instinct, or perhaps because he hadn’t mastered the force required for his first time, the Xiongnu man found a chance to gasp. The intense pain snapped him awake, and he began to struggle desperately.

Seeing the situation go south, Guan Yueyao threw herself forward, pinning the Xiongnu man’s limbs down with all her might. Huo Qubing desperately covered the man’s nose and mouth with one hand while frantically stabbing at the man’s neck several more times with the other.

Guan Yueyao felt the limbs beneath her lose their strength to struggle, and their temperature slowly grow cold. This process lasted only two or three minutes, but to Huo Qubing and Guan Yueyao, it felt as long as a century.

So this is the process of life slipping away…

Once the Xiongnu had completely stopped moving and was truly dead, the two of them breathed a long sigh of relief and slumped onto the grass. In the camp, the light reflected from the bonfire flickered in the dark. They glanced at each other, but by unspoken agreement, neither spoke. The death of this Xiongnu was not the end, but merely the beginning.

Dazed, Guan Yueyao stood up, intending to follow Huo Qubing toward the remaining four men. At this moment, she had no heart to reflect on how it felt to kill for the first time.

Unexpectedly, as she turned, she kicked over a wine jar placed haphazardly by her feet.

A crisp sound of shattering pottery rang out, sounding exceptionally piercing in the quiet night. Very quickly, a light-sleeping Xiongnu sat up with a start from the blankets spread on the ground.

He soon took in the situation before him, shouting in a language they didn’t understand while reaching for the scimitar beside him.

“Oh no, Qubing is in danger!” Guan Yueyao no longer hesitated. She charged forward with her blade, hacking at the man’s chest just as he was trying to get up.

Perhaps due to nerves, or perhaps a lack of practical experience, though the strike hit a vital spot, the wound wasn’t deep. In agony, the Xiongnu man let out a roar, raised his scimitar, and swung it toward Guan Yueyao.

Driven by survival instinct, Guan Yueyao swung her blade to parry, throwing fear to the back of her mind as she engaged the Xiongnu man in combat.

Against a Miao Dao, the scimitar had no real advantage. Furthermore, the event was sudden; he had no time to mount a horse and his bow was not by his side. Within a few exchanges, the man fell beneath Guan Yueyao’s long blade.

Panting heavily, Guan Yueyao looked at the body growing stiff before her, her mind a total blank. But before she had time to think further, the fighting had completely awakened the other three sleeping Xiongnu. The true battle had only just begun.