Bao Cong got off his horse to take the reins of Yin Xue’s service horse. Better to be safe than sorry. Tou Hei grinned at Yin Xue’s unseeing form, happy for the man.
Eventually, the group turned back to the city to watch for cultivators and other threats while the army pulled away. As much as it was a blessing for Yin Xue, they still had a job to do. Soon enough, they would have to move. But for now, Yin Xue could have his small moment of enlightenment.
***
They waited until the last of the army divisions had left. The rearguard traveled slowly, with wide-ranging scouts in place to ensure they were not tracked. As a last parting gift, the general had ordered anything they could not carry be set on fire, including much of the surrounding fields. With the prevailing winds in the morning sending the flames skirting north and west, it would mostly miss the city itself, unless there was a shift in the wind. Even so, the city would likely take action, especially after their most recent experience.
That kind tactic made Wu Ying’s lips curl in distaste, as did Tou Hei’s, but neither party protested. After all, stopping the fires would not be a minor transgression in saving lives and disobeying orders. Nothing they said was likely to stop the general. And it meant that the army could pull away before their enemies could sortie from the city. In the end, wars were not won by half measures but by full commitment. Otherwise, one only dragged on the affair, adding pain and suffering in tiny fire ant bites, rather than a single rabid dog’s attack.
The group rode along with the rest of the army for a few hours before their time patrolling was over, wherein they rode in to make their final report. They didn’t even see the vice-general this time, relegated to reporting to Chao Kun. It was for the better.
As they were riding off—after saying their goodbyes to their temporary friends, including a smirking Lady Pan—they were flagged down by a surprising individual.
“Are you certain you will not change your mind?” Elder Po said to them.
“No, we will not,” Wu Ying spoke for the group. He offered the elder a half-smile, an apology of sorts. “If the army is going to be followed by those in the city, if the cultivators inside the city leave too, this will be our best chance.”
“Oh, they will follow. We’ve received word that there are as many cultivators in the approaching reserve army as we have,” Elder Po said. “I fear the general’s gambit will fail. We cannot risk a fight, not if we are to be outnumbered.”
“Won’t the general avoid battle against both armies?” Li Yao said. After all, they were only outnumbered if they had to fight the city and the reserve army at the same time.
“Of course he will try. But it’s not just the armies we are worried about. We can avoid engaging against the bulk of both armies, but cultivators travel faster than an army. If we are engaged by even a single side, it is likely that the Six Jade Gates sect members will be able to arrive,” Elder Po explained. “It’s why we need as many of you as possible.”
Wu Ying could see why he wanted them to stay. Even if they were not the most powerful, all-talented cultivators, an additional team could make a difference in the fight. Not as much as a Core cultivator, but you never knew. However… “I’m sorry, Elder Po. We have a mission to complete.”
The Elder flicked his gaze over Wu Ying’s and the others’ resolute faces before he broke out into a grin. “Very well. No need to worry. I have no intention of giving up my life yet. This battle will likely not happen anyway. Go. Complete your quest.”
Wu Ying bowed from his saddle, taking comfort in the Elder’s words, before he gestured the group away. They cut perpendicular to the army’s march, moving along the hillside until they reached an enclosed glen. There, Wu Ying gestured for them to pull over near a small copse of trees in the shade of a hill. It would do for now. They would have to wait for the fires to burn out before they could take action. Luckily, their last glimpse had been of the city sortieing, sending cultivators and farmers to put out the fires.
Once everyone was settled, with Bao Cong seated farther up the hill as lookout, Wu Ying found a bare portion of sandy ground and a stick for his presentation.
“Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone for staying.” Wu Ying shot a glare at Yin Xue, who had looked as if he might say something. Yin Xue just smirked. Obviously whatever enlightenment he had found, it did not involve being nicer. “As you heard, the plan is to enter the city when the cultivators from the Six Jade Gates Sect are no longer there. While they chase the army, we will enter the city and find what we need.”
“And how will we do that?” Li Yao said. “Even if the army is gone, they aren’t likely to begin normal commerce. Anyone trying to enter the city will still be under scrutiny.”
“That’s why we will be sneaking in.” While he had been speaking and listening to Li Yao, Wu Ying had been drawing on the ground with the stick. The rough sketch of the city was easy enough to pick out, even if it was just a bunch of lines. “We’ll be entering through the docks.”
“How?” Tou Hei asked. “They might reduce the number of guards, but I doubt they’d miss all of us. Never mind our lack of a boat.”
Wu Ying grinned, touching his storage ring before he extracted a set of yellow parchment. On closer inspection, the symbols drawn on the papers were familiar to the group, for they had just worn a set of the aura suppression talismans the night before.
“And the boat?” Yin Xue asked.
“That’s why we were sent up river today,” said Bao Cong. The blacksmith had put it together faster than the others. The choice of them being on the northernmost watch, opposite to where they normally had been stationed. The northernly direction they had left the army, swinging wide and farther north, bringing them upriver. It all set them up so that they could ride away and upriver, circling around the city and getting out of sight easily.
“Exactly,” Wu Ying said.
“I’m not a pirate,” Yin Xue said, crossing his arms.
Tou Hei grunted his agreement. Even Li Yao frowned in displeasure at the thought of attacking civilians.
Wu Ying snorted. “What have I ever done to make you think I would do that?”
He brought his stick further up the drawing, pointing at a bend he had placed in the drawing. He had to admit though, compared to the rest of the squiggles that made up the river he had drawn, the bend was easy to miss. He had many skills, but cartography obviously was not one of them.
“There’s a tight turn farther upriver, one that will force the ships to slow down. At least, as I’ve been told.” Wu Ying’s time in Lady Pan’s inn had been useful in gaining information from the other cultivators, beyond making his head hurt from doubts about his path of cultivation. “All we have to do is swim to a ship, attach ourselves to it at night, and let it bring us into port. If we make sure to hold our breaths and stay still, with these talismans, we should be able to make our way in without a problem.”
Li Yao looked dubious about Wu Ying’s plan, but since no one else had a better suggestion, they went over the details of their eventual escapade. In short order, they had the basics of the plan down and rode off, planning to lay low over the next few days while waiting for the army and the opposing cultivators to leave and the fires to burn out.
***
For five days, the group stayed hidden near the banks of the river, waiting for a suitable vessel. During this time, they collected hollow reeds from the shore and prepared them for use. They each stored their prepared reeds in their storage rings for use when they were underneath the ship itself. In addition, Wu Ying and Bao Cong fashioned simple hooked devices that could be driven into the hull of the boat, allowing them to grip and ride the boat to the dock. Wu Ying’s greatest concern was that they not strike too hard, creating a breach in the ship they intended to use. As such, in the quiet times while they waited, the group tested their strength, trying to find a balance in force while floating in water.