Chapter 363 Wandering wild dogs
The snow fell for two days and two nights, stopping only at dawn. The iron-gray sky met the white earth, and everything was bleak and deserted, with few signs of human life.
Along the ancient road leading to Zhongzhou, there stood a dilapidated temple, half collapsed from years of neglect, a vast snowdrift forming. A few stained red-lacquered wooden beams protruded from the snowdrift, and a howling wind blew the snowdrifts into the temple.
A short, sturdy man wearing the uniform of the Yan army's general flag emerged from the ruins of the dilapidated temple. He held the sword at his waist, wiped the snowflakes from his face, and then lowered his head to brush off his clothes. He complained, "What terrible weather outside the pass! It's snowing so heavily before December."
He stood beside the snowdrifts, looking at the road completely covered in snow, with a troubled expression on his face. He turned to the temple and said, "Captain Zou, this road is completely blocked by snow. Why don't we go inside the pass instead of taking this route back to Zhongzhou?"
A tall man who looked like an officer walked out of the ruined temple, stretched lazily, and first looked back to see what was going on inside the temple. Then he turned around and said in a low voice, "Going through the pass will attract too much attention. The land of Xirong is vast and sparsely populated, so it will be easier for us to attack."
The short officer was stunned: "Captain Zou, what do you mean?"
Zou Qianzong had a wicked grin on his face and made a throat-slitting motion with his fingers: "It's snowing heavily, and the brothers didn't want to leave anyway. We can just kill him here and then say it was the Xirong Army who did it."
The short officer was startled and said, "Kill him here? Didn't His Majesty say he would be taken to the capital?"
Captain Zou showed disdain and sneered, "No wonder you've been in the Dingbei Army for so many years and only managed to get the rank of general. The reason I was able to become a captain is because I can understand your majesty's true intentions. Your majesty's words were meant for the generals who pleaded for mercy. With so many generals pleading for him, even your majesty couldn't go against them all."
"I understand," the short officer said, "Your Majesty said he would be taken back to the capital because he was afraid of public outrage. But what about his family? Did Your Majesty say that?"
Zou Qianzong chuckled and whispered, "When we were escorting him out, didn't His Majesty's envoy back to the capital also leave? What do you think the envoy went to do when he returned to the capital?"
The two were muttering when a man's rough and loud voice echoed from inside the temple: "What are you two mumbling about outside? If you have something to say, speak in front of Zhao."
Captain Zou patted the shorter officer on the shoulder and said, "It doesn't matter if he hears. He's going to die anyway."
After saying this, Zou Qianzong held the hilt of the knife, turned around and walked into the ruined temple.
The ground inside the dilapidated temple was pitted and pitted, with the embers of a bonfire in the center. The gray charcoal glowed red, and wisps of green smoke rose. A dozen Yan army soldiers wrapped in felt sat or lay scattered in various corners, surrounding a tall, middle-aged man.
A middle-aged man, with disheveled hair and a stubbled face, wore a ragged cotton jacket riddled with holes. Heavy shackles bound his bronze wrists. He was lifting a wine jar and pouring wine into a large bowl. As he moved, the heavy chains scraped against the ground, making a rustling sound. A faint aroma of alcohol and cigarette smoke filled the dilapidated temple.
Captain Zou approached the middle-aged man and said with a forced smile, "General, let's be frank. You allowed the traitor Xiao Zhuo's entire army to retreat. Your crime is undeniable. His Majesty demands your head."
The middle-aged man sneered and gently placed the wine jar on the ground: "You didn't dare to execute me in front of the entire army, so you did it in private. This is indeed something Xiao Beiheng would do."
The short officer standing behind Zou Qianzong heard the middle-aged man say this and shouted angrily, "Zhao Mu, you are so bold! You actually dare to call His Majesty by his name! You..."
Captain Zou raised his hand to stop the shorter officer and continued, "General, you are a significant figure after all. Last night, I didn't take advantage of your sleep and gave you wine so that you would die with understanding. This was the will of His Majesty. If you become a ghost, you can go and settle the score with His Majesty. We were only following orders."
After saying this, Zou Qianzong winked at the people around him, and the Yan army soldiers stood up one after another, drew their swords and guns and surrounded Zhao Mu.
Zhao Mu raised his head and drank the wine in the bowl in one gulp. He threw away the bowl and clasped his hands together in a bow. "Captain Zou, I know that you and the person behind you are both close confidants of Xiao Beiheng. If you can spare me today, I will definitely repay you with a gift of grass and a ring."
Zou Qianzong took a step back, waved his hand and said with a smile, "General, there's no need to bow. I would like to spare you, but if I spare you, His Majesty won't spare me. Besides, in your current state, what can you give me? You can't survive today. If you have any last words, please tell me now. I'll give you a quick, painless blow. "
Zhao Mu said nothing, slowly turning his head to look around. Everywhere he looked, the Yan soldiers retreated cautiously, with more than a dozen swords and spears flashing coldly pointed at him to prevent him from suddenly attacking and injuring others.
Zou Qianzong noticed Zhao Mu's actions, pulled his sword out half an inch, and shouted, "General, I urge you to give up this idea. There's no key to your shackles, and no one is around in this desolate wilderness. I respect you as a man and am kindly allowing you to arrange your funeral. If you still try to make a final effort, you won't even have the chance to say your last words."
Seeing the soldiers around him were extremely cautious and that there was no chance of escape for him, Zhao Mu sighed, sat down, and shook his head. As if resigned to his fate, he said to Captain Zou, "Captain Zou, I know I will die today, so I accept my fate. Could you please give my wife and son a message?"
Zou Qianzong stood at a distance and said, "Speak louder, I won't go over to listen."
Seeing the other party being so cautious, Zhao Mu felt even more desperate and said, "Please tell my wife, General Qian, that I don't blame her. And my two sons..."
Before he finished speaking, the short officer behind General Zou Qian burst out laughing.
Zhao Mu angrily asked, "What are you sniggering about behind me?"
The short officer burst into laughter and said, "Zhao Mu, honestly, we really can't take your words seriously. His Majesty has already sent an envoy to the capital, and your entire family is about to be beheaded. So, please go to the underworld and talk to your wife in person."
Zhao Mu had already given up trying to survive, but he didn't expect to hear such terrible news. He flew into a rage and stood up to pounce, but his wrists and feet were caught by chains. He only took half a step before the chains rattled.
Captain Zou and the shorter officer took a step back, each drawing their swords. Captain Zou shouted, "Zhao Mu, stop struggling. His Majesty is waiting for your head."
The short officer stepped forward with a knife in hand and said with a smile, "Let me do the chopping. This way I can get a promotion too."
Zhao Mu held the shackles and chains with both hands, hanging down a foot. His eyes widened as he roared, "Even if Zhao is in dire straits, it's not your turn to act so recklessly!"
As a general, his voice was like a tiger or leopard, shaking the dust from the top of the temple. The soldiers were so frightened by his roar that they staggered and retreated. He took this opportunity to step forward half a step, swung the shackles on his wrists, and swept them at the shorter officer like an iron whip.
The short officer was caught off guard by Zhao Mu's sudden attack and was terrified. Fortunately, he was also a soldier, so when he saw the chain coming, he quickly raised his sword to block it.
With a thud, the short officer's sword flew out of his hand and stuck in a nearby pillar, humming and shaking. The chain wasn't long enough to hit him in the face, but it still frightened the short officer so much that he turned pale and fled, first behind Captain Zou.
"Kill him quickly, kill him quickly!" Zou Qianzong pointed his knife at Zhao Mu and shouted repeatedly.
The soldiers came to their senses and were about to charge forward with their swords and spears drawn when a horrified cry rang out from the exit. Horrified, they looked in the direction of the sound and saw the short officer with an arrow lodged squarely in his throat. He stumbled back a few steps and fell on his back.
When Zou Qianzong saw the feathered arrow, he recognized it as an arrow from the Western Rong people. He was horrified and shouted, "It's the Western..."
Before he could even utter the final word, "Rong," two more arrows flew toward him. He quickly dodged, but one struck his right arm, sending his sword crashing to the ground. He retreated hastily, forgetting Zhao Mu was right behind him to catch him. A heavy, cold iron chain, like a giant python coiling, wrapped around his neck, dangling him in mid-air.
The remaining Yan soldiers panicked as their leaders were killed one after another. They were unsure whether to fight or flee when dozens of Western Rong soldiers rushed in from outside the temple, slashing with swords. The leader was a Western Rong man with a scar on his face. His swordsmanship was fierce and ferocious, and he single-handedly killed four Yan soldiers.
In just half a cup of tea, more than ten corpses were lying inside and outside the ruined temple. The entire team responsible for escorting Zhao Mu was wiped out, and no one escaped.
The scarred man swung the blood-stained sword in his hand, leaving a trail of blood beads, and sheathed it. He turned to Zou Qianzong, who was hanging in the air, and said, "Are you Zhao Mu?"
The chains loosened, and Zou Qianzong's body fell to the ground, his head tilted, revealing Zhao Mu standing proudly behind him.
"It's Zhao. Who are you? I seem to have seen Zhao somewhere before."
Zhao Mu vaguely remembered seeing the person in front of him, but he couldn't remember where, and his impression was very vague.
The scarred man's face showed pain. He said, "I am ashamed to speak my name. I am just a wild dog who broke my own death oath. I dare not face my master or my people, but I don't want to die like this. So I have no choice but to struggle to survive in this icy and snowy world."
Zhao Mu lowered his hands and said, "Don't you Western Rong people always take oaths seriously? Since you have violated your oath, why don't you dare to die?"
The scarred man covered his face with his hands and said, "I can't die before I take revenge on the person who killed my beloved wife."
"Why did you save me?" Zhao Mu kicked Zou Qianzong's body away, sat down again, picked up the wine jar and shook it to see if there was any remaining wine in it.
"Xiao Beiheng wants to kill you, so I have to save you," said the scarred man. "It's that simple. If you were still loyal to Xiao Beiheng, you would be dead now."
Zhao Mu squinted his eyes and glanced at the wine jar. He found that there was indeed not a drop of wine left. He gently put the jar down and said to the man, "Do you have a horse?"
The man with the scar on his face said, "Yes, what are you going to do?"
"I need to rush back to the capital to rescue my wife and children," Zhao Mu stood up. "Can I borrow a horse?"
The scarred man was originally in low spirits, but when he heard what Zhao Mu said, he suddenly raised his head and said, "Oh right... I'm so confused. I want to go to the capital too. I want to pick up Wan'er... Let's go now, quickly."
Zhao Mu was about to take a step when his shackles pulled him back. The scarred man turned around and saw him, then whipped out his sword. Zhao Mu understood and straightened the shackles around his wrists. With a flash of cold light, the chain snapped in two.
"Good sword!" Zhao Mu cheered loudly.
The scarred man swung his knife to cut off his shackles, then put the knife back into the sheath and walked towards the door. The Xirong soldiers in the temple followed him.
Zhao Mu flexed his wrists, followed the others out of the ruined temple, and caught up with the man, saying, "Your sword is surprisingly sharp. I've been stationed on the border for a long time, but I don't remember the Western Rong army being able to forge such sharp weapons."
"This is the sword my master made for me. I lost my previous one in battle. She made me a new one."
"Zhao's favorite thing in life is wine, and his second favorite is weapons. If I could meet your master, I would definitely ask for his advice in person. May I ask your master's name? He is a master blacksmith, right?"
"Her name is Shen Yuexi, and she's a woman."
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