Chapter 26

Tu Si couldn’t help but chuckle at this, “Kid, talking big too early, you’re embarrassing yourself.”

Dazui touched his face and said, “Why do I feel like it’s her standing on the platform embarrassing herself, not me?”

“That means you’ve shared glory and disgrace with Mountain Cannon,” Yang Bang said.

Dazui said, “Glory is fine, but disgrace… let’s skip that.”

But in reality, Shen Yu didn’t boast. It was true that she had only dabbled in those weapons.

She had been with Shen Zhong’an since childhood. Each military commander had their own weapon specialties, and she, being restless by nature, wanted to try them all.

Shen Zhong’an used to say she was fickle, but she argued that without trying each one, how could she know which weapon suited her best?

Chang Heng and Han Jiwu were in the tiger tent, discussing important matters with Sir Xie Tingzhou.

There was a stove burning inside the tent, making people drowsy, but the atmosphere was solemn.

Yesterday, the imperial decree arrived at Yanliang Pass, praising the Beilin Qingyun Guard, and ordered the Crown Prince Xie Tingzhou to quickly escort the prisoners to the capital.

Han Jiwu looked grave, “The old emperor must have started to suspect. Calling His Highness into the capital this time, I’m afraid it’s not good news waiting for us.”

Xie Tingzhou leaned back in his chair, lost in thought, “First they eliminate Shen Zhong’an, then drag Beilin into it. The one who can set up such a scheme must hold high authority. Now the capital is controlled by the four major families, and it’s all up to them.”

A big tree attracts the wind; when something reaches its extreme, it will reverse. Xie Tingzhou’s battle five years ago made the emperor see the strength of Beilin.

Beilin was too powerful, making Emperor Li uneasy.

So at that time, Xie Tingzhou chose to retreat strategically, and in these years, Beilin kept a low profile, enduring silently. This was how they reached a relative balance with the capital.

But this balance was broken at Yanliang Pass.

At that time, Yanliang Pass was on the brink of collapse, and Xie Tingzhou had only two choices in front of him.

Either give up Yanliang Pass and continue to hide their strength for stability, or send troops to rescue Yanliang Pass.

Ultimately, Xie Tingzhou’s decision was straightforward. He chose to save the countless civilians, but it put Beilin in a dangerous situation.

Chang Heng pondered, “Could it be related to the Shen family?”

“It shouldn’t be,” Han Jiwu shook his head, “Shen Zhong’an never asked Beilin for help from start to finish.”

“But his in-laws made a big fuss about raising provisions. It’s hard not to notice. Isn’t this equivalent to telling us that Yanliang Pass is in trouble in another way? Moreover, the end result is here, we’re here.”

The two couldn’t agree, so Xie Tingzhou said, “The end result is that Shen Zhong’an died in battle, and he was also part of the scheme.”

Someone outside wanted to see Chang Heng.

Chang Heng went out for a moment and came back to excuse himself to Xie Tingzhou, “Your Highness, there’s a bit of trouble at the training grounds. I need to go see.”

“What happened?” Xie Tingzhou asked.

Chang Heng said, “Two of my men, Dazui and Shi Yu, got into a fight at the training grounds. I need to go over and make sure Dazui doesn’t hurt anyone too badly. I quite like that kid Shi Yu.”

Xie Tingzhou smiled faintly, “You should remind Shi Yu not to go too hard.”

Chang Heng didn’t agree.

Dazui was his capable subordinate, capable of facing a hundred on the battlefield. Shi Yu was strong too, but he probably wouldn’t be able to gain any advantage against Dazui.

Xie Tingzhou sneered, “Don’t believe me?”

He set down his teacup and stood up, “Let’s go take a look.”

On the platform, Tu Si had already chosen his weapon.

He was originally skilled with knives, being a top-notch knife wielder in the military. However, winning with his best weapon might not be very glorious, so using other weapons to win would make him even more formidable.

Tu Si didn’t even regard the slender and weak Shiyu, as he spun his long spear, drawing a silver streak in the air before thudding the spear butt on the ground.

There was an instant cheer from the audience below, just from this starting move alone showing its complexity.

Feeling somewhat proud, Tu Si was quite adept with the long spear, and he didn’t fear facing a mere Shiyu with it.

“Have you made your choice?” Tu Si asked. “What’s your weapon?”

Shen Yu scanned the surroundings and walked slowly to the weapons rack, running her fingertips over it until she stopped at a white wax pole.

“This one,” she casually pulled out the white wax pole.

Tu Si’s expression turned ugly, and there was a lot of murmuring in the crowd below.

The white wax pole was made of Bai waxwood, pure white like jade, strong yet flexible. It was excellent material for making a spear.

He had chosen the long spear, but this kid chose a bare white wax pole without a spearhead. Wasn’t this humiliating him?

“Are you sure you’ve made your choice?” Tu Si’s tone was heavy. “Blades have no eyes. Don’t blame me for going too hard later.”

“I’ll return your words to you,” Shen Yu said firmly.

As soon as she finished speaking, she gripped the white wax pole and shook it. A gust of wind came, and the white wax pole left an afterimage in the air.

This move was swift and fierce. Tu Si didn’t dare to take it head-on and quickly retreated to the side.

As the white wax pole was about to strike the ground, the youth closed the distance, his palm lightly gripping from the spear’s tail to the head, executing a reverse thrust.

Tu Si’s pupils contracted slightly, and a few words flashed through his mind: underestimating the opponent.

When the long spear collided with the white wax pole in midair, Tu Si’s arm immediately went numb from the impact.

Tu Si was tall and robust, with strength comparable to Shiyu’s. Logically, this strike from Shiyu shouldn’t have been particularly effective. But he was wrong.

Because at the moment of impact, the white wax pole in the youth’s hand was released, lacking the control of force. This collision caused the white wax pole to soar into the sky and roll several times before losing momentum.

The youth swiftly caught the white wax pole with a flick of his foot and spun for another strike.

Cheers erupted, reaching the sky.

Tu Si hadn’t fully recovered from the numbness, but the second strike came immediately.

This time, Tu Si didn’t dare to take it head-on, sidestepping to avoid the long spear’s direct stab.

Both of them were quick in their moves, one fierce and the other agile.

Dazui’s mouth had been agape since the start of the match, and he was stunned watching Shiyu on the field.

Although he couldn’t understand the moves, he could see that Shiyu was clearly dominating, with agile footwork and a nimble body. The clash of the long spear and the white wax pole sounded crackling.

“Pinch me,” Dazui said.

Yang Bang was so engrossed in watching that he didn’t respond.

Dazui reached out and pinched his arm.

“Ah—!” Yang Bang exclaimed, “Why did you pinch me?”

“I’m not dreaming,” Dazui said, “Is this really Mountain Cannon?”

“Is this really Mountain Cannon?!” Dazui asked again, excitedly grabbing Yang Bang’s shoulder, “It’s really the Mountain Cannon we know!”