Liubai Camp: Remnants of the army attack northward

Chapter 3 Mount Song

At daybreak, they arrived at the foot of Mount Song.

The mountain was huge, blocking our way like a wall. Below the mountain was a plain, dotted with tents of all sizes, like a patch of grayish-white mushrooms.

The camp of the Northern Di people.

Shen Bai stood on the hillside, looking at the cluster of tents. They were far away, and he couldn't see the people clearly; he could only see the outlines of the tents one by one in the morning mist.

Three thousand people.

Zhou Lie stood beside him, his voice low.

"More than three thousand."

Zhou Lie pointed to the one in the very center of the tent group. That tent was a size larger than the others, and it had a white flag on top.

"That's the wolf flag. The flag of the Northern Di king."

---

They set up camp on the back of the hillside.

He sat with his back to the hillside, sheltered from the wind. The arrow shaft in his chest heaved with each breath. The shaft was still there, the wound was sealed, and it didn't hurt, but the shaft itself was emitting a pale silver light.

He looked down at his hands.

My hands were grayish-white. Not a normal white—it was the grayish-white of something burned, like a piece of paper that had been scorched by fire.

My hand is no longer smoking.

He clenched his fist. His knuckles turned white. It hurt. The pain traveled from his palm all the way to his chest, all the way to the arrow shaft. The arrow shaft trembled, and then it gleamed.

Do not use it repeatedly. Use it once, then consume it once.

---

At noon, Zhou Lie summoned everyone.

The center of the camp was filled with people, less than three hundred, and no one spoke.

Zhou Lie stood at the front of the crowd, holding a knife in his hand.

"Three thousand Northern Di men are at the foot of the mountain. The Northern Di king is also there."

No one speaks.

"We have three hundred people."

"But we have mountains."

Zhou Lie raised his hand and pointed to Mount Song behind him.

"They can only come up via one path. The mountain path is narrow, with cliffs on both sides."

Zhou Lie looked at them.

"They come up, we roll stones."

---

They waited until dark.

The Northern Di people have arrived.

Not three thousand—it's five hundred. The vanguard. The scouts.

The mountain path was narrow, with cliffs on both sides, the cliffs resembling two walls with only a narrow gap in the middle. The Northern Di people formed a long snake, ascending the mountain from its base.

Shen Bai lay on the mountainside, holding two stones in his hands.

The stone was too big to hold, so I could only hug it. The stone was cold, and my hands felt icy.

The arrow shaft in his left breast throbbed with his heartbeat. With each throb, the arrow shaft flashed.

The Northern Di people entered the valley.

The leader raised a torch, and the light illuminated a section of the valley. Behind the light was darkness, an oppressive darkness.

Zhou Lie raised his hand.

It fell again.

The stone rolled down.

---

The stone rolled three times. The first time, it knocked down the dozen or so people at the front. The second time, it broke the line, and those behind started running back. By the time it hit the third time, the valley was empty.

Those who ran fast survived. Those who ran slowly were knocked down by stones.

Shen Bai saw everything as the stone rolled down the mountain.

The first piece hit a person, splattering blood onto the cliff face. The second piece hit the cliff, bounced up, and then fell down again. The third piece. The fourth piece.

The Northern Barbarians were running, shouting, and trying to push their way back. But the mountain path was narrow, and there were too many people; they couldn't make it. Those behind pushed those in front, and those in front were knocked down by stones.

But some people rushed to the front.

A Northern Di soldier, sword in hand, charged up the mountain. The sword flashed in the firelight like a silver lightning bolt. He charged, dodging two rocks, heading straight for the mountainside—straight towards Shen Bai.

Shen Bai saw him.

The man saw Shen Bai.

Their eyes met.

The man raised his knife and slashed upwards.

Shen Bai did not dodge.

He stood up and went to meet him.

Then he extended his left hand.

The arrow shaft in his left breast twitched with his heartbeat, and light shot out from the shaft, rushing down his arm and into his palm.

A pale silver light shot out from his fist.

Pass through that person's neck.

The man stopped moving. His eyes were still open, but his legs went weak, and he fell backward, the knife still raised, like a statue retreating.

Shen Bai stood there, watching the person fall.

Then he crouched down and threw the stone down. The stone hit the man in the chest, stopping him completely.

He stood up.

My hands are black. My knuckles are smoking.

"Damn it." He cursed inwardly again.

This damn thing, every time I use it my hands feel like they've been burned.

---

The stones have all rolled away.

The valley was deathly silent. Of the seventy-three people, seventy were dead, and three survived and escaped.

Zhou Lie raised his hand, then lowered it again.

ended.

Shen Bai stood halfway up the mountain, looking down at his hands. His hands were grayish-white. His knuckles were smoking.

He clenched his fist. It hurt. The pain traveled from his palm all the way to his chest, to the arrow shaft. The arrow shaft trembled and then gleamed.

He looked up at the foot of the mountain.

There were three people running down the mountain. They were running very fast, heading towards the Northern Di camp. They were running back to report.

No one is chasing them.

Zhou Lie stood on the mountaintop, watching the three people run away.

"Let them run."

Zhou Lie said.

"If we run back, the Northern Di King will know we're here."

---

They went down the mountain to collect the bodies.

Shen Bai walked at the very back.

He looked down at his hands. They were grayish-white. His knuckles ached.

He clenched his fist. Then he loosened it.

He used it once.

It was used in battle. The feeling is still there—heat, from my palm all the way to my chest, to the shaft of the arrow. That heat felt like someone was pouring boiling water into my body, scalding, but not uncomfortable.

He liked that kind of heat.

He lowered his head and gagged.

---

Shen Bai stood on the hillside, looking at the tents.

The tents, silhouetted against the night, resembled a pack of crouching wild beasts waiting for them.

Iron Shield stood beside him.

What happened to your hand?

"fine."

Your hands are shaking.

Shen Bai tucked his hands into his sleeves.

"It was hit by a rock."

Iron Shield remained silent.

Shen Bai heard Tie Dun standing behind him. He didn't move. He didn't speak. He just stood there.

Shen Bai turned around.

Iron Shield was watching him. That look—it seemed particularly deep in the moonlight.

"Your brother had the same problem the first time he used it."

Shen Bai looked at him.

"Your brother said that after using it, your hands were black, your heart was burning, and your stomach was empty."

Iron Shield looked into Shen Bai's eyes.

"Your brother said that you'll get used to it after using it a lot."

Shen Bai remained silent.

"Your brother said that once you get used to it, you can't go back."

Iron Shield's voice was very low.

"I pulled my arm around your brother once when he used it."

Iron Shield raised his hand and pointed to his left arm. The severed left arm hung around his neck, the white cloth strip stained a dark red.

"I can't pull it."

Shen Bai looked down at his hands.

My hands were grayish-white. My knuckles were smoking.

He tucked his hands into his sleeves.

"Your brother said one thing before he died."

Iron Shield's voice was very low.

He said, "Don't let my brother become like me."

Shen Bai remained silent.

Iron Shield turned around and walked down the mountain.

"We'll play again tomorrow."

Iron Shield didn't turn around.

Whether you use it or not is up to you.

Iron Shield is gone.

Shen Bai stood on the hillside, watching Tie Dun's back. The moonlight cast a long shadow of Tie Dun, like a stick crawling on the ground all the way to the foot of the mountain.

Then he stopped.

What did he hear?

It's very far. It's very long. Like a needle piercing down from the sky.

It's a wolf howling.

The first wolf howl echoed from the direction of the foot of the mountain. Then came the second. The third. It was as if something was responding, calling out, beckoning up the mountain.

Shen Bai stood on the hillside, looking down at the valley below.

Torches began to light up in the tents at the foot of the mountain.

Not just one lamp—it's a row. Dozens. Hundreds. Like a group of eyes staring upwards, looking up at the hillside, searching for their place.

The torches flickered in the night, like a red glow floating on the water. They swayed and moved, like a pack of crouching wild beasts rising up.

Shen Bai stood on the hillside, looking at the light.

He clenched his fist and noticed that the light leaking through his fingers was the same color as the torches at the camp below the mountain.

Then he turned around and walked up the mountain.

Tomorrow. That light will turn into a person. It will turn into a knife. It will turn into something he can't escape.

But that's for tomorrow.

---

(End of Chapter 3)