Chapter 18: Fate (Part 1)
After ten days of sailing, we finally reached the shore.
The two walked out of a hotel at the pier, eating a comfortable meal. The autumn breeze blew, and they were even more drunk. Kou Zhong looked at the lively scene of people and cars competing for the road on the street and said, "Boss, why are we going out of the city now? The price of salt here is not expensive!"
"You're right. The price of salt here is indeed not expensive. However, we've had a lot of wine and meat. If we don't sell some salt, we'll have no money for the journey." Zhang Xuanning laughed and said, "Besides, if we want to take the salt route, we need to find out the situation along the way. Let's get two bags of salt and go down to the village to find out if there are any other routes or businesses."
Kou Zhong nodded and said, "That's true. There is always some business."
Zhang Xuanning had also drunk a lot: "When you were drinking just now, didn't you say you wanted to make great achievements? Why are you interested in business again?"
Kou Zhong said with a smile: "Hey, just now, to be honest, although I have this idea, we are not worthy of it now, we might as well make some money first!"
Zhang Xuanning said with a wry smile: " There is no such a cheap thing in the world. Business is not that easy to do. The money earned is also hard-earned!"
The four younger brothers at the back were working hard, each carrying half a bag of salt, while Kou Zhong and Zhang Xuanning were talking as they walked towards the outside of the city. As they talked, they became more and more in sync with each other and their mood became even happier.
After walking for a while, Kou Zhong suddenly said "Huh?" and pointed to the sky in the distance and asked, "What is that?"
Zhang Xuanning was startled when he saw the red light flashing: "This is fire!"
Kou Zhong jumped up and said, "Let's go and take a look!"
"No, let's see the situation first." Zhang Xuanning's eyes were solemn: "Our new little brother's martial arts are not good enough. If he is affected, it will be embarrassing."
Although Kou Zhong was eager to try, he still restrained himself under such an order. The six people listened carefully and indeed, there were sounds of fighting coming faintly with the wind.
Kou Zhong said, "Let's go forward and take a look."
As he said this, he asked his four younger brothers to unload the salt.
Zhang Xuanning felt murderous intent in his heart, but he responded, "Let's go and see what's going on first."
Looking over from the hidden woods, I saw a town that had caught fire. On one side were Sui soldiers, about two thousand in number, while in this town were big men in tight clothes. There were actually thousands of them, and they were very brave, but they were still not as organized as the army, and they resisted desperately.
Wherever the Sui soldiers went , they not only set fire, but also massacred obviously innocent villagers, regardless of gender, age or status, with their corpses still bleeding bright red blood.
Kou Zhong's eyes were filled with tears and he was burning with rage. He was about to draw his sword, but was stopped by Zhang Xuanning who was already prepared.
"Master Xiang? Why are you pulling me?"
"See? There are hundreds of archers outside. Even if we want to go forward and kill people, we have to use some strategy. We can launch a sneak attack over there and kill one as soon as we kill one." Zhang Xuanning's face was solemn, and he drew his knife as he spoke.
"Master, you are right. Let's change direction." Kou Zhong said eagerly. He lowered his body and was about to sneak forward. Zhang Xuanning already had a long sword in his hand, only half a foot away from him. Without hesitation, he stabbed him fiercely with the long sword from behind. With a "puff" sound, the sword pierced straight into Kou Zhong's back and pierced through his chest.
Kou Zhong's mouth made a gurgling sound. He turned around reluctantly and wanted to say something, but blood was already spurting out of his mouth.
"On Master Su's orders, kill this traitor !" Zhang Xuanning raised his voice a little, and then sneered, "If I let you go, you will be out of my control. This is the way of fate!"
Even if one does not have a deep understanding of destiny, one can understand with wisdom that if Kou Zhong rushed down, Xiaoqiang would not die according to his fate, but he might be beaten up, so Xiaoqiang Kou Zhong could be free.
As he spoke, his hands had already stirred his internal organs vigorously, mixing them into a mess. Kou Zhong's vitality must be extremely strong, so he was not dead for the time being. Zhang Xuanning did not hesitate at all, drew out his long knife, and chopped at his neck. At this moment, the sound of arrows was heard, and a row of arrows shot towards him.
Zhang Xuanning refused to dodge amid the lightning and flames. The long sword was pointed at Kou Zhong, but his neck was not made of iron and was cut off immediately, with his head rolling on the ground.
"Puff!" Although he twisted his body as much as possible, a long arrow still brushed past his shoulder, knocking out a piece of flesh and blood. Zhang Xuanning rolled to the ground in panic and retreated quickly.
At this moment, dense footsteps came towards them. Hundreds of Sui soldiers, each holding a spear, rushed up at the command and shout.
Zhang Xuanning's expression was as cold as ice. He killed the two newly recruited young men around him on the spot. The other two, one fled in panic, and the other actually walked towards the Sui soldiers.
He felt a flash before his eyes, and more than ten spears were thrown at him. Zhang Xuanning was focused at this life-and-death moment, and the internal energy in his body circulated rapidly. He clearly grasped the angle of each spear thrown at them and the order of arrival.
The long sword in his hand was thrown out like lightning and fire. The young man who was fleeing towards the Sui soldiers was unable to resist at all. The long sword pierced his body and he rolled to the ground.
He immediately rolled over to avoid it. At the original spot, there were more than a dozen spears stuck in the ground like a forest.
The spearmen in the forest were not good at fighting, and immediately the sword soldiers rushed up. Zhang Xuanning dodged a sword and used all his strength to strike a palm. The soldier immediately fell to the ground. He grabbed the opponent's sword, but felt a pain in his body. Three swords were chopped at him. Fortunately, he was wearing the gang leader's inner armor, and the sword could not penetrate an inch and go any deeper.
His body was burning with pain, but he held the long sword in his hand and retreated quickly. The three Sui soldiers were unable to avoid the long sword and were each hit by it and fell backwards immediately.
But the military orders were strict, and when three people died, they were immediately replaced.
At the critical moment of life and death, determination is the most important. Zhang Xuanning would rather die than retreat. In an instant, he forgot about life and death, and took the attacks of dozens of enemies and the crawling little brother into his mind one by one.
Zhang Xuanning roared, and relying on the inner armor he was wearing, he swung his sword and mobilised all the internal energy in his body, charging straight at the Sui soldiers without giving up until they were dead.
Facing the army, no tricks would work. One could only avoid the strong and attack the weak, relying on internal strength to fight back. Even if the enemy tried to block, they would still vomit blood and fall to the ground due to the energy from the sword.
Suddenly, he saw a bright light in front of him. The fleeing younger brother was already in front of him. He raised his knife and chopped him without hesitation. The younger brother had no strength to resist and died with a scream.
After killing these five people, Zhang Xuanning felt very pleased and dared not stay any longer. He shouted and quickly retreated towards the trees. In this life-and-death situation, he used all his strength to escape.
He rushed through several trees and kept moving forward regardless of anything. Although he could occasionally hear the sound of fighting in the distance, he finally escaped.
Just now, I said a lot, but in fact it was only a few brief moments. There were more than a dozen wounds on my body, and it was burning with pain. If it weren't for my internal energy and inner armor, I would have died long ago.
Behind the line of life and death, countless villages are dotted around, with tenants and freemen cultivating small rice fields, usually only about a kilometer apart. These villages are like uncut jade, scattered in the landscape of manicured green fields, forming a sharp contrast with the desolate mountains covered with shrubs or trees.
Zhang Xuanning stood quietly, his mind was clear and bright, and he could not suppress the heroic spirit of man conquering nature, and he immediately let out a long roar.
Otherwise, I would not be able to vent the incomparable ambition and intense pleasure in my heart.
The best moment of life is right now.
