Chapter Forty-Five: Entering the City

Just as Li Xiong was shouting at the city gate, a sudden clatter of hooves sounded behind him. He turned—heavens! The demon soldiers had come after him again!

Looking closer, beneath a great banner rode another demon general. Li Xiong couldn’t read the characters on the flag, but this general was a towering figure, over nine feet tall, with many arms and legs, a face of ashen iron, and an air of viciousness.

Even if the gates opened, Li Xiong wouldn’t make it inside in time.

With no other choice, he spun around to face the demon general, shouting, “W-w-which fool dares chase after your Grandpa Xiong?!”

It was Meng Keshu himself.

Seeing Li Xiong turn to face him, Meng Keshu reined in his horse with a sharp “whoa!” and stopped immediately. He scrutinized Li Xiong from head to toe, thinking, “Hm, does this wretch even look human? He’s more like a wild man! And what’s that on his back?”

Looking closer—ah! Wasn’t that General Xiao Ling? How had this wild brat managed to capture Xiao Ling? He hadn’t been seen for days, and his nursemaid Wei had said Xiao Ling had suddenly gone mad and run out of the camp. The Marshal thought he’d succumbed to demon poison in the wilds! No, he must rescue Xiao Ling today; his life was still of great importance.

With that, Meng Keshu pointed his long sword at Li Xiong and cursed, “Savage brat! Release our vanguard at once!”

Li Xiong was having none of it. He thought, “What? You want this pretty boy? No way! I’m going to present him to Young Master Feng as a gift!”

So he tucked Xiao Ling behind him and shouted, “N-n-not giving him up! No, never! If you’ve got what it takes, come take him from your Grandpa Xiong yourself!”

Meng Keshu was so infuriated he let out a wild shriek, “Wretched brat! I’ll have your head and leave you no place to die!”

Spurring his horse and brandishing a host of weapons, he charged forward!

As he closed in, he thrust with his spear.

Li Xiong, seeing the spear coming, showed no fear. He raised his twin hammers to block, roaring, “Open!”

The weapons collided with a deafening clang, sparks flying in all directions. Meng Keshu’s grip slipped, and with a shout, his spear went flying into the air, forcing his steed back several paces.

Meng Keshu barely kept his seat, nearly tumbling from his horse. “What strength!” he gasped, shivering in fright. “This brat is tougher than I thought!”

But then he sneered to himself, “So what if he’s strong? Can he match my dozen weapons all at once? Strength didn’t save Wang Erbao from being riddled by my blades!”

With that, he charged again, this time brandishing his many weapons like a storm. He purposely avoided Li Xiong’s hammers and struck at his body instead. As the saying goes: two fists can’t beat four hands! No matter how quick Li Xiong’s chained hammers, he couldn’t match the flurry of a dozen weapons.

Li Xiong was soon pressed hard, barely able to defend against the onslaught. Meng Keshu was secretly delighted, thinking, “You’re finished, brat—soon you’ll end up like Wang Erbao!”

His weapons flashed like lightning, faster and faster. Suddenly he shouted, “Hit!” and with a loud clang, a blade struck Li Xiong’s neck, sending up a shower of sparks.

But Meng Keshu’s triumph was short-lived—Li Xiong was unscathed!

What was this boy made of, immune to blade and spear? No, he had to find his weakness!

So without hesitating, he renewed his assault, striking elsewhere on Li Xiong’s body.

Having been struck on the neck, Li Xiong was incensed. “D-d-damn demon! Your Grandpa Xiong will fight you to the end!” He swung his twin hammers with all his might at Meng Keshu, but Meng Keshu dodged nimbly, evading every deadly blow.

Soon, Meng Keshu spotted another opening and swung an axe at Li Xiong’s waist—clang! Sparks flew once more, but Li Xiong was completely unharmed.

Sweat broke out on Meng Keshu’s brow. In all his battles, he’d never met such a formidable opponent. If he couldn’t win today, he’d at least have to rescue Xiao Ling to salvage some dignity.

With that, Meng Keshu changed tactics, focusing his attacks on the vines binding Xiao Ling to Li Xiong’s back. Li Xiong, not expecting this, kept trading blows with Meng Keshu, unaware of the demon’s true aim.

Soon, with a swift slash, Meng Keshu severed the vines. Li Xiong thought nothing of it—let him try, his sword couldn’t even cut a hair off Grandpa Xiong!

But to his surprise, the sword sliced the vine clean through, and Xiao Ling tumbled to the ground with a thud. The demon soldiers rushed forward, hoisted Xiao Ling up, and carried him away.

Li Xiong panicked. “G-g-give me back my pretty boy!” he shouted, chasing after them. But Meng Keshu blocked his way!

Shamed and enraged, Li Xiong cursed, “D-d-damn demon, I’ll have your life for taking my pretty boy!” and lunged at Meng Keshu, heedless of danger.

Meng Keshu, alarmed, desperately struck out with all his weapons—hacking, stabbing, smashing, slashing—all at once. The clangor of metal filled the air, sparks flying, and his hands were soon numb from the impact, yet Li Xiong remained unscathed!

Meng Keshu was terrified. “Dear heavens, is this even human?!”

He turned his horse to flee, but he was too slow. As he turned his steed, its tail lagged behind. Li Xiong reached out and grabbed it with both hands, gripping tight. With a mighty heave, he hauled both horse and rider back toward him.

Meng Keshu was petrified. He whipped his horse furiously, but the poor animal could take no more. “Master, please stop! My tail hurts!” it seemed to say. With a long, pained whinny, it reared and kicked, then suddenly crashed to the ground and couldn’t get up again.

Meng Keshu was thrown down with it, landing in a heap—nose bruised, face swollen, waist broken, legs twisted—unable to rise for a long while.

“Marshal! Marshal!” The demon soldiers and generals were thrown into chaos, crowding around to protect their fallen leader. If they hadn’t fought so desperately, Meng Keshu would have been captured alive, and Li Xiong would have won great merit in Black Earth City.

Watching Meng Keshu being carried away, Li Xiong’s eyes burned with fury. “O-o-old demon, don’t you run! Give me back my pretty boy!” He tried to pursue, but was blocked by the demon soldiers, unable to move an inch.

All this was clearly seen by Ye Feng atop the city wall. He was astonished by the wild man’s valor—he’d routed Meng Keshu and left him in such a sorry state! Overjoyed, he called out, “Hero, stop fighting and come back quickly!” Then he ordered his men, “Hurry, open the gates and welcome our hero!”

Ye Feng himself raced down from the wall, leading his troops beyond the city.

At the sight of Ye Feng charging out, the demon soldiers scattered in panic, fleeing in all directions. Ye Feng gave no chase, but rode straight to Li Xiong, dismounted, and saluted him with a clasped fist. “Hero, thank you for coming to aid the righteous army. Please, come into the city!”

Li Xiong, seeing Ye Feng, dropped to his knees with a loud thud and knocked his head on the ground three times. “Y-y-young Master Ye, your Grandpa Xiong pays his respects!”—always calling himself Grandpa Xiong, never suffering a loss.

Ye Feng hurriedly helped him up. When Li Xiong raised his head, Ye Feng looked closely—and was shocked. “Isn’t this Li Xiong? How could he have changed so much?”

“Brother Xiong! I’ve missed you all these years!” he cried, embracing Li Xiong in a flood of tears. When Ye Feng had returned to the city before and couldn’t find Li Xiong, he’d thought him dead, and it had weighed on his heart ever since. Who would have thought he’d return now? Ye Feng was overwhelmed with joy, weeping tears of happiness.

Li Xiong wept as well, the two of them holding each other and crying for a long time before wiping away their tears.

Ye Feng praised him, “Good brother, I never imagined you’d become so skilled after all these years—not only did you save me recently, today you even drove off Meng Keshu. This is a great achievement!”

Li Xiong was disgruntled. “B-b-brother, what?! That old demon just now was Meng Keshu? No, that won’t do—I can’t let him off so easily. Your Grandpa Xiong will capture him and present him to you!”

He turned as if to charge the demon camp once more, but Ye Feng held him back.

“Brother, there’s plenty of time! No need to rush,” Ye Feng soothed him, finally persuading Li Xiong, “Let’s rest in the city first. Next time we go out to battle, I’ll make sure you’re the first to face Meng Keshu. This great feat, I’ll save for you!”

Li Xiong grinned, “Now that’s more like it, brother!”

With that, they returned to the city in high spirits.

Murong Yan, hearing the news, came with the generals to greet them, and the whole city celebrated.

After this battle, the demon soldiers suffered a crushing defeat, and Meng Keshu, humiliated, dared not leave his tent to challenge again.