Chapter 93: Human Hearts (IV)

Heaven and earth show no kindness, treating all things as mere straw dogs; it’s better to feign agreement before turning against comrades.
Heaven and earth’s indifference is still tolerable, but such a betrayal by comrades truly breaks the hearts of the soldiers.
They are fellow villagers sharing the same bloodline, brothers united by the same faith.
Li Kuo also knew that these lower-ranking soldiers had no choice or opportunity—all decisions rested in Gao Xiuyan’s hands. Ordinary soldiers could only obey and endure, yet their indifferent, resigned attitude still filled Li Kuo with pain.
Uncle Gao had once told him: As a soldier, nothing in the world is more cruel than betrayal by comrades. Military life holds too many joys and sorrows, each day filled with countless stories, and the only ones who share and participate in these stories are comrades. That’s why, in every battle, he would lead by example to warm his brothers; why, in every fight, he would never abandon a comrade, never let them feel heartbroken.
But this outcome…
“Wang Xiaochun also escaped with you?”
Li Kuo raised his head and smiled bitterly.
It seemed Wang Xiaochun already knew the truth—there was only one path out of Shuanglong Valley. Without an insider, how could he have escaped?
Su Yasi nodded, his lips twitching slightly.
Sometimes life is like a chess game with an unpredictable outcome; we are just pawns, never knowing what we’ll do next. The line between friends and enemies is equally ambiguous—souls drift between the two, sometimes rising to become angels, sometimes falling to become demons.
Life is the guide who extends a hand when you’re near despair, yet the path still must be walked by you alone.
“You saved me just because I’m also Tang?”
“Is that that important?”
Su Yasi deliberately avoided Li Kuo’s gaze and said calmly, “I admit it was a factor, but not the only one.”
“You betrayed Gao Xiuyan—aren’t you afraid he’ll punish you?”
“We’re ultimately on different paths.”
Su Yasi flicked his whip, moving half a length ahead on his horse.
Under the ink-black night sky, a cold crescent moon cast its light over the land.
Trudging along muddy paths, the allied soldiers were out of breath, exhausted from using up their remaining strength. From sunrise to dusk, they stopped frequently, finally emerging from Shuanglong Valley after a whole day of struggle.
From his conversation with Su Yasi, Li Kuo understood at least three things.

First, Su Yas was a carefully cultivated undercover agent by Gao Xiuyan, lurking within the Naji tribe of the White Wolves. Second, he indeed assassinated himself and Isotak under Gao Xiuyan’s orders. Third, Gao Xiuyan was determined to eliminate him using the Tibetans’ curved swords. In other words, coming to the Naji tribe of the White Wolves to rest was part of Gao Xiuyan’s plan. From the moment he entered the White Wolves’ camp, everything unfolded according to Gao Xiuyan’s scheme. Gao Xiuyan originally wanted to use Su Yas to get rid of him, but unfortunately Su Yas showed mercy and gave him a chance to escape. When that plan failed, Gao Xiuyan came up with another scheme, trying to frame him by assassinating Isotak. But fate had other plans—due to Chen Wenjing’s intervention, the assassination was blamed on the innocent Ashertak. Chen Wenjing… who exactly is he, and why try to frame Ashertak? Li Kuo felt a severe headache; there were too many mysteries, and it was impossible for him to sort them all out! With a deep sigh, the young man began to plan his next moves. Gao Xiuyan surely wouldn’t give up so easily, which explained why he later received orders to intercept the Nine-Curve Army and the strange order forbidding two riders per person. He never expected that his dedication to his country would lead to such a fate. How had he offended Gao Xiuyan? Was it because of their argument that night, and did that man want to kill him? Or was it because he stood out too much, threatening Gao Xiuyan’s position? In his eyes, the lives of these thousands of comrades were as worthless as ants, meant to die for his anger? A dagger seemed to be plunged into Li Kuo’s heart, twisting violently and tearing out a piece of flesh. Betrayal after betrayal! This was the commander he had always admired and trusted, these were the comrades he had entrusted his life to? Life could sometimes be too harsh, too real to bear. “Ah—ah—” Li Kuo shook his head and let out a roar. “Ah—ah—” His cries echoed through the green mountains and valleys, questioning who in this world could truly be trusted. What should he do next? Was there any chance of returning to the Tang army? Would Gao Xiuyan turn against him? How would things go if he returned? A series of questions left the young man breathless; he clenched his fist in frustration. “Sssslip!” “Sssslip!” The wind suddenly raised its front hooves, letting out a mournful cry. Li Kuo, holding the reins with one hand, nearly fell. Only after regaining his balance did he realize what had happened.

A handsome young man dressed in black held a curved blade made of blued iron. He and his horse stood at the entrance of the path, with nearly ten thousand armored cavalry following behind him, stretching as far as a mile away. All of them wore Mingguang armor and had black hair and yellow skin. It was the cold light reflected from their armor that frightened their mounts, causing them to let out mournful cries. (Note 1) They were Tang soldiers, his comrades!

Heh, heh…

“Draw your weapons!”

At this critical moment, he became even calmer. This truth had to be uncovered sooner or later; it was better to face it early rather than late.

He wanted to ask Gao Xiuyan in person why he had disregarded the lives of thousands of comrades and the overall situation of the Heyang campaign!

He had less than four thousand soldiers under his command, while the enemy forces numbered nearly ten thousand. If a fight broke out, he had little chance of winning.

But he would never surrender or wait to be executed!

How could Gao Xiuyan’s mere words make tens of thousands of comrades turn against them? How could the Tang army in Longyou suddenly become Gao Xiuyan’s private troops? Just because he had an uncle who was the governor of Anxi?

“Swish!” “Swish!” “Swish!”

Blades were drawn one after another. The veterans of the Tongwu Camp surrounded Li Kuo tightly, glaring at their former comrades.

Tch, they didn’t even deserve to be called comrades.

They were a bunch of zombies, a group of cowards whose minds had been controlled!

The Tang soldiers’ blades were meant to defend their homeland, not to stab their own brothers!

They didn’t understand, they truly didn’t understand…

The atmosphere on the mountain path was extremely tense; even a stray arrow could trigger a fight between the two sides.

Although Gao Xiuyan’s Tang soldiers had a numerical advantage, most of them felt guilty and ashamed, too afraid to even look their comrades in the eyes.

Su Yasi waved at Li Kuo, signaling him to stay calm. Holding the reins in one hand, he stepped out of the ranks of the Tongwu Tang soldiers and stopped in the depression between the two armies.

“A Xuan, step aside.”

After a moment of silence, Su Yasi sighed, “You… don’t force me. Once they’re far away, I’ll go back with you to apologize to our master.”

“Haha, I thought you were wronged. So you really betrayed our master.”

A Xuan snapped, “Traitor, step aside quickly! Do you really want me to kill you right here on the battlefield?”

A Xuan paused and said, “Have you forgotten how your mother died? Have you forgotten our enemies? Only our master can avenge this…”

“I’ll give you one more chance, as long as you…”

“No need to say more! Axuan, as long as I’m here, I won’t let you pass—unless you kill me.”
Su Yas smiled bitterly, his voice filled with determination.
“Very well. Since you’re so stubborn, let me eliminate you, this spy, for my master.”
With that, he waved his hand, and several archers nocked their arrows. In an instant, a net of arrows was thrown at Su Yas.
Yet Su Yas was truly remarkable—he remained calm in the face of such danger, skillfully blocking the arrows with his curved sword and emerging unharmed despite the barrage.
Seeing this, Axuan’s gaze turned dark. He drew his own powerful bow and nocked an arrow. With a sharp whoosh, an arrow flew through the night sky and struck the right eye of Su Yas’s horse. The warhorse neighed and collapsed, and Su Yas, unable to dodge, fell to the ground as more arrows surrounded him.
In that moment, the images in Su Yas’s pupils were crystal clear—he could even see the patterns on the arrow tails and the fin-like designs on the arrowheads.
Blood seeped from the young man’s chest. Gently holding his dead horse, he struggled to stand up and drove his iron curved sword deep into the ground with all his strength.
He turned his head proudly and said to Li Kuo, “Haven’t you always wanted to know why Gao Xiuyan… why he kept trying to kill you? It’s certainly not because of your rudeness…”
“Cough!”
“Cough… Nor is it because your outstanding performance threatened his position… It’s because, Li… Li Lin…”
The handsome young man, pierced with arrows, wore a faint smile as he stood firm in the ink-black night, facing north. Was it time to go home? At that moment, he felt nothing but joy.
Note 1: Mingguang Armor: Volume 16 of the “Tang Liudian” states, “There are thirteen types of armor: 1. Mingguang armor, 2. Guangyao armor, 3. Xilin armor, 4. Wenshan armor, 5. Wuzhou armor, 6. Baibu armor, 7. Zaojuan armor, 8. Bubei armor, 9. Infantry armor, 10. Leather armor, 11. Wooden armor, 12. Suozi armor, 13. Horse armor.”
Mingguang armor was one of the most luxurious types, accessible only to the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Even then, it could only be equipped by elite troops.