Chapter 98: The Fairy of Magpie Bridge (I)
Frost Spear was moving very fast. When it was about to approach the Hu soldiers, Xu Hexue jumped on the horse's back, turned forward, stepped on the shoulders of the Hu soldiers, dodged the incoming arrows, and pointed the sword directly at Yelu Zhen.
Yelu Zhenxin was startled and quickly dodged, then drew out his golden knife and confronted the sword.
Frost Spear was running towards them.
Xu Hexue landed on the horse again. He turned his wrist and the tip of his sword went around the back of Yelu Zhen's knife. The swords collided with each other. The Yongzhou army led by Duan Rong swept in like swift lightning, full of murderous aura, and fought with the Hu people on this empty plain.
The glass lamp carried by Shuang Ge kept making crisp sounds when it hit the saddle, and the candle inside flickered constantly, about to go out. Yelu Zhen fought with this young man with an unclear face for several rounds on horseback. The more they fought, the more horrified he became.
This person actually gave him the illusion that this person should not be holding a sword, but a silver spear.
The might of the Yongzhou army was unstoppable. The ropes in the hands of the Hu soldiers were cut off by their swords. The Qi slaves who were dragged along by them actually struggled to get up from the dust and mud, picked up their weapons, and followed the Yongzhou army to kill them with hatred in their hearts. The Danqiu Hu soldiers were so panicked that they didn't know how to fight. They were broken up into small teams by the Yongzhou army and suffered the fierce attack of the Yongzhou army.
Seeing this situation, Yelu Zhen's personal soldiers immediately seized the bows and crossbows from the cavalry archers and fired several arrows at the young Qi man who was fighting with Yelu Zhen.
"Master Ni..." Duan Rong hadn't even uttered the word "be careful" when, under the dark night sky, the sharp arrow of the Hu people touched the man's sleeve, and a light mist covered the air.
"General! Go!" Yelu Zhen's personal soldiers rushed forward. Several of them resisted Xu Hexue's attack, and the remaining hundreds of people escorted Yelu Zhen on horseback.
Duan Rong was stunned for a moment, and a Hu soldier came charging in front of him. He reacted immediately, swinging his sword and cutting the man's neck. He looked at Xu Hexue again, only to see that several of Yelu Zhen's personal soldiers had been killed by him.
He rode the white horse with a glazed lamp swaying on the side, and chased after Yelu Zhen.
Duan Rong didn't think twice and led a team of people to chase after them.
Yelu Zhen's personal soldiers turned around and saw the Qi people chasing them relentlessly, so they said to Yelu Zhen: " General , we will stop the pursuers for you, you hurry up!"
"Ato!"
Yelu Zhen screamed, and his personal soldiers separated into another group of men and horses, turned their horses around, and rushed towards the pursuers behind them, but these people only barely stopped Duan Rong and others.
Atuo and Duan Rong were fighting each other.
The young man in white robe quickly broke away from them and soon chased after them, killing the personal soldiers guarding him one by one. Yelu Zhen had no choice but to draw his sword and fight him again.
The two men rode their horses at full speed, and the sounds of fighting behind them became increasingly distant. Only the clash of swords between Xu Hexue and Yelu Zhen echoed under the sky.
The wind is howling and the sky is full of hanging lanterns.
The moonlight and the lamplight interweave into cold and warm colors, falling on the Agate Lake, sparkling.
Yelu Zhen was forced to fall off his horse by Xu Hexue's sword moves and staggered back a few steps. After countless rounds, he was sweating profusely, his burly body was covered with wounds, and he was gasping for breath.
But when he saw the man dismounting and approaching, Yelu Zhen discovered that his hair was not wet at all. He was holding a glass lamp. If it weren't for the bloodstains on his body, he would have been much cleaner and tidier.
wrong.
He suddenly stopped at this moment and looked at the man carefully, only to be surprised to find that for some reason, the man's figure became increasingly thinner like fog!
The closer he got, the more Yelu Zhen noticed that the blood that had soaked into the man's sleeves was dripping onto the ground, but the traces quickly disappeared.
Yelu Zhen felt a chill down his spine, his muscles tensed, and he raised his golden knife, "Who the hell are you?"
Xu Hexue didn't say anything, but suddenly flew towards him with a sword in hand. Yelu Zhen hurriedly blocked it with the golden knife in his hand. Although he was tall, the man's strength forced him to bend one leg and hit it hard in the dust and mud.
Yelu Zhen roared, gritted his teeth, stood up and chopped horizontally, using almost all his strength to chop continuously. The killing moves he had learned on the battlefield were extremely cruel and murderous.
But he soon discovered that this man held the sword with one hand, his moves were as fast as stars, and his body movements were agile. After several rounds, Yelu Zhen's armor was damaged and almost soaked with blood.
His strength was running out, but he gritted his teeth, leaped up, and chopped down with the golden knife. The young man turned his face to the side, and the blade brushed against the long scarf covering his face. Yelu Zhen seized the opportunity, turned the blade, and chopped at his neck.
This moment,
The eyes that Yelu Zhen looked at him with were even colder than the edge of his sword.
He actually stood still and didn't move.
Why doesn't he move?
The moment the blade chopped off his neck, his body suddenly turned into cold mist and was blown away by the night wind right in front of Yelu Zhen's eyes.
Yelu Zhen's pupils constricted and his heart was pounding with fear.
A chilly air enveloped his entire heart. He lowered his eyes and noticed a dim light behind him. Yelu Zhen turned around abruptly.
A light mist was lingering, and a young man in a snow-white robe was standing not far away with a lantern. His collar was stained with blood, and the edges of his sleeves were also mottled with red.
The long scarf on his face had been cut off by Yelu Zhen's golden knife. In the dim light, Yelu Zhen was unable to see his true appearance before he felt that his body was out of control.
He lowered his eyes and saw scattered firefly-like lights densely wrapped around his armor. The cold green light was jumping, and although his clothes were intact, he felt as if his skin was being burned inch by inch by fire.
He was so burned that he could not hold the golden sword anymore. He fell to the ground, rolling over and over, screaming, but he could not put out the fragments of light on his body.
The broken lights clung tightly to his body, almost submerging his entire body, and suddenly made him fly into the air. No matter how he struggled, he could not break free from the broken lights that pierced his flesh and blood.
Yelu Zhen's veins popped out in pain, and a rare look of panic and fear appeared on his ferocious face. He lowered his head, and suddenly, he saw the man's face clearly.
Eighteen years ago, Yelu Zhen followed Prince Changbo and led his troops to attack Juhan Pass. That year, the general stationed at Juhan Pass was a Qi general who was only seventeen years old.
After only three battles, the seventeen-year-old Qi man defeated Changbo's troops. Prince Changbo was seriously injured and lost his power in the Danqiu royal court.
That man's name, along with the title "Yujie" he was given when he was nineteen years old, spread throughout Danqiu. The people of Danqiu who believed in Changshengtian all thought that this man was the most powerful eagle in Da Qi.
"...Xu Hexue?"
Yelu Zhen could hardly believe his eyes.
More than ten years have passed, and Yelu Zhen is now over forty years old, but the man standing not far away still looks like a young man, without any change.
"These soul fires are all innocent people you slaughtered under Yongzhou City."
Xu Hexue raised his chin slightly, and coldly examined the horrified expression on Yelu Zhen's face. "Yellu Zhen, guess how they will treat you?"
Yelu Zhen is a Danqiu general who fought with real swords and guns on the battlefield. If he fights with him like an ordinary man, he may not be afraid. Instead, it will arouse his bloodiness as a Danqiu warrior and he will never surrender.
But the people of Danqiu, who believe in Changshengtian, always have their own respect and fear for ghosts and gods.
"you……"
Yelu Zhen's blood almost ran cold. The closer Xu Hexue got, the more frightened he became.
Xu Hexue raised his hand, and soul fire flew up, instantly tightening around Yelu Zhen's neck like a rope. Yelu Zhen's face turned red, and he had difficulty breathing smoothly. His eyes were wide open, and he couldn't even utter complete sentences.
"You knew about my death, but you didn't know that Miao Tianning was dead."
The scratches and cracks on Xu Hexue's body became even worse. He loosened his knuckles slightly, and the soul fire gave Yelu Zhen a chance to catch his breath. "Tell me, when Miao Tianning and you had a bloody battle outside the city, did you really not kill him?"
Yelu Zhen touched his neck with both hands, but he could not dispel the sharp pain of the soul fire burning his flesh. He coughed violently, coughing up blood foam, but was reluctant to speak.
Xu Hexue waved his hand, and the soul fire roared with a sharp sound that almost pierced Yelu Zhen's eardrums. He fell heavily to the ground, rolling in the dust, but he could not dispel the wails of the dead. The scattered soul fire even penetrated into his clothes and burned his flesh.
By the Agate Lake, Yelu Zhen screamed miserably.
The soul fire burned his flesh, causing blood to flow under his clothes. His shoulders and back were almost a bloody mess.
Yelu Zhen rolled into the Agate Lake, trying to use the cold water to extinguish the fire in his soul, but this was obviously useless, as dew had already condensed in the reeds.
The dew on the reed flowers is the water of hatred in Youdu.
Instead, Yelu Zhen's pain intensified. He struggled and shouted in the lake, while Xu Hexue walked to the lakeside with a lantern in hand and slow steps.
As blood dripped, his figure became increasingly faint.
He watched coldly as Yelu Zhen was burned by soul fire in the water and covered in blood. After a while, he leaned over and pressed the sword against Yelu Zhen's neck, forcing Yelu Zhen, who was facing away from him in the lake, to look up.
"You won't tell me?"
"How can I kill him? I was already seriously injured at that time! How can I kill him!" The pain that Yelu Zhen endured was a hundred times more torturous than the injuries he had suffered fighting on the battlefield. The pain made him dazed and almost collapsed.
He really didn't know that Miao Tianning was dead, and he didn't know that the people of Qi blamed him for this man's death. Back then, Miao Tianning forced him back to the gate of Yongzhou City and fought with him for dozens of rounds. Miao Tianning stabbed him in the back. When his subordinates escorted him away, Miao Tianning was clearly still alive!
"I heard that Mengtuo was in Mushen Mountain, so I wanted to bypass the Qi reinforcements." Yelu Zhen had a sword pressed against his throat, and the light from the glass lamp hurt his eyes. "I went to meet him, but when I got there, Mengtuo... Mengtuo was already dead..."
The entire Mushen Mountain was almost a sea of blood and corpses.
Fifty thousand Danqiu Hu soldiers and thirty thousand Daqi Jing'an troops were all killed.
Yelu Zhen looked at his face, pale and youthful, "I saw with my own eyes the Qi army. They came from the direction of Juhan Pass and took you away from the mountain of corpses..."
General Yujie was Danqiu's strong enemy. No one in Danqiu knew whether he had any intention of betraying Da Qi and joining Danqiu, because Mengtuo, the general who knew the matter best, had died in Mushen Mountain.
He originally thought that he was dead when the Qi army took Xu Hexue away.
Later, when he returned to Danqiu, he learned that Xu Hexue had been taken back to Yongzhou and executed by lingchi. After that, Danqiu and Da Qi made an alliance, the two countries became friendly, and Yelu Zhen and other generals were removed from power and imprisoned.
"Do you recognize them?"
Xu Hexue asked coldly.
At that time, Xu Hexue was seriously injured and unconscious, and he didn't know who brought him back to Yongzhou.
“I don’t recognize you…”
Yelu Zhen's mouth was soaked with blood. "But, they are dressed like the personal soldiers of the Qi people. Also, before I led my troops to leave quietly, I heard them call that leader 'Commander Dou'..."
The personal guards are the officials' attendants and bodyguards.
Personal soldiers from Juhan Pass.
Commander Dou.
The cold wind howls and the water ripples.
Dou Yingzhang.
The name popped up in Xu Hexue's mind, his ears were full of roaring, and the hand holding the sword trembled suddenly. Yelu Zhen felt the force on his neck loosen, and he immediately struggled.
Xu Hexue pushed away the soul fire that was wrapped around Yelu Zhen's body. In an instant, the soul fire dispersed with the wind and filled the sky with floating light. His knuckles were clenched and veins bulged. He withdrew all his magic spells and pushed the sword blade into Yelu Zhen's throat inch by inch.
The dust around him became sharp and angular, spreading out in all directions and sweeping across the entire field of reeds.
"General, Prime Minister Zhang has been very kind to me. During this extraordinary period, there are many people in the court who want to overthrow Prime Minister Zhang and Prime Minister Meng. The royal family headed by King Nankang, as well as Wu Dai and his ilk, all oppose the two Prime Ministers' rectification of the administration... Although you are far away from the court, you have no choice but to be deeply involved. That's why I came here to help Prime Minister Zhang and you, so that you can be less constrained."
In his memory, someone took the wine bowl from his hand and introduced the people around him with a smile, "This is my personal guard commander, Yingzhang, come and meet General Xu!"
"Dou Yingzhang, meet General Xu!"
How is this possible? How is this possible?
Xu Hexue held the hilt of the sword with one hand and the blade with the other. The blade kept cutting his throat with muffled sounds, and his hands were covered with warm, bright red blood.
He realized it later.
He lowered his eyes and met Yelu Zhen's wide-open, unfocused eyes.
Drops of blood dripped into the lake.
Xu Hexue lost his strength and was numbed by the pain. The scratches almost made him covered in blood. The long sword fell into the water, shattered into dust, and poured into his body.
The lake surface reflects one Kongming lantern after another, as numerous as stars.
As the sky brightened, the Danqiu Hu soldiers outside the Yongzhou city gate had been killed. Tan Guangwen ordered his soldiers to sweep the battlefield. Zhou Ting had broken out while Yelu Zhen was still caught in civil strife, found Tan Guangwen's troops, and successfully reunited with Han Qing, the new Yongzhou military supervisor.
Tan Guangwen led the troops from Jianchi Prefecture and Zezhou. On the way, he encountered the reinforcements from the Danqiu Nanyan tribe head-on and fought a bloody battle for several days.
"General Tan."
Han Qing, dressed in eunuch's clothes, walked around the pile of dead bodies and called out.
When Tan Guangwen heard this, he immediately turned around and walked to Han Qing, clasped his fists and said, "Lord Han, why don't you go into the city first?"
Zhou Ting was accustomed to his warmth towards Han Qing.
"General Tan, you should come into the city with us. I heard that General Qin and Commander Wei were injured. We who came late should go and comfort them."
Han Qing raised his chin slightly and said in a calm voice.
"Master Han is right."
Tan Guangwen had flattery written all over his face.
Just as the group was about to enter the city gate, Zhou Ting suddenly felt a chill in his collar. He raised his head and saw white snowflakes fluttering in the gray sky.
"Miss Ni!"
Not only Zhou Ting heard the shout, but Han Qing and others also heard it clearly.
Han Qing suddenly saw the woman running out of the city gate. In the wind and snow, her veil was blown away, revealing her true face. Han Qing only took one look and was surprised.
No matter how Qingqiong shouted, Ni Su did not stop. He moved slowly and it was difficult for him to keep up with her, so he stopped.
After the smoke of war, on the silent battlefield, the sound of galloping horses struck the eardrums of many people.
Zhou Ting saw her running past him, and he turned around subconsciously, only to see her stop a few steps away.
He followed her gaze.
Duan Rong came back with a group of soldiers.
"Miss Ni, Master Ni..." Duan Rong saw Ni Su at a glance. He pulled the reins to stop the horse. He dismounted with a heavy expression. He opened his mouth to hand the glass lamp in his hand to Ni Su, but she suddenly bypassed him and ran forward.
He looked back and saw a white horse returning not far away.
Its entire body was snow-white, except for its silver-gray mane. It neighed constantly and its hooves stamped the ground anxiously. When Ni Su ran over, it lowered its head to rub her hair and breathed rapidly.
That is Master Ni’s Frost Spear.
Duan Rong looked at the corpse that was dragged back by their soldiers.
That was Yelu Zhen.
Duan Rong didn't know where Master Ni and Yelu Zhen had gone. After he led his soldiers to deal with Yelu Zhen's personal soldiers, they searched everywhere. When they found the shore of Agate Lake, they only saw Yelu Zhen's body.
His head was almost completely separated from his neck, and his death was horrible.
Duan Rong searched for a long time but couldn't find Master Ni.
Only the glass lamp was by the lake, and the candle in it had burned out.
In fact, Duan Rong repeatedly recalled the back of Master Ni that he had seen at that time. It was so faint, like cold mist, but he was not sure whether he was dazzled.
Now he couldn't find Master Ni no matter what he did, and he was extremely anxious.
Seeing Ni Su riding on Shuang Ge and turning around, he immediately got on his horse and followed closely behind, "Miss Ni!"
The cold snow particles and the biting wind brushed Ni Su's cheeks. She could not hear any sound. She just stroked Shuang Ge's mane and said to it, "Let's go find him."
The sky was getting brighter and the snow and wind were getting stronger.
There are lush reeds on the banks of Agate Lake.
Ni Su stepped off the horse in the stirrup and ran to look around in the reeds. Duan Rong, who had caught up on horseback, shouted, "Miss Ni, Yelu Zhen's body was found here!"
Duan Rong pointed to a place by the lake.
It was a place hidden by reeds.
When Ni Su heard the voice, she turned around and looked. In a moment, she lifted her skirt and ran over.
The reeds swayed in the wind, and the crystal dewdrops wet her clothes.
Ni Su stepped into the shallow water, feeling icy cold. She saw blood stains remaining on the wet shore. She leaned over and searched among the reeds near the water.
My sleeves were soaked.
Her hands were frozen stiff and her temples were covered with snow.
Under the lush reeds, a faint white light was hidden between the stems and leaves. The moment Ni Su saw it, her eyes turned red.
She stretched out her hand, but before she held it, it seemed to sense something and came closer, as if it had finally found support. Its furry tail wrapped around her fingers and swayed gently.
Qingqiong waited at the city gate for a long time. It was almost noon when he saw Ni Su and Duan Rong returning on horseback with her behind.
No one except him could see the ball of light in her hands.
Qingqiong's eyes were moist and he pursed his lips to greet her.
He helped Ni Su back to the felt tent in the city, took out a thick cloak and wrapped it around her, but suddenly tears fell from her eyes.
"Miss Ni..."
Qingqiong opened his mouth.
Ni Su endured for a long time, but she couldn't help it. Her vision blurred and she called out helplessly: "Qingqiong..."
Tears kept falling like beads from a broken string.
"I,"
Ni Su cried so hard that her nose turned red. "When I went to look for him, there were people following me. I couldn't even call out his name loudly. I don't know why. I don't know why it was like this..."
"Why can't an innocent person have a clean name after his death?"
She curled up her body, the melted snow in her hair dripping into her neck, "I don't want this, I want to be his witness, and also the witness of the Jing'an Army, I want justice in this world, and I want the clean to be clean."
