novelSusiti Chapter 22 The Price
Chapter 22 The Price
When Shen Bai arrived, it was just dawn.
The roadside in Dawangba was packed with people.
dead.
There were elderly people. There were women. There were children.
The blood flowed down the slope, soaking into the mud and turning the entire road red.
Shen Bai stood at the village entrance, motionless.
He saw the old man.
It was the old man who had brought supplies to the camp a few days ago. He was lying in front of his house, a hole in his chest, and he had bled to death. He was still clutching his cane, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
Stone stood beside the old man.
He squatted on the ground, holding the old man's body, motionless.
There were no tears on his face. No sound. He just held on, like he was holding a piece of wood.
Shen Bai walked over.
The stone raised its head.
He saw Shen Bai.
His eyes turned red. Blood vessels burst from the whites of his eyes, like a red mist obscuring them.
"Why did you take so long to get here?"
The stone's voice was hoarse.
"Didn't you say you'd come to rescue us?"
Shen Bai remained silent.
"What did you say?" Stone's voice changed. "You said three months. Three months to train soldiers well. Three months to fight bandits."
He stood up.
"We can't wait."
He pointed at Shen Bai's nose, his hand trembling.
"When the bandits came, the village chief said, 'General Shen will come. General Shen will save us.'"
"And the result?"
"And what happened to them?"
His voice suddenly rose in pitch.
"Where the hell are you?!"
Shen Bai didn't move.
He stood there without saying a word.
Iron Shield stood nearby, wanting to stop him. Shen Bai raised his hand to stop him.
"Finished yelling?"
Shen Bai's voice was very flat.
"I haven't finished cursing," Stone said. "I also want to hit you."
"beat."
Shen Bai said.
"Let's talk about it after we've finished fighting."
Stone paused for a moment.
He looked at Shen Bai's face.
Shen Bai's face showed no anger. No resentment. Nothing at all. Like a blank sheet of paper, like a wall.
Suddenly, Shi Tou didn't want to hit him anymore.
He took a step back.
"Hold."
He cursed.
Then he squatted down and continued to hold the old man's body.
---
Shen Bai took a walk around the village.
Someone died in every family.
Some were hacked to death with knives, their necks gaping open. Others were suffocated by fire, huddled in corners, their bodies blackened. Still others were trampled to death by horses, their chest bones shattered, leaving deep dents.
Shen Bai looked at each house one by one.
He didn't speak.
After he finished reading, he stood in the center of the village and looked down at his feet.
The shoes were wet. They were soaked in mud and blood.
He stood there and watched for a long time.
late.
He thought to himself.
If it were an hour earlier.
Iron Shield walked over.
Should we pursue them?
Shen Bai remained silent.
He stood there, looking at the corpses on the ground.
He remembered what the old man had said that day.
"General Shen is a benefactor of our Dawangba."
"You saved our lives."
He wanted revenge.
But he knew that even if he caught up and won, he wouldn't survive.
If we don't pursue it—
He stood there, motionless.
---
"Chase."
A voice came from behind.
Shen Bai turned around.
It is Chen Qingzhi.
Chen Qingzhi stood not far away, still holding the pen in his hand. His face was expressionless, and his eyes were lifeless, like two lamps that had been extinguished for a long time.
"You mean chase them?" Iron Shield looked at him. "Captain Shen hasn't even spoken yet—"
"I know he didn't say anything."
Chen Qingzhi interrupted him.
He took a step forward and stood in front of Shen Bai.
"Chen Bai."
Shen Bai looked at him.
Do you want to pursue her?
Shen Bai did not answer.
He looked at Chen Qingzhi.
Chen Qingzhi was also looking at him.
"You think about it," Chen Qingzhi said, "you just don't know what to do after you start pursuing them."
Shen Bai clenched his fist inside his sleeve.
"I know," he said.
"What do you know?"
"Even if we chase them, they won't survive."
Chen Qingzhi shook his head.
"That's not it."
He took a step forward, stood in front of Shen Bai, and lowered his voice.
"You're afraid that after you pursue her, everything you said before will be nothing but bullshit."
Shen Bai didn't move.
He looked at Chen Qingzhi.
Chen Qingzhi was also looking at him.
"You said you wouldn't touch Wang Dechang," Chen Qingzhi said in a low voice. "You said you'd wait. You said you'd let the Cui family come in on their own."
"And now?"
"The Cui family hasn't even made a move yet, and the villagers are already dead."
Chen Qingzhi stopped speaking.
"You've chosen the wrong path."
Shen Bai remained silent.
He stood there, motionless.
The wind blew in from the edge of the village, carrying the smell of blood.
"It's not that I'm on the wrong path," Shen Bai said in a low voice, "It's that I'm too slow."
"Then let's chase them," Chen Qingzhi said. "Catch them up, kill them all, and then keep going."
Shen Bai raised his head and looked at him.
"You caught up, and then what?"
"Then bring the head back," Chen Qingzhi said, "and hang it at the camp gate so everyone can see it."
Shen Bai looked at him.
"You want everyone to know that we can kill?"
"I want everyone to know who killed them."
Chen Qingzhi's voice was very flat.
"They insulted you because they thought you were salvageable. If you weren't, it's your fault."
"But the bandits killed someone. The bandits escaped."
"So we must pursue them. Catch them, kill them all. Leave no one alive."
He turned around and looked at the soldiers behind him.
"Take the head back. Hang it at the camp gate."
He paused for a moment.
"Wu Liu was spared."
---
Old Ghost led the way at the front.
Shen Bai followed in the middle of the group without saying a word.
Lin Yu walked at the very back, holding a silver spear in his hand, the tip of which gleamed in the sunlight.
Chen Qingzhi walked beside Shen Bai, still holding the pen in his hand.
By the time they caught up with the bandits, the sun was already setting.
The bandits were resting at the foot of the mountain.
About forty people were scattered under the shade of the trees; some were drinking water, and some were wiping their knives.
Old Ghost made a gesture.
Everyone dispersed.
Shen Bai stood on the hillside, looking down at the people below.
He saw Wu Liu.
Wu Liu sat on a rock, holding a bundle in his arms. The bundle was bulging, and it was unclear what was inside.
His face was full of smiles.
He's bragging to the people around him.
"We made a fortune at Dawangba. A lot of money. Let's get out now and go back after things calm down—"
He hadn't finished speaking.
Shen Bai raised his hand.
The old ghost made a move.
About a hundred people rushed out from the shadows.
Before the bandits could react, some of them had already fallen.
One cut, one kill. No mercy.
Someone tried to run away, but Old Ghost slashed him in the back with his knife and knocked him to the ground.
Someone tried to kneel down and beg for mercy, but the old ghost didn't even look at him and slit his throat with a knife.
Just then—
A creature rushed up from the side and was slashed on the arm by a bandit's knife.
The cut was very long, running from the shoulder all the way to the wrist.
The corrosive creature let out a muffled groan and paused for a moment.
But he didn't stop.
He gritted his teeth, drew his knife with his other hand, and slashed at the bandit's neck.
A knife.
The bandit's head flew off.
Then he continued to rush forward.
Blood was streaming down my arm, leaving a trail.
Old Ghost glanced at him.
Your arm—
"fine."
The corrosive voice was flat, as if it were talking about something unrelated.
Old Ghost didn't ask any more questions.
Five breaths later, the ground was littered with corpses.
Wu Liu is still alive.
He was tied to a tree with a cloth stuffed in his mouth.
Shen Bai stood in front of him, looking down at him.
Wu Liu's eyes were filled with fear. He shook his head desperately, unable to utter a sound.
Shen Bai glanced at him.
Then he turned around.
"Take all the heads."
"Hang it at the camp gate."
He didn't say anything more.
---
It was already dark when we got back to camp.
Iron Shield stood at the camp gate, looking at the string of heads.
Thirty-three.
It was hung under the torch at the camp gate.
The wind blew by, and people's heads swayed back and forth, bumping into each other with a muffled sound.
Shen Bai stood in the center of the camp, without moving.
He looked at those heads.
Each one represents a life.
Stone stood in the crowd, looking at the heads.
His face was expressionless. He just stood there, watching.
Iron Shield walked up to him.
"Stone--"
Stone didn't speak, he just kept staring at those heads.
Iron Shield remained silent.
He stood beside the stone, also looking at the heads.
The two of them stood there for a long time.
---
Chen Qingzhi came out of the tent, holding an account book in his hand.
He walked up to Shen Bai and handed him the account book.
"Found on Wu Liu."
Shen Bai took it and flipped through it.
The ledger was filled with dense writing.
Date, amount of money, expenditure, and income.
He turned to the last page.
The words "filial piety silver" were written on it.
But the name is empty.
Shen Bai's finger stopped at that blank space.
"No name?"
"No."
Chen Qingzhi's voice was very flat.
"But I know who it is."
Shen Bai raised his head and looked at him.
Chen Qingzhi was also looking at him.
Whose name do you want to write?
Chen Qingzhi did not answer.
He just looked at Shen Bai.
"Shen Bai," he said, "whose name do you want to write?"
Shen Bai remained silent.
He looked down at the blank space.
The blank space is very large. Large enough to write a name.
He stood there and watched for a long time.
Chen Qingzhi took the account book.
He opened it and took out a pen.
He dipped his brush in ink.
The pen tip hovers above the blank space.
Stopped.
A very brief moment.
No one saw him stop for a moment.
Then he put pen to paper.
Wang Dechang.
Three words.
He closed the ledger and handed it to Shen Bai.
"Now it has a name."
---
Lin Yu came out of the tent and walked to Chen Qingzhi's side.
"We spared them?"
"I kept it."
"What's it for?"
Chen Qingzhi did not turn around.
He looked at the swaying heads at the camp gate.
"it works."
Lin Yu frowned slightly.
"What's it for?"
Chen Qingzhi turned around and walked into the tent.
"Shen Bai will know when he wants to use it."
He went into the tent.
The curtain fell.
Lin Yu stood there, looking at the curtain.
Looked for a long time.
Shen Bai walked through the center of the camp.
He walked to the camp gate and stood under the heads of those people.
He looked up at those faces.
The wind blows, and people's heads sway back and forth.
"Captain," Iron Shield said softly from the side, "You—"
Shen Bai did not turn around.
"Tomorrow, send the head to the Ministry of War."
His voice was flat.
"Tell them that the Liubai Battalion has rendered meritorious service in suppressing bandits, beheading thirty-three."
Iron Shield paused for a moment.
"Then what?"
Shen Bai did not answer.
He turned and walked into the tent.
He took a few steps and then stopped.
"Then send the account books over as well."
He said.
"Just tell them we've found out who the bandits are connected to."
Iron Shield's expression changed.
"you want--"
Shen Bai had already entered the tent.
The curtain fell.
Iron Shield stood at the camp gate, looking at the heads.
The wind blows, and people's heads sway back and forth.
He stood there and watched for a long time.
---
(End of Chapter Twenty-Two)