Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

As dusk fell, mist from the Qingyi River tributary, wrapped in the pungent scent of reeds, drifted up. Two red oil-paper lanterns suddenly lit up from the distant water fort's watchtower, like two vigilant eyes perched on a stag-horn barricade. When Gan Ning's fleet was within a hundred paces, three patrol boats finally arrived from the other side. The captain standing at the bow held his sword in his hand, his bronze helmet gleaming coldly in the setting sun. "Which boat? State your name!"

Gan Ning opened the grain bag and leaned out, his voice as loud as a bell: "Grain Supervisor under General Cheng Demou! I have been ordered to escort 30 hu of brown rice to Wujun. Who is on duty?" The boatman behind him just in time pulled out a half-worn blue silk flag with the word "Cheng" on it, making it rustle.

The captain on the other bank, upon hearing this, relaxed his grip. The clinking of swords and sheaths faded slightly as the sailors behind him chatted among themselves. Cheng Pu was a veteran of Jiangdong, a third-generation general. Back when he crossed the river with his spear, most of these sailors were still wearing open-crotch pants. The captain bowed, his tone softening. "So this is General Cheng's fleet. It's our fault for being so blind... River defenses have been tight these days, so we'll have to stop and inspect them." He waved the small boat forward, the hook rope at the bow already swung out with a clatter.

At that moment, Lu Su suddenly tapped his feather fan in the cabin. A low laugh rolled through Gan Ning's throat, and he slammed his copper wristband against the side of the ship: "Inspection?" The boatmen behind him suddenly roared in unison, and the oars plunged into the water, splashing half a man's height. The entire grain ship suddenly rushed forward like an arrow from a bow! The river breeze suddenly pulled tightly at the "Cheng" flag. Under the faded green silk, the hidden black iron scabbard was faintly visible in the waves.

"Oh no! It's a trick!" The captain stumbled back half a step in shock. Before the horn at his waist could be blown, the grain ship crashed into the bamboo fence of the water fort with overwhelming force. The crisp sound of bamboo strips breaking mixed with the screams of the sailors. The sharp wood pre-tied on the bow of the ship crashed through the gate. A flock of egrets startled from the reeds flapped their wings and flew past Gan Ning's grinning face: "We are here to find Zhou Gongjin! You rats dare to block our way?"

The sound of gongs suddenly erupted from deep within the water fort. Behind the antler-shaped barriers on both sides, countless spear-wielding soldiers emerged from the reed marshes, their spearheads weaving like a thorny web of cold iron in the setting sun. Gan Ning's fleet had already breached the first barrier, and the splintered bamboo drifted with the current like the shredded masks of hypocrisy behind them.

By the time the first grain ship shattered the third bamboo fence, Gan Ning had already leaped into the air, stepping on the broken bars. The ring-handled sword at his waist unsheathed with a sound like ripping silk, its blade slicing a silver half-moon in the setting sun before striking the incoming spear head-on. With a clang of metal clashing, the spear-wielding sailor, spear and all, was knocked back three steps. Blood spurted from the palm of his hand, splattering Gan Ning's bronze wristguard, which he then swung in a flash, slashing it into a crimson arc.

"Tear down this antler formation!" Lu Su shouted from the stern, waving his sleeves and pointing his feather fan at the dense forest of chevaux de frise to the west of the water fort. Ten swordsmen from Cheng Pu's former command rushed forward, their ring-handled swords focused on the mortise and tenon joints at the base of the chevaux de frise. With a crackling sound from the damp wood, several rows of antlers collapsed, revealing a three-foot-wide trench behind them. The bottom of the ditch was filled with sharpened bamboo, but it had been filled with waterweed thrown down by Gan Ning's Jinfan bandits—these fierce bandits, who had once plundered the Yangtze River, knew how to crack the defenses of the water fort.

Suddenly, a clapper blast echoed from the wall. Twenty archers emerged from behind the parapet, raining down arrows like locusts on the people disembarking. Gan Ning abruptly pulled the boatman beside him behind him and leaped into the air, his sword flashes weaving a dense, impenetrable silver net in the air. Arrows shattered on the blade, but one darted past his ear, severing the red silk ribbon holding his hair. "What a hidden arrow!" He roared, drawing the locust stone from his waist and hurling it with his fingertips. The archer on the wall screamed and fell to the ground, his bow still trembling as he hit the ground.

By then, the gate had been smashed open, and over a hundred sailors poured out, forming a shield formation and advancing. The clash of shields clashed like muffled thunder, and spears jutting from the gaps formed a black thorn, bearing down on Gan Ning's face. Instead of retreating, he advanced, slamming the back of his blade into the nearest shield, using the recoil to flip over and leap onto the shield formation. The moment the sailors looked up in panic, they saw his eyes wide open, and the flash of his blade swept through like leaves in a gust of wind—the sound of cracking shields, the creaking of bones, and screams suddenly blended into one. The shattered shield fragments flew through the air, startling several night herons as they landed in the trench.

"Follow me!" Gan Ning tiptoed, leaping like a cheetah towards the arrow tower within the stronghold. Before the cannon could even be set up, he chopped off the mounting with a single blow. The scorching iron cannon clashed against the wooden planks. Amidst the rising smoke, he spotted banners waving in the dense forest behind the stronghold. Quan Zong had already led his army to support them, and the clashing of armor plates surged toward them like a tide.

Lu Su hurried ashore, his boots slipping as they ran over the sailors' blood. He gathered his composure, pointed his feather fan toward the west side of the watchtower, and said, "Xingba! Cut the ropes to the watchtower and burn the stockade!" Before he could finish his words, Gan Ning had already thrown his torch onto the pile of firewood.

The vanguard of Quan Cong's cavalry had already reached the village gate, their hooves shattering planks and sending sparks flying. Gan Ning wiped the blood from his face, slammed the back of his sword against the nearby watchtower pillar, and laughed wildly at the swarming enemy soldiers: "Well done! Let me show you the style of General Jinfan!" Behind him, the water fort, engulfed in flames, was collapsing. As broken beams and pillars fell to the ground, the ashes and blood mist stirred up in a web in the air, dyeing the Qingyi River in the twilight a hideous crimson and purple.

As Quan Cong's vanguard cavalry crashed into the water fort, the clatter of hooves thumped like drums against charred planks. But the sight before them startled the captains, causing them to tighten their reins. The collapsed antler formations lay sprawled in the mud, broken bamboo fences ripped through horses' legs like saw teeth, and several reckless warhorses were pierced in the stomachs by sharp bamboos in the trench, wailing and throwing the riders off their backs. The cavalry formation barely managed to deploy when it was shattered by the maze of alleyways and ruins within the water fort. The clashing of armor mixed with the neighing of horses, like a tangled mess thrown into boiling oil.

"Damn it! How can cavalry be allowed to gallop in this damned place?" Quan Cong reined in his Qingzhui horse at the village gate, his face flushed red beneath his bronze helmet. He saw Gan Ning, in the firelight ahead, wielding his sword to split the last line of barricades. The Jinfan pirates, stepping over the corpses of the sailors, rushed into the dense forest like monkeys. The arcs of light drawn by their swords in the twilight were even more dazzling than the torches of the pursuers behind them.

"General! That black fellow is formidable!" the lieutenant general pointed toward the center of the fray. Gan Ning, with a single blow, cleaved the fallen knight's iron spear in two. He then grabbed another cavalryman by the belt and swung him toward the shield formation. The shieldbearer, shield and body, tumbled into the fire, their screams of burning armor startling the night owls from the treetops. Though the Jiangdong cadets under Quan Cong were valiant, they had never seen such reckless fighting—the Jinfan bandits specialized in hacking at horses' legs and splitting men's shoulders, maneuvering through narrow alleyways with ease. Their ring-handled swords danced with such force that water could not penetrate them, making the clumsy cavalry their sitting ducks.

"Where did this madman come from?" Quan Cong suddenly drew his sword, and the blade hit the saddle bridge, sparks flying. "Surround them! Even if we have to fill them with corpses, we must stop these thieves!" Before the order was finished, Gan Ning suddenly turned over and jumped onto a broken tree. His copper-bell eyes swept across the swaying torches in the dense forest, and he laughed wildly: "Is Quan Zihuang's cavalry just this bad?" Before he finished speaking, more than ten Jinfan thieves behind him suddenly hurled locust stones at each other. The cavalrymen in the front were hit by the stones and fell off their horses. The horses in the back row were so frightened that they stood up and blocked the passage tightly in an instant.

By then, Lu Su and his personal guards had reached the breach in the fortress wall, pointing his feather fan northwestward toward the reeds. "Xingba! Let's take the water route!" Gan Ning responded by leaping from the broken tree, sweeping his blade across to knock down two pursuing spearmen. He then seized the cloak of a fallen knight and flung it at Quan Cong. As Quan Cong swung his sword to block, the Jinfan bandits surged into the reeds like a black tide, their feet clattering in the mud and the fluttering of startled waterfowl. In an instant, they were lost in the darkness.

"Chase! Chase them to death!" Quan Cong kicked his horse's belly in anger, but the Qingzhui steed stumbled half a step amidst the broken wood. He stared at the dark reed marsh ahead. The torchlight could only illuminate a distance of ten feet. The thieves with brocade sails were like loaches in the water. No matter how the pursuers shouted, the only sound was the rustling of reed petals in the night wind. The flames of the water fort behind him were still burning, casting flickering shadows on Quan Cong's sullen face. His knuckles clacking as he gripped the hilt of his sword, but he could only hear a long whistle in the distance, startling the wild geese in the middle of the river, which flapped their wings and shattered the reflection of the waning moon into pieces on the waves.

In the darkness, Gan Ning and his brocade-sailed men ran wildly through the reeds. Wet reed leaves scraped against their cheeks, and the swamp reached their ankles, but it couldn't stop the wind from blowing beneath their feet. Lu Su grabbed the back of Gan Ning's brocade robe, his panting mixed with the shouts of the pursuers behind him: "Go to Wu County! General Cheng Demou said that Zhou Lang is occupying the territory that Bofu once allocated to the Shanyue for recuperation!" He pointed his feather fan to the southeast, and through the gaps in the reeds, he could vaguely see a few lights floating in the night. "This area is only thirty miles away from Wu County. Quan Cong has caused such a commotion, Zhou Lang's guards will definitely lead troops to investigate - then he can reveal his identity and escape without worries!"

Before he could finish his words, the sound of horses trampling through the mud in the reed marsh behind him suddenly came. Gan Ning suddenly grabbed Lu Su and lowered him to the ground. As he pressed his copper wrist guard onto the hilt of his sword, he saw several sheepskin water lanterns suddenly floating in the waterway ahead.

In the shadows of the lantern, a general clad in mountain-yue rattan armor stood at the bow, his sword slung diagonally across his shoulder. The copper nails embedded in its scabbard gleamed coldly in the water. Hearing the commotion on shore, he turned abruptly, the red tassel on his sword's handle brushing against the bamboo ribs of the boat's awning with a soft, swishing sound. "Are you guys done yet? If it weren't for the governor's strict orders not to tangle with us, the general would have already overrun your water stronghold!"

Lu Su steadied himself. Although he couldn't see the other man's face clearly, from his words, he knew he wasn't part of the group of pursuers. He already had a plan in mind. He pushed Gan Ning aside, his feather fan fluttering in the night breeze, and said, "We are not enemy generals from the water stronghold, but old acquaintances from Xiliang, who belong to Commander Zhou." Before he finished speaking, the general suddenly sheathed his sword and clasped his fists. The rubbing sound of his rattan armor was particularly clear in the silent waterway. "Old acquaintance from Xiliang? I am Jiang Qin, a general under Commander Zhou. Who are you, sir?"

Gan Ning's copper wristband made a crisp sound when it knocked against the side of the boat. He suddenly laughed out loud when he heard the words, shaking the flame of the sheepskin lamp on the bow: "Haha! It's Jiang Gongyi!" As he took a step forward, the red tassel of the ring-handled sword at his waist swept through the water on the side of the boat, and the splashing water droplets condensed into silver lines in the shadow of the lamp. "I am Gan Ning Gan Xingba, and the man beside me is Mr. Lu Zijing. We have been secretly ordered by the king to visit the young master and pay a visit to Governor Zhou. We didn't expect to be blocked by Quan Cong's water stronghold, so we had to use the broken fence to pass through!"

Jiang Qin, standing at the bow, suddenly sheathed his sword and clasped his fists. The scales of his armor rustled in the night wind. His guards quickly swung the oars across the side of the boat. The planks creaked and groaned from the sudden stop, startling the fish underwater and sending them scurrying away. "It's General Gan and Mr. Lu!" Jiang Qin's scabbard slammed against the iron ring on the bow. "I'm patrolling the river under the orders of General Taishi, and I saw the fire from the water stronghold!"

Lu Su steadied himself by holding Gan Ning's arm, and pointed his feather fan at the approaching torches behind him: "Quan Cong's troops are still pursuing us. I wonder if General Taishi..."