Chapter 122 Snow Falls in the Northern Frontier, Desire to Leave Ends
"This is... the Chang'an Formation!" Cen Xun exclaimed in surprise as she looked at the diagram before her. She took a deep breath to calm herself and leaned forward to look at it. She saw that every detail of the formation was drawn clearly, and even every gap was filled with her understanding of the formation.
“Lingyu, she really…” Qi Kun’s nose suddenly stung with tears. Looking at the picture on the table, he felt a mix of emotions.
Bai Ming seemed completely oblivious to the intricate array. Ever since the silk cloth was laid out, he had been standing there, gazing intently at the falling osmanthus petals.
Beneath the withered yellow petals lay a smear of ink, an ink stain blurred by tears.
He raised his hand and gently touched the dried tear stains, as if in doing so, he could win back Yang Xiao's heart. His gaze followed his fingertips slightly upward, where he saw a few lines of tiny characters written in fine script.
"...If our forces are insufficient, we can take my mother's bone flute and go to the Northern Qiang to seek their support..."
"...I will do my utmost to assist you all. Even if I am not present, the Crimson Cloud Palace will certainly come to your aid..."
Bai Ming closed his eyes, his fingertips trembling slightly, as if he dared not look any further.
"What words can express the longing I feel day and night..."
He couldn't help but murmur it softly, but a sob swallowed the last syllable. A sudden pang of pain shot through his heart. He rested his hand on the table, letting the tears flow freely, as if everything that had happened that morning was a cruel joke played on him by fate.
Yang Xiao's tearful confession seemed to echo in Bai Ming's ears. Her short sentence was like a sharp sword cutting through his chest, revealing his true feelings layer by layer. But on the battlefield, her determination was not feigned...
Bai Ming could no longer hold on. He pressed his forehead hard against the ground, his back twitching slightly with each sob.
How many tears must she have swallowed to get to this point? The person she longs for day and night is standing right in front of her, yet she is forced to engage in close combat. This is tantamount to trampling on her sincere heart with iron cavalry in exchange for a so-called "loyalty".
Tears streamed down Bai Ming's face like a burst dam, flowing through his fingers.
It wasn't until Qi Kun's hand landed on his shoulder that he regained his senses for a moment. He wiped the tears from his face and tried to calm himself down.
"How many times must she have traversed the palace to break through the Chang'an Formation to this extent..." Cen Xun frowned as he looked at Yang Xiao's formation diagram, his heart aching. "She's risking her life to send us a message."
After speaking, Cen Xun looked at Bai Ming, who had stood up beside her, and said, "Lingyu has done her best. What reason do we have to back down?" She clenched her fist, looked at everyone firmly, and gritted her teeth, "What we should do now is to follow Lingyu's formation diagram, gather all the troops in the world, break the Chang'an Formation in one fell swoop, and let Xiao Yan bring her back to us safely."
“Tongxi is absolutely right,” Zhongli An nodded solemnly. “Lingyu risked her life for the country, and we must bring her back from danger. Only in this way can we be worthy of her sincere devotion and all that she has done for us.”
Xue Chang frowned and sighed softly, pointing to the array diagram sent by Yang Xiao. "In Jiangnan, He Sheng of Lingyue Pavilion has completely sidelined He Yuan and gradually reclaimed the territory that was previously offered to Xiao Yan; we are located on the east side, and our power is not insignificant either." He frowned and pondered for a long time, "If we follow her suggestion to surround and defeat the enemy with three different forces, what we currently lack is precisely a strong cavalry force from the Northern Qiang."
Bai Ming clenched his fist and let out a long sigh. He raised his eyes and said, "Before Lingyu was taken to the execution ground, she entrusted me with her mother's bone flute."
"With such trust from her, how could we not succeed?" Xue Chang couldn't help but sigh. "If that's the case, we're not far from the final battle. The Chang'an formation has been broken; all that's left is to gather forces from all over the world to defeat the enemy together."
Qi Kun lowered his eyes to look at the array diagram, lost in thought and motionless, as if making a decision.
"Zhaoqing," he called softly to Bai Ming, his voice resolute, "Do you believe me?"
“Of course I believe you,” Bai Ming replied without hesitation, his voice still a little hoarse. “I trust you all as much as I trust myself.”
Qi Kun nodded and let out a long sigh. "Alright. My lord, do you trust me?"
"If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them." Zhong Li'an took two steps closer to him. "Whatever your ideas are, strategist, I will do my best to cooperate."
"I think..." Qi Kun looked up at the two of them solemnly, "I want to borrow the Lingyu Bone Flute and go to the Northern Qiang in person to ask the Qiang King to send troops."
"What?" Upon hearing this, Xue Chang stood up in disbelief. "You, a scholar, are going to the Northern Qiang in person?"
Qi Kun turned back and looked at him resolutely, "I am Lingyu's master, and also the person in the entire army who is most easily persuaded by the Qiang King."
Do you know what this means?
"Of course I know."
Zhong Li'an frowned as he looked at Qi Kun's determined expression, clenched his fist, and nodded. "I will send you five hundred elite troops to the Northern Qiang to ensure your safe return."
"Thank you for your kindness, my lord," Qi Kun raised his hand and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhong Li'an, "but this time, I would like to go alone."
Qi Gufan, are you out of your mind?!
Seeing this, Xue Chang angrily pointed at Qi Kun, speechless for a moment. He took a deep breath and looked up to meet Qi Kun's eyes, "Going to Bei Qiang alone is undoubtedly a pointless death."
“Going without troops shows more sincerity. If I go alone, he will never kill me before I meet the Qiang King.” Qi Kun walked towards Xue Chang. “And as long as he sees me once, I am 80% confident that I can persuade him to raise troops to help me.”
Xue Chang frowned slightly, "Gu Fan, you..."
“Don’t you always say that strategists put themselves in the game? Now that Lingyu has personally risked her life to deliver this battle formation, how can we back down?” Qi Kun sighed. “As long as the Qiang King sends troops, it would be worth it even if I lost my life there.”
“Strategist…” Cen Xun, standing to the side, also frowned slightly and called out softly.
Seeing that Qi Kun was determined to leave, Xue Chang stopped trying to dissuade him. He pressed his hand on the table and lowered his eyes to think, "Jiangnan Lingyue Pavilion has long since sidelined He Yuan. Chen Mo is on very good terms with me, Tong Xi, and Ling Yu. Judging from his usual behavior, he can be said to have become the lord's army, secretly controlling the situation in Jiangnan and ready to be dispatched at any time."
"Looking at it this way," Qi Kun chuckled and sighed, turning to look at Xue Chang, "I'll leave Jiangnan to you, Beiqiang to me, and as for breaking through the Central Plains, there's Tongxi and Zhaoqing, and Lingyu is with Xiao Yan." He raised his eyes to Zhongli An with reassurance, "With this, why worry about the stability of the world?"
“Gu Fan.” Zhong Li’an still frowned, looking at Qi Kun with concern. He walked around the table and stepped forward, placing his hand on Qi Kun’s shoulder. “I support all your choices, but I have one request.”
Qi Kun suppressed his smile and looked at Zhongli An solemnly, "Please speak, my lord."
"Whether things succeed or fail, you must come back alive."
Qi Kun's nose suddenly stung with tears. He took a step back, bowed deeply to Zhong Li'an, and said, "Yes, sir."
Zhong Li'an looked at Qi Kun's lowered head, and his thoughts were immediately drawn back to the scene when he first met Qi Kun.
At that time, Qi Kun was still on high alert, carefully taking each step in the camp.
Until he issued the general's decree, until he was sent as an envoy to Jiangnan, until the locust blossoms fell all around him, Qi Kun's sleeves were filled with the fragrance of locust blossoms.
Zhong Li'an's vision blurred for a moment. He stepped forward and bent down to help Qi Kun up. Looking into his determined eyes, his mind was filled with the words he had just spoken, pleasing that he would risk his life to get the Qiang King to send troops. A wave of emotion welled up in his heart, and he reached out to hug Qi Kun, who was standing before him, and patted his back forcefully.
“Gu Fan,” he said through gritted teeth, pressing on Qi Kun’s shoulder, “you must come back alive with Ling Yu.”
Qi Kun leaned on Zhong Li'an's shoulder and nodded emphatically, "Okay."
He patted Zhongli An's back gently for a long time before letting go. He smiled and nodded at Zhongli An, "Don't worry, my lord, everything will be alright."
After he finished speaking, he turned around and met Bai Ming's reluctant yet resolute eyes.
“Strategist,” Bai Ming stepped forward, took Qi Kun’s hand, and solemnly placed the bone flute he was holding in his hand into Qi Kun’s hand, “This bone flute is now entrusted to you.”
A smooth, warm touch landed in Qi Kun's palm. He looked down and saw the exquisitely crafted bone flute and a blood-written letter, carefully folded and tucked inside the flute.
He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, clutching the bone flute tightly in his hand. He looked up at Bai Ming's eyes, which were full of trust, and was speechless for a moment. He could only nod gently with tears in his eyes.
After a long while, everyone gradually calmed down. Cen Xun was still lying on the table, tracing the marks that Yang Xiao had made hundreds of times, going through that scene completely countless times.
“It’s unlikely that we and the three major forces of Jiangnan and Beiqiang can break through this formation in one fell swoop.” She hissed and pointed to the center of the formation with her wrist. “If things don’t fall into chaos inside, there will probably be a continuous stream of people keeping us trapped in the formation. In that case, we will only achieve half the result with twice the effort.”
"So, you mean..." Bai Ming frowned, leaning over Cen Xun and looking at the array diagram.
Before he could finish speaking, Cen Xun interrupted him, "Lingyu has to sabotage things so that we can have an opportunity to take advantage of her."
Upon hearing this, Xue Chang's heart skipped a beat. "No wonder she said she might lose her life here..."
"Don't worry, Lingyu will never act rashly." Cen Xun shook his head gently. "If she can finish and send out this painting, it means she has the ability to turn the court and officialdom into chaos. Don't forget, there's more than just Lingyu in Chang'an."
Qi Kun gazed at the array diagram and sighed deeply. "As Lingyu suspected before, Qi Lu is also mingling in Chang'an. These recent array formations have made me increasingly certain of this." He leaned on the edge of the table, frowning, and said, "If it really is Qi Lu, although I cannot guarantee that he will lend us a hand, he will never allow Lingyu to suffer any harm. Everyone," he raised his eyes and looked at the crowd with determination, "let's do as Tongxi said."
“When Mr. Qi goes on his mission to the Qiang people, I will definitely be able to break through this formation completely, which will also be enough for Master to bring the Jiangnan region under his control.” Cen Xun looked at the strokes of Yang Xiao’s heart left on the paper. “After all this time, Chang’an City should be in complete chaos.”
Zhongli tapped the table and nodded, "The day Gu Fan returns will be the day we set out with our troops."
Heavy snow fell, covering the entire Jizhou region with a thick layer of white.
The withered branches in Zhong Lishuo's cemetery were also broken by the heavy snow.
Beneath the blanket of snow, only the red plum blossoms bloom proudly, standing tall and unyielding.
The patches of red blush burned like flames on the earth, reflecting in the hearts of people around the world.
The morning sun had already risen above the eastern mountains at dawn.
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