Chapter 18 The two men looked at each other, and they really believed it if Xun Xun was killed.

The soup and rice pushed in at the door were already cold and hard. In the dark room, a dying old man with gray hair was lying on the couch.

The once strong body is now hunched and skinny, with only bones left. All the hair on his forehead has fallen out, and dirty gray clumps of hair are scattered around. A large stain of vomited brown medicine mixed with dark red has dried on his front, which is shocking.

Xie Ci was shocked, "Uncle, uncle!"

He knelt down in one leap and helped up the motionless old man on the ground.

The touch was icy cold, as chilling as the large water-ground bluestone in late autumn, his hands drooped limply and his head tilted to the side, without any reaction, his breath barely surfacing, his pulse so weak that it was almost non-existent.

"Quick! Move him to the bed."

Gu Guan lowered his voice, looked around quickly, and turned back to glance at Xun Rongbi lying on the ground without leaving any trace.

The doors and windows of the huge room were nailed tightly shut, with only a tiny ray of light leaking in through a few tiny gaps. The room was pitch dark, and the smell of stagnant air mixed with the odor of spilled medicine and food at the door. There was also a dying old man lying on the ground. This chilling scene was even more terrifying.

The moment he saw Xun Rongbi, Gu Wan finally understood why Xie Ci reacted so strongly and why they had such a good relationship since childhood.

The dying old man leaning on Xie Ci's arms had eyebrows and eyes that were strikingly similar to Xie Ci's father, Xie Xinzhong. Gu Wan then remembered that this was the second time that Madam Xun and the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery had taken in a bride. Two generations ago, a pair of twin sisters named Hua married into the Xie and Xun families at the same time.

The moment Xie Ci saw the old man's face clearly, his heart couldn't help but tremble.

Gu Guan pulled him, he gritted his teeth, and immediately lifted the person up and put him on the bed.

Gu Guan stood behind Xie Ci, looking at the man in front of her with a scrutinizing gaze, but she had already examined this man repeatedly before. Xun Rongbi turned up his empty sleeves, revealing a pair of skinny hands, with a circle of shocking scars on each wrist.

Gu Guan was an expert in this area. This was the scar left by the shackles on both wrists after a long period of repeated and vigorous struggle, which had worn through the flesh and deep enough to see the bone. She observed the marks and assessed that it was an old injury from more than a year ago.

Xun Rongbi still has many scars from being tortured.

There were broken medicine bowls all over the floor at the scene, medicine spilled on the bed and there were signs of a violent struggle. There must be something wrong with the medicine. Xun Rongbi was forced to drink it and then struggled to hold his throat and vomit it out, and fell to the ground while struggling.

The top two items cannot be faked artificially.

Gu Guan conducted repeated inspections and assessments before finally turning around to look for Xie Ci.

She coldly gazed at Xun Rongbi, her hands still working as she examined the man's injuries again. Confirming there were no problems, she asked Xie Ci to pick up the quilt from the floor at the foot of the bed. The man was primarily suffering from hypothermia; if he continued lying there, he would be cold in the second half of the night.

Xie Ci also saw Gu Wan's actions. He calmed down and immediately checked Xun Rongbi's wrist and body. The shocking scars could not be disguised, and he didn't find any problems. He felt relieved.

He hurriedly got up and went to the end of the bed to pick up the quilt. A large area of it was wet, but fortunately the other side was not soaked. The two of them did not care about anything else and immediately turned it over to wrap the man up, rubbing their hands together to warm his neck, armpits, groin and other core areas.

During this time, Xun Rongbi almost died. His heart stopped beating for a while. Xie Ci covered his heart with his hands, and his voice changed with shock: "Uncle, uncle——"

Oh shit!

Gu Wan was frightened and she hurriedly said, "Go away!"

She felt a little regretful that she didn't drag Xun Rongbi onto the bed first. Oh my God, she quickly pushed Xie Ci away, rushed over, knelt astride Xun Rongbi, and quickly performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

After doing about twenty chest compressions, when Xie Ci's warmed palms touched the skin of his neck again, Xun Rongbi finally moved.

He's alive!

Gu Guanyi felt a hot sweat on her back. She turned over and quickly checked his pupils, breathing, carotid artery and other vital signs.

She was scared to death.

Gu Wan sat down with all his strength, "Okay."

Xun Rongbi's old face turned ashen, and his lips gradually turned pale from purple. He struggled, and his eyelids twitched for a long time before he could barely open them halfway.

"Uncle, uncle, how are you?"

He recognized Xie Ci's voice, trembling and choking in the darkness. He struggled to half-stand and groped for the gap at the edge of the couch with his skinny fingers.

"...Go, go and take this piece of paper to Long Shouren at Feishan Pass."

Xun Rongbi's teeth chattered. "Here, kill Xun Xun, that rebellious son!"

Gu Guan quickly took it and opened it. The handwriting on the half-piece of paper, which was only as wide as a palm, was still quite strong. It was obviously written by Xun Rongbi before the room was emptied. It had been hidden for a long time and the paper had become a little wilted.

"Hurry, hurry up—"

Xun Rongbi was barely breathing, tears streaming down his face. He collapsed from exhaustion, letting out intermittent cries of hatred.

Xie Ci and Gu Guan looked at each other.

Xie Ci took the note and glanced at it quickly, then handed it to Gu Wan to keep. He thought for a moment, then climbed out of the air vent again to get some hot water for his clothes.

After quickly finishing all this, Xie Ci pursed his lips and looked back for a moment, then turned around and went up to the air vent with Gu Wan.

The two of them left immediately with the note.

…

In the dead of night, the darkness had not yet faded, and the sound of horses' hooves was both fast and urgent.

Xie Ci and Gu Wan left the city before dawn, bought two horses and headed straight for Feishan Pass in the west.

Xie Ci was worried, and Gu Wan said, "If the follow-up medical treatment is in place, he should be able to live for a few more years."

Feishan Pass is a vital pass for Suzhou City facing the Northern Rong. Located at the forefront of the national border, it is Suzhou's first line of defense against the Northern Rong soldiers heading south. It is guarded by Long Shouren, the most trusted and powerful general under Xun Rongbi.

They didn't take the official road, which is an important military hub connecting the two, as it would be too conspicuous.

Fortunately, Xie Ci had stayed in Suzhou for three years, during which he had practiced hunting many times. He knew that the mountain path led to the Feishan Pass area.

They galloped along the narrow, winding and rugged mountain road and arrived at the end of the road at noon. They led the horses through the road for about an hour, turned around and went up again, and arrived at the gate a quarter of an hour later.

At the moment, they were being harassed by a small group of Northern Rong cavalry, so they closed the gates tightly. From a distance, a lookout blew a trumpet to send a message.

But Xie Ci and Gu Wan, both wearing the armor of the Governor's Office guards, were far away. Xie Ci pulled the reins and said, "The Governor has sent an order to General Long. Order General Long to come quickly!"

He held the scroll and waved the token. After the guards checked the token, they sent one person to report and opened the barricades to let them in.

Before they even reached the closed door, they heard the sound of horse hooves and a middle-aged man's voice as resonant as a bell: "What's the matter? Where's the warrant? Give it to me immediately!"

The sound of horse hooves rumbled as a red-armored general, about fifty years old, with a broad back and strong arms, his hair and beard slightly frosted with white, but his eyes were gleaming and he looked extremely majestic.

Xie Ci threw the document over directly. Long Shouren frowned and was about to scold him, but when he opened the document, the first thing he saw was the half-broken paper!

He was shocked and looked carefully, his eyes were bloodshot.

Long Shouren read the note several times, then covered it and glanced around, "Two little brothers, please follow me."

No one said anything. Long Shouren used the excuse that he didn't understand the meaning of the military order and took Xie Ci and Gu Wan up to the city wall. He hurriedly closed the door and asked, "What's going on? Who are you two?!"

He thanked her and said, "I am Li Tongzhen, the son of Governor Xun Shiyou."

He cut off the beginning and only expressed his doubt at the beginning, and then recounted in detail what he had seen and heard.

Long Shouren listened carefully, recalling the events as they unfolded. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became: "How ridiculous! How ridiculous!!"

"You two wait here. I'll investigate first. If it's true... we'll set off tonight!"

Long Shouren gritted his teeth and said this, then he asked the two men to take off their armor and let the two "Xuanling Palace Guards" complete their mission and return.

He quickly sent people to find out his guess, and urgently adjusted the defense of the pass, and contacted his relatives in Suzhou and other trusted generals of Xun Rongbi.

Throughout the afternoon, people kept coming in and out of Long Shouren's study at the camp. Finally, he slammed the table and said angrily, "What a deceitful and unfilial bastard!"

Long Shouren immediately rushed to the small meeting room next door, which was serving as a temporary guest room. The fifty-year-old general's eyes were wide with hatred. "You two, we will set out tonight. With the help of both inside and outside forces, we will capture these rebels and rescue the Governor-General!"

Gu Wan quickly asked, "General Long, how confident can we be on this trip?"

Hearing this, Long Shouren sneered: "He wants to replace his father in a short time. It's simply a daydream!"

It was already dark at this time. Long Shouren didn't even have time to eat. He immediately took his trusted soldiers and opened the gate. He took the path that Xie Ci and Gu Wan had taken and counterattacked directly to the Suzhou camp.

They waded through the grass on the hills, turned onto the mountain path and mounted their horses again. The moonlight was dim tonight, and the elite cavalry and infantry, with coins in their mouths and grass wrapped around their hooves, were marching towards Suzhou City at the fastest speed.

At this point, Xie Ci and Gu Guan's tense hearts finally relaxed a little.

The two men kept their ears alert to the movements coming from the study. They didn't even have lunch, fearing that the other party would make trouble, and remained on high alert the entire time.

——Because they went deep into the heart of the pass where Long Shouren was located, they were surrounded by the Suzhou Legion.

Spent the whole day and nothing happened.

Long Shouren had already communicated with everyone inside and outside to confirm this matter. Once it was confirmed, he set off without waiting a moment and rushed towards the Suzhou camp.

If the other party wanted to take action, there would be plenty of opportunities during the day, but they didn't.

In the early winter night wind, as sharp as a knife, Xie Ci looked up from his horseback. A crescent moon hung over the mountains between two peaks. He finally revealed a hint of joy: "Yuan Niang, this should be true."

Gu Wan thought for a while and said, "That should be it."

Such conditions are too much inclined towards seizing power.

The possibility of it being true has greatly increased.

However, Gu Wan whispered: "We'd better be careful."

He thanked her, "I know."

The two men looked at each other and really believed that Xun Xun would be killed.

Before this, they still didn't believe it.

The author has something to say:

Guess, will the baby be disappointed?

Haha, here I come, good afternoon, babies! Heart to heart~ See you tomorrow! (*^▽^*)

Finally, I would like to thank "Xiao Xiao's Planet No. 1005" for throwing the mines, pen refills, pen refills!

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And all the big babies who irrigated Wenwen with white liquid, haha, love you~