Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 154 Painful Past
Yang Xingmi was not born so taciturn.

He was born in a small village nestled in the red soil hills of Luzhou. Although his family was poor, they had loving grandparents who managed to make a living by farming.

When Yang Xingmi was four years old, his grandfather suddenly said he didn't want his wife and children to live such a hard life anymore, so he joined the army. Every year thereafter, his grandfather would send back a sum of money, each time a little more than the last.

The villagers looked on with envy, praising Yang's son for his rising rank in the army, and Yang Xingmi also became more and more cheerful.

As the saying goes, "Man proposes, God disposes." One day, my mother went to the field to cut new chives, but she fell and hit her head on a stone. Her forehead bled, and she contracted tetanus. Despite medical treatment, she passed away.

In her final moments of lucidity, Mother was unusually calm and composed. She said it was fate, that at least she had married a good husband and had a handsome and capable child. She also said that Father was now working under the renowned General Kang Chengxun, with a bright future ahead of him, and that Yang Xingmi should go and seek refuge with Father.

Yang Xingmi traveled a long way to the military camp in Yongzhou, Lingnan, and the humid and hot climate made him quite uncomfortable. But his grandfather's comrades all liked this eleven-year-old boy and doted on him like a precious gem.

Who wouldn't love a good-looking, cheerful child? In addition, Yang Xingmi had recently lost his mother, so the soldiers felt even more affection for him.

Yang Xingmi was also very curious about what kind of person Kang Chengxun, the general who had promoted and given important positions to his father, was.

He thought, "The commander-in-chief is known as a famous general; he must be a very brave and mighty man. Is he taller and more handsome than my grandfather?"
One day, the bugle call sounded more urgently than ever before. Soldiers from all the camps inside and outside Yongzhou City came out to fight a decisive battle against the Nanzhao people.

Yang Xingmi waited and waited by the main road outside the city, only to see that most of the returning soldiers were crippled with broken arms and legs. Their wailing was terrifying, and his heart sank into fear.

A few days later, Grandpa returned with his brothers, his entire retinue intact, and all his beloved uncles and aunts were still alive.

They put their arms around each other's shoulders, laughing heartily, having returned victorious.

Yang Xingmi breathed a long sigh of relief, hugged them one by one, and kissed their rough, calloused faces.

But when the old man heard that the other troops had suffered such a crushing defeat, his face immediately changed.

"Kang Shuai is outwardly lenient but inwardly suspicious and intolerant of others. Disaster is probably imminent," the grandfather said gravely.

The grandfather told Yang Xingmi to leave immediately, but Yang Xingmi refused and instead grabbed a sword.

But he never expected the attack to come so quickly.

If General Kang's ability to kill enemies was comparable to his ability to kill his own people, how could he have suffered such a crushing defeat?
A group of elite warriors silently surrounded the military camp on a dark and windy night, and stormed in while the soldiers were asleep, hacking and slashing indiscriminately.

He watched as his doting uncles, their eyes filled with resentment, uttered vicious curses and fell into pools of blood.

His eyes gradually turned bloodshot. He drew his sword and thrust it forward furiously. His anger unleashed a tremendous force that even the eleven-year-old boy could not have imagined. He pierced through the armor of a soldier and through his abdomen.

As the sword was drawn, blood gushed out like a torrential rain, and the armored soldier died on the spot.

In the final moments of the fierce battle, Yang Xingmi, carrying his severely wounded grandfather, fought his way out of the military camp and ran for nearly a hundred miles. He hid in a dense forest, where he and his grandfather, covered in blood, embraced each other.

The old man tremblingly raised his palm and gently stroked his face, telling him, "Child, in this corrupt world, without power, you can't protect anything, including your own life."

After saying this, the old man breathed his last.

As dusk fell, Yang Xingmi's small figure stood in the dark, dense forest, surrounded by trees of various shapes that appeared eerie and ghostly in the darkness.

He was accompanied only by his grandfather's gradually cooling corpse.

He couldn't even cry out loud, because the assassins Kang Chengxun had sent were already upon him, searching the forest with lanterns lit. Hunger, fear, exhaustion, and sorrow overwhelmed him. Countless times he had wanted to plunge a sword into his own throat and follow his grandfather, but the instinct for survival prevented him from doing so.

After daybreak, Yang Xingmi decided to flee. In the darkness, he couldn't even see the road.

He tried his best to remain silent, but the assassins, whose eyes gleamed with malice, still noticed him. They assumed his grandfather was still alive and angrily demanded that he reveal where his grandfather was hiding.

Yang Xingmi was utterly desperate. He drew his sword, determined to at least fight one enemy to the death.

At the critical moment, a swordsman dressed in a magnificent robe came along the forest path. He glanced at Yang Xingmi's handsome face, which was covered in blood but still couldn't hide, and suddenly walked over, touching the bones in his neck and the back of his head.

The aura emanating from this person intimidated the assassins.

Yang Xingmi offered no resistance, knowing it was futile and that the other party seemed to have no ill intentions.

"I'm taking this child away."

The other person smiled gently and drew the sword from his waist. The words "Hidden Sword" were clearly engraved in seal script on the hilt.

While the assassins hesitated, the swordsman took out several gold beads from his person and threw them on the ground.

Then he stroked his head with his large, broad hand: "Child, don't be afraid, no one will hurt you again..."

Yang Xingmi's long-suppressed tears suddenly burst forth like a dam breaking, and he threw himself into the swordsman's arms, wailing and sobbing, soaking the swordsman's front.

Several months later, Yang Xingmi, who was already at the Hidden Sword Manor in Yangzhou, learned the outcome of that matter.

This was even more painful for him than the day the bloodshed occurred.

The old man and his comrades were accused of being greedy for merit and reckless in their advance, which led to a major defeat. Afterwards, they harbored resentment and planned to launch a mutiny. Commander Kang Chengxun was wise and capable, and he discovered the plot in advance, wiping out the rebels in one fell swoop.

Grandpa died in the dense forest, and his body was never found by Kang Chengxun's henchmen. As for those uncles who favored Yang Xingmi, they were all mutilated and their corpses displayed in public. Their heads were cut off, pierced with spears, and placed on the city wall for crows to peck at, until only white skulls remained.

Their victory was attributed to Commander Kang leading his personal troops in a fierce battle, demonstrating skillful command, and turning defeat into victory.

Yang Xingmi had never seen such a shameless person.

Hatred made him almost never smile, nor did he want to talk much to anyone. Apart from practicing swordsmanship and studying military strategy, he had few other hobbies.

"The leader of the Zhenyi Alliance, Wang, sent a letter saying that the world is about to descend into chaos. If our six major sects gather their troops and launch a simultaneous attack, the Tang Dynasty will be engulfed in flames and unable to cope. The momentum will probably even surpass that of Pang Xun's Ming Cult uprising."

One day, the master smiled gently as always and patted Yang Xingmi on the shoulder.

"Alliance Leader Wang is still taking things too lightly," the master of Hidden Sword Manor said calmly. "However, he is not wrong. The people have long been disgusted with the Tang Dynasty. The world is about to descend into chaos; the only difference is how many more years it will take."

"Xingmi, your talents and martial arts skills will soon have a place to be put to use. This picturesque land is the perfect battlefield for young heroes like you!"

The manor owner's eyes lit up, and his tone became firm, showing that he was extremely looking forward to it.

(End of this chapter)