At the same time, Lingquan no longer held back. The moment it reached his wrist, the surrounding vines loosened their grip on the Qilin Guards and surged towards them, forming a thick vine cocoon that enveloped the two of them. Back and forth, they formed an airtight ball.
The moment Xu Yi landed, he rolled over and hid behind a giant tree. A barrage of arrows flew towards the rattan ball in the center of the tree.
Ding, dong, bang, clang! The metal arrowheads struck the sepak balls with dull, sharp sounds, but they couldn't penetrate them. Instead, the balls spun rapidly towards the archers. Baili Zhuo retreated, shouting, "Quick, keep shooting! Light the black kerosene and shoot!" He simply refused to believe the tree wouldn't catch fire.
The sepak takraw balls rolled over a large area of trees. The archers panicked, lighting their bows and shooting without even aiming. A large area of the forest instantly caught fire. Xu Yi poked his head out from behind a tree trunk and shouted at the others, "How stupid! Lighting a fire here? Do you want to die together?"
The emperor was truly reckless in achieving his goal. If the forest caught fire, they would most likely die while still inside.
Baili Zhuo doesn't care about all these. Anyway, he always has the ability to survive in desperate situations.
The snake vines didn't set fire, but countless rockets pelted the sepak takraw, quickly igniting it. Baili Zhuo sneered in relief, and the sepak takraw's speed quickened, setting fire wherever it passed. The archers, unable to maintain their formation, fled in panic, some even catching fire.
The sepak takraw chased Baili Zhuo all the way. The forest was too dense, and even with his kung fu prowess, running was difficult. He ran and cursed, thinking: If I can hold on for just a quarter of an hour longer, the person inside the sepak takraw will surely burn to death!
He leaped forward, his back slammed against a tree trunk blocking his path. He was struck by something, his back completely slammed. His head and back felt like they were on fire, and he slapped his back as he rolled through the bushes. The smell of burning hair wafted through him; his hair was on fire. The thought of becoming a bald emperor made Baili Zhuo's eyes twitch.
The fireball that hit him kept rolling, hit the tree trunk, and suddenly ran back, coming towards him again!
This ball must have been aimed at him!
Baili Zhuo gritted his teeth and cursed silently. The moment the Overlord Spear in his hand stabbed the sepak takraw, it suddenly disappeared out of thin air! He held the spear in his hand for two seconds, stunned, and looked around in surprise. All around him were soldiers who were burning and screaming and fleeing. There was no trace of the sepak takraw.
So, it disappeared out of thin air!
Baili Zhuo suddenly became incredibly anxious, a scene not only witnessed by him but also by Xu Yi and the rest of the soldiers. Although everyone was surprised to see the dense forest on fire, no one cared much and scrambled over to embrace Baili Zhuo and run away.
The crowd was horrified to find that their high and mighty emperor had been burned bald, his scalp red and swollen, and his clothes torn and unable to cover his back. He was worse off than the refugees on the street. But no one dared to say anything. At this time, escaping was the most important thing!
While running for my life, I was thinking: Where did the ball go?
Is that woman a demon or a god? She actually disappeared out of thin air!
The Beichen army felt as if they were shrouded in smoke, and an unknown fear spread among them.
——
After the sepak takraw caught fire, although the flames couldn't penetrate the room immediately, the temperature inside was rising, and the oxygen was becoming increasingly scarce. Ye Nuan tightly hugged Qi Wuze's waist, and the two of them rolled around until they were dizzy, and as they rolled, the blood on his cheek dripped onto hers.
Ye Nuan asked anxiously: "Aze, are you okay?"
"It's okay! Just a scratch!" Qi Wuze held the man tightly in his arms and frowned, "There's a fire outside!" If they go out now, they will either be shot to death or burned to death. If they don't go out, they will also be burned to death or suffocated to death.
"Don't be afraid, Nuan!" He tried hard to roll the ball out of the arrow feather circle, and through the gap he could see Baili Zhuo's fleeing figure in a panic.
The temperature of the sepak takraw's surface grew higher and higher. Ye Nuan began to have difficulty breathing, and Qi Wuze's breathing also gradually became heavier, his chest vibrating faintly. Just as the flames reached his ankles, his vision suddenly went black, and the entire sepak takraw fell freely, crashing directly into the lake.
Sizzle!
The fireball sank into the water and was extinguished. The nearly burned vines quickly scattered, and the two of them sank directly into the lake. Qi Wuze suddenly choked on his saliva and found that the water was not only not astringent but also particularly sweet. The scratched area on his right cheek was strangely itchy, and the wound healed in the blink of an eye.
Ye Nuan entered the water like a fish entering the sea, her whole body warm and comfortable. She took a sip of water, and her head, which had been dizzy from the heat, instantly became much clearer. When she looked up at Qi Wuze, his face was full of surprise and shock. He obviously didn't understand where the spring water came from by the woods, and how they had fallen in.
He held Ye Nuan and struggled to swim upwards. A look of struggle flashed across Ye Nuan's face. Her mother had said that the matter of the space must not be known to anyone, not even her future husband. After a moment's hesitation, she suddenly clung to him and kissed him fiercely on the lips.
Qi Wuze was slightly stunned, but instead of pushing her away, he deepened the kiss.
But as they kissed, his vision went dark again, and he lost consciousness. Ye Nuan pulled him ashore. The black soil on the shore was planted with fruits and vegetables, and the water was hanging from each head. The sky was blue and the clouds were white, but everything was still. Floating in the sky were grids, each containing different seeds and food.
If Qi Wuze were awake at this moment, he would find that the vegetables harvested from the farm were neatly stacked in a warehouse in the corner. The air here was fresh, the grass and trees were lush, and the fragrance of flowers was intoxicating. It was a complete paradise.
The spring water next to them began to rotate, automatically converting the fallen vines into fertilizer and transporting it to the black soil above.
The man on the ground trembled his eyelashes, clearly showing signs of waking up. The moment he opened his eyes, Ye Nuan reached out and covered his eyes, whispering, "Aze!"
Qi Wuze stroked her hand, and when he opened his eyes again, they both appeared outside the poisonous forest. Gao Zangfeng and his men were running towards them.
Ahead was the patrol station, behind him was the smoky poison forest, and here was still an endless wasteland, as if falling into the spring just now was an illusion. But his body was wet, so it wasn't an illusion. He looked at Ye Nuan, whose eyes were bright and concerned, and asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Qi Wuze knew something was wrong, but he didn't ask any questions and helped her up. He looked her up and down and asked nervously, "Ah Nuan, are you okay?"
Ye Nuan shook her head, feeling a faint sense of guilt. Aze had told her everything, but she had kept some secrets. However, the matter of the space was too bizarre to reveal easily.
Gao Zangfeng and his group ran over from afar and shouted loudly: "City Lord, what's going on? Why is there a fire inside?" Screams continued to be heard, and it was obvious that the Beichen army was in a miserable state.
"The trees inside aren't fireproof. Baili Zhuo led Team Rocket in and set the mountain on fire. The Beichen Army suffered heavy losses. He deserved it."
The fire spread for thousands of miles, and when it reached the periphery, the camphor trees came into play and put out the fire.
It was a day later when the fire died down completely. The two sides could already see each other clearly through the sparse trees.
Beichen still had 90,000 troops left, while the Wasteland still had 3,000. But after their experience in the Poison Barrier Forest, Beichen's army, no matter how numerous, was still filled with fear. Especially when they saw Ye Nuan and Qi Wuze appear unharmed on the patrol platform, the soldiers who had seen them before were shaking in their legs.
Rumors spread among the army that Ye Nuan might be a god or a demon, and the 100,000-strong army was blocked in front of the scorched poisonous forest and dared not attack.
Baili Zhuo was furious. Not only had he not lost a single enemy soldier in this attack, but he himself had suffered heavy losses and was burned bald. The accompanying imperial physicians were helpless and were dragged out and beheaded. The remaining physicians, trembling with fear, tried to prepare a secret hair growth formula for him.
Baili Zhuo had never been so humiliated before. He would rather lose his hands and feet than be bald in front of a hundred thousand soldiers. Fortunately, General Xu found him a hat to wear. Even so, he stayed in the tent for three days without leaving.
When he finally came to his senses from his anger and decadence and asked why they didn't attack, Xu Yi said helplessly: "The forest is burned, but a large number of snakes, insects, rats, ants, wolves, tigers and leopards appeared in the forest." No matter how many soldiers there are, they can't withstand the ferocity of the wild beasts. The beast tide is far more terrifying than the human tide.
In just the past few days, some soldiers have started to flee. Xu Yi has been suppressing the news, fearing that if the emperor gives an order, all these people will go to hell.
"Snakes, insects, rats, and ants? How many could there be? Are we really that scared with so many people?" Baili Zhuo scoffed. He opened the tent and walked outside. He saw a swarm of scorpions and centipedes so densely packed on the ground it was nauseating. Then there were swarms of poisonous snakes hanging upside down from the camphor trees. Behind the trees lay an endless swarm of wild beasts, each glaring at the large military camp across from them with a fierce gaze.
It seems like it will rush in at the next second!
Baili Zhuo's bald head seemed to be on fire again. Behind the herd of animals were the people of the wasteland who were busy clearing the land and planting new saplings.
He looked up and saw Qi Wuze standing on the patrol platform, laughing. The smile was full of malice, which made him furious!
The two sides were preparing for war, and asking a group of people to plant trees was a naked provocation.
Baili Zhuo shouted angrily: "Shoot them all!"
Xu Yi carefully reminded: "Your Majesty, the archers have suffered countless casualties, and there are not many people who can get up now, and..."
"Besides, there are so many beasts that we can't shoot them all." It will be troublesome if they get angry!
Baili Zhuo felt a chill on his head and a burning sensation in his stomach. "So what do you think?"
Xu Yi lowered his eyes and bowed, saying, "I believe we should sue for peace. We are here to ask for food, and we shouldn't start a war!"
Baili Zhuo looked at the other soldiers, his eyes dark: "Do you also think we should sue for peace?"
The other generals lowered their heads in silence, but they clearly felt they should sue for peace. Baili Zhuo snorted coldly, abandoning everyone and returning to the camp.
He had issued over a dozen imperial edicts, but Huang Yuan not only refused to accept them but also deliberately disobeyed them, which had already infuriated him. Now, before the war had even officially begun, he was being asked to sue for peace. How could he, the dignified Emperor of Beichen, put his dignity aside?
No matter how difficult his plans were, they never failed. Ru'er must be found, the food must be obtained, and as for Ye Nuan and her barbaric husband, they must die!
Let him think about it, he will definitely be able to come up with a perfect plan!
The two sides were wasting time like this. Gao Zangfeng was anxiously walking back and forth in the camp, looking at the city lord squatting in front of the charcoal fire to grill meat, and then looking at his wife who was eating and feeding the city lord. Finally, he couldn't help but ask: "City Lord, why don't you let these beasts attack and kill the Beichen army here?
Qi Wuze ignored him and continued to roast his meat, feeding it to Ye Nuan once it was done. Ye Nuan looked at Gao Zangfeng, "They have so many people, and if they attack, there will definitely be casualties. We are now in our territory in the wasteland, and they have limited food and fodder. If they just hold on, they will collapse sooner or later due to the lack of food and extreme worry!"
"But behind them is Shentian Pass and the entire Beichen. If we don't attack now, what if the food and grass are resupplied?"
Qi Wuze, who had been grilling his meat with his head down, finally looked up and sneered, "Beichen suffered a snowstorm last year, and the south suffered a flood. Now there's drought everywhere, and the crops have failed. They're fighting in the wasteland just to get its granary. Where's the food coming from?"
"Now we are just starving the eagle. Just keep it like this without food or water. Once it is cooked, it will be obedient!"
Ye Nuan chuckled: "Order everyone to camp on the spot and set up the pot, cook the mutton hot pot soup, pork tripe and chicken, braised pork, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall... Change it every day from today on!" The 100,000 troops on the opposite side will be so greedy!
Gao Zangfeng finally understood and nodded excitedly: "Hey, I'm good at this." He shouted to the people behind him: "Quick, the madam is inviting us to a feast, set up the pot!"
So, while the Beichen army was drinking porridge, the other side was eating roasted whole lamb. While the Beichen army was eating pickled radish, the other side was eating roasted suckling pig. While the Beichen army was eating steamed bread with noodles, the other side was eating beef hot pot...
Half a month later, Beichen's food supply ran out. The other side was still enjoying fish head and mushroom soup, the aroma wafting across the poisonous forest. The starving Beichen soldiers nearly devoured the last empty bowl.
Damn, this is so tiring!
I've never fought such a terrible battle!
How can we fight a war if we don’t have enough food to eat? Even if the emperor himself comes to lead the battle, it won’t work!
The starving soldiers began to secretly climb the walls of Shentian Pass in the middle of the night. After several days, they could no longer hide the truth. To stabilize the army, Baili Zhuo killed all the escapees. However, even this could not stop the soldiers from escaping.
With an army of 100,000, they lost 20,000 soldiers due to internal friction. Baili Zhuo urged General Shen Tianguan to collect food, but Zhou Shou only sent a small amount and then pretended to be dead.
With an army of 100,000, no amount of food would be enough! Although he wanted to get promoted, his life was more important!
After three more people held out, Baili Zhuo sent people to the front lines to engage in verbal battles, using all the harsh words they could muster. However, how could a hungry person win against the tough and unruly desert people? All the people he sent cried, and one or two even died of anger from vomiting blood!
Gao Zangfeng laughed heartily: "These bastards are so weak that they can't stand being scolded. People from inside the Great Wall are so stingy that it would be a wonder if they die of anger!" If they were left in the wilderness, they would starve to death a hundred times with such a petty mind.
On the twentieth day, the Beichen army's remaining rations suddenly caught fire, burning many of their tents. This completely cut off their food supply, and after several days of tolerating it no longer, Baili Zhuo finally agreed to negotiate peace.
The peace flag was hung for several days, but there was no response from the other side.
The army could not hold on any longer and finally retreated back to the interior of the pass. There was no food inside the pass. Baili Zhuo was anxious for several days and sent someone to invite Jiang Ji at Zhou Shou's suggestion.
Jiang Ji was a very vengeful person. After being asked several times, she finally agreed to go to the wilderness to negotiate peace after he promised to forgive her betrayal and reduce the taxes on all her shops by half.
Before Jiang Ji set off, she wrote a secret letter to Ye Nuan, which roughly meant: The benefits have been obtained, you and I will split it 50-50, we will reach the wilderness soon, and we will join forces to trick him again.
Qi Wuze: “!”
"No wonder you and Jiang Ji can become friends."
Ye Nuan burned the letter directly. "She will probably arrive the day after tomorrow. Let Gao Zangfeng pick her up the day after tomorrow morning."
Qi Wuze nodded: "Yeah."
"The negotiation will take place in Luomu City. If they make any unusual moves, we'll catch them in the act!"
On the seventh day of September, the sky was clear and the air was bright. Gao Zangfeng led a thousand soldiers and horses and personally crossed the poisonous forest to welcome Baili Zhuo, Jiang Ji and a group of ten people into Luomu City.
Baili Zhuo sat atop his tall horse, initially displaying an air of superiority and dominance, but the further he went, the worse his expression grew. Disasters were frequent within the Great Wall, leaving fertile fields barren and the people displaced, yet the once desolate wasteland had reversed its decline and become prosperous and strong.
If it is allowed to grow stronger, it will sooner or later threaten the Beichen royal family.
Even with the war going on, the people of the desert remained calm and composed, with livestock and crops still visible along the road. They greeted Gao Zangfeng respectfully, but Baili Zhuo turned a cold brow and looked down upon them.
Baili Zhuo clenched his fists and endured it silently.
Luomu City's outer walls towered majestically. Upon seeing Qi Wuze, the city guards immediately opened the gates to greet him. The streets were filled with people, except for the neatly arranged guards. Commoners gathered to watch, and Baili Zhuo held his noble head high, scorning the people of smaller towns for never having seen the emperor.
A little kid among the people suddenly cried out in surprise, "Mother, that's the emperor! I heard he's here to ask for peace. How is he going to ask for peace? Is he going to beg on his knees?"
Baili Zhuo's face turned pale. Xu Yi, who was following Baili Zhuo, scolded him, "How dare you!"
The people were not afraid, but laughed, pointing and saying, "Look, our city lord is not as mighty as us!"
"Not as handsome as our city lord, not as tall as our city lord!"
"It's obvious he's unlucky. I'm afraid he won't be emperor for long."
If it were inside the Great Wall, no one would dare to talk about Baili Zhuo like this, but this is a wasteland, a place where the imperial court cannot reach, and even the king of heaven is not as powerful as their city lord!
Being pointed at and criticized like that made Baili Zhuo, and even the dozen or so generals who had accompanied him, look grim. The streets of Luomu City seemed endless, and he was paraded through them like a laughingstock. When he reached a familiar spot, Baili Zhuo finally lost his temper.
He shouted at Gao Zangfeng, "Are you deliberately leading me around in circles?"
Gao Zangfeng turned his dark face and chuckled: "The people in the city have never seen the emperor before, so let them see something new!"
Baili Zhuo was so angry that he almost vomited blood: He is the emperor, and he is showing something new to these ignorant barbarians!
He was about to lose his temper when Jiang Ji quickly smiled and smoothed things over: "Being looked at won't cost you anything, Your Majesty, food!"
Baili Zhuo held back, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
After going around five times, and having been laughed at by everyone from eighty to eight-month-old children in Luomu City, he finally arrived at the City Lord's Mansion.
The door to the City Lord's Mansion was wide open. Baili Zhuo and his men sat in the main hall, waiting for a long time, but no one showed up. Upon asking, they learned that Qi Wuze and Ye Nuan hadn't gotten up yet. Baili Zhuo had even crushed the teacup in his hand.
Jiang Ji immediately said with a smile: "Your Majesty, food!"
Baili Zhuo: “.”
"Will you not send someone to invite your city lord?"
Gao Zangfeng said casually, "Our city lord said that he wants you all to stay in bed on purpose!"
Beichen’s group: Fuck, is there any need to say it so blatantly!
The tea was already cold. Baili Zhuo suppressed his anger and shouted, "Tea!"
Xu Yi looked at Gao Zangfeng: "Can you at least give me a sip of tea?"
Gao Zangfeng: “No!”
Baili Zhuo: "Then what do you have?"
Gao Zangfeng: "I don't have anything you want!"
Baili Zhuo stood up with a bang, and Jiang Ji immediately put out the fire: "Your Majesty, food——!"
Baili Zhuo had no choice but to sit down.
The sun was at its zenith when Ye Nuan and Qi Wuze arrived late. They didn't even glance at Baili Zhuo, but ordered the best Biluochun tea and steaming hot pastries, which they ate slowly. Qi Wuze, still brooding over Ye Nuan's previous engagement with Baili Zhuo, acted very intimately.
Jiang Ji looked at it with a smile and sighed: There comes a time when a steel knife can become as soft as silk!
Baili Zhuo looked at her expressionlessly. He hadn't paid much attention to Ye Nuan the previous time, but now that he looked at her carefully, he found that she was a little different than before.
She used to be sensitive, vindictive and extremely jealous, but now her temperament is more gentle and clear, and she exudes confidence and brightness from the inside out.
He raised his eyes and was caught off guard by Qi Wuze's cold and murderous gaze.
Baili Zhuo refused to give in. He looked at Qi Wuze and said, "I'm here to borrow grain. City Lord Qi, could you please provide Beichen with some coal?"
Qi Wuze wiped the residue from Ye Nuan's mouth and raised his eyebrows, saying, "Brother Baili always likes to bring so many people with him when he borrows food. I didn't know that I thought you wanted to rob him!"
Baili Zhuo's eyes dimmed slightly, and Xu Yi immediately replied: "That's not true, City Lord Qi. His Majesty the Emperor attaches great importance to you, so he brought people here to borrow grain!" Originally, he planned to rob, but he didn't expect Huangyuan to be so powerful. If hard tactics didn't work, he could only use soft tactics.
Qi Wuze sneered: "Come on, let's be frank. You just want to rob me, what's wrong with that? I'm telling you, I hold a grudge, and if you want to borrow grain, there are conditions."
Baili Zhuo: "What conditions?"
Qi Wuze looked at Ye Nuan: "Madam!"
Ye Nuan took a sip of tea slowly and looked at Baili Zhuo: "Now kneel before me and admit your mistakes. Write a letter of apology and make it known to the world!"
Everyone in the main hall except Qi Wuze was stunned: How dare she make the emperor kneel in public and issue an edict of repentance to the world!
"Impossible!" Baili Zhuo rejected it without even thinking!
He is the emperor, how could he be wrong!
"There's irrefutable evidence that you poisoned Ru'er back then. It's only right that I exile you!"
Ye Nuan's eyes suddenly became fierce, and she waved her hand to have Xu brought over. Trembling, Xu recounted the entire process of framing Baili Zhuo, then kowtowed to Baili Zhuo and begged for mercy, "Your Majesty, I had no choice. I was only trying to protect Ru'er."
Ye Nuan sneered, "Baili Zhuo, whether there was evidence or not, you still wanted to do that! Ye Nuan was blind to fall for you back then! If you didn't like her, you could have called off the engagement, but you were playing both sides, secretly hooking up with Ye Yuru even though you were engaged. If she's going to be disfigured and exiled, you should be paraded through the streets and beheaded!"
Qi Wuze felt sour in his heart, and looked at Baili Zhuo with an increasingly unfriendly look.
"Don't tell me that you and Ye Yuru are truly in love. If you truly love someone, you can fall in love anywhere. There's no need to disgust others everywhere!"
This was almost a curse directed at Baili Zhuo.
Baili Zhuo's eyes were gloomy. He stared at her for a while and then said, "Are you resentful, or do you still have feelings for me?"
Everyone in the hall looked at Ye Nuan, and Qi Wuze squeezed her hand tightly. Ye Nuan laughed, her laughter full of mockery. "Still feeling? You're just as shameless as Ye Ling!" She pulled the person next to her over to show him, "Bai Li Zhuo, let's see how you compare to my husband!"
Baili Zhuo thought of the comments made by the city people on him when he was taking a walk, and he was silent!
"Putting aside other things, just in terms of looks, you're way inferior to my husband. The key is that you're even shorter than him!!"
Baili Zhuo looked at Qi Wuze's tall back—and he couldn't refute it!
"Your kung fu is not as good as my husband's, and your people's support is not as good as my husband's. Now you are so poor that you have to borrow food from my husband. How can you be so confident that I still have feelings for you?"
Beichen's soldiers were collectively silent: When you think about it this way, it seems that nothing can compare to it except the throne!
"Ye Nuan, don't go too far!" Baili Zhuo slammed the table and stood up!
Ye Nuan snorted coldly: "There are even more outrageous things!"
Jiang Ji immediately appeased: "Your Majesty, food!"
Baili Zhuo suppressed the anger in his chest again and again, and finally sat down, gritted his teeth and asked, "What do you want in exchange for lending me the grain?"
Ye Nuan raised the corner of her mouth slightly: "Kowtow, admit your mistake!"
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