Chapter 40 Danger! The Emperor is absent, the Fairy is missing, and 300,000 enemy troops are approaching!

Ning Jinli screamed in fright.

Pfft—

A muffled snort sounded, and a puff of hot air hit her face.

Ning Jinli tripped and fell on her bottom, only then realizing that what was in front of her was a tall, black horse, and the strange, dark face that almost hit her was actually the horse's long, black face.

She turned around and saw that they were so close that she thought she had seen a ghost.

Xiao Qidi was standing next to the black horse, looking at her with a half-smile.

It turned out that Xiao Qidi had returned to the factory on horseback ahead of everyone else.

While Ning Jinli was being stopped by the police to discuss compensation with the restaurant owner, he secretly moved the body out of the van to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

"Miss Ning, you can return this horse now," Xiao Qidi said calmly, gently stroking the horse's mane.

That's what he said, but there was clearly reluctance in his eyes.

The horse seemed to understand him, lowered its head, and buried its huge head into his chest.

The spirited horse, which the restaurant staff said was too temperamental to compete, was unusually docile in front of Xiao Qidi.

Ning Jinli sighed and said, "I don't want to go through any more trouble. Let's just leave it at that. Anyway, it's already been bought, so it's yours from now on."

Chu~

The horse raised its front hooves high and let out a joyful neigh.

Ning Jinli added, "However, I'm not sure if I can teleport you there. I've never teleported anything alive before."

Xiao Qidi said, "If not, please ask Miss Ning to take care of it. This horse should not be confined to that small stable in the restaurant for people to admire."

Ning Jinli recalled how he turned and left with a sour face last night, and wrinkled her nose angrily, "I can't care!"

Xiao Qidi narrowed his eyes slightly. "Don't you want to know where I put the body? Aren't you going to send it to me for disposal?"

Ning Jinli: ...

Fine, he's got me.

The factory is so big, who knows where he'd stuff the body?

If the factory reopens and the workers discover it before I can find it, then I'm doomed.

Ning Jinli pouted, "If you can't deliver this horse, I'll keep it for you. At least tell me where the body is, right?"

Just as Xiao Qi was about to speak, a taxi pulled up beside the factory gate and stopped.

Ning Jinli made a shushing gesture.

Then, a middle-aged man with graying temples got out of the car.

"Miss Ning!" The middle-aged man strode over and greeted her, "I've come to report for duty."

Ning Jinli's eyes lit up, "Uncle Zheng!"

The other party was none other than Zheng Houcheng, the former factory director she had rehired.

“Miss Ning, you can just call me Lao Zheng,” Zheng Houcheng said, tears welling in his eyes. “I really never dreamed that I could come back to work here. Thank you!”

He was truly grateful from the bottom of his heart.

Not only did they recruit him back, but they also gave him double the salary he had before, and even paid him two years' salary in advance.

This completely solved his immediate problem.

When he mentioned these things, he simply didn't know how to express his gratitude in words.

“Miss Ning, who is this?” Zheng Houcheng asked Xiao Qidi.

“Don’t worry about him,” Ning Jinli said, getting straight to the point. “You should hire people as soon as possible to start production. Continue to do everything that this factory could do before. Don’t worry about sales for now.”

"This is a large-scale integrated processing plant, capable of producing a wide variety of goods," Zheng Houcheng said with some doubt. "Does it only produce goods and not sell them? Or does Miss Ning have her own sales network?"

Ning Jinli blinked. "I have my own plans. You just need to do it."

Zheng Houcheng nodded, "Yes, Miss Ning, I guarantee that within a month, I will recruit employees for all departments and get the production lines in all major production areas back to operation!"

Ning Jinli then told him to go pick up the car first.

I arranged for him to have a business sedan a few days ago, intending to surprise him.

But Ning Jinli was too busy to attend to it, so she simply told him and asked him to bring it himself.

Zheng Houcheng was a pragmatist and not good at flattery or expressing loyalty. He only knew that with a good boss like Miss Ning, he had to do his best no matter what.

He wiped his eyes, bowed to Ning Jinli, and left.

"I didn't realize you were so good at winning people over," Xiao Qidi said quietly.

Ning Jinli frowned. "Is this what you call winning people's hearts? I don't understand. I only know that he is a good person and very capable. I just hope that someone like him can live a good life."

Upon hearing this, a thoughtful look flashed in Xiao Qidi's eyes.

“Corpse!” Ning Jinli squeezed out the two words through gritted teeth.

"The body is—"

Xiao Qidi was about to tell her.

Unexpectedly, a large truck drove by.

And it was a whole convoy.

Ning Jinli rubbed her temples. "Looks like the goods I bought last time have arrived. I'll receive them first..."

Under her direction, the convoy entered the warehouse one by one to unload the goods.

Truckloads of steel bars and cement gradually filled a large warehouse of several thousand square meters.

Then there were basic farm tools such as hoes, shovels, and wheelbarrows, which filled another warehouse of the same size.

After a flurry of activity, most of the day had passed.

"Use the steel and cement from this warehouse to reinforce the city walls in key areas. Once my factory can produce them on its own, we'll continue to send them over."

"As for how to use it, I'll send you a video so you can show everyone how."

Ning Jinli gave Xiao Diqi a series of instructions.

I was just about to take a breather.

Another truck is coming...

Ning Jinli instructed the trucks to unload their goods into the large warehouse in the food section.

These are all the equipment she upgraded for the soldiers of Xitun Pass. She will teleport them over as soon as possible so that the soldiers can use them directly.

By the time the entire shipment was unloaded, it was already dark.

Ning Jinli gave Xiao Qidi a brief introduction.

"More than 10,000 sets of camouflage tactical uniforms, tactical boots, and bulletproof suits."

"This is called a Mo Dao, and that is called a Ma Shuo. They are essentially upgraded versions of longswords and spears. I had them custom-made by a factory using the best materials. I don't remember the exact quantity... but it should be enough for your 10,000 soldiers."

"Then there are custom-made armored warhorses; just as soldiers have armor, their horses cannot be left behind."

"In addition, I bought more than 100 walkie-talkies to facilitate timely communication for you on the battlefield."

"Oh, right... I'll also run an electric wire from here to the cave and install a socket there, so the drone, walkie-talkie, and even your phone can all be charged in the cave."

"..."

After she finished speaking, she rubbed her throbbing temples.

I felt completely drained, and my mind was about to stop working.

I'm so tired, so very tired.

Not only did I not sleep at all last night, but that incident also happened, so I'm under a lot of stress.

Then, before I could even rest, it was time to receive more goods, keeping me busy until dark.

"Thank you for your hard work," Xiao Qidi said softly.

Throughout the day, Ning Jinli was busy directing the unloading, while he could only watch, as he didn't understand the procedures and couldn't offer any help.

Ning Jinli slumped onto a few packing boxes, spread her limbs, and said weakly, "It's all because of you... you bastard..."

Xiao Qidi's cheeks trembled slightly, and he silently walked behind her.

After a moment's hesitation, he reached out his large hands and began to massage her slender shoulders.

The pressure was just right, and the position was perfect, causing Ning Jinli to let out a comfortable groan.

"Huh? You, the king of a nation, actually know how to give massages?" she exclaimed in surprise. "And you do it so well! You really are—"

Xiao Qidi said expressionlessly, "When I was a child, I used to serve others. If I didn't massage properly, I would get beaten."

Ning Jinli quickly swallowed back the words "That's great!"

Suddenly, I felt a pang of sadness.

"Um... are you hungry? How about we have dinner first, and then I'll send all this stuff over to you?" she asked, getting up.

Xiao Qidi hummed in agreement.

Ning Jinli immediately called to order takeout.

...

Inside the Fairy Cave in Linxian Village.

Several generals from Xitun Pass discussed the situation while waiting, but even as darkness fell, the emperor did not appear, nor did they receive any message from the fairy.

They were all in a heavy mood.

“General Duan,” a soldier reported, “the remains of the old general and thousands of fallen soldiers have been buried near Shenxiandong.”

This was an arrangement made by several generals.

They were buried near the Fairy Cave in the hope that the Fairy Jinli would bless the spirits of the fallen.

The soldiers continued their report: "The supplies captured from the Bayong army camp have been inventoried. There is a large amount of grain, more than 30,000 sets of iron equipment from the Yu Kingdom army, more than 15,000 warhorses, and..."

This time, they wiped out 50,000 enemy troops led by Bayong, and the gains were quite substantial.

However, Duan Wu was not happy and waved his hand to signal his soldiers not to continue.

What good is capturing so much enemy supplies...?

In just five days, up to 300,000 enemy troops will attack.

This time, we probably won't make it through.

"With the Emperor absent...and the Fairy out of contact...our Great Xuanxi Tun Pass border is in grave danger!" a general sighed.

Duan Wu's expression was solemn. "The Yu Kingdom has sent a full 200,000 elite troops this time, and there are also 100,000 extremely ferocious barbarian soldiers from the Sha Yue Kingdom. Even if the fairy continues to help, I think... we probably won't be able to cope."

"As for His Majesty," Duan Wu's expression softened slightly, "perhaps he was chosen by a fairy and taken to the Celestial Realm. I hope... he won't return here. At the very least, he won't get into trouble."

The others nodded as well.

During this time, the emperor disregarded his own safety and shared life and death with everyone, which they all witnessed.

Moreover, they all knew about the situation of this young king of Xuan Kingdom.

Born in a foreign land, he served as a hostage for nine years.

A few years later, his father passed away. Although he inherited the throne at the young age of thirteen, the court officials were either from the prime minister's faction or the empress dowager's faction.

Everyone has already taken sides, and no one expects this young king to achieve anything great.

But it was he who, upon learning that the barren and remote Xitun Pass was suffering from a severe drought and was also ravaged by bandits, rushed over without hesitation.

Even when Bayon led an army of 50,000 to invade, he did not leave, but continued to fight alongside the others.

Which monarch in the world today can compare to these actions?

Li Yao said with a sense of loss, "Last time, with the help of the fairy and the leadership of the sovereign, we were able to escape from a desperate situation. We wiped out 50,000 enemy troops, broke the encirclement, and even gained a continuous supply of underground water. Everything was getting better. I thought that in the future I would definitely do my best to help the sovereign. But alas... we are about to die here."

"Then, shall we proceed according to the decision we reached today?" Duan Wu looked around at the group.

They all nodded solemnly.

"Alright, then it's settled!" Duan Wu stood up and walked out of the Immortal Cave with several generals.

The six men arrived at the earthen mound where General Duan and several thousand soldiers were buried.

A ring of torches burning in the inky night illuminated their dark, rough, and resolute faces.

Duan Wu ordered his men to retrieve a jar of wine from the enemy's captured supplies.

“Father… comrades… please forgive our limited resources; we can only offer this turbid wine as a sacrifice.”

His eyes were red-rimmed, and he spilled most of the small jar of wine on the ground.

Then, the six of them each drank the remaining small portion in one gulp.

"Tsk, I really want to get drunk..." Li Yao smacked his lips, still wanting more.

Among the seized supplies was a considerable amount of alcohol, but they had decided to prioritize saving lives for the civilians.

Therefore, even when offering sacrifices to the deceased, only a small jar was used.

“Father, I am incompetent. Although I killed Ba Yong, I still could not defend Xitun Pass.” Duan Wu said, and knelt down heavily.

The other five people also knelt down in unison.

Duan Wu said to the grave mound:

"We have decided to lead our troops to fight to the death against the 300,000 enemy troops that are about to invade."

"We will keep enough supplies for our 10,000 soldiers for several days, and the rest will be distributed to 60,000 civilians."

"Before the enemy arrives, let the people...flee..."

"We and our soldiers will fight to the last man here, vowing to buy more time for the people to escape."

After he finished speaking, he and the other five generals kowtowed heavily.

There was no fear or hesitation on the faces of the six people, only resentment.

They were unwilling to accept that all they could do was try their best to save the lives of the people, but they could no longer protect the place they wanted to protect.

This is a disgrace and a tragedy for a border general...

After the worship ceremony.

The six men returned to the camp, gathered all the soldiers, and began to explain the deployment.

They made it clear to everyone that they were doomed to die this time.

If anyone feels hesitant or afraid, they may leave with the people.

The only requirement is that the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled be protected as much as possible during the escape.

"Anyone who wants to leave can remove their armor and leave the camp now. I, Duan, will not hold it against you!" Duan Wu said loudly.

However, none of the ten thousand soldiers moved an inch.

"General Duan! Generals!" a soldier shouted, "We were afraid of dying, we would have run away long ago, why would we have stayed until now!"

"Yes! We're not like those deserters or those cowards who try to steal our food!"

"We are willing to fight the enemy to the death!"

"Fight to the death! Fight to the death!"

The shouts were deafening!

The six generals were already in tears.

"And us too!" a group of soldiers from Linxian Village shouted, brandishing their long swords outside the camp.

Duan Wu wiped away his tears, strode over, and said decisively, "No, you are just a group formed spontaneously by the village, unlike us. You must also evacuate immediately."

"So what if we were formed spontaneously?" The leader of the Linxian Village soldiers said proudly, "This is our hometown! We also consider ourselves soldiers of the Great Xuan border. We have fought alongside our lord to kill bandits! Does General Duan think we are not qualified?"