Chapter 3

Just at that moment, Zhang Xuan suddenly clutched his chest and fell to the ground, curling up in pain and shouting in a low voice, "Young Master Li, quickly throw away the fish, there's something wrong with it!"

Li Mi's face twisted into a sinister expression. He stood up, kicked away the saber beside him, and approached step by step, gripping a military dagger. "Brat, you actually managed to take down my seven guards, indeed you have some skills, but to challenge me, Li Mi, you are still too young."

"You... you poisoned the fish!" Zhang Xuan glared at him angrily.

"Of course, Seven Steps Intestine-Cutting Powder, have you heard of it?"

Li Mi sneered and continued, "Do you think you saved me? No, you ruined my plan to lure the enemy, but I won't hold it against you. However, if you don't die, how can I, Li Mi, be safe? In recognition of your willingness to save me, I will light a stick of incense for you on this day next year."

Just as he said this, Li Mi suddenly froze. He saw Zhang Xuan sit up and extend his left hand, revealing a fully cooked carp, untouched. Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, "I'm sorry, I ate another one. You've wasted your effort!"

Li Mi roared and lunged at Zhang Xuan with the military dagger. At that moment, Zhang Xuan raised his gun and fired without hesitation.

A gunshot echoed, and a blood hole appeared on Li Mi's forehead. His eyes widened as the life in them quickly faded, and he fell to the ground in front of Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan slowly stood up, picked up the military dagger from Li Mi's hand, and kicked him coldly, "Do you think I couldn't see that those people were your subordinates? I just wanted to see what tricks you had up your sleeve."

Zhang Xuan searched Li Mi's body, finding flint and tinder in his pocket, and a small, heavy leather pouch, seemingly filled with something.

Suddenly, Zhang Xuan heard someone shouting from a distance, "The sound came from over there, surround it!"

Zhang Xuan was startled and looked around. He saw countless figures surrounding the area, with only the southeast direction clear.

Zhang Xuan made a quick decision. He didn't bother to retrieve the saber and sprinted southeast. After running several hundred steps, he jumped into a deep, long ditch.

The ditch was filled with tall water grass, and the green water reached his ankles. Several snakes, startled, quickly scattered. The sides of the ditch were covered with dense shrubs, their long branches hanging down like waterfalls.

Zhang Xuan hid in a clump of shrubs, his back tightly pressed against the damp soil.

A moment later, the sound of footsteps approached. Through the shrubs, Zhang Xuan saw a group of soldiers' feet above him, his heart pounding with tension.

"What was that sound just now?" a deep voice asked from above.

"Report to the general, we didn't find the source of the sound, but we discovered a corpse. It seems to be the rebel Li Mi, who just died. The body is still warm. Should we conduct a thorough search?"

After a moment of silence, the deep voice replied, "There's no time. Put this aside for now and order all soldiers to ambush quickly!"

The sound of hooves followed, and four long, strong horse legs appeared above the shrubs.

Through the gaps in the shrubs, Zhang Xuan saw a weapon that he would never forget. The weapon was as large as a huge millstone, with a sharp spearhead in the middle and a pair of golden wings on either side, covered with numerous small spikes, resembling a trident but much larger.

The iron shaft was about ten feet long, and with the spearhead, it was fourteen feet long, weighing at least four hundred pounds.

A name flashed in Zhang Xuan's mind: 'Golden Phoenix Wings Spear.' Yes, it must be this weapon.

Following the thick and long iron shaft, Zhang Xuan's gaze fell on the general. He was a towering figure, riding a black warhorse that looked like a demon. He was about two meters tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, wearing silver armor and a silver helmet, with a plain silk robe. His face was as fair as jade, his eyebrows like swords, and he held the Golden Phoenix Wings Spear, looking as majestic as a god.

"Go and ambush on both sides of the main road ahead, don't let Yang Xuangan escape!"

The general spurred his horse and left the ditch. The sound of many soldiers running gradually faded away.

After a while, Zhang Xuan emerged from the ditch. He climbed a tree and gazed into the distance. It was clear that the Sui army had set up an ambush on the main road. Should he leave or go and check the main road?

Zhang Xuan squinted his eyes, thinking of the Golden Phoenix Wings Spear. Could the general he just saw be the legendary second best warrior of the Sui and Tang dynasties?

Zhang Xuan was very cautious and ran quickly toward the main road. Passing by where he had rested earlier, Li Mi's body was gone, but the two short spears were still there. Zhang Xuan picked up the spears and ran southwest.

He was about eighty paces from the ambush, hiding behind a thick tree. Zhang Xuan grabbed the tree trunk and climbed up, hiding behind a cluster of dense branches.

Soon, the sound of galloping horses came from a distance, and a group of soldiers appeared. They were poorly dressed, some in leather armor, others in cloth, with a variety of weapons, clearly not regular Sui soldiers. They were likely Yang Xuangan's rebel forces.

The soldiers looked terrified, their formation disorganized, and they moved silently, heading south. None of them noticed the army ambushed in the woods on both sides of the road.

Zhang Xuan shook his head. Although the Sui general was decisive, he was not thorough enough. The person who could kill Li Mi was certainly not an ordinary bandit or deserter. Even if there wasn't time for a thorough search, he should have sent a small team to search carefully. Otherwise, if the enemy sent a signal, the ambush would be meaningless.

Additionally, the dense forest in this area was ideal for ambushes. The main general of the southern army did not send scouts to check for enemies, which was a significant mistake. If this general was Yang Xuangan, then his rebellion's failure was understandable.

Zhang Xuan thought to himself whether he should warn the army about the ambush, but if he exposed himself, he would likely not survive.

The army consisted of about five to six thousand men. Then, several hundred armored cavalry appeared, each tall and strong, holding long spears. A large banner with a huge 'Yang' character fluttered above them.

Under the banner was a man in his forties, wearing a golden crown and golden armor, with a robust build, riding a tall, fiery horse, and holding a long spear. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, and tiger-like eyes, filled with a fierce gaze.

Zhang Xuan's intuition told him that this was Yang Xuangan!

Just then, a loud signal sounded from both sides, and a dense rain of arrows shot toward Yang Xuangan and his surrounding cavalry.

The main road was instantly filled with screams. The cavalry fell from their horses, but Yang Xuangan reacted quickly, wielding his spear so swiftly that it formed a protective barrier, like a glass dome shielding him. Thousands of arrows were deflected, and none penetrated his defense, a sight that was truly breathtaking.

The rain of arrows stopped, and only Yang Xuangan remained on horseback, unharmed. He laughed maniacally, "Do you want to try again?"

From the woods, the Sui general pointed with the Golden Phoenix Wings Spear and said coldly, "Charge, leave no survivors!"

The sound of battle cries suddenly rose, and thousands of Sui soldiers emerged from the woods. The main road was in chaos. Although Yang Xuangan was incredibly brave, his army's morale was extremely low. Faced with the ferocious Sui soldiers, they fled in panic, screaming and running in all directions, wishing they had more legs.

Hundreds of Sui soldiers surrounded Yang Xuangan, shouting, "Yang Xuangan, surrender, and we'll spare your life!"

Yang Xuangan was enraged and roared, charging into the Sui army. He was like a tiger among sheep, his spear whirling like a whirlwind, cutting through the enemy like a storm. Heads rolled, arms flew, and blood misted the sky. Yang Xuangan was invincible, unstoppable.

The Sui soldiers were terrified by Yang Xuangan's bravery and fled in all directions. Yang Xuangan charged into the left flank of the enemy, and the sky was filled with screams. The main road became a slaughterhouse, with blood staining the ground.

In just a short time, hundreds of Sui soldiers were killed by Yang Xuangan. The air was filled with the stench of blood, and the ground was littered with incomplete corpses, including many dead horses. The scene was extremely bloody and terrifying.

At this moment, Yang Xuangan's brother, Yang Jishan, came from behind, shouting, "Brother, Yuwen Shu's army is pursuing us, we must break through quickly!"

Yang Xuangan roared and charged at the dense Sui soldiers with his spear...

In the woods, the Sui general watched Yang Xuangan's prowess coldly. Despite the heavy casualties among the Sui soldiers, he remained unmoved, as if the deaths were unrelated to him.

Seeing Yang Xuangan about to break through, the Sui general sneered, grabbed a long spear, and threw it with all his might. The spear, like a black lightning bolt, shot toward Yang Xuangan's back.

"Brother, watch out!"

Yang Jishan rushed forward and used his body to block the spear. A scream echoed as the spear pierced his chest, and he was impaled to the ground.

Yang Xuangan's eyes turned red, his bloodshot gaze fixed on the Sui general emerging from the woods. He suddenly roared, "Yuwen Chengdu, today either you die or I live!"

He spurred his horse and charged at the Sui general with his spear.

The Sui general was Yuwen Chengdu, the adopted son of the Sui Western Army Commander Yuwen Shu, the first of the famous thirteen Yuwen protectors, and bestowed the title of Heavenly Treasure General by Emperor Yang Guang of Sui.

Yuwen Chengdu, following Yuwen Shu's orders, led three thousand elite troops through a shortcut to intercept Yang Xuangan's retreat.

Yuwen Chengdu spurred his horse, the Golden Phoenix Wings Spear in hand, and slowly approached. His horse, called the Demon麟Beast, was a top-quality Da Yuan horse gifted by the King of Sogdian to Emperor Yang Guang. Yuwen Chengdu, having made great contributions in subduing the Tuhun Valley, was rewarded with this horse by Yang Guang.

Yuwen Chengdu narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Yang Xuangan, although you are incredibly brave, you are no match for me. Surrender, and I will spare your life."

Yang Xuangan, known as the Tiger Fool, was ranked as the fourth bravest warrior in the world by the military. Yuwen Chengdu, a rising star, was fierce and skilled, almost matching the legendary first bravest warrior, Shi Wansui, and was praised by Yang Guang as unparalleled.

Despite knowing Yuwen Chengdu's prowess, Yang Xuangan could not let his brother's death go unavenged. He swung his spear, creating nine spearheads, and thrust at Yuwen Chengdu with the speed of a lightning bolt.

"Yuwen Chengdu, I will die with you!"

Yuwen Chengdu remained calm, sweeping the Golden Phoenix Wings Spear horizontally. It seemed slow but arrived first, and with a loud 'Clang!', Yang Xuangan's spear was nearly knocked out of his hand.

Yang Xuangan was enraged and thrust his spear at Yuwen Chengdu eighty-one times in rapid succession. Yuwen Chengdu wielded his spear with such speed that it was impenetrable, blocking every thrust. His immense strength nearly disarmed Yang Xuangan several times.

After several rounds of combat, Yang Xuangan began to tire. At this moment, Yuwen Chengdu seized an opening and roared, "Yang Xuangan, die!"

The Golden Phoenix Wings Spear slashed diagonally, swift as a ghost, and in an instant, it was at Yang Xuangan's neck, the wind making it hard for him to breathe.

Yang Xuangan couldn't dodge and had to throw his head back. He felt he couldn't escape and closed his eyes in despair. A 'Crack!' sounded, and his golden crown was split off, the wind from the spear blade cutting his face painfully.

Yang Xuangan was terrified and fled south on his horse, disheveled and in a panic.

Yuwen Chengdu sneered and pursued, his horse, the Demon麟Beast, extremely fast. In a moment, he caught up to Yang Xuangan, raised the Golden Phoenix Wings Spear, and struck at Yang Xuangan's head. Yang Xuangan felt all hope was lost and thought, 'I am doomed!'

Just as Yuwen Chengdu was about to crush Yang Xuangan, a cavalryman rode up from a distance, shouting, "General Chengdu, the commander orders you to let Yang Xuangan go!"

At the last moment, Yuwen Chengdu stopped the Golden Phoenix Wings Spear, reined in his horse, and said coldly, "Today I spare your life, now get out of here!"

Yang Xuangan desperately spurred his horse and fled south...

On the tree, Zhang Xuan was almost breathless. He had never seen a real battlefield before. The blood and violence, the brutal courage, made his blood boil.

Zhang Xuan, being a soldier by nature and trained in martial arts from a young age, had a natural affinity for martial arts. When he witnessed the legendary martial prowess, he was deeply moved, his heart surging with emotion.

At this moment, flags waved in the distance, and an endless army was marching toward them. This was Yuwen Shu leading his main force. The army was vast, and it would soon fill the entire main road. Zhang Xuan's situation became extremely dangerous. Whether he stayed or left, he would inevitably be discovered by the Sui army.

But Zhang Xuan remained surprisingly calm. He grabbed the two short spears beside him and stared intently at the front, as if waiting for prey to appear.

A moment later, four Sui cavalry scouts galloped from a distance, passing by the tree where Zhang Xuan was hiding. As they passed, Zhang Xuan threw the two short spears, which shot like lightning, piercing the backs of two cavalrymen, who screamed and fell from their horses.

The other two were startled and turned around, but saw no one in the woods behind them. Just as they were panicking, a dark figure descended from the sky, and a sharp military dagger stabbed through their heads.

In a flash, the four Sui cavalrymen were dead, the action swift and clean. Zhang Xuan leaped onto a horse, spurred it on, and quickly disappeared into the depths of the woods.

Yuwen Chengdu also saw Zhang Xuan kill and steal the horse. The agility and decisiveness of the man surprised him, and he immediately realized this was the person who killed Li Mi.

Just as Yuwen Chengdu was about to pursue, Yuwen Shu's second son, Yuwen Zhiji, arrived with the army and shouted from a distance, "Chengdu, Father orders you to see him immediately."

Yuwen Chengdu had no choice but to point with his whip and order a group of cavalry, "Go and chase that man!"

The cavalrymen shouted and charged forward. Yuwen Chengdu watched them disappear and then turned his horse toward the distant commander's flag.

...

[Note: One foot in the Sui Dynasty = 29.6 cm]

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