Chapter 386 Betrayal
Xiao Beiheng walked along the rugged path to the top of the mountain.
In the dead of night, the stars were dim and the surroundings were pitch black and silent, so one could only barely discern the road.
The road was crooked and strewn with sharp stones, making every step a gurgling sound, like a stream flowing through bones. The rocks on either side cast fierce shadows that seemed ready to rise up and tear him to pieces.
The cold wind wasn't alone. Some ripped at his armor, burrowing into the cracks, turning into ice knives that scraped across his skin. Some clung to his shoulders, howling in his ears. Some lashed the backs of his hands, leaving his fingers stiff and numb.
When he reached the top of the mountain, he was exhausted, but everything he saw on the top of the mountain still made him sick.
The tent belonged to King Thomas, the bonfire that was lit in front of the tent belonged to King Thomas, the lamb roasted on the fire belonged to King Thomas, and even the bed where he was to rest belonged to King Thomas.
The soldiers were busy tearing the half-cooked meat that was oozing with blood. Their faces were ferocious, their eyes were like those of reincarnated hungry ghosts, their teeth were bloodshot, and streaks of blood were flowing from the corners of their mouths. No one stood up to greet him.
"Beiheng!" Su Mo's surprised voice came from far away.
He was startled and looked up in panic. A cold body fell on his equally cold chest, soft hair brushed against his jaw, slender arms wrapped around his neck, and he could feel her breath brushing his cheek.
Su Mo, the only gentleness among the countless scenes that made him sick.
Her body was so cold as if she had never been near a fire. Had she been standing outside waiting for her?
Thinking of this, he shuddered violently, and pushed Su Mo away as if he was burned, saying, "Momo...wait a minute, I have something to say to Lin Kui."
Su Mo let go of his hand, took two steps back, looked at him, and said, "Bei Heng, what's wrong with you? Why are you so depressed?"
"I'm tired from walking," he waved at her nonchalantly, "Go rest in the tent. I'll find you later."
Su Mo stared at him with a look of surprise. However, he didn't dare to meet her gaze. He turned his gaze to Lin Kui who was coming towards him and said, "Lin Kui, I have something to tell you."
Lin Kui's face was filled with joy as he said, "I see that the Western Rong cavalry have all withdrawn from the mountain. Did Your Majesty's negotiations with King Doma succeed?"
"Yes." Xiao Beiheng answered perfunctorily, looked at Su Mo's departing back, and walked towards a dark and deserted corner first, with Lin Kui following closely.
Gazing at the Xirong army camp dotted with flames in the distance, Xiao Beiheng was silent for a moment before saying, "I...made a deal with King Doma. He will lend me his army so I can attack Mei Dai's Xiliang army."
"Mei Dai's Xiliang Army?" Lin Kui asked in surprise, "So the Xiliang Army is already here?"
"It's just east of us, less than two days' journey away." Xiao Beiheng said, "King Dorma can't defeat it, so let me help him fight."
Lin Kui said, "Your Majesty, you are the Emperor of Great Yan. How can you condescend to be beneath the barbarian king of the Western Rong? Since the Western Rong cavalry has stopped surrounding the mountain, why don't we escape before dark?"
"Where can we escape to?" Xiao Beiheng waved his hands irritably. "Qianglin's army has been chasing us, but they don't dare come because King Duoma's army is here. If we leave, they will follow us. We can't stop them with our small force. We will all die, you know, all of us will die."
Lin Kui suddenly understood.
Xiao Beiheng was right. They truly couldn't escape King Doma now. With only five hundred soldiers left, they would be dead if the Qianglin cavalry caught up again. They definitely wouldn't make it to the Anzhou army.
He was still digesting Xiao Beiheng's words when Xiao Beiheng continued speaking.
"He lent me his army, just like Xiao Zhuo's coalition forces. I only command the Western Rong soldiers. This way, I can fight my way out and we can go and join up with the Anzhou army..."
After listening to the rest, Lin Kui asked, "Your Majesty, I understand everything. You just said this is a deal. What do we need to give King Doma in exchange?"
Xiao Beiheng hesitated for a long moment before saying, "While I...was away on the expedition, Momo...stayed...with King Doma."
It took him almost all his strength to finish this sentence.
After hearing this, Lin Kui felt as if he was struck by thunder. He stood there in a daze, with cold sweat dripping down his face.
Xiao Beiheng didn't look at Lin Kui, but lowered his head to look at the ground. He said in a difficult tone, "You are my most loyal subordinate. You must take Momo with you and send her there before dawn. I... I'm tired. I want to rest."
He couldn't do this. He didn't even have the courage to face Su Mo.
Lin Kui shook his head, bent his knees and knelt on the ground, saying to Xiao Beiheng, "Leave it to me."
"Okay...very good," Xiao Beiheng raised his hand and touched Lin Kui's shoulder, "You have to tell Momo...I haven't given up on her. When I defeat the Xiliang army, I will come back to pick her up."
After saying this, Xiao Beiheng's body swayed. Lin Kui quickly stood up and supported Xiao Beiheng, saying, "Your Majesty, I will help you go back and rest. I have always carried a calming medicine with me, and I will give it to Your Majesty immediately."
Xiao Beiheng nodded and said, "Remember, remember to send it over before dawn... King Doma will leave at dawn."
Lin Kui said worriedly, "What if the Queen doesn't agree?"
Xiao Beiheng said: "Then... we'll have to force her, tie her up and take her over... and wait for my orders." After that, Xiao Beiheng called two sergeant leaders and asked them to do as Lin Kui ordered.
Lin Kui said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will serve you the medicine first, and then I will go and send the Empress away immediately."
The two returned to the tent. Su Mo saw Xiao Beiheng's face was as pale as paper and he was staggering in the candlelight. She couldn't help but panic. She hurried forward to support Xiao Beiheng and said to Lin Kui, "Lin Kui, what's wrong with His Majesty? He hasn't been feeling well since we went up the mountain."
Xiao Beiheng winked at Lin Kui. Lin Kui understood and said to Su Mo, "Don't worry, Queen. His Majesty is in good health. It's just that the negotiations with King Doma took a lot of effort. I will go and make some medicine for your Majesty. You will be fine after drinking it."
Su Mo didn't know any medical skills. She helped Xiao Beiheng take off his armor and lie down, and then she stood by the bed with a worried look on her face. She wanted to ask what happened, but when she saw Xiao Beiheng's frighteningly pale face, she didn't dare to open her mouth.
Soon, Lin Kui brought in a bowl of medicine and said to Su Mo, "Please ask the Queen to help His Majesty drink the medicine."
Lin Kui helped Xiao Beiheng up, Su Mo brought the medicine bowl and asked Xiao Beiheng to drink the medicine, and then helped Xiao Beiheng lie down. After a while, Xiao Beiheng's face gradually calmed down and he began to snore softly.
Su Mo was relieved to see Xiao Beiheng fell asleep. She wanted to go out of the tent to find Lin Kui and ask him what had happened.
As soon as she left the tent, Lin Kui came over with two horses and said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has ordered me to take you to a safe place. Please mount the horses."
Su Mo was stunned for a moment, and did not do as Lin Kui asked. Instead, she asked, "Did Bei Heng really ask you to do this?"
Lin Kui said, "It is His Majesty's order. Please mount your horse immediately, Your Majesty."
Su Mo took a step back and turned around and said, "Impossible. Bei Heng has been with me all the way. He would never let me leave alone. You are lying. I want to ask Bei Heng."
Lin Kui went around the horse and tried to give chase, but Su Mo had already hurried back to the tent. She reached out to shake Xiao Beiheng and called out, "Your Majesty, wake up."
Although she shook him violently, Xiao Beiheng seemed to be in a deep sleep and could not wake up at all. Su Mo became even more panicked and shook Xiao Beiheng's body vigorously, saying, "Your Majesty, wake up quickly, what's wrong with you?"
Lin Kui rushed into the tent, followed by two soldiers.
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry." Lin Kui waved his hand at the soldiers, "Your Majesty has ordered that she be tied up."
Su Mo turned around in panic and asked, "Lin Kui, what did you give His Majesty to drink?"
She had just shouted when two soldiers rushed over with ropes, apologized, and tied Su Mo's hands behind her back.
Su Mo's hands were tied, and she kept yelling and cursing, kicking and biting, even kicking Xiao Beiheng in the leg. Lin Kui had no choice but to stuff a piece of cloth in her mouth, carry her out of the tent, and put her on the horse. He personally led the horse down the mountain path.
Su Mo lay on the saddle and cried, staring at Xiao Beiheng's tent getting farther and farther away until it disappeared from her sight.
After descending the mountain and reaching the flat land, Lin Kui said nothing, leading the horse hurriedly for a distance before stopping. He helped Su Mo down from the saddle, took the cloth ball out of her mouth, knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "Your Majesty, the matter was urgent just now, and I am sorry for offending you."
Su Mo looked back at the hill, which was already blurry and unclear. She was anxious and angry. On the one hand, she was worried that Xiao Beiheng was unconscious and she didn't know what had happened. On the other hand, she was angry that Lin Kui had the audacity to tie her up and take her down the mountain.
She said to Lin Kui, "You rebellious scoundrel! My husband has been so kind to you, yet you dared to take me down the mountain without permission. Untie me now! I want to go back to my husband."
Lin Kui said, "Empress, you must not go back. If you go back... you will be in danger."
Su Mo couldn't see Lin Kui's expression in the darkness, and angrily said, "You're lying! Are you really protecting me all this time? If you won't untie the rope, I'll walk back by myself."
She turned to leave, but couldn't see the road clearly, tripped over a stone, and fell to the ground. Lin Kui quickly stood up and stepped forward to support her, but Su Mo shook him off with force and shouted, "Don't touch me!"
Lin Kui quickly retracted his hand and said, "Empress, we must leave here as soon as possible. If the effect of the medicine wears off, it will be too late for His Majesty to wake up."
Su Mo struggled on the ground for a few times, then sat up and asked, "Did you give Bei Heng poison?"
Lin Kui was silent for a while, then said, "I am loyal to Your Majesty, how could I harm him? That was just a drug to put Your Majesty to sleep. This way, I have time to take you away from here."
Su Mo said coldly: "He drugged the master and forcibly took the master's wife, and yet he still claims to be loyal."
Lin Kui didn't respond. Instead, he looked towards the hill, knelt down again, and pleaded, "Empress, you can scold me all you want, but we must leave here quickly. If His Majesty wakes up, it will be troublesome."
Su Mo said: "I won't go with you, I want to go back to find Bei Heng."
Lin Kui was helpless and could only grit his teeth and said, "At this point, I can no longer care about anything else. Just tell your Majesty the truth. Your Majesty, he... he..."
"What happened to him?" Su Mo asked, "What did he say to you?"
Lin Kui said, "He...he asked me to escort the Empress to the Western Rong army camp to present you to King Doma."
Hearing this, Su Mo was stunned for a moment, then she laughed and said, "You are lying, you are lying. Bei Heng would not treat me like this, you are lying."
"Your Majesty made a deal with King Doma to save his life," Lin Kui's voice was tinged with tears. "I consider myself a cold-blooded and shameless villain, and I don't want the Empress to suffer humiliation. Your Majesty, please come with me quickly. Your Majesty will definitely pursue you if he finds out."
Su Mo ignored him and just giggled. As she giggled, she started crying again and said, "He wouldn't do that to me... He took me away with him... He always took me with him. He cherishes me the most."
Lin Kui banged his forehead against the ground and pleaded, "Empress, there really is no time."
Su Mo stopped laughing, tears streaming down her face. She asked, "Where are you taking me?"
Seeing Su Mo's tone soften, Lin Kui was overjoyed and said, "The Queen of Xiliang's army is to the east. I will take you to find the Queen. She and Princess An are like sisters, and she will definitely treat the Queen well."
"Okay, I'll do as you say." Su Mo walked in front of Lin Kui and turned her back to him. "Untie me so I can get on the horse."
Lin Kui quickly stood up to untie the ropes for Su Mo. At this moment, a golden arrow flew out from the darkness and pierced Lin Kui's right leg. Lin Kui screamed and fell to the ground.
Su Mo looked back and saw a ghostly figure in the darkness not far away. He was holding a longbow and walking towards her like a drunk, making meaningless sounds.
The voice was made by a human, but it sounded more like the whisper of an evil spirit. The tone was full of sadness and fear, and the tone was mixed with mania and despair.
Su Mo was horrified, took a few steps back, turned around and ran away.
When the black shadow passed by Lin Kui, he suddenly stretched out his hands and hugged the shadow's legs tightly, shouting: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
The black shadow dragged the person forward two steps, drew out a sharp sword that was flashing with cold light, and stabbed it into the back of the person on the ground.
The blade pierced through the body and sank deep into the snow. Then the shadow drew the sword, lifted it up, and unsheathed its legs, continuing to stumble forward, calling out.
"Momo...wait for me, wait."
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