MFMH C96

Chapter 96 — Return to Camp

“Stop him!” Seeing Gu Changfeng closing in step by step, Uso’s heart trembled with terror. He hastily ordered his guards to hold the man back.

“You cannot escape.” Surrounded by more than ten men, Gu Changfeng’s arms suddenly sank before bursting with strength, flinging away the weapons pressing down upon him. His cold gaze pierced directly through the barbarian generals shielding Uso.

After cutting down nearly a hundred barbarian guards, he was drenched in blood — his own and his enemies’ alike — dyeing his armor scarlet. A glancing blow had nicked his brow, and blood trickled down his hard, unyielding face, making him appear all the more terrifying.

When had Great Qi ever produced such a young general — not only skilled in martial prowess but also fearless in battle? The barbarian warriors were shaken, their eyes full of dread. Looking closer, they spotted the dim birthmark between his brows.

He was a shuang’er?! Uso, his head muddled with desperation, suddenly brightened, his sinister eyes lighting up. He called out to Gu Changfeng, “You are a shuang’er, aren’t you? Shuang’ers should be at home, basking in luxury and fine food, not wandering the battlefield in toil! The men of Qi do not know how to cherish delicate beauty. How can they allow a shuang’er to fight? If you follow me, I will make you the most exalted queen of the steppes — the consort of Uso Wang! You shall enjoy—”

To Gu Changfeng, these words were no less vile than the cruelest insults. His face darkened, the point of his silver spear gleaming coldly as he leveled it at Uso. Murderous intent surged in his voice: “Shut your mouth!”

“I speak only truth! Qi men desire frail and tender shuang’ers, but we Usangge people revere those like you — strength and beauty united! You would be the envy of all daughters and shuang’ers alike. So long as you—”

“Silence!” Gu Changfeng’s killing aura erupted, his eyes flashing with frost. His feet tapped sharply against the ground, dodging a thrusting halberd. In a single bound, he sprang beside a barbarian general blocking Uso, propping his spear against the ground for leverage, and kicked the man flying. His fist, heavy with terrifying force, smashed straight toward Uso’s face. Uso’s long gray eyes widened in horror, and before he could react, his face snapped aside, teeth and blood flying.

Gu Changfeng’s sudden ferocity stunned all. The barbarians scrambled to surround him again. Gu Changfeng stepped on the body of a charging rider, vaulted onto his own horse, and with brutal simplicity, charged at Uso with spear in hand.

Madman! Madman! Uso, watching this blood-drenched figure like a god of slaughter bearing down on him, clutched his swollen face in agony. Under his guards’ cover, he whipped his horse into a desperate flight.

Besieged by many, Gu Changfeng could not immediately break through to pursue. Yet away from the chaos, his view widened. He longed to ready his bow, but defending himself left no hand free.

Seeing Uso ride farther and farther away, Gu Changfeng’s fury blazed higher and higher.

This man knew nothing, yet spewed such filth!

Jaw tightening, Gu Changfeng gritted his teeth. With ruthless resolve, he raised his spear—

To the barbarians’ horror, the silver spear left his hand like a predator unleashed, streaking through the air with unstoppable force.

“Ah—!” Uso screamed as he toppled from his horse. The spear had pierced deep into the root of his thigh, blood gushing freely.

“The Khan!!” The barbarians jolted awake from their daze, shouting in panic. Gu Changfeng wasted no time. Breaking through the circle, he spurred forward, hauling Uso’s half-dead body onto his horse.

“The Khan!!!” The barbarians cried out, faces pale, chasing wildly after him.

Uso, writhing in agony and nearly fainting, glared at Gu Changfeng with venom, rage and terror twisting his tongue loose: “A shuang’er on the battlefield — is it because you are too ugly for anyone to want you, that you forced yourself among men? It seems Qi men cannot satisfy you. Why not try the warriors of Usangge—”

A vein throbbed at Gu Changfeng’s temple. He brought his hand down sharply, chopping him unconscious. Without caring if he lived or died, he slung him sideways over the saddle and galloped back toward the Qi army. Even one as skilled as he could not fight endlessly; with wounds multiplying, he dared not tarry.

Moments before, the battlefield had been a mêlée. Now the lines were clear — and most still standing were Qi soldiers. The barbarian commander, Sangbu Ganda, had been shot dead when Zhou Yu led hundreds in a volley of crossbows. With their commander gone, the enemy collapsed like sand in the wind, some surrendering outright, others swiftly cut down.

General Chen scanned the field, but Gu Changfeng was nowhere in sight. Just as he turned to ask Zhou Yu, he saw him at last — bloodied from head to toe, riding hard toward them with a screaming horde on his heels.

“Lord Heir!” Chen’s face blanched. Zhou Yu reacted swiftly, raising his crossbow. With a shout, he loosed his bolt, rallying the others to follow.

Seeing the line of drawn bows, the pursuers panicked. They wheeled their horses and fled, abandoning their khan.

Exhausted to the bone, the soldiers did not give chase.

“Master, are you alright?” Zhou Yu rushed to Gu Changfeng’s side, panicked by the blood trickling still from his brow.

“Lord Heir?” General Chen too was filled with worry.

“I am fine.” Gu Changfeng steadied his breath, then told Chen, “I will return to camp first and have a physician see to this man. I struck too heavily — he may not live.”

Chen stared at the silver spear, nearly skewering the man’s thigh clean through. Cold sweat ran down his forehead. “This… who is he?”

“I do not know. Perhaps some barbarian prince.” Gu Changfeng glanced at the embedded spear. The wound was deep; he had not dared pull it free, lest the man die instantly. “Their commander sheltered him. I pursued.”

A captured barbarian rider was brought to identify him. The moment he saw the unconscious man, his eyes bulged wide. “The Khan!”

“The Khan? This is King Uso?” Chen trembled with excitement.

They had captured Uso himself!

The weary recruits erupted. Shouts of triumph broke into wails of laughter, so loud they stung Gu Changfeng’s ears. Grimacing, he barked for silence. He ordered the men to rest half an hour before clearing the battlefield, leaving Chen in charge of the aftermath. Then, with Zhou Yu and a small guard, he hurried back to camp.

The sky was gray, the cold wind stinging his bloodied face. Everywhere lay broken spears and scattered limbs, flags and corpses — rivers of blood, fields of the dead.

Though he knew Tai Qigang had held the line, until he saw them himself, he could not rest easy.

“Report!” A scout galloped in, breathless. “Ahead, a small band of cavalry approaches, fewer than five hundred!”

Tai Qigang frowned, about to ask their origin, when the scout added, “They come from the direction of Pingcheng. They should be General Gu’s recruits!”

“The heir must have sensed something wrong and returned to aid us!” Tai Qigang leapt to his feet. “Quickly, send to greet them!”

Even as he spoke, a figure bolted out. Tai Qigang’s eyes softened with a smile, and the other generals exchanged knowing looks.

“So it is true — Shen Darén’s heart is deeply bound to the heir,” one said, finally able to jest now that the danger had passed.

Tai Qigang’s eyes gleamed with approval. “Shen Darén is a true gentleman, caring not for mere looks.”

The strategist added with a smile, “The wise prize what is lasting and rare.”

“No wonder His Majesty values him so highly. We all owe him much this time,” sighed the generals.

…

From afar, Gu Changfeng saw the camp gates intact, his heart easing. But when his gaze fell upon the eager youth waiting anxiously outside, his chest tightened again.

He looked at the unconscious Uso slung across his horse, hesitated, but could not deny Shen Yanbei’s bright eyes.

“Changfeng!” Shen Yanbei’s joy dimmed at the sight of his bloodied state. His brows knit. “You’re hurt?”

“…Yes.” Gu Changfeng nodded, eyes red with fatigue but fixed on him. “I captured the barbarians’ khan.”

I did not seek injury. I was hurt only to capture him.

Shen Yanbei read his thoughts at once, heart aching. He stretched out his hand. “Quick, down. Let the physicians see to you.”

Relieved, Gu Changfeng clasped his hand and dismounted.

Tai Qigang and the others, hearing, rushed forward in disbelief. “You captured King Uso?”

Zhou Yu and a soldier carried Uso down. “General Chen had the prisoners confirm it. This is indeed the khan.”

“You met the retreating barbarian host?” They were stunned anew.

Zhou Yu puffed out his chest. “Not only met them, we killed their commander. Over twenty thousand defeated! Lord Heir gave swift orders, and then seized the khan himself!” He recounted the whole tale, from the clash of armies to Gu Changfeng’s decisive capture.

For a long moment, the camp was stunned to silence.

“Excellent! Excellent!” Tai Qigang clapped, laughing heartily. “Truly marvelous!”

He reached to clap Gu Changfeng’s shoulder, but Shen Yanbei quickly pulled him aside, apologizing with a smile. “The heir is injured. I must see him treated.” Without another glance at Uso, he led him away.

Tai Qigang did not mind. He had the khan carried off for care. Gu Changfeng, embarrassed, only called back, “When convenient, please have my spear returned.”

Tai Qigang chuckled, waving him on.

This time, Shen Yanbei did not bother with propriety. He went straight into Gu Changfeng’s private tent.

“Don’t move. Let me.” With care, he stripped away armor and clothing, his brows furrowing deeper with each new wound revealed.

Gu Changfeng’s back and sides were torn and bruised, wounds raw and bleeding.

Shen Yanbei fetched warm water, wrung a cloth, and gently wiped him clean.

Gu Changfeng obeyed meekly, unashamed of his bare body. When told to lift his arm, he lifted it; when told to part his legs, he parted them.

As Shen Yanbei’s gaze darkened at the sight of the chafed skin of his inner thighs, worn raw from endless riding, Gu Changfeng bent his head shyly, pressing a kiss to his lips, voice hoarse. “They are only surface wounds. A few days’ rest will mend them.”

Silent, Shen Yanbei carefully cleansed the blood and applied medicine.

It was the best wound powder from the army’s physician. As it touched raw flesh, Gu Changfeng’s strong legs trembled. Shen Yanbei glanced up, only to see him avert his eyes, cheeks tinged red.

Such a sight softened Shen Yanbei’s anger. He said nothing, only wrapped the wounds with as much gentleness as he could.

“All done. Rest now.” He dressed him in fresh inner robes and prepared the bedding.

The tent was warm from burning coals. Gu Changfeng, after rushing to Pingcheng in the night, then fighting bitterly on his return, was utterly spent. Clean, clothed, and with his beloved at his side, the taut string of his spirit at last loosened. Weariness swept through him.

“Yanbei…” His dark eyes fixed on him, voice heavy with drowsy longing. “Lie with me awhile.” Shadows ringed his eyes — he, too, had slept little these days.

Shen Yanbei’s heart melted. He lay beside him, careful of his wounds, and gently drew him close. With a soft kiss to his eyelids, he whispered, “Sleep.”

Gu Changfeng nestled his face into his neck, breathing his familiar scent. Peace washed over him, and he drifted swiftly into slumber.

Shen Yanbei had meant only to comfort him until he slept. But lying there, in the warm tent, with him so still and near, he too slipped into sleep.

When he woke, night had fallen. Gu Changfeng still slept deeply. Shen Yanbei watched his softened features, his eyes full of tenderness.

Fearing he might wake hungry, Shen Yanbei rose and went to the kitchens to prepare food.

The cook, hearing it was for Gu Changfeng, cheerfully rekindled the fire and asked what he wanted made. Word of his capture of the khan had spread through the camp; the cook was eager to feed the great hero. But Shen Yanbei, glancing around, gathered flour and began kneading dough, choosing pork belly for minced filling — his movements so practiced the cook nearly dropped his eyes in shock.