Late at night, the tightly guarded city gates opened just a crack, and Xiao Jingduo, leading three hundred skilled hunters, silently disappeared into the darkness.
Only a handful of people stood at the gate, their gazes complicated as they watched Xiao Jingduo’s group leave the city.
Xiao Jingduo’s operation was classified. To prevent word from reaching enemy spies, the county office wouldn’t release any information about his movements. But with so many people in the city, someone was bound to notice his absence. According to Xiao Jingduo, when it could no longer be kept quiet, they’d just silently acknowledge it. But until the war began, not even a whisper was allowed to leak.
Xiao Jingduo, accompanied by government soldiers familiar with the mountain roads, blended into the night and quietly made his way south.
Since they hadn’t yet encountered the enemy, Xiao Jingduo couldn’t determine which country had sent this force. The area around Erhai Lake was surrounded by many small states, with the strongest being the six known as the Six Zhaos: Yuexi Zhao, Langqiong Zhao, Mengxu Zhao, Tengdan Zhao, Shilang Zhao, and Mengshe Zhao. Except for Mengshe Zhao, the other five were caught between Tubo (Tibet) and the Xuan Dynasty, sometimes siding with Tubo and other times submitting to Xuan. Only Mengshe Zhao remained steadfast in its loyalty to the Xuan Dynasty court.
This fence-sitting by the other five Zhaos eventually provoked the Xuan Dynasty’s anger. During the former emperor’s reign, Xuan sent troops to support Mengshe Zhao and systematically eliminated the remaining five kingdoms, elevating Mengshe Zhao to hegemon of the Erhai region. In return, Mengshe Zhao became even more loyal to Xuan. Relations along the southwest border gradually stabilized. Because Mengshe Zhao lay south of the other five Zhaos, it came to be known as Nanzhao—the Southern Zhao—and was the only regime officially recognized by the Xuan Dynasty. That is how the name Nanzhao originated.
Though Nanzhao was nominally a vassal of the Xuan Dynasty, border skirmishes between the two never truly stopped. Even Nanzhao’s own internal affairs were unresolved. While it had “unified” the Erhai region with Xuan’s support, this unification was largely symbolic—many parts of the region didn’t recognize Nanzhao’s authority. The Nanzhao royal family wasn’t as powerful as those of the Central Plains. Remnants of the old Five Zhaos still lingered in their former territories, unwilling to obey Nanzhao’s rule and resentful of the Xuan Dynasty’s overbearing power. The Nanzhao court, afraid to intervene, simply turned a blind eye as long as these groups didn’t cause major trouble.
This time, four thousand troops had come to raid Jinjiang County. While not a massive army, it wasn’t small either. In Xiao Jingduo’s view, even if the force wasn’t directly dispatched by Nanzhao, it had at least received their tacit approval. If the operation failed, Nanzhao could shift the blame onto rogue Five Zhao tribes. If it succeeded, Nanzhao could then send troops to “quell the chaos,” pocket the loot, and still curry favor with the Xuan Dynasty by pretending to restore order—a win-win scenario for them.
Nanzhao’s intentions weren’t hard to guess. If Xiao Jingduo could figure it out, surely the ministers and emperor in Chang’an could as well. But with such a direct challenge to Xuanchao’s authority, the emperor clearly wouldn’t let it go unanswered. Still, before the court could mobilize troops to punish Nanzhao, Xiao Jingduo had to first deal with the siege at his own doorstep.
Rather than letting someone else avenge him, Xiao Jingduo preferred to crush the enemy’s plans from the start, leaving them with no revenge to take.
He and his team traveled all night. As dawn began to break, they moved even more cautiously.
Finally, after much probing by scouts, Xiao Jingduo located the enemy encampment.
To avoid alerting the enemy, only a handful of people remained by Xiao Jingduo’s side. Xiao Lin had come along as well, and was now standing alert and on guard. They were so close to the enemy camp—if they were discovered now, it would be disastrous.
“Where are they from?” Xiao Jingduo asked in a low voice.
Someone studied them for a long time before quietly answering, “Judging by their appearance, they look like people from the former Shilang Zhao.”
“Shilang Zhao,” Xiao Jingduo was not at all surprised by this conclusion. Shilang Zhao had been at odds with the Xuan Dynasty for a long time. Although Xuanchao had supported Nanzhao in destroying Shilang Zhao’s royal capital and the previous Shilang Zhao king had died by the sword, the king’s son had escaped and reestablished himself in the northeast of the Six Zhaos, proclaiming himself king again. Given the blood feud between nations and families, if this surprise attack had indeed been launched by Shilang Zhao, it came as no shock.
“No wonder we haven’t seen any Shilang Zhao merchant caravans lately—they must’ve been planning this all along,” someone whispered angrily. “There are caravans from other nations in the city too. Don’t they worry about harming them by mistake?”
“The Six Zhaos are constantly at war, and there’s deep mistrust among them,” Xiao Jingduo replied. “They wouldn’t care about traders from other kingdoms in the city.” He glanced again at the army from Shilang Zhao and then turned to the men behind him. “Get the gear ready. It’s time to act.”
As the sun rose higher, the troops from Shilang Zhao began to march, slowly advancing.
Bangluo Qianqi rode on horseback, stifling his impatience as they made their way through the forest. A noble of Shilang Zhao, he was used to admiration and flattery within his tribe and carried himself with a sense of arrogance. Though his father had repeatedly warned him before the campaign, Bangluo Qianqi hadn’t taken it seriously. Both his father and the king had told him to be cautious, to strike fast and return before the Xuan army could react. After all, they had Tubo backing them, so the emperor of Xuanchao wouldn’t dare do much. This was also a chance to avenge the shame of the former Shilang Zhao king’s downfall.
Bangluo Qianqi led four thousand men, not because he needed that many to attack an obscure little city like Jinjiang, but to guard against a possible Xuan pursuit. In his view, plundering such a small place wouldn’t even require an army—a dozen brave warriors would’ve been more than enough.
But now, forced to weave cautiously through mountain paths with the whole army, he felt utterly frustrated. He longed to soar down to the gates of Jinjiang, begin a massacre, and get his blood pumping.
His men were equally restless. After days of crouching through the woods, they were tired of sneaking around. One squad leader, feeling suffocated, left the ranks to relieve himself—only to spot a merchant caravan emerging from the woods on the other side. Their mules carried heavy cloth bundles, and one of the sacks hadn’t been tied tightly. A bolt of fine brocade drooped out from the opening.
The squad leader’s eyes locked on that brocade—and on the hefty-looking sacks on the mule’s back. Judging by the look of it, this caravan had just come from Jinjiang, bringing back a load of brocade. They were traveling a different route and hadn’t noticed the hidden army moving through the forest.
Looking at the unsuspecting merchants not far away, and then back toward his now-distant army, the squad leader’s greed flared. A sly grin spread across his face.
He turned back and quietly gathered a few trusted men. “Keep quiet,” he said. “We’re slipping away. Let’s go score something real quick—get the blood flowing.”
Even a reckless man wouldn’t attack a caravan alone. He brought several subordinates and began stealthily tailing the merchant group, planning to strike once they were far enough from the main force.
The fewer people who knew, the more loot he’d get—so, out of selfishness, the squad leader made sure not to alert anyone else. He led his group a long way away, until he was sure no one from the army could hear them. Then, with rising excitement, he waved his hand to signal the others to charge.
But he waved several times—and no one moved.
The squad leader was confused. Just as he was about to turn around to see what was going on, a hand shot out from behind a tree and pressed a damp cloth over his mouth. He thrashed for a moment, then went limp.
The person holding down the squad leader finally let go, turned around, and asked a man in black:
“County Magistrate, what should we do now?”
The squad leader had been secretly trailing the “merchant caravan” all the way, and his subordinates had been quietly knocked out and dragged away one by one. By now, there were nine people tied up in the woods—with the squad leader, it made a clean ten.
Xiao Jingduo glanced at the unconscious men from Shilang Zhao on the ground, his tone tinged with disdain:
“To think they’d break military discipline so completely. Drag them away quietly and interrogate them in a secluded place.”
“Yes, sir.”
When the unruly squad leader came to, he found himself surrounded by a group of Han Chinese, and he nearly fainted again on the spot. Unfortunately for him, Xiao Jingduo wasn’t about to let him waste time. Not long after, Xiao Jingduo had pried out the exact location where Bangluo Qianqi planned to set up camp tonight.
“So what if you know where the camp is?” the squad leader scoffed. “There’s just a pathetic handful of you, while the general has four thousand troops! Even if you know, what can you possibly do? Hahaha!” He laughed wildly.
Still this arrogant even after being captured, the nearby soldiers were itching to teach him a lesson. Xiao Jingduo gave the man a fleeting glance and said lightly:
“Knock him out.”
The others immediately moved in. They’d been annoyed by this fool for a while now, and now that Xiao Jingduo had given the order, no one showed any mercy.
Once the prisoners had all been knocked unconscious again, the guards came to ask Xiao Jingduo for instructions:
“County Magistrate, what should we do with these men?”
“Confiscate all their weapons, armor, and even their clothing—we might need it later.” Xiao Jingduo began walking forward, his next words light as a feather:
“As for the men—kill them on the spot. Leave no one alive.”
Behind him, the faint sound of blades sinking into flesh echoed through the trees, but Xiao Jingduo walked on as if he heard nothing. Xiao Lin caught up and asked:
“My lord, that squad leader may have been foolish, but he had a point. We’re just three hundred, and the enemy has four thousand. What are we going to do?”
“Xiao Lin, do you know why leaking military intelligence is punishable by immediate execution, with no chance for appeal?”
Xiao Lin said nothing. Xiao Jingduo continued:
“Because on the battlefield, there is no such thing as useless information. Gather everyone. We’re moving out toward the enemy camp with full force—we must reach it before Bangluo Qianqi.”
Xiao Jingduo had set up the merchant caravan trap to lure the enemy, so he couldn’t bring many men—only twenty were with him, while the rest had been lying in ambush elsewhere. Now, having received Xiao Jingduo’s orders, all three hundred troops mobilized at top speed, moving swiftly and covertly to bypass Bangluo Qianqi’s army and race ahead of them toward the encampment site.
Shilang Zhao had sent scouts before launching their attack, showing how seriously they took the operation. Even the daily camp locations had been carefully selected.
Their intended campsite showed signs of deliberate planning. It was a flat area nestled between two mountains, with level terrain and a nearby lake.
One of the men squatted to test the water and then stood up, saying:
“Those bastards are bound to set up camp by the lake tonight. Magistrate, how about we poison the water—silently and without a trace—and then use the opportunity to…” He made a gesture of slitting someone’s throat.
Everyone knew that Xiao Jingduo was well-versed in medicine. When he first arrived in Jinjiang County—as just a county deputy—he had already impressed everyone with his skills. Even the idea of using those deserters earlier had been his. Now, with a lake right in front of them, many had already thought of the same idea: since they had water and Xiao Jingduo was here, why hesitate? Just poison the enemy.
“Poisoning the water source right at our own doorstep—how impressive,” Xiao Jingduo said coldly, clearly displeased. He countered, “This lake is flowing water. How much poison would it take to bring down an army of four thousand? And after poisoning it, what happens to the surrounding land?”
“Some things are more urgent than others,” someone argued. “We get rid of this shameless raiding army first, then we can deal with restoring the area later.”
“According to that logic,” Xiao Jingduo said, “the amount of poison needed to kill people would surely kill the fish and shrimp too. When the fish and shrimp float to the surface, won’t that immediately arouse suspicion?”
The person who made the suggestion paused, then tentatively said,
“Then… maybe we could fish out the dead ones?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he didn’t dare look at Xiao Jingduo’s face. He knew how absurd the idea sounded.
With poisoning ruled out, no one had any better ideas. The group looked at Xiao Jingduo with furrowed brows.
“Magistrate, if we can’t poison the water, what should we do?”
Bangluo Qianqi’s army was only three days away from Jinjiang County. If they missed their chance tonight, the enemy would be too close by tomorrow, and there’d be almost no opportunity to strike. If they couldn’t stall Bangluo Qianqi’s forces during these few days, then all their efforts would have been for nothing.
Xiao Jingduo walked a few steps around the lake, his gaze fixed on the shimmering surface. Suddenly, without warning, he asked,
“How good are you all at hunting?”
“What?” The others almost thought they’d misheard him. Given the situation, why was Xiao Jingduo thinking about hunting?
…
Bangluo Qianqi, leading his four thousand troops, had marched all day and finally reached their chosen camp site just before sunset. The entire army was exhausted and drenched in sweat. When they saw the clear, glistening lake ahead, many soldiers lit up with joy.
Bangluo Qianqi also felt uncomfortable from the day’s journey, but he remembered military discipline. He shouted loudly:
“Set up camp on the spot. No one is allowed to leave the ranks or bathe in the lake. Rest tonight. We march at full speed tomorrow. No mistakes allowed!”
According to the plan, they would first sneak across the border, and once they were past the sightlines of the border troops, they’d push hard through the mountains and forests. After another day of marching tomorrow, they’d be near Jinjiang County. By nightfall, they would launch their surprise attack as planned.
So tonight was critical—not just for rest, but also for maintaining morale. Even if Bangluo Qianqi didn’t take this campaign seriously, he didn’t dare be careless now, and repeatedly scolded his subordinates.
But with the lake right in front of them, it was hard for the soldiers to resist. One of the foot soldiers gazed longingly across the water when suddenly his eyes locked onto something. He cried out:
“There’s a deer over there!”
On the far side of the lake, a young deer was drinking by the water’s edge. Hearing the noise, it lifted its head warily, spotted the humans, and quickly leapt away.
But how could the Shilang Zhao soldiers just let it escape? With wild game right in front of them, many ignored military orders and immediately ran off to catch the deer. Though the fawn was agile, it couldn’t escape a crowd of soldiers. In no time, it was captured.
With that group taking the lead, others started getting the same idea and sneaked into the woods to hunt. It had to be said—near the water, game was abundant, and before long, many low-ranking soldiers came back carrying wild rabbits and deer.
Bangluo Qianqi was annoyed that his subordinates disobeyed orders, but people need to eat, and when fresh meat was right in front of an army that had been surviving on rations and sleeping in the open for days, how could they resist? Eventually, even Bangluo Qian couldn’t help but go out and catch something himself.
According to the plan, they were supposed to eat dry rations tonight and not light fires, to avoid alerting the enemy. But with so much fresh game nearby, some impatient soldiers had already built fires, eager for a hot meal. Bangluo Qianqi, already tempted by hunger, saw this and chose not to interfere.
With the general’s silent approval, the troops relaxed. They set up pots, gathered firewood, boiled water—each man with his task. Soon, bloody cuts of meat were boiling away in iron pots.
The wild game had just been caught, and the bloodletting had been sloppy, so the meat had a strong gamey smell. But hungry soldiers who were used to eating even spoiled meat weren’t going to complain. At most, they threw in some wild herbs to try and cover the smell.
The troops gathered in groups of ten, sitting around iron pots, fishing out pieces of meat. Eating hot food and drinking hot soup while on the march was already a rare luxury—especially soup with meat and wild herbs for flavor. Everyone was eating with satisfied faces, savoring the long-missed taste of meat.
Suddenly, one soldier doubled over, clutching his stomach.
“Strange… my stomach hurts…”
Once the first person spoke up, more and more soldiers began to complain of stomach pain, especially those who had eaten together—one person in pain meant their whole group was likely affected. Panic spread as someone suddenly shouted:
“Someone poisoned the lake! Everyone who drank the water is poisoned!”
The words instantly ignited mass panic. The army was camped right beside the lake. They had used the water for drinking, cooking, and watering horses—every soldier had consumed it. If someone really had poisoned it, wouldn’t the whole army be doomed?
Chaos erupted in the ranks. The psychological pressure made even healthy people feel sick, convincing themselves they had been poisoned too.
From the moment people started reporting stomach pains, Bangluo Qianqi had known something was wrong. Though his own discomfort was manageable and hadn’t weakened him, when he saw the troops begin to panic, he realized they had fallen into a trap. He quickly stood to address the troops and calm them down.
But he wasn’t given the chance.
Just as he opened his mouth, a strange sizzling noise came from the forest, followed by a thick fog spreading outward, quickly becoming so dense that one couldn’t see a hand in front of their face. There was something unnatural about the mist—and it continued to spread toward the crowd. The already anxious soldiers were thrown into chaos. The fear of poisoning, combined with the mysterious fog, drove many into panic. Some threw down their gear and ran.
“Run! There’s a lake demon! It’s coming to eat people!”
No one knew who first shouted about the lake demon, but once someone said it, the army fell apart like scattered sand. Everyone turned and fled in terror. Bangluo Qianqi shouted furiously, but he was powerless to stop his terrified troops.
At the same time, a volley of arrows flew from the woods.
Bangluo Qianqi, enraged, unsheathed his sword with a clang and roared,
“Who dares play tricks here? Come out and face death like a man!”
The only answer was a cold, gleaming arrow flying straight at him. He had barely blocked it when another followed. Forced to retreat again and again, Bangluo Qianqi couldn’t even see where the arrows were coming from through the mist.
“Who’s there?! Come out now!” he bellowed, charging recklessly in the direction the arrows had come from.
If you enjoy my translations, feel free to consider supporting me on ko-fi! Thank you!
