The piercing wolf howls, like a death knell, echoed in the scorching air, growing nearer, carrying a terrifying greed and hunger. The rank smell drifted on the wind, assaulting their nostrils. The shadow of death instantly gripped their throats.
"Captain! What do we do?!" Xiao Liu's voice was tearful, his body trembling uncontrollably. Xiao Wang was even paler, almost collapsing.
"Calm down!" Qin Yuan hissed, forcing himself to think fast, his eyes scanning the surroundings. The rock wall offered some cover, but if surrounded, it would be a death trap. Charging towards Huo Xiao's encampment was the only path to survival, but the risk was enormous.
"Listen!" Qin Yuan spoke rapidly, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "We have no choice! We must run for the encampment! But not directly! Chen Feng!"
"Here!" Chen Feng tried to stay calm, but his forehead was beaded with sweat.
"You and Xiao Wang, take all the collected dry camel thorn, and your work jackets! Off! Now!"
"Su Wan, Xiao Liu, crumble your emergency biscuits, scatter them behind the rock wall! Quickly!"
Though confused, in this life-or-death moment, they obeyed instinctively. Chen Feng and Xiao Wang quickly stripped off their jackets, bundling the highly flammable dry camel thorn onto them. Su Wan and Xiao Liu frantically crushed the precious compressed biscuits into powder, throwing it behind and to the sides of the rock wall as best they could.
"The wolves are getting closer!" Xiao Liu shrieked, pointing down the dune slope where several lean, yellowish-gray figures had appeared within sight, their green eyes glowing with ferocity, quickly flanking their hiding spot! At least ten of them!
"Light the fire!" Qin Yuan ordered sharply, pulling a lighter from his pocket. Chen Feng and Xiao Wang immediately ignited the jackets bundled with camel thorn!
The dry plants burst into flames instantly, billowing thick smoke and bright fire!
"Throw the burning jackets! Throw them towards the approaching wolves! Now!" Qin Yuan roared.
Two burning "fireballs" were hurled out, tumbling towards the wolves leading the charge!
"Awooo—!" The sudden flames and smoke made the lead wolves yelp in fear, instinctively jumping back. The pack's charge faltered! Animals naturally fear fire; this unexpected attack disrupted their formation.
"Now! Run! Towards the encampment! Zigzag! Avoid potential arrow range! Su Wan, you lead!" Qin Yuan pulled up the nearly petrified Xiao Wang, pushing him to follow Su Wan and Chen Feng who had already burst out. Xiao Liu scrambled after them.
The five, like startled rabbits, summoned their survival instincts, sprinting desperately towards the encampment below the beacon! Behind them, after a brief confusion, the wolves' anger overcame their fear. They circumvented the flames, howling as they gave chase again! Yellow dust billowed behind them.
"Enemy attack?! Wolves!"
"People! Look! People running from the dunes!"
"Strange clothes! Who are they?!"
The sentries on the earthen wall immediately spotted the commotion, striking the alarm block! A sharp alarm sound cut through the camp's stillness. Soldiers panickedly grabbed weapons and surged onto the wall.
"Archers! Ready!" an officer-like man barked sharply.
On the wall, a dozen bows were drawn instantly, cold arrowheads aimed at the five sprinting figures and the closing wolf pack behind them!
"Don't shoot! Help! We're refugees!" Su Wan used all her strength, shouting in what she knew of Ming-era Mandarin pronunciation, her voice distorted by fear and running. Qin Yuan and Chen Feng also waved their arms wildly, gesturing frantically at the pursuing wolves.
The door of the command post burst open. Huo Xiao's tall figure appeared in the doorway, frowning deeply at the commotion. His sharp, hawk-like eyes instantly assessed the five strangely dressed, frantically running figures and the sizable wolf pack in close pursuit. He judged immediately that these people were being chased, not driving the wolves.
"Archers! Target—the wolf pack! Loose!" Huo Xiao's voice exploded like thunder, instantly cutting through the camp's noise.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"
A dozen feathered arrows left their strings, whistling through the air, accurately striking the leading hungry wolves!
"Thud!" "Awooo—!"
The sound of arrows striking flesh and piercing wolf howls sounded simultaneously! Two wolves fell instantly; others hit in non-lethal areas yelped and rolled. The pack's pursuit halted again. They looked uncertainly at the glinting arrowheads on the wall, then at their fallen comrades, fear mixing with their ferocity.
"Again!" Huo Xiao ordered decisively.
A second volley fell, wounding more wolves. The alpha wolf let out a frustrated growl, leading the pack in a slow retreat until they disappeared behind the dunes.
The immediate crisis was over.
Qin Yuan and the others practically tumbled to the base of the encampment's earthen wall, collapsing to the ground, gasping for air, their hearts pounding wildly. Sweat, sand, and dirt covered their faces; they were a miserable sight.
The soldiers on the wall looked down at them with suspicion and uncertainty, muttering among themselves:
"These people... what are they wearing?"
"Hair cut so short, how strange!"
"Strange accent..."
"Barbarian merchants from the Western Regions? Doesn't look like it..."
"Could they be sorcerers? Or Oirat spies?"
Huo Xiao strode to the edge of the wall, looking down at the five below. His gaze was like a physical probe, scanning every detail of their strange camouflage/work clothes, short hair, modern backpacks, Su Wan's compass, Chen Feng's black "lump" of a broken instrument... It all defied his understanding. His hand rested on his knife pommel, an intangible pressure emanating from him.
"Who are you? From whence do you come? Why these foreign garments? And why pursued by wolves?" Huo Xiao's voice was low, carrying undeniable authority and deep wariness.
Language! The biggest barrier! Su Wan knew some ancient Chinese, but Huo Xiao's Mandarin was heavily accented with a frontier dialect, spoken fast. She could only barely catch "who," "from where," "foreign," "wolves."
Qin Yuan forced himself to calm down, straining to recall ancient Chinese pronunciation. He used the simplest, clearest words he could muster, accompanying them with gestures:
"Refugees... merchants... met sandstorm... lost... wolves... Thank General for saving our lives!" He pointed towards where the wolves had vanished, then clasped his fists and bowed deeply.
"Merchants?" Huo Xiao's frown deepened, clearly unconvinced. "Search them!" he ordered in a low voice.
Several soldiers rushed out the opened gate, pinning the five to the ground roughly and searching them. Qin Yuan's multi-tool, Su Wan's compass, Chen Feng's broken instrument, Xiao Wang and Xiao Liu's assorted bits, and even Qin Yuan's alloy probe (hidden in a secret pocket inside his belt, undiscovered!) were all taken and placed before Huo Xiao.
The soldiers looked at these never-before-seen "curiosities" with increased fear. Someone pointed at the lighter, exclaiming, "Sorcerous fire! It makes fire from nothing!" (It had been accidentally ignited during the search). Someone held the multi-tool knife, feeling its material, neither metal nor iron, yet incredibly hard.
Huo Xiao picked up the alloy probe. It felt cold and heavy in his hand, made of an unprecedented material. His look towards Qin Yuan and the others was filled with scrutiny and deep doubt.
"Take them away! Confine them strictly! I will interrogate them thoroughly later!" Huo Xiao finally ordered. He couldn't let these strange, artifact-carrying individuals go, but couldn't immediately label them as spies or sorcerers either. Imprisonment and slow interrogation were the safest course.
The five were bound hands behind their backs, shoved, and marched into the encampment. They were thrown into an earthen cell that smelled of mildew and animal dung. The door was barred with a heavy wooden beam, only a small window letting in some light and air.
"It's over... we're taken for spies..." Xiao Liu said despairingly, leaning against the cold earthen wall.
"At least... we're alive." Chen Feng panted, trying to steady his heartbeat, already observing the simple cell environment. "And, we're inside. It's the first step to understanding Huo Xiao and his situation."
Qin Yuan was silent, looking out the small window. The encampment was more dilapidated than he imagined. The soldiers looked sallow and thin, their morale low. Several wounded soldiers groaned in a corner, lacking medicine and care. He saw the soldier with the injured leg whom Huo Xiao had personally cared for, limping as he helped move things. Huo Xiao's figure moved through the camp, his expression grave, occasionally speaking in low tones with a middle-aged man in a scholar's robe and a lean face (his deputy, Shen Yan), seemingly arguing about something.
"Supplies... are too scarce." Su Wan also came to the window, whispering. "Look at what they're eating, seems like bean cakes and wild vegetable paste. The water from the well is so murky. How can an army like this fight?"
Qin Yuan's gaze fell on a corner of the encampment where some damaged weapons and armor were piled, very few in number, clearly lacking replenishment. He remembered the still-gleaming knife from the tomb, a stark contrast to the rust-speckled weapons in the soldiers' hands now.
"Exhausted reinforcements and strength..." Qin Yuan murmured to himself. The four words from the epitaph now carried immense weight. He seemed to see the wheel of history rolling relentlessly along its set course towards that tragic outcome. And they had become prisoner-audiences to this tragedy's prelude.
Outside the cell, soldiers' discussion drifted in, this time with a gossipy tone:
"Hey, hear? Deputy General Shen seems to have sent someone privately to the Crescent Moon Spring area..."
"Really? For what? To find that... A Yi Sha?"
"Shh! Quiet! You want to die? But... heh, I heard Old Li from the supply camp mention something. Said years ago, when General Huo first came to guard the border, he saved some tribal girl being chased by bandits. Name was A Yi Sha... Tsk tsk, hero saves beauty! Later, that girl even sent the General a small dagger inlaid with gems! Pity later..."
The soldier's voice dropped even lower, the rest inaudible.
Qin Yuan and Su Wan were shocked again. Hero saves beauty? Past affection? This layer made Shen Yan's proposed trade even more complicated! Huo Xiao's hesitation probably wasn't just due to political risk and tribal allegiance, but also deeper personal emotional entanglements?
"Not a word on the epitaph..." Su Wan murmured. "A deliberate omission? Or was this past an unspeakable pain or... taboo for Huo Xiao?"
The mist of history seemed to thicken. Confined to this tiny space, they felt like they were sitting in the front row of a stage, watching a grand drama slowly unfold, woven with loyalty and betrayal, ideals and conspiracy, iron blood and tender emotion.