The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 46 Hunting
In the winter twilight, the woods were particularly desolate and gloomy.

The horses disliked entering the forest, stubbornly turning their heads and pawing at each other from time to time. Xiao Yiqiang held the reins tightly, his sharp eyes searching for traces in the woods.

Following Cao Dang and the others' deep, messy footprints for a while, they faintly heard shouts coming from ahead.

"Fan Si, shoot the horse!"

"Here!"

"Got it? Take it!"

"Zhang Mantun is dismissed."

"Lame donkey, you take Shi Dechong back. The rest of you, follow me!"

Xiao Yi followed the sound and soon the rude shouts and weak struggles became clearer.

They split into two groups, and some people went back.

"Damn it, hurry up! You were moving like a madman just now, what are you pretending to be, a weak woman? Do you want Grandpa to make you feel good?"

Through the sparse tree trunks, one could see a soldier nicknamed "Lame Donkey" dragging Shi Dechong along, swearing foully.

"I must say, you're even more naive than the average woman. No wonder you're the young master of the Shi family."

Xiao Yi spurred his horse forward and asked, "Where is the captain?"

"Greetings, Deputy Commander." The lame donkey turned and pointed into the depths of the woods. "They are..."

"puff."

The sword flashed.

The lame donkey made a strange "clucking" sound from its throat, then crashed heavily to the ground, blood gushing from its neck, staining the snow-covered leaves red.

Blood splattered on Shi Dechong's face, scaring him so much that he collapsed to the ground, looking up at Xiao Yi with eyes full of confusion and fear.

"Brother Xiao Yi..."

The once high and mighty eldest son of the Shi family was now groveling beneath Xiao Yi's horse, looking as pathetic as a stray dog.

"Please...don't kill me...I've treated you well in the past..."

Xiao Yi glanced down at him, then spurred his horse away, leaving behind only a single sentence in a completely emotionless voice.

"Horses roam outside the woods, seeking their own way to survive."

Shi Decheng was taken aback, then struggled to crawl a few steps, before turning back to look at him worriedly, saying, "Brother Xiao Yi, you've repaid the Shi family's kindness... From now on..."

Xiao Yi, too lazy to listen any longer, spurred his horse deeper into the woods to continue searching for Cao Dang's trail.

Following the increasingly clear and intense sounds of fighting, one could vaguely see the snow trampled into a muddy mess, broken branches and fallen leaves scattered everywhere, and several small trees snapped in the fierce battle.

Further ahead was a vacant lot that looked like a mess.

Xiao Yi tied his warhorse to a tree trunk and quietly stepped forward, where he heard Cao Dang's shout.

"Dwarf Tiger, cut off his retreat!"

"it is good!"

"Fan Si, take up your bow and flank the enemy. And you, come with me to surround them."

Looking through the tree branches, one could see Cao Dang, Lü You, Fan Si, and Ai Hu forming a semi-circle, surrounding Zhang Mantun, who was leaning against a thick tree trunk.

Zhang Mantun, like a mad tiger, wielded the single-edged sword he had snatched from Wu Jiu, wielding it with ferocious speed, forcing Cao Dang and his two companions to stay away. Unfortunately, he had been severely tortured and was exhausted, his movements becoming increasingly sluggish, relying entirely on his fierce courage to keep going.

"Damn it, that bull...we'll wear him down!"

Xiao Yi lacked confidence in his archery skills, so he dismounted, drew his bow, and aimed an arrow at Cao Dang's neck beneath his helmet.

He took a deep breath of the cold air, suppressed his rapid heartbeat caused by the violent movements, blocked out the shouts and curses in his ears, and stared intently at Cao Dang's back.

Cao Dang kept shouting and moving.

Xiao Yi felt the rhythm of Cao Dang's body swaying, his arm as steady as a rock, and his fingers suddenly loosened.

"Whoosh."

The arrow left the bowstring as swiftly as lightning.

But in an instant, Cao Dang seemed to hear the wind, or perhaps it was the amazing intuition he had developed in countless life-and-death battles that made him sense the danger, and he suddenly rolled away on the spot.

The arrow missed.

Zhang Mantun seized the opportunity, stepped forward, and slashed down with his sword.

Just as Cao Dang was about to get up, a blade struck his shoulder blade, and blood instantly soaked through his armor. He staggered and let out a muffled groan.

Lü You and Ai Hu quickly joined forces to block Zhang Mantun.

"Uh...an ambush?!"

Xiao Yi threw aside his bow, grabbed his sword, and strode over, shouting, "Captain? Where are you? I just killed an archer."

As he spoke, he had already run more than ten steps.

Cao Dang turned around, stared at Xiao Yi, his pupils contracted, and a look of suspicion appeared in his eyes, before he suddenly realized.

Xiao Yi continued running forward.

"It's you? Don't come any closer!"

"do not come!"

"Fan Si, shoot him!"

"call--"

Cao Dang roared, and at the same time, Xiao Yi slashed at his face with his sword.

"clang."

Gold and iron echo.

The single-edged sword clashed with the broadsword, sending sparks flying.

Xiao Yi's arm went numb from the shock, and he was secretly surprised that Cao Dang, despite being injured, still possessed such great strength.

At the same time, Zhang Mantun swept his sword to force Lü You back, then swung his single blade straight at Cao Dang. But Cao Dang reacted extremely quickly, feinting a strike and making a full-force slash at Xiao Yi, before suddenly rolling on the ground with incredible agility into a thicket of thorny bushes. His figure was instantly swallowed up by the withered branches and leaves, leaving only splattered blood and swaying branches.

"You dog, don't you dare leave!"

Zhang Mantun immediately caught up with him.

Xiao Yi wanted to give chase, but when he heard the sound of a blade whistling past his ear, he quickly dodged.

It was Dwarf Tiger, whose swordsmanship was fierce.

The two passed each other, and in an instant, Xiao Yi drew a delicate arc with his single blade.

It wasn't a parry, but rather a precise counter-cutting along the blade of the dwarf tiger's slashing attack, with the tip of the blade flicking upwards.

"puff!"

A soft sound.

The dwarf tiger's charge came to an abrupt halt, a line of blood appearing on its throat, and the knife in its hand clattered to the ground.

He futilely clutched his neck, swayed, and collapsed.

Just as Xiao Yi was about to deliver the finishing blow, he suddenly heard the creaking sound of an arrow not far away and turned around abruptly.

Three steps away, Lü You stood with his sword drawn, as if ready to pounce; more than ten steps away, Fan Si held a bow and arrow, the string drawn wide, the arrowhead pointed directly at him.

"Whoosh."

"puff."

The arrow shot out and embedded itself in the tree trunk, penetrating several inches, with only a slight tremor at the fletching.

Xiao Yi dodged in an instant, hiding behind a tree trunk. He narrowly avoided the arrow, and cold sweat broke out on his back.

Then he shouted something loudly.

"Lü You! Make your move!"

Fan Si had just picked up another arrow when he heard this and was startled. He turned the arrowhead towards Lü You.

In that instant, Xiao Yi pounced like a leopard, bursting through the bushes and heading straight for Fan Si.

"Whoosh."

The arrow, hastily turned back, missed Xiao Yi.

The distance of more than ten paces was no longer enough for Fan Si to nock another arrow.

"Shh-"

The sword cleaved down, striking the bow arm and snapping the bowstring with a "whoosh".

Fan Si stumbled back two steps and fell to the ground, his face filled with terror and confusion.

Xiao Yi's knife landed two inches above his head, but did not strike again.

"Chief Xiao!"

Behind him, Lü You suddenly knelt down with a "plop" and shouted, "Captain, spare my life! I am willing to surrender... willing to obey your orders, please spare my dog's life for the sake of our past friendship."

Xiao Yi didn't turn his head and said, "Drop the knife."

"Good, good!" Lü You threw the horizontal sword in his hand to the ground, his voice trembling, and said, "My brother... my brother gave you a crossbow bolt."

"I know."

Xiao Yi still looked at Fan Si and asked, "Are you afraid of death?"

Lu You said, "I...I'm not afraid of death. I just feel that following Chief Xiao is a promising career path, and I want to serve Chief Xiao."

"Really? How do you say that?"

"General Nie and Imperial Uncle Li appreciate Commander Xiao so much, yet you... you do this. You must have your reasons. Although I may not be very knowledgeable, I am not stupid. I know that following Commander Xiao will definitely lead to a bright future."

"You're definitely not stupid. So, what about you?"

Xiao Yi slowly lowered the knife, the sharp blade pressing against Fan Si's forehead.

Fan Si unconsciously hunched his back, and his Adam's apple bobbed noticeably.

"I……"

His mouth was clearly very dry from nervousness.

Xiao Yi said, "Do you want to die?"

Fan Si tried to shrink his neck and said, "I don't want to."

Xiao Yi raised his knife.

Fan Si immediately knelt down and said, "I am also willing to surrender to the captain. Please take me with you to make a better future."

Xiao Yi asked, "How do you know I have a bright future?"

"I just feel that Chief Xiao acts differently from others. Cao Dang and Wu Jiu are suppressing me... I've been wanting to find another way out for a long time, really."

"stand up."

Xiao Yi lowered his sword and stretched out his hand.

Fan Yi was taken aback, grabbed his hand, and stood up abruptly.

“Dwarf Tiger isn’t quite dead yet, go and kill him.”

"This is...good."

Fan Si cautiously approached, picked up Lü You's knife, took two deep breaths, and slashed down with the knife.

Blood splattered and fell.

Xiao Yi didn't even look at him and said, "Let's go, follow me to kill Cao Dang and plan something big together."

"Yes."

The rustling sound of branches and leaves being trampled echoed again, the stench of blood filled the forest, and as the last rays of twilight faded, the cold forest was plunged into darkness.

(End of this chapter)