Chapter 46: Long Howl (6)

The night had truly deepened.
The wilderness outside Mixian County was desolate and silent.
Gradually, the sound of loud horse hooves broke the silence of the night, coming from afar. A cavalry unit suddenly appeared on the barren land—about a thousand men in total. Each of them carried a curved sword and a leather shield, charging forward without looking back.
This was An Lushan’s finest cavalry—the Yeluohe.
“Keep up, keep up!”
Ashina Baxia shouted sharply, glancing back. In the endless darkness, a faint light could be seen, fluttering toward him like a moth.
Hmph!
Ashina Baxia sneered disdainfully, inwardly mocking them. He had thought this commander was a rare capable general of the Tang court, but now it seemed he was just a brute.
If so, today he would throw him back into darkness, drain all his strength, and watch as fear consumed him little by little.
Haha, haha! What a satisfying feeling!
“Keep up, keep up!”
Ashina Baxia seemed to already imagine Pu Dachui’s angry and resentful expression. A slight smirk appeared on his lips as he eagerly awaited that moment. …
“General Pu, we kept closely pursuing the rebels before leaving the city, but once we left, we lost their trace. There must be something suspicious.”
Lei Yidao expressed his concerns as he stared at the dark, bare wheat fields ahead.
With the explosive speed of the rebels’ warhorses, they could have easily shaken us off inside the city—why wait until now? Unless… unless they had other plans, trying to lure us out of the city.
Pu Dachui shrugged. “There’s no need for suspicion. They must have tried their best to escape after realizing we were closing in. Don’t worry. As long as we keep up, we’ll catch up with them in less than half an hour.”
Clearly confident, Pu Dachui laughed and guaranteed it.
“But General Pu…”
Lei Yidao still felt something was off, but before he could speak, Pu Dachui waved his hand to silence him.
“We’re soldiers—be manly! If you keep being so cautious, you’re not worthy of being my troops!”
Pu Dachui glared at Lei Yidao and whipped his horse into a faster pace.
“Sigh…”
Lei Yidao sighed and followed reluctantly. …
The moon was bright, casting silver light across the land.
Chasing along the enemy’s horse tracks, Pu Dachui finally spotted a dozen isolated Hu cavalrymen after turning around a earthen wall.
“Damn it, run! I swear I’ll catch you!”

Pu DaChui chuckled and drew out the pair of hammers hanging from his waist. He whipped his horse hard and chased after them.
“Military achievements aren’t achieved out of thin air—they’re earned through hard work, blade by blade!”
He still remembered that scorching summer when he was stacking straw bales to build “fortifications” in the military camp in Chang’an. The commander sent over two large jars filled with clean water, sprinkled with green salt to quench everyone’s thirst.
That was what the commander had said to him!
Glory could only be gained on horseback. If he succeeded, then Pu DaChui would have lived up to himself!
“There’s no such thing as fairness in this world. If you want something, you must do your utmost to get it. Children from humble backgrounds must work a hundred times harder than those from noble families to stand out. Those from wealthy families can get what they want with just a stretch of their hand, while children from poor families must earn it through sweat and blood. But if you don’t even have the courage to strive, then you’re a complete coward, destined to fail forever. Don’t feel inferior or back down because of those noble kids. Don’t deliberately draw lines between you—no one in the world will pity you if you despise your own origins!”
The words the commander had spoken to him in the Chang’an camp came back to his mind. Indeed, if one’s background wasn’t as good as others’, they had to work a hundred times harder to succeed.
If one just complained about their origins and refused to strive, they were complete cowards, destined to be trampled by others forever!
Pu DaChui had risen to his current military position through his own efforts—he had lived up to himself!
“Go! Go!”
Seeing Pu DaChui leading the way, Lei Yidao quickly spurred his horse to catch up. Under the bright moonlight, he seemed to notice something strange…
The clearly visible horse hoofprints suddenly disappeared at the corner ahead!
No, that can’t be!
“General Pu, stop quickly!”
But it was too late. As soon as he spoke, he heard a cry of pain from his horse ahead—the rider thirty steps away had suddenly fallen!
“No, it’s quicksand, it’s quicksand!”
Lei Yidao screamed hysterically, jumped off his horse, and rushed forward. When he reached ten steps away from Pu DaChui, he instinctively stopped.
It was indeed quicksand. He should have guessed it—he should have thought of it earlier!
“Rope! Give me a rope!”
Lei Yidao shouted desperately, but found no ropes around him at all.

Pu Dachui was slowly being swallowed by the quicksand, bit by bit. He struggled desperately, but the more he fought, the faster he sank. The warhorse now had only its head left, emitting terrifying cries of fear—fear of death, a fear that penetrated to the very core of its being! “Neigh!” Eventually, the horse’s head disappeared into the quicksand, and the sand filled in the space left by its struggles, as if nothing had happened. Sweat beaded on Pu Dachui’s forehead as he tried every means to escape this hellish place. The quicksand had now reached his waist; if he didn’t find a way, he would eventually be swallowed just like the warhorse. “No, no!” Lei Yidao frantically scratched his head, then took off his leather armor and tore his clothes into strips, tying them tightly together. “General Pu, hold on!” How could he not have thought of this earlier? He was so stupid! Hearing Lei Yidao’s voice, Pu Dachui suddenly raised his head and looked in that direction. When he saw his comrade holding out a “rope” to him under the moonlight, bare-chested and bare-bellied, tears streamed down his face. “Good brother!” “General Pu, grab the rope quickly! I’ll pull you up right away!” “Sigh!” Pu Dachui squeezed his eyes shut and stretched his arm toward the rope just a few feet away. It was his last hope—he absolutely couldn’t give up!