Chapter 20: Jungle (Part 1)
After suppressing Yang Xuangan's uprising, Emperor Yang of Sui launched the third war against Goryeo in the tenth year of Daye, regardless of the crises both inside and outside. In February, Emperor Yang issued an edict to recruit troops from all over the country, and all the troops advanced. In March, Emperor Yang visited Zhuo County. At this time, the peasant uprising was surging and had spread like wildfire. In July, when Emperor Yang arrived at Huaiyuan Town, most of the recruited troops failed to arrive on time. Lai Huer, the general of the Right Guard, defeated the Goryeo army in Bishe City and took advantage of the victory to march towards Pyongyang. At that time, Goryeo had been exhausted from fighting against Sui for years and was unable to fight again, so it sent envoys to surrender and sent back Hu Sizheng, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War who had rebelled against Sui and fled to Goryeo last year.
Emperor Yang of Sui saw that he had averted the humiliation of both defeats and that war was raging in the country, so he returned to the capital on the fourth day of August.
At this time, it was early winter of November in the tenth year of Daye, and the weather was cool.
In August, Yang Gongqing rebelled. In November, Sima Chang'an, Liu Miaowang, Wang Deren, and Zuo Xiaoyou rebelled. It was in this year that the Sui Dynasty officially began to collapse.
Zhang Xuanning had been walking on the ground for ten days. At first, his feet were very cold and the stones were very prickly, but after ten days, his torn skin had healed and callused.
On the road, I could feel the world collapsing day by day. From time to time, I encountered people fleeing. As the number of refugees increased, there were bandits and gangs along the way acting with impunity. Therefore, there were countless killings, robberies, and fights on the road.
You can often see discarded clothes and shoes, as well as other miscellaneous items on the road. Not far away, there are even corpses lying on the ground with no one to pick them up.
"The world is in turmoil, and the people are living in misery. This is the time for heroes to rise up."
Zhang Xuanning now relaxed himself and casually pulled out the knife. The knife seemed ordinary, but after a closer look, he felt that both the handle and the scabbard had a kind of remote, ancient and simple taste. The true energy flowed into it, and the blade changed instantly. It was a hazy yellow light.
The original owner of the knife, Xiao Xin, had played with this knife thousands of times. Only the right master could use it, so he did not attach much importance to it and it was not difficult to obtain it.
But the owner has changed, and the name has changed. It is no longer the Zen-flavored name Jing Zhong Yue, but the domineering name Po Jun Sha Dao.
At this time, the rain was pouring down, but he did not avoid it and just dug a hole in the jungle.
Three feet deep and two feet wide, that's enough!
Zhang Xuanning dragged an old corpse on the roadside into the pit and buried it with soil. Looking at the rain pouring down and feeling the biting cold, he meditated in front of the grave, letting his internal energy flow slowly. However, he did not enter a state of tranquility. He just lowered his head and thought quietly.
When a person dies, he disappears from this world. If he is blessed, he can be buried in peace. But what can he do about all the things he had to do in his life?
It doesn't matter whether you let go or not at this moment.
If you let it go, it's already dead. If you don't let it go, it's in vain.
In this way, those who say they can let him go can be beheaded, and those who say they should not let him go can also be beheaded. It is nothing more than this.
After a while, the sound of shouting and horse hooves could be heard coming from afar on the road.
This group of thirty cavalrymen were wearing shabby clothes, were not regular soldiers, and had no bows and arrows. Only elite soldiers could shoot arrows on horseback; ordinary troops simply did not have this ability.
With a "clang" sound, the long sword that had returned to the sheath was slowly pulled out. Raindrops fell on the blade, but could not hide the yellow light.
When more than thirty riders flashed by on the road, Zhang Xuanning suddenly pounced out with his long sword. The man was also a warrior and blocked it with his sword in an instant.
"Ding!" There was a clear sound of metal colliding.
The rider's whole body shook violently, blood spurted from his mouth, and he fell off his horse. Zhang Xuanning fell on him, his feet stepped on his chest, and his sternum made a series of crisp sounds, obviously he was dead.
At this moment, a cavalryman from behind rushed over at lightning speed, and his spear pierced through the air. Zhang Xuanning bounced up with his whole body, avoiding the spear, and was about to collide with the horse's head, and then staggered with the smallest distance. He kept the long sword in his hand aside, without any other movements, just waiting in the position above the horse's head. The cavalryman was horrified, but he couldn't change the horse's momentum.
"Puff!" The neck was offered to the blade, and without any effort, the cavalry's own momentum cut off his head. Blood spurted out like a fountain, and the body was still riding forward.
The third cavalryman drew out his long sword and slashed at the enemy who suddenly appeared. Zhang Xuanning did not give in this time. The long sword in his hand flashed, and there was a loud bang. The two swords collided. Both the cavalryman and Zhang Xuanning were shocked, but almost at the same time, Zhang Xuanning turned over and slashed again, blood splattered.
Zhang Xuanning fell to the side of the road, without looking back, sheathed his sword, and went straight into the jungle. He drew his sword, killed people, jumped, and left, all in the blink of an eye, as smooth as flowing water, without any pause.
A dozen cavalrymen in front reined in their horses, and the horses neighed loudly and stood upright before they stopped. The leader waved his hand to stop the rush into the jungle, took a deep breath, and sent a voice through his energy: "Who are you?"
Amidst the lightning and flames, this man's martial arts were ruthless and effective, giving the viewers a chill.
Zhang Xuanning walked into the jungle without looking back. Although this sentence was still lingering in his ears, he was not moved and had no intention of answering.
Pushing aside the long grass leaves and regulating his breath, he had already gotten a clear understanding of the environment here. No matter what, he was more familiar with it than those cavalrymen who passed by temporarily.
Even though he just killed three people easily, that was already a manifestation of all his strength. At this moment, half of his internal energy had been used up, but his mind was as calm as still water, and he slowly adjusted his breathing, and was slowly recovering.
The sound of rushing water, the clear stream , the gleam of light reflecting the early winter sunshine, he looked down and saw clearly a boy with a knife in the water.
Although it is early winter, some leaves have not fallen completely, and the river is very shallow, with some stones exposed. I believe that by next spring, the water source will be expanded and the local soil and water will be nourished!
The rain was still falling, and the wind swept across the earth, bringing a lot of chill and haziness. The river flowed quietly, and the amount of water was also quietly increasing. There was actually some green grass among the gravel on the shore.
"Hahahaha!" The sudden joy made him jump off the stone and step into the water. A cold feeling rose up from the soles of his feet.
He closed his eyes quietly. There was no jungle or human figure. Only the wind blew past, sweeping up even the wet leaves on the ground. Life was so lonely. He was waiting for the cavalry to come in, and then he would start a guerrilla war to the death...
As for who this cavalryman was, what force he belonged to, and whether he was good or evil, he didn't want to ask or know. He saw the corpse and wanted to bury it, so he buried it. This was what he wanted to do. He saw the cavalryman and wanted to kill him, so he killed him. This was also what he wanted to do. Why bother asking other questions?
Suddenly, I was able to draw my sword and kill someone without any restraints. It was an incomparable joy that was released from my heart - the sound of horses neighing came from further away, and my breathing had calmed down.
The forest is deep and the rain is hazy, there should be no doubt, holding the sword to the eyebrows, it seems nothing like being in the human world. Practicing sword skills on humans is the greatest pleasure in a swordsman's life.
