The Strife of Chaos Chapter 86: Reunion

A week later, at North Tong Pass.

Li Qiutong was lying in bed recuperating. Ever since his last injury, Qin Shuyu had kept a close eye on her godson, accompanying him in everything he wanted to do, just to keep him from getting himself into trouble. Fortunately, these past few days, Li Qiutong had been nursed back to health by her care, now looking fair and plump, with no further issues.

“Qiu, what would you like to eat today?” Qin Shuyu asked.

Li Qiutong lifted his head. “Mom, whatever you like. I’ve already put on quite a bit of weight anyway.”

Qin Shuyu laughed, “This isn’t being fat, it’s just proper nutrition. Once you recover, all that energy will be used up as soon as you start using your martial power.”

Li Qiutong could only sigh inwardly. He’d been telling everyone he’d gotten fatter these days, and it was starting to wear on him.

“Mom, why don’t we go help Sister Wang Ying with her baby again today? I’m honestly bored out of my mind.”

Qin Shuyu turned to her son, who was clearly at a loss for things to do. “Qiu, do you find the baby cute?”

“He’s alright, all round and chubby.”

“So shouldn’t you hurry and have a child of your own? That way, your mother wouldn’t have to spend every day just doting on you.”

That one sentence left Li Qiutong speechless. He could only sigh helplessly.

As mother and son chatted idly, Deng Zhanxuan rushed in, flustered and out of breath.

“What’s wrong, third brother? Is something urgent?”

Still panting, Deng Zhanxuan blurted out, “Second brother—second brother is back!”

“You mean our second brother has returned?” Li Qiutong sat bolt upright.

“That’s right, they’re almost at the city gates.”

Li Qiutong quickly dressed, greeted Qin Shuyu, and hurriedly dragged Deng Zhanxuan outside.

Qin Shuyu could only shake her head with a wry smile. “Hey, A’Xuan, take good care of your elder brother.”

“Got it, Auntie.”

The southern city gate was already opening even before Yang Ruiyun arrived. He saw those familiar faces and, at last, felt the warmth of home.

“Second brother!” Li Qiutong was the first to greet Yang Ruiyun as he dismounted.

“Big brother!” The two embraced tightly, the joy of reunion after long separation flooding their hearts.

Deng Zhanxuan soon caught up and threw his arms around them both. “Second brother, I missed you so much!”

The rest of the group came over as well—Ren Xingtian, Wang Ying, the Yu sisters holding a baby, and then Bilu and others followed.

Seeing his wife, Yang Hu rushed forward, embracing her emotionally.

“A’Xuan, let go! Don’t you see their faces are turning red from your grip?” Ren Xingtian noticed something was wrong and quickly pried Deng Zhanxuan off them.

“Heh, I just got too excited. Big brother, second brother, are you alright?” Deng Zhanxuan asked sheepishly.

Yang Ruiyun caught his breath, smiling, “We’re fine—third brother’s strength is as impressive as ever.”

He then hugged Ren Xingtian as well. “Thank you for your counsel. Without your stratagem, I might not have made it back.”

“Your safety is all that matters.”

“Young master, look—this is my daughter.” Yang Hu approached, cradling the baby.

Yang Ruiyun gently held the child, who immediately burst into tears.

“What’s the matter?” Li Qiutong quickly took the baby back. “Second brother, you can’t hold a baby like you hold your spear.”

Yang Ruiyun, embarrassed to see the child quiet in Li Qiutong’s arms, couldn’t help but ask, “Big brother, when did you get so good with children?”

“General Li comes often to help with Xiaoyu, and he’s even the one who named her,” Wang Ying explained.

“Impressive, big brother.”

Yang Hu added gratefully, “We really owe you thanks, General Li.”

“That’s right, Brother Hu, you should really thank General Li. When I was pregnant, he went to Chang’an to buy all sorts of supplements for us, and as my due date approached, he specially asked Madam Qin and Sister Yu Ying to come to North Tong Pass,” Wang Ying said.

Hearing his wife’s words, Yang Hu felt both guilt toward her and gratitude toward Li Qiutong.

The praise made Li Qiutong a little embarrassed. He quickly replied, “Commander Yang, Madam Yang, we’re all family here. I just did what I should.”

He then turned to the fully armed soldiers and called out, “Brave warriors, you are the pride of North Tong Pass. Today you return triumphant—go back to the barracks, remove your armor, and tonight we’ll have a grand outdoor celebration to honor your victory!”

“Big brother, isn’t that a bit much?” Yang Ruiyun asked.

Li Qiutong patted his shoulder. “It’s fine, second brother. Today is a day for joy. Go put your things away and have fun tonight.”

Night fell, and the training grounds were ablaze with bonfires, filling North Tong Pass with lively cheer.

Since that last battle, all the soldiers had been training tirelessly. But the nerves could not be kept taut forever, and Li Qiutong had long wanted to give everyone a chance to relax. This was the perfect opportunity.

In the center of the grounds, soldiers sat around the fires, singing, chatting, eating meat, and drinking wine in high spirits.

Li Qiutong and his close companions sat to one side, chatting leisurely.

“I can’t believe Huren’er actually led troops to attack North Tong Pass. That Mongol prince truly deceived me,” Yang Ruiyun said regretfully. If only he had investigated further, North Tong Pass might have been spared such disaster.

“It’s alright, second brother. With your big brother here, they couldn’t stir up much trouble.”

As they spoke, Yang Ruiyun’s expression grew serious. “Big brother, there’s something I want to tell you.”

“Go on.”

Yang Ruiyun recounted in detail how, in Chang’an, he had contradicted the Tang Emperor.

“Big brother, I acted rashly. I’ve thought it through on the way here—if the Tang Emperor wants to hold someone accountable, let it be me. I can’t let everyone at North Tong Pass be exposed because of me.” Seeing everyone again made guilt well up in his heart. North Tong Pass was not yet strong enough to challenge the Tang Dynasty, and his moment of recklessness had put everyone in jeopardy.

“Second brother, don’t forget—we’re brothers. I lost my grandfather, you and third brother lost your parents. Back then, we only had each other. If you feel guilty over this, you’re overthinking it. My brothers can do what they want, marry who they wish. I, Li Qiutong, will never blame my brothers—only stand by them, shoulder to shoulder.”

Yang Ruiyun shook his head gently. “Big brother, you’re always like this.”

“Second brother, big brother is right. How could that woman compare to Sister Jinyu? I’m with you,” Deng Zhanxuan added.

Li Qiutong looked around at everyone, a rare sentimentality in his eyes. “Once, I wanted to be a chivalrous hero, defending all the good people in the world. But now, I only wish to protect everyone at North Tong Pass. You’re my family. Whatever happens, I’ll always stand at the front and bear it all for you.”

Yang Ruiyun put a hand on his shoulder. “Big brother, you’re wrong—it’s all of us, together.”

Li Qiutong’s words struck a chord with everyone. Was it mere boast? No, the truth of Li Qiutong standing alone with his staff against a thousand enemies proved he would do exactly that. The most important thing in life is finding someone worth giving everything for, and Li Qiutong had become the leader for whom everyone at North Tong Pass was willing to lay down their lives.

Around midnight, Zhu Long slipped away from the festivities to cool off at the city wall, letting the breeze dispel his drunkenness. He’d just drunk half the barracks under the table by himself.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so carefree,” he sighed, savoring the fresh night air. Ever since becoming commander of the Qin Iron Cavalry, Zhu Long rarely drank with his men. It wasn’t that he disliked them—rather, Qin’s policy of rotating officers regularly to prevent any one leader from amassing too much personal power meant he was always surrounded by new faces. It was hard for any commander to form close bonds with their troops under such conditions.

Just as Zhu Long let his thoughts wander, a shadow flashed by, darting straight into the city.

His military instincts sobered him at once. A crack of Thunder Fist sent a bolt of lightning at the fleeing figure.

With a sharp cry, the black-clad figure fell to the ground. She quickly got to her feet, searching for her attacker, but Zhu Long was already upon her.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” Zhu Long demanded sternly.

“None of your business,” a girl’s voice snapped back, as she lunged at him, trying to catch him off guard.

But Zhu Long was no easy mark. Having recently returned to serious training, his mastery of both Thunder and Separation Fist had reached the level of martial arts master.

A flash of lightning, and the girl was captured with a deft reversal. When Zhu Long pulled away her veil, a delicate, youthful face appeared before him.

“Let me go! My master-uncle is your superior here—watch out, or I’ll have him punish you!” the girl shouted.

Zhu Long found her words grating and ignored her protests. He simply hoisted her over his shoulder and left the wall behind.

When he came to where Li Qiutong and Yang Ruiyun were sitting—only the two of them were still awake, with Deng Zhanxuan and Bilu back at their own camps and Ren Xingtian having wandered off drunk—Li Qiutong saw Zhu Long approaching and laughed, “Zhu Long, what brings you here? I heard you put a lot of men under the table tonight.”

“Just about. It’s been a while since I drank like that.”

“Oh right, this is my second brother, Yang Ruiyun. You two haven’t met before, have you?” Li Qiutong introduced.

“We met earlier, but didn’t get a chance to talk,” Zhu Long replied.

Yang Ruiyun nodded. “And you are?”

“General Yang, my name is Zhu Long. I currently command the Eastern Camp.”

“Pleased to meet you, Commander Zhu. I look forward to working with you.”

“Let me tell you, second brother—Zhu Long used to be the grand commander of the Qin Iron Cavalry. He’s both a skilled leader and an excellent tactician,” Li Qiutong said.

Hearing such praise, Zhu Long hurried to be modest. “You flatter me, General. Back then, I was just another soldier following orders.”

“Commander Zhu, you’re too modest. If you weren’t so capable, big brother wouldn’t trust you with the entire Eastern Camp,” Yang Ruiyun affirmed.

Zhu Long smiled, then remembered his purpose. “General, I caught a masked girl sneaking into the city on the wall just now. I brought her here.” With that, he set the girl down.

Because of Zhu Long’s large frame and the fact that they were sitting on the ground, no one had noticed at first that he carried anything on his back.

“She kept shouting, so I knocked her out,” Zhu Long explained, crouching to try to wake her, but no matter how he shook her, she didn’t stir.

“She looks familiar,” Yang Ruiyun said, studying her face.

Li Qiutong leaned in as well. “Isn’t this the disciple of Xingtian’s senior brother? I think her name is Lijing, isn’t it?”

At Li Qiutong’s words, Yang Ruiyun remembered. “Yes, that’s her. But why would she come here?”

“She’s probably looking for Xingtian.”

“So where is the strategist now?” Realizing the girl might not be an enemy, Zhu Long began to worry.

Li Qiutong thought back. “He got drunk earlier and said he wanted to clear things up, but I don’t know where he went.”

“So what do we do with the girl?” Yang Ruiyun staggered to his feet. “Let’s take her over to the Western Camp and see if Xingtian is there.”

“Alright,” Zhu Long agreed, lifting the girl onto his back once more.