Chapter 1120 No Distractions
"When he massacred my entire Han family three years ago, he should have expected this day."
The young man's eyes were bloodshot, and his fists were clenched into a pale blue. "Even my nephew, who was less than a year old, was nailed to the pillar of the ancestral hall... Since he wants me to make a killing weapon, I will send him a car full of death warrants."
The night wind blew up the dead leaves in the courtyard. Jiang Xue looked at the cracks on the ground thoughtfully: "I want you to remake the original."
"I will obey your orders."
Han Xiang knelt on one knee and said, "I only ask Your Highness to promise me one thing - when the smoke of war at the border has dissipated, please allow me to personally cut off Huangfu Shang's head and offer it to my relatives."
"Can."
Jiang Xue took off her black cloak and threw it to the attendant: "Fudong, invite Mr. Han to the West Mountain Courtyard. Have fifty shadow guards take turns on duty, and have everything the craftsman needs ready."
"But it's okay."
Jiang Xue leaned against the vermilion railing, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the dragon-patterned jade pendant around her waist.
Han Xiang knelt on one knee, his black iron mask glowing coldly in the moonlight. "When the king's army conquers Tianshui, can you leave Huangfu Shang to me?"
"I'm sorry that this is difficult to do."
The gilded hairpin trembled in the night breeze. She glanced at the long line of torches winding down the city. "General Lan Feng sent an envoy to demand his head three days ago."
"Then..." The rough voice paused: "Can you hand over the remaining royal family members of Tianshui to me?"
"allow."
The one word that sounded like cutting ice and jade startled the crows perched on the eaves.
After Han Xiangyi retreated into the shadows, Jiang Xue clenched the military newspaper in her hand.
The four words "Black Fire Secret Medicine" that were not yet dry in ink made her eyes hurt.
Even if what the craftsman said was only three-tenths credible, if Huangfu Shang noticed the change and launched an attack in advance, this century-old fortress might not last more than ten days.
"Send a message to all camps!"
She suddenly turned around, her scarlet cloak fluttering in the night sky: "Before three quarters of the morning, escort the people to retreat to Qingyang County along the secret passage."
At midnight, Jiang Xue stood alone in the Star Observatory, overlooking the endless stream of migrants in the city. The swaying lanterns formed a starry sky on the bluestone road.
When the last glimmer of light disappeared at the corner of the city wall, she finally loosened her tightly bitten lower lip - the fishy and sweet smell of blood mixed with the wind and sand from outside the Great Wall swept into her throat.
"This way, you can focus on your work."
Her bare hands gently pressed the rhino horn heart-protecting mirror on her chest, where was hidden the love knot that Xiao Zhan had tied before leaving.
If it really comes to the point where both sides will perish together... She looked towards the heavy black iron armor displayed in the direction of the armory, and a sharp arc appeared at the corner of her lips.
The crisp sound of wooden clogs hitting the stone steps broke the silence, and the familiar scent of agarwood came with the wind.
There is no need to look back to know that it is the white-robed sorcerer who always appears at the critical moment of life and death.
"Mr. Yun came here at midnight..."
She put the broken arrow into her sleeve and said, "But is there another bad omen in the observatory?"
As dusk fell, the copper bells on the eaves rang softly in the evening breeze.
Yun Zhen leaned on the red lacquered railing and looked towards the city walls: "The martial law in the city only applies to the armory. Since the observation deck is open to the public, it won't stop me from watching the sunset, right?"
"You really know how to pick the right time."
Jiang Xue's black cape was blown up by the wind. "Why did you come to enjoy the scenery half an hour before curfew?"
"There's a strange commotion in the market today."
Yun Zhen tapped the stone table with his fingertips. "When the vendor closed his stall, the copper basin fell three times. It seems like..."
He suddenly turned around and chuckled: "But it was unexpected to meet Your Highness by chance."
The sound of the Xu clock rang from the city wall, startling several crows.
Jiang Xue looked at the darkening sky and said, "In this year, you have asked me the same question seven times."
"Will the fatigue of a guardian really not accumulate over the years?"
"At the enthronement ceremony, what I held in my hands was not a golden book but a blood-stained imperial edict."
She stroked the jade pendant at her waist and said, "I have seen bones in the northern frontier turn into snow, and I have also seen babies cry for the first time in Suzaku Street. Between gain and loss——"
Suddenly a firefly passed by my brow: "It's worth it after all."
The bamboo flute in Yun Zhen's sleeve changed its tune: "Looks like we should be selling sugar figurines at the market tomorrow."
"What do you mean?"
"Sickeningly sweet."
He suddenly stopped smiling and said, "The number of secret sentries in the northwest corner is 30% more than usual."
Jiang Xue took off her cloak and threw it to the attendant: "Yun Che's newly made osmanthus wine is still buried under the plum tree. We agreed to drink it together after the triumphant return."
The long sword at his waist reflected the rising moonlight: "This is the thirteenth time I have broken my promise. Let's see if he can still laugh and say that I am fooling around."
When the fifth watch drum sounded, Huangfu Shang's black-armored army had already crushed the frozen soil at the border.
In the smoke of the explosion, the broken wood of the city gate was flying like autumn leaves. As soon as the cavalry rushed into the city, the horses suddenly neighed and fell into a ravine several feet deep - the rammed earth that was watered thoroughly last night had been covered with ice and turned into a mirror-like surface.
"Open the gate!" Jiang Xue waved the command flag.
The iron net dropped from the top of the city wall caught the follow-up cavalry, and hot resin mixed with saltpeter poured down. When the first rocket ignited the night sky, the entire moat was surging with red waves.
On the city wall where the smoke had dissipated, Jiang Xue's black battle robe was blown up by the night wind.
She stared at the scorched earth in the distance, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the hot gravel on the arrow stack.
The price of repelling the Tianshui cavalry for the third time was that the moat was filled with fragments of black armor.
"General, the kerosene in the western city wall is exhausted."
Before the deputy general finished reporting, Jiang Xue suddenly felt a chill running down her spine. She closed her eyes and pressed her throbbing temples, and the bronze beast-faced helmet left a deep mark on her palm.
Huangfu Shang's blood-stained broken halberd was still stuck on the wooden pillar of the enemy tower. She knew that the madman would come back with new siege equipment the day after tomorrow at the latest.
When turning the corner of the barracks, Lan Feng's personal guards were waiting in the dark with torches in hand.
Jiang Xue looked at the medical tent filled with smoke and recalled the way the military doctor shook his head while holding the bloody arrowhead three days ago.
She deliberately stepped harder to break the dead branches, and sure enough, she saw the man on the couch quickly stuffing the military book into the quilt.
"The newly planted black bamboo in front of your tent is growing well."
She deliberately mentioned Lan Feng's most treasured potted plant, and sure enough, the other party's eyebrows moved slightly.
The cold iron wristband knocked against the low table with a light sound. Lan Feng suddenly grabbed the red flag on the sand table on the desk and said, "Use fire to attack. Burn their food supply at night."
Jiang Xue held down his hand holding the flag and touched the hard scab on the unhealed arrow wound. "Did you know that the scouts reported this morning that there were thirty carts of gold wound medicine in the Tianshui military medical tent?"
She traced the names of the dead piled up on the edge of the sand table with her fingertips: "Huangfu Shang is eager for us to divide our forces."
Amid the crackling sound of the candle flame, Lan Feng suddenly grasped her retracted fingertips.
The palms of his hands, which had been holding the sword for many years, were rough and warm, but he was surprised to find that her body temperature was so low that she didn't seem like a living person.
"Xiaoxue..."
His Adam's apple rolled as he loosened his hand and fished out half of a tiger talisman from under his pillow: "I asked my personal soldiers to investigate this morning, and the secret passage in the south of the city is still passable."
Jiang Xue looked at the military flags fluttering outside the window and chuckled, "Three years ago, you and I were surrounded in Luoyan Valley. Didn't you say that anyone who took a step back would be killed?"
She suddenly started coughing violently, and swallowed the sweet taste in her throat. "When I evacuated the people... I left three hundred warriors in the city."
Amid the sound of the night watch, Lan Feng stared at his colleague's graying temples and finally slammed the tiger talisman heavily into her palm.
In the distance came the sound of bells signaling the changing of guards, mixed with the shrill cries of night owls, breaking the silence.
Fu Dong walked quickly through the corridor, the corner of his robe picking up a few fallen leaves: "Your Highness, Princess Yuyin is in trouble!"
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