Chapter 71 Su Muzhe (IV)
The gates of Yongzhou had been closed for more than a month. Before the Hu general Aduorong took charge of Juhan Pass, this situation happened frequently, so the people in the city were not panic-stricken. At the instruction of Qin Jixun, the villagers who were transferred from outside the city were also properly settled in temporary felt tents.
Wuluo Suchile was still confronting the Qi army in the Populus euphratica forest. While the two sides were in a stalemate, a group of Han rebels from the direction of Jiyang, west of Juhan Pass, moved towards Yongzhou.
"Prince, the leader of the rebel army is Yang Tianzhe, the son of Yang Ming, the former governor of Yongzhou. He has gathered 5,000 Han slaves, all of whom are crazy enough to risk their lives. You came here from Juhan Pass with only your personal soldiers and the advance troops. They are coming from the rear, and we have Qin Jixun and Wei Dechang in front of us. If they form a siege, I'm afraid we won't be able to wait for reinforcements and will have to..."
Zhahe, the deputy general who accompanied Ulosuqile, spoke cautiously.
Wuluo Suqile had a sinister look on his face. He bit off a piece of roasted lamb leg and chewed it vigorously. After a while, he asked, "Do you remember how Yang Ming died?"
"I heard that he was killed by Miao Tianning, the younger brother of Miao Taiwei of Qi. Otherwise, Yang Tianzhe would not have defected to our royal court."
Zach said.
"Yes, Yang Tianzhe volunteered to serve the royal court. Now that he wants to change his mind and join his home country, it depends on whether his home country agrees."
Wuluo Suchile wiped the grease-stained dagger clean and said, "Send a message to the Qi army guarding the poplar forest and tell them that I, Suchile, will no longer pursue the death of Aduorong, but on the premise that they must deal with Yang Tianzhe's rebel army."
Zach frowned and thought for a moment, then grinned, raised his hand to his chest, saluted and said: "Prince, Zach will go now!"
When this news reached Qin Jixun and Wei Dechang, they were studying the sand table in their tent. Wei Dechang never had much in mind, and his brows were furrowed like a river. "Brother, this Yang Tianzhe defected to the enemy sixteen years ago, and now he is leading the rebel army back. What does he think our Yongzhou City is? Can he come and go as he pleases?"
"The Han people who live under the Hu people are all slaves. Even if Yang Tianzhe can get an official position in the Hu tribe, he will be a minor official who will be ostracized and discriminated against. The Hu nobles will never allow the Han people to be superior to them." Qin Jixun stared at the position of Juhan Pass in the sand table and said in a calm voice.
"But how can my brother and I guess what this man is thinking? He is so fickle, we must not let him into the city!"
Wei Dechang walked back and forth in the tent, "If this traitor had not escaped from Yongzhou, he should have been tortured to death together with Xu Hexue!"
The people of Yongzhou City have a strong heart, which is the result of Qin Jixun and Wei Dechang's education of the people over the years. If they welcome a traitor who once betrayed the Great Qi into the city at this time, it will probably cause panic among the people in the city.
Su Qile took advantage of this and put Qin Jixun and Wei Dechang in a difficult position, forcing them to eliminate Yang Tianzhe, the troublemaker, for him.
"What a great opportunity, but unfortunately..."
Qin Jixun had a complicated expression.
"Brother, what's the perfect opportunity?" Wei Dechang heard this and walked closer to him.
"The imperial decree came first. If the barbarians had not invaded first, we would not have rashly started a war."
Qin Jixun actually didn't care whether Yang Tianzhe's surrender was real or fake. If there had not been an alliance in place, Da Qi would not have been able to tear up the alliance first. He could have asked Yang Tianzhe to give a letter of surrender, and the two sides would have worked together to trap Suchile to death in the poplar forest.
Wei Dechang became more and more annoyed. "Damn it! I have to beat him sooner or later! I really want to chop off the head of that barbarian boy Suchile!"
"Do you two want to lose your jobs and your lives?!"
Suddenly, they heard an angry shout. Qin Jixun and Wei Dechang turned around at the same time and saw a hand lifting the curtain. Then an old man in official uniform, with gray hair and beard and serious brows walked in.
"General Song, why are you here?"
Qin Jixun stood up and bowed to him.
Wei Dechang looked a little unhappy, but he still bowed to him.
"If I didn't come, would you two have teamed up with Yang Tianzhe and damaged the diplomatic relations between our two countries?" Song Song came up to them with his hands behind his back.
Wei Dechang couldn't help but say, "General Song, Suchile is going too far! If you can..."
"If you can what?"
Song Song tapped the table with his fingers. "Commander Wei, Suchile is the little prince of the Wuluo royal court. Her mother is the queen of the royal court and the princess of the Nanyan tribe! Everyone knows that the Nanyan tribe has the most elite cavalry in Danqiu! Regardless of what Yang Tianzhe is thinking, once Suchile dies in Yongzhou, it will be tantamount to our Great Qi tearing up the alliance and declaring war on Danqiu! But you are all aware of the current situation. In recent years, there have always been uprisings in various places. The court is busy suppressing the rebellion, but you are waiting for an opportunity to start a bigger war here!"
"First, quell the internal invasion, then defend against external aggression! Otherwise, how can the court take care of both?"
Seeing that Qin Jixun had remained silent, Song Song softened his expression, stroked his beard, and said, "You two have been stationed in Yongzhou for many years, and your contributions are self-evident. But you must not lose your head. If you make a mistake, it will not only implicate you two, but also your two surnames in Yongzhou."
"Since it can prevent the death of Aduorong, what are you hesitating about? Pass my order, accept the request of Prince Suchile, and fight against the traitor Yang Tianzhe together!"
Song Song made the final decision.
Wei Dechang clenched his hands and looked at his sworn brother beside him, but Qin Jixun did not react much and did not say anything, just bowed his head slightly towards Song Song.
The power of the military supervisor was so great that he could influence military orders, and even Qin Jixun had to obey.
The money and the woman who were intercepted by Qin and Wei that day were eventually ordered by Song Song to be sent out of the city. At that time, Ni Su was writing a new prescription for the young woman whose child was aborted by Song Song's personal soldiers.
With a "bang", soldiers in armor broke in.
The ink from the pen tip dripped onto the paper, wetting the words. Ni Su raised his head. The sunlight shining on their armor cast a cold color.
"What are you doing? What are you doing!" When the young man saw them come in, he pulled his wife on the bed and hurried forward.
"We are just following orders. Who put your family on the list? You haven't done any corvée labor yet. Logically, it's your family's turn to contribute!"
A soldier pushed him away and ordered someone to tie up the young woman.
The woman cried but couldn't break free from their hands. Ni Su stepped forward to block her and said, "Excuse me, sir. Did decide not to give money and women to the Hu prince?"
She was wrapped in a veil, so the soldiers couldn't see her face clearly. One of them was impatient: "We have to focus on the overall situation. Supervisor Song has ordered us to fight against the rebel leader Yang Tianzhe together with Prince Suchile. If you keep talking nonsense, we will tie you up as well!"
"Aren't we still short of people?"
Someone suddenly added.
For a moment, all eyes in the room were focused on Ni Su.
The sun was scorching, burning people's scalps. Ni Su and the young woman had their hands tied and were escorted out of the city by a group of soldiers.
"I'm sorry, Miss Ni. If my husband hadn't asked you to come and see me today, you wouldn't have..." The woman stopped talking and started crying again.
"How can I blame you for this?"
Ni Su looked calm. As she walked forward, she paid attention to the ball of fluffy white light in the medicine basket at her waist.
A trench was being built outside Yongzhou City in case of emergency. Fan Jiang was one of the conscripted laborers. He was busy in the trench. Suddenly, he looked up and saw Ni Su being escorted out of the city gate by soldiers.
He could not mistake the veil she wore or the dress she wore.
What's more, she had a medicine basket around her waist.
"Miss Ni!"
Fan Jiang crawled up from the trench, but before he could get close to Ni Su, he was kicked into the trench by a soldier.
Ni Su saw him fall on his back, covered in mud, unable to stand up in the trench due to the pain. She took a few steps forward and glared at him angrily: "What are you doing!"
The soldier turned around and met such a pair of eyes. He was stunned at first, and then he said angrily: "What do you want to do now?"
"Miss Ni, how could you..."
Fan Jiang was sweating profusely in pain at the bottom of the trench.
But before Ni Su could respond to him, she was forcibly taken away by the soldiers. Fan Jiang was still calling her from behind. Ni Su turned around, and her veil was blown open by the wind and sand. She saw Fan Jiang lying on the edge of the trench with red eyes.
Dozens of Qi women and nine boxes of money and silk were escorted by Song Song's personal soldiers to the other side of the poplar forest.
Qin Jixun was listening to his subordinates' reports in the military tent. He put his hands on his knees, pondered for a long time, and closed his eyes, "Let him go."
At dusk, beautiful rays of light filled the sky. The hottest time of the day had passed and people were already feeling cold. The thinly dressed women huddled together and walked forward with heavy steps, being led forward by the soldiers with hemp ropes.
Ni Su saw the Agate Lake, with the flowing clouds reflected in the waves, like a piece of crystal agate. There was a lush patch of reeds by the lake, and getting close to it, even the wind seemed to be a little moister.
"Hurry up!"
The captain in the lead yelled at him, and the soldiers pulled the ropes hard, causing the women tied to one rope to stagger. Several women fell to the ground, and Ni Su was also caught in the act and her ankle was twisted, causing her to fall.
The leading captain cursed and walked quickly to them in his military boots, "Hurry up! Don't waste time!"
Ni Su's ankle was in great pain and she stood up very slowly. The captain frowned and was about to put the handle of the knife in his hand against her back. The glow in the medicine basket flowed out, and the sharp glowing dust scattered and pierced into his finger bones.
The captain felt pain and his fingers loosened, causing the knife to fall to the ground. He looked at his hand carefully and found no wounds, yet for some reason it hurt so much.
"Captain Liu, there's someone over there!"
A soldier pointed to a hill not far away.
Captain Liu immediately looked in the direction the soldier pointed, and saw a figure in white standing there holding a sword. A cold wind was blowing from his direction, stirring up dust that made his eyes hurt.
Captain Liu immediately shouted, "Who is there? What do you want to do?"
The man said nothing, but suddenly took advantage of the force to leap up and used his lightness skills to move towards them.
Captain Liu and his accompanying soldiers immediately drew their swords and rushed forward. The wind and sand flew, and the sound of swords clashing was as dense as rain. Ni Su took the opportunity to take out a very small dagger from the hidden pocket lining his clothes, cut the ropes that bound his wrists, and immediately untied the women around him, whispering to them: "You are all from Yongzhou, you should know where we can hide temporarily outside the city, hurry up!"
One of the women cut the rope so violently that it alarmed the soldier guarding the carriage transporting the money. The soldier turned around and saw that they were trying to escape, so he immediately led a few men towards them with knives.
The raised blade flashed with a light golden glow, and the women immediately screamed and fled. Ni Su struggled to stand up, but the pain in her ankle made her unable to use any strength. Seeing a soldier running towards her, she swung the blade.
A flash of light.
Ni Su was dazzled. She heard the muffled sound of a blade entering flesh. She opened her eyes and saw that the soldier in front of her had his chest pierced by a sharp sword and fell heavily to the ground.
There was almost no human voice in the wilderness.
The women had disappeared, and the soldiers and the captain who escorted them were dead on the ground.
Bits of dust floated in the diffuse glow of the sunset glow and slowly merged into Xu Hexue's body. His snow-white clothes were stained with some blood. He leaned over and pulled the sword back from the corpse.
The sword blade shattered into light, fell into his sleeve and disappeared in an instant.
"Xu Ziling!"
Seeing that he was almost exhausted, Ni Su didn't care about the pain in her ankle and hurried to his side to support him.
The gates of Yongzhou City were closed, and the dew that Fan Jiang and Qingqiong collected was not enough, which caused Xu Hexue's damaged soul to recover extremely slowly.
"Is your foot injured?"
She had the scent of osmanthus on her body, which was the smell of the wood shavings water that she occasionally used. Xu Hexue supported himself from her arms and sat up straight, his eyes falling on her right foot. He was so weak that he could only breathe.
"It's just a sprain..."
Ni Su supported herself on the edge of her skirt with both hands and said a word, but she saw him put her right leg on his knee. The coldness of his fingers was not clearly visible through the stockings, but his touch made her whole body stiff.
"Are you scared?"
His fingers moved back and forth at her ankles. Ni Su's heart was beating along with his fingers. She shook her head: "I know you are there."
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly exerted force with his hands, and there was a sound of bones cracking. Ni Su screamed in pain, and tears welled up in her eyes.
She looked at him with tearful eyes.
The dust on his body was flying around again, and a large patch of rosy light covered his back, but he could barely hold on, and his figure was as thin as mist.
Ni Su wiped his face, immediately helped him to stand up, and limped with him to the golden agate lake.
"Ni Su, don't you feel any pain?"
His voice grew deeper and deeper.
"It doesn't hurt."
Ni Su wrapped his arms around herself and said, "Although it is dusk now and there is no dew on the reeds, the dew that drips from the reeds every day must have fallen into the Agate Lake, so it will have some effect, right?"
Xu Hexue lowered his eyes and saw that she was looking up, as if expecting him to give a positive answer. He said "hmm" in a hoarse voice, "Yes."
"We haven't been out for so long, this is our chance."
She smiled and tried to help him move forward.
It was clearly a disaster that nearly landed him in a tiger's mouth, but she overcame it with the word "opportunity". Xu Hexue's mind was in a daze, and Yingchen was scattered around him again.
"Xu Ziling, can you hold on?"
Her panting sound fell into his ears, carrying with it a hint of anxiety that was hard to conceal.
"I will be fine. Even if I transform into my original form, I will still be by your side."
So don't be afraid, no one can snatch you from my hands or harm you.
His voice was lighter.
"But,"
The wind was howling, and the dust made Ni Su cough several times, which made her throat sore. "I want to hear you talk. If you change back, you won't talk to me, and you won't..."
Ni Su's words were cut short as she stumbled. She couldn't see clearly under the reeds, and without warning, she and Xu Hexue fell into the lake.
The mirror-like surface of the lake was broken, the sound of water was turbulent, and ripples spread out.
Xu Hexue pulled Ni Su out of the waves in time. She coughed violently and sneezed loudly. They stood in the shallow water, their clothes were soaked by the lake water, and the sound of dripping water continued.
Xu Hexue's cold fingers wiped away the wet messy hair on her forehead, and she raised her head and looked at the man in front of her. Water droplets dripped from the tip of his tall nose, and the water droplets were crystal clear on his smoothly-lined jaw.
His wet hair looked even darker, his face was pale and cold, and the tiny dots of light around him were flickering, making it almost impossible to look away.
Ni Su suddenly remembered Qingqiong's words.
He is a star.
"Not what?"
His pale lips parted slightly.
"You won't cook for me either."
Ni Su's voice became very small.
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, she saw his eyes slightly curved, with drops of water dripping down his eyelids from his thick and long eyelashes. "Qingqiong said that you have learned how to cook."
She will no longer need him for many things.
"No."
Ni Su was like a wet cat. When she shook her head, the water drops on her ears swayed. She blurted out, "It's not as delicious as what you cook."
The sound of water dripping continued.
The wind made the reeds rustle.
Xu Hexue looked at the water droplets on her cheeks. The water of hatred was incompatible with the water on the earth, but would be dried up by the sunlight. When the remaining water of hatred met him, it would gradually turn into silky light and shadows and merge into his body underwater.
But this is just a drop in the bucket.
He was still in great pain, but shamefully his heart was shaken by her words.
It's really a good thing to be needed by her.
The setting sun shone on the entire lake, and the reeds trembled. Xu Hexue picked her up and put her on the shore to sit. Her skirt was still soaked in the water, and he was in the water, standing in front of her:
"I will teach you."
