Chapter 86: Tiger Claw—Tiger Claw Once More!

The sudden arrow did not strike the Commandery Princess Huairou, but it startled her badly. The shaft had passed far too close; had it deviated by even a little, it would have taken her life. The Commandery Princess Huairou raised her head and saw a mounted warrior ahead drawing another arrow.

The man wore leather armor and appeared to be a soldier. His index finger was covered in calluses, proof that he had loosed countless arrows. Even after seeing the Commandery Princess Huairou, he nocked another arrow and fired from a distance.

She was stunned. How could she make sense of it? He had clearly seen her, yet he had still shot at her.

The little white rabbit slipped from her hands and struggled away, while the Commandery Princess Huairou stood staring blankly ahead. The arrowhead flashed as it tore through the air, drawing nearer and nearer.

At last, she realized what was happening and let out a shriek, but her legs trembled so violently that she could not dodge in time.

The barbs on the arrowhead were already clearly visible. If it struck her, even if it did not kill her, it would tear away a chunk of flesh. The Commandery Princess Huairou closed her eyes, her body trembling faintly, utterly terrified.

Yet after several moments, the expected impact never came. She opened her eyes in confusion.

Ahead, Yang Lian stood with a long saber in hand. A broken arrow lay on the ground. He had appeared just in time and cleaved the arrow in two.

The Commandery Princess Huairou breathed a sigh of relief. Once again, Yang Lian had saved her.

Mounted on his warhorse, Yang Lian narrowed his eyes. Even if the man did not know the Commandery Princess Huairou, there was no way he could have failed to see her. Yet despite seeing her, he had still loosed the arrow. If he had not deliberately intended to kill her, then he was nothing less than a cold-blooded murderer.

“Stay here and be careful. Do not move,” Yang Lian ordered. Then he spurred his horse toward the man.

The attacker was startled as well. He had never expected Yang Lian to appear so suddenly, ruining his plan to kill the Commandery Princess Huairou. Seeing Yang Lian charging toward him, he hesitated briefly, but in the end he rode forward to meet him. Killing Yang Lian would be an excellent result too.

The crisp sound of hooves rang out as the two men charged at each other. Yang Lian tightened his grip on his saber and struck down two arrows in succession. The man was astonished by the extraordinary strength and swordsmanship behind Yang Lian’s blows. By then, they were close enough that his arrows would be of little use, so he immediately drew the spear from his back.

“Die!”

Their weapons clashed with a sharp ring. Yang Lian’s saber struck the shaft of the man’s spear and actually cleaved a crack into it.

The man was shocked. He had never imagined that Yang Lian’s saber could be so keen. His heart tightened, and a moment later the spear snapped in two.

Realizing how formidable Yang Lian was, the man wheeled his horse and fled. The Commandery Princess Huairou was ahead. She was a helpless noblewoman with no ability to defend herself; killing her would be the best possible outcome.

When Yang Lian saw him suddenly retreat, he was greatly surprised. He quickly turned his horse and pursued him.

Yang Lian’s mount was swift, and he soon caught up. The man was horrified and twisted around to fire an arrow. Yang Lian knocked it aside with his saber and returned an arrow of his own.

The two men battled ahead while the Commandery Princess Huairou watched with unbearable tension and deep resentment toward her attacker. She clenched her fists, praying that Yang Lian would kill him.

He did not disappoint her. After exchanging more than twenty blows with the man, Yang Lian struck him in the chest with his saber. The attacker toppled sideways and fell facedown, his body trembling faintly.

Yang Lian did not lower his guard. He watched the man coldly, then suddenly took up his bow and fired twice in rapid succession, striking the man in the arm. The arrows sank into the earth, making it impossible for him to feign anything even if he intended to.

Yang Lian dismounted and walked over, prodding the man’s body with his saber.

Suddenly, the man’s throat emitted a strange gurgling sound. Yang Lian was startled. The attacker was trying to kill himself.

He hurried forward and turned the man over. A careful look revealed that the man had swallowed poison. Its effects were terrifyingly violent. His body convulsed several times, his face turned horrifyingly dark, and his eyes bulged from their sockets.

“You cannot die yet! Who sent you?” Yang Lian stepped forward and seized the man by the collar, trying to save him, but it was already too late. The man’s head lolled to one side, and he collapsed onto the ground.

He had still been a step too late. Yang Lian sighed inwardly, increasingly puzzled. Why had this man wanted to kill the Commandery Princess?

At that moment, the Commandery Princess Huairou approached and called from a distance, “Yang Lian, are you all right?”

“Do not come over!” Yang Lian shouted.

The man’s death was horrifying. In the short time since he had died, his face had already turned black as ink. Yang Lian had no idea what kind of poison could be so potent.

The Commandery Princess Huairou assumed that Yang Lian had been injured and ran toward him in concern. But when she saw the dead man’s face, her own became deathly pale, and she nearly vomited.

“Turn around. I am fine,” Yang Lian ordered curtly.

The Commandery Princess Huairou quickly turned her back and no longer looked at him.

Yang Lian drew a deep breath and examined the corpse carefully. Even the skin on the man’s neck had turned black. He could not tell whether it was cobra venom or something else.

Then his gaze moved lower, and a sudden thought struck him. He tore open the man’s leather armor.

When the man’s chest and arms were exposed, Yang Lian froze. Carved into the man’s chest was a lifelike tiger’s claw, almost identical to the mark found on the Taihu water bandit in the past.

This was certainly no coincidence, Yang Lian thought. He tore the leather armor open farther and studied the mark carefully.

The people of Suzhou had long spread rumors that the Taihu water bandits were a vicious force supported by Southern Tang. In light of this discovery, the rumors seemed to have some truth to them.

Yang Lian examined the corpse again. The man wore leather armor, and his bow and arrows were of exceptional quality. His equipment was not officially issued by the army, but it was hardly inferior to military gear.

“We are not hunting today. We are leaving,” Yang Lian decided without hesitation. This ambush had clearly been planned. Hunting, no matter how important, could not be more important than their lives. Yang Lian would never casually throw away his own life—or someone else’s.

He tied the attacker to the back of his warhorse, called for the Commandery Princess Huairou, and prepared to return.

The Commandery Princess Huairou crouched on the ground, vomiting repeatedly. She was a delicate flower raised in a hothouse, a noblewoman who had never so much as touched spring water with her ten fingers. Faced with such a scene without warning, it was only natural that she could not bear it at her young age.

Daring not to linger, Yang Lian lifted her onto his warhorse, then led the little red mare back toward the camp.

The camp was bustling with activity. Numerous household servants were busy preparing food. Some had caught game and were gutting and cleaning it.

Green Skirt saw Yang Lian from afar and hurried over.

“General Yang.”

Yang Lian’s expression was solemn. “Pack everything at once. We are leaving.”

“Why?” Green Skirt asked, her eyes wide.

“Do not ask so many questions.” Yang Lian’s stern glare was intimidating.

Green Skirt dared not say anything more and hurried back. By then, the Commandery Princess Huairou’s complexion had improved somewhat. Yang Lian gave her some water, and after drinking the warm water, she looked much better.

“Your Highness, I suspect someone is trying to harm us. This man seems to have some connection with the Taihu water bandits. We cannot remain here. We should return to Jinling first and discuss the matter there,” Yang Lian said quietly.

The Commandery Princess Huairou had recovered her breath, but she was still completely at a loss. She could only nod.

“I will do as you say.”

Yang Lian handed her the waterskin, then rose and walked over to Zhou Ehuang. Lowering his voice, he said, “Young Master Zhou, the ambush against the Commandery Princess Huairou was no coincidence. This place is dangerous. The Princess and I must return immediately. Will you come with us, or remain here?”

When Zhou Ehuang heard that the Commandery Princess Huairou had been ambushed, her expression changed at once. She said uneasily, “I will go with you.”

“Pack only what is necessary. Leave the tents here to attract attention,” Yang Lian said quietly.

Zhou Ehuang nodded, then asked, “The Sixth Prince has gone somewhere. Should we inform him?”

“There is no time. The enemy is hidden, and we do not know when they may attack again. The sooner we leave, the less danger we face. The Sixth Prince’s identity alone should deter anyone from acting against him, and he has several guards with him besides.”

Zhou Ehuang considered this and found it reasonable. Who would dare provoke the Sixth Prince? She immediately stood and summoned her attendants. The group mounted their horses and hurried away, taking almost nothing with them.

They returned to Jinling around noon. Given the Commandery Princess Huairou’s status, entering the city was naturally effortless. Even though it was strange to see a man being dragged behind Yang Lian’s warhorse, the moment Yang Lian produced the command token of the Divine Martial Army, the gate soldiers lost all their nerve. They put on ingratiating smiles and escorted the Commandery Princess Huairou and Yang Lian into the city.

Yang Lian first accompanied Zhou Ehuang back to her residence. Zhou Zong happened to be absent; otherwise, seeing Yang Lian return Zhou Ehuang to the estate would likely have left him trembling with fear.

Yang Lian watched Zhou Ehuang enter the house before finally relaxing. He then escorted the Commandery Princess Huairou to the Prince of Qi’s residence.

Prince Li Jingsui was in the estate amusing himself with birds. As a prince, he had few interests. Poetry and birdkeeping were among his favorites, and they served as his preferred diversions after handling state affairs. He had just finished dealing with several matters and was now teasing a bird while deep in thought.

The north had descended into chaos. Liu Zhiyuan had taken advantage of the situation to seize control of the Central Plains, while the death of the Khitan ruler Yelü Deguang had made the northern situation even more turbulent.

Only now did Li Jingsui understand how sound Yang Lian’s advice had been. Judging from Liu Zhiyuan’s rise alone, he had barely fought any major battles before recovering most of the Central Plains. Although warlords still held the remaining territories, most of them had already existed since the final years of the Tang dynasty. As long as they were not pushed too far, they would not rebel.

“What a squandered opportunity!”

Li Jingsui thought this with bitter regret. He realized that he had truly been shortsighted. If he had stood firm at the time and followed Yang Lian’s advice, perhaps Luoyang, Bianliang, and other places would already have been recovered. The prestige of Great Tang would surely have been restored.

But matters had already reached this point. Liu Zhiyuan had temporarily stabilized his position, and waging war against the Han dynasty would not be wise. Moreover, the Kingdom of Wuyue was watching covetously from the side. Great Tang could not afford to face enemies on two fronts.

They could only watch the changes in the Central Plains from the sidelines. Yet judging from the current situation, it seemed that such an opportunity would never come again.

What gave Li Jingsui a measure of comfort was that northern Huainan had fallen into chaos. Many people had sent envoys bearing lavish gifts to express their willingness to submit to Great Tang.

This showed that, in the eyes of the various powers, Great Tang still possessed considerable strength.

Li Jingsui considered whether northern Huainan should be brought within Great Tang’s sphere of influence. If they controlled northern Huainan, southern Huainan would be protected as well.

With southern Huainan secure, tax revenues would increase, easing the pressure caused by the near-empty treasury. The court of Great Tang would also gain far greater flexibility in allocating funds for its various needs.

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