Chapter 7

Even many years later, Afei still believed that at the time, Shi Gongzi must have been scared out of his wits to even think about opening the city gates and going out to fight. What was the difference between that and lighting a cigarette and smoking next to a leaking oil tanker?

Shi Gongzi’s explanation for this was that given the situation, the county town was definitely indefensible. The only option now was to take advantage of the Goguryeo soldiers’ fatigue from their long journey and launch an attack out of the city. If they managed to kill the enemy’s general by chance, they could force the enemy to retreat. If not, he would take the opportunity to break through the enemy lines and escape. If the Goguryeo people rested for a night, they wouldn’t need to attack the city the next day; they could just ram the gate open with a log. He was sure that no one besides himself would dare to take up arms to resist.

However, Afei thought that if he were Shi Gongzi, he would run down from the city, gather the able-bodied men, and escape through any of the east, west, or south gates, and would never directly face the enemy by charging out of the north gate. Come on, there were thousands of people; how could you even break through, let alone kill the enemy’s general? Do you think you’re Guan Yu? Do you have a Green Dragon Crescent Blade in your hand? Do you have a Red Hare steed under you?!

Shi Gongzi “thumped, thumped, thumped” down from the city. Afei felt he should follow, but also thought it was better not to. No matter how conflicted he was, he couldn’t move his feet. He could only lean against the battlements and cautiously look out. Soon, he heard a “creak, creak, creak,” and then Shi Gongzi, like a dragon rising and a horse galloping, shot out of the city gate like a bolt of lightning.

At this moment, Shi Gongzi was wearing one of the two sets of armor in the county—the other set was monopolized by the county magistrate, who wouldn’t give it up no matter what. He was riding his own weak horse, holding a long spear in his left hand and a long sword in his right. For a moment, Afei couldn’t help but think of Changshan Zhao Zilong at Changban Slope…

It was hard to say, but if Shi Gongzi were as brave as Zhao Zilong, who could take the head of an enemy general from an army of a million as easily as picking something out of a pocket, then what was the difficulty in killing a general with just a few thousand people? Although Afei knew very well that whether it was Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, or Zhao Yun, their true abilities lay in leading troops, not in single-handedly charging into battle. Fighting one against a hundred was one thing, but fighting one against thousands was something that only existed in legends, not in reality.

As he was thinking this, the sky gradually darkened. Although the city walls were already lit with torches and fires, Afei, who had night blindness, couldn’t see anything beyond ten meters from the wall. He saw Shi Gongzi spur his horse and charge out of the city gate into the darkness. Then he heard a distant shout, but everything was pitch black, and no matter how hard he strained his eyes, he couldn’t see anything.

He thought that once Shi Gongzi left the city, he would never come back. Either he would be lucky enough to break through the enemy lines and flee, or he would simply lose his head to the Goguryeo people. But he didn’t expect that after the Goguryeo soldiers shouted once, before they could shout again, a figure rushed to the city wall and waved his hand up: “Open the gate quickly!”

Afei opened his eyes wide and saw that it was indeed Shi Gongzi. Shi Gongzi’s horse was gone, his helmet was off, his spear was broken, and he was covered in blood, limping as he ran to the city wall. He knew that the few old family retainers guarding the city gate would open it to let their young master in, even if they were half-dead with fear. But just as he was thinking this, another black figure rushed over and thrust a spear at Shi Gongzi.

This was a Goguryeo cavalryman, and Afei couldn’t tell if he was a general. The man was on a tall horse, wearing bright armor, and holding a cavalry spear, moving swiftly. Shi Gongzi almost didn’t have time to dodge, so he had to roll on the ground to barely avoid the attack.

Afei, standing on the city wall, instinctively raised the bow in his left hand, nocked the arrow he had been holding in his right hand, aimed at the Goguryeo cavalryman, drew the bow like a full moon, and released the arrow with a thunderous “bang”—the cavalryman retreated in response.

Before seeing the Goguryeo troops, Afei had been both surprised and delighted, fondling the bow and arrows given to him by Shi Gongzi. The bow was soft, and the string was a bit loose, but compared to a bow made from a branch and a leather strap, it was undoubtedly a divine tool. As for the arrows, although the tips were all rusty, at least the shafts were straight, and the feathers were glued on rather than just stuck in. Moreover, the feathers were clearly from a bird much larger than a quail!

He had been thinking that if the city was lucky enough not to fall and he was lucky enough not to die, how could he manage to take this set of bow and arrows home?

So, even though he was trembling all over and could hardly stand, he still firmly held the bow and arrows. At this moment, whether it was a stroke of luck or an instinctive reaction, or perhaps he was just delirious, he drew the bow and shot an arrow at the Goguryeo cavalryman below. Deep down, he probably felt that Shi Gongzi couldn’t die. No matter how reckless and useless he was, at least he could stand on the city wall, run, and jump, and he was the only one left who could do so… Even if he followed Shi Gongzi in fleeing, it would be more reliable than following the county magistrate…

But by this time, it was almost completely dark. Even though the torches on the city wall were as bright as daylight, to Afei, who had night blindness, the large Goguryeo cavalryman and his horse were blurry, like watching a 3D movie without glasses, and the theater had turned down the brightness to the lowest setting. So the arrow, like a meteor, landed on the ground, about three feet in front of the Goguryeo horse and less than half a foot from the fallen Shi Gongzi.

The Goguryeo cavalryman instinctively turned his horse, probably wondering who the person on the city wall was trying to shoot.

Afei’s first arrow missed, and he drew the bow like playing a piano, quickly shooting the remaining six arrows in quick succession. This was his hunting habit, as the possibility of hitting the target with that not-so-good bow and arrows was lower than the Chinese men’s national football team qualifying for the World Cup. Usually, he had to shoot many arrows as quickly as possible to have a chance of hitting the target, or the target animal would be scared and jump into the path of one of the arrows.

The six arrows in quick succession startled the Goguryeo cavalryman, who reined in his horse and retreated three steps, avoiding two arrows with each step. By the time he had retreated three steps, all six arrows had missed. But during this moment of hesitation, the city gate had opened a small crack, and Shi Gongzi, swift as a fish, darted back into the city. The city gate then closed, and the Goguryeo cavalryman, fully on guard, cursed loudly—cursed for a full teacup of time, but no more arrows or spears came from the city wall.

It was already completely dark, and the Goguryeo people ultimately did not attack the city at night. Shi Gongzi, who had escaped with his life, climbed back onto the city wall and saw that only Afei was still standing, with the bow in his left hand and no arrows left in his right. He immediately understood. He promised, “If we can escape with our lives, I will surely reward you generously!”

Although Shi Gongzi was covered in blood, his injuries were not severe. He had been hit by an arrow in the buttocks and a shallow cut on his left shoulder blade. According to his own account, he had charged into the enemy lines, killed dozens of people, and finally, outnumbered, returned wounded. But Afei didn’t believe a word of it—how long had it been from the time Shi Gongzi left the city wall to the time he returned? Two minutes? Subtracting the time it took to run back and forth, even if the Goguryeo people were lined up waiting for him to kill them, would there have been enough time to slash dozens of times or stab dozens of times?

Of course, there was no need to expose Shi Gongzi’s lies. Afei was still hoping to escape with Shi Gongzi.

Sure enough, when Shi Gongzi returned to the city wall and caught his breath, his family members came to help remove the arrow and bandage his wounds. He then looked down at the city and saw that the Goguryeo man, tired from cursing, had already turned his horse and returned. The outside was dotted with lights, indicating that the enemy was setting up camp and would not attack at night.

So, Shi Gongzi returned to the city wall, called his family, and headed for the south gate—his horse was long gone, so he had to limp. Afei, pulling along the weak and trembling neighbor Wang, also hurried down the city wall and followed Shi Gongzi. Shi Gongzi glanced at him and smiled, “Indeed, you are smart.”

The group hurried toward the south gate, and more able-bodied men joined the ranks. Afei recognized them as the time family’s able-bodied men who had been ordered to defend the east and west gates. Someone whispered to the young master, “No enemy was found at the east and west gates. It seems the barbarians have no intention of besieging the city.”

Shi Gongzi nodded, “That’s good.” Just as they were about to reach the south gate, dust rose, and a soldier rushed over, shouting, “Shi Gongzi, don’t go!” Shi Gongzi was furious and drew his sword with a “clang,” ready to cut off the soldier’s head if he dared to block his escape through the south gate.

The soldier, panting and clutching his stomach, reported, “The barbarians, the barbarians have retreated…”

“Nonsense!” Shi Gongzi didn’t believe it, thinking that the trick to make him stay and defend the city was too low. “Even if they don’t want to attack the city, why would they retreat at night?”

“Truly, truly retreated,” the soldier explained, “They are marching with torches, and the city wall can see it clearly…”

Later, it turned out that while the Goguryeo people were invading the Lelang commandery, the Liaodong and Xuantu commanderies in the west had sent troops to attack, forcing the enemy to retreat hastily at night. Life is full of such ironies; often when you think you are doomed, a bright dawn suddenly appears, and when you think the road ahead is smooth, you might trip and fall into a pit after just a few steps…

Shi Gongzi, who still had some dignity—Afei would have left the city no matter what—temporarily stopped and sent a trusted subordinate to investigate. The group spent a night on edge, sitting by the roadside, and received the report just before dawn that the barbarians had indeed retreated, and there was no one within twenty miles.

Afei didn’t believe these reports either—how could a few people investigate a hundred square kilometers of land in the dark?

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