Chapter 999 - 274: Shi Lang’s Ingenuity Gains Salt and Benefits, Good Deeds Bless the People (Part 4)

He clasped his fists and bowed to Xue Hong Mountain and the others, then said in a clear voice, "Master Xue, brother Xue Tielong, Miss Xue, the Grand Squad Leader has long made meticulous plans in his heart. The decisive battle against the Western Holy Sect is a matter of life and death; that Western Holy Sect is full of experts, each one vicious and ruthless, like evil wolves and fierce tigers. If we wish to win in one stroke, we must have absolute certainty. At present the Grand Squad Leader is waiting for the heroes of our society from all directions to arrive and join forces; only when everyone is gathered, united in heart, will we have a chance of defeating such a powerful enemy. Moreover, after this battle, we still need enough worthy talents to assist the Grand Squad Leader in controlling the Salt Road and the Salt Fields, to ensure future peace and keep them from being coveted by those with sinister hearts. These Salt Roads and Salt Fields are fat meat in the eyes of all sides in the Jianghu; if we lack the strength to guard them, I fear that just after we drive away the wolves, the tigers will come."

His words were clear in logic, steady and forceful, fully displaying the bearing of a Jianghu hero.

After hearing him, Xue Hong Mountain’s brows knit even tighter, like two steep peaks about to collide.

The depression in his heart surged like a raging tide, one wave after another crashing in, nearly drowning him.

He let out a long sigh, that sigh seeming to carry boundless vicissitudes and helplessness, and said, "What Hero Xie says, how could we fail to understand its reasoning? Only this taste of waiting is truly like a thorn in the back, hard to endure to the utmost. The brothers of our Northwest Salt Gang are all hot-blooded men, each itching to immediately take up blades and charge into battle, to avenge those brothers who died miserably at the hands of the Western Holy Sect. Yet now we can only wait idly here; it really is... It feels like watching one’s enemy swagger before one’s eyes while oneself is bound by ropes, unable to move."

He shook his head slightly, his eyes full of helplessness and unwillingness.

Shi Feiyang walked out from the tent, his expression as deep and steady as an abyss, his gaze like a blazing torch, as if he could pierce all the mists of this world.

He slowly swept his eyes over the crowd, and wherever his gaze passed it seemed to carry an invisible force that inspired awe in people’s hearts.

Then he spoke: "Everyone, be at ease, do not panic. In my view, there will surely be a fierce battle tonight. We have sent men to scout the movements of the Western Holy Sect and the Hake Tribe; naturally they will not sit and wait for death, and will likewise try every means to probe our true situation. We keep our troops unmoving, and instead they will grow anxious. First, they will think we fear them, and thus become all the more arrogant and reckless, acting ever more unscrupulously like wild horses off the rein; second, tonight they are very likely to launch a surprise attack on us, both to test our real strength and to try to draw the flames of war here, disrupting our formations and plunging us into chaos; third, our strength right now has yet to reach its peak—if we rashly strike out, facing their overwhelming numbers, we are very likely to fall into layer upon layer of encirclement, suffer a calamity of annihilation, and be wiped out to the last man. Therefore, in tonight’s battle, everyone must take self-preservation as the foremost priority, and must not act recklessly. As for me, I likewise will not lightly exert my full strength; I will fight as I retreat, making it hard for the enemy bandits to grasp our true power, so that in the later clashes we may seize the initiative and grasp the key to the situation. This is like playing chess: we cannot reveal our pieces too early—only when the layout is complete can we strike in a single move to take the enemy."

Shi Feiyang’s voice was calm and powerful, like a great bell ringing, echoing again and again within the camp, carrying a kind of reassuring majesty and confidence. That voice could penetrate hearts, injecting a tonic into everyone, making their previously flustered hearts gradually settle.

Hearing these words from Shi Feiyang, Xue Hong Mountain still had a thread of unwillingness in his heart, like a trapped beast still struggling, yet for the moment could find no reason to refute.

He nodded slightly, clasped his fists, and said, "What Grand Squad Leader Shi says is entirely correct. We will follow commands."

With that, he led his son Xue Tielong and his daughter Xue Qiuchun, and slowly withdrew from Shi Feiyang’s tent.

Back in their own tent, Xue Tielong could no longer suppress the raging flames of anger in his heart.

He clenched his steel-like teeth, his hands balled into fists, the joints turning white from the excessive force, as if he meant to crush all the injustices of this world.

He said hatefully, "How long is this waiting to last before it ends! Each day, seeing the brothers in that anxious, restless state, my heart feels like it’s being gnawed by ten thousand ants, so tormented I’m almost going mad. Are we to do nothing but sit here and wait for death, just dryly waiting like this? I cannot accept it, I truly cannot accept it! We’re like trapped beasts penned in a cage, full of strength yet with nowhere to unleash it."

His face was full of unwillingness and fury, like a volcano on the verge of eruption; his eyes were bloodshot, as if they were about to spit out blazing flames.

Seeing her elder brother like this, Xue Qiuchun felt worry crowding her heart as well, as though a huge boulder were pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe. Her fine brows knitted gently, like a new moon veiled by dark clouds, and she softly urged, "Father, brother, since the Grand Squad Leader has arranged matters thus, he must have his far-reaching considerations. Only now the war rages tight, while we cannot act on our own, which truly makes one feel stifled, like being caught in a thicket of thorns, unable to move. But we must trust the Grand Squad Leader—he surely has the clever method to untie these thorny cords."

Having spoken, she let out a light sigh, that sigh carrying endless sorrow; her eyes were full of helplessness and despair, like a little bird trapped in a cage, longing for freedom yet powerless to attain it.

Xue Hong Mountain gazed up at the top of the tent; that tent top seemed to mirror his confused state of mind at this moment. In his eyes there was both eager anticipation of victory, like a traveler in darkness yearning for light, and a deep helplessness toward the present situation, like a trapped beast mired in a bog.