The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 104

Chapter 104

Jia Si stood motionless, delaying his response for a long while.

Xiao Qiao then instructed Chun Niang to first take Xiagu down to change her clothes and wash her face. Once only Jia Si remained before her, she asked, "Why does General Jia hesitate to receive my orders?"

Jia Si hurriedly replied, "Please do not blame me, Lady. It is not that Jia Si is defying your command. Rather, the Lord Marquis commanded me to treat guarding the Lady's safety as my sole and absolute priority. If this commander departs from the Lady's side to pursue a single Qiang youth, and any harm should befall the Lady, I would not be able to redeem my guilt even by dying ten thousand deaths. Furthermore..."

He hesitated for a moment.

"That Qiang girl made her way here from Yangqu entirely alone. Although it is merely a distance of some hundred-odd li, it is highly suspicious after all. Moreover, those words are entirely her one-sided account. If there is a ruse involved, I fear my departure would be disadvantageous to the Lady."

Xiao Qiao smiled faintly and nodded. "What General Jia considers is not without reason. However, I wonder if General Jia noticed Xiagu's feet. When she departed a few days ago, she wore shoes on her feet. Just now when she returned, her hair was disheveled, her face was filthy, her clothes were soiled, and one of her feet was entirely bare. Her feet were covered in scrapes and blood blisters, and the toenail of her big toe was completely torn off. From this, it is evident that she indeed experienced a grueling journey on foot. Just now, I also closely observed her expression. Her anxiety appeared completely genuine; her gaze did not waver or dodge, showing no signs of being coerced by anyone. Therefore, I would rather believe it to be true."

Jia Si uttered an "Ah!" of surprise. "So that was the case! The Lady is remarkably meticulous; this commander failed to notice such details. If this Qiang girl indeed narrowly escaped and managed to return with the news, that youth is ultimately just the grandson of a Qiang chieftain, far less precious than the Lady. How about this commander sends his subordinates to pursue and rescue him?"

Xiao Qiao shook her head. "His worth far exceeds what you imagine; it is inconvenient for me to say more. Regardless of whether the Qiang girl's words are true or false, you must personally make this trip. If it is true, spare no expense to seize him back!"

As she reached the final words, "spare no expense to seize him back," each syllable fell with resounding, ironclad weight.

Jia Si was stunned.

"There are matters General Jia does not know. This issue is of monumental importance. I originally intended to dispatch someone to deliver a message to the Lord Marquis so he could handle it personally. However, once Diao Mo realizes Xiagu has escaped, he will surely accelerate his departure. If we send a message back and forth, I fear it will delay and ruin the matter. I have heard that when General Jia was in the Brave Guard Battalion, you were not only matchless in martial prowess but were also renowned for your tracking skills. That is why I wish to ask the General to personally give chase. I hope General Jia can successfully rescue that youth! When this is reported to the Lord Marquis in the future, it will surely be credited as a major achievement for General Jia!"

To have such a beautiful Lady place such profound expectations upon him—as Jia Si met the gaze Xiao Qiao directed toward him, a torrent of hot blood surged within his chest. He declared, "Lady, rest assured! I shall risk my life to fulfill your command! I will take one hundred men on the road, leaving four hundred soldiers to garrison this place under the charge of my deputy. Lady, please do not venture outside without cause, and await this commander's news!"

Xiao Qiao said with a gentle smile, "General Jia may set out with a relaxed mind. I shall await good tidings here!"

With his blood boiling with fervor, Jia Si immediately accepted the command. Upon stepping down, he summoned his deputy, thoroughly handing over the defensive responsibilities. After notifying the garrison troops of the four city gates, he immediately took the Qiang girl Xiagu with him and galloped in pursuit toward the direction of Shang Commandery.

...

Early the morning two days prior, upon discovering that Xiagu had escaped, Diao Mo had immediately dispatched men to double back and search for her. Finding no trace, he decided to alter their route to minor paths in order to bring Yuan to Shang Commandery as swiftly as possible.

The group had traveled until midnight the previous evening before blindly finding a place to halt. After taking no more than a brief nap, they continued on their journey, traveling continuously until dusk today, making it inevitable that both men and horses were starved and exhausted.

With Diao Mo's sheer endurance, this minor hardship of travel amounted to absolutely nothing.

However, Chen Rui, the General of Defeating Bandits who served under Feng Zhao and traveled alongside him, could not restrain himself from breaking into a barrage of curses.

Diao Mo also knew a bit about Chen Rui's background. He was the son of Chen Xiang, the former Inspector of Bing Province, and people called him the Jade-Faced Rakshasa. Last year, Chen Xiang lost Bing Province, and it was heard that he fled south to take refuge with Cao Jin of Hedong. By this year, he borrowed troops to launch a return to Bing Province, only to be blocked at Shangdang by Wei Shao.

In that campaign, Chen Xiang was defeated once more, completely losing any possibility of a counteroffensive. Not long afterward, he died of illness brought on by depression. Chen Rui had led a remnant force of fewer than a thousand men to seek refuge with Feng Zhao of Liang Province.

Liang Province bordered Bing Province, and in the past, Feng Zhao and Chen Xiang had frequently experienced friction. Now that Chen Rui had come to seek refuge, claiming an unappeasable enmity with Wei Shao, Feng Zhao took him in, yet merely bestowed upon him a miscellaneous title as the General of Defeating Bandits. Chen Rui was depressed and unfulfilled. Coupled with the immense humiliation he had previously suffered at Wei Shao's hands, the knot of resentment in his heart was difficult to untangle, making his temperament increasingly eccentric. Having been forced by Diao Mo to endure grueling travel these past few days, and with his stomach rumbling with hunger at this moment, he recalled the romantic, carefree life he had enjoyed as a young master in Bing Province. This fueled an absolute bellyful of fury, causing him to curse as he walked. Suddenly, he reined in his horse, turned back to face Diao Mo, and roared in anger, "Why must you insist on protecting this little lamb? If you ask me, we should kill him with a single stroke of a blade, have someone throw his head before that miserable old codger, and use Wei Shao's name to coerce him! The old codger would naturally deploy his troops! Why endure such grueling travel?"

Diao Mo replied coldly, "The General's words are entirely mistaken. Do you believe the old chieftain would fall for a ruse so easily? Furthermore, back then, Feng Zhao promised me that I could make my own decisions regarding all matters, which was the only reason I agreed to cooperate in this campaign. Could it be that the General's rank stands above that of Feng Zhao?"

Chen Rui was thoroughly choked by these words, causing his snow-white face to flush red with anger. As the saying goes, when one stands beneath another's low eaves, one has no choice but to bow one's head. Unable to do anything to him for the moment, he could only temporarily swallow his resentment. After traveling forward for another ten-odd li, he spotted a ruined temple among the fields and declared that they would go inside to spend the night.

Diao Mo wished to continue pushing forward. However, seeing that Chen Rui had already dismounted and headed inside, he hesitated. He reflected that even if Xiagu had returned to deliver the message, Wei Shao's wife might not necessarily dispatch men to pursue them. Even if she did, his group had traveled day and night, putting a considerable distance between themselves and Jinyang while sticking to minor paths, making it highly improbable that anyone could catch up. It was merely resting for a single night. If he insisted on pushing forward, this Chen Rui would only make a vexatious, tangled mess of things; his temperament was fickle and unstable, and he had been notoriously troublesome since his days in Bing Province. At this moment, he also had several men with him, and if they truly fell out, it would inevitably cause complications.

After weighing his options, he swallowed his anger and signaled his subordinates to dismount and spend the night here.

That night, Chen Rui slept atop a heap of straw. Initially exhausted, he snored loudly in deep sleep. However, waking up in the middle of the night, past events flooded his mind, rendering him completely unable to fall back asleep. One moment, he thought of how he had narrowly escaped death to break through and survive, which surely meant heaven took pity on him. If his great vengeance were vindicated one day—killing Wei Shao and seizing the Qiao daughter—how thoroughly gratifying that would be, and what he would do at that time. Before his eyes, it was as if that lotus-like face of the Qiao daughter appeared, looking beautiful whether in joy or anger. Just as his thoughts reached a state of pure exhilaration, he suddenly remembered that he no longer possessed a complete male physique. Even if he obtained the Qiao daughter, his heart would be willing but his body lacked the power.

The greatest agony in the world was nothing more than this. For a grand seven-foot-tall man to live in the world in such a manner, what meaning was there left to speak of?

A torrent of sorrow and bitterness surged into his chest, making sleep even more elusive for Chen Rui. As he tossed and turned, a scheme suddenly flashed through his mind.

Feng Zhao clearly did not place him in his eyes, dismissing him with a miscellaneous title as if handing alms to a beggar. Since that was the case, why not seize this opportunity to abduct the Qiang youth? Once the boy fell into his own hands, he could threaten the Beihe tribe to deploy their troops. When that time came, he could lead the Qiang army to strike Wei Shao; regardless of whether he lived or died, waging a desperate struggle to the bitter end would be far more gratifying than dragging out an ignominious existence as a half-man, half-woman.

His mind made up, Chen Rui stealthily opened his eyes to peer at his surroundings. He saw the Qiang youth with his hands and feet bound, lying in a corner deep inside. Several of Diao Mo's subordinates lay sprawled on the ground, snoring like thunder. Diao Mo sat leaning against the doorway, entirely awake, seemingly keeping watch through the night. Finding no opportunity for the moment, Chen Rui wracked his brains until a plan formed. He was just preparing to use the pretext of relieving himself to go outside, slip quietly behind the ruined temple to set a fire, and abduct the Qiang youth amidst the chaos. Suddenly, he seemed to catch the faint sound of approaching footsteps outside the ruined temple, causing him to scramble up in a hurry.

Diao Mo, who sat at the doorway, also detected it instantly. He vaulted up from the ground with swift agility, shouting out to awaken his sleeping subordinates inside.

The men jolted awake from their slumbers, hurriedly grabbing their weapons and rushing out. They caught the sound of orderly, disciplined footsteps. Outside the originally pitch-black ruined temple, torches suddenly flared into brilliant illumination. Amidst the firelight, the space outside the temple doors was revealed to be packed with soldiers. Jia Si rode at the very vanguard, drawing his blade to point at Diao Mo as he barked, "Are you Diao Mo? Hand over the Qiang youth immediately, or else no quarter shall be given!"

Diao Mo was secretly astonished, instantly guessing that this military officer must have been dispatched by Wei Shao's wife. He had never expected the other side to truly manage to hunt them down. Casting a swift glance, he saw that the opposing party numbered a hundred men, while his own force, even combined with Chen Rui's, amounted to fewer than twenty people in total. The disparity was simply too vast.

However, to hand the person over just like this was absolutely not his style.

Since he had assumed the mantle of chieftain, his heart held only the singular desire to seek freedom for his suffering clansmen; his own person held no fear of life or death. Drawing the saber at his waist, he did not utter a single word, standing shoulder to shoulder outside the temple doors with Jiang Meng and the others who pressed closely behind him. He said coldly, "If you wish to seize the boy, fine, but you must cross over my corpse!"

Jia Si was taken aback for a moment, then countered, "I respect you as a true man! I originally had no wish to use superior numbers to crush the few. However, I am under the Lady's explicit command to fetch that Qiang youth back! Do not forget that you personally promised the Lady that you would deliver him back safely. Since you broke your word first, do not blame me for being discourteous!"

Diao Mo declared, "That wife of Wei Shao is indeed a rare, gentle, and benevolent soul. It is a pity that the rest of you Han people are invariably deceitful and greedy. Though I broke my word, I can face myself without shame! If you want a fight, then let us fight; why would I fear you?"

Jia Si waved his hand, and the soldiers immediately closed in to surround them.

Although Jia Si's side held the numerical advantage, Diao Mo and the dozen or so subordinates he had brought out this time were all hardened veterans who held no fear of life or death. They fought back with furious might, making it impossible to subdue them in an instant.

A chaotic melee erupted outside the temple. Amidst the clashing of blades and swords, Chen Rui bellowed commands for his subordinates to charge out and join the fray, while he himself gradually retreated. Once he reached the interior of the temple, he raised his foot to kick open a rotten window at the back, seized the bound Yuan, and tumbled out through the window with him. Seeing the boy struggle with all his might, Chen Rui struck him unconscious with the spine of his blade, carried him as he stealthily slipped near the horses, and threw Yuan across a horse's back. Vaulting into the saddle himself, he circled around the rear of the temple, dug his heels into the horse's flanks, and successfully escaped under the cover of darkness.

Chen Rui galloped wildly for several dozen li in a single breath. Estimating that those behind would be unable to catch up, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that the mount beneath him was running with white froth flying from its mouth, he halted to take a brief rest.

By fishing in troubled waters amidst the chaos, he had not only escaped but had also handily carried off this critical Qiang youth. The smug satisfaction in his heart went entirely without saying. Once he regained his own breath and saw the sky gradually lightening, he prepared to head toward the territory of the Beihe Qiang by the Huangshui. Suddenly, he halted once more, recalling the words he had overheard at the entrance of the ruined temple.

He had always believed that the Qiao daughter ought to be in You Province.

You Province was Wei Shao's ancestral home; though he hated Wei Shao, he had never possessed the audacity to imagine going to the territory of You Province to stir up any trouble.

He had never expected that Wei Shao would actually bring his lovely wife along to Jinyang.

The Qiao daughter was in Jinyang, while at this very moment, Wei Shao was bound to be in Xihe Commandery.

Chen Rui lost himself in thought for a moment, and a magnificent idea suddenly flashed into his mind.

Why not seize this opportunity to stealthily sneak back into Jinyang, using the Qiang youth in his hands as bait to get his hands on the Qiao daughter?

As long as the Qiao daughter fell into his hands, using her to coerce Wei Shao would be far more effective than any Qiang Hu army, and would provide a far more satisfying release for his hatred!

The moving visage of the Qiao daughter surfaced before Chen Rui's eyes once more. At the thought that she might fall into his hands—even though his physique was no longer whole—that remaining half-stump of a bird below, which usually slept soundly and could not be roused, seemed to be jolted awake in an instant. He let out a sudden shudder, his whole body trembling as a surge of masculine pride seemingly flooded his entire form once more. No longer hesitating for a single second, he immediately wheeled his horse around and galloped furiously in the direction of Jinyang.