Chapter Seventy-Five: Rouge Splashes and Flows with Light
Yang Xiao gasped in shock, realizing something was wrong, and quickly raised her spear to defend herself.
She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and pushed upwards, but the expected heavy pressure lingered and refused to fall.
With a loud "bang," a gust of wind swept past her face. She looked up abruptly and saw that Yang Song had already turned his spear around, raised it, and thrust it forward, sending Cheng Feng's broadsword flying straight back. The wide blade hummed in the wind.
"Yang Song! What are you doing!"
The deputy general, Cheng Feng, stared at Yang Song in disbelief, unaware that Bai Ming had already led his troops to surround the area behind the mountain.
Seeing the two arguing, Yang Xiao seized the opportunity to pull on the reins and drive off.
"You..." Cheng Feng, who had rushed to the front of the battle, glared angrily at Yang Song, then turned to look at Yang Xiao who had slipped away. He cursed in exasperation, then raised his broadsword and chased after her, shouting, "Yang Xiao, don't run!"
Yang Xiao lay on her horse, glancing back at Cheng Feng's relentlessly pursuing figure, and an idea suddenly formed in her mind. She calmed herself, raised her hand, grasped the spear tip, and thrust it backward, the silver spear quietly turning over within her cloak.
She gripped the gun to her ribs, glanced back, and a smile crept onto her lips.
Isn't this distance the perfect opportunity for a counterattack?
Having made up her mind, she suddenly pulled on the reins, and Chi Lian neighed and reared up. Yang Xiao twisted her waist and thrust backward.
Cheng Feng seemed to have been prepared all along, raising his broadsword high.
When the sunlight shone on it, the blade even gleamed with a milky white light, as if some kind of juice had been poured onto it.
Yang Xiao's pupils suddenly contracted, realizing something was wrong. But her gun had already been thrown backward, aimed straight at Cheng Feng's throat.
Instead of fear, Cheng Feng's face was filled with an arrogant smile. With a clang, the two weapons became entangled. Cheng Feng's smile turned cold, and he pulled the knife back, intending to drag Yang Xiao off the horse.
Yang Xiao panicked immediately. She broke free from the spear in her hand, raised her whip, and turned to run away.
Ignoring her own breath, she quickly looked down at her gun. Sure enough, the once gleaming tip was now stained with a little milky white liquid.
She couldn't help but shiver, took a deep breath, gripped her spear tightly, and rushed forward without regard for anything else. Chi Lian seemed to know something as well, and suddenly ran very fast, and the distance between the two widened.
In an instant, sand rose up in front of her, and shouts of battle shook the heavens. A familiar figure rushed towards her.
"Ah Xiao, don't panic." Bai Ming's clear voice suddenly rang out above her head. Yang Xiao looked up and saw Bai Ming rush past her like a gust of wind. He nodded calmly, his eyes full of reassurance, "Step back behind me."
"Bai Ming, wait!" Yang Xiao's heart tightened upon seeing this, and she hurriedly turned around to stop him. But as soon as she turned around, she saw that Bai Ming had already rushed forward with his gun and was attacking Cheng Feng.
Upon seeing Bai Ming arrive, Cheng Feng burst into another unrestrained laugh. "Good!" he said, brandishing his broadsword. "Another one coming to his death! Take this!"
Bai Ming sneered without answering, but his teeth were already clenched tightly. He wielded his silver spear with all his might, attacking Cheng Feng's vitals with every move. However, Cheng Feng became more courageous with each setback, laughing arrogantly on the saddle bridge, and slashing at Bai Ming with his sword as if he had lost his life.
Yang Xiao broke out in a cold sweat. Without thinking, she quickly shoved the gun into her left hand, flicked the arm guard on her right hand, and swung it forward with a jerk.
A sliver of silver light pierced the wind, making a barely perceptible rustling sound, and a thread of sunlight pierced Cheng Feng's neck. In an instant, his murderous gaze blurred slightly, and the raised broadsword froze in mid-air.
The next second, a silver spear flashed past and pierced Cheng Feng's neck with a "bang".
In an instant, the silver spear carried Cheng Feng directly off the saddle bridge and crashed straight into Yang Song, who was rushing over. The warhorse was so frightened that it reared up and neighed, taking several steps back.
Bai Ming was startled by the scene before him. He turned around and saw Yang Xiao, who had not yet finished her attack, sitting on the saddle bridge with a sigh of relief, breathing slowly.
"Whoa, whoa!" Yang Song frowned and tugged at the reins twice, instantly calming the warhorse to a stop. He sat steadily on the saddle, looked up at Bai Ming, whose murderous aura had not yet dissipated, and nodded slightly with a smile: "Could it be that you are General Zhao Qing? I have long admired you."
"My name is Bai Ming. I greet General Yang." Bai Ming also stopped his stance and clasped his hands in greeting to Yang Song.
"Brother, how have you been?"
Before Bai Ming could reply, Chi Lian slowly walked towards the two of them. Yang Xiao had already shed her previous sharpness and caution, and smiled as she raised her eyes to clasp her hands in a fist salute to Yang Song.
Yang Song smiled and nodded at her, then turned to pull out Yang Xiao's gun. The silver spear had pierced Cheng Feng's neck completely and was firmly embedded in the ground.
With a forceful pull, Yang Song pulled the gun out of the ground and handed it to Yang Xiao, saying, "The battle just now truly broadened my horizons."
"Brother, you flatter me. If you hadn't stopped Cheng Feng's attack for me, I'd probably still be in grave danger." She sighed with a smile, then turned back to Bai Ming with concern in her eyes, "How are you? Are you alright?"
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Bai Ming nodded gently to Yang Xiao, then turned to look at Yang Song.
Yang Song looked up at Yang Xiao with a complex mix of emotions, as if he had something to say but swallowed it all back. He chuckled and shook his head, "Before we fought, I had a lot to say to you, but now, it seems everything is clear."
“I am no different,” Yang Xiao said with a light laugh, shaking her head. “But now, as long as you and Father are both well, that’s enough.”
“Father…” Yang Song frowned upon hearing this, then lowered his eyes and sighed with shame, “Not only Father, but me too. Ever since we entrusted you to Mr. Qi, we have been heartbroken and deeply felt we have failed you. But we…” His eyes reddened, and he felt that any explanation would be pale and powerless.
Yang Xiao looked at Yang Song and suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. She closed her eyes, let out a soft sigh, and then looked up at him with a smile, "The situation is what it is, how could I not understand? Besides, I have been training outside for more than ten years, and what I have gained is not necessarily worse than what I have gained at home."
“You would actually think that way…” Yang Song’s voice trembled slightly. “No,” he chuckled with relief, then looked up at Yang Xiao with emotion. “I should say, ‘You are truly worthy of being able to be so at ease.’ But even so, my father and I have truly wronged you.”
Yang Xiao smiled and shook her head. "I was worried that Xiao Yan would oppress you when he seized power, but now it seems that Xiao Yan has treated you well."
"Oh?" Yang Song's interest was piqued upon hearing this. He turned to look at Yang Xiao. "How do you know?"
Yang Xiao chuckled and twirled her gun, then leaned forward mysteriously, "I also know that you have factional strife within your organization, don't you think?"
"This..." Yang Song was stunned on the spot, "How did you know?"
“Xiao Yan has treated you well. If I tell her this, and it gets back to her, wouldn’t she come running to me every time she goes to war?” Yang Xiao crossed her arms proudly, then looked up at Yang Song, shook her head with a smile, “Never mind, enough joking.”
Yang Song nodded and sat on the saddle bridge, listening attentively. "I'd like to hear the details."
"Xiao Yun's ambition to become emperor is quite well-known, so why hasn't he ascended the throne after all these years of advocating it? Who else but Xiao Yan can consistently outmaneuver him?"
She looked intently at Yang Song, who seemed lost in thought, and continued, "Xiao Yun has great ambitions, but why is Xiao Yan delaying sending troops? It can't just be for the simple purpose of building houses in Chang'an, can it? The power of Sizhou and Bingzhou is no less than that of our lord, so there is only one reason for him to remain inactive." She raised her hand and pointed at Yang Song, the reason being self-evident.
After saying that, she turned her gaze to Cheng Feng, who was already dead on the ground, the blood spurting from his neck had already turned the sand purple. "And this one," she couldn't help but smile meaningfully, "I've never met him before, and I've already been used as a knife by Xiao Yan."
She turned to look at Yang Song and Bai Ming, who were listening intently, and said, "Xiao Yan's generals are going into battle alongside Xiao Yun's confidants. One of them is bound to perish on the way, and that person can only be him."
Before Yang Song could reply, she pointed at him, giving him no chance to speak, "Xiao Yan wrote your name on the challenge, which means she specifically asked me to fight. We are related by blood, and she is certain that our meeting will not result in death. So, this General Cheng Feng..."
As she spoke, she glanced at Cheng Feng on the ground, then smiled and looked at Yang Song, "He was my enemy and General Bai's enemy, and also your political enemy. How could he possibly survive? Since you can't harm your colleagues, I had to take action myself. That's how Cheng Feng ended up dying in battle."
She snorted coldly and closed her eyes disdainfully, "It's just that this person's methods are too insidious and ruthless. No matter where he is left, he will cause endless trouble."
After listening to Yang Xiao's analysis, Yang Song was so surprised that he couldn't speak for a moment. He could only look at Yang Xiao, then at Cheng Feng on the ground, and nod repeatedly with full of approval.
"This one battle alone reveals a myriad of situations," Yang Song sighed with a smile, looking at Yang Xiao with a mixture of emotion and relief. "My father and I were right about you."
Yang Xiao chuckled and shook her head. "Since Xiao Yan has made this arrangement, she is naturally prepared to reveal everything to me. I'm afraid what I'm thinking now is also part of her plan."
She clapped her hands as if she had just thought of something. "Oh, right, brother, although Cheng Feng died on the battlefield, we shouldn't let him die on the battlefield. Otherwise, you might get into trouble with your colleagues when you go back." She leaned forward. "It's always good to be wary of Xiao Yun."
“Alright,” Yang Song nodded with a smile, “then let’s do it your way.”
“Then we’ll leave this person here,” Yang Xiao nodded to Yang Song, and couldn’t help but sigh with emotion, “To be able to spar with my brother here today has already made up for my regrets of many years…”
"Lingyu, wait a moment." He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He solemnly pulled on the reins, rode his horse and walked slowly to Yang Xiao. Looking into her bright, clear eyes, he said slowly, "Your demeanor today is exactly the same as your mother's when she was alive."
Yang Xiao froze upon hearing this, "What?"
Yang Song nodded slightly, looking at her with a mix of emotions, "Come on, hold out your hand."
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