Chapter 117 Chapter 117 Smoke outside the city...
The smoke of gunpowder outside the city lasted for three days.
During the war, not a single piece of news could be received. Jiang Wan spent three days anxiously waiting for Madam You to bring him the latest news on the battle.
"We won."
Jiang Wan was stunned for a moment, a bit incredulous. Over the past three days, the strange premonition she'd felt had grown stronger and stronger, and even after the battle, it hadn't subsided.
Perhaps her premonition had failed her? She breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and stood up, only to suddenly sense something was amiss.
Madam You was trying hard to suppress the joy on her face and held her arm carefully.
"Well, you need to be mentally prepared," she said hesitantly. "Of your country's 100,000 soldiers, only a few thousand survive. The Wusun witch doctors are doing their best to treat them. I heard that the general was stabbed several times and is... beyond help."
Jiang Wan's smile froze on his face.
After an unknown amount of time, she finally opened her mouth with difficulty, her voice hoarse, "We have 150,000 men, facing 100,000 Xiongnu. How could it be so tragic?"
She watched the Right Lady's lips move as she explained how the Right Guli King, who commanded the Xiongnu, had separated from the main force with 5,000 light cavalry, rushed to Chigu City overnight, and, taking advantage of the east wind, burned the Wusun camp. She also explained how the Left Guli King's 50,000 cavalry and the 100,000 infantry outside Chigu City had attacked the Great Zhou army from both sides, trapping the Wusun soldiers in their camp and unable to rescue them, turning the tide.
It talks about how Wen Shen stabilized the morale of the army when the Great Zhou army was in a panic, how he temporarily changed the formation, and how he led the troops by example to annihilate all the Huns.
"If I had known that your generals and soldiers were so brave, Kunmi would not have wavered." The Right Lady sighed.
Jiang Wan could not hear what Madam You said.
She didn't even know how she got to the military camp. She only knew that the people guarding outside Wen Shen's tent silently made way for her when they saw her, allowing her to go in alone.
Jiang Wan stared at Wen Shen without blinking.
He had over a dozen horrifying wounds on his body. Some had been bandaged, others could not. The wounds on his back and legs were covered in bandages, staining the white bandages red. His arm was almost completely broken, revealing the bloody bones underneath.
The arrow stuck in his heart had not been removed yet. The witch doctor said that once the arrowhead was removed, he would die instantly.
Jiang Wan felt as if a thousand arrows were piercing her heart just by looking at it. Her left chest felt tight, as if a knife was stabbing into her chest, shattering her heart in circles and making it impossible for her to breathe.
It was only before they parted that she saw his smooth and soft skin, touched his strong and firm chest muscles, and listened to his strong and powerful heartbeat.
But now she didn't dare touch his wounds and couldn't feel anything.
Jiang Wan opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Only salty tears streamed down her cheeks, blurring her vision. But she refused to let herself go, wiping away the tears again and again, allowing herself to clearly see the unconscious person on the bed.
Until the tears fell faster and faster, her chest rose and fell faster and faster, and finally she sobbed out loud.
Jiang Wan had never cried so hard before, and she didn't know how long it would take for her tears to dry up. By the time she finally managed to calm herself down, her eyes were dry. She wiped them with a handkerchief, took a deep breath, and walked out of the tent.
Facing the witch doctor guarding outside the tent, she asked in a hoarse voice, "How long can General Wen hold on?"
The witch doctor hunched over, not daring to look at her. "If the arrow is not pulled out, it can probably hold out for another day or two."
Jiang Wan's eyes warmed again. But now there were no tears in her eyes, so her expression remained normal.
She was an envoy of the Great Zhou Dynasty and had the envoy's seal hanging around her waist. She could not lose her composure in front of the Wusun people.
In the system store, the price of a Recovery Pill was 2,000 points, and the price of a Resurrection Wine was 3,000 points. However, she had been using active potions frequently recently, and her remaining points were only a little over 1,800.
If you want to exchange one of them, you can only wait until the [Silk Road Flower Rain] mission is completed, that is, until the war is completely over, the Huns surrender to the Great Zhou, and until Qingjiangju returns to the market of the Thirty-Six Kingdoms in the Western Regions.
"Take out the arrow from his heart and save him some pain." Jiang Wan said, "I have a way to save him, but it will take more than ten days."
After a few words, her voice returned to normal, no longer so hoarse. She looked at the deputy general crying like a child beside her and said in a gentle tone, "You... accept my condolences. General Wen, I have a way to save him. I will talk to Kunmi about burying the fallen soldiers in Chigu City. When the soldiers recover, please bring a memorial to His Majesty on my return."
The deputy general wiped his tears with his left hand, wiped his nose with his right hand, and said okay while crying.
After the 30,000-strong Loulan army joined forces with the Wusun army, the Xiongnu army, which was heading towards Chigu City, turned around halfway and sent only a letter of surrender and Zhu Yongding's head, expressing their willingness to submit to the Great Zhou and pay tribute every year, only asking the Great Zhou to release the detained Modun Khan, Madam Zuo, and the Left and Right Guli Kings.
In the memorial sent back to Lin'an, Jiang Wan said that she was not in a position to comment on the peace talks and had only one request, which was to bring the Prince of Youguli back to Lin'an and wait for Wen Shen to return to the capital to personally behead him.
Half a month later, Lin'an replied, reporting that Emperor Chengde had been poisoned by the Grand Tutor. Despite treatment by the imperial physician, the remaining poison had penetrated his lungs, rendering him unable to govern. The Crown Prince, acting as regent, executed the Grand Tutor for deceiving the emperor, treason, and harboring a traitor. He also imprisoned the Prince of Youguli, as Jiang Wan requested.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also sent her a private letter with only one sentence:
Aunt, please bring uncle back as soon as possible, and I will give you a grand wedding.
Jiang Wan smiled, a rare smile, after reading the letter. She cast a distant glance towards the south, a touch of nostalgia etched in her eyes. Then she entered the system store and opened the [Utopia] section. The portable space was icy cold, filled with the smell of mercury.
There her lover was sleeping.
Jiang Wan looked at it reluctantly for a moment, then checked the mission progress bar. [Silk Road Flower Rain] Mission Progress: 96%.
【Silk Road Flower Rain】Quest progress: 98%
"Congratulations to the host for completing the final mission [Silk Road Flower Rain], your points increased by 3000! The host's current points are 4715, reaching 3000. The [System Gift Pack] is being delivered..."
"Ding—your gift package has arrived!" the sweet system voice said, "Host, you've been traveling through time for two full years. I believe you've discovered that although the system has broken through space and sent you into another world, your soul still can't fully integrate into it, causing the risk of your soul being caught in the turbulence of time and space. The gift package gives you a choice: you can choose to return to your original world, or you can stay here. If you stay, the system will help you fully integrate into time and space, enter the six realms of reincarnation in that time and space, and make you indistinguishable from the locals."
"If you choose to return to your original world, you will wake up in your original world and the system will grant you one wish. Please make your choice within three days. In addition, the system will not deduct or reward points after completing the final task. You can exchange the remaining points for props. Please remember to keep your points above 3,000 points, otherwise the gift package will not be activated. After three days, the system will automatically disappear. I wish you a happy life."
Jiang Wan was stunned for a moment. She had guessed about the time-space integration, and she had also guessed that the gift package would help her integrate. What she hadn't expected was that the points wouldn't increase anymore.
She had originally planned to deduct 3,000 points to buy the Resurrection Wine, and then complete tasks to accumulate 3,000 points. Since the points would not increase any further, she only had two options left:
One option is to return to the original time and space and use a wish to revive Wen Shen. The other option is to use points to redeem the Resurrection Wine. This way, the gift package will not be activated, and her soul will not be able to fully integrate into this time and space - this means that after her body dies, she will remain in the cracks of time and space.
Jiang Wan frowned. Honestly, she didn't want to choose either option. Choosing the first one would mean parting with the life she loved, the family she cared about, and returning to being a cold-blooded antique dealer.
If she chooses the second one, she will not be reincarnated after her death, and she will not be able to forget her past life. She will have no one to accompany her. She can only watch her peers and descendants grow old and die day by day, and watch the mountains and rivers change and transform - she can do nothing.
"Host, choose the first one." The customer service representative who had been pretending to be dead for three months came online. "I know you must revive your boyfriend. If you choose the first one, you can start over and live a normal life. If you choose the second one, you will become a monster."
It was rare for the customer service to say so much for free. Jiang Wan was curious: "Why did it turn into a monster?"
"There's a type of administrator in our system called time travelers. They're responsible for transporting travelers' souls to other time and space, and helping those who complete their mission integrate into the cycle of reincarnation." The customer service representative said seriously, "Time travelers themselves don't enter the cycle of reincarnation. They're immortal and have memories spanning thousands of years, but they're not accepted into any time or space, so they can only remain within the system for a long time."
The customer service representative recalled the few times they had to work with time travelers and took a deep breath. "In short, they have a high status in the system, but their mental state is also not very normal. Time travelers are hard to find. Even if they have a high status, few people are willing to do it. If the host chooses the second one, the system should invite you to become a time traveler."
After a pause of several seconds, the customer service representative advised, "As someone who has worked with you for a year, even though you often complain about me, I still like you. Choose the first option. At least your life will be easier."
The customer service profile picture was of a manga girl with a sweet voice. Jiang Wan took a closer look at the profile picture for the first time and saw that it was a girl in a yellow dress with golden hair, a beautiful butterfly hairpin on her head, and a blue butterfly perched on her shoulder.
I guess she is also a sunny girl.
Jiang Wan thought for a moment and asked, "If I become a time traveler, I'll be your boss, right?"
The customer service girl nodded, confused.
"Then you'll be calling me boss in a few days," Jiang Wan smiled, reaching out and tapping the customer service representative's profile picture twice. "Of course, it would be even better if you're willing to change your tone in advance."
The dialog box interface vibrated: You tapped "Customer Service No. 0739" and gave him 10,000 yuan.
Jiang Wan:......
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