Chapter 77: Breaking the Formation (IV)
Those who dare to carry firewood for the world, even if I die, there will be people who will come after me.
Ni Su's heart was inevitably shaken by this. The torture of slow slicing, the humiliation of stigma, and all kinds of sufferings before and after his death had never made him give up on himself, nor had they ever made him lose hope in this filthy world.
The brightness of one’s mind is as bright as the day.
Even though he was punished, his ambition was not destroyed.
The wind was howling, and Ni Su looked at the vague mountains at the end of the plain. "Do you still feel pain?"
"I feel much better now."
Ni Su looked at his hand holding the reins, the beautiful bones and slender knuckles, "But you will feel uncomfortable again soon."
There was a moment of silence between the two of them, with only the sound of horses' hooves trampling dust to be heard.
Song Song has fallen into the trap, which means that Xu Hexue will soon follow the plan and enter Suchile's military camp to assassinate Song Song in full view of everyone.
He wouldn't let her go.
"I'm fine."
Xu Hexue's face was still cold under the sunlight. His eyes were fixed on the back of her head, and his emotions were barely visible. "Light a lamp for me, and I will come back to you."
"But,"
Ni Su looked up at the sky in the sunlight. The golden light almost blinded her. "I don't understand why you have to be bound by such restrictions, whether in life or in death. You have done nothing wrong. You have never even touched the blood of innocent people. I don't know why the price for you to come back is so heavy and so difficult."
Xu Hexue's eyes followed her fluttering scarf silently, "There are countless souls in the Netherworld, and not all ghosts can have the opportunity to return to the world of the living to make up for their regrets. Since I am lucky enough to meet you to summon souls, I should bear the constraints of the Netherworld."
Ni Su pursed her lips and said nothing.
Xu Hexue pulled the reins, and the horse stretched its neck and neighed loudly, then stopped. The wind and sand were very light, and in front of them were lush reeds and the lake was like a mirror, reflecting the sunlight.
"Ni Su?"
He called softly.
"Um?"
"Why don't you speak?"
"Thinking about what I should say."
"Have you thought about it?"
Ni Su shook her head. "It seems that no matter what I say, I can't express what I mean. But I also feel that I should say something to you, not out of pity or sympathy from the living for the dead. You don't seem to need it."
She admired this man in her heart.
Respect his heart as bright as the sun, respect his strong bones, the most beautiful integrity and elegance of a scholar and the most rare perseverance and courage of a military general are all integrated in him.
"Those who carry firewood for the world should not be let down by the world."
She looked at him and said, "Whether it's you or the 30,000 heroic souls trapped in the Youdu Pagoda, I want the world to know the truth. Whether it's me who knows you or a Qi person, I don't want your name or theirs to rot in history books."
The air was filled with smoke and the Agate Lake was sparkling.
Duan Rong lost track of Xu Hexue and Ni Su, and returned to the camp with his men covered in dust and dirt. He was feeling anxious, but unexpectedly, within two cups of tea, someone came to the camp gate to report that the two of them had returned.
Duan Rong ran out quickly and saw the young man with his face covered with a long scarf helping Miss Ni off the horse. Fan Jiang and his son came up and talked to them.
Duan Rong didn't go forward, but he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
At dusk, Qin Jixun came back from the Wei army camp and entered Xu Hexue's tent. Xu Hexue sat down on the table and handed the tea poured by Fan Jiang to Ni Su beside him. At the same time, he said to Qin Jixun: "General Qin, when will Song Song go to see Su Qile?"
Qin Jixun said, "Dechang has failed to send troops to Rushan twice. Su Qile is now angry and thinks Song Song is playing a trick on him. If Song Song delays any further, he will be the one to hurt the diplomatic relations between the two countries. I think he can't delay any longer and will probably take action tomorrow."
The tea brewed with reed dew had a light herbal aroma. Ni Sucai took a sip, and when she heard Qin Jixun's words, she immediately looked up.
"Master Ni, without your help, I'm afraid Shen Tongchuan wouldn't have taken action today." Although Qin Jixun couldn't see his face, he could tell that he looked pale and sick. "I really shouldn't have asked you to go to Suchile's army to assassinate him. If Song Song really wants to see Suchile tomorrow, he won't bring too many people with him to show his sincerity. If you kill Song Song in Suchile's army, how are you going to get away then?"
Xu Hexue asked, "General Qin, have you made up your mind to trap Suchile to death?"
Qin Jixun said without hesitation, "Yes, I just received news that the Danqiu defenders of Juhan Pass are heading towards Yongzhou. They should have received orders from Su Qile. Whether it is Yang Tianzhe's rebel army or our Yongzhou, Su Qile will not let them go."
In that case, why not kill Suchile first?
Anyway, the war is inevitable, so it might as well teach those people in the court who are obsessed with wealth and luxury a lesson.
"Once Suchile retreats and forms a siege with the Danqiu defenders at Juhan Pass, Yang Tianzhe and his rebel army will be trapped," Xu Hexue immediately clarified the situation and said to Qin Jixun, "I killed Song Song because it was a condition for me to ask General Qin to trust me. This should be done by me, but I also want to ask General Qin to temporarily save Yang Tianzhe."
"Could it be that Master Ni and Yang Tianzhe are old acquaintances?"
Qin Jixun asked doubtfully.
"no."
Xu Hexue shook his head, "It's just that I have doubts in my heart, and only this person can solve them."
Qin Jixun wanted to ask in detail, but he felt that this seemed a bit offensive. He didn't know what doubts a son of a criminal could answer for the young man in front of him.
"No matter what his purpose is, at least I, Qin Jixun, should protect the old, weak, women and children he brought with him. I can promise you, Master Ni, to temporarily protect Yang Tianzhe, but... the premise is that you must come back safely."
Qin Jixun always felt that this man was gentle and frail, and must be a scholar who was powerless. However, he had also seen his skills in the competition with Wei Dechang. If he had not been so sick, perhaps he could have achieved greater things.
Qin Jixun couldn't help but feel regretful.
"General Xu, are you going to the Danqiu Hu people's camp?" Qin Jixun left the tent, and Fan Jiang came over with a crutch, "What about Miss Ni? Are you going too?"
"I want to go."
"She's not going."
Ni Su and Xu Hexue spoke almost in unison.
There was a moment of silence in the tent. Qingqiong and Fan Jiang looked at each other, and then they looked at the two of them at the same time.
Ni Su held the tea bowl and stopped talking.
"But if Miss Ni doesn't go, then General Xu's ban will be ..." Qingqiong's voice gradually faded away.
The sky darkened and night fell quickly.
Ni Su was wrapped in a quilt in the tent, the light and shadow of the candle spread on the tent curtain. The wind and sand were blowing hard at night. She was full of thoughts and only felt sleepy when it was almost dawn.
But when she heard the sound of troops being marshaled outside, she immediately became much more awake. There were footsteps approaching outside the tent, and when she saw the frosty white sleeves, she subconsciously closed her eyes.
The light in the tent was dim and Xu Hexue's vision was a little blurry. He walked very quietly to the bed and stood there for a moment, but he still couldn't see the woman on the bamboo bed clearly.
She rolled the quilt into a ball under her arms.
He leaned over, groped around, pulled the quilt out from under her and covered her with it.
Ni Su's breathing slowed down, and she closed her eyes, but she could feel his every move more and more clearly.
Fortunately, he couldn't see clearly.
Otherwise he would have noticed that her eyelids were fluttering and she was not very skilled at pretending to be asleep.
He paused for a moment.
Ni Su didn't know what he was doing. She couldn't hear any sound, not even the rubbing of clothes. When she was about to open her eyes to take a peek out of curiosity, she felt that he seemed to have stuffed something under the pillow.
He seemed to be going out.
Ni Su heard his footsteps.
Her fingers clenched the edge of the quilt, she opened her eyes, sat up, and without hesitation reached out to hold his sleeve.
Xu Hexue paused.
He turned around, and in his blurry vision, her hand seemed to have reached under the pillow.
Ni Su placed the thing wrapped in the handkerchief on her knees. When she opened it, she discovered that it was filled with snow-white lactose.
She raised her head.
"I asked Duan Rong to buy it."
Xu Hexue lowered her eyes and looked at her sleeve that was grabbed by her.
Ni Su looked at him, "Why did you buy this for me?"
"I made you angry."
Xu Hexue couldn't see her expression clearly. "I have forgotten many things in my life, but I remember some things that I thought were important. I don't remember if I have eaten this kind of candy before. Try it. If you like it, I will buy it for you later."
"Didn't you taste it yourself first?"
Xu Hexue said, "Hmm," "No."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ni Su immediately picked up a piece and pressed it against his lips.
He was caught off guard, froze for a moment, slowly opened his mouth and bit it.
“Is it delicious?”
Ni Su looked at him, but could not see any reaction from his cold face.
Xu Hexue couldn't give her an answer.
He bit the candy for a moment before saying, "You should sleep for a while."
He should have turned around and left if she hadn't held his sleeve tightly. Xu Hexue met her clear eyes.
She shook his sleeve and refused to let go: "I still want to go with you."
