Samuel Harris ignored Matthew Cooper, hoisted him up, and moved toward George Baker, David Clark, and the others. Looking out, he saw that beside two Xiongnu soldiers lay the bodies of many Han people who had been cut down. One of the Xiongnu soldiers was about to untie the ‘deer horn’ (actually a cow horn, but called a deer horn at the time) at his waist to blow for reinforcements.

Samuel Harris knew that once the Xiongnu soldier blew the horn, the others would arrive quickly: “Stop him at all costs!”

Without caring that he was carrying Matthew Cooper on his back, Samuel Harris crouched down, picked up a stone from the ground, and hurled it forcefully at the Xiongnu soldier who was about to blow the horn for help. Luckily, the distance was short; the Xiongnu soldier was struck on the head by the stone just as he was about to blow, and collapsed with a crash. After this, Samuel Harris crouched down again to help up the cursing Matthew Cooper. “Let’s go, let’s go, don’t follow the crowd—run toward the darkness!”

The scene of over ten thousand people squeezing together to escape was utter chaos. Many of the sheep pen’s wooden fences had been knocked down. The fleeing crowd, risking being cut down by the Xiongnu, charged at the Xiongnu soldiers standing with drawn swords. One person would be cut down, but more would slip past while the Xiongnu were still swinging their blades and unable to recover in time. Who knows why they only took the blows and didn’t unite to overwhelm the Xiongnu?

There were only a little over a thousand Xiongnu escorting the Han slaves, and even fewer assigned to guard them. So few people simply couldn’t control the whole situation, which was why Samuel Harris was confident they could escape.

The Xiongnu soldiers in the camp were busy raping women and dividing up loot. Perhaps the Xiongnu had forgotten human nature: once people know they are doomed, the instinct to resist awakens. They had always thought the Han were a flock of docile sheep, never imagining that the captured Han would dare to try to escape, and so even as the chaos grew, they still hadn’t reacted.

In the confusion, Samuel Harris and his group of eight were jostled along with the crowd, unable to control their direction and moving wherever the crowd took them. Unknowingly, they surged toward the area guarded by Xiongnu soldiers. David Clark was crying helplessly; the arrow in Matthew Cooper’s left arm had not been pulled out, and being jostled into the shaft sent waves of piercing pain, nearly making him faint. Samuel Harris, taking advantage of his height, kept his eyes fixed on the lone Xiongnu soldier ahead, who was slashing at the Han with his sword.

“Closer, closer... Kill him! Don’t let him pick up the horn and call for help!” Samuel Harris didn’t even realize he was holding his breath. He tensed his muscles, gripped his dagger tightly in his right hand, and when he was five steps from the Xiongnu soldier...

Fortunately, the closer they got to the Xiongnu, the fewer people there were. Samuel Harris suddenly shoved aside the Han in front of him, took a big step forward, leaned his upper body to dodge the Xiongnu’s slashing saber, and with his right hand gripping the dagger, punched upward. He crouched, clamped the Xiongnu’s saber under his left armpit, and immediately felt pain in his left side. He quickly twisted his body to prevent his whole arm from being severed, then swung his right arm and drove the dagger with a “thud” into the Xiongnu’s heart. The whole sequence was smooth and fluid, and even in the chaos, David Clark couldn’t help but exclaim, “Truly a warrior!”

The Xiongnu soldier’s body fell to the ground. Samuel Harris stuck the dagger into his waistband, reached for the saber hilt clamped under his left ribs, and felt that his camouflage jacket had been sliced open by the blade. Touching the wound, he couldn’t help but grunt in pain, gaining a new respect for the Xiongnu’s strength. He was about to bend down to unfasten the water pouch from the Xiongnu’s belt when he heard a sudden, urgent horn blast...

At this moment, the Xiongnu soldiers guarding the northeast finally sprang into action. Dozens of cavalry charged out, their clothing disheveled, most of them having just thrown something on—clearly, they had just been raping women and children. They split into three groups, chasing after the Han fleeing south, but for some reason, sent fewer than ten riders after those escaping toward the grasslands.

Samuel Harris slashed the rope binding the water pouch, tucked it into his belt, and pulled something else from the Xiongnu’s chest. He immediately pointed northeast and started running. “Let’s go that way.” George Baker, carrying Matthew Cooper, followed closely behind, while David Clark shouted for Samuel Harris to wait for him. The other four hesitated, glancing toward the grasslands, and slowed their pace.

“There are a hundred thousand Xiongnu cavalry over there—running that way is a death sentence!”

“You don’t know a thing! Do you know what it means to survive by seeking death? That’s what the Martial Sage Sun Wu said! Didn’t you see the Xiongnu cavalry all chasing south? Mr. Cooper agrees with Brother Harris—let’s head for the grasslands!”

“I’m not going with you. I want to return to the Han. The grasslands belong to the Xiongnu—we can’t get through. It’s all desert or marsh; anyone unfamiliar will die for sure! Even if I die, I want to die on my homeland!”

Samuel Harris didn’t slow down, gradually pulling away from them. Seeing that George Baker was struggling to carry Matthew Cooper, he doubled back, grabbed Matthew Cooper from George Baker, and slung him over his own back. “George Baker, watch David Clark, don’t let him get lost. The rest of you... do as you wish!” With that, he sprinted off again. Now, every second counted. His goal was the pitch-black area a hundred meters to the northeast. As long as they could disappear into the darkness before the Xiongnu caught up, they could at least avoid pursuit until dawn.

In the end, three people turned back and ran south, but the one who had first said he wouldn’t flee toward the grasslands ended up following closely behind Samuel Harris and the others.