In the earthen pit, Guard Sun's icy gaze swept across the group and he said in a deep voice, "To eat the lord's stipend is to shoulder the lord's burdens. You have all been provided for by the Hu Family for years, and today is the day to repay that kindness."
With that, he pointed to three men. "You stay here to hold him off and cover the young master's retreat. Even if you die, you will die in this pit."
"You will die protecting the young master, and the Hu Family will not mistreat your families. But if anything happens to the young master, none of your families will survive. Do you understand?"
"Datou, you and I will escort the young master down the mountain."
Finally, looking at Chen Ergou, he said, "You take the lead, take the fastest route, and make it as quick as possible. If the young master suffers even the slightest harm, you will be the first person I refuse to spare."
Sensing that the situation had turned sour, Guard Sun decisively changed his strategy.
In a very short span of time, he devised a plan to sacrifice the pawns to save the rook, ensuring that he and the young master could escape with their lives while taking care of Datou, his closest confidant.
The plan was solid, but unfortunately, he had run into Zhao Xuan.
His lowered voice was heard loud and clear by Zhao Xuan, who was a hundred meters away.
The enhanced perception that came with mastering Basic Archery turned a one-hundred-and-fifty-meter radius around him into a map with fog-of-war completely disabled.
The moment Guard Sun finished speaking, Zhao Xuan quickly stood up, changed his position, took a shortcut, and laid an ambush in the brush along the only path down the mountain.
Having spent his entire life scrambling and hunting in these mountains, he was far more familiar with the local terrain than Chen Ergou.
Meanwhile, back at the pit.
Under Guard Sun's coercion and temptation, the three men were forced to agree to stay behind.
At Guard Sun's command, they took turns shooting arrows toward the spot where Zhao Xuan had previously fired, creating the illusion that they were still in place in order to pull off a golden cicada's shedding of its shell.
Even so, Guard Sun remained extremely cautious. He and the youth crawled on their bellies for forty meters before finally letting out a breath of relief and standing up to run.
They hadn't gone far when the youth, assuming they were already out of danger, said viciously, "Commoners, lowly trash, daring to kill this young lord's men! I will make sure his entire family is wiped out, down to the last dog and chicken."
Guard Sun managed a bitter, helpless smile. They didn't even know who their attacker was.
In any case, it certainly wouldn't be some orphaned mountain dweller who didn't get along with his older brother and couldn't afford a wife.
Besides, running for their lives took priority right now; what good did saying such things do?
Just as his mind raced with chaotic thoughts, a flash of blindingly cold light suddenly struck.
Guard Sun felt the blood drain from his face. In the nick of time, he shrank his body and forcefully yanked Datou in front of him as a human shield.
"Squelch!"
The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed in his ears.
Droplets of hot blood slid down the arrow shaft and splattered onto his face.
Panic washed over him like a tidal wave.
The enemy was still here.
The youth was completely terrified; paralyzed on the ground, he wet himself in utter disgrace.
Chen Ergou let out a scream and made to run.
Coming to his senses, Guard Sun wore a ruthless expression as he shoved Chen Ergou to the ground with his free hand and slapped him hard across the face twice.
Chen Ergou instantly quieted down.
Guard Sun took a deep breath. The three men left behind had died far too quickly—well beyond his expectations.
Now that Datou was dead, they were at an absolute dead end.
Looking at Datou, who had died with lingering resentment, and the pathetic, useless youth, Guard Sun briefly entertained the thought of using Datou's corpse as a shield to escape alone.
He quickly dismissed the idea.
For the very reason he had used to threaten the three men: their families.
If he ran and the young master died, the master would make a grand display of slaughtering his entire family to warn others.
Conversely, if he died protecting the young master, the grieving head of the household would still reward his family handsomely, ensuring they would never starve.
These were the rules of the era—they bound the servants, and they bound the masters.
Those who broke them would inevitably suffer retribution.
Yet he didn't want to die; he wanted to live.
With his brain spinning at top speed, a sudden flash of inspiration brought a new plan.
He shouted at the top of his lungs, "I am Guard Sun Li of the Western Suburb Hu Family, and this is our Fourth Young Master. We were blind earlier and caused offense, so I hope Your Excellency can be magnanimous!"
"Now several of our men have been killed or wounded while Your Excellency remains completely unharmed. Might you raise your hand in mercy and leave us a way out?"
"As long as Your Excellency is willing to spare us, the Hu Family guarantees we will let this go, and we will respectfully offer a hundred taels of silver in apology."
In his mind, the Western Suburb Hu Family was a prominent clan in Gucheng County with a well-known reputation, and Zhao Xuan ought to have heard of them.
Moreover, since Zhao Xuan made his living as a hunter, his family background was likely ordinary.
Using the Hu Family as deterrence and a hundred taels of silver as temptation, he hoped to talk the attacker into sparing them—there was plenty of room to negotiate.
As for whether they would retaliate afterward, that wasn't something a mere guard could decide.
Hearing this, Zhao Xuan sneered in contempt.
Blood had been spilled and lives had been lost; how could it be settled so easily?
He shifted positions repeatedly, only to find that Guard Sun was extremely cautious, using Datou's corpse to shield his entire body, making it difficult to find an opening.
As for the youth and Chen Ergou, they sat on the ground like a pair of clueless hounds, their lives yours to take at any moment.
However, he didn't rush to strike.
The youth was clearly a dead weight to Guard Sun, but Guard Sun was agile; once unburdened by the youth, Zhao Xuan wasn't certain he could trap him.
As for Chen Ergou, he had other plans for him.
After pondering for a moment, Zhao Xuan rasped in a disguised, questioning voice, "A wet-behind-the-ears kid is worth a hundred taels?"
Guard Sun was inwardly overjoyed. He wasn't afraid of Zhao Xuan questioning the deal; what he feared was Zhao Xuan ignoring them entirely and being bent on killing them all.
He hurriedly replied, "The Fourth Young Master is of noble status; to the Hu Family, he is worth far more than a hundred taels! If Your Excellency does not believe me, I will go back right now and fetch it."
He didn't forget to lower his voice to comfort the youth: "Young master, staying alive is what matters most; you must endure this."
The youth, long since scared out of his wits, could only nod like a pecking chick.
After a long pause, Zhao Xuan finally replied, "You won't just take off and never return, will you?"
Guard Sun answered frankly, "My young master is in your hands. If I fail to save him, I will not escape death when I return either. Your Excellency can rest assured."
Zhao Xuan waited a good while longer, thoroughly acting out an internal struggle. "Fine. I'll give you two hours at most. Before dark, I want to see a hundred taels of silver."
"Only you are permitted to come back. If you dare bring even one extra person, you can just wait to collect your young master's corpse."
It was fifty li to the county town; a round trip meant two hours would barely be enough.
"It's a deal."
Guard Sun was overjoyed. Noticing the strange look in the youth's eyes, he bowed to him and said, "Please rest assured, Young Master, this servant will certainly come back for you."
He tried standing up while facing Zhao Xuan, his entire body tense and ready to drop to the ground at a moment's notice.
Seeing that no iron arrow came whistling toward him, he pointed at Chen Ergou and asked with newfound courage, "I am not very familiar with the roads. May this person guide me down the mountain?"
His response was an iron arrow—except it wasn't aimed at him, but straight into Chen Ergou's leg.
That was Zhao Xuan's answer.
Guard Sun was startled at first, but seeing that it was Chen Ergou who was wounded, he felt all the more reassured. He cupped his fists and said, "Please keep your promise, Your Excellency. Wait for me for two hours."
Before he could even lower his clasped hands, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw the broken shaft of an iron arrow trembling slightly.
Just as he was about to speak, another iron arrow pierced straight through his mouth and burst out the back of his head.
"I lied."
Zhao Xuan silently replied to the dead man, switched to a bamboo arrow, and pinned both feet of the completely broken and frantically fleeing youth straight to the ground.
Then he turned around to hunt down the three men left behind to cover the retreat.
He had never heard of the Hu Family, but he could infer from Guard Sun's words that they were powerful and influential.
He was a man who hated trouble; the more powerful the people he provoked, the more he needed to silence them to permanently eliminate future threats.
No matter how much silver there was, you needed to be alive to spend it.