Wang Ji stood atop the towering city wall, his hands clasped behind his back as he stared into the distance beyond Yinchuan City.
Outside the walls, the rebel army had already formed their camp.
They were positioned deliberately far away, roughly a li from the city. This was the standard distance for an attacking force. Close enough to intimidate, far enough to avoid being struck by arrows or stones from the battlements. It was a posture that said, we are not attacking yet, but we can at any moment.
From where he stood, Wang Ji could vaguely make out a single figure standing at the forefront of the rebel formation.
Li Daoxuan.
His figure was small against the mass of soldiers, yet unmistakable. Around him stood several men. Even from this distance, Wang Ji could guess who they were. Zhao Bazong, along with the core generals of Dashapu fortress.
They appeared to be talking.
Unfortunately, distance robbed Wang Ji of any details. He could not hear their voices, nor see their expressions clearly. All he could do was stare, his heart tightening with every passing breath.
Then, suddenly, the scene changed.
Zhao Bazong and six other rebel leaders abruptly spread out, moving in unison. In just a few breaths, they had formed a loose circle around Li Daoxuan, sealing him inside.
Wang Ji sucked in a sharp breath.
"Ah? The negotiations failed?"
His fingers dug into the stone parapet.
"They are going to fight? Damn it… what a pity I cannot see clearly."
From the city wall, everything that followed looked like a blur of motion.
The battle began.
Zhao Bazong was the first to move.
He stepped forward and threw a punch straight at Li Daoxuan's chest, fast and fierce, carrying the strength of a hardened border general.
But the moment his fist landed, Zhao Bazong's face twisted violently.
He staggered backward several steps, clutching his hand to his chest. His fingers trembled uncontrollably, and his mouth twitched as pain surged through his arm.
At the same time, another general launched a kick from behind, aiming directly at Li Daoxuan's waist.
The kick connected solidly.
Yet the result was identical.
The general recoiled instantly, hopping backward on one leg, his face contorted as he sucked in air through clenched teeth.
"So painful," he gasped. "This bastard's bones are hard as iron."
Two more generals seized the opening and rushed forward together.
They grabbed Li Daoxuan's wrists, one on each side, intending to restrain him by brute force.
For a brief moment, it looked like they had succeeded.
Then, without warning, their hands suddenly went slack.
The two generals froze.
They stared down in disbelief.
In their palms were Li Daoxuan's hands.
Separated cleanly.
"Ah?"
Their voices came out thin and broken.
They looked up again, eyes wide, and saw that there was no blood spraying, no torn flesh. Where Li Daoxuan's wrists should have been, there were only two dark, hollow openings.
Round.
Deep.
Cold.
They looked exactly like the muzzles of cannons.
Before either man could scream, Li Daoxuan lifted his arms.
The twin cannon muzzles were aimed directly at their faces.
The two generals shrieked in sheer terror.
Almost reflexively, they slammed the severed palms back onto those dark holes.
A sickening click echoed.
Both men collapsed backward, legs turning to jelly, barely able to remain standing.
"This fellow… he's not human!"
"What kind of monster is this?"
"Something's wrong. This fight is wrong!"
At that moment, Li Daoxuan's head rotated.
Completely.
With a smooth, unnatural motion, it twisted one hundred and eighty degrees until his face was staring directly at the two men behind him.
His mouth curved into a broad, cheerful grin.
It was the kind of sight that could haunt a man's dreams for the rest of his life.
The seven rebel leaders screamed at the same time.
They leapt backward as if burned, then drew their swords in a panic. Blades crossed before their chests, not in attack, but in desperate defense.
Every line on their faces screamed the same message.
Do not come any closer.
Li Daoxuan chuckled softly.
"See?" he said calmly. "What did I tell you?"
The seven men trembled.
One of them stammered, "You… what kind of demon are you?"
Li Daoxuan tilted his head slightly, as if genuinely puzzled.
"Why must it be a demon?" he asked. "Can it not be a god?"
He did not wait for an answer.
Turning around, he began to walk away.
"It's settled," he said casually. "Two days. Wait for two days. I will bring you food and resolve the issue of your overdue wages. Stop rebelling. Go back to guarding the border and do what you are supposed to do."
Zhao Bazong and the others stood rooted in place, watching his retreating figure.
A cold chill crawled up their spines.
After a long silence, one general whispered, "Commander… what do we do? Are we still attacking Yinchuan City?"
Zhao Bazong let out a hollow laugh.
"Attack?" he scoffed. "Are you joking?"
He clenched his teeth.
"With a monster like that inside the city, how are we supposed to attack? He is clearly invulnerable to blades and spears. His body is iron. His arms are cannons. Even if we throw all our soldiers at him, we cannot kill him. But he could charge into our main camp at any moment and slaughter us all."
The other generals fell silent.
Finally, Zhao Bazong made his decision.
"We retreat," he said heavily. "Hide for two days. Stay alert. If he keeps his promise, then we stand down."
As the rebel leaders withdrew, Li Daoxuan walked back toward the city gate at an unhurried pace.
He raised his head and called out, "Open the gate."
The guards on the wall exchanged uncertain glances.
None of them dared to move.
Only after Wang Ji spoke did they act.
"Open it," Wang Ji said. "The rebels no longer intend to attack."
From the city wall, he had already seen the rebels abandoning half of their siege equipment and pulling back.
The gates creaked open.
Li Daoxuan entered the city and returned to the wall.
Wang Ji stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"Thank you, young hero, for entering the enemy camp alone and driving back three thousand men by yourself."
"Enemy?" Li Daoxuan frowned. "I do not like that word. Those are clearly my troops. How did they become enemies?"
Wang Ji froze.
Li Daoxuan continued, his tone sharpening slightly.
"Governor Wang, you have not forgotten why they came here, have you? Is this really their fault?"
Wang Ji felt his face heat up.
"Well… regardless, I must still thank you for saving my life."
"I did not save you," Li Daoxuan replied calmly. "I saved the common people inside Yinchuan City. If the border army had truly broken in, they would have lost control in the chaos. Civilians would have suffered. I intervened because I did not want to see innocent people harmed, nor good men turned into monsters by rage."
Wang Ji was left speechless once more.
A trace of bitterness welled up in his chest. As a provincial governor, he was accustomed to respect. Rarely had anyone spoken to him so bluntly.
Yet he dared not protest.
He had already seen enough.
That young man's strength was unfathomable.
"Now," Li Daoxuan said, "it is time for us to talk."
Wang Ji straightened. "Please, young hero, instruct me."
"In two days," Li Daoxuan said, "supplies will arrive. I will provide them to the border army free of charge to stabilize the situation."
Wang Ji was overjoyed.
But Li Daoxuan did not stop.
"This only patches things up temporarily," he continued. "Once I leave, you will fall behind on their pay again. In a few months, they will return."
Wang Ji opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He knew this was true.
Finally, he pleaded, "Young hero, then save me completely."
Li Daoxuan nodded.
"To solve this problem, Yinchuan must become self sufficient. Do not wait for the court to rescue you. Create industries. Generate income. Use that income to support the border army."
Wang Ji sighed deeply.
"I understand this in theory," he said. "But what can Yinchuan produce? Other than cattle, sheep, and horses, what else do we have?"
Li Daoxuan smiled.
"Cattle, sheep, and horses are enough."
Wang Ji hesitated.
"But animal husbandry is vulnerable to Mongol raids. People can flee. Livestock cannot. Once stolen, everything is lost."
Li Daoxuan's eyes gleamed.
"That," he said, "is exactly why we need to talk about how to protect them."