Chapter Nine: Gunfire and Burning Heart - A Perfect Match Begins
She was already exhausted, but her opponent was giving it her all, determined to crush the girl's confidence. Under such intense pressure, Yang Xiao continued to attack relentlessly, refusing to yield an inch.
Her eyes were filled with ruthlessness, and she used all her strength in every move. It was less of a forceful attack and more of a venting of anger.
She suddenly swung her spear, forcing the other henchmen to quickly step back and jump out of the circle. Only the leader raised his knife to block, and with a "bang," he collided with the spear.
In the stalemate, neither of them was willing to give in. Yang Xiao was panting heavily, beads of sweat dripping from her forehead. She clenched her teeth tightly, and her arms trembled slightly as she exerted herself.
Born without ever knowing his parents, desiring to serve his country but lacking a wise ruler, he longs to travel west to Chang'an to seek the truth, yet is hindered by treacherous roads and the coldness of the world. Now reduced to this state, must he also suffer the humiliation of these local ruffians?
The spear, seemingly unable to withstand Yang Xiao's resentment, slowly bent under the intense pressure. The wet wooden shaft creaked and groaned, splinters bursting from its bent points.
Yang Xiao broke out in a cold sweat, but she still pressed down on the gun barrel relentlessly, as if holding onto her own precarious fate. Everyone watched with bated breath, afraid that even a whisper of their breath might disturb her concentration.
Just as she feared, a sharp "crack" rang out, and the gun barrel snapped in two. One section, along with the spearhead, flew straight into the crowd, and Yang Xiao, unable to regain her balance, was thrown forward uncontrollably.
Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats. Yang Xiao seemed to have resigned herself to her fate, closing her eyes tightly and letting her body fall forward.
Just as she was resigned to her fate in despair, a white shadow flashed by, and a force lifted Yang Xiao up by the waist. She leaned back involuntarily, but in her panic, her back was firmly supported.
"Hey, young lady, be careful!"
A gentle voice reached Yang Xiao's ears. She opened her eyes and saw a young man holding a silver spear standing beside her, protecting her with his spear and glaring menacingly at the bandits in front of him.
Upon seeing this, the bandit involuntarily took two steps back, staring at the young man in disbelief. His previous arrogance vanished instantly. "You...you're not from the Bai family..."
"You know that, so why aren't you getting out of here? Are you waiting for my father to come and kill you?!" The boy stepped forward, protecting Yang Xiao as he angrily shouted.
Seeing that things were not going well, the bandit gave his men a wink and then turned and ran.
Seeing this, Zhao Ran quickly stepped forward and bowed to the young man, saying, "Thank you for saving me, young master."
"It's alright, it's alright, it's just my status." The young man quickly waved his hand, then turned to look at the panting Yang Xiao, "Miss, are you alright?"
"Thank you for saving me, but..." Yang Xiao was still unwilling. She straightened up and looked at him stubbornly. "If I hadn't been so bad at martial arts, I could have defeated him."
"Yes, I can tell." The young man nodded without hesitation, "With such skill, I doubt even I could match you, young lady." His eyes were full of envy, and he gazed at her for a long time before realizing he hadn't introduced himself. He quickly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yang Xiao, "My name is Bai Ming, Bai Zhaoqing. Young lady, your skill is extraordinary. I wish to befriend you. May I ask your honorable name?"
"My name is Yang Xiao, courtesy name Lingyu," Yang Xiao said, looking at Bai Ming's innocent and expectant eyes, feeling a strange sense of warmth in her heart. "I am very grateful for your help just now."
Bai Ming smiled and lowered his head, waving his hand. "It's because you, young lady, are skilled in martial arts. I only used words." He faced the sunlight, raised his hand and scratched his head. "You all have had a long journey and have encountered this bandit. Why don't you come to my residence to rest for a while?"
Unable to refuse Bai Ming's hospitality, and with Yang Xiao and Zhao Ran also finding it difficult to decline, they had no choice but to let him lead them to the Bai residence.
Perhaps it was because the sunlight was falling on Bai Ming's shoulders, or perhaps it was because he was half a head taller than Yang Xiao, but along the way, Yang Xiao's gaze kept inexplicably falling on Bai Ming's face.
For some reason, he could catch every gaze, and each time he would turn his head to look back at Yang Xiao, tilt his head and smile, then turn his head away with a slightly happy expression, letting the sunlight fall into his smiling eyes.
The two walked along, gazing at each other, trying to appear natural and unforced. A strange emotion began to spread through their innocent minds.
The Bai residence wasn't far, but they didn't know how long it took them to arrive.
-
Upon entering the mansion, Bai Ming first settled Zhao Ran and her group in, and then invited Yang Xiao, who had changed into dry clothes, to the hall and brewed her a pot of tea.
There were few women in the Bai household, and the dry clothes Yang Xiao was wearing were ones that Bai Ming had worn when he was two years younger. Although they didn't fit perfectly, at least they weren't wet, and they even had a warm, cozy feel to them.
"The Bai family of Yuzhou..." Yang Xiao sat upright at the table, looking at the young man bustling around beside him, "Could your father be General Bai Yao, who pacified the Northern Qiang back then?"
“It is him.” Bai Ming seemed to immediately become interested. He picked up the teapot and walked to the table. “My father made countless contributions throughout his life. If I could achieve half of his accomplishments in the future, I would have no regrets.”
He smiled and poured Yang Xiao a cup of tea. "By the way, you also have the surname Yang. Do you know that General Yang Zhen of the Red Cloud Army was also a famous general who helped found the country? My father kept telling me about their journey to the north."
Yang Xiao's heart trembled upon hearing this. Her throat tightened, and she nodded with a bitter smile. "How could I not know..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then looked up to meet Bai Ming's hopeful gaze. "That Yang Zhen... is my father."
"What?"
Bai Ming stood up abruptly, looking at Yang Xiao with a mixture of surprise and delight, "General Chixiao is your father? Then you could be... the daughter that General Yang entrusted to someone else in the rumors?"
Yang Xiao lowered her head noncommittally, let out a long sigh, and then saw Bai Ming sitting opposite her with a teacup in his hand.
"It seems we really are destined to meet."
Yang Xiao seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly smiled, "Isn't this what they mean by 'those destined to meet will meet even if they are thousands of miles apart'?"
"Oh?" Bai Ming tilted his head, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
“I originally followed my master into seclusion in Qingzhou, but to settle my mind, I traveled west to Chang’an and then to Bingzhou,” she nodded and shook her head. “Unexpectedly, I encountered the Northern Qiang rebels as soon as I arrived in Bingzhou, so I had no choice but to come to Yuzhou with Lingyue Pavilion. I wanted to go to Jiangnan, and that’s how I met you. How can this not be called a ‘meeting after a thousand miles’?”
Bai Ming looked at Yang Xiao's joking expression, but he couldn't feel relaxed at all.
"We encountered a rebellion as soon as we arrived in Bingzhou..." He frowned and looked at Yang Xiao. "Doesn't this mean we're even further away from Chang'an?"
These words struck a chord with Yang Xiao. The grievances she had been suppressing welled up inside her, a wave of bitterness surged to her nose, and her eyes involuntarily reddened.
"Hey, don't be like this," Bai Ming noticed Yang Xiao's unusual mood and hurriedly tried to comfort her, "Don't be discouraged, regroup, there will always be a chance to make a comeback."
“Hmm,” Yang Xiao sniffed, smiled and nodded, “We’re still young, there will always be opportunities.”
Bai Ming gazed at her grip on the teacup, then at her bright, watery eyes, and a wave of emotion washed over him. As if making a decision, he pressed his hand on the table and stood up. "Lingyu, come with me somewhere, okay?"
"Hmm?" Yang Xiao glanced to the side with interest. "Where?"
"You'll know when you get here." Bai Ming skipped excitedly to the door, turned back and stretched out his hand to her.
-
A ray of sunset fell on Bai Ming's still-childish face. Yang Xiao looked at his bright eyes, smiled, and got up to walk to his side.
“Your ambition lies in Chang’an, and so does mine. Right now, the emperor is biased towards treacherous officials, and loyal ministers have no way to serve their country. I hope that one day I can go to Chang’an and overthrow this unjust government.”
As he walked, he glanced back at Yang Xiao. "But as things stand, I'm still studying at home, while you're already out there making your way. So I guess you'll arrive in Chang'an before me."
Bai Ming stopped in front of the weapon rack. "In that case..." He took down the silver spear he had just used and handed it to Yang Xiao. "I give you this spear to support your lofty ambitions."
Yang Xiao froze on the spot upon seeing this. She stared incredulously at Bai Ming, who was looking at her with such sincerity, and hurriedly waved her hands, "How can this be? A good weapon is a martial artist's lifeblood. How can I take away what you love?"
“It is precisely because I know its nature that I am giving it to you.” Bai Ming smiled and stepped forward. “You are agile and good at using the opponent’s force against them. This spear is nimble, yet powerful. It should be a better match for your spear technique.”
Seeing that Yang Xiao was still reluctant to accept it, he continued, "Your journey to Jiangnan is long and arduous. How can you manage without proper weaponry? Besides, if you had this gun, you would have won today's incident." He looked earnestly into Yang Xiao's eyes, "I don't want to see you suffer such injustice again in the future."
"But..." Yang Xiao was about to say something when Bai Ming grabbed her hand and shoved the silver spear into her hand without saying a word.
The heavy weight of the gun, like Bai Ming's heartfelt intention, landed in Yang Xiao's hands. She stroked the cool, smooth barrel, her heart filled with affection. She looked at Bai Ming with a conflicted and reluctant expression, "How difficult it is to find a suitable weapon! You give it to me today, but what will you do with it in the future?"
“A good weapon is indeed hard to find, but if you lose your weapon, you can always make another one. If you miss your soulmate, how many years will it take to meet them again?” He pushed the gun that Yang Xiao handed him back. “You are much more capable than me. This time, you should regard this gun as our shared ambition. When the time comes, you take it to Chang’an first, and then I will go to Chang’an to find you.”
"Let's use this gun as a pledge to purge the entire court of its corruption in one fell swoop, shall we?"
Looking into the young man's spirited eyes, Yang Xiao felt a warm current flow through her heart. She gripped the gun in her hand and nodded firmly to Bai Ming, "Then it's a deal."
"Alright." Bai Ming readily clasped his hands in a fist salute. "Then I will await good news."
"My name is Yang Xiao. Thank you for gifting me the gun!"
-
"My name is Yang Xiao. I thank you again for the general's gift of the gun."
The rising sun shone on the battlefield where the fighting had temporarily ceased, and the manes of two warhorses, one red and one white, gleamed in the sunlight. The two generals had stopped fighting, and the exhausted soldiers had a chance to catch their breath.
Under the rising sun, their eyes shone brightly, just as before.
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