Chapter 2707: Return

Xue Bei came over to see Li Si and noticed that he was already able to sit up. He checked his wound. “No issues?”

Li Si replied, “Lord Zhou said we need to observe for a few more days. If the wound doesn’t worsen, it’s considered healed.”

Xue Bei reached out and touched his forehead. “A bit warm.”

Li Si frowned, “It’s not serious. Lord Zhou said as long as I don’t have a high fever or convulsions, it’s fine.”

Xue Bei said, “… You’re quite optimistic. When the arrowhead was extracted, even His Majesty thought you might not make it.”

Li Si said emotionally, “Even if I died a thousand times, I couldn’t repay His Majesty’s kindness.”

He was talking about the emperor sucking the poison from his wound.

Xue Bei sneered slightly, just about to speak, when suddenly there was the urgent sound of hooves, followed by a series of rapid drumbeats.

Xue Bei immediately got up, pressing down on Li Si, who was about to jump up, “You’re injured, focus on recovering. I’ll go have a look.”

Xue Bei ran to the main tent. As soon as he arrived, the messenger who had been beating the drum also rushed over, “Report—”

He knelt down with a crash and shouted, “General Xue! The general is surrounded, trapped among the enemy and unable to get out. General Xue, please send troops for rescue.”

Xue Bei was startled, “Weren’t they just infantry? How did they not break through?”

What could the messenger say? Was he supposed to say the general was enthralled by the fight, not charging just once or twice, but four times?

Now was not the time to investigate. This army was led by Heli, who was the main vanguard. He absolutely cannot meet with disaster, or it would be a huge blow to morale.

Thus, Xue Bei immediately dispatched eight hundred cavalry, and before leaving, he ran to find Zhou Man, saying, “Lord Zhou, please move your tents into the city and close the gates tightly. Unless my troops return, hold the city firmly.”

The infantry were left behind, and with four hundred cavalry, it should be enough.

Xue Bei also went to find Li Si, “You keep watch over the main tent.”

Li Si: … He’s a wounded soldier, but he agreed. Apart from him, Zhou Man had the highest rank in the camp. One couldn’t expect a physician to lead troops, right?

Xue Bei took his soldiers and rode swiftly out of the camp. Sitting at the tent’s entrance grinding medicine, Manbao just looked up for a moment before turning to Su Mu, “Get more firewood prepared to be sent to the city. Soon the main tent will move into the city. Let the scouts keep an eye out front, and if any wounded are brought back, report in advance.”

Su Mu agreed and asked, “Teacher, should we make some medicine packs? We’re running low on the hemostatic ones we made before.”

Manbao thought there wasn’t much happening today, and after moving into Baiyan City, she could only look after the already treated wounded. It was indeed a good time to make some more packs, so she nodded, “Go to the pharmacy and get the medicines; let’s make some.”

Su Mu went off to list and fetch medicines.

Manbao continued grinding the powder. She lifted the pestle, pinched a bit of powder to inspect it, nodded with satisfaction. Not bad; a little more grinding would do.

Li Si gingerly put on his clothes over his chest wound and went out to organize the soldiers to move the tents into Baiyan City.

Xue Bei hurried off to rescue Heli. The main general trapped in the army had not sparked an uproar, as such news would affect morale, and worse, could cause a camp revolt.

Xue Bei arrived to find Great Jin cavalry trapped in the center, and immediately ordered, “Charge in from the east, break out from the west…”

Instead of charging directly, they attacked from the side, avoiding Heli, and pushed out from another point…

This forced the enemy surrounding Heli to shift their attention, easing the encirclement slightly. Xue Bei then led his men to charge in, breaking through after two incursions, and fled, helping the blood-soaked Heli to escape.

The two groups of soldiers merged into one and ran for a long time before making it out. Heli did not go directly back to Baiyan City, but stopped at a hillside and began counting his men.

Xue Bei quickly went to support him, “General, are you all right?”

Heli peeled off his armor, tore open his clothing, exposing his waist, where the flesh was torn up, and a gaping wound lay.

Xue Bei saw his clothes were soaked in blood, initially thinking it was others’ blood, but now it seemed his own was mixed in.

His eyebrow twitched, immediately asking for fine linen to be brought for bandaging.

Personal guards immediately stepped forward, and Heli took a medicine bottle from his chest, handing it to them, “Apply the medicine.”

The guard took the bottle, poured powder onto the wound, then wrapped it with lint, which staunched the bleeding.

Soon, the cloth was soaked with red blood. Heli took out a pill and ate it, instructing the men to bandage their wounds and eat something before following him to fight again.

Xue Bei: “…General, you are injured right now.”

Heli, his face stern, replied, “Precisely because I’m injured we must go. We killed less than two thousand earlier, but they have over ten thousand left. If we retreat now, tomorrow they could lay siege to Baiyan City.”

His Majesty is fighting in Anshi City, and reinforcements have gone there. They surely can’t spare troops to aid us here. He absolutely wouldn’t allow Baiyan City, a hard-won stronghold, to be besieged.

He stood angry and shouted, “They dared harm me; do you fear them?”

All the soldiers roared, “No fear, no fear!”

“Since there is no fear, follow me back to avenge our fallen brothers!”

The soldiers roared with him and mounted their horses.

Xue Bei: …

He could only mount his horse and follow the soldiers, who were now fueled by adrenaline, back towards the enemy.

The Goguryeo forces had barely regrouped when they learned Heli had been struck in the waist and assumed he was doomed. They began moving towards Baiyan City, but had barely started when Heli returned with his cavalry.

This time, he did not go deep but struck from the side, blocking their rear reinforcements in the narrows.

Not going deep, the infantry couldn’t surround them, and soon their faces paled. Even though the Goguryeo general urged calm, some soldiers couldn’t resist fleeing.

Once one began to flee, the army collapsed.

Unable to maintain the formation, the Goguryeo general ordered a retreat, while Heli’s men pursued, killing until dusk, chasing twenty miles before Xue Bei called them back.

Heli hefted his sword as Xue Bei said, “General, night has fallen; we should return to the city.”

Heli nodded darkly and led his men back to Baiyan City.

In the darkness, they returned to Baiyan City, which was under martial law with gates tightly shut. Those on the city walls verified their identity before opening the gates.

Heli rode in composed, asking calmly, “Where is the main tent?”

The soldiers pointed the direction, and he rode towards it, heading to where the lamps burned brightest. He entered and saw Zhou Man and Li Si among others, heading straight for Zhou Man…

Manbao’s gaze fell on the military unit behind him, about to instruct to bring in the wounded when Heli swayed on his horse and fell off.

Manbao’s pupils contracted, and she rushed forward to catch him, but only managed to cushion the fall slightly before they both landed heavily on the ground. She hissed in pain, urgently directing people to carry Heli to the medical tent.

Xue Bei was shocked, quickly dismounting to inform Zhou Man, “The General’s waist is injured.”