Normally, an army should approach the nearest stronghold upon returning to the human realm. In this case, Staff General Liao’s stronghold was only tens of li from their current position, and they could make that distance in almost no time at all. Despite this, Lee Zhi did not change his order. The squad was still retreating toward Quyang as per Wei Yuan’s suggestion.

The battle continued for a while longer when suddenly, huge dust clouds rose from the direction of Quyang County, accompanied by a faint tremor in the ground. The shaking was remarkably rhythmic, clearly indicating an elite force advancing in perfect step. Otherwise, the vibrations could not have reached them from such a great distance.

The arrival of the reinforcements greatly lifted Lee Zhi and his guard’s morale. They began shooting their mystic artifact arrows like they were free and forced the Northern Liao cavalrymen to pull back a little.

Meanwhile, a forest of spears was beginning to peek through the distant dust clouds. The reinforcements coming to their rescue had arranged themselves into a square formation and were striding toward them in an orderly fashion. Literally, every step they took were perfectly uniform. It was like a literal forest was coming to their rescue; a literal mountain was about to bear down on their enemy!

The dust clouds were obscuring the exact size of the reinforcements, but looking at the length of the square formation, there had to be at least a thousand men. When Great Tang fought against the Northern Liao, the elite foot soldiers used long spears to keep the enemy cavalry at bay, and strong bows or crossbows to shoot them down. There were cultivators sniping the enemy from long range as well. This was why they did not fear engaging the Northern Liao cavalry in an open field. This particular group of reinforcements was especially large, orderly, and brimming with morale as well. Forget two centuries of Liao cavalrymen, even seven centuries would have to walk around them.

They were in the human realm, and powerful reinforcements had come to their quarry’s rescue. Unwilling to continue the battle, the two centurions raised their hands and brought their troops to a halt. After putting some distance between the humans and themselves, they turned around and withdrew back to the Liao realm.

When the group finally met up with the human reinforcements, Lee Zhi was surprised to find that it wasn’t an elite border army who had come to their rescue. No, their reinforcements were just a bunch of peasants in rags.

The peasants had arranged themselves into a hollow square formation, and only those on the front row were carrying long spears. Everyone else in the back was carrying sharpened wooden poles. Leading them was Fang Hetong, clad in a half-length scholar’s robe. He was holding up a long sword and swinging it rhythmically. Every time he swung his sword, the farmers would advance a step.

The dust clouds had covered up the formation. Looking from a distance and judging from their appearance alone, all anyone could see was an unmatched army of elites. The Liao barbarians could never have imagined that the powerful reinforcements they feared were really just a bunch of peasants.

Wei Yuan dismounted and strode up to Fang Hetong, exclaiming, “Brother Fang! Why have you come?”

Fang Hetong raised his sword and summoned a mote of Dao energy light at the tip. The peasants behind him immediately came to a stop, bringing their foot down in near perfect unison. It was only then the scholar lowered his sword and said, “I saw the signal arrow and knew that you were in danger. That’s why I hurried over with reinforcements. After calculating the Liao barbarians’ perception range, I ordered the men to form up and march them in your direction, hoping that we would be able to scare them off.”

Wei Yuan replied, “It’s such a risky maneuver! What if the Liao barbarians had decided to attack?”

The three hundred militia of Flying Sand Village might appear well-drilled and formidable in spirit, but they remained physically frail. Forget heavy crossbows or armor, they barely owned any proper weapon at all. If the Northern Liao cavalry had chosen to charge, they would have been annihilated to the last.

Fang Hetong replied, “Standing by while others die is not the way of the scholars. If the Liao barbarians truly attack, then we shall simply sacrifice ourselves for the cause. Unless the Liao are vanquished, the common folk live daily on the brink of life and death anyway. Whether we die sooner or later makes little difference.”

Fang Hetong had long since cast aside thoughts of life and death, and the three hundred militia behind him felt the same.

Looking from afar, Lee Zhi could not help but feel moved by Fang Hetong’s resolve. So, he spurred his mount forward to engage the man in a meaningful conversation… or at least he tried to. For some reason, the warhorse refused to budge an inch despite repeated urging.

It was at this moment Lee Zhi recalled that he was riding a Liao horse; one that Wei Yuan had tamed. He didn’t anticipate the horse to be so snobbish, however. Wei Yuan could ride it, but anyone else including himself was ignored.

That said, Lee Zhi was a man of practiced dignity. He leaped off the horse like nothing had happened and strode up to Fang Hetong. He said seriously, “Lee Zhi is impressed by your nobility, Brother Fang! Please, allow me to treat you to dinner tonight! We shall drink until we drop!”

The young general’s praise clearly embarrassed Fang Hetong. “General Lee, you flatter me! This one is simply performing his duty. Is this not how any scholar should act?”

“You are a man who cultivates yourself, manages your household, and governs your state properly. You truly are the model example of the ideal scholar!”

Fang Hetong hurriedly shook his head. “I am born with poor talent, so not much self-cultivation is happening at all. I sold my ancestral fields and home, so to say I manage my household well is a joke. Finally, I am barely able to protect three villages despite giving it my all. I am incapable of changing a single county, much less governing the state!”

Lee Zhi disagreed. “All big things come from small beginnings. Such is the way of the world. Even the sages start with humble origins, so who could say that we are incapable of replicating their paths?”

His words seemed to move Fang Hetong, and the duo chatted for a bit. Suddenly, dust clouds started rising from the distance once more. Judging from the direction, it belonged to other reinforcements. However, they were coming from much, much further away. If Fang Hetong had not scared away the Liao barbarians, Lee Zhi probably would have lost most of his guard.

Seeing these reinforcements, Lee Zhi ordered emotionlessly, “Send a signal saying that the strong enemy has been repelled. Also, this general would like to rest and reorganize his troops in Flying Sand Village, so tell them to assemble there.”

His squad leader immediately shot a signal arrow carrying the message into the air.

In Fang Hetong’s opinion, Lee Zhi should be resting his troops in Quyang County. After all, Flying Sand Village had nothing to provide. Still, he saw no reason to disagree with the young general, so he swung his sword a couple times before pointing in the direction of Flying Sand Village. Dao energy flashed from the tip of his sword once more, and the three hundred militia immediately spread out into a long line of troops. They began marching back to Flying Sand Village.

As for Lee Zhi and Wei Yuan, they returned to the Liao horse. Without the young man’s order, it stood as motionlessly as a statue.

Wei Yuan took a look at the Liao horse and commented, “The horse has outlived its usefulness. We need to get a new one.”

It was only then Lee Zhi noticed that several arrows were embedded in the horse’s stomach, all of them so deep that only the tail feathers could be seen. The fact that it managed to last this long and act this nonchalant was unbelievable.

As if on cue, the Liao horse abruptly collapsed to the ground and passed away without a sound. Then, a wisp of black qi flew out of its body and returned to Wei Yuan. He had used two wisps of black qi to activate Outlawed by Heaven and Earth, but only one had returned. It was impossible to say which one had disappeared; the one he used to suppress the horse’s soul or the one he used to puppeteer it.

Lee Zhi’s personal guards surrendered two horses to them. Then, they all returned to Flying Sand Village. Upon mounting, Lee Zhi cast a glance in the direction of the stronghold and thought coldly to himself: Liao Jingwu…

The stronghold was the closest place to the battlefield. The border troops should have been the first to arrive no matter what. Yet, they were still nowhere to be found even though the distant reinforcements had almost reached Flying Sand Village.

They were twenty li away from the village. Fang Hetong was marching upfront with three hundred militia, whereas Lee Zhi’s guard was following from behind. The militiamen had split up into two groups, and they were moving at a light but swift pace. The most impressive part about them was how well-drilled they were. Every once in a while, when some of the militiamen looked a little disorganized, Fang Hetong would swing his sword and flash his Dao energy, restoring order immediately.

Their march wasn’t just orderly, they were advancing at a quick pace. It was about the same speed as an ordinary person’s jog. After observing for a moment, Lee Zhi discovered that the militiamen were expending stamina at an unusually slow rate as well. Assuming that they maintained this pace, they should be able to walk for several hours straight without pause. This was clearly thanks to Fang Hetong’s ability.

Lee Zhi spurred his horse over to Wei Yuan’s side and remarked, “Brother Fang is quite exceptional in both leading and using an army, isn’t he?”

Wei Yuan replied, “His Dao Foundation is three essays. This is his second essay, ‘Establishing Merit’. It increases his soldiers’ strength on the battlefield.”

Lee Zhi was a Confucianist cultivator and intimately familiar with the scriptures. Thus, he instantly understood Wei Yuan’s answer. “The Three Immortalities! That is an impressive essay. Not only is it useful in battle, it is highly effective in organizing an army as well. Just look at this march. A few practices like this one, and even the most disorganized rabble will turn into a well-drilled army.

“Speaking of which, it is no simple task to imbue the sages’ wisdom into one’s Dao Foundation. It would not be an exaggeration to call him a great Confucianist scholar. So, how on earth did he fall into such a state?”

Lee Zhi recalled last night’s feast and added thoughtfully, “Teacher Fang is rather stubborn, but his talent more than makes up for his temper. Has Western Jin truly fallen so far? Well, that’s good news for me.”

Wei Yuan asked, “Are you planning on recruiting Teacher Fang? He is pretty sharp-tongued, you know.”

Lee Zhi let out a laugh before replying, “So? He can even yell in my face if he’s right!”