Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 364 - 1 All the Armor Has Vanished

Chapter 364: Chapter 1 All the Armor Has Vanished

Chapter 364: Chapter 1 All the Armor Has Vanished

Snow linked the heavens, and bird tracks vanished.

Several red corner flags bloomed on the silver-wrapped earth, and beneath the wind-protected nook in the mountain, there was a grass shed for raising horses.

In the silver, low-built house made of cooked earth bricks and rice paste, the wooden door was pushed open by the wind, spilling dirt and debris onto the ground.

Li Yan opened his eyes. He sat on a rattan chair, dressed in cotton armor with a round helmet atop his head, beside a blazing stove on which sizzled fat-dripping, golden brown venison.

There lay a liquor jar at his feet, still containing a little less than half a jar of yellow wine.

Li Yan had an indescribable feeling, as if countless twisted shadows were dancing on the yellowed parchment.

Over the years, all the encounters and worldly experiences of Earth Endurance in his stead, he saw everything clearly, but couldn’t open his mouth or move his body.

Now it was the twenty-seventh year of Wanli, nearly seven years since the fierce battle of Renchen.

In those seven years, Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s treacherous heart remained undaunted, breaking treaties and organizing several attacks, leaving countless bodies and lives on Joseon’s soil alongside the Ming Army.

Things are different and people are no longer the same.

Wu Weizhong, the Guerilla General who once joined Li Yan in assaulting Peony Peak, suffered a bullet to the rib in a later battle defending Pyongyang City. Plagued by injuries and entangled in political strife, he was framed and, in indignation, retired to his hometown.

Cao Zhiping, who frequently clashed with Song Yi but often came off worse, died in the battle at the gates of Liangshan City, leaving no remains.

Fang Shihui, Zhang Jie, Liang Xin, these cavalry generals who had lent troops to Song Yi for the charge, all died in Joseon one after another.

Luo Shangzhi, who established military merits, was recalled to the country and now serves as a deputy in the office of the Commissioner’s Mansion of the Left Army.

Two years ago, Diao Xiayan died of an abscess. At the time, he was serving in Liaodong and was buried there.

That same year, Li Rusong, who had favored and promoted Li Yan, fell in a pursuit against Tartar cavalry and was buried with the posthumous title “Zhonglie” in Shuntian Prefecture.

Wang Sheng, the soldier with the ghost in his scabbard, returned to the country and took up a post in Tongzhou, already married. The twists and turns are unknown, but he sent word to Li Yan earlier in the year, saying that he had a child.

Most of these names were still familiar to Li Yan because they had watched and fought together, but some had become unfamiliar, as they had hardly spoken.

Li Yan, serving these years in Daning Guard as the Governor, had a rather uneventful time.

The wine in the mouth of the jar meandered and flowed.

Time: 1600

Location: Liaozuo

Night, book, lamp, sword, monk, ghost, fox.

The requirements for this event are as follows, “According to military orders, rush to Guangning Prefecture to retrieve the Dragon Tiger Banner and safely deliver it to Dragon Tiger Mountain.”

“Lord Governor! Lord Governor!”

A soldier, carrying a hoe and wearing a headscarf, hurriedly burst in.

“What’s the matter?”

Li Yan stood up, groggily, his eyes intently watching the newcomer.

The soldier, locking eyes with Li Yan, seemed to be struck by something, shuddered before collecting himself, “General Li has ordered you to rush to Guangning Prefecture immediately, saying there is an important item that requires your escort, this is the letter sealed with authority.”

General Li was the current Liaodong General, Li Rusong’s brother, Li Rumei.

“Understood, I’m on my way. Prepare the horse.”

Li Yan took the letter and pushed through the door towards the heavy snowfall.

The soldier still seemed dazed. Governor Li seemed a bit different today. Usually, he found him dim-witted, a drunkard, without a wife or child, and all those stories of unparalleled courage on the Joseon battlefield sounded like inflated bravado.

But today, there were sharpness and alacrity in his few words and looks, an assertiveness as he rose and surveyed his surroundings, lacking any hint of sluggishness. It was as if he had offended some powerful deity.

Logically speaking, Li Yan, on his way to Guangning Prefecture, should have brought along some soldiers as an escort. After all, he was a genuine military commander with military merits. It would be quite normal for him to have a house and several servants and stewards.

Yet, these past years, the Earth Endurance substitute hadn’t arranged for such things for Li Yan, leaving him only with a sum of more than a hundred taels of gold, which had made Li Yan nod to himself in approval of the efficient handling.

Taking down a hanging wine gourd from the wall, he mounted his horse. Li Yan didn’t even take the Bin Iron Spear handed by his subordinate and spurred his horse out of the fortress, heading towards Guangning Prefecture.

…

“Where are you?”

Li Yan asked Cha Xiaodao in the conversation.

“I don’t know, there are trees everywhere around here…”

Cha Xiaodao looked around. When he opened his eyes, he was in the midst of a dark, cross-shaped forest. It is worth mentioning that due to his sudden arrival, his clothing hadn’t changed at all, and he was even wearing a down jacket.

“Don’t move, I’ll come to find you.”

After ending the conversation, Li Yan realized that Cha Xiaodao’s identity was a problem; showing up unexpectedly without any relation or reason would be too conspicuous. At the very least, he needed to find a way to get him some clothes and a travel permit.

To avoid creating an uproar, he would refrain from using things like the Dodge Tomahawk unless absolutely necessary. Even the Jumu Great Sword that he had made in the South Seas was now carried on his back, as he tried to minimize taking large items from his personal space.

In the snowy weather, Li Yan spurred his horse to higher ground, concentrated, and held his breath. Sounds that ordinary people would struggle to hear, like breathing, footsteps, and faint conversation, reached him; the lonely peak in the distance and the bare forest were all within his sight.

Destiny Yak bolstered his physique in all aspects. Although the enhancement wasn’t as exaggerated as the qualities stacked with his legacy, Li Yan’s vision and hearing had reached an extraordinary level that was unreachable for the average person.

Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he abruptly pulled the reins, heading towards the official road.

…

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

The snowflakes were as large as goose feathers, truly embodying the saying, “A yellow dog becomes white, and a white dog swells up with the snow.”

However, the continuous fall of snowflakes was suddenly tainted black by a spray of dark blood.

Then the sound of bodies heavily hitting the ground followed.

Among the pools of blood and falling snowflakes lay a damaged muslin carriage. The snow soon covered the several corpses that were bleeding profusely.

A few horse bandits clad in wolf fur rummaged through the fallen bodies with their weapons in hand.

This was a large carriage that traveled between courier stations, carrying people from all corners of the land—impoverished scholars traveling for knowledge, old ginseng collectors from remote mountains, passing merchants, street performers, all sorts of individuals.

The people attached to this carriage were unlucky, having caught the attention of a gang of wandering bandits. When they scattered to flee for their lives, none could escape, allowing the bandits to turn the situation on its head.

The fierce leader of the bandits tossed a silver ingot into the air several times, then grabbed it, a cold smile forming on his lips, “Just this little stuff. A band of beggars.”

“Boss, we should probably wrap this up. There’s a Daning guard fortress not far from here, and even though there are only over a hundred soldiers, it’d be bad if we ran into them,” a bandit said.

Snow fell from the branches, and the alert bandits with sharp eyes and ears immediately raised their bows and Ox-Ear Pointed Knives at the sound of hoofbeats coming from the direction of the official road.

“It’s your unlucky day!”

The bandit leader spat contemptuously into the snow.

Around a corner, a horse with a white nose and black mane reared up, and on its back was a man clad in red iron armor with a bronze helmet, carrying an ancient bronze great sword. If it wasn’t Li Yan, then who could it be?

“It’s the Ming Army!”

One of the bandits’ eyes widened in alarm.

Upon hearing this, the bandit leader felt a shiver of fear, but seeing that Li Yan was alone, malice surged in his heart.

“Afraid of what? There’s only one of him!”

But no sooner had the words left his mouth than a dark shadow smashed into his face. With a muffled thud, the bandit leader was dead.

Li Yan, who had thrown his Fighting Helmet, revealed his tied-up hair bun as he laid across his horse’s back. His vision darted left and right, and in no time he closed the gap to the dozen bandits. Drawing the Jumu Great Sword, he sliced horizontally and decapitated the bandit who had just started to shout. Glancing at the corpse by the carriage and the scattered packages, he quickly looked elsewhere.

The sound of voices was chaotic, horse hooves stamped cluttered prints in the snowy ground, and blood was smeared all over. Li Yan charged through the bandits twice on horseback and wiped them out completely, unstoppable in his advance, like someone dipping a finger into a teacup brimming with water to pinch out a few tea leaves.

Li Yan calmed his somewhat frantic horse and used his sword to pick up a package from the carriage, finding the travel permit and other items neatly arranged.

He then looked around and from the pile of corpses in the snow, he found one with a build similar to Cha Xiaodao’s. Just as he was about to inspect the face to see if the clothes were undamaged, he shockingly found a young and tender face amongst the bodies.

It was a boy around twelve or thirteen years old, clutching an Ox-Ear Pointed Knife. Seeing Li Yan, he instinctively gasped for air.

“General, spare my life! General, spare my life,” he pleaded.

He wasn’t aware that Li Yan was not actually a general; he was merely flattering him.

“Where are you from, and what do you do?” Li Yan asked in a soft voice.

“My name is Cao Yongchang, my family are merchants from Tongzhou. This time I came out with my uncle to collect debts,” the boy said.

The ordeal was so shocking that even normal grown men would be distraught, yet this young boy spoke quickly and clearly, maintaining coherence, which made one regard him highly. Seeing his eyes darting around with a cunning and unruly air, Li Yan wasn’t sure if he was a good person, but he was certain the boy wouldn’t be a burden.

“Is that body your uncle?” Li Yan asked, pointing.

“Yes, yes,” Cao Yongchang hastily nodded.

However, Li Yan shook his head, “You’re wrong, he’s not your uncle.”

Having said that, Li Yan reached out to grab the boy.

“I’ll take you to see your uncle,” Li Yan declared.

As Cao Yongchang watched the hand approach and loom larger before him, he was so terrified that he couldn’t utter a word.