"Creak... creak... creak..."
"Li Chai and Wu Yu are back?"
"No way? So soon?"
At the back gate of the manor of Duan Mu and his son, leaders of the Xianbei Duan tribe in Xianbei Duan Bu, You Prefecture, Lu Ming Township, in the dead of night, the Duan family's soldiers vaguely saw two horses approaching from the gap in the door. They then whispered to each other, not daring to open the gate wide or stand on the walls to observe.
Previously, family soldiers who had scouted from the walls were now corpses.
Outside the back gate of the manor, more than ten Duan family soldiers or servants lay strewn about. Blood flowed like a river, and the moonlight glinted eerily on the blood and weapons.
The family soldiers and servants had been killed by Zhou Fugui and his men. However, the survivors within the manor dared not go out to collect the bodies, because if they did, they would become like them – lifeless corpses.
"Creak... splish... splish..."
The warhorses whinnied as they reached the back gate of the manor.
"It's them, quick, open the gate and let them in." A Duan family soldier commander, holding a large door panel with both hands, looked through the gap in the door and repeatedly ordered his subordinates.
Li Chai and Wu Yu had gone out to deliver a message and summon reinforcements.
Hearing this, the Duan family soldiers hurriedly opened the back gate just enough for one warhorse to pass through. After the warhorse entered the manor, everyone quickly closed the gate.
They had no choice but to do this because the enemy's archery was too formidable. Those who rushed out were almost all shot dead, and those who were not shot were hacked to death or speared to death.
The Duan family manor was not large, occupying about dozens of mu. It had buildings and surrounding fortifications with three main gates for entry and exit.
A waterway ran in front of the gate, and noblemen emerged from behind the gate. The manor was built against the mountains, with a hillside behind it and a small river in front. The river formed a semi-oval curve around the manor, as if embracing it with a belt. This was what people referred to as a "jade belt encircling the waist."
Outside the manor, besides the mountains and water, many trees were planted. Prosperous trees meant the estate would flourish, while wilting trees meant decline. Lush vegetation indicated vigorous vitality and protected the earth veins, which was known as an auspicious arrangement for wealth and prosperity.
The manor had excellent feng shui and was meticulously designed, though not by the Xianbei barbarians like Duan Mu and his son. They had plundered it, seizing it from a wealthy Han family in You Prefecture after the Xianbei entered the Central Plains.
The Duan father and son's manor, with its mountains, water, and trees, provided advantages for Zhou Fugui and his twenty-one men to surround and ambush the Duan family.
The Duan father and son dared not flee through the mountain behind the manor because they didn't know the enemy's numbers. If they rashly went into the mountains, they might die even faster. The small river in front of the manor also served as a natural barrier against their escape. Some Duan family soldiers desperately ran to the riverbank but were shot and killed, their bodies still floating in the water.
The towering trees surrounding the manor were fully utilized by Zhou Fugui and his men. Some hid in the trees to shoot at those fleeing the manor, while others concealed themselves in the branches with telescopes, using the moonlight to observe the east and west of the Duan family manor. Thus, every move of the Duan family was known to Zhou Fugui and his men in advance.
Zhou Fugui and his twenty-one White Tiger Battalion warriors had effectively trapped the Duan father and son, their families of over sixty people, over a hundred Duan family soldiers, and Albugu with his dozen or so retainers within the manor. Of course, over forty members of the Duan family had already been killed. In extreme fear, Duan Mu repeatedly sent people to deliver messages and summon reinforcements, hoping for rescue to save their lives.
The manor, with its mountains, water, and trees, possessed excellent feng shui. When Duan Mu and his son had seized it, they were overjoyed. Now, they were filled with regret.
"Bu Da, Bu Da, Li Chai and Wu Yu... they..."
As the two horses entered the manor, their riders were indeed Li Chai and Wu Yu, who had gone out to deliver the message. However, both of them were headless, their bodies tied to the horses. A dog's head was placed on their necks, and a blade connected the dog's head to the body, a truly terrifying sight.
A white cloth was attached to Li Chai's body, inscribed with the bloody characters: "The fate of a running dog!" Another white cloth was attached to Wu Yu's body, inscribed with the bloody characters: "Those who leave the manor die!"
"Rebels! Scoundrels, you bully me too much, you deserve to die!" Duan Mu was both furious and terrified upon seeing this. The surge of anger and fear caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood and fall backward. He had been so scared that he fainted, his plump body hitting the ground with a loud thud, sending up a cloud of dust.
"Father..." Duan Tianjuan, in a panic, rushed with several family soldiers to help Duan Mu.
At this moment, Duan Tianjuan was also flustered and scared.
Duan Tianjuan had ordered the harm of Zhou Fugui's family and the ambush of Zhou Fugui. He was the prime culprit for all of this. Now that Zhou Fugui had come seeking revenge, could he be easily forgiven?
This was the first time Duan Tianjuan had felt the proximity of death.
"Guards, open the manor gate and kill our way out!"
Albugu could no longer bear the torment. Fully armored, he grabbed a large shield, mounted his horse, mustered his courage, and repeatedly ordered his retainers.
Zhou Fugui and his men were like cats playing with mice, intending to torment the Duan family slowly. Rather than being suffocated to death within the manor, it was better to break out. Albugu thought to himself, perhaps Zhou Fugui was only seeking revenge on Duan Mu and his son, and perhaps he was unaware of Albugu's involvement.
Therefore, Albugu raised the Yan army banner, hoping that Zhou Fugui and his men would spare them out of respect for being fellow Yan soldiers.
In his haste, Albugu forgot that banners were invisible in the dead of night.
"Charge, charge out, head to the left!"
The manor gate was opened. Albugu, holding his large shield high, led the charge out of the manor, followed by his dozen or so retainers. To Albugu's delight, there was no movement outside the gate. Zhou Fugui and his men had not loosed any arrows, and no one came out to stop them.
Albugu made a decisive move and ordered them to charge to the left, where a small bridge crossed the river in front of the manor.
Albugu was a veteran of battles, experienced in escaping. He had already calculated his escape route.
"Splash! Plop!"
"Ah!"
"Ambush!"
As Albugu galloped his horse, nearing the small bridge, the ground suddenly cracked open, forming a large chasm. In the moonlight, the chasm looked like a giant beast, swallowing everything that fell into it.
Zhou Fugui was also a veteran general. How could he not anticipate the enemy escaping through this only bridge that crossed the river?
Albugu had charged too fast and fell into a pit designed to trap horses, both man and steed. A sharpened wooden stake in the pit pierced his thigh, causing profuse bleeding. Albugu dropped his shield, clutched his thigh, and cried out in agony from within the pit.
In the dead of night, the piercing screams were like those of a night owl, making one's scalp tingle and their hair stand on end.
"Quick, quick, save the Commandant!"
Those running behind him, not as fast as Albugu, hurriedly threw ropes into the pit. Several men worked together to pull Albugu out.
A thick branch, still dripping with blood, was embedded in Albugu's thigh. As they pulled him out, it tugged at the wound, causing Albugu to howl in pain.
"Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh..."
In the darkness, under the moonlight, several arrows flew from an unknown direction, felling several of Albugu's retainers. In a panic, they retreated back into the manor, shielding Albugu.
"Albugu, why did you run back, why didn't you keep running?" Duan Mu, who had been woken up, angrily pointed at Albugu and his men who had fled back and berated them, "A dignified Yan Commandant, only knows how to flee."
Duan Mu hated Albugu for being a foolish general. There were still a considerable number of men within the manor, including Duan family soldiers, servants, and Albugu's retainers. If someone had commanded them to resist, they would not have been so passive or suffered such misery.
It was just that the Duan father and son, along with Albugu and the others, knew nothing of battle tactics. They only knew how to charge blindly. After being killed by Zhou Fugui and his men dozens of times, they were all terrified and huddled within the manor, no longer daring to leave. They were all like startled birds, only thinking of how to escape, not of fighting the enemy. They had all lost the will to fight.
Albugu did not reply. He had fainted from the pain.
"Thump... thump..." Two objects were thrown into the courtyard of the tightly shut gate.
Two dark, round objects, their nature unknown, rolled on the ground and came to rest before Duan Mu and his son, Duan Tianjuan.
"Eji..."
"My Lady..."
"Jie'er..."
The two dark, round objects were the heads of Duan Mu's wife, Lady Lan, and Duan Tianjuan's son. The heads were bloody and mangled, their faces contorted in expressions of extreme terror, clearly having suffered immense shock before death.
Duan Mu and Duan Tianjuan, father and son, each hugged a head and knelt on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.
Zhou Fugui's actions of attacking the women and children of the Duan family clearly indicated that he would not spare anyone from the Duan family, and intended to exterminate them all.
This filled Duan Mu and Duan Tianjuan, father and son, with shock, anger, and fear.
"Scoundrel! Demon! I'll fight you to the death!"
"Open the gate, follow me and fight this demon!"
This time, Duan Mu did not faint. Instead, it ignited his fighting spirit. In a fit of rage, he grabbed a large saber, roared at the family soldiers to open the gate, and charge out.
In his youth, Duan Mu had been a valiant general of the Yan Kingdom.
"Pfft! Pfft!"
As Duan Mu and his men, holding torches and weapons high, rushed out of the manor gate, shouting loudly, a flash of arrows appeared. Three arrows shot in succession flew directly towards Duan Mu. Duan Mu swung his saber, actually deflecting one arrow, but the other two, one after the other, struck him. One arrow hit him in the calf, causing him to kneel, and another hit his shoulder, making him fall backward.
The enemy seemingly did not wish to kill Duan Mu, but rather to torment him slowly.
Thus, in extreme fear, they retreated back into the manor.
"Father, we can't charge out again. The enemy is hidden, and we are exposed. Charging out will only be suicide." Duan Tianjuan, still relatively clear-headed, shouted, "Let's defend the manor. When morning comes, we will have a chance to escape."