Chapter 82 He Wants to Live a Lifetime
The entire street was stained with blood, corpses lay scattered on the ground, and broken blades and shattered bows lay strewn about.
The shops on both sides of the street had their doors wide open. When the wind blew, the tattered window slats were blown inward and the wooden hinges made a creaking sound as they were about to collapse under the weight.
Qin Shaozong flicked his sword, the thick bloodstains splashing onto the bluestone slabs. He looked up ahead and saw that the street was silent, the shop doors tightly shut, and he wondered if there were any ambushes inside.
The horse that had been borrowed from Gao You died, and the other party used a tripwire and then attacked the horse with all their might.
“My lord, there’s still a street between here and that residence.” Feng Feng also looked ahead.
Just by looking at it like this, you really can't tell how many ambushes are ahead.
"Take down the shop doors to make shields, and position the archers inside the ranks while the infantry stand on the outside," Qin Shaozong sneered. "It's just a street away, how can we not get through?"
As for the enemy's cavalry outside the city, Qin Shaozong didn't take them seriously at all. The enemy had reinforcements, and so did he, though it would take longer to arrive.
When Xie San's troops approached the city, he closed the city gates.
They have no ladders or battering rams; how could they possibly launch a full-scale assault with just a few men outside? That's a pipe dream.
...
The earlier fight had caused quite a commotion, which could be heard several streets away. Xie Yuanxiu, who lived in the courtyard on West Street, was no exception.
He wasn't stupid. When his servants told him that Marquis Wu'an was coming, he quickly retreated. As for the belongings in the house, he didn't take anything; escaping was the priority.
"The Marquis of Wu'an brought only two hundred men to Xiagu this time. He had to send troops to patrol, take care of the situation at the four city gates, and leave men to guard him. Everywhere was a place where he needed manpower. How could he still find manpower to find my hiding place?" Xie Yuanxiu really felt like he had seen a ghost.
He had naturally heard of the infamous figure from the North, who was extremely fierce. Facing his sharp edge head-on was the worst possible strategy. Therefore, when he heard that Marquis Wu'an had also arrived in Xia Valley, he quickly found a place to hide.
The hiding place was provided by Di Ting, and in theory, it should have been very well-prepared. Even if Marquis Wu'an's men came to investigate, they wouldn't find anything amiss.
Where exactly did the information come from? Did Gao You betray him?
Probably not. Now that the city gate guards have rebelled, Gao You has no way back and would never waver.
Xie Yuanxiu's subordinates, unaware of the reason, tried their best to comfort him, "Third Young Master, don't be angry. Fortunately, we prepared a backup plan. Now we'll go out the back gate and take the alley to North Street to lay low for a while. Governor Ni and his men are already outside the city. With Lord Gao and our men cooperating inside, it's only a matter of time before we enter the city. Once Governor Ni arrives with his troops, we won't have to worry about taking the head of Marquis Wu'an."
The subordinate added, "Moreover, Governor Ni is always resourceful. If he can't get in through the east gate, he will definitely try other gates. He will eventually be able to get in."
Xie Yuanxiu's expression softened slightly. "You're right, let's avoid their sharp edge for now. By the way, how many people did Gao You arrange to assassinate Marquis Wu'an?"
The subordinate replied, "Four hundred men, plus the one hundred we borrowed, that makes a total of five hundred."
Xie Yuanxiu gasped, "Five hundred men couldn't even stop Marquis Wu'an? What are they good for!"
The subordinates were also extremely worried.
I've always heard that Marquis Wu'an has an invincible elite force under his command, each member a master, capable of taking on ten men single-handedly. Could it be that force outside...?
Subordinate: "The back alley is narrow and cannot be passed by carriage. Please ask the Third Young Master to walk through."
Xie Yuanxiu gritted his teeth: "Let's go!"
*
At the same time, at the East Gate.
Dai Li glanced at Mo Yanyun, who was lying in wait not far away, and thought to herself, "This is bad." Mo Yanyun was here; had Qin Shaozong discovered her?
However, this conjecture was quickly refuted by Dai Li.
She probably hadn't noticed. After observing for a moment, she saw that Mo Yanyun was staring intently at the convoy leaving the city and wasn't looking anywhere else.
"Mom, we'll go out with the merchants' car later." Qin Yanzhou had already made the arrangements.
Dai Li followed his gaze and saw a group of merchants not far away, about twenty people in total, with five donkey carts in the group, each fully loaded.
"Is that the Qinglian Sect's convoy?" Dai Li asked.
Qin Yanzhou: "Not entirely, only the leading merchant is a believer. I told him that I would be going out of the city with his caravan later to carry out a secret mission with another divine messenger, namely you, and that I would need to borrow his wife's messenger."
Just by looking at her son's calm and composed expression, Dai Li knew that the merchant had no objection to it.
It seems the Green Lotus Sect's influence among the common people is far greater than she imagined. They're lending out such an important item so readily.
“That Commandant Mo is staking out the city gate,” Dai Li said in a low voice.
Qin Yanzhou: "It's alright. He's the only one we know well. The other soldiers from the north don't see you often, so they probably won't recognize you. When you arrive, walk around the carriage and use the carriage frame as a barrier to keep him away. If he does see you, just show him the side of your scarred face. Also, when you leave, I've arranged a diversionary tactic. He probably won't have the energy to check you personally."
Perhaps worried that Dai Li was still nervous, Qin Yanzhou spoke more than usual, "Don't worry, from my observation, that Commandant Mo is a bit duller than the others, he won't notice."
Dai Li was both amused and exasperated.
As they were talking, the merchant caravan walked a short distance past the two of them.
The mother and son joined the line, but instead of walking at the front or back, they walked in the middle, pretending to watch over the goods on the vehicle with the others.
Perhaps because they had been informed beforehand, no one was surprised that the two joined the team midway.
Everyone fell silent and continued walking forward.
Mo Yanyun was filled with regret. The Marquis had sent him to follow someone, thinking it would be a simple task, but he never expected that the young master was so skilled that he would immediately shake him off after discovering him.
Lord Jun said that the mother and son might take advantage of the chaos to leave the city, and judging from the young master's previous route, he was undoubtedly heading east.
He's waiting at the city gate; hopefully, he'll find her. They always said he was a fool with good fortune; hopefully, that will work, and he'll find Lady Dai.
Mo Yanyun stared at each of the women leaving the city with a bitter expression.
At this time, a caravan arrived, with several donkeys pulling carts and about twenty people, which was quite a large group.
Mo Yanyun noticed several young women in the group. He glanced at them briefly and saw that they were all dark-skinned, rough, and unremarkable. He went over and examined two of them closely, and before they could even speak, he knew his hopes had been dashed.
He was just about to take a closer look at the remaining women when a commotion suddenly broke out not far away.
Mo Yanyun subconsciously looked up, and what he saw made his pupils shrink. He seemed to see that tall, slender figure in white.
Today, the young man is wearing a white robe!
Could it be that they wanted to leave the city but accidentally alerted the city patrol?
Mo Yanyun immediately took off after him, but when he reached a crossroads, he was stunned again.
Where should we go?
Ah, it seems I've lost it again...
Suddenly, his head was pressed down hard, and Mo Yanyun cried out and clutched his head, "Ouch!" "Bai Ye, what are you doing?"
A gyrfalcon with white and brown feathers landed on his head, stomped twice with its claws, then spread its wings and flew eastward. After flying for a while, it circled back and continued eastward.
Mo Yanyun was stunned, then suddenly perked up, "You mean they're over there?"
He immediately rushed back to the east gate, grabbed a horse from one of the city guards, and rode off in pursuit.
Not long after Mo Yanyun left the city, a squad of Xuanxiao cavalry led by Kuang Ye arrived at the location and ordered the city gates to be closed.
The heavy city gates slowly closed.
...
After leaving the city with the merchants, Dai Li and Qin Yanzhou separated from the caravan.
Qin Yanzhou hid a fine horse in the suburbs, and the mother and son rode together, quickly covering the southern border.
It was late noon, and they needed to reach the dilapidated temple in the south of the city before dark, which would be their lodging for the night.
Spend the night in the temple, travel for a whole day the next day, and you'll reach a small mountain village; spend another night in the village, and travel for another day the day after, and you'll reach the border of Yuzhou. There's a small county near the border of Yuzhou; once you enter the county, it's like a fish entering the sea.
“Zhouzhou, if you leave with me now, and the Qinglian Sect can’t find you, won’t they suspect you’ve defected?” Dai Li asked worriedly.
The followers of the Qinglian Sect were scattered throughout various states, and not only were there many of them, but they were also difficult to identify. However, in ancient times, communication was blocked, and a single message could take a year or two to travel.
A year and a half?
Oh, they would have run away long ago if they had realized something was wrong, instead of sitting and waiting to be caught.
However, if the Qinglian Sect immediately realizes that Zhouzhou has defected, then the situation will be different.
"Diting sensed something was wrong and has already left with his men. I told them that I had temporarily taken on a mission from a higher-ups and had other plans, so no one suspected anything for the time being," Qin Yanzhou said in a low voice.
Dai Li breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."
By the time the Green Lotus Sect realized what was happening, they had already arrived in Yuzhou.
The horses trotted along the official road, and after a while, the number of people on the road gradually decreased.
With fewer people around, other commotion becomes more noticeable.
Qin Yanzhou suddenly reined in his horse and looked back.
The official road stretched out behind us, its small bends obscured by the lush foliage. A breeze stirred, causing the leaves to sway gently, creating a serene and peaceful atmosphere.
"Zhouzhou, what's wrong?" Dai Li also turned around.
But I didn't see anything.
Qin Yanzhou turned around and said, "It's nothing."
He continued riding forward.
But after a while, the young man reined in his horse again. This time he didn't say anything, but simply stopped the horse and listened quietly.
Dai Li was puzzled, but a sudden unease ran through her, a sense of foreboding washing over her.
After a brief pause, Qin Yanzhou suddenly spurred his horse forward.
Dai Li could feel that the travel speed had increased, and her heart couldn't help but jump. "Zhouzhou, is someone following us?"
“There is one rider,” Qin Yanzhou said.
Dai Li was taken aback. "One rider?"
What can one person do? To put it bluntly, after going back to report and returning to T, the target would be nowhere to be found.
"We don't know which side they are yet, we'll see later." Qin Yanzhou spurred his horse around a bend ahead, then quickly reined in his horse and dismounted.
The bushes here are dense, and Qin Yanzhou holds the reins, leading the horse carrying Dai Li to one side to let the bushes cover it as much as possible.
After doing all this, the black-haired youth quickly climbed up the tree above Dai Li's head and hid in the canopy of leaves.
Mo Yanyun did not hear the sound of hooves. This time the pause was longer than before, long enough that it seemed as if the rider had stopped to rest.
Did they discover he was secretly following them and abandon their horses to go into the mountains?
A sudden chill ran through him, and without thinking, Mo Yanyun spurred his horse forward. The moment he saw the deserted official road, his heart sank.
But on his second glance, he saw Dai Li riding a horse in the distance, half-hidden in the grass.
Their eyes met, and both of them were stunned for a moment.
Dai Li was surprised to find it was Mo Yanyun. He had been lured away earlier, but now he had returned.
Mo Yanyun's pupils constricted, his eyes filled with horror.
If Bai Ye hadn't reminded him that this was Madam Dai, he truly wouldn't have recognized her. She was completely different from before!
“Madam Dai, the Marquis has been looking for you for a long time. Please come back with me.” Mo Yanyun was determined to persuade Dai Li to return as soon as possible.
As he approached, Dai Li tightened her grip on the reins. "You don't need to persuade me anymore, I'm not going back."
"Why?" Mo Yanyun asked, puzzled.
Dai Li turned her eyes away. "There's no reason."
Mo Yanyun dismounted and continued walking towards Dai Li, wishing he could grab a net and scoop her up. "There must be a reason, how could there be no reason? Lord Junhou..."
Before he could finish speaking, Mo Yanyun, who was a seasoned veteran of battlefields, suddenly heard the alarm bells ring. He instinctively drew his sword and blocked the attack from the young man who jumped down from the tree.
Mo Yanyun's neck felt chilly.
If he hadn't reacted quickly, his head would have really fallen to the ground.
Dai Li was also startled.
The two started fighting on the spot.
Mo Yanyun only defended and did not attack. Later, he realized that this path was blocked and that the opponent's moves were exceptionally fierce. Not attacking would only embolden Qin Yanzhou.
"Zhouzhou, we can't kill this man, just kill his horse." Dai Li said anxiously.
Mo Yanyun was a member of the core group in the North. If he died at the hands of his son, Qin Shaozong would have even more reason not to let them go.
Qin Yanzhou turned his blade and immediately abandoned Mo Yanyun to attack his horse.
Mo Yanyun cursed under his breath and hurriedly went to block the knife.
After a few more moves, the horses, startled, stamped their hooves and seemed poised to bolt to the side. Seeing this, Mo Yanyun roared, "If you dare kill my horses, I'll kill yours too! We'll all be in the same boat!"
Qin Yanzhou's expression suddenly turned cold. He wanted to fight again, but Dai Li stopped him once more.
Dai Li had been observing for some time and, seeing that it was Mo Yanyun alone from beginning to end, was certain that only he had caught up with them.
Perhaps, as Zhouzhou said before, the city is already in chaos, and Qin Shaozong only brought a small number of people to Xiagu, so he is currently unable to spare any resources.
Okay, that makes things easier.
Dai Li, mounted on her horse, raised her chin slightly and looked down at Mo Yanyun. "You asked me earlier why I didn't want to go back. Well then, I'll tell you now: I don't want to be a concubine. Commander Mo, now that you know the reason, go back and tell Qin Changgeng, and stop following me."
She never inquired about Qin Shaozong's family affairs. But how could a man of this era, especially one who held power and influence over the entire northern region, have only one woman?
Qin Shaozong wanted to live a long life, but she didn't want to be trapped in that kind of place forever. Living under someone else's roof, following the rules, pitifully and pathetically watching his and his wife's every move to make a living.
Mo Yanyun was dumbfounded and speechless.
“Zhouzhou, he came alone, don’t worry about him.” Dai Li tried to tug on the reins.
Her horse snorted, and Qin Yanzhou quickly pulled on the reins and led the horse out.
Qin Yanzhou mounted his horse and rode away with Dai Li.
Mo Yanyun hurriedly followed.
Qin Yanzhou reined in his horse again and drew his sword.
Mo Yanyun quickly raised his hands to indicate that he posed no threat: "Lord Jun said that if I encounter you, I must follow you and protect you. I dare not disobey his orders. Madam Dai, please rest assured, I will only follow you and will not do anything else. If you do not believe me, you can have the young master search me. I guarantee that there will be nothing on me that can leave a trace."
Dai Li called out "Zhou Zhou" in a low voice.
They are still on the edge of Xia Valley, and it is not advisable for them to stay here any longer. They cannot continue to get entangled with Mo Yanyun over this matter.
Qin Yanzhou sheathed his sword and went over, while Mo Yanyun cooperated with the search.
After a thorough search, nothing unusual was found.
Without cinnabar powder or special spices, Mo Yanyun had only a set of clothes, a knife, a copper coin, and a water bag; nothing else.
Qin Yanzhou coldly withdrew.
The two riders set off again.
Dai Li pursed her lips as she listened to the sound of horses' hooves beside her.
They couldn't kill him, and they couldn't shake him off. It's fortunate that Qin Shaozong doesn't have any other manpower available right now, otherwise things would be much more complicated…
But I still need to find a chance to shake him off.
Mo Yanyun followed them all the way to the dilapidated temple in the south of the city. By then, it was already dark and night was about to fall. He guessed that the mother and son would spend the night there.
A sharp, piercing gaze shot over, laced with murderous intent. Mo Yanyun shuddered and quickly said, "Don't worry, I won't step out of this temple tonight except to use the restroom. If you're still worried, I can sleep in the innermost part."
After hearing him finish speaking, Dai Li took the lead and entered the temple with a knife.
In ancient times, dilapidated temples often harbored robbers and wanted criminals. These people might have murdered others, but sometimes these desperate criminals were more astute.
As soon as Mo Yanyun entered, they all huddled in a corner, even lowering their voices.
Dai Li and Qin Yanzhou came in after them.
Mo Yanyun was in the innermost position, Dai Li was in the middle, and Qin Yanzhou was on the outermost side.
The cramped, dilapidated temple was divided in two, with Dai Li and her group on the left and another group on the right.
Qin Yanzhou noticed someone secretly looking in his direction. His eyes turned cold, and he stood up, sword in hand.
Mo Yanyun had been thinking about what Dai Li had said the whole way. Now that Qin Yanzhou had left, he took the opportunity to whisper to her, "Madam Dai, the Marquis's mansion has been without a mistress for fifteen years. Given the Marquis's attitude towards you, you will definitely be able to walk sideways in the mansion without any problem."
Dai Li glanced at him but didn't say anything.
Mo Yanyun, a seasoned veteran of the pleasure quarters, had a sudden inspiration: "If you don't like living in the Marquis's mansion, it wouldn't be a problem for you and the young master to live outside together."
He boldly took a different approach: "Although what I said later was absurd, it was all from the bottom of my heart. If there were a place in this world that specializes in pleasing women, all the military generals of our northern lands would go in and be chosen by others. With your physique and appearance, my lord, you would surely be considered one of the best."
Dai Li: "..."
Author's Note: Novels cannot be divided into specific panels; in fact, these two chapters occur almost simultaneously.
Upon receiving the news from the governor, Lao Qin went to find Xie San. Xie San's reinforcements arrived, Dai Li left the city, and all the city gates were closed (to prevent Xie San's cavalry from bypassing the city). These events happened one after the other.
Please, please give me some nutrient solution! [Sprinkling flowers]
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