Chapter Forty-Eight: The Fight

The Onion Range outpost was under the administration of Shule Town, and Li Feiyuanli was almost a predestined candidate for the post of commander. His rise to prominence was not solely due to his connections with the barbarians; he possessed genuine skills beneath it all.

The problem was, Liu Ji had no intention of engaging in a fair duel. As soon as he entered, he disrupted Li Feiyuanli’s focus with dishes and bowls, then rushed forward and unleashed a barrage of punches. By the time Li Feiyuanli regained his senses, he had already been struck several times, his entire body aching, and an eruption of fury surged within him.

“You dare cause trouble in my camp? Beat him—beat him first, talk later! If anyone dies, I'll pay for it!”

In truth, there was hardly any need for his command; from the camp to his tent, a brawl had already broken out. Zhang Wujia and Xu Guangjing, together with several sub-captains, blocked others from entering the tent. The hundred men they brought surrounded the tent, intercepting Li Feiyuanli’s subordinates as they arrived. For a moment, both sides were locked in fierce combat.

“Finished talking? Then prepare to die, dung-eating barbarian! How dare you steal my sheep!”

“Wretch, come and face your fate!”

Perhaps Li Feiyuanli had been too deeply assimilated; his curses paled in comparison to Liu Ji’s. Unable to match words, he resorted to fists, only to find his opponent far more agile than expected. In the blink of an eye, Liu Ji was right before him.

Liu Ji’s right fist struck Li Feiyuanli’s abdomen, while his left delivered a powerful uppercut to the chest. Li Feiyuanli swayed but did not retreat a single step; he seized Liu Ji’s wrist, pulled apart, and bent his right knee, thrusting his iron-like knee straight toward Liu Ji’s chin. Had this blow connected, it would have shattered half his teeth.

This barbarian’s resilience was staggering!

Instead of withdrawing, Liu Ji advanced, locking hands with his opponent, using the momentum to leap and dodge the blow. His body sprang upward, flipped over Li Feiyuanli’s head, and as he descended, his knees clamped onto the man’s neck. With a twist of his waist, he spun to the side.

An ordinary person would have had their neck broken by such a powerful chokehold. But Liu Ji didn’t intend to kill; he had already tested the man’s strength and robustness—toppling him would be enough.

At sixteen and unarmored, Liu Ji weighed barely a hundred pounds, yet he pressed his full weight onto Li Feiyuanli’s neck. Li Feiyuanli instantly felt short of breath, dragged sideways by an irresistible force, and crashed heavily to the ground.

At this moment, if Liu Ji wanted to kill, he needed only to roll over once more. But he was not here to murder, nor did he harbor such deep hatred for this man. So he released his grip and delivered a punch to Li Feiyuanli’s head, finally causing him to see stars, overwhelmed by pain.

“Damn you—stealing my sheep! However many you ate, cough them all up!”

He rained punches, each landing on Li Feiyuanli’s abdomen and back—painful but not lethal. By the time Zhang Wujia and the others noticed something was wrong and rushed forward to pull him away, Li Feiyuanli was curled on the ground, vomiting uncontrollably. Poor man—he hadn’t even managed a few bites of meat before he was retching up bile.

“Protect the town commander!”

Both sides surged forward, each standing their ground. Li Feiyuanli was helped up by his men, one hand pressed to his chest and abdomen, the other trembling as he tried to reach out.

“You…”

He never finished his words, for suddenly, the rapid thunder of hooves swept in. The camp was surrounded by armored cavalry, and a squad wielding long spears charged directly into the encampment.

“The Sima has commanded: no disturbances. Those who defy the order will be executed!”

“The Sima has commanded: no disturbances. Those who defy the order will be executed!”

…

The shouts drowned out the tumult. The fighting soldiers on both sides immediately ceased, crouching on the ground with their hands over their heads—everyone knew further action now would mean being skewered by spears.

These were the elite troops of the Governor!

Camp riots were every commander’s greatest fear. Regardless of the truth, the first task was to suppress the disorder ruthlessly; determining right and wrong would come later.

Fully armored and solemn-faced, Feng Changqing entered at a measured pace, flanked by Du Yushi, the chief inspector, and Li Siyi, the town guard. Everywhere he looked, soldiers crouched with bruised faces and torn uniforms, evidence of the fierce battle that had just taken place. The only consolation was—

No weapons had been drawn.

Once blades and spears were involved, casualties would spiral out of control. At that point, a minor incident would become a major crisis, and even as the acting governor, he might not be able to contain it.

Entering Li Feiyuanli’s tent and surveying the two clearly divided groups, Feng Changqing snorted coldly.

“So you’ve all grown bold? Openly brawling in the military camp—is it because you think my blade is dull, and I cannot sever your heads?”

At these words, most were silent, but Du Yushi’s brows furrowed slightly. Though the remark seemed impartial, it was in fact extremely biased. The incident occurred in Li Feiyuanli’s camp, clearly instigated by Liu Ji and his men. Yet Feng Changqing had already passed judgment, leaving little room for others to speak.

As expected, Li Feiyuanli could not hold back. He pushed aside his men, staggered forward, not even saluting—though not from disrespect, but from pain too great to allow it.

“Sima, it was Liu Ji who provoked first—my subordinates only responded out of necessity.”

Feng Changqing stared at him impassively, saying nothing. Sensing something amiss, Du Yushi discreetly tugged at Li Siyi beside him—after all, this was his camp.

“Liu Ji, what do you say?” Li Siyi’s expression was somewhat grim, not because the incident happened on his turf, but because the outcome was clear—Liu Ji’s side had gained the upper hand.

Liu Ji was merely an outpost commander, with only a hundred men under him. Li Feiyuanli, as town commander, effectively served as outpost chief and had five hundred men at his command. Yet clearly, more of his people lay on the ground than Liu Ji’s. Beaten in his own home, failing to gain any advantage, how could he not be disgraced?

Useless fool!

“What’s there to say? This bastard stole my sheep and beat my men. He started it, so don’t blame us for finishing it. Yes, I brought men to settle matters, but he provoked me first.” Liu Ji made no attempt to hide anything, speaking with brash candor.

“For one sheep, you bring a fight to my door? Are you mad?” Li Feiyuanli hadn’t expected such honesty.

“You’re the mad one! Steal my goods, beat my men, and I’ll strike back. That’s the rule at Qiankeng Outpost. If you don’t like it, let’s fight again. If I can’t beat you, I won’t be called ‘Owl Five.’”

“Fight, then! If you hadn’t tricked me earlier, would I have fallen for it?”

“Come on, come on…”

Both men rolled up their sleeves, eager for another bout. Even Feng Changqing, usually expressionless, couldn’t help a twitch at the corner of his mouth. Seeing they were about to clash again, he spoke calmly.

“That’s enough. Look at yourselves—what do you think you are?”

He then turned his head and asked Du Yushi,

“Cheng Gong, you’re in charge of military discipline. How should this matter be handled?”