Chapter 5, The Young Phoenix Draws the Bow
Although Young Master Shi was covered in blood, his injuries were not particularly severe; he had merely been shot in the buttocks and received a shallow cut on his left shoulder blade. According to his own account, he charged into the enemy ranks and killed dozens of people, but ultimately, outnumbered, he returned wounded. However, A Fei was not convinced at all—was there even two minutes from the moment Young Master Shi left the light at the foot of the city until he returned to the light? Discounting the time taken for the round trip, even if the Goguryeo soldiers were lined up waiting for him to kill, would there be enough time to inflict dozens of cuts or thrusts?
He originally estimated that once Young Master Shi left the city, he would definitely not return, either truly fortunate to break through the enemy lines and flee in disarray, or simply surrendering his head to the Goguryeo people. However, he did not anticipate that just after the Goguryeo soldiers in the darkness shouted once, before they could shout a second time, a figure rushed straight towards the city, reaching out to wave towards the city: "Open the gate quickly!"
Young Master Shi, with a sound of "deng deng deng," descended the city. Ah Fei felt he should follow, yet he also thought it might be better not to. Regardless of the inner conflict he experienced, the outcome remained the same; he simply could not take a step forward. He had no choice but to lean against the city wall, cautiously peering outside. Before long, he heard a creaking sound, and in an instant, Young Master Shi, like a soaring dragon or a galloping horse, shot out of the city gate like a flash of lightning.
However, Ah Fei believes that if he were in the position of Young Master Shi, he would dash down to the city, gather his own strong men, and break through any of the east, west, or south city gates to escape, never directly confronting the enemy by charging out through the north gate. It's a joke; there are thousands of people involved, and you still want to kill the enemy general? You can't even break through. Who do you think you are? Guan Yu? Do you have the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in your hand? Do you have the Red Hare galloping beneath you? It's a joke; there are thousands of people involved, and you still want to kill the enemy general? You can't even break through. Who do you think you are? Guan Yu? Do you have the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in your hand? Do you have the Red Hare galloping beneath you?
Young Master Shi nodded slightly: "This is just right." Just as they were about to reach the southern gate, suddenly a cloud of dust rose, and a soldier came rushing from behind, shouting: "Young Master Shi, do not leave!" Upon hearing this, Young Master Shi was greatly enraged, and with a loud "clang," he drew his long sword again. It seemed that if this soldier dared to obstruct his escape through the southern gate, he would be able to behead him on the spot.
The explanation given by Young Master Shi himself is that, given the current situation, the county town is certainly unsustainable. The only viable strategy now is to take advantage of the fact that the Goguryeo troops are weary from their long journey and to charge out of the city to confront them. If by chance we manage to slay the enemy general, there will be an opportunity to force them to retreat. If we cannot achieve that, then we should seize the chance to break through their lines and escape. If we wait for the Goguryeo forces to rest for a night, the next day they will not even need to besiege the city; they can simply break down the gate with a log, and surely no one besides myself will dare to take up arms to resist.
It is indeed hard to say. If Young Master Shi were truly as valiant as Lord Zhao, taking the head of a general from among a million troops would be as easy as reaching into a bag. With only a few thousand men, what difficulty is there in killing a couple of great generals? Although A Fei clearly understands that whether it is Guan Er, Zhang San, or Zhao Si, their true capability lies in leading troops into battle, rather than charging alone on horseback. While one might defeat a hundred, defeating thousands is a feat that exists only in tales and will never occur in reality. Although A Fei clearly understands that whether it is Guan Er, Zhang San, or Zhao Si, their true capability lies in leading troops into battle, rather than charging alone on horseback. While one might defeat a hundred, defeating thousands is a feat that exists only in tales and will never occur in reality.
A group of people hurriedly made their way to the south gate, with strong men occasionally joining the ranks. A Fei recognized them; they were the sturdy men from the Shi family assigned to guard the east and west gates. Someone quietly reported to the young master, "No signs of the enemy have been found at either the east or west gates; it seems that the invaders have no intention of besieging the city."
As he was thinking this, the sky gradually darkened. Although bonfires and torches had long been lit in the city, with Ah Fei's condition commonly known as "sparrow blinded by the light"—a form of night blindness—he could not see anything clearly beyond ten meters from the city wall. He saw Young Master Shi galloping out of the city gate, charging into the darkness, and then he heard a distant shout, yet before him was a pitch-black void; no matter how hard he strained his eyes, he could see nothing.
However, by this time, the sky had already darkened significantly. Even though the torches on the city walls shone as brightly as daylight, for the night-blind Ah Fei looking out, the towering Goguryeo knights, each mounted on their horses, appeared as if he were watching a 3D movie without his glasses, and the cinema had also dimmed the brightness to the lowest setting to save electricity. As a result, arrows flew like shooting stars, landing directly on the ground, more than three feet away from the front hooves of the Goguryeo warhorses, and less than half a foot from the fallen Young Master.
A Fei stood on the city wall, seemingly instinctively raising the bow held in his left hand, positioning the feathered arrow that had been pinched in his right hand. He took aim at the Goguryeo cavalryman; the bowstring was drawn back like a full moon, and the arrow flew like a thunderclap. With a "bang," the cavalryman staggered back in response
How absurd! At that moment, the young master did not believe it at all, thinking to himself that this scheme to trick him into continuing to defend the city was too crude. Even if there was no intention to attack the city, how could there be a reason to retreat at night?
At this moment, Young Master Shi had donned the only two sets of armor in the county—one of which was monopolized by the county magistrate, who would never part with it no matter what. He rode a sturdy horse beneath him, held in his left hand the finest long spear suitable for infantry, and in his right hand, he brandished his long sword. For a brief moment, Ah Fei couldn't help but think of Zhao Zilong from Changban Slope.
Thus, although he was trembling all over and nearly unable to stand even while leaning against the city wall, he still firmly held onto the bow and arrows in his hand. At that moment, it was unclear how it came to be—whether it was a moment of inspiration or an instinctive reaction, or perhaps he was unwell and had not taken his medicine—he directly drew the bow and shot an arrow at the Goguryeo knight below the city. Deep down, he probably felt that Master Shi could not die; no matter how reckless or useless this person was, at least he could stand firm on the city wall and still run and jump. This was the only one left... At this moment, it was unclear how it came to be—whether it was a moment of inspiration or an instinctive reaction, or perhaps he was unwell and had not taken his medicine—he directly drew the bow and shot an arrow at the Goguryeo knight below the city. Deep down, he probably felt that Master Shi could not die; no matter how reckless or useless this person was, at least he could stand firm on the city wall and still run and jump. This was the only one left... To take a step back, following Master Shi to escape was at least a bit more reliable than following the county magistrate...
Of course, there is no need to expose Master Shi's lies; A Fei is still looking forward to running away from the city with Master Shi.
The Goguryeo knight instinctively led his horse, and he must have been wondering in his heart whom this person on the city wall intended to shoot at
Seeing the soldier running breathlessly towards him, clutching his stomach and bending over repeatedly, he stammered in report: "The barbarians, the barbarians have retreated..."
Young Master Shi is ultimately a person who values his reputation—if it were A Fei, I wouldn't care whether the Goguryeo people retreated or not; in any case, I don't want to stay in this county town for even a minute longer—therefore, I temporarily halted my steps and sent a trusted confidant out of the city to investigate. The group anxiously sat by the street all night, and it was only near dawn that they received news confirming that the foreign invaders had indeed retreated, and there was not a single person or horse within twenty miles.
A Fei widened his eyes and exclaimed, "Oh, isn't this Young Master Shi?" He saw that Young Master Shi had lost his horse, his helmet had fallen off, his spear was broken, and he was covered in blood, limping as he ran towards the city gate. He knew that a few old family members of the Shi family were guarding the city gate, and no matter how terrified they were, they would definitely open the door to let the young master in if he returned in defeat. Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly saw a dark shadow darting towards him, and a spear was thrust down at Young Master Shi's head.
Before encountering the soldiers of Goguryeo, Ah Fei was both surprised and delighted as he fondled the bow and arrows assigned to him by the young master. The bow was quite soft, and the string was somewhat loose, but compared to the makeshift items made of branches and leather cords, it was undoubtedly a divine artifact. As for the arrows, although the tips were all rusty, at least the shafts were straight, and at least the fletchings were glued on rather than forcefully inserted. Moreover, upon closer inspection, the feathers must have belonged to birds significantly larger than quails
Ah Fei missed his first shot, drawing the bow as if playing a piano, and in an instant, he released all six remaining arrows in one go. This was his hunting habit, as the likelihood of hitting a target with that bow, which could hardly be considered a proper bow, was lower than that of the Chinese men's football team qualifying for the World Cup. Generally, he had to shoot multiple arrows in rapid succession to occasionally hit a target, or the frightened animal would inadvertently run into one of the arrows.
The six arrows were fired in quick succession, startling the Goguryeo cavalry, who could not help but rein in their horses and retreat three steps with a series of "thud thud thud" sounds. They retreated one step to avoid two arrows, and after three steps, the six arrows fell harmlessly to the ground. However, taking advantage of this moment of distraction, the city gate opened a small crack, and Young Master Shi darted back into the city like a fish slipping through water. Soon after, the city gate closed, and the Goguryeo cavalry, fully on guard, erupted in a torrent of curses—he had wasted his vigilance, cursing for a good while, but no arrows were shot down from the city thereafter.
It was only later that I learned that at the same time the Goguryeo people invaded the Lelang Commandery, the armies from the western Liaodong and Xuantu Commanderies were also mobilizing to launch an attack, which is why the enemy forces hurriedly retreated overnight. Life's circumstances are indeed absurd; often when you feel that you are doomed, a brilliant dawn may suddenly appear, while when you believe the path ahead is smooth, you might just stumble into a pit after taking three steps.
This is a cavalryman from Goguryeo; whether he is a general, even Ah Fei cannot discern. All that can be seen is that this person rides a tall horse, clad in striking armor, holding a lance, and moves with great swiftness. At that moment, the young master nearly failed to evade and had no choice but to roll on the ground eighteen times to barely avoid the attack
Indeed, when Young Master Shi returned to the city and his breath had calmed down somewhat, family members had already come to help remove the arrows and bandage his wounds. He then looked down at the city and saw that the Goguryeo man had exhausted his curses and had already turned his horse back. Outside, there were scattered lights, indicating that the enemy was likely setting up camp, and it was estimated that they would not launch an attack under the cover of night.
He was then pondering how, if by some stroke of luck the city did not fall and he did not die, he could manage to bring this set of bows and arrows back home
The sky had completely darkened, yet the Goguryeo people ultimately did not launch a night attack on the city. After escaping with his life, Young Master Shi ascended the city and saw that only A Fei was still standing upright, with his left hand still holding the bow, while his right hand was empty of arrows. He immediately understood in his heart. He promised, "If I can escape with my life, I will surely reward you handsomely"
A Fei also does not believe these reports—how many of you are there? How can you possibly explore a hundred square kilometers of land in the dark for an entire night?
"Indeed, they have truly retreated," the soldier explained, "They are all carrying torches, and it is clear to see from the city walls..."
Even many years later, A Fei still believed that at that time, the young master must have been driven mad with fear, yet he still wanted to lead the charge? What difference is there between that and lighting a cigarette next to a leaking oil tanker
At that time, Young Master returned to the city, called for his family, and prepared to head towards the south gate—his horse had long been lost, so he could only walk with a limp. Ah Fei, feeling sore and weak in the legs, hurriedly pulled along the neighbor Old Wang, who also quickly descended the city, following closely beside Young Master. Young Master glanced at him and smiled, saying, "Indeed clever."