Chapter 55 Chapter 55 And you will be under my direct leadership. ...
What a sharp blade, what a fast knife, what a strong skill!
Zhang Yan was forced to retreat repeatedly by the sudden appearance of the fierce general.
She wielded a Mo Dao, which was both her strength and weakness. While the Mo Dao's sweeping power was fierce, it lacked the agility of a horizontal sword.
The man before her, unfazed by the Mo Dao in her hand, instead faced the challenge head-on, growing more courageous as the bandits surrounded him. His blade flickered, each strike as swift as lightning, as he forcibly cut a bloody path through the enemy ranks.
Xie Tingyu's ears moved slightly, listening to the sound and determining the location. When the bandits attacked from the flank, he lightly raised his toes, caught another horizontal sword in mid-air, and stabbed it diagonally into the depression of the man's collarbone with his backhand, his movements smooth and flowing.
She held two swords, easily fending off the six bandits. After slashing them in quick succession, a surge of rage ensued. One sword lay across her chest, the other pointed downward, blood dripping from the blade.
A cold night wind blew.
Xie Tingyu stared calmly at Zhang Yan, constantly picking at her weaknesses. Her ponytail fluttered in the firelight, and the silver gleam of her armor loomed in the swirling red silk of her sword.
Zhang Yan's pupils suddenly shrank. The agile movements of the man in front of her made her feel as if she was seeing someone she had met by chance more than ten years ago.
Back then, she was only thirteen or fourteen, living in a gambling den. That day, a woman wielding two swords, struck down a troublemaker with both her left and right strikes. Her blades flashed like butterflies, each strike deadly.
Later, it was heard that this person, living in poverty and with no money to pay gambling debts or eat, had to trade her life for others', becoming a bounty hunter, making a living by recovering stolen goods and forfeiting lives. This person gradually gained some fame in the martial arts world, and was most famous for her dual swords. Because of her beautiful appearance, those who knew her called her Qiluo Blood Guanyin.
Unfortunately, I heard that she joined the army and unfortunately died on the battlefield.
Unexpectedly, more than ten years later, someone would use this double-sword style again.
Just as Zhang Yan swung her knife again, Xie Tingyu ducked, the blade brushing against her hair. She stabbed Zhang Yan's thigh tendon, breaking his attack, and then struck back with another precise strike, piercing the throat of another oncoming bandit.
The bloodstained sword was drawn boldly, and the two opponents fell to the ground. The well-prepared Great Zhou soldiers immediately rushed over and pinned Zhang Yan to the bloody mud.
Zhang Yan's eyes burned with rage. Just as she was about to struggle to her feet, she was struck hard on the knee by the handle of the knife. The pain sent her sprawling to the ground again. She watched helplessly as the bandits who had followed her were subdued by the soldiers one after another.
The battle situation changed rapidly, and with Xie Tingyu leading his troops to join, the outcome was decided.
Xie Tingyu glanced at Yuan Wangshu, who was surrounded by his personal guards, and immediately rushed to where Wang Lan was.
On this side, Wang Lanzhi was engaged in a fierce battle with Shen Yuan, her long spear unfazed by the large ring sword. Seeing Xie Tingyu approaching, she deliberately exposed herself. Xie Tingyu understood, leaped forward, and with lightning-fast sword thrust, pierced Shen Yuan's waist and abdomen.
The blade pierced through her body, and Shen Yuan stumbled back. She looked down at the blade that had sunk into her abdomen, a fishy-sweet taste welling up in her throat. She looked up at Xie Tingyu, the one holding the knife, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Shen Yuan's eyes widened as she fell to the ground, blood slowly spreading behind her.
Two leaders of the mountain stronghold were captured one after another, and the morale of the remaining bandits immediately collapsed. They threw away their weapons and armor and fled in all directions.
On the night of August 15th, the main force of the Black Mountain Army was completely destroyed. The banditry that had plagued the Taihang Mountains for many years was thus completely eradicated.
Let’s talk about Yuan Wangshu again.
Despite pressing a cloth against her thigh to stifle the bleeding, Yuan Wangshu still felt dizzy. Her face was pale, her limbs weak, and she could clearly feel the blood flowing from her body, which made her feel even colder.
Cui Yuanying urgently called Xie Tingyu over and immediately ordered people to carry Yuan Wangshu to the nearest Heishan village.
There was a doctor in the Heishan village who was responsible for treating illnesses. Xie Tingyu ordered people to tie him up and bring him to treat Yuan Wangshu.
The doctor cautiously cut open the blood-stained clothes on Yuan Wangshu's legs and took out the silver needles, Ma Fei Powder and other items, but his hands were shaking like a sieve.
"Sir," the doctor knelt down, "although I have been practicing medicine for many years, I have never performed such a suturing technique. This general has injured his bones. Even if he is healed, I am afraid... I am afraid his leg will..."
When he heard his leg was going to be crippled, Yuan Wangshu picked up a pillow and threw it at the doctor's face, cursing, "Get out of here, you quack!"
Xie Tingyu came over to take a look, then immediately rolled up his sleeves to wash his hands. "She can't do it, I'll do it." Turning around, he said seriously, "My skills are still very..."
"Shut up!" Yuan Wangshu became even more frightened when he heard that it was Xie Tingyu who came. He stared at Xie Tingyu in horror with an expression of "Don't come over here!" "Where's my brother? Hurry up and call my third brother! Bring me... uh uh uh..."
Xie Tingyu gave him a look, and Cui Yuanying immediately covered Yuan Wangshu's mouth with his hand.
The doctor, receiving Xie Tingyu's order, sprinkled Ma Fei San on the wound with trembling hands and stepped aside. Xie Tingyu personally took the silver needle and threaded it, holding the end of the needle with his fingertips and carefully burning it over the candle flame, then began to sew.
Yuan Wangshu lay on her side on the couch, her face ashen. The effects of the Ma Fei San had left the back of her thigh completely numb. Her mind was filled with the thought of waiting for the drug to wear off so she could fight Xie Tingyu to the death. From then on, if Xie Tingyu existed, she would be gone, and if she existed, Xie Tingyu would be gone.
Cui Yuanying still covered Yuan Wangshu's mouth with one hand, staring blankly at Xie Tingyu's superb suturing skills, and his admiration for Xie Tingyu reached a new level.
She took a deep breath and said dully, "Oh my god, Xie Er, you're so good at martial arts and riding, I didn't expect you to know something about this. I dare to ask, is there anything in this world that you don't know?"
Xie Tingyu remained silent until she finished the last stitch. She cut the silk thread neatly and, under Yuan Wangshu's murderous gaze, tucked in the corner of the quilt for her.
"I'll have someone carry you back later."
Yuan Wangshu collapsed on the couch, his face as pale as a withered tree. "Xie Tingyu..." his voice was weak, "If my legs are crippled, I will definitely cripple yours too."
Cui Yuanying lifted the blanket to take a look at Yuan Wangshu's injuries. After walking out, he asked, "Xie Er, you really didn't break her leg to settle a personal grudge?"
Xie Tingyu slowly lowered his sleeves and glanced at Cui Yuanying. "When it comes to suturing, I'm a professional. When we return to the camp, Yuan Lang will clear my name."
Hearing the word "Yuan Lang" (meaning "Yuan Lang"), Cui Yuanying felt like she had swallowed a thousand needles at once, a lump stuck in her throat that made her cough several times. She hesitated for a moment before swallowing the words, "There's no such thing as an affair between you and Yuan Fuxue, right?"
After returning to the camp, Yuan Fuxue immediately rushed to Yuan Wangshu's tent.
Yuan Wangshu lay pale, like a withered leaf on the cot. Yuan Fuxue first felt for her pulse with three fingers, then gently uncovered the bandage on the back of her leg. He saw that the wound was sutured meticulously and neatly, the stitches even and symmetrical like embroidery.
After a thorough examination, Yuan Fuxue said, "Thank goodness Captain Xie saved you in time. If you had waited until we got back to camp to get treated, your leg would have been crippled from the excessive blood loss. Her suturing skills are quite good."
He poured a cup of warm water and handed it to her, "Now, both my sister and I owe her our lives."
Yuan Wangshu turned his face away suddenly, "Who asked her to save me? I just owe her a life, and I will return it to her one day."
Yuan Fuxue looked up at Yuan Wangshu's expression, but didn't expose her awkwardness.
After returning to camp, Xie Tingyu rested for only two hours before leaving to check on the prisoners. Shen Yuan, suffering from excessive blood loss from an abdominal wound and refusing medical attention, had died during the escort. Now, the only remaining leaders of the Black Mountain Stronghold were Shen Yu and Zhang Yan.
Zhang Yan's leg wound had been treated. Her hands were tied behind her back, the thick rope digging deep into her flesh. Two soldiers held her down tightly and shouted, "Thank you, Captain! Why don't you raise your head!"
She was forced to raise her blood-stained face and meet a pair of eyes as calm as water.
"Let her go." Xie Tingyu walked over to Zhang Yan. "You wield the long sword very well."
"The Black Mountain Stronghold is doomed. It is futile to resist stubbornly. It is better to surrender to the imperial court and join the army. That will secure a future for us."
Xie Tingyu half-knelt down, looking Zhang Yan in the eye. "With your skills, why bother staying in a mountain stronghold? The battlefield is where you should shine."
Zhang Yan's eyes darkened, his voice hoarse, "A surrendered general is just a soldier, what can he do?"
"That's wrong." Xie Tingyu shook her head. "If you surrender, the Black Mountain troops can be organized into a powerful brigade, and you will be the captain." She tapped her chest lightly with her fingertips. "And you will be under my direct command."
The morning light filtered through the curtains, illuminating Xie Tingyu. Though barely 10 years old, he exuded the composure of a seasoned military commander. His eyes, like the condensed water of a cold pond, threatened to stare directly at him.
Zhang Yan swallowed a few times, stared at Xie Tingyu for a long time, and finally lowered his head, pressing it heavily to the ground. "Subordinate, I pay my respects to the Lord."
From then on, the remnants of the Black Mountain Army were led by Zhang Yan and Chen Yu and reorganized into the Northern Palace Army's Vanguard Battalion. This campaign against bandits finally came to an end.
Outside Jiankang City, a vermilion battle flag first pierced the sky, followed by a long black army with no end in sight winding towards them.
The sentries on the city walls saw them from afar and immediately shouted, "Hurry up and go greet them! The king's army has returned!"
Xie Tingyu and his men rode into the city on horseback, while Yuan Wangshu, injured in the leg, rode in a carriage with Yuan Fuxue.
When we entered the city, both sides of the official road were already crowded with celebrating people.
A little child was riding on his mother's shoulders, holding a newly woven wreath and stretching it towards Xie Tingyu.
Seeing this, Xie Tingyu leaned sideways on horseback, her waist curved into a flexible arc, and steadily took the wreath and placed it on her head. She smiled brightly at the child, her eyebrows and eyes curved like a crescent moon.
Cui Yuanying, who was riding behind, clicked his tongue a few times. "With such a slender waist and such amazing riding skills, if I don't go to the building to play a few times, I'll really be wasting this God-given figure."
As promised, when the troops returned to the camp, Xie Tingyu and others left the team and went home.
Just as Xie Tingyu had finished bathing and was wiping her wet hair in her pajamas, someone from the Cui family came with a message to Changhaoyuan, saying that Cui Yuanying invited her to Chunzhen Tower to drink and have fun tonight to relieve her fatigue from the battle.
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The author has something to say: If this novel exceeds 3,000 collections during its serialization, then I will... then I will... not tell you!
The next chapter is about emotional tug-of-war. I'll start writing it tonight.
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