Chapter 54 Hes IV

　　—When one’s strength is insufficient one can only endure in silence. Yet will mere endurance necessarily succeed?

　　Seeing that poisonous scorpion flee, Hes had no intention of entering the gully in pursuit. He raised his head and looked at the sky; the sun was already sinking in the west and dusk was near, so he ordered the army to make camp outside the gully.

　　Inside the central army tent Hes was conferring with Tuohong on countermeasures.

　　“General Tuohong, what are we to do now?”

　　“Young Lord, we are indeed caught between advance and retreat. If we advance, Wei Hao and that swarm of venomous creatures are truly difficult to deal with; if we simply withdraw, the Young Lord’s prestige will be greatly diminished. Unable to avenge his subordinates, it will be hard to win the trust and expectation of the garrison of Skull City.”

　　“What you say is the same as saying nothing.” Seeing that Tuohong also had no good plan, Hes frowned tightly, racking his brains yet for the moment unable to think of a good method.

　　After a while Tuohong’s eyes brightened: “Young Lord, when I was formerly in the capital I once had a slight acquaintance with Wei Hao. When the Lord was still alive Wei Hao was then the chieftain of the Giant Clan; both sides served the celestial gods together and had also worked together pleasantly.”

　　“You know Wei Hao? Then let us go and talk with Wei Hao.”

　　“That is precisely my idea. Tonight the two of us shall privately seek out Wei Hao, chat with him, renew old acquaintance, and see whether the two sides can find a method of compromise.”

　　“Mm—Wei Hao frequently plunders our grain and forage. If we wish to establish ourselves firmly in Skull City we must indeed talk properly with Wei Hao.”

　　At night upon the StoneSea Gobi cold winds howled; the temperature dropped sharply and one actually needed to wear a fur coat to keep out the cold.

　　Hes and Tuohong flew to the air above the Valley of Death. Tuohong called in a loud voice from the air: “Chieftain Wei Hao, tonight an old acquaintance comes to visit—is elder brother well?”

　　From the depths of the peaks a sound of a flute arose; again a great swarm of giant poisonous scorpions and poisonous spiders crawled forth.

　　“Haha—I never expected that the once majestic Giant chieftain Wei Hao should now be so timid.” Tuohong mocked.

　　“Wei Hao, I am General Tuohong of the EagleGod Clan. You may come out and look—there are only we two EagleGods and we have brought no scepters.” Tuohong and Hes spread their hands to show they carried no weapons.

　　“You and I are both disappointed and fallen figures. Tonight we three fallen wanderers of the rivers and lakes—let us sit down together, chat, and renew old acquaintance. Why must we come to blows? Why must we make difficulties for one another?”

　　“So it is General Tuohong—it has been a long time.” From the depths of the basin came Wei Hao’s low, hoarse voice.

　　Before long a Giant walked out; the poisonous scorpions and poisonous spiders successively withdrew. The one who came was precisely the Cyclops Wei Hao.

　　Hes and Tuohong descended from the air upon a small hill. Tuohong introduced Hes to Wei Hao; the two sides clasped their fists and exchanged formal greetings.

　　“The nights of the StoneSea Gobi are truly too cold. I who have long lived in the capital cannot endure the chill here; every night I need wine to drive away the cold.”

　　Tuohong sat upon a rock at the top of the hill, bit open the leather stopper of a winebag with his teeth, drank several gulps with a gurgle, then tightly replaced the stopper and tossed the winebag to Wei Hao.

　　“Elder brother, rest assured—there is no poison in this wine.”

　　“Gurglegurgle…” Wei Hao took the winebag and drank several successive mouthfuls. “Fine wine! It has been a long time since I tasted such excellent wine.”

　　“Chieftain Wei Hao, General Tuohong has already told me your story; I deeply feel indignation at the misfortune of Chieftain Wei Hao.” Seeing that the tense atmosphere between the two sides had somewhat eased, Hes also drank several large gulps of wine.

　　Wei Hao sat upon the ground and merely drank, saying not a word.

　　“Chieftain Wei Hao must also know of my own misfortune. After my father’s death that false king seized the throne that rightfully belonged to me and transferred me to this place. My father’s close ministers were demoted or killed; even I nearly fell into an ambush and almost died at his hands. This enmity and hatred cannot be shared under the same sky.”

　　Hes ground his steel teeth and poured another mouthful of wine down his throat: “Only regrettably in the present court the celestial gods are deceived by traitors; loyal ministers are pushed aside and wicked ministers hold power. I wish to uphold great righteousness yet have neither authority nor power in my hands—my great ambition cannot be fulfilled.”

　　“I originally had no intention of confronting Chieftain Wei Hao; it was all at the instigation of Yuan Ao that I raised troops to campaign against you. Now that Yuan Ao is dead I intend to withdraw the troops tomorrow.” Hes revealed his bottom line to Wei Hao and then watched Wei Hao, waiting for his reaction.

　　“Yes—our Young Lord considers that all of us are fellow sufferers adrift at the ends of the earth, without enmity or hatred; why must we fight to the death? If we truly fight to the death would that not simply benefit our enemies?” Tuohong added at the side.

　　“Prince Hes, General Tuohong—what you say is correct.” Wei Hao, who had been drinking dull wine all the while, finally spoke.

　　“Sometimes I truly miss the days before the War of the Gods. At that time the celestial gods of the various clans lived in peace with one another—an age of prosperity and peace. After the War of the Gods the celestial gods of the various clans were almost all dead or wounded; the various races of the common people also suffered heavy casualties and mutual seeds of hatred were planted.”

　　Giants ordinarily possessed lifespans of several centuries. Wei Hao recalled the War of the Gods; those successive tragic battles seemed to have occurred only yesterday. While drinking he gazed up at the starry sky, his eyes so lonely and desolate.

　　“After the War of the Gods, although our clan’s celestial gods won the victory, for reasons unknown they suddenly changed their appearance—ceased to concern themselves with government, ceased to distinguish right from wrong, and became so that even I, their most loyal servant, no longer recognized them.”

　　“There has long been popular rumor that your father died at the hands of Hesai. Yet the allknowing, allunderstanding celestial gods not only failed to investigate the truth but actually allowed this highly suspect regicide to become Eagle King—truly astonishing.

　　“Thereafter, for reasons unknown, I as chieftain of the OneEyed Giant Clan was also without cause banished to this bitter cold region to serve hard labor.” When Wei Hao reached this point he smashed his right fist heavily upon the ground, leaving a huge fistprint.

　　Seeing that the moment was ripe, Hes said: “Chieftain Wei Hao, not only must we not contend against each other; on the contrary we should twist ourselves into a single rope and form an alliance to fight side by side. We shall lie low and endure here, waiting for the moment to arrive. You help me seize the position of EagleGod King; I help you regain the trust of the celestial gods and recover the position of Giant chieftain—what does the chieftain think?”

　　Hes, Tuohong and Wei Hao talked over wine until midnight. In the end the two sides agreed to form an alliance. Wei Hao promised that hereafter he would no longer plunder the supply columns of Skull City; Hes promised to send trusted subordinates to transport grain and supplies to Wei Hao at regular intervals.

　　At the same time Wei Hao promised that tonight he would pretend to flee; the next day Hes’s army would set fire to the caves and could then declare victory and return home.

　　Early the next morning Hes ordered the troops to set out, enter the gully, and come to the Valley of Death. Wei Hao and the other two Cyclops together with those venomous creatures had already vanished without a trace.

　　Hes ordered a great fire to burn the lair of the Cyclops and the venomous creatures clean; after declaring victory he led the army back to Skull City.

　　Upon returning to Skull City Hes appointed Tuohong the new marshal of the garrison of Skull City. Tuohong summoned the old subordinates of the former Eagle King, the previous lord, to come and pledge allegiance to Skull City.

　　Before long the number of EagleGods in Skull City reached more than two thousand, forming in the north a force that could not be ignored. From that time Hes completely grasped control of the army of Skull City.