Chapter Nine: The Men of Hexi Vow to Stand Their Ground to the Death

As Hexibao resolved to exact blood for blood and make the Karluks pay the price, they did not neglect to secure their own retreat. That afternoon, Li Xiao led a group of the village’s young men to escort a cluster of children away from Hexibao. Their destination was Dragon Bone Lake, over ten miles away.

This was one of the largest lakes in the Northern Frontier, spanning over a thousand square kilometers. Rich in fish, it was a vital source of meat for the villagers of Hexibao. On the eastern shore of Dragon Bone Lake, Li Xiao gently ruffled Sanbao’s hair. The boy tried to resist, but he could never escape Li Xiao’s grasp.

"Brother, let me stay! I’ve grown up!" Sanbao pleaded, his red, stubborn eyes filled with indignation. "I want to fight the Karluks with you and avenge Father!"

At ten years old, the boy understood much. He knew his father was dead, and that his grandfather and older brothers were staying behind to seek vengeance, sending him to the island for safety. But he refused to be a coward; he wanted to stay.

Li Xiao shook his head firmly. "You are still too young. Wait a couple of years, and then you can join us in battle." A ten-year-old was neither mature nor physically developed; on the battlefield, he would be nothing more than a living target. Thus, at the elder’s insistence, all the village children were being evacuated. Only youths whose physiques were beginning to harden—like Li Xiao, Dahu, and Erhu—remained in the village. As for Erbao, Sanbao, and Li Xiao’s three younger female cousins, they were all to be sent to Dragon Heart Island in the middle of Dragon Bone Lake.

"Brother, I don't want to leave you, or Mom and Dad, or Grandma and Grandpa," Sanfeng sobbed in Li Xiao’s arms. She was only seven, the youngest in the family. To face such a tragedy at her tender age was unbearable; she had been crying for a whole day.

Li Xiao hugged her, whispering words of comfort as he wiped her tears. "Sanfeng, Big Brother and Mother cannot stay with you for now. While you are on the island, you must listen to Second Aunt and your third brother. In a few days, I will come to pick you up." Li Xiao had little experience comforting children; he could only offer sweet words and promises he wasn't sure he could keep.

This Karluk rebellion was unusual. If it were merely the three thousand Karluk rebels in Jinzhou, it would not have put Hexibao on such high alert. Li Xiao and the village elders knew clearly that the Karluks must have the backing of another power—very likely the Naimans.

The Naimans were a powerful nomadic tribe living in the western part of the Mongolian Plateau, separated from Jinzhou only by the Altai Mountains. Rumor held that they were the legitimate descendants of the ancient Turks. Once vassals of Western Liao, they had seized the chance to break away twenty years ago when the Western Liao royal court fell into severe internal strife and its strength was crippled. When Western Liao sent a massive army to suppress them, the Naimans, supported by the Jin Dynasty, emerged victorious, forcing Western Liao to accept their independence.

Since then, the Naiman tribe had grown increasingly formidable, boasting hundreds of thousands of people and fifty thousand horsemen. They were the undisputed hegemons of the grasslands. Even Temujin’s final battle to unify the Mongolian steppe was against the Naimans; though he eventually won, his forces suffered such heavy losses that it took two years to recover.

The conflict between Western Liao and the Naimans had never ceased, and Li Xiao suspected that the Naimans were behind this Karluk uprising in Jinzhou. Their goal was likely to annex Jinzhou and then gradually consume Western Liao. With the Naimans pulling the strings, the nature of this turmoil had changed. While the Han people of Jinzhou might withstand the Karluk rebels, they could never hold off the main Naiman army if it crossed the Altai Mountains. If reinforcements from the Eastern Capital did not arrive in time, the fall of Jinzhou would be inevitable.

The village elders were preparing for the worst. Sending the children to Dragon Heart Island was a precaution against a full-scale Naiman invasion.

Originally, they had planned to send youths like Li Xiao to the island as well, but no man in Hexibao was a coward. Dahu, Erhu, Tietou, and the others had all taken up blades and bows, swearing they would not be turtles hiding in their shells, but would avenge their brothers and fathers who had died in the North Mountains. The men of Hexi would never retreat. Erbao, Sanbao, and the girls, however, could do little in the village, so they were sent away to preserve a future for Hexibao.

After calming Sanfeng, Li Xiao led them to the lakeshore, where several small fishing boats used by the villagers were moored. His Second Aunt, Erbao, and his two cousins were already aboard. Once he had helped his siblings onto the boat, he turned to his Second Aunt. "Please, take care of them for me."

They could not send the children alone, so they had arranged for young women to accompany them on the island. Among them was his Second Aunt, a woman of gentle temperament and plain appearance. They couldn't send more people because the island’s space was limited. During this season, the water level of Dragon Bone Lake was high; many of the islands seen in the future were currently submerged, leaving only Dragon Heart Island exposed. While it could accommodate a thousand people, food was a major issue. If everyone from Hexibao retreated to the island, who would tend to the cattle, sheep, and crops? There was no pasture on the island, and stored grain would eventually run out. Relying solely on fishing could not sustain so many people. Thus, Li Xiao and the others remained in the village not only to seek revenge but to protect their livelihood.

"Dalong, don't worry. I will look after them," Second Aunt replied, wiping away tears. With her husband’s fate unknown, she could only do her best to care for the children and ease the worries of the elders.

Soon, the small boats carrying the last group of children set sail toward Dragon Heart Island. Li Xiao breathed a sigh of relief as he watched them disappear into the distance. He turned to the man beside him. "Sixth Uncle, let’s go back. There is still much to do in the village."

The group of a dozen or so men had been tasked with the escort. The man Li Xiao called Sixth Uncle was Li Dashan, the son of his great-uncle. He was ten years older than Li Xiao, short but sturdy, with dark, weathered skin and a man of few, steady words.

They began the journey back, but before they had gone far, Li Dashan suddenly called out, "Stop!"

Everyone on horseback halted instantly. It wasn't just Li Dashan who had sensed something; several others in the group wore equally grave expressions. Li Dashan dismounted and pressed his ear to the ground to listen intently. Li Xiao realized that while he was a traveler from another time, there were many things that remained his blind spot—like this technique of "listening through the earth." In the future, satellites could track enemies from hundreds of miles away, but in this era, one had to rely on such traditional methods to detect the presence of foes.

Before Li Xiao could dismount to learn from his uncle, Li Dashan stood up, his face grim. "About ten miles to the northeast, there are around a hundred horsemen."

Li Xiao frowned. They didn't know if the riders were friend or foe, and the enemy force was five times their size. "Are they Karluks?" Li Xiao wondered aloud.

"Uncertain," Li Dashan shook his head. "We had best return to the village immediately." Hexibao had trenches, ramparts, and over three hundred able-bodied fighters. Even though half were elderly or youths like Li Xiao, their combat strength was not to be underestimated. In an emergency, even the women could ride and fight, and the grandmothers could shoot arrows. Hexibao was a village of soldiers.

Soon, a scout returned from a nearby ridge, shouting, "They have crossed the river!"

The Northern Frontier was not merely an endless plain. South of Hexibao, the terrain was flat, but to the north lay rolling hills covered in grass and low shrubs. From the high ground, one could see quite far, but neither the hunters nor the hunted had any leisure to admire the scenery.

As the Altai snow melted, the water level of the Dragon Bone River rose, reaching the horses' bellies even in the shallows. Dozens of warhorses waded from the north bank to the south, narrowly reaching the shore, but their crisis was far from over. The pursuers were entering the water behind them.

"Kunji!" a man wearing a round-collared robe, deerskin boots, and a Khitan felt hat shouted with a ferocious expression. "You go first! I will hold them off!" Without waiting for a response, he turned his men around, preparing to draw their bows. But as he reached into his quiver, he realized he had only two arrows left. Throughout the chase, they had had no chance to replenish their supplies. Not only him, but the other Khitan warriors were also out of arrows, trying to make what little they had last.

"Draw your blades! Fight to the death to stop them!" the warrior commanded. He prepared for a melee, hoping to buy time for Kunji. They had started with two hundred cavalry, but after a relentless pursuit by the Karluks, only thirty remained. Behind them, at least a hundred Karluk pursuers were closing in.

"Kunji, go!" the warrior roared again. Kunji, a person of slight build wrapped in a sheepskin coat, was surrounded by the remaining riders. Hearing the man’s voice, Kunji looked distressed and angry, knowing this was the only way.

"Bahas, be careful," the person called Kunji replied, gritting their teeth. The voice was not that of a young girl, nor was it the weary tone of an older woman; it sounded like a woman in her twenties, possessing a certain mature charm. This was a woman disguised as a Khitan man—and her identity was not simple.

Nearby, on a high ridge, Li Xiao and his men watched the battle from afar.

"It is the Karluks, and they are chasing... Khitans," Li Dashan said, his voice deep. Having lived in the North for so long, he could easily identify the origins of the tribes.

"There are about a hundred Karluk cavalry, and only thirty of the others," noted Chen Erqiang, a young villager. "They used the river to delay them, but they cannot hold for long."

Just as he spoke, Li Dashan pointed downstream. "Look, the Karluks have split their forces!"

Over forty Karluk riders were bypassing the defensive line to cross the river downstream, ready to climb the bank. Li Xiao and his men saw it clearly from their vantage point, but the Khitans in the river were not so lucky.

"Once those Karluks cross and surround them from upstream, those Khitans are finished," Li Xiao said grimly. Caught in a pincer movement and outnumbered, the Khitan group was doomed.