Chapter 83 Chapter 83 “Jiang…Ci…
The call just now was too soft and too real. He turned around suddenly, but only saw strangers coming and going on the street.
"What's wrong?" Yu Niang asked as she approached.
He shook his head and whispered, "Nothing."
Just that one sound seemed to penetrate all the fog, making his heart suddenly tighten.
Who is that? Why did his heart feel like it was being pulled by something when he heard it?
He stood by the river, holding the sugar cake in his hand, looking at the strange market, and suddenly felt that it seemed familiar.
Ji Yang asked, "Where is this?"
Yu Niang replied, "This is Beiting Huai County. Our place is poor and far away from the big city. Don't worry, little brother, we are very remote here. No one cares who you are, and no one will come to investigate you."
Ji Yang was slightly startled, his lips moved slightly, and he murmured two words: "Liangzhou."
The voice was very soft, almost blurted out instinctively. But at that moment, my heart felt like it was being grabbed fiercely, and it hurt.
Yu Niang's expression changed. She quickly reached out and pressed his shoulder, whispering, "Don't talk nonsense. No matter how small our place is, it's under the jurisdiction of Beiting. Don't mention the affairs of Liangzhou."
Ji Yang was stunned, his eyes were confused, but he still nodded.
Seeing his bewildered expression, Yu Niang felt sorry for him and said in a softer tone, "Don't be afraid."
Ji Yang lowered his eyes and said nothing. He just touched the tiger-head amulet around his waist, his eyes darkening.
In February, the water is warm and the weather is sunny.
New grass sprouted on both sides of the official road outside Zichuan City. The land at the foot of the mountain had not yet completely thawed, but scattered wild flowers could already be seen poking their heads out of the soil.
Lou Qi is about to leave.
Jiang Ci, wearing a light gray cloak, stood quietly beside the official road, watching him adjust the reins and fix the saddle.
Before Lou Qi could mount his horse, he suddenly called out to her, "Jiang Ci."
Jiang Ci turned around.
He stood in front of the horse, his hair ruffled by the wind, but his expression was more serious than ever.
"I have a question that I've been thinking about for a long time, but I haven't dared to ask you."
Jiang Ci was stunned, didn't say anything, just looked at him quietly.
Lou Qi's eyes moved slightly, and he whispered, "If... I mean if, Ji Yang really can't come back, I say - I want to marry you, would you... consider it?"
As soon as these words came out, the air seemed to pause for a moment.
"I've been married."
"I don't mind."
"I've given birth to a child."
"I will treat him as my own son."
"I don't share my husband with anyone."
"I am still a boy, and I will not take concubines in the future. When I become king, you will be my only queen." Lou Qi just looked at her, "I know you are joking with me, but I am not joking with you."
The distant mountains were silent, and the wind blew through the treetops, blowing a few strands of hair beside her ears.
Jiang Ci pursed his lips slightly, his eyes were light and quiet: "I will always wait for him to come back."
"However long."
Lou Qi didn't say anything, but just looked at her deeply, with a trace of deep loss in his eyes.
But in the end he didn't ask any more questions, and then put on his usual ruffian smile.
He climbed onto the horse, tightened the reins, and glanced at her one last time before leaving. He couldn't help but whispered, "Then I'll wait for you."
"However long."
After saying this, he rode away, his figure quickly disappearing into the mist, but he raised one hand and waved it in the air without looking back.
Jiang Ci looked at the figure until he was completely gone.
Beside him, Wanniang sighed softly: "If the governor really... Miss, I mean if, if he really can't come back, I think Prince Yan is also a good..."
Jiang Ci glanced at her sideways and smiled faintly: "Even you say that?"
Wanniang quickly waved her hands: "Oh my girl, I see I am just talking nonsense. The governor is blessed with a great fortune and will definitely come back."
Jiang Ci didn't say anything else.
She looked up at the sky. It was a clear day with a faint spring sun, but there was no warmth that penetrated into her bones.
Her voice was not loud, but clear and firm: "If he really can't come back, I won't marry anyone else."
"I will guard Dongyang and his family for him, just as he went to war for me without hesitation."
Wanniang stared at her for a long time, then nodded gently.
Only three days after Lou Qi returned to Youzhou, an assassin followed him like a shadow, sneaking in at night. He initially thought it was just the remnants of the Beiting clan, but who knew that the sword thrust from behind the curtain was a familiar face.
Su Yu.
She was wearing a nightgown, but there was no murderous intent in her eyes, only trembling determination.
Lou Qi raised his hand to block her sword and sneered: "You still want to kill me?"
Su Yu's wrist trembled, and her strength was unstable, but she still held on and refused to put away the sword: "You know why I came."
Lou Qi didn't move again. He just turned his head and said in a deep voice, "Su Yu, I think what I told you last time was very clear."
Su Yu bit her lip and said nothing, tears welling up in her eyes.
After a long while, Lou Qi suddenly said, "If you really want a legitimate status, I can marry you."
Su Yu was shocked, and the sword in his hand dropped inch by inch: "What did you say?"
Lou Qi looked indifferently: "I can take you in, but I will never set foot in your room in this life. You can't be my concubine, let alone my wife. If you are willing to be a widow for the rest of your life, I don't care, but I can only tell you that in this life, I will not give you what you want."
Su Yu lowered her head and smiled, but it was full of self-mockery: "You always know what I want."
The room was as silent as death. After a long time, Su Yu slowly put away his sword and turned to leave.
Su Yu walked to the door and suddenly stopped: "I also thought you were my salvation... Now it seems that it was just wishful thinking. Let's say goodbye now and never see you again."
Lou Qi watched her back as she walked away, his expression suddenly stopped being frivolous, and a hint of solemnity appeared between his brows.
He has more important things to do right now.
Beiting has been severely damaged, and this is a good opportunity to pursue it. As long as we take advantage of the situation and attack it, it will not require much manpower, but will be able to reverse the situation in all directions in one fell swoop.
He raised his hand to summon his personal guards and whispered, "Order all camps to prepare to depart. Divide the troops into three groups and advance towards the northern border."
When the wind blew, his eyes were as sharp as blades, and he had made up his mind.
Now, Xiliang has submitted a letter of surrender, which has fallen into Jiang Ci's hands. This is a tacit consent that she will take charge of Xiliang.
If Ji Yang really came back one day, he would take Beiting from Liangzhou, and Hanbei would never be able to compete with him again.
But if Ji Yang... is really gone.
Then, he, Lou Qi, would use Beiting as a bargaining chip and stand shoulder to shoulder with her.
Since that war, although the Beiting border appears calm on the surface, there are actually undercurrents.
Since the beginning of spring, the government has issued a series of conscription orders, under the guise of recruiting volunteers, but in fact they are conscripting able-bodied men everywhere. Some people have been taken away in the street at the market, and the people are in panic.
That day, Yu Niang returned to the village from the market town. As soon as she stepped through the door, she rushed into the courtyard and shouted breathlessly, "Nineth Brother, quickly, hide!"
Brother Xu Jiu was renovating the house with Ji Yang. Seeing her panic, he couldn't help but jokingly said, "Slow down. You talk like there's a tiger behind you. What happened?"
Yu Niang raised her head and took a few deep breaths, her voice still trembling. "The market... conscription notices are plastered all over the walls. Those soldiers from Beiting are sweeping through every village. They say they're recruiting, but they're actually robbing people! They arrest any man they see, even if he doesn't have a household registration!"
Upon hearing this, Ji Yang's face darkened slightly and he paused the wooden hammer in his hand.
Brother Xu Jiu jumped down from the eaves and frowned, "Didn't we just lose a few days ago? Why are we fighting again?"
Yu Niang stamped her feet in anger: "Who knows what kind of war they are fighting? It goes on all year round and we can't even farm the land!"
As she spoke, her eyes began to tear up. "Dongzi was also captured and taken to the war. He was gone for two years without a single news from me... I can't stand by and watch you go with him. I can't live alone..."
When Xu Jiuge heard her mention her deceased brother, his expression turned pale. He reached out and hugged her to comfort her: "Silly girl, what are you talking about being alone? If you really want to leave, I'll go with you."
Yu Niang wiped her tears and looked at Ji Yang again: "Little brother, you have to go too. You look strong and healthy, but you will be targeted sooner or later."
Ji Yang stood on the roof, looking at the clouds descending in the distant sky, and said in a deep voice: "I can't remember the past, but for some reason... I feel that I should return to Liangzhou."
Brother Xu Jiu was startled: "Liangzhou?"
"I don't know." Ji Yang shook his head, but his tone was very certain, "But my heart tells me that Liangzhou should be a good place."
Seeing his serious expression, Yu Niang no longer hesitated and said, "Let's go to Liangzhou. I heard that the governor Jiang there accepts people from the war and provides them with food, housing, and medicine. Let's go to him."
"We don't ask for anything. As long as we can stay alive, it's better than waiting here to be caught."
After that, the couple went into the house to pack their bags. Yu Niang took out the money hidden at home from the head of the kang, and Xu Jiuge tied the dry food tightly and hung it on his back.
Ji Yang entered the house, put out the fire, tied up the bundle in the corner, and silently helped to prepare everything.
When I finished packing my bags, I could faintly hear the mixed sounds of horse hooves and shouts coming from the direction of the village entrance.
Yu Niang peeked out the window and her face suddenly changed: "Oh no, they've already entered the village!"
There were heavy footsteps and the sound of kicking on the door outside, mixed with the screams of a woman and the cries of a child.
The officers and soldiers were like crazy, kicking down doors that were locked without asking questions. If there were any strong men inside, they would drag them out and press them to the ground to register. Even teenagers in their teens were not spared.
Yu Niang lowered her voice and said to Ji Yang and Xu Jiuge, "Let's go around from the back and take the small path."
The three of them tiptoed out of the back door and were about to go around to the back mountain when Ji Yang stopped. He looked at the officers and soldiers in front of him dragging people out, the women crying on the ground, and the children fleeing in fear... It seemed as if there was a rage suppressed in his chest.
Brother Xu Jiu pulled Ji Yang and said, "Hurry up! If you hesitate any longer, you won't be able to leave!"
Ji Yang seemed to be nailed to the spot, standing behind the fence, looking at the open space in front of the village, motionless.
His eyes passed over the low houses and saw in the distance several soldiers pushing an old man to the ground and dragging a little boy out of a house. The child was struggling desperately and his mother was crying beside him.
Beside him was Brother Xu Jiu, who was pleading in a low voice, and Yu Niang, who was protecting her bag with a frightened look on her face.
But he couldn't move.
The cries and screams hit his ears, and each cry was like a needle piercing his heart.
"Hurry up! What are you still standing there for!" Brother Xu Jiu couldn't help but yell at him, his voice full of anxiety, "It will be too late if they come over!"
Ji Yang lowered his head and looked at his clenched fists.
He doesn't know who he is or what he used to be.
But he knew one thing.
He couldn't just walk away like this. He couldn't watch the people crying and begging for their lives under the sword and pretend not to hear them.
He didn't remember the names in the past, but he remembered the anger in his chest at this moment, which had never subsided.
He whispered, "I'm sorry."
Brother Xu Jiu was stunned: "What did you say?"
Ji Yang turned around and looked at him, his eyes clearer than ever before: "I... can't do it."
But then he heard a gruff shout not far away: "Over there! Don't move!"
It turned out that someone had seen them earlier, pointed at them and shouted, attracting two officers and soldiers to trot towards the door of Yu Niang's house.
Yu Niang's face darkened, and she threw the bag in her hand to the ground fiercely, gritting her teeth and cursing, "That's it, no one can leave! I told you before, little brother, why are you so stubborn..."
Brother Xu Jiu, however, had already stepped forward to play dirty and stopped the two officers and soldiers: "Sir, sir, please listen to me. My leg was injured in the war a long time ago. You see, I am so lame that I can't even run away. My brother is also not good enough."
As he spoke, he pointed at his temples and said with a smile, "He's not good here. He can't tell friend from foe on the battlefield."
But the two officers didn't listen at all. They kicked open the fence in front of the courtyard gate and looked at the few people coldly. One of them pointed at Ji Yang and said, "This kid looks energetic. Why are you pretending to be crazy?"
"Stop talking nonsense, register your name and follow me!" said the other one, reaching out to pull him.
Seeing the situation getting out of control, Yu Niang rushed forward to block Ji Yang, but was kicked to the ground: "You stinky woman, if you don't accept my toast, you will be punished!"
She stumbled from the kick, knocking over the bucket in the corner of the yard, and was covered in mud, looking miserable. Ji Yang's eyes were bloodshot, and he immediately stepped forward to help her up: "Yu Niang!"
When Brother Xu Jiu saw his wife being beaten, his eyes immediately turned red and he rushed forward to protect her, but the soldier punched him back and knocked him to the ground, with blood flowing from his nose.
The two men were still not satisfied and were about to attack again. Ji Yang watched Yu Niang lying on the ground, breathing softly. Brother Xu Jiu suppressed his anger and tried his best to protect her, his fists clenched white.
"Enough." Ji Yang's throat rolled, his voice was low and hoarse, but it revealed an anger that was difficult to suppress.
But Yu Niang suddenly hugged his legs tightly, shaking her head desperately, tears in her eyes, with an almost pleading look: "Don't move... Don't move... Please..."
"They don't recognize anyone and won't even blink an eye even if they beat you to death." Her voice was trembling but firm.
Brother Xu Jiu also raised his head weakly, pressing one hand to his chest and gasping for breath: "Little brother, bear with it... You absolutely cannot... Let's go with them, we... still have a chance to get out alive."
Ji Yang stood between the two men, staring at the two aggressive officers and soldiers, and slowly unclenched his fists.
He looked down at Yu Niang.
Her eyes were full of pleading and a desire to live.
At that moment, he finally whispered, "Okay."
The open space in the center of the village was temporarily cordoned off, and dozens of men had already been driven to gather there.
Xu Jiuge and Ji Yang were also pushed in. Surrounding them were villagers, ragged and panic-stricken. Some were no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, while there were also elderly people with gray hair. There was even a boy who looked no more than ten years old, his face unwashed and covered in mud.
Ji Yang's brows furrowed little by little, his eyes fixed on what these officers and soldiers were doing.
"Line up and come up one by one to register!" An officer who looked like a leader shouted from the side, his voice full of rudeness and impatience.
Suddenly, there was a quarrel not far away.
"Don't touch my child! He's still sick! He's only seven years old, you're taking his life!"
A thin woman rushed out of the house and pounced like a madman on a soldier who was dragging a child out. The child was so skinny that he staggered, his face pale, and he coughed loudly.
The woman tugged at the officer's clothes, crying and pulling him back desperately: "Sir, his fever has just subsided, and he can't even eat. Please let him go, please..."
The soldier kicked her away and cursed in annoyance, "Get away!" and continued to drag the child away.
"What are you arguing about?" The leader of the team came over, his hand on the sword at his waist, with a sinister look on his face.
When the woman saw him, she quickly knelt down and hugged his legs: "Sir, please have mercy on me. I kowtow to you and I will go. My son is sick and can't stand the torture. Please let him go."
The little leader didn't listen at all. Instead, he sneered and drew his sword like the wind.
“It’s so annoying.”
A flash of cold light.
He stabbed the woman in the abdomen with a knife.
She seemed to have not yet reacted to what was happening. She just stayed where she was, with a pleading look on her face. The corners of her mouth twitched a few times, but in the end she could not utter a word. She slowly knelt down, and a pool of blood spread out in the mud.
"mother--!"
The captured child screamed, bit the officer's hand, broke free and rushed to his fallen mother.
"You little beast!" The soldier who was bitten roared, cursing, drew his sword and approached the child.
"I told you to run!"
"I'll kill you!"
The surrounding villagers were terrified and closed their eyes, not daring to look directly.
But before the knife fell, a dark shadow suddenly blocked the child's way.
"That's enough."
It’s Ji Yang.
The soldier paused, first in shock, then in anger he laughed, "Are you looking for death?"
He raised the long knife in his hand and chopped it down.
The crowd exclaimed, and Brother Xu Jiu also shouted in fear: "Little brother—get out of the way!"
But when the knife fell, Ji Yang just slightly turned sideways and dodged the fatal blow as if by instinct.
He grabbed the other's wrist with his backhand and twisted it suddenly. With a click, the soldier screamed and fell to his knees.
"You... bully the people, kill women and children... and you still deserve to be called an army?"
Ji Yang looked coldly at the little leader. His voice was not loud, but it stirred waves in everyone's hearts.
He slowly raised his head, his eyes as dark as the night.
The scene was silent for a moment.
The small chief was startled at first, then roared angrily: "You dare to resist conscription?! Go, kill him!"
Dozens of soldiers surrounded him like wolves and tigers, all holding steel knives and heading straight for Ji Yang.
"Kill him!" someone shouted.
Ji Yang's eyes turned cold, a glint of coldness flashing in them. He reached out and ripped a chain from the waist of a nearby soldier. With a flick of his wrist, the chain swept across, sending the soldier flying backwards and crashing to the ground, wailing non-stop.
Ji Yang's footsteps were as fast as shadows, and his punches and kicks were all deadly moves, knocking the opponent's weapons out of his hands and causing him to fall to the ground.
Several more people rushed over from both sides. Ji Yang moved swiftly and with a flick of his toes, he grabbed a long sword that had fallen to the ground into his hand.
Amidst the flying dust, Ji Yang exuded a murderous aura, and the onlookers were stunned.
"……who is he?"
"He's not from our village at all..."
Yu Niang stood in the corner, her lips trembling: "Little...little brother..."
But at this moment, behind Ji Yang, a soldier who had fled to the side grabbed a heavy wooden stake from the ground and approached silently.
The wooden stake hit Ji Yang's back of the head hard!
Ji Yang's body shook, the knife in his hand fell to the ground, and he knelt on the ground with one knee stuck in the mud.
“Little brother——!”
Yu Niang and Xu Jiuge exclaimed in surprise.
He covered the back of his head, blood flowed through his fingers, veins bulged on his forehead, his face turned pale instantly, and his whole body was shaky. Before his eyes, scenes came flooding in.
"Jiang...Ci..." He murmured the name in a low voice.
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