Chapter 592: Murder in a Snowy Night (Part 2)

The guest house in Zhending County was located to the north of the county, backed by the Hutuo River and not far from the river-crossing bridge. It had originally been a post station. Due to Zhending County’s strategic location, many officials traveled there frequently, and gradually the post station was expanded into a guest house, staffed by dedicated managers. It could accommodate two to three hundred people at a time, and even An Lushan had once stayed there.

Despite the heavy snow, it posed no problem to the eager Li Qinkou. They rushed forward at full speed; twenty li was covered in an instant. In less than half an hour, the group arrived at the guest house. Dozens of ornate carriages were parked at the entrance, likely carrying women, emitting a scent of cosmetics. Li Qinkou couldn’t contain his excitement. He dismounted without waiting for his bodyguards to scout first and rushed into the guest house eagerly. The bodyguards followed closely behind. By custom, after Li Qinkou was done, those women would be given to them as rewards. Thinking of the beautiful ladies from wealthy families, the bodyguards were overjoyed and waited anxiously in a side room.

He Qianian didn’t want to come, but since Li Qinkou had dragged him along, he naturally wouldn’t refuse. He liked women too and was led to another courtyard.

The bodyguards made a racket. At that moment, the manager brought several attendants who served the food, including a bucket of bone soup with a delicious aroma that immediately captured everyone’s attention. A young man with a childlike face and an honest expression smiled and said, “This is our guest house’s most famous Bear Paw Hundred Whips Soup. It’s perfect for winter—warmth-inducing and invigorating. Everyone should drink several bowls tonight.”

“Invigorating! We can’t wait!”

The soldiers laughed and cursed as they rushed to scoop up the soup…

The main hall was brightly lit, filled with a pungent aroma. Two rows of young women stood by the wall—about forty to fifty of them. Li Qinkou passed by them one by one. These women were all beautiful and fragrant, quite young and attractive. Yet they lacked the shyness expected of women from wealthy families. Instead, their gazes were flirtatious. Seeing such a strong man as him, many of them showed eager looks in their eyes. Moreover, the amount of makeup on them was excessive, making them resemble prostitutes.

Li Qinkou was puzzled. He lifted a woman’s chin with his whip and asked, “Which family in Zhending County are you from?”

“Sir, I’m the daughter of Lord Liu from the east side of the city.”

“Sir?”

Li Qinkou snapped, “If you dare lie to me again, I’ll skin you!”

Frightened, the woman’s face turned pale as she said timidly, “To answer everyone’s question, I am a lady from Bai Cui Lou, my name is Miao Chun!”
Damn it, she’s indeed a prostitute. Li Qinchou glanced at the other women and asked, “Are you all like her?”
The women all lowered their heads, clearly agreeing.
“Damn it!”
Li Qinchou was both angry and amused. That damned Yan Gaoqing had used prostitutes to deceive him. He should have guessed that with Yan Gaoqing’s status, how could he possibly use women from respectable families to entertain him? That would ruin his reputation!
Though these women were prostitutes, they were all quite attractive and young. He planned to have them all that night, creating a legend of “Li Qinchou Fighting Fifty Beauties.” He lifted the chin of the youngest-looking woman with his whip and asked, “How old are you? What’s your name?”
“Sir, I’m thirteen years old. My name is Nong Jian. I’m still a virgin.”
“Then are you willing to serve me?”
“I’ve heard you’re a hero, so I’m willing to serve you.”
“Good! Good!”
Li Qinchou laughed loudly, “You all will serve me tonight. First, help me to the room.”
Immediately, four or five women stepped forward to support him on either side. The group of women whispered affectionately as they surrounded him and led him toward the inner room. But just as they reached the door, a scream came from outside. Li Qinchou froze. Before he could react, he felt a sharp pain in his side. Looking down, he saw a dagger buried deep in his body, all the way to the handle.
Li Qinchou roared and grabbed the necks of two women, snapping their necks with a crunch. In an instant, he grabbed four more women and twisted their necks, showing extreme brutality.
The sudden turn of events terrified the women surrounding him, who screamed and fled in panic. Li Qinchou felt another pain in his back—another dagger had pierced it. Turning around, he saw it was the youngest woman, Nong Jian. Her face was cold, her gaze filled with hatred as she stared at him like two blades. With a wave of her hand, two blue-glowing daggers appeared in her hands, clearly poisoned.
“You wretched bitch!”
Li Qinchou drew his sword in anger, but it was gone—only the scabbard remained. He pulled out a dagger from his waist, screamed, and rushed at the girl. She moved with incredible agility, slipping away outside the door in an instant. Li Qinchou felt his strength fading, but he couldn’t bear to let this woman go. He roared again and charged into the courtyard like a black bear.

As he reached the door, suddenly a flash of blue light appeared before his eyes. Before he could react, with a “thwack!” a short crossbow arrow pierced through his forehead, emerging from the back of his head. Li Qinchou instantly turned into a statue, his mouth wide open, the dagger in his hand clattering to the ground. Slowly, he fell face up. Ten steps away from him, Ji Sheng shook his head and muttered to himself, “What a shame! If it were the General’s iron arrows, this shot would have pinned him to the ground.” He glanced at the side room where the 300 bodyguards had all died from the poison—their faces blackened. His poison was extremely deadly, colorless and tasteless; it couldn’t be detected even with silver chopsticks, and just one sip of soup could be fatal. These bodyguards couldn’t resist the temptation of his delicious bone soup. Heh! If possible, he could even poison all of An Lushan’s soldiers. As Ji Sheng was lost in thought, a bodyguard rushed over, holding a bloodied head—it was He Qianian. He too had been lured by beauty; when he tried to take her into his room, he was beheaded by a scout hiding behind the door. That scream was his last cry. At that moment, the girl named Xie Nongjian slashed off Li Qinchou’s head and knelt before Ji Sheng, weeping and saying, “Thank you, General Ji, for avenging my elder sister. I am willing to follow you and become a woman soldier in Anxi.” The girl’s name was Xie Nongjian; she was only 15 years old, from Youzhou, and the niece of Ma Jun. Three years ago, her elder sister had been chosen by Li Qinchou, taken to the military camp, and raped to death. Even Ma Jun couldn’t bring justice for her. Xie Nongjian swore to avenge her sister, spent three years learning martial arts on Wutai Mountain, and now, with An Lushan’s rebellion, she returned from Wutai Mountain and found Ma Jun in Hengzhou. Ma Jun then introduced her to Ji Sheng, making her a key figure in killing Li Qinchou. Ji Sheng nodded. When the scout troops carried out special missions, women were indeed needed. This Xie Nongjian was highly skilled in martial arts and agile—she could be recruited. “Very well! For now, you’ll be my subordinate. Once the General gives his approval, you can officially join the First Falcon Camp of Anxi.” Xie Nongjian was overjoyed and kowtowed, saying, “I am willing to serve the General.” “You’re not serving me—you’re serving my General.” Ji Sheng smiled and then said to his twenty-odd subordinates, “Quickly throw all their corpses into the river. We have an important mission tonight—hurry up!” The subordinates acted swiftly, throwing hundreds of corpses into the Hutuo River. They left immediately and soon disappeared into the snowy night. …

The night grew deeper, and the snow fell heavier. The snow on the ground already covered the tops of people’s feet. Everything was silent in the world, shrouded in snow and mist; it was impossible to see clearly beyond twenty steps.

Li Qinchou’s vanguard camp was located next to Dingdong Town, covering dozens of miles. Surrounded by camp fences, An Lushan maintained strict discipline in his army—even for a short stay, they would set up camps, build watchtowers, and pay meticulous attention to every detail. Although Li Qinchou lacked strategic insight, he was thorough in military matters. The tents of his 20,000 troops were arranged neatly, with archers positioned on the outside. There were camp fences two zhang high and as thick as an arm, with ditches dug outside them filled with antlers. Even a drawbridge was set up in front of the camp gates. Twelve watchtowers were distributed around the camp, providing ironclad defense.

Yet the heavy snow created vulnerabilities in the camp’s defenses. The twelve watchtowers became useless, and the guards at the gates couldn’t see beyond twenty steps. More importantly, their commander and deputy commander were gone—everyone knew they had gone after women. Why should they risk their lives?

It was very quiet inside the camp. It was already the first watch of the night, the time when soldiers were deep in sleep. The guards at the gates had gone to sleep elsewhere. With such heavy snow, nothing could be seen—what was the point of guarding the gate?

At that moment, twenty-odd small gray dots appeared a hundred steps away from the camp. Hidden by the snow and mist, they quickly approached the northwest corner of the camp. It was twenty men—twenty scouts from Ji Sheng’s falcon hunting unit. They split into two groups, one on each side, moving closer to the camp.

The heavy snow served as their best cover. Wearing gray robes, they had no need to worry about being spotted by the watchtowers. Gradually, they came within thirty steps of the towers, about to come into the sight of the sentries. The scouts were highly experienced; they changed from running to crawling, moving forward on their bellies. Each carried a heavy leather bag on their back, crawling slowly forward, mainly to avoid the iron thorns on the ground. Fortunately, the enemy hadn’t scattered any thorns—perhaps they thought no large cavalry force would attack. Gradually, they approached the camp fences, with the ditch right ahead. The ditch wasn’t wide, less than one zhang. They brought wooden planks, carefully chosen so that they had long nails at both ends, allowing the nails to pierce into the ground and secure the planks over the ditch.

Climbing over the trench, they reached the thick camp fences. They needed to scale these fences to enter the main camp. The spot for scaling was carefully chosen—scouts had specifically observed it. The distance between the two watchtowers was about sixty steps, the standard distance. If the snow wasn’t heavy, visibility could reach thirty steps. The best spot to scale was beneath the watchtowers, an area known as “the darkness under the light”—the watchtowers often failed to see what was below them. But now, visibility was less than twenty steps, meaning there must be a blind spot between the two watchtowers. This was their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

By scaling right in the middle of the two watchtowers, they wouldn’t be detected. At this moment, the scouts’ extensive experience came in handy. He also knew that the enemy would think of this defensive gap as well. Usually, they would send extra guards there. If they rushed to scale, they would surely be spotted. The scouts lay motionless in front of the fences, like monks in meditation.

The cold wind howled from the northwest, carrying gusts of snow that struck the soldiers’ faces like sharp knives. They crawled for a full fifteen minutes until a movement was seen in a corner inside the camp fence. Sure enough, there was a man curled up there, cursing under his breath as he got up to urinate beside the fence. If there were guards, there would be two of them. And if one got up, the other would surely move too. But nothing moved, indicating that the man was still asleep.

One soldier slowly aimed his crossbow at the urinating man. They were only five steps apart. This arrow was crucial. With a swift pull, a poisoned arrow was silently shot at the soldier. The man shuddered as the arrow pierced his throat. He clutched his throat, trying to shout but unable to utter a sound. With two gurgling noises, he slowly collapsed to the ground.

The opportunity arose. Two soldiers, like monkeys, scaled over the fences and leaped inside. Moments later, another muffled cry was heard—the other sentinel sleeping behind the main tent was also killed. With a signal, the remaining eighteen soldiers leaped in and entered An Lushan’s army camp, quickly disappearing deep within. Black figures darted swiftly between the tents. They removed the leather bags from their backs and sprayed kerosene from them onto the tents. In no time, over two hundred tents in the northwest corner were doused in kerosene.

“Crack! Crack!” Flames appeared in the hands of those shadowy figures.

A hundred paces east of An Lushan’s main camp, 2,000 soldiers were ready—1,000 were trained infantry and 1,000 were cavalry from Tumen Pass. The 2,000 soldiers waited nervously, especially the infantry, for the enemy numbered 20,000. Even if they launched a surprise attack, fighting ten to one, could they possibly win?

Ji Sheng rode at the forefront, his gaze calm as he watched the enemy camp. He trusted his men; they would surely complete the mission successfully.

Suddenly, a flash appeared in the snowstorm—seemingly a cluster of flames. Ji Sheng sat up straight, staring intently at the light. Soon, another cluster appeared, then three, four… more and more, growing brighter and wider. Alarms of panic began to rise from within the camp.

At that moment, the 2,000 soldiers grew excited. The raging fires in the enemy camp ignited their courage. Everyone was eager—warhorses stamped their feet, snorting loudly. The cavalry held their spears, gripping their horses tightly while staring eagerly at the enemy camp.

By then, An Lushan’s camp was ablaze. Starting from the northwest corner, the fire spread rapidly across most of the camp under the force of the northwest wind. The flames were immense; the heavy snow failed to extinguish them and instead hindered the soldiers’ attempts to escape. Rows of tents resembled fire dragons spewing flames wildly. Under the cover of the flames, 20,000 soldiers cried out in terror, scattering in all directions. Most were unarmored, barefoot, fleeing frantically.

Instinctively, they fled toward the southeast of the camp. The entire north and west sides were already engulfed in flames, which continued to spread rapidly. Over 60% of the camp had caught fire. Then, the east gate opened, and tens of thousands of soldiers poured out, scrambling to escape. They pushed and trampled each other, with screams, cries, and pleas filling the night sky…

An opportunity arose. Even through the thick snowstorm, the fleeing soldiers could be seen. Ji Sheng roared, “Attack!”

He charged forward on his horse. Everyone’s blood boiled with fury. “Kill them!” they shouted as they rushed forward, waving their spears and swords. 1,000 cavalry galloped through the snow, followed by the infantry. The 2,000 soldiers were like tigers descending the mountain, charging straight at the enemy.

Forty-five thousand people had already escaped the flames. They were in a miserable state—unarmored, without weapons, and more than half of them were barefoot, standing on the snow. Yet many carried a cloth bag containing their personal belongings. Faced with the danger of dying in the fire, all notions of soldiers’ duties or military rules went to hell; saving their lives and protecting their possessions was the top priority.

Many soldiers didn’t have time to grab their belongings and could only stand there, stamping their feet and beating their chests in regret, while those who had their belongings were secretly relieved. But none of them could imagine that death was already closing in from behind.

Suddenly, a thousand cavalrymen launched a fierce, storm-like attack. They charged into the crowd, slashing with swords, stabbing with spears, and trampling with their horses, quickly carving a bloody path. The unprepared soldiers of An Lushan were terrified and scattered in all directions. They cried out and fled, but were blocked by infantry who slashed and stabbed them, causing massive casualties. Countless people knelt and begged for mercy. Over ten thousand of An Lushan’s soldiers, though outnumbering the attackers by many times, were unarmed and leaderless. Panicked, they had no desire to fight—only to escape.

They were like sheep trapped by wolves—either fleeing for their lives or waiting to be slaughtered. Everywhere, there were groups of soldiers being killed or driven away, with corpses lying everywhere and blood flowing like rivers. Ji Sheng, who had been in the army for over a decade, had never killed so mercilessly before. Wielding a large sword, he rode through the crowd, beheading several people with each swing. With another stroke, he split two men in half, their internal organs spilling onto the ground…

Ji Sheng fought with wild enthusiasm, shouting, “All soldiers, reward will be given by the number of heads!”

The slaughter became even more frenzied. Surrendering was useless—soldiers eager for glory mercilessly kicked and beheaded those who surrendered. Across the snowy fields, soldiers fled in panic, while behind them, the bloodthirsty militia pursued them, shouting, “Stop running! Leave your heads behind!”

…

In this battle, over four thousand people died from the fire, twelve thousand were killed, and both the main and deputy commanders perished at the hands of women. An Lushan’s twenty thousand vanguard soldiers were almost completely annihilated.

…

(In history, Yan Gaoqing basically killed Li Qinchou and He Qianian in this way, but with the addition of Li Qing’an, Ji Sheng appeared, changing the course of the story.)