Chapter 797 – Bring Me the Baby and the 40-Meter Big Sword (Part 1)
“Isn’t that a siege weapon?”
“There’s no way a regular siege weapon would make such a big commotion!”
The garrison commander was momentarily stunned. Could it be that Liu Xi’s army had created an even more ferocious siege weapon than a catapult?
Before he could gather his thoughts, another collision followed in quick succession, and amidst the chaos of shouts and battle cries, the sound of the city gate shattering rang out clearly.
Just as he was about to inquire further, a messenger rushed up from below, wearing a terrified and dazed expression.
“Not good, Deputy General—! The enemy has actually smashed through the city gates with their bare hands!”
Under the dark night sky, torches burned brightly within the Jia Gate, providing a clear view despite the surrounding chaos.
Even amidst the turmoil, they could still see what was happening inside the city gates. That killing machine suddenly smashed the gates from the inside out. With the first impact, the thick wooden blockade broke, the heavy city gate cracked, creating a spider web of fissures. With the second blow, the gate couldn’t bear the force and fell apart, stunning not just the guards inside, but the troops outside as well.
Jiang Pengji dismantled the multi-foot-thick gates in no time, her vitality surging as she called out, “The gates have been breached! Let us break through!”
Using a special vocal technique, her voice steadied and reached Meng Hunyun’s ears.
Recognizing the voice, he almost shed tears of excitement and immediately gathered his troops to support Jiang Pengji.
With the Jia Gate breached, the scales of victory had swung decisively in their favor.
Now that Meng Hunyun had rallied his forces, Jiang Pengji and the others had truly “escaped from a disaster.” The enemy within the city had already been thrown into disarray.
The garrison commander, upon hearing this news, nearly stumbled backward, his vision blurring before him.
The Jia Gate couldn’t be held!
Just before the fall of the Jia Gate, Feng Zhen and his team had also achieved a resounding victory, annihilating over two thousand enemy soldiers, with injuries or deaths reaching five thousand, and the remaining two thousand captured. More crucially, they had seized the enemy commander, Fu Wang, alive!
“Deputy Officer Dian actually captured the enemy commander alive—what an incredible achievement!”
Feng Zhen was both surprised and delighted, showering praises on Dian Yin.
He had previously wondered if they could capture Fu Wang alive and was astounded that Dian Yin had actually done it.
Yang Si smiled and congratulated him, then set about organizing their forces to support the Jia Gate.
Contrary to his comrades’ joy, Dian Yin wore a somewhat sour expression, which caught Feng Zhen’s attention.
“Deputy Officer Dian?”
Dian Yin snorted heavily. “Such an unworthy victory!”
Feng Zhen’s smile slightly faded as he responded, “In warfare, one must be cunning; it doesn’t always concern lofty principles.”
Upon hearing this from Feng Zhen, Dian Yin realized his words had been misunderstood. He was not criticizing the military strategist for being too cunning, indicating the victory was unworthy.
Dian Yin said, “That Fu Wang is quite unusual. If not for that, I couldn’t have captured him alive.”
Though he had said ‘alive,’ he felt a bit embarrassed, as Fu Wang had been singed by the flames and had accidentally toppled into the fire pit.
Fortunately, Dian Yin acted quickly, and the thick armor Fu Wang wore prevented him from being burned.
As the battle began to settle, Dian Yin saw the medics tending to the injured, so he instructed the camp doctor to take a look at Fu Wang.
So what was the result?
Fu Wang had taken quite a bit of sleep-inducing herbs and was therefore dopey and exhausted, likely not even at half his peak strength, allowing Dian Yin to have the advantage.
Hearing Dian Yin say this, Feng Zhen chuckled, “Luck is also a part of strength. Why worry about it, Deputy Officer Dian? In the end, it was you who captured Fu Wang, not anyone else. So you cannot deny this achievement. Fu Wang may yet be of great use to our lord…”
Initially, Dian Yin had considered severing Fu Wang’s head, but weighing the circumstances, he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to do it.
A commander is not the same as a regular military general—capturing him alive is far more valuable than killing him.
Dian Yin not only couldn’t kill Fu Wang but also had to ensure his proper treatment.
Even as a captive, people are ranked in various tiers.
Meanwhile, at Jia Gate, things were going south. Various dire messages shattered the morale of the defending troops. More importantly, their commander could be in grave danger. To them, the commander was their backbone; once he fell in battle, their spirits would plummet to the depths.
Meng Hunyun and Li Yun led the charge into the Jia Gate, but what about the lord who had them worried?
Please don’t mess up again; my little heart can’t take this kind of stimulation!
As they hoped, Jiang Pengji did not intervene during the final stages of the siege, merely bandaging her wounds with scraps of cloth.
Although she had not taken the field, Jiang Pengji didn’t remain idle.
She led a team, charging swiftly into the center of Jia Gate.
As she made her way, she occasionally encountered fleeing enemy soldiers. If they resisted, she chopped them down; if they surrendered, she tied them up.
“Where did Hui Jun go?”
Tonight’s Jia Gate was in complete disarray; it was too easy for something to happen.
If she ran into those desperate, reckless soldiers…
Thinking of this, Jiang Pengji quickened her pace directly toward the former commander’s residence of Fu Wang.
Hui Jun was astute, composed, and wise, unlike those reckless, naive girls.
In the midst of the chaotic battlefield, she surely wouldn’t be foolish enough to wander around.
No matter the crowd, there will always be a few bad apples, especially in the lowly-educated ancient times.
If someone as beautiful as Hui Jun were to be alone and happened to encounter ill-intentioned thugs, her situation would be perilously dangerous.
“Hui Jun?”
After searching for a while, she finally found some traces of her in Fu Wang’s quarters.
Looking at the scattered hairpins and fabric on the ground, Jiang Pengji’s expression instantly darkened, her eyes filled with killing intent.
At that moment, a timid voice piped up, “Is that you, Young Master?”
Following the sound, Jiang Pengji found her in a very hidden corner.
“Who did this?”
Her tone was as cold as if mixed with ice.
Hui Jun was wearing a loose linen shirt, with her collar left undone.
Her lips were slightly swollen, and there were traces of tear stains at the corners of her eyes, with ambiguous marks around her neck and collarbone glaringly obvious…
Even a blind person could see what she had gone through.
“Who did this?”
Seeing that Hui Jun did not answer, Jiang Pengji asked again.
Only then did Hui Jun stir, moving her curled-up legs from her hiding place and emerging with a smile.
“Did the Young Master win?”
When Jiang Pengji heard this, her heart felt as though it had been pricked—both exasperation and heartache surged within her.
“Won… You, why are you so foolish!”
Jiang Pengji was adept at deducing the truth from details; she could easily guess who had troubled Hui Jun just by thinking through it calmly.
“…Why do you say that, Young Master?” Hui Jun lowered her head, her hair falling over her forehead, casting a shadow over her face. “I’m useless, and thinking it over, it seems like the only way I could help the Young Master… Moreover, it was voluntary…”
“Voluntary is not enough!”
She is a person, not an object. Jiang Pengji wished for Hui Jun to live well, and not in this manner.
Hui Jun sighed and said, “Young Master, let me speak a heart-to-heart. I truly don’t feel wronged. Others may not say it out loud, but I know exactly what they think. I can’t possibly marry as a wife, yet I refuse to be a concubine or a plaything. If I remain lonely my entire life, the thought of the long days ahead feels unbearable. If possible, I wish to act on my own whims and make my own choices…”
She caressed her small belly, her eyes gleaming bright as she gazed at Jiang Pengji.
“…Because of my childhood experiences, the barefoot doctor said that I have already lost the qualification to bear children. Thanks to the Young Master, I am in good health now. So… if I could have a child, perhaps it would be a bit better…”
Jiang Pengji: “…”
