Chap 4: Into the Abyss

The night was as dark as ink. The stone fortress of the horse thieves clung to the mountain, a stubborn piece of rock embedded deep in the crags. Qin Lan had selected a team of guards for Li Shuang, all of whom were loyal to her. Though Qin Lan wished to accompany her, she had left him at Changfeng Camp.

Now, Li Shuang led ten soldiers dressed in black, silently lurking on the hill, a hundred feet from the stronghold. They used the cover of darkness to observe the situation. In the distance, the main hall was brightly lit, but the most heavily guarded spot was a small courtyard in the southwestern corner. At least five or six guards stood at the gate, and including those on the roof and the walkway, there were more than twenty.

Each man was sturdy and armed with a tiger-head broadsword. Even from this distance, the reflection from their blades was blinding.

Li Shuang had a hunch—this must be where the horse thieves were keeping Li Ting.

With a few quick gestures, her guards understood the plan without a word. They disappeared like the wind, quickly and quietly. Upon reaching the gate of the fortress, they silently dispatched the unsuspecting gatekeeper. Not even the flames in the lanterns flickered.

Following Li Shuang’s orders, three soldiers created a diversion in the main hall, while another three set the kitchen ablaze. Soon, flames illuminated the eastern side, creating confusion. Li Shuang and her remaining team slipped into the southwestern courtyard, unnoticed.

Though a woman, Li Shuang had earned the nickname "Jade-faced Yama" on the battlefield. She was as ruthless as the most vicious wolves outside the Great Wall. Her blade gleamed under the firelight as she cut down the first thief who crossed her path, painting a fearsome image as the flames danced behind her. The guards were engaged with the horse thieves, but Li Shuang pressed forward, her cold blade clearing her path without hesitation.

When she reached the door of a small house, she kicked it open.

Suddenly, the sound of mechanisms echoed through the air. Poisoned arrows, glimmering with a cold, blue light, shot toward her. Before she could react, she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, pulling her into a warm embrace. 

The sharp "ding ding" of arrows hitting the ground filled her ears. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man who had just saved her knock all the arrows to the ground in an instant.

Who was he?

Startled, Li Shuang tried to push him away to see his face, but his grip tightened around her. Her palms pressed against his chest, feeling his solid form and the heat radiating from his body. His scent filled her senses.

"You!" Li Shuang’s voice was harsh, ready to scold him, but before the words left her mouth, another arrow whizzed by her head, narrowly missing her.

Had it not been for his intervention, she might have been struck dead by the arrow.

Her anger faded. She pushed against him again, and this time, he loosened his grip, but his hand still lingered at her lower back, protective.

Who was this man?

Li Shuang glanced up, finally seeing his face—or rather, half of it. The lower half was concealed by a black armored mask. A bright flame-shaped scar ran from his chest, up his neck, across his jaw, and vanished beneath his visor. His exposed eyes were a terrifying red, burning with intensity, as if the flame had seeped into his very blood.

And in that fiery gaze, Li Shuang’s reflection shone clearly.

The heat radiating from his body was unnatural, and in the freezing night of the frontier, he seemed unaffected by the cold.

This man was no ordinary warrior.

She eyed the poison arrows he had knocked to the ground. Could he have deflected them with his bare hands? His internal energy must be extraordinary.

"Who are you?" she asked, her tone solemn.

Before he could answer, a faint cry for help came from inside the house—Li Ting’s voice!

Li Shuang immediately refocused. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on the mysterious stranger. She raised her sword and moved to enter the room, but the man stopped her. "Wait for me," he said, his voice low and calm.

With lightning speed, he disappeared inside before Li Shuang could react.

Despite his help, Li Shuang didn’t trust him fully. She couldn’t be certain of his intentions toward Li Ting. Ignoring his warning, she followed him into the room.

Inside, past a screen, she found Li Ting tied up on a simple bed. His usual polished appearance was replaced with dirt and panic. His eyes widened at the sight of Li Shuang, and he made muffled cries through the cloth gag.

Relief washed over her when she saw he was unharmed.

The masked man was untying Li Ting. The moment he was freed, Li Ting pulled the gag from his mouth and stumbled off the bed. "Sister—"

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a sharp "click," and the section where Li Ting stood, along with the ground beneath the man, suddenly collapsed. A trap!

Li Shuang’s eyes widened as both Li Ting and the man in black armor disappeared into the trap with no warning. She immediately darted forward. As she reached the edge, Li Ting was thrown upward like a rag doll. Li Shuang barely managed to catch him.

"Take him away," a steady voice called up from the darkness below.

Though Li Shuang couldn’t see into the trap, the calmness in the man’s voice reassured her. With the skill he had shown, escaping the trap should be within his abilities. But for now, Li Ting’s safety was her priority. After quickly weighing her options, she pulled Li Ting toward the exit.

Outside, the soldiers had nearly wiped out the remaining horse thieves in the courtyard. However, those who had gone to fight the fire in the east were now rallying and preparing to return. Li Shuang made a swift hand signal to retreat. One of the soldiers raised a bamboo tube into the sky, sending up a bright red signal that exploded against the cold night sky.

Startled by the sudden flare, Li Ting grabbed Li Shuang’s hand, his wide eyes filled with fear. "Sister! That trap was filled with sharp blades. That man got hurt saving me! I... I don’t know how he’s doing..."

Li Shuang’s expression darkened. She cast a quick glance toward the soldiers assembling before her and then looked back toward the trap. She pushed Li Ting toward one of the soldiers, her voice firm. "Take him back."

The soldier responded immediately. "Yes, sir!"

Li Ting, eyes brimming with tears, cried out, "Sister, what about you?"

"Don’t embarrass yourself!" Li Shuang snapped, glaring at him. "I’ll deal with you when I return." Without another word, she turned back toward the hut, leaving the soldiers to carry Li Ting away.

She had complete faith in her men to get Li Ting safely back to Changfeng Camp. But the mysterious man—though his origins were unclear—had saved both her and her brother. The children of the General’s Mansion couldn’t allow themselves to be ungrateful.

Li Shuang grabbed a torch from the wall and headed back into the hut. Reaching the edge of the trap, she called down, "Are you still alive?"

A moment of silence passed before the man's voice drifted up, calm and unfazed. "Yes."

"Watch out for the torch," she warned, tossing it into the pit.

As the flames lit the trap’s depths, the full extent of the danger became clear. The trap was four or five feet deep, shaped like a funnel, with blades protruding from both sides and sharp cones at the bottom, like the teeth of a vicious beast. It was a death sentence for most who fell in.

The man in the mask was gripping one of the blades with his left hand, his palm sliced open, blood dripping down. But that wasn’t his main concern—his right arm hung uselessly at his side. A deep cut ran across his shoulder blade, and the dark color around the wound suggested the blade had been poisoned.

Clearly, his injury came from throwing Li Ting to safety. Li Shuang’s lips tightened with guilt. "I’m sorry. My brother panicked and caused this."

The man, still clutching the blade, looked up at her. His red eyes, framed by the shadows of his black mask, reflected the flickering flames, creating an eerie, almost otherworldly beauty. Despite the peril he faced, he wasn’t anxious. He simply gazed at Li Shuang with calm, unreadable eyes, as if content just to watch her. "It’s fine."

Time was short. Without another word, Li Shuang tore a quilt from the bed, twisted it into a makeshift rope, and tied it securely to the bedpost. "Hold on. I’m getting you out."

The man remained silent as Li Shuang lowered herself into the trap, carefully navigating the blades to reach his side. In the narrow space, they stood close, sharp blades surrounding them on every side.

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