Chapter 89 A Single Rider Can Withstand an Attack from All Sides
"The most important thing right now is to heal your injury."
Yang Xiao lowered her head and blew on the hot water in the bowl, then tested the temperature with her lips. "Drink some water first," she said, bringing the bowl to Bai Ming's lips, "and then drink your medicine."
Bai Ming obediently swallowed a few mouthfuls of water from Yang Xiao's hand, then watched intently as she placed the water on the table and picked up the steaming hot medicine next to it.
He sat up, sniffed the medicine bowl Yang Xiao had brought, then shrank back and frowned, "This medicine..."
"Good medicine tastes bitter," Yang Xiao said, scooping a spoonful of the medicine and bringing it to Bai Ming's lips. "Don't dodge."
Seeing this, Bai Ming closed his eyes and backed away, then sighed in resignation and reluctantly leaned in to drink the medicine from the spoon.
To his surprise, the medicine made him cough as soon as it entered his mouth. Yang Xiao quickly handed him a handkerchief to wipe his lips and patted his back to calm him down for a while.
She held Bai Ming's shoulder and handed him the entire bowl of medicine without allowing any argument. "Hold your breath and drink it all in one gulp." Looking at Bai Ming's aggrieved expression, she chuckled and shook her head. "You were so obedient when you drank your medicine while you were unconscious, why are you so resistant now that you're awake?"
Bai Ming chuckled helplessly, "You can't taste anything when you're unconscious." He glanced down at the medicine in the bowl, then closed his eyes with a resolute air of facing death, "Come on."
The bitter and sour smell assaulted his lungs, and a feeling of nausea rushed to Bai Ming's head. He frowned, held his breath, and swallowed the bowl of medicine in one gulp.
"Is it really that bad?" Yang Xiao smiled as she looked at Bai Ming, who was leaning against the headboard taking deep breaths, and sniffed the remaining liquid in the bowl. "I think it's alright."
She chuckled and put the medicine bowl back on the table, then sat down next to Bai Ming's bed and leaned closer.
Meeting Bai Ming's puzzled gaze, she couldn't help but smile, stuffing the candy she had been hiding in her hand into Bai Ming's mouth, "So, what about now?"
Bai Ming, with a candy suddenly shoved into his mouth, was startled. After a moment, he looked at Yang Xiao with a smile and asked, "When did you prepare this?"
"Guess?" Yang Xiao chuckled and tilted her head, then reached out to touch his forehead.
Bai Ming obediently closed his eyes, then looked up at Yang Xiao.
"It's better than last night," Yang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, then reached out and touched her own head. "But it's still much hotter than me." She pulled the blanket that had slipped onto Bai Ming's chest back up and tucked it in. "If he sweats a little more, his fever should break."
"Okay." Bai Ming leaned against the pillow and nodded gently. Then he rubbed his body down and slid off the pillow to lie down.
Seeing this, Yang Xiao couldn't help but laugh out loud. She raised her hand and ruffled Bai Ming's disheveled hair, asking softly, "How are you? Are you dizzy?"
Bai Ming murmured an "Mmm," then pulled one hand out from under the covers and intertwined it with Yang Xiao's fingers. "It's still a little bit, but much better."
Before she could finish speaking, a series of anxious footsteps came from the doorway. Before Yang Xiao could react, she heard a loud bang as Zhang Ping burst through the door, panting and leaning against the doorframe, saying, "General! Three thousand enemy soldiers are rushing towards the east gate."
"What?" Yang Xiao jumped up immediately upon hearing this. Bai Ming behind her also instinctively sat up, but cried out in pain from the tearing wound and fell heavily back onto the couch.
"Bai Ming!" Upon hearing the sound, Yang Xiao rushed to the bed again, lifted the corner of the quilt and saw that the bandage was stained with bright red blood.
"Are you alright?" She frowned and touched Bai Ming's cheek, then calmly nodded at him. "Don't worry, I'm here." She raised her hand and gently rubbed Bai Ming's furrowed brows, then turned to Zhang Ping angrily. "Who sent these people?"
Upon seeing this, Zhang Ping couldn't help but frown. "Yingchuan, Yuzhou."
"Taking advantage of our misfortune, is that it?" Yang Xiao laughed angrily. "Last time, weren't they instructed by Xiao Yan to send Qin Yi to test our strength?" Yang Xiao became angrier as she spoke. "Our lord shouldn't have let that person go back then. We thought he was a righteous man who knew how to repay kindness, but now it seems he's nothing but a coward who takes advantage of our misfortune."
“General, please calm down,” Zhang Ping said, cupping his fists to Yang Xiao. “This person who came this time is not Qin Yi, and I have never heard of that general before. I think his name is something like Feng…”
"Whatever they're called, how far are they from the city gate? When are they expected to arrive?"
"Ah Xiao".
Before Yang Xiao could finish speaking, she heard a soft call from behind. She quickly composed herself, turned around, and looked at Bai Ming gently, "What's wrong?"
Bai Ming shook his head gently, his face full of worry, and placed his hand on her leg. "We must not be rash. Our army has just suffered heavy losses, and morale is low. If those three thousand enemy soldiers are all elite troops, wouldn't that be..."
"Then, in your opinion, how should we deal with this?" Yang Xiao grasped Bai Ming's slightly sweaty hand and gently rubbed it a few times.
"It would be better to raise the white flag of truce and wait until morale is restored before engaging in battle."
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao closed her eyes and pondered for a long while before turning back to look at Zhang Ping, "How many people are left in our Eagle Team?"
Zhang Ping frowned slightly and said, "There were 238 people left when we checked yesterday."
“In less than three years, more than half of the five hundred members of the Eagle Team have been killed or wounded…” Yang Xiao sighed softly, then slapped her thigh and stood up. “But that’s enough.” She turned to look at Bai Ming. “Yingchuan wants to take advantage of the situation, but only sent such a small number of people. Xiao Yan wouldn’t do such a thing; it must have been Zhao Yue who acted on his own.”
She clenched her fist to seven-tenths full, "In that case, we have no choice but to fight this battle."
She looked out the window. "Morale is low, and we need a victory to rebuild it. This is the opportunity. Besides..." She clenched her fist, turned to Bai Ming, and said, "I won't be able to vent my anger until I've crushed their arrogance." She waved Zhang Ping away, then looked at Bai Ming with pity, and leaned down to kiss him on the lips. "Wait for me to come back."
Before Bai Ming could say anything, she angrily lifted the curtain and strode away.
-
Before long, the thunderous sound of war drums rang out outside the city gates, and Yingchuan soldiers poured out of the valley in sparse numbers. Yang Xiao, however, ordered the Eagle Cavalry to form ranks inside the city, while he himself stood alone on the drawbridge, listening with his eyes closed.
The enemy general, who was leading the charge, rode his horse to the city gate, looked up at Yang Xiao standing in front of the gate, raised his hand to stop the rear guard, and laughed: "Zhongli Shuo is dead, how dare you still come out to fight against us?" He raised his head lightly, "Why don't you obediently hand over Lujiang County to us, and we might spare your life!"
Upon hearing this, the Yingchuan soldiers behind him burst into laughter. However, their arrogant pride vanished in an instant. In a flash, a gust of wind howled past, blowing directly towards the Yingchuan troops.
This weather was nothing like that of Lujiang; it was more like the westerly wind sweeping in from Jizhou. And at that very moment, the war drums on the city tower began to rumble with the sound of the wind. The drumbeats grew louder and louder, gradually drowning out the wind and pounding the heartstrings of everyone.
The enemy soldiers' morale immediately weakened. Yang Xiao twirled his spear and rode Chi Lian step by step toward the enemy general. Both man and horse had fierce and incomparable eyes, as if they wanted to crush the enemy soldiers' spirits. Such pressure, coupled with the force of the gale, forced the enemy soldiers to retreat involuntarily.
The enemy general shrank back, seeing that the surrounding soldiers had surrendered without a fight, he couldn't help but feel nervous. He pretended to be calm, raised his weapon, and pointed it at Yang Xiao, "You..."
"Didn't you want to seize Lujiang County?" Yang Xiao glanced at the leading enemy general, then immediately stood with his spear across his face in front of the formation. "Let's see who dares!"
The enemy general was so frightened by Yang Xiao's imposing manner that he took two steps back. He mustered his courage and was about to regroup and fight back when Yang Xiao twirled his spear and shouted angrily, "Anyone who dares to take a step forward will not be able to leave alive!"
Upon seeing this, the enemy soldiers scattered and fled in an instant. Before they could even make a move, the battlefield was already a scene of utter devastation.
Yang Xiao spurred his horse forward, pointing his spear at the enemy general who was caught in a dilemma, "Since that's the case, you shall pay for He Yuan's blood debt!"
Having said that, with a crack of the whip, Chi Lian charged towards the enemy general like an arrow released from a bow. The enemy general's so-called pride vanished instantly, and he hurriedly pulled on the reins, fleeing in disarray.
A wave of contempt and disgust washed over Yang Xiao. She snorted, slung her spear over her shoulder, reined in her horse, and stood at the front of the formation, glaring at the enemy general's retreating figure.
The person at the fingertips ran slower and slower, and as they approached the valley, it seemed they were considering a counterattack.
Seeing him return defiantly, Yang Xiao felt a surge of resentment and stepped forward with her spear in red. She leaned forward slightly, her gaze fixed on him like that of an eagle.
The enemy general then gave up hope, turned around, and rode away.
"General!" The drumbeats on the city gate suddenly turned into cheers, and a light sound of horses' hooves rang out as Zhang Ping rode up to Yang Xiao's side. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yang Xiao, "This victory without a fight should surely put the hearts of the brothers at ease."
Yang Xiao nodded, closed her eyes, and sighed, "With such little courage, you still want to seize Lujiang County." She looked up and saw soldiers cheering and applauding in front of the city gate. She smiled with relief and then raised her gun encouragingly.
Zhang Ping smiled, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted to the soldiers, "Victory without a fight! Isn't that great!"
"Good!" The soldiers, their recent dejection gone, raised their arms and shouted.
Yang Xiao glanced back at Zhang Ping, shook her head with a helpless smile, and waved to the soldiers at the city gate, "Withdraw!"
As the turmoil subsided, Lujiang County returned to tranquility, though it seemed to have gained a bit more vitality than before the battle.
"Bai Ming!" Yang Xiao pulled off her cloak, lifted the curtain and entered Bai Ming's room, smiling as she looked at Bai Ming on the bed. "We won this battle; we won without a fight."
Bai Ming, who had been drowsy, seemed to perk up immediately. He looked up at Yang Xiao with a smile and nodded approvingly, "As expected of you, you won without losing a single soldier."
“That prefect of Yingchuan is too overconfident,” Yang Xiao sneered, folding his cloak and placing it on the table. “Although our army has suffered heavy losses, not everyone has the ability to take a beating. With the enemy general’s character, he abandoned his armor and weapons before even seeing a single soldier, disgracing his commander.”
Yang Xiao sighed and crossed his arms. "Although there have been some losses, we are still more than capable of holding Lujiang County firmly."
“Our General A-Xiao is truly awe-inspiring,” Bai Ming nodded approvingly upon hearing this, “I was just overthinking it.”
“You’re thinking of the bigger picture too,” Yang Xiao said, turning her back to Bai Ming as she took off her coat. She stood at the doorway, shaking off the dust for a while before sitting down on Bai Ming’s bedside. “By the way, how are you? Have you been feeling any better since I was gone for so long?”
Bai Ming chuckled and moved further into the bed to make room for Yang Xiao. "I was a little worried at first, but seeing you come back and win without a fight, my heart has finally settled down."
Before he could finish speaking, Bai Ming's forehead was lightly flicked. "I asked if you were feeling better, if you were still dizzy," Yang Xiao smiled and shook her head. "Who asked if you were worried about me?"
"Feeling better will naturally alleviate the symptoms," Bai Ming sighed with a smile, looking up at Yang Xiao.
"You..." Yang Xiao was about to say something, but then shook her head and laughed, "That makes sense." She smiled and reached out to touch Bai Ming's forehead, "So, are you feeling any better?"
Bai Ming nodded slightly, "Of course, it's much better than this morning."
"How's your injury?" Yang Xiao frowned, looking at him with concern in her eyes. "Does the wound you just tore open still hurt? Has the bleeding stopped?" She was about to lift Bai Ming's blanket, but then sighed and gave up. "Never mind, you finally managed to sweat a little. Let's change the gauze after you take your medicine tonight."
"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt anymore." Bai Ming reached out from under the covers and took Yang Xiao's hand, stroking it to comfort her. "In a few more days, it will be almost scabbed over."
Yang Xiao held Bai Ming's sweaty hand, frowned and sighed softly, "The wound just reopened, and you're sweating so much, how can it not hurt?" She squeezed Bai Ming's hand with heartache, "The arrow wound in your chest is covered by the jade pendant, so it's not too serious; but the knife wounds on your stomach and waist are deeper than the last. You must not move around too much these next two days, take good care of yourself, do you understand?"
Bai Ming nodded, stroking Yang Xiao's hand reassuringly, "Okay, don't worry."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Ping knocked on the door frame again, lifted the curtain, and peeked in.
"Which blind fool has broken in again?" Before Zhang Ping could speak, Yang Xiao cursed as she stood up, rolled up her sleeves, and was about to rush out.
"Oh, General, please calm down," Zhang Ping waved his hand, both amused and exasperated. He sighed and then composed himself. "But someone has indeed come to visit. Mr. Xue Chang has come all the way from Jiangnan and is waiting outside the city."
"It seems... Jiangnan is in complete chaos as well."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
