Chapter 138: One General and Three Vanguards

Jiang Pingchuan watched as Tuolun personally severed Feng Tong’s head, slowly walked over to where the head had fallen, grabbed the hair, and raised it high above his head, scanning the surrounding soldiers who were locked in fierce combat.

"Feng Tong is dead! Lay down your weapons and your lives shall be spared!"

Tuolun shouted in an icy, thunderous voice. The moment his voice faded, all the fighting soldiers came to a complete halt, looking at one another in utter bewilderment.

For a moment, Feng Tong's troops were completely at a loss as to how to handle the situation before them. Their own deputy commander had slain their general and was now ordering them to surrender. Every single soldier was utterly stunned by this sudden turn of events.

"Clatter..."

At last, the first person dropped his long spear to the ground, and immediately others followed suit, casting away their weapons. This reaction spread like a viral contagion; though some hesitated, seeing their comrades discard their arms prompted even more to do the same.

Within the span of a few breaths, the remaining soldiers among Feng Tong’s forces had all disarmed and surrendered. Seeing this, Tuolun glanced indifferently at Feng Tong's severed head and walked toward Jiang Pingchuan. Reaching Jiang Pingchuan, Tuolun dropped to one knee, set down his weapon, and raised Feng Tong’s head with both hands in a gesture of absolute submission.

Jiang Pingchuan looked down at the head held in Tuolun’s hands. Feng Tong’s eyes were wide open in death, a clear sign that he had passed away with eternal grievances unredressed, never once imagining in all his calculations that he would perish at the hands of his own deputy.

"General Pingchuan, Tuolun offers the head of Feng Tong and humbly begs the general to permit Tuolun to accompany you to the frontiers to defend our borders."

Kneeling before Jiang Pingchuan with the head, Tuolun kept his head bowed. As Jiang Pingchuan looked at him, Lun Heng and Xia Ha stepped up from behind, standing before Jiang Pingchuan and staring down at the kneeling man.

Tuolun cast a subtle glance at Lun Heng and Xia Ha standing behind Jiang Pingchuan, a slight ripple of emotion crossing his eyes, while the two men responded with hearty grins.

"Tuolun, you were Feng Tong's deputy yet you killed him. How can you now expect me to accept you and let you march under my command?"

Jiang Pingchuan asked coldly, looking down at Tuolun. Hearing this, Tuolun looked momentarily startled, then hastily set Feng Tong’s head upon the ground, cupping his fists with eyes full of desperate entreaty.

"General Pingchuan, it is not as you think. I am a loyal subject of the Lan Dynasty, I..."

"General, this kid Tuolun has quite a background! His uncle is none of than Duo Ze, the current imperial uncle."

Before Tuolun could finish, Lun Heng interrupted him, leaning close to Jiang Pingchuan with a wide grin. He chuckled toward Xia Ha beside him. Standing there side by side, the two men gave the distinct impression that Tuolun was kneeling in supplication to them.

To Lun Heng and Xia Ha, this feeling was a delight they had never experienced before. Though they had imagined countless times in their dreams what it would look like to have this man kneeling and begging for mercy, only today did they truly savor the gratification.

It felt far better than anything they could have imagined—an indescribably exhilarating sensation. Seeing the smiles on the faces of Lun Heng and Xia Ha, Tuolun desperately wanted to stand up, but since Jiang Pingchuan had yet to express his stance, he dared not rise, lest all his previous efforts go to waste.

"General Pingchuan, I sincerely hope you will accept—"

"This brat Tuolun disappeared without a reason back then. Who would have thought he went to serve under Feng Tong? Truly incorrigible."

Before Tuolun could finish his sentence once more, Xia Ha, standing on the other side of Jiang Pingchuan, chimed in. His tone was full of haughty condescension, sounding like an elder reprimanding an unrepentant, wayward junior.

Tuolun glared coldly at Lun Heng and Xia Ha standing beside Jiang Pingchuan. Had Jiang Pingchuan not been present, Tuolun likely would have already leapt up to brawl with the two of them.

"Will the two of you shut your mouths and let me finish speaking?"

Seeing Xia Ha finish and Lun Heng preparing to speak next, Tuolun quickly straightened his back and shot them both a chilling glare. Lun Heng and Xia Ha merely exchanged a glance and chuckled.

"Go on, speak..."

"You're something else, you talk..."

Lun Heng and Xia Ha continued to trade banter back and forth. Tuolun’s face flushed red, clearly driven to the brink of fury by the two men, as he remained kneeling and looking up at Jiang Pingchuan.

Noticing that Jiang Pingchuan still showed no sign of taking him under his command, Lun Heng reached into his chest pocket, drew out a silk brocade pouch, and handed it over to Jiang Pingchuan. Taking the pouch from Lun Heng's hand, Jiang Pingchuan unfolded it as Lun Heng and Xia Ha crowded in close to watch. Inside was a message written in Lan Xiu’s own handwriting.

The note informed Jiang Pingchuan of the truth regarding Tuolun. Tuolun had originally been one of the three major pillars of the Elite Guard Camp, holding a position equal to that of Lun Heng and Xia Ha. Three years ago, however, Tuolun had mysteriously vanished, and no one knew where he had gone.

Back then, Tuolun had already been secretly escorted to the stronghold of the Marquis of Yunshui. Suspecting that the Marquis intended to collude with other feudal lords in rebellion, Lan Xiu had dispatched his own cousin Tuolun to infiltrate the Marquis's inner circle and gather intelligence.

Tuolun was the nephew of Duo Ze. Duo Ze’s parents had conceived him in their old age, and his younger brother—Tuolun’s father—was even younger than Lan Xiu. Consequently, although Lan Xiu had reached middle age, his cousin Tuolun was still a young man.

Jiang Pingchuan read through the contents of the pouch with meticulous care. It turned out that before Jiang Pingchuan had even set out on his campaign, Lan Xiu had already prepared this secret message and delivered it covertly to Tuolun. The plan was for Tuolun to slay the Marquis of Yunshui’s son, Feng Tong, and then present the pouch to Jiang Pingchuan, joining him to safeguard the borders.

"Rise."

Jiang Pingchuan put away the pouch and reached out to help the kneeling Tuolun to his feet. The very first time he had laid eyes on Tuolun, Jiang Pingchuan had sensed that this was a man capable of profound forbearance. Tuolun stood up, looking at Jiang Pingchuan with deep gratitude, and Jiang Pingchuan smiled faintly, patting him on the shoulder.

"General, what should we do with these captured soldiers?"

Lun Heng licked his lips as he gazed at the tens of thousands of captive soldiers before them, a murderous intent flashing in his eyes. Beside him, Xia Ha wore an equally bloodthirsty expression.

"Keep them alive."

Jiang Pingchuan looked out over the tens of thousands of troops. The majority of their comrades had already been slaughtered, and those remaining were consumed by terror. Their main general was dead, and what was even more horrifying was that their deputy commander turned out to be a sleeper agent planted right beside their leader.

The mere thought of it sent a chill through their bones. When they saw the murderous glint in the eyes of Lun Heng and Xia Ha, the captives' hearts fluttered with intense anxiety and dread.

"General Pingchuan, we should still execute them."

Tuolun stood by Jiang Pingchuan's side, hesitated for a moment, and spoke in a low voice. Jiang Pingchuan cast a curious glance at Tuolun, smiled slightly, and shrugged.

"If you wish to, you may kill them."

Jiang Pingchuan gestured toward the tens of thousands of captives and said softly to Tuolun. Hearing this, a flash of ferocity crossed Tuolun’s eyes as he looked at the prisoners, but it vanished almost instantly.

The long saber he had instinctively raised slumped down like a deflated ball. He lacked the ruthless heart required to slaughter these captives. Although they were the troops of the Marquis of Yunshui, they were also soldiers he had trained with his own hands over the years.

To strike them down with his own hands—had this happened a few years ago when he was still in the Elite Guard Camp, he might have done so without a second thought.

Yet now, he viewed these men as innocent. They had merely followed Feng Tong without knowing what Feng Tong intended to do, nor did they know who Jiang Pingchuan truly was.

"General, I cannot bring myself to do it."

Tuolun stood next to Jiang Pingchuan, his face flushed with awkwardness as he spoke. Before Jiang Pingchuan could reply, Lun Heng and Xia Ha drew their blades, licking their lips as they strode toward the tens of thousands of captives.

"Coward, what a coward..."

"Haven't seen him in a few years, and the kid has turned soft. Guess dirty work like this is still up to us brothers..."

Chattering back and forth, Lun Heng and Xia Ha marched toward the massive assembly of prisoners. Seeing the two bloodthirsty vanguard officers approach, the captives naturally felt deeply uneasy. Yet, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The terror in their eyes suddenly vanished, replaced by an expression of supreme defiance and even recklessness. They lifted their chins and bared their necks entirely to Lun Heng and Xia Ha, signaling wordlessly that they were ready to embrace death.

They were soldiers who knew no fear. But Lun Heng and Xia Ha were not ones to care for such dramatics; instead, the unusual behavior of the soldiers only stoked their bloodlust further.

"Whoosh..."

A sharp, violent gust of wind suddenly cut through the air behind Lun Heng and Xia Ha. Both men froze in their tracks. Tuolun’s long saber was already pressed firmly against the back of Lun Heng’s neck.

Lun Heng blinked in surprise, reached back to push the blade away from his neck, and turned around to give Tuolun a cheeky grin. He patted his rear and sauntered lazily back toward Jiang Pingchuan.

Xia Ha also shot Tuolun an amused look before walking back to stand beside Jiang Pingchuan. Tuolun turned to face Jiang Pingchuan with a deeply complicated expression. Without seeking Jiang Pingchuan’s permission first, he had drawn his blade and held it against the neck of Lun Heng.

He knew very well that Lun Heng was no longer just a comrade from the Elite Guard Camp; he was now serving as Jiang Pingchuan's vanguard officer. By raising his weapon against Lun Heng, he was essentially raising it against Jiang Pingchuan.

"General Pingchuan, I..."

"It is fine. I already said we are keeping them alive."

Jiang Pingchuan said, looking at the visibly conflicted Tuolun. Seeing that there was truly no sign of anger on Jiang Pingchuan’s face, Tuolun finally let out a sigh of relief inwardly, though he still glared at the grinning duo of Lun Heng and Xia Ha standing nearby.

"If these men are willing to follow you, they shall be your soldiers from now on. You will serve as my vanguard officer, alongside Lun Heng and Xia Ha."

Jiang Pingchuan looked from Tuolun to the crowd of captives behind him, then turned without another word and walked toward the surviving Tuoba tribesmen. The tribesmen watched Jiang Pingchuan approach with a measure of trepidation.

With a gentle smile, Jiang Pingchuan scooped up a young child. The Tuoba clansman who had spoken earlier stood beside him with a blushing face, at a loss for words. Had it not been for Jiang Pingchuan, all of their people would have long since perished here.

"Lay them to rest."

Jiang Pingchuan swept his gaze across the fallen bodies of the Tuoba tribesmen scattered about. The man's eyes reddened as he nodded heavily. Cradling the child in his arms, Jiang Pingchuan walked over to the corpse of Tuoba Yunlong, gazing down at the resolute features frozen in death.

Tuoba Yunlong could have easily protected himself, but out of concern for Jiang Pingchuan's safety, he had neglected his own, resulting in his demise. Jiang Pingchuan grasped Tuoba Yunlong’s hand, his brow furrowed and lips pressed into a tight line.

"Do you know who he was?"

Jiang Pingchuan lowered his gaze to ask the child in his arms softly. The child nodded earnestly.

"He was a good man."

Jiang Pingchuan smiled faintly as he looked down at Tuoba Yunlong's body. Upon arriving in the Changfeng Continent, outside of Sanjiang County, the very first person he had met whom he could truly call a sworn brother was Tuoba Yunlong.

Until his dying breath, Tuoba Yunlong had not forgotten to worry about his safety. Jiang Pingchuan gripped Tuoba Yunlong's hand tighter. The child in his arms reached out to gently wipe away a tear at the corner of Jiang Pingchuan’s eye. Blushing, Jiang Pingchuan opened his eyes, offered a gentle smile, and carried the child back into the midst of the Tuoba people.

"General Pingchuan, we wish to march with you. We humbly ask the general to grant our request."

The Tuoba clansman stepped forward alongside several strong, able-bodied young men of the tribe. Jiang Pingchuan shook his head. Everyone froze for a moment, then lowered their heads in deep disappointment, seemingly misinterpreting his gesture.

"I mean no refusal. Take your people back to settle them safely in the tribe. I will send someone here to wait for you."

Jiang Pingchuan looked at the crestfallen group and spoke. Hearing this, all of them lit up with joy, staring at Jiang Pingchuan with eager, shining eyes.