"Giddy... giddy... giddy..."
"Yeli Hu, where the hell are you?"
Zhou Fugui urged his horse forward, shouting for Yeli Hu.
Zhou Fugui and his two hundred Yan cavalry were being relentlessly pursued by the Xiongnu, pushed to the brink of desperation. Zhou Fugui estimated that they would be caught by the main Xiongnu cavalry force within half an hour, perhaps even sooner.
After Zhou Fugui's contingent had fled the Linyue army, they had encountered Xiqialuo, who challenged him to a duel decided by three arrows. Xiqialuo lost and temporarily retreated with his troops. What followed was as Xiqialuo had described: the Great Chieftain of the Xiongnu, Duoyongjian, ordered Zhou Fugui and his men to be hunted down. The two Xiongnu forces joined together to pursue Zhou Fugui and the Yan cavalry, who found themselves trapped with no escape, only to break out of the Xiongnu encirclement and end up… somewhere. They had not had a moment's rest, and both men and horses were exhausted. Zhou Fugui and his men gritted their teeth and pressed on.
But humans could endure, horses could not. Many horses foamed at the mouth, their strength gone, and some even collapsed, along with their riders, falling unconscious.
The Xiongnu army, however, had two or even three horses per rider, while Zhou Fugui and his Yan cavalry had only one horse each. Thus, Zhou Fugui and his men would be caught any moment, which was why Zhou Fugui was anxiously calling for Yeli Hu.
They had to find a solution, or if they continued like this, they would either be caught by the Xiongnu cavalry or simply die of exhaustion.
"General Zhou, I'm here. What is it?" Yeli Hu, acting as the vanguard and guide, ran over, panting, at the sound of Zhou Fugui's call.
"What do you mean, 'what is it'?" Zhou Fugui glared at Yeli Hu, then pointed his whip forward and asked, "Where is this place?"
"General Zhou, this place is called Mangshang Mountain," Yeli Hu replied.
"Mangshang Mountain? Why such a strange name?" Zhou Fugui remarked, then asked, "Do you know the way into the mountain?"
It seemed the only way was to enter the ravines to escape the Xiongnu pursuers, Zhou Fugui thought to himself.
"General Zhou, I do. The pass is not far ahead, and beyond it lies Mangshang Mountain, but..." Yeli Hu replied hesitantly.
"But what?" Zhou Fugui asked in surprise upon seeing his reaction.
"But the path into the mountain is a valley called Youming Valley, but..." Yeli Hu stammered.
"But what? Why are you hesitating so much? If you do that again, I'll have you court-martialed!" Zhou Fugui roared in anger.
The Xiongnu were in hot pursuit, and every moment of delay meant greater danger, making Zhou Fugui extremely anxious.
"If you want to go, you go. I don't dare!" Yeli Hu shouted back.
"Why is that?" Zhou Fugui asked curiously.
"The elders on the prairie say that Youming Valley can be entered but never exited. No one who has entered this valley has ever come out," Yeli Hu replied.
"Oh? Have they all perished within this valley?" Zhou Fugui pondered.
"No. My father said that Youming Valley is extremely strange, with evil spirits inside..." Yeli Hu finished, glancing around nervously, appearing extremely frightened.
"Damn it, what evil spirits? We're already in this state, what are we afraid of?" Zhou Fugui cursed. "Pass the order! The entire army advances towards Youming Valley in Mangshang Mountain. Even if it's the gates of hell today, I'm going in!"
With that, Zhou Fugui spurred his horse directly towards Youming Valley in Mangshang Mountain. In his desperation, it seemed the only way to escape the relentless pursuit of the Xiongnu was to flee into the mountains.
"General Zhou, General Zhou, you can't go, you can't go!" Yeli Hu called out to Zhou Fugui twice. But Zhou Fugui had already ridden ahead, so Yeli Hu could only silently pray for divine protection, grit his teeth, and follow Zhou Fugui towards Youming Valley in Mangshang Mountain.
In less than the time it takes for half a stick of incense to burn, Zhou Fugui and his men arrived before a valley in Mangshang Mountain. At this point, sounds of alarm and the neighing of horses came from ahead, and the vanguard stopped moving, no longer advancing.
Zhou Fugui quickly spurred his horse forward. He saw that the mouth of the valley was shrouded in mist, thick and impenetrable. The valley entrance resembled the gaping maw of a monstrous demon, waiting to devour life. A chilling wind blew out from within the valley, making it appear particularly somber and mysterious.
With a crack, Zhou Fugui whipped Xu Mancang and shouted, "Why have you stopped? What are you afraid of?"
Startled by the lash, Xu Mancang quickly replied, "Second Brother, it's too eerie. This place is too eerie."
"Eerie how? What's strange about it?" Zhou Fugui asked impatiently.
"Fugui, look, this mountain in front has a head but no tail, it's a broken mountain. Outside the valley, there's no grass or trees, it's barren. A broken, barren mountain is an ominous place. Look at the valley entrance, doesn't it look like a fierce beast? A beast's gaping maw, swallowing and repelling evil. If people go in, they..." The veterinarian, Wei Xiazi, besides treating livestock, also had some knowledge of feng shui. He pointed at Youming Valley and spoke with great conviction.
"Crack!" Zhou Fugui, enraged, whipped Wei Xiazi and roared, "What nonsense is this? Broken mountain, barren? Swallowing and repelling evil? If we don't go in, we'll be left with nothing. Hurry into the valley, or face execution!"
"Fugui, the people are willing to go, but the horses refuse!" Pan Guigui shouted, desperately whipping his steed. Under Zhou Fugui's strict orders, the Yan soldiers had no choice but to reluctantly head towards Youming Valley, but when they tried to urge their warhorses forward, the horses absolutely refused to move.
The horses snorted white mist, restless, staring at the valley entrance. Despite the riders' urging, they spun in place, refusing to advance.
"Damn it, this is truly a ghost encounter..." Zhou Fugui mused for a moment, then ordered, "Drag the horses in. Everyone enter this valley quickly. I will cover the rear."
With that, Zhou Fugui took off his bow and arrows, stood at the valley entrance, and gazed silently in the direction from which the Xiongnu were coming.
...
"Whoa..."
Not long after Zhou Fugui and the Yan cavalry entered Youming Valley, the Xiongnu army arrived. Similar to Zhou Fugui's men, the Xiongnu warhorses refused to advance before the valley. Despite the Xiongnu cavalry's urging, they stared at Youming Valley in terror, many horses rearing up. The Xiongnu riders dismounted, and the sounds of men shouting and horses neighing erupted into chaos.
"You all retreat!" The centurion Xiqialuo saw Zhou Fugui standing alone with his horse at the entrance of Youming Valley. He ordered his men to stop and dismounted himself. Battling against the gusting wind, he walked forward.
"General Zhou, why go through all this trouble? Do you know what this valley is?" Xiqialuo stopped about ten feet away from Zhou Fugui and asked loudly.
"At most, it's death. Why should Zhou bother to know what this place is?" Zhou Fugui replied.
"Commander Zhou..." Xiqialuo continued to persuade him, "Don't the Han have an old saying? As long as the green hills remain, there will be wood to burn. Why not come back with me? Xiqialuo guarantees with his life that he will protect yours."
"Heh, thank you, Centurion Xiqialuo!" Zhou Fugui laughed. "Zhou and my brothers are truly unwilling to live a life of subservience any longer."
"Xiqialuo, are you colluding with the enemy?" Just as Xiqialuo was about to continue his persuasion, the Xiongnu captain Chuli Lie roared in fury, "Quickly apprehend this traitor! Guards, fire! Fire!"
Chuli Lie ordered his men to shoot, intending to kill both Zhou Fugui and Xiqialuo.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Before the Xiongnu soldiers could fire, Zhou Fugui struck first, firing three arrows in rapid succession. Like shooting stars, they flew towards Chuli Lie, their trajectory sealing off all escape angles. However, the distance gave Chuli Lie a moment to react. Seeing the fierce arrows coming, Chuli Lie, unable to dodge while mounted, leaped off his horse. But his right foot remained caught in the stirrup, and he tumbled headfirst, hanging onto his horse. Two arrows struck the warhorse, and one grazed Chuli Lie's head before lodging in the ground. The arrow shaft vibrated with a buzzing sound, terrifying Chuli Lie into shouting disgracefully.
As the Xiongnu soldiers prepared to retaliate, Zhou Fugui cast a cold glance at them and spurred his horse into Youming Valley.
Shadows flickered, and within a few breaths, he disappeared.
Xiqialuo stood before Youming Valley, staring blankly at the entrance. After a long, long time, his subordinates helped him onto his horse and rode back to report to Linyue.
...
"He entered Youming Valley..." After returning, Xiqialuo went directly to Linyue's tent and reported, "He is a heroic figure, unfazed by danger, unyielding even in the face of death. He also said he was unwilling to live a life of subservience. My Lord, Xiqialuo has never met such a valiant man in his life! But it is truly a pity. He was like an eagle of the grasslands, yet he perished in Youming Valley so young..."
"Go and receive fifty lashes," Linyue interrupted Xiqialuo's rambling coldly.
"Yes, my Lord," Xiqialuo replied respectfully and withdrew.
"A life of subservience?" Linyue mused for a moment, then said to Zhunjin.
"He is arrogant," Zhunjin replied. "Unwilling to be subordinate for long, he must have great ambitions, which is why he left the Prince Consort."
He ran off before I could even properly ascertain his origins? Zhunjin thought bitterly, vowing to capture him someday and question him thoroughly.
"Arrogant, with great ambitions?" Linyue pondered. "So, his words were not entirely empty. He was not entirely loyal to Yan either?"
"He is a Han, not a Xianbei," Zhunjin nodded.
"There is an old Han saying: 'Those not of our kind will have different hearts'," Linyue said lightly.