Volume One: Blood-Red Anxi

Chapter One: The New Recruit at the Fortress

The blizzard that had raged for three days and nights finally stopped. A helicopter flew back to the rescue base from the vast snowy plains. Two hours later, the TV station interrupted with breaking news: the archery training team trapped by the blizzard had been found, with one person missing. Reportedly, the missing person was the national archery champion Andrew Thompson, and the relevant authorities were making every effort to search and rescue...

A week later, the rescue team found Andrew Thompson’s training bow and arrows, but the person himself was nowhere to be found. With another blizzard approaching, the rescue team had no choice but to abandon the search for Andrew Thompson.

A year later, the name Andrew Thompson gradually faded from people’s memories.

...

‘The wind at Jianhe is fierce, the clouds are wide; at Shakou, stones freeze and horses lose their shoes.’

In the second month of the fifth year of Tianbao, Anxi was still a world of ice and snow. The snow-capped Lingshan Mountains towered on the frontier of the Great Tang, white clouds floating halfway up the snowy peaks. Each snow-capped summit looked like a blue gem, sparkling brilliantly in the sunlight.

In the middle of Lingshan, there was a mountain pass called Bodaling. It was a shortcut from the four Anxi garrisons of the Tang to Suiye, known as the Suiye Route. Back then, when Xuanzang journeyed west for scriptures, he crossed the border here, braving avalanches and blizzards, fighting death for seven days before finally making it out of Lingshan.

Thirty li south of Bodaling was the Suluofeng Garrison Fortress. The fortress stood about five zhang high, built from the giant stones of Lingshan, divided into upper, middle, and lower levels. The bottom level housed horses, the middle was for sleeping, and the top was a lookout and battle tower. Atop the fortress were three beacon cauldrons. Several tents stood beside the fortress, where the soldiers usually lived. In emergencies, everyone would take shelter inside the fortress. The Suluofeng Garrison Fortress was manned by forty-five Tang soldiers, and with five more at the Lingshan beacon post, there were fifty in total.

That morning, two Hu merchants arrived at the fortress with several horse-drawn carts. On a horse behind one of the carts was a man dressed peculiarly, wearing a white short jacket, leather boots on his feet, and his hair cut short, lying limply on the horse. As the warhorse stopped, his fingers twitched slightly, as if he were waking up.

Seeing merchants arrive, the Tang soldiers excitedly ran out of their tents. For hundreds of li around, the land was desolate and uninhabited, and life was dull and boring all year round. The merchants’ monthly visits were the happiest days for the Tang soldiers, like a festival.

Everyone eagerly took out money to buy luxuries like wine and meat from the merchants, but all eyes were fixed on a cart adorned with lace.

At that moment, an officer emerged from a tent. He was tall and burly, with a dark face and a full beard. He laughed boisterously, “Ubudah, did you bring the women?”

“I brought them!” The merchant, eager to please, pointed at the lace-draped cart and smiled, “Both inside are famous courtesans from Bahuan City.”

“Famous courtesans, my ass! Who are you trying to fool? They’re probably cheap prostitutes you picked up from the black kilns!” Despite his words, the officer grinned and walked over to the cart.

Suddenly, he noticed the man slung over the horse behind the cart and asked in surprise, “Who’s this?”

“I picked him up on the road, planning to sell him at the slave market.”

“Picked up on the road?” The bearded officer walked over suspiciously and lifted the man’s face with his horsewhip. It was a young face with sharp features. Though haggard, one could still see the former strength and heroism in his expression.

“He’s a Han!”

The bearded officer turned to the merchant and asked, “Where did you find him?”

“By the Hulu River. The man’s got a tough life—he wasn’t eaten by wolves.”

At this moment, the young man slowly opened his eyes and rasped, “Give me some water.”

“Hey! Where are you from, Han?”

“I’m... from Luoyang,” the young man replied haltingly. “From the Eastern Capital, huh? Haha! I like the women from the Eastern Capital best.”

The bearded officer squeezed his sturdy arm, then waved his hand, “Take him into the fortress and give him some water.”

Two soldiers immediately came over to unload the young man. The Hu merchant grew anxious and quickly said, “Edward Sutton, that’s my slave.”

“Bullshit! You dare use someone of unknown origin as a slave? Watch out or I’ll cut you down myself.”