Chapter 32 Chapter 32 "Hurry up and find a place to hide."...
The inn nestled against the mountainside, pine trees cast slanting shadows across the courtyard, wind chimes swaying softly on the eaves. Ji Yang and Lu Linchuan entered the courtyard one after the other. The innkeeper came out, bowed, and smiled, "Gentlemen, would you like to rest or stop by for a meal?"
Ji Yang said calmly, "We're staying at the hotel. Five people, four rooms."
The shopkeeper put on a smile but rubbed his hands in embarrassment. "Alas, the mountain road ahead has collapsed these days, so the number of people traveling around Xiling has increased dramatically, and our room is running out. We only have three rooms left today. Would you mind sharing a room for the night?"
Before he finished speaking, Jiang Ci walked in from outside with Wanniang and Yinshuang, their clothes blew in the wind and they walked calmly.
Lu Linchuan raised his eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips: "That's perfect, I'll have one room, you and your wife will have one room, and her two maids will have one room."
Jiang Ci was about to speak when Ji Yang interrupted him coldly, "One for me, one for you, and one for the three of them."
After saying this, without waiting for others to react, he strode up the stairs without any hesitation.
Jiang Ci was slightly startled, but then she felt that this arrangement made sense. She hadn't planned to share a room with him in the first place. She nodded slightly to the shopkeeper and took the key in a gentle voice, "Thank you."
The shopkeeper agreed repeatedly.
Lu Linchuan did not follow Ji Yang up. He turned around and looked at Jiang Ci with a faint smile: "Madam, why don't I go live with the governor and let you have a room to yourself. Wanniang and Yinshuang can live next door to you, so it will be more convenient for you to take care of them."
His tone was gentle, and before Jiang Ci could respond, he had already pressed a key into Yin Shuang's hand and bowed to everyone, "Then do as I say."
After saying that, he turned and walked up the stairs steadily, his figure was crisp,
Jiang Ci looked at his back, smiled softly, and said with a hint of helplessness: "Thank you, Sima Lu."
Ji Yangfang entered the room, took off the armor on his shoulders, put it on the bronze hook, and placed his sword on the table.
Just as I was about to undress and take a rest, I suddenly heard two soft sounds coming from outside the door.
He walked forward to open the door, and a gust of night wind blew in with a chill. Outside the door stood Lu Linchuan, dressed in a blue shirt, holding a wine jug he carried with him, looking lazy and with a half-smile on his face.
Ji Yang raised his eyebrows when he saw him: "Xingzhou, are you here to discuss something important?"
Lu Linchuan didn't answer. He just gently pushed away Ji Yang's arm that was blocking the doorway, walked in, and sat down at the table. The wine jug made a clear sound when it was put down. He turned to look at Ji Yang and said in a relaxed tone, "Tonight, I'll stay with you."
Ji Yang sneered at this, closed the door, and replied with a cold snort: "So our Sima Lu is being a good person and giving up his room? I'm used to living alone, so I still advise you to go back to your room and rest."
Lu Linchuan tilted his head lazily, his eyes filled with a hint of mockery: "How could I not know? When did you develop this habit? Huh? Why are you pretending with me?"
Ji Yang straightened his back, his expression normal: "I just want some peace and quiet."
Lu Linchuan didn't argue. He slowly opened the lid of the wine flask, raised his head and took a sip. He said, "Since you were seventeen, we have been marching and fighting together, traveling north and south. I have known you for seven years now. How can I not know what kind of person you are? When we camped in the bitter cold, we always ate and lived together. Why do you have to be so pretentious today?"
Ji Yang felt helpless after hearing this. He walked to the bed and sat down. He untied his boots and threw them on the carpet. "I can't argue with you. Anyway, I like to kick people when I sleep. You better be careful."
Lu Linchuan stared at him for a few breaths, the smile in his eyes gradually fading. Suddenly, his face became serious, and his tone became a little deeper: "Zisu, do you still remember... what we said in front of the coffin of Dongyang Hou that year?"
Ji Yang was reclining on the bed, resting his head on one arm, staring at the ceiling. After a moment, he whispered, "Remember. I said—when I unify the world, I will definitely ask you to be the number one prime minister."
After listening to his retelling, Lu Linchuan's eyebrows moved slightly, and a distant emotion appeared in his expression. He stood up, holding the wine pot in his hand, walked slowly to the bedside, and handed the pot to Ji Yang.
"Back then, I truly believed you would accomplish it, and I still do now." His voice slowed, yet remained as resolute as ever. "You will become a king who can rule the world and protect the people."
Ji Yang glanced at him sideways, took the wine jug, and took a sip in silence.
Lu Linchuan did not sit down, but stood in front of the couch. His tone suddenly changed, and suddenly became more meaningful:
"Now the world is divided into four parts. The military strength of the old Xiliang is no longer what it used to be. Beiting is busy with internal strife and the situation is chaotic. In this world, the only ones who truly have the power to unify are you and the Hanbei Overlord Louqi."
He took the wine jug from Ji Yang's hand and took another sip. His tone became clearer, "Liangzhou is a strategically located area, a strategic point for all four directions. Whoever controls Liangzhou will have the leverage to conquer the world. Now that Jiang Huaice is willing to marry his daughter to you, it's like handing over the entire power of Liangzhou to you."
He paused briefly, his eyes slowly falling on Ji Yang. "Why don't you get along well with Jiang Ci? If you can please her, you can take over her father's Liangzhou Army without having to fight a single soldier."
Ji Yang was about to speak when Lu Linchuan interrupted him by raising his hand.
"I know you can't forget that today's Liangzhou Army is the old Xiliang army. You haven't forgotten how Jiang Huaice asked his men to treat you in the past."
His tone was even slower than before. "I know you want to kill him. But now that I've said this, what to do... you decide for yourself."
The house was silent for a moment, with only the shadow of the lamp swaying slightly in the wind. A dog barked from somewhere outside the window, and then everything returned to silence again.
Ji Yang was silent for a moment, his fingers slightly tightened, holding the wine jug in his palm, but his eyes gradually turned cold.
After a while, he raised his eyes and looked at Lu Linchuan, his eyes were firm, his voice was low and sonorous:
"I, Ji Yang, cannot rely on deceiving a woman's sincerity in exchange for a city, a piece of land, an army, and a political power."
He spoke each word with an unquestionable tone:
"I want Liangzhou, and I also want Jiang Huaice's head. But I want to take these things step by step with my own ability."
On the other side, Wanniang borrowed the inn's kitchen and made some simple midnight snacks.
Jiang Ci thought that they had traveled for a long time today and Ji Yang and Lu Linchuan had not had a proper meal, so he asked Wan Niang to serve out a portion and he personally carried it to them.
The night was dark, and the lights in the corridor were dim. She walked slowly along the wooden corridor. When she reached Ji Yang's door, she was about to raise her hand to knock when a cold and low male voice came from inside the room.
"I want Liangzhou, and I also want Jiang Huaice's head. But I want to take these things step by step with my own ability."
The words were sonorous and full of determination.
Jiang Ci stood there in a daze, his fingertips trembling, and the food plate in his hand also shook slightly.
She seemed to be suddenly nailed to the ground, her feet as heavy as lead, unable to move even a step.
The only sound in my ears was my own heartbeat, again and again, as if I was immersed in ice water, and each beat was so cold that it chilled me to the bone.
She didn't know how she turned around, or how she walked back to her room. When she came to her senses, she had already opened the door and was standing in the room.
Wanniang was wiping the table with a handkerchief. When she saw that her face was pale and her expression was not right, she quickly put down her work and came forward: "Miss? What's wrong?"
Jiang Ci seemed to have just come back to his senses, shook his head slightly, and said in a low, hoarse voice:
"It's okay, Wanniang...you and Yinshuang should both leave first. I want to be alone for a while."
Wanniang hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and walked out, closing the door for her before leaving.
The room suddenly fell silent. Jiang Ci placed his midnight snack gently on the table and slowly sat down beside the bed, wrapping his arms around his knees and curling up quietly.
The light illuminated her profile, her brows lowered and her lips tightly pursed.
She suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of grievance in her heart, as if there was a breath stuck in her chest that she couldn't let out.
She never expected Ji Yang to be as close to her as an ordinary couple. She only asked for a mutual respect and non-interference. Even if they were not in love, as long as he was willing to let go of his obsession with Liangzhou and not resort to violence, she would feel at ease.
But now it seems that what that person is most obsessed with is Liangzhou, the old hatred, the city, and the ambition to conquer the world.
And she was just a link on his way to those goals.
She leaned her head against the bedpost, her eyes lowered and she said nothing. After a while, her heart grew colder. Suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach and couldn't help but dry heave a few times.
The night was as dark as ink, thick as a pool of black, oppressive and suffocating. The wind in the forest rustled softly, brushing past the dilapidated window frames of the inn, and the chirping of insects in the forest quietly died down.
Suddenly, a tree shadow flashed, and a sharp arrow whizzed past the eaves and nailed into the outer wall of the inn.
"Kill!" Someone shouted, and in an instant, the flashes of swords and the shadows of knives tore through the night sky.
Suddenly, there was a sound of weapons clashing in the inn, and someone screamed in pain and fell to the ground.
Jiang Ci woke up from her dream and suddenly propped herself up. Before she could put on her shoes, she heard the sounds of running and fighting in the corridor. Screams and roars fell in from the window like night rain. Her heart skipped a beat and she immediately put on her clothes, put on her shoes casually, and staggered to the door.
Almost at the same time, in the other room, Ji Yang also suddenly opened his eyes and stood up. He didn't even have time to put on his armor, so he just took his sword and tied it around his waist. Then, with a "bang", the door was suddenly kicked open by an outside force.
Lu Linchuan was also awakened and was about to get up, but was stopped by Ji Yang.
"Xingzhou, you retreat." Ji Yang's voice was low, and he had already raised his sword to meet the enemy.
Two men in black rushed into the room, their blades flashing coldly. Ji Yang glanced at them coldly, and with a swift step, he knocked one of their weapons away with his sword in a few steps, then spun around and kicked him out of the door. He then blocked another blow with his sword, and the cold blade swept across, bringing blood.
At this moment, a woman's scream was heard from Yin Shuang's house next door.
Ji Yang's eyes darkened suddenly, and he murmured in a low voice: "Not good, Jiang Ci."
He immediately swung his sword and cut down the other man, then rushed out of the room without stopping, running towards Jiang Ci's room. The door was wide open, and the room was empty.
His heart suddenly sank.
"Jiang Ci——"
The next moment, he heard a scream from outside the court.
Down the corridor, Jiang Ci was fleeing, dragging Wanniang and Yinshuang with him, two men in black chasing them relentlessly. Even as she moved in panic, she still fiercely protected the two maids.
Ji Yang's eyes turned cold, and he rushed forward with a sword in hand. His body was as fast as the wind, and he forced the two men back in a few moves. He turned his hand and slashed off the shoulder blade of one of them with a sword, and the other was forced to retreat a few steps.
At this moment, a strange man in black clothes and a conical hat suddenly jumped out of the yard. He shook the long sword in his hand, and a cold light suddenly appeared.
He faced three men alone, his blade swift and fierce, his movements like a ghost, his moves fierce and sharp, and in a blink of an eye he had already cut down three men in black. The long sword in his hand seemed to have a spirit, and no one could match it wherever he swung it.
Ji Yang frowned, said nothing, and fought alongside him.
Suddenly, a black shadow rushed out from the side and rushed towards Jiang Ci. The palm wind was so fierce that it was about to hit him.
Jiang Ci was unable to react in time. He only felt a strong wind coming at him. He had no time to dodge and was hit on the shoulder by a palm. His body swayed violently, and he lost his balance and fell out from the corridor on the second floor.
Almost in an instant, Ji Yang's figure flashed past, and he jumped down the stairs without hesitation, caught Jiang Ci, held him in his arms, and landed steadily.
He held her tightly with his arms to cushion the force, holding the sword in one hand and protecting her with the other.
Then he immediately pushed Jiang Ci away and whispered, "Hurry and find a place to hide."
Jiang Ci nodded, turned around and hid behind the shopkeeper's counter.
Lu Linchuan was also leading Yin Shuang and Wan Niang through the corridor, and was about to run to the backyard when he was stopped by several men in black. Yin Shuang slipped and fell to the ground, and she was about to draw the dagger hidden in her sleeve.
"Yinshuang!" Lu Linchuan turned around and pulled her up, cutting off Yinshuang's thoughts. Lu Linchuan pushed her and Wanniang into the nearest room and held the door tightly.
He turned to look at Yin Shuang and Wan Niang and shouted, "Quick! You two hide in the closet and don't come out!"
Yin Shuang said anxiously: "Sima Lu, you don't know kung fu, they will catch up with you if they do something..."
Lu Linchuan interrupted her: "I am a man, I should stand in front of you. Go in quickly!"
Yin Shuang's eyes flashed with tears, she gritted her teeth and nodded, then hid in the clothes box with Wan Niang.
Lu Linchuan found a table to block the door. There was a passerby in the house who had already fallen dead in a pool of blood and was no longer breathing.
At this moment, there was a sudden loud noise outside the door, as if someone was kicking the door in. Lu Linchuan picked up the wooden stool on the ground, clenched his hands, and was ready to fight to the death.
In the cabinet, Yin Shuang looked through the gap and saw his blue shirt trembling slightly. Her heart tightened and her heart was in her throat.
The door was finally broken open, and three men in black rushed in like hungry wolves, surrounding Lu Linchuan in an instant.
He waved the wooden stool in his hand to resist, but was ultimately no match for the opponent's strength. He was kicked to the ground by one of them and fell heavily on the ground, with a scratch on his forehead.
The three men looked at each other, as if they had reached a tacit understanding, and raised their swords to kill him.
At the critical moment, there was a loud "bang" and the cabinet door was suddenly pushed open from the inside.
A slender figure darted out from the darkness. Silver Frost's figure was as swift as a swallow, and in the blink of an eye, she was behind one of the men in black. She stretched out her hand and twisted it. With a crisp "click," the man's neck vertebrae broke, and he fell limply to the ground.
The other two were enraged, their swords drawn, as Silver Frost unsheathed the dagger from her sleeve, slicing through the air in an instant, striking directly at her vitals. Wherever the dagger struck, blood gushed from her throat. The two men were powerless to fight back, stumbling a few steps before collapsing to the ground with a thud.
The room suddenly fell silent again.
Lu Linchuan fell to the ground, looking at the calm and capable figure in front of him in shock, with layers of turbulent waves in his heart.
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