Chapter 37: The Earth Immortal and the Mules of Huaixi

Earth immortals? Hearing Qin Yan speak in such a manner, Lin Langjun, Huang Chao's nephew, dropped his jaw so wide that he looked as though he could stuff an entire crab apple into his mouth.

Naturally, he knew that the "earth immortals" Qin Yan referred to were not a type of celestial deity, but rather those monsters rumored to be formed from the dead coming back to life.

Zhu Wen sneered, "It seems that the 'Master of the Three Funerals' has arrived."

"Master of the Three Funerals? Wasn't that Master Xuanzang who traveled to the Western Heaven to retrieve scriptures at the beginning of the dynasty?"

Huang Chao shook his head. "Not the 'Zang' of 'Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva', but the 'Zang' of 'burial'. Besides, 'Zang' is also this person's surname."

Lin Yan was greatly astonished. "There is actually such a rare surname?"

Huang Chao said with a calm expression, "Prefect Zang of Yingzhou; his other identity is the Master of the Xiangxi Corpse-Controlling Sect."

He did not feel this was a strange matter in the least.

It was not uncommon for people of the pugilistic world to hold official posts in the imperial court. For instance, Lei Yingfu, the military surveillance adjudicator of Zhaoyi who was currently trapped like a caged bird inside the city of Songzhou by the rebel army, originated from the Thunder Family of the Thunderbolt Hall.

During the previous battle of the Riven Stele Valley, Wang Xianzhi's faction had been attacked by Lei Yingfu with the Thunderbolt Hall's gunpowder arrows and explosive satchels, suffering quite heavy losses. Now that Lei Yingfu had also suffered severe casualties in the great battle of Songzhou and fled into the city like a stray dog, the rebel army camp had more or less settled the score.

As the saying goes, "It is good to cultivate one's skills within the six gates." For those of the martial arts underworld, obtaining an official position was not regarded as being a "running dog of the court," but rather considered quite a glorious achievement.

Even if what they obtained was merely scraps and crumbs leaking through the fingers of the noble clans.

"This disciple will immediately lead troops to the rescue!" Zhu Wen said resolutely.

At the several city gates surrounded by Huang Chao's army, the imperial troops were also desperately launching breakout assaults. Meng Kai was not present, and Duan Hongyan along with several other generals had already fallen into fierce combat.

Clearly, this attack was a premeditated internal and external pincer movement, quietly coordinated with those inside the city.

Since the rebel army currently surrounded Songzhou city as tight as an iron bucket, it was obvious that the adversaries had also planted personnel within the rebel ranks in order to cross the blockade line and establish contact with the city interior.

"Uncle..." Lin Yan stammered slightly, but immediately gathered his courage: "I will go together with General Zhu Wen's camp!"

This slender, shy, and somewhat indecisive youth ultimately revealed a reliable side at a critical moment.

"Good!" Huang Chao clapped his hands heartily. "The two of you immediately lead a light force for swift reinforcement, and my infantry will follow right behind!"

The "Prefect Zang" who called himself the "Master of the Three Funerals" was undoubtedly no easy person to deal with.

Yet Huang Chao did not offer any superfluous words of caution like "proceed with care."

Having passed through the harrowing decisive battle of Songzhou, Huang Chao had long since placed his trust in Zhu Wen's capabilities.

Zhu Wen and Lin Yan mounted their horses and rode out of the camp with the cavalry.

When they arrived, what met their eyes was already a scene of desolation.

Battle banners were broken and scattered across the ground; earthworks had collapsed, stained with streaks of un dried greenish blood; raging fires spread along the wooden stockades, dancing in the summer wind, their blistering heat oppressive.

Midsummer was evidently a season very well suited for fire attacks.

When Wang Xianzhi besieged the city, he did not stretch his encampments for seven hundred miles like Liu Bei during the fire attack at Yiling in the Three Kingdoms era; he had merely set up siege fortifications at the city gates.

Yet the fire prevention measures had clearly been poorly executed as well.

For instance, the pre-Qin text *Han Feizi* stated that when building military camps, one must "carefully plaster the gaps with earth," sealing the seams of wooden walls with mud and ash so that continuous stretches of timber would not burn so easily.

However, Wang Xianzhi's army lacked any such defensive awareness.

Therefore, to the eyes of Zhu Wen and Lin Yan, this camp had completely collapsed, and the soldiers of Wang Xianzhi's faction were in panicked retreat, struggling to form lines to resist the pursuit of the imperial troops.

Feeling the oncoming wave of heat, Zhu Wen used his left hand as a fan to brush the sweat from his face.

Even while wearing only thin leather armor, it was still terribly hot... He sighed inwardly. If the legendary "Freezing Frost Energy" truly existed, he would definitely have to practice it, if only to cool down a bit in the summer.

He suddenly recalled—didn't the cultivation technique practiced by the "Snow Commander" Qi Kelang allow him to conjure flying frost even in the month of June? He just wondered if it could remain effective consistently.

Zhu Wen then spotted a group of imperial cavalry galloping back and forth wielding long spears. Just as Qin Yan had said, they were all riding mules.

These large beasts, resembling both donkeys and horses, did not look particularly pleasing to the eye, but their paces were extremely steady. The riders urged the mules forward, charging unhurriedly right up to the front of Wang Xianzhi's rebel infantry. With a flick of a long spear, they would often hoist foot soldiers from the ground—men and shields alike—high into the air, only to let them crash heavily down like tattered sandbags.

"The Huaixi Mule Cavalry," Zhu Wen sighed. "I never expected that sixty years after the fall of the Huaixi Garrison, the imperial court would still preserve this legacy."

Zhu Wen's subordinate young officer, Huo Cun, said, "The Huaixi soldiers are the finest in the realm; no matter how wary the court is of them, how could it easily let them go?"

The Huaixi Garrison was a vassal state that had fallen a full sixty years ago.

Yet it remained famous to this day because the Huaixi Garrison had split off and resisted the imperial court for nearly sixty years.

At its most arrogant, the court dispatched troops from sixteen circuits to subjugate Huaixi, only to be defeated and forced to retreat with shattered armies.

In the end, Emperor Xianzong achieved a restoration, once again dispatching troops from sixteen circuits, mustering the military might of the entire realm, and enduring three years of bitter warfare before finally succeeding in cutting down the Huaixi vassal state, having experienced several disastrous defeats along the way.

Therefore, even though Huaixi was defeated, the local people remained quite proud, proclaiming that "Huaixi troops are the finest, surpassing all under heaven!"

The Huaixi army had another distinctive characteristic: their region lacked warhorses, so they fought while riding mules, yet they frequently routed the elite cavalry of the imperial court.

"It seems Alliance Leader Wang's defeat this time is not entirely unjust," Zhu Wen evaluated.

"Because the elite Huaixi troops retain their combat prowess of yesteryear?" Lin Yan asked.

Zhu Wen shook his head. "That's not the only issue. Why did we only consider that the Flame Commander's army might flow down the North Bian River? Because after the An Lushan Rebellion, the imperial court's horse administration deteriorated; nowadays, not only does our rebel army lack horses, but the imperial army is also quite short of horses."

Huo Cun chimed in, "So naturally, we underestimated the speed at which the enemy arrived."

Zhu Wen said, "Because we failed to account for those mules from Huaixi. Yingzhou is very close to Huaixi, so they could certainly bring over those mules that had lain dormant for sixty years."

A full sixty years had passed; the Huaixi soldiers were certainly not the Huaixi soldiers of back then, and the mules were not the mules of back then either.

Generations upon generations had passed, numbering who knows how many.

Yet, watching this group of mule cavalry before him—moving forward and backward with precision, fighting with calm composure—Zhu Wen had to acknowledge a certain reality.

"It seems that compared to earth immortals, mules are even harder to deal with."

As they spoke, an earth immortal draped in tattered Taoist robes, covered all over in green fur and exuding a pungent, rotting stench, came stumbling forward, lunging fiercely at Zhu Wen.

Zhu Wen swung his precious saber fiercely from horseback. A flash of red light swept past with a dull thud, striking its neck and leaving only a shred of skin and flesh connecting it to the head.

After its head drooped, the earth immortal maintained a dazed expression and continued walking forward. Zhu Wen delivered a follow-up strike, completely severing its neck. The head crashed heavily to the ground, while the body still lunged toward Zhu Wen. However, Zhu Wen swerved his horse to dodge it, and the headless torso soon collapsed onto the earth, falling completely silent.

"Things like earth immortals look quite terrifying," Zhu Wen pointed with his halberd at Wang Xianzhi's rebel troops on the battlefield, who were scurrying about in panic, frightened by a scattered dozen or so green-furred earth immortals. "But after all, they are rather clumsy, and their threat still falls short of the mules."

"Besides, once a person dies, they die; they generally cannot turn into earth immortals." Zhu Wen pointed his halberd at the blood spathed onto the ground from the severed neck of the earth immortal just moments ago. "I deduce that the corpse-controlling technique passed down through generations in the Corpse-Controlling Sect is about making living people ingest some kind of secret medicine, turning them into such neither-human-nor-ghost appearances."

He sighed, "It is truly devoid of humanity."

Huo Cun furrowed his brow in deep thought. "Mules are born from a donkey stallion and a mare, and black donkey hooves are said to be able to deal with earth immortals."

He clapped his hands abruptly, looking as though he had a sudden realization. "Boss, I understand. No wonder mules are even more formidable than earth immortals!"

"Well spoken." Zhu Wen appeared highly appreciative of the youth's train of thought. "Moreover, I recall you mentioning that you wanted to become a cavalry general."

"As a cavalry general, capturing prisoners alive is quite an important skill. Lad, go over there, capture a Huaixi cavalryman along with his mule, and don't disgrace the men under my command!"

"Understood!"

Huo Cun spurred his horse, flying forward as he charged toward a Huaixi mule cavalryman.

The opponent was currently wielding a heavy spear, chasing down and killing Wang Xianzhi's retreating soldiers. Seeing Huo Cun gallop toward him, he hurriedly hung his spear on his waist and drew his bow to shoot rapidly. However, Huo Cun employed a technique of concealing himself beside the stirrup, dodging the sharp arrow, and closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

The rider had no choice but to draw his heavy spear again and thrust it fiercely at Huo Cun's head and face. Yet Huo Cun raised his left-hand leather shield, blocking the hurriedly exerted shaft. His mount quickly closed in right before the rider, and he slashed a saber directly toward the rider's chest.

The rider could only lean backward to dodge, but how could he be faster than a saber? The thick back of the blade struck the rider's heart-guard mirror with a *clang*, sending sparks flying. With a startled cry, the rider lost his footing and fell from his horse.

Huo Cun laughed heartily, stretched out his arm to haul the man up from mid-air as if he were lifting a child, grabbed the reins with his left hand, and hauled the dazed mule right back into their formation.

"This lad who shares a name with Second Brother used to be a horse bandit; even I cannot match his horsemanship in the saddle," Zhu Wen boasted to generals like Qin Yan and Lin Yan.

Zhu Cun merely stood to the side, smiling good-naturedly as though it had nothing to do with him. Back when the two brothers subdued the bandits of Copper Mountain, Huo Cun had nearly been executed on the spot by an enraged Zhu Wen for wounding Zhu Wen's arm. It was thanks to his own discerning eye that he had spared this youth with the talent of a cavalry general. But why bother dwelling on such matters with others?

"Reporting to the camp general: Huo Cun has fulfilled his mission and captured an enemy cavalryman to present!" Huo Cun panted slightly, a trace of unconcealed pride resting upon his youthful countenance.

Zhu Wen nodded slightly, expressing his praise for Huo Cun.

Immediately, soldiers seized this mule cavalryman thrown to the ground by Huo Cun and bound him up like a rice dumpling.

Throughout the Tang dynasty, capturing prisoners alive was extremely prevalent and served as an important means to undermine enemy morale. Armies even had specialized generals for capturing live prisoners. An Lushan, the primary culprit who instigated the An Lushan Rebellion, had started his career in his early days precisely as a "prisoner-capturing general."

A group of Huaixi mule cavalrymen had been fighting with great fervor when, in the blink of an eye, one of their riders was captured, leaving them both startled and furious as they cursed aloud.

Zhu Wen, however, did not give them a chance to react. With a wave of his hand, the rebel cavalrymen swept into the enemy formation like flying clouds and flashing lightning to slash and kill!

Although mules were large in size, charging into battle ultimately fell short of horses. The Huaixi army fought while riding mules primarily through two major killer moves: first, relying on the mules for rapid mobility before dismounting for infantry combat, and second, riding mules to shoot arrows from horseback, harassing and inflicting casualties upon the enemy like a swarm of bees.

Under the scorching heat, the rebel cavalrymen all charged into battle in light armor, which required them to make an all-out charge, displaying a do-or-die momentum. Only by galloping at top speed could they minimize the risk of being harmed by the mule cavalry's rain of arrows.

Whenever troops engaged in battle upon the killing fields, those resigned to death would survive, while those hoping to survive would perish.

Huo Cun's fierce cavalry charge and successful capture of a prisoner greatly boosted the morale of the rebel side while dealing a heavy blow to the pride of the Huaixi mule cavalry.

Seizing this golden opportunity, Zhu Wen and the others formed a wedge formation with spaced-out ranks and charged directly into the formation. Qin Yan galloped wildly while holding the banner, and the rest of the cavalry scattered accordingly into a horizontal line, slashing and killing indiscriminately amidst the dispersed mule cavalry formation.

Wherever they rode their horses, the mule cavalrymen sent flying arrows drifting through the air, attempting to prevent them from closing in.

One cavalryman was struck by an arrow from a mule archer, crying out as he fell from his horse. The riderless horse continued galloping forward, knocking a green-furred earth immortal tumbling to the ground.

Yet after falling, that earth immortal scrambled back up, swaying unsteadily.

Furthermore, as the horse galloped over it, the earth immortal viciously bit the horse's leg.

This riderless horse wore a dazed expression, then turned around as if intending to gallop back toward its own formation.

Suddenly, a strange cyan hue suffused its equine face, and it puffed and panted before spinning around in mad circles, kicking its hind legs in place. Finally, emitting a painful whinny, it collapsed onto its side, stirring up a flurry of dust across the ground.

The rebel heroes, who had been darting back and forth like falcons within the mule cavalry formation and charging through several rounds, also changed their expressions slightly.

The Xiangxi Corpse-Controlling Sect was a rather mysterious faction, always shrouded in layers of mist within martial arts legends.

What was certain was that for over two hundred years, it had been serving the Great Tang imperial court. However, the number of times the Corpse-Controlling Sect's "earth immortals" had actually been deployed in battle was exceedingly rare.

Now it seemed that whether these "earth immortals" were resurrected corpses or living people turned into monsters through secret medicines, several points were certain.

First, their vitality was exceptionally strong; even after being struck squarely by a running horse weighing several hundred catties, they could still get up as if nothing had happened.

Second, their teeth contained lethal venom, capable of causing rapid death after biting someone.

Third, they could distinguish friend from foe and would not launch attacks against their own comrades.

Based on these points alone, these "earth immortals" were quite capable of becoming formidable super-weapons for the imperial army!

Lin Yan reined in his horse to a halt, drew his saber to strike a mule cavalryman down from his saddle, pulled the reins to gallop away, and remarked to Zhu Wen with a sigh, "It seems earth immortals are not necessarily any easier to deal with than mules."

"The mules were caught off guard by us earlier and didn't react for a moment," Zhu Wen said as he turned his warhorse back toward the formation. "If you look closely, Lord Lin, you'll find that there are far more mules than this handful of cavalrymen we have."

Lin Yan was startled. Gazing intently, he saw that the mule cavalrymen were indeed rapidly regrouping and restoring order. This faction of mule cavalrymen consisted of elite troops skilled in orderly warfare; once they reacted, they were by no means pleasant opponents to deal with.

He asked in surprise, "Then aren't we... forced to fall back?"

"Not necessarily," Zhu Wen maintained a contemplative and deeply thoughtful demeanor. "Alliance Leader Wang is over at the west gate, but Vice Alliance Leader Liu appears to have taken advantage of our reinforcement window to reorganize the troops. Before Master arrives with the infantry to support us, we can hold out for a while longer."

Lin Yan raised his eyes and swept the surroundings, indeed spotting Vice Alliance Leader Liu Yanzhang of the Zhenyi Alliance riding a cyan horse, wielding a great spear, and leading dozens of regrouped cavalrymen from Wang Xianzhi's faction as they slanted into the mule cavalry formation to slaughter.

Behind them, the rebel infantrymen were also encouraging one another, once again forming lines of spears, shields, and sabers.

Liu Yanzhang was not particularly adept at wielding a heavy spear, but his foundational martial arts were solid. Despite his seemingly lean shoulders, when he swung his spear, his strength was like a mountain. With a single sweeping thrust, he batted a mule cavalryman flying horizontally off his mule, crashing him into another mule rider like playing polo.

"Thanks to the strength of Nephew Liangyu!" Liu Yanzhang cupped his fists from horseback in gratitude. "Otherwise, our army might not have gotten the chance to reorganize!"