Chapter 77: The Seizure of Caishi City
Shangguan Wei charged forward with more than a dozen officers, leaving Long Chen utterly baffled. In fleeing, one should have skirted around the city, yet Shangguan Wei was heading straight for Caishi City—an action that defied all reason.
Was he trying to kill Long Chen for revenge? Did he want to reclaim Caishi City? Or was there an ally within the city walls?
Long Chen could not figure it out, but Shangguan Wei was already at the city gates.
Di Luoxi was still some distance away. If Shangguan Wei were to fight with his back to the wall, Long Chen would stand no chance. When a man fights with nothing to lose, even ghosts and gods would fear him. Shangguan Wei’s cultivation far surpassed Long Chen’s; the situation was dire indeed.
There was no time to ponder. Long Chen turned and shouted, “Throw the bodies of the two men down!”
He had originally intended to bring the bodies of Shangguan Xiu and Shangguan Mu back to Di Luoxi as proof of their victory, but given the crisis, he would have to put them to use now.
The soldiers immediately tossed the corpses over the city wall.
Shangguan Wei’s face twisted in grief, his eyes fixed relentlessly on Long Chen atop the city gate. He knew he had lost, but he was determined to kill Long Chen—this wretched eunuch who had thwarted him time and again.
The illustrious Shangguan clan, the fiercest general and the foremost family of Southern Liang, now ruined by Long Chen’s machinations, not once but twice.
Such enmity could never be reconciled!
Upon reaching the walls, Shangguan Wei was about to leap onto the battlements when the two bodies fell before him. They were none other than his own sons.
The moment he saw them, Shangguan Wei stopped dead, staring blankly at the corpses.
The officers following him reached the city, their faces full of confusion—they had no idea why they were here.
“General!”
As Shangguan Wei stood dazed, Di Luoxi’s troops drew ever closer.
Shangguan Wei lifted his gaze to Long Chen; their eyes met. Long Chen’s face was calm, but Shangguan Wei’s expression was a storm of agony and rage.
“General, the enemy is upon us!” urged the officers behind him.
Shangguan Wei unfastened his cloak, wrapped the two corpses, hoisted them onto his back, then swung onto his horse. He cast one last look at Long Chen before galloping toward Jinling.
Only when Shangguan Wei had gone did Long Chen finally breathe easy. If only his cultivation had been higher—he could have slain Shangguan Wei with his own hands. What a pity!
Di Luoxi had pursued for fifty miles. When she saw Shangguan Wei charge toward Long Chen, she felt as though the sky were collapsing. Her heels kicked hard against her horse’s flanks, urging it to its fastest gallop, but she could not catch up.
When Shangguan Wei finally retreated, the weight lifted from Di Luoxi’s heart.
The city gates opened, and Di Luoxi led her soldiers into Caishi City. The streets within were empty and still; save for the marks of battle at the gate, all was quiet and undamaged.
“I was scared to death! I thought you were going to be killed!” Di Luoxi exclaimed as she dismounted, patting her chest in relief.
Li Xiannan hurried in after her, breathless and parched. “You have no idea how worried the princess was for you!”
“Give me some water—I haven’t had a drop all day after fighting so long. I’m exhausted.” Li Xiannan collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
A soldier brought a large bowl of water. Li Xiannan drained it in one gulp, then had two more before finally catching her breath.
Zhang Qian came over and asked, “What did you just throw down?”
Long Chen noticed that Di Luoxi looked utterly spent, her cloak in tatters.
“Let’s rest in the governor’s residence,” he suggested.
He led Di Luoxi and the others inside, while the accompanying soldiers all settled down to rest where they could. After a day of battle, they were all at their limits.
The soldiers within the city boiled water and prepared food. Once everyone had eaten and rested, they tightened the city’s defenses.
In the residence, Long Chen helped Di Luoxi to a seat, poured her a cup of tea, and served her personally. “Shangguan Wei charged in earlier, so I threw two corpses down,” he explained.
“Shangguan Xiu and Shangguan Mu?” Zhang Qian asked.
Long Chen nodded. “Yes. Unfortunately, my cultivation is lacking, so I could only use their bodies to force Shangguan Wei to retreat.”
Di Luoxi leaned against Long Chen, too tired to move.
“Be content, will you? In this one battle, we wiped out nearly four hundred thousand of Southern Liang’s troops, killed Murong Xiao, Shangguan Xiu, and Shangguan Mu—what more could you want?” Li Xiannan said from where she sat against a pillar. She found sitting on the ground relieved her fatigue—a habit born of her years as a soldier.
Di Luoxi murmured with eyes closed, “We should be satisfied. This battle is enough.”
Zhang Qian agreed, “This fight has all but wiped out the Shangguan family. Only Shangguan Wei himself made it out alive. He’s never suffered such a loss in his life.”
Long Chen smiled wryly. “Perhaps I’m just too greedy.”
Di Luoxi rolled over and embraced Long Chen, falling fast asleep in his arms.
Li Xiannan was exhausted as well. Zhang Qian fetched a blanket, and Li Xiannan lay down on the floor and fell asleep at once.
With Di Luoxi in his arms, Long Chen could not move, so he sent Zhang Qian to reinforce the city defenses against a possible Southern Liang counterattack.
Zhang Qian went out immediately.
Not long after, Shadow Phoenix arrived with new troops and reorganized the city’s defense. Caishi City was now firmly under their control.
Di Luoxi slept until noon the next day before finally awakening. Opening her eyes, she found herself holding Long Chen while one of his hands was inside her blouse and the other under her skirt.
Smack!
She slapped his hand away.
Long Chen woke with a start, groggily sitting up. “Princess, you’re awake? I’m so sleepy.”
Hearing the commotion, Zhang Qian, who had been keeping watch nearby, woke up as well, and Li Xiannan stirred.
“Your Highness, Shadow Phoenix arrived yesterday with fifty thousand troops but has now returned,” Zhang Qian reported. “She also said His Majesty has returned to the capital and asks you to reinforce Caishi City’s defenses.”
Di Luoxi nodded. “Very well. Xiannan, you’ll hold this city. From today, Caishi City is our new border. Shuihan will defend Linjiang City, and as for Diaoyu City, I’ll report to Mother and see whom she appoints.”
Li Xiannan accepted her orders.
Di Luoxi asked, “Is there a bathhouse here?”
Zhang Qian shook her head. “No.”
Di Luoxi felt sticky all over, especially beneath her skirt. She had no idea what Long Chen had done last night, but without a bath, she was extremely uncomfortable. Yet in this cold weather, without a bathhouse, there was nothing she could do.
“Let’s return to Linjiang City,” Di Luoxi said, leading Long Chen and Zhang Qian out of the room. Li Xiannan was busy giving orders to the army.
“Princess, the wounded of Southern Liang are still here. Should we send them back?” Li Xiannan asked, hurrying over.
Shangguan Xiu had brought the wounded to recover here, but when Long Chen took the city, they all became prisoners.
“What do you think?” Di Luoxi asked Long Chen.
“Send them back,” Long Chen replied. “We can feign benevolence while also burdening them further. Notify Southern Liang to come collect their wounded. But be careful—they may use this as a pretext for a sneak attack.”
“Don’t worry,” Li Xiannan said. “After suffering such heavy losses, Southern Liang won’t be able to fight again anytime soon.”
Though Southern Liang was a powerful nation, losing four hundred thousand soldiers in one battle was something even a great power could not easily withstand. This victory should buy them a period of peace.
Di Luoxi, Long Chen, and Zhang Qian returned to Linjiang City, where Xuan Yi and Qingyue were helping Shuihan repair the city.
Seeing Long Chen, Xuan Yi and Qingyue ran over and each took one of his hands. “Little Dragon, you’re amazing! How did you know Shangguan Liang couldn’t turn around?”
“And how do you know so much about the Seven Beauties of the Shangguan family?”
Yesterday’s victory had rested entirely on Long Chen’s strategies for countering Shangguan Liang.
Long Chen wanted to say: Of course—these were all his former defeated foes!
“Don’t forget, I once served in the Long Family Army. I’ve had my share of dealings with the Shangguan family,” he replied with a smile.
“All right, enough with the compliments,” Di Luoxi said. “Come bathe with me.”
She pulled Long Chen toward the bathhouse. Xuan Yi and Qingyue went to help Shuihan with military matters, while Zhang Qian fetched clothes and followed them into the bathhouse.