Wei Wentong, the Flower-Saber Marshal, is one of the Sui generals who gives Qin Qiong no easy escape in the Sui-Tang storytelling tradition. Armed with a formidable saber and mounted for pursuit, he chases Qin over a long distance until the fugitive’s exhausted horse collapses in the mud below Stone Dragon Bridge. At the moment Wei is ready to cut him down, Wang Bodang shoots from the far bank.
The archer first pierces Wei’s left hand, then announces and hits the right as well. When a third arrow is promised for his heart, Wei finally turns back. The episode measures all three men at once: Qin Qiong cannot defeat or outrun the marshal under those conditions, Wei continues despite the first wound, and Wang Bodang controls the rescue through deliberate precision rather than a lucky shot.
Wei Wentong later receives one hundred thousand soldiers and marches against Wagang. Meeting Qin Qiong again, he fights for more than ten bouts and once more drives him into retreat. Wang Bodang arrives from another mission, recognizes the pursuit, and sends an arrow through Wei’s throat. Qin Qiong takes the fallen commander’s head, while the leaderless troops submit. Wei’s final defeat does not erase his standing. Twice he forces a central Wagang hero to flee, and twice only the same master archer prevents the chase from ending in Qin Qiong’s death.
