Chapter 23: All Quiet on the Southern Front

"Hey, Old Liu, I hear the remnants of the Fox Clan have attacked from the south."

"Let them come. What is there to fear?"

"Jindong Fort is a long, long way from the south."

It was the year 588 of the Yuxing Era, south of Long Mountain, west of Yuguan, just outside Jindong Fort. Silk moss grew in abundance, swaying in the breeze like strands of jade-colored silk. It was late September, the third and final harvest season of the year for this miraculous edible plant. Much like chives, silk moss could be cut repeatedly, and the people of Tianyu in Jindong Fort were out in full force, brandishing bronze sickles to harvest grain for trade and winter storage.

This year’s harvest was exceptional, with every strand of moss growing plump and full. The faces of the harvesters were bright with joy.

"Old Liu, what if those people from the south, the ones called..."

"Drunken Foxes!" Old Liu bellowed the name of the previous dynasty's remnants, his hand never faltering as he sliced through a large cluster of moss.

"Oh, right, right! Drunken Foxes! What if the Drunken Fox army really makes it to our territory?"

Seeing his old friend’s worried expression, Old Liu looked at him as if he were a fool. Ever since the arrival of the Star-Runners, the Tianyu had enjoyed over four hundred years of peace. In the mind of a garrison soldier like Old Liu, this peace would continue forever.

"How far are we from the edge of the Snow Barrens, old brother? Over a thousand miles! If those guys with fox ears on their heads could make it this far, I’d eat this sickle right here on the spot!"

Old Liu joked with his anxious friend while waving to his wife and daughter, who were approaching with a meal for the field hands.

"But I heard from some garrison soldiers who fled from south of Jinzhou that those Drunken Fox soldiers wear red rattan armor and carry great cleavers. They kill anyone who stands in their way—men and gods alike..."

Old Liu laughed and hoisted the little girl who had run up to him into the air. "Kill gods, you say? Listen to those spineless cowards. They lose a fight and start blaming everything else."

He patted his friend’s shoulder, set his basket aside, and sat down on the mossy ground with his family to eat. Watching Old Liu contentedly slurp up noodles made from dried silk moss, his friend shook his head and sighed. "We call ourselves garrison soldiers, but now we just live by selling grain to the big cities... Our weapons are rusted, our shields are broken. Hey, maybe there really are no more wars to fight."

The villagers sat around the moss fields, eating steaming bowls of noodles while their children played nearby. Neighbors chatted about daily life, a scene of vibrant activity.

However, a small voice broke the air. "Uncle, Uncle..."

The cute little girl, her round, jade-green eyes wide, stared at a strange man crouched by the nearby stream. The man had his face buried in the water, drinking greedily. He wore mud-stained red rattan armor, a bronze cleaver hung at his waist, and a single fox ear stood atop his head.

"Drinking raw water will give you a tummy ache. Mother says water must be boiled before it's safe to drink."

The strange man continued to drink greedily. The little girl noticed a bronze axe lying beside him, its blade polished clean and gleaming in the sun. "Hey, Uncle, you have sharp things like my daddy does. But my daddy’s are all locked in the storehouse, and they’re all covered in rust."

She playfully reached out to touch the long axe. Suddenly, a furry hand grabbed her arm. The face of the Drunken Fox soldier, washed clean but still stained with dried blood, came into her view.

"Uncle... why... why is your face... covered in blood?" Terrified, the girl tried to pull away, but the fox soldier’s grip was iron-tight.

He had crossed thousands of miles of the Snow Barrens with his tribal chief, only to become separated and wander here. In his mind, there were only two things: revenge and military merit. And now, there was only one thing in his eyes: the little girl’s head.

...

"Run! The Drunken Fox soldiers are attacking!"

"My girl hasn't come back yet... you have to go find her... you have to find her!"

"Dear, the girl... the girl can't be... No, I have to go back..."

"Sister-in-law, don't! The Drunken Fox army is right outside the fort... they'll be at the gate any second. Get inside first!"

"Where is the Fort Master? You useless gatekeeper, where is he?!"

"The Fort Master... when he heard the Fox soldiers were coming, he took his wife and concubines and fled..."

"What?"

"It’s over, we're finished! Run! Save yourselves! Quick!"

"Run! Everyone run!"

"Dear, grab the children!"

"You can't just leave like this! My girl is still out there... how could you..."

"Everyone, go get your weapons! We have to fight back... I have to find my girl!"

"Fight? Fight what? Old Liu, you're a lunatic! The armory locks are rusted shut, and the Fort Master has the keys! Let's go! Save your life!"

"No! No! I have to find my child..."

*Clang!*

"Sister-in-law, listen to me. We'll take Old Liu with us. Little Xiu is clever; she'll be fine. Let's head toward Jinzhou! You two cannot afford to get hurt."

Jindong Fort, home to thousands, descended into chaos. The Tianyu garrison families fled in a panic, and because the west gate was narrow, dozens were trampled to death in the crush. Yet, the terrified people did not look back at the fallen.

"The Yu people are cowardly as mice! The Drunken Foxes shall restore the world!"

The fox soldier walked toward the empty Jindong Fort, carrying his bronze axe and a dripping, severed head—the head of a little girl.

"The Yu people are cowardly as mice! The Drunken Foxes shall restore the world!"

His grating roars echoed through the empty fort. In truth, he was alone, yet the five thousand residents of Jindong Fort had been scared away by a single soldier separated from his unit. He tossed the bloody head aside, pulled out a cleaver, sliced open a bag of dried moss noodles, and began to chew.

"The Yu people are cowardly as mice! The Drunken Foxes shall restore the world!"

Jindong Fort had been taken by a single Drunken Fox soldier. Meanwhile, the situation across the southeast of Longyou was rapidly deteriorating. The cities and forts of Longyou, long unaccustomed to war, were helpless against these invaders who had emerged from the southern Snow Barrens, clad in half-leather armor, armed with bronze axes and cleavers, and bearing fox ears that made them look like the noble, aristocratic Fox Clan of the capital.

The eighty-eight tribes of the Drunken Foxes had united into an army of one hundred thousand, their dark blue flags tearing through the empire’s western frontier. A new war had begun.

"Forward! Forward!"

"Take Jinzhou City in a month!"

"Annihilate all of Tianyu in three months!"

The lush silk moss was trampled by the marching formations of the Drunken Fox army. Forts and cities burned one after another, and the fields of Longyou were filled with the figures of marauding Fox soldiers. Yet, amidst the chaos, a jade-colored cavalcade still charged.

"Brother Yousheng!"

A horse neighed. A troop of eighty retainers galloped across the plains. The white-haired veteran leading them shook the blood from his jade sword and looked back at a Drunken Fox soldier who had been dragged before him.

"Speak! Where is your main force now?" Dai Yousheng kicked the soldier over and pressed his foot onto the man's chest.

"Hehehehe!" The Fox soldier sneered, spitting blood at Dai Yousheng. "You Tianyu people are finished! Centuries of grievances! The humiliation of being driven to the bitter cold of the southern Snow Barrens will be settled today! This time, we have the help of the Sharp-Eared Spirits! Our great Fox Clan is invincible! You... you Tianyu will all be exterminated, enslaved! Die! Only death awaits you! Hahahaha!"

*Snap!*

Dai Yousheng crushed the soldier's windpipe with his boot. "He looks like an officer, but his mind is gone. Can't get anything out of him."

"Brother Yousheng, the Fifth Young Master sent word that Star-Runners have infiltrated Longyou. It’s a dire emergency, but he didn't specify what was happening. This..."

Dai Yousheng looked at the burning Jindong Fort in the distance, his expression unyielding. "That boy must have encountered something strange." He recalled how Dai Longmei had blocked arrows with empty air during the siege of Jinchuan. "And it’s something very, very strange."

Dai Yousheng let out a roar and spurred his horse forward. "Follow me! I don't care if they are Drunken Foxes or Star-Runners. We kill them one by one!"