Chapter 164
It took about half an hour to arrive at Hengyang Town.
Because of the famine, there are fewer people in the town. Looking around, there are only a few scattered people. The roadside stalls selling various food are gone. The town is empty and feels desolate.
Yin Zheng, holding Jiaojiao in his arms and Qin Mianmian on his back, with a white deer following him, walked quickly towards the clinic. Unfortunately, the clinic was closed. People said that the only doctor in the clinic, Dr. Zhou, was taken away by his son some time ago and has not returned yet.
Without a doctor on duty, the clinic naturally cannot open.
Upon hearing this, Yin Zheng turned around and went to the carriage company to hire a carriage to rush to the county. There were other clinics in the town, but most of the doctors in these small clinics were not very skilled. There were children in the village who had problems due to medical treatment in these small clinics.
With the lessons learned from the past, no matter how careless Yin Zheng was, he would not let Qin Mianmian take the medicines prescribed by these doctors.
In the carriage, Jiaojiao got down from her father's arms and raised her head to look at Qin Mianmian in the backpack.
Qin Mianmian, who was sitting in the backpack, was obviously burning more severely. Her whole face was red, and the air she exhaled from her mouth and nose had a burning sensation. She was so uncomfortable that she made intermittent humming sounds.
Jiaojiao's eyes were filled with worry. She stood on tiptoe and reached out to touch Qin Mianmian's face with great effort: "Dad, Mianmian seems to be getting sicker."
Upon hearing this, Yin Zheng reached out and touched Qin Mianmian's cheek, and found that the temperature of his touch was indeed much higher than when he went out.
Jiaojiao turned around, took the bamboo tube filled with warm water, handed it to her father, and said, "Dad, give this to Mianmian."
Yin Zheng took the bamboo tube, took Qin Mianmian out of the backpack and fed him some water. Qin Mianmian, who was in a daze, drank two sips and turned away. Yin Zheng simply reached out and pinched his mouth and poured more water into it before stopping.
Yin Zheng, who had also experienced fever as a child, knew that drinking more water would indeed make one feel better when sick.
"Uncle." Jiaojiao poked her head out of the carriage and looked at the driver. "Uncle, Brother Mianmian is sick. Jiaojiao and Daddy want to take him to see a doctor. Uncle, can you please make the horses go faster?"
Being called uncle by such a fair, tender and soft child, the driver, who had a bitter face, couldn't help but smile. The wrinkles on his face relaxed a little, and he said in a low voice, "Okay, let the horses go faster."
After he finished speaking, he whipped the horse-drawn carriage and its speed increased immediately.
With the help of a horse-drawn carriage, the time spent on going to the county town was greatly reduced. They arrived at Jiayang County in an hour and a half. The coachman, who had been to the county town many times, was very familiar with it. Without waiting for Yin Zheng and Jiaojiao to speak, he drove the carriage to the gate of Renxing Hall.
Afraid that Yin Zheng would think he was acting on his own, the driver explained, "This is the most famous clinic in the county. The doctors there are top-notch. My grandson had a fever a while ago, and he got two prescriptions boiled at Renxing Hall and he's almost recovered."
Yin Zheng put on the backpack, picked up Jiaojiao and got off the carriage. He handed the money to the driver and said, "Thank you."
Jiaojiao also said, "Thank you, uncle."
Yoyo, who got off the car, shook his head and yo-yoed twice at the driver.
"No thanks, no thanks." The driver took the money and couldn't help glancing at Youyou who seemed to be thanking him.
This deer...why does this deer look a little strange?
After Yin Zheng carried Jiaojiao into the clinic, he took Qin Mianmian out of the backpack. When the doctor at Renxingtang saw Qin Mianmian's face, he frowned, took her pulse and asked about her condition, then asked Yin Zheng to carry her to the back hall.
Doctor Zhang gave Qin Mianmian an acupuncture and bled her, then prescribed some medicine for his apprentice to boil and give to Qin Mianmian.
After doing all this and checking on Qin Mianmian's condition, Doctor Zhang took the medicine bag from his apprentice and handed it to Yin Zheng, saying, "If the fever subsides before the evening hour, he'll be fine. If not, boil this medicine with two bowls of water to make one bowl and feed it to him."
Yin Zheng took the medicine bag, paid the money, and walked out holding Jiaojiao in one hand and Qin Mianmian in the other.
They didn't walk far. They found an inn on the street away from the clinic and rented two rooms, planning to wait until Qin Mianmian's fever subsided before returning to the village.
In fact, one room would be enough, but Yin Zheng was afraid that Qin Mianmian would pass her illness on to Jiaojiao. These days, there are many cases of babies dying from a fever. Yin Zheng was always overly cautious about Jiaojiao's health.
The inn did not allow livestock to be brought into the room, so Youyou was led to the stable in the backyard.
After entering the house, Yin Zheng put Qin Mianmian on the bed, and asked the waiter to bring a basin of cold water. He soaked a handkerchief in it and put it on Qin Mianmian's forehead.
Jiaojiao was curled up in the recliner that his father had sent over, wrapped in a fluffy blanket and watching the scene. Although he was worried about Mianmian, Jiaojiao was very well behaved and would not come near unless his father told him to.
Yin Zheng walked over and touched Jiaojiao's little feet, and found that they were warm and not cold. His tense expression relaxed a little, and then he sat on the recliner and held the little Jiaojiao in his arms, along with the blanket.
Jiaojiao fell asleep in her father's arms in a short while.
At the hour of You, Qin Mianmian's fever subsided. She woke up, ate some porridge, and fell asleep again.
Seeing that his fever had subsided, Jiaojiao and her father went downstairs to have dinner without worry. However, just after they had taken a few bites, they heard loud shouting outside, as if someone was shouting something like "The Turks are coming" and so on.
Yin Zheng's eyes darkened, and he inevitably recalled the scene in Sifang Town seven years ago. He quickly picked up Jiaojiao and ran upstairs, woke up the sleeping Qin Mianmian, and then opened the window a little to look out.
The road within sight was filled with people running back and forth, hurried footsteps, and all kinds of shouts.
In just a breath, the entire county was in chaos, with quarrels, shouting, and crying all around. The yamen runners and soldiers tried to maintain order, but it didn't seem to be very effective.
Jiayang County is not too close to the border, but it is also quite far away. It is not too close, but it is only two counties away. However, since it is not a rich place, nor a place that must be fought for, it has never been captured by a large number of enemy troops except for occasional bandits and defeated soldiers over the years. Therefore, compared with other counties, its city walls are very dilapidated and low.
In other words, the city walls of Jiayang County were easily breached.
This was known not only to the wealthy families in the city but also to the common people walking in the streets. What they knew even more was the cruelty of the Turks. After all, it was not uncommon for the Turks to massacre cities.
The people of the entire county were in a panic. Hearing the loud banging sounds and shouts of "kill" coming from the city gate, they seemed to feel the ferocity of the Turks and the bloody smell on their swords from a long distance away.
Unlike the common people who still had hidden expectations in their hearts, the wealthy families did not believe that the county yamen runners and inspectors could guard the city gate. They knew that the broken city gate could not hold out for long, so they began to hurriedly order their thugs and servants to pack up their belongings.
The carriage was speeding along the street, and in the carriage, the frightened county lord and his family wanted to go to the southern pier to escape by boat.
“Boom!”
With a loud noise, the city gate was knocked open!
The sound of horse hooves, shouts of killing, cries, and wails, the entire county town was like a boiling pot in an instant.
At the same time, Yin Zheng wrapped Jiaojiao and Qin Mianmian with bed sheets on their chests and backs respectively, turned around and ran downstairs. There were many people in the inn who ran downstairs like him, but not many. Many people hid in their rooms out of fear, hoping to escape.
Yin Zheng didn't comment on their actions. He went downstairs and went straight to the back to release Youyou from the stable.
The streets were in chaos, with people fleeing in all directions. In the distance at the city gate, Turks on horseback raised their long swords and advanced through the gate like a meat grinder. In the firelight, the Turks' faces and flags were mixed in with flesh and blood, looking extremely ferocious.
Yin Zheng crouched low, his waist and shoulders tensed, forming extremely smooth and powerful lines. He lowered his eyelids and searched around for a route, like a predator in the jungle running quickly in the jungle.
The north of the county town is close to Yishan Mountain, and for Yin Zheng, as long as he enters the mountains, he is absolutely sure that the Turks will not be able to find him.
However, Yin Zheng was unfamiliar with the route layout of Jiayang County. Over the past 20 years, he could count the number of times he had been to Jiayang County on one hand. After running into several dead ends, Yin Zheng's speed inevitably slowed down.
Crowds of people clashed, screams mixed with flames, and thick smoke rushed into the night sky, replacing the dark clouds that pressed down on the entire Jiayang County.
The door was violently broken open, and the terrified man hiding in the house rushed forward with a kitchen knife in desperation. A tragic cry burst out of his mouth, but his throat was suddenly cut off just after a short cry, leaving only the heavy breathing sound like a broken bellows.
The Turkic man, with his body as strong as an iron tower and half of his body covered in blood, looked particularly ferocious. He turned around and rushed towards the woman and child who were crying and screaming wildly in the house.
With a bang, the flaming beams collapsed to the ground. The swords and weapons lit up in the night, reflecting the firelight. A woman was lying there in the raging fire, half of her body was cut open, and the strong smell of blood filled her nostrils. Around her were three broken bodies of children lying in a mess.
Many young and strong men organized themselves to block the entrances of the streets and alleys, buying time for their families behind them to escape. However, these ordinary people who had never seen blood were no match for the Turks who had been tempered on the battlefield. They were knocked to the ground at the first encounter.
The mixture of crying, wailing, and roaring was so piercing that it was extremely ear-piercing. Yin Zheng held Jiaojiao tightly in his arms and covered his ears all the way to prevent him from seeing and hearing things that a child should not hear.
After entering a dead end again, Yin Zheng turned around and left without hesitation, but when he was about to approach the entrance of the alley, he met several Turkic people wearing leather armor and as strong as iron towers.
Looking at their cruel grins, Yin Zheng's eyes darkened, and he went forward without slowing down, holding a broad-backed bone-cutting knife in his hand.
Yoyo also kicked his hooves and rushed forward, trying to kill them, but was grabbed by Yin Zheng and thrown behind halfway.
After just one encounter, the two lifeless corpses slammed heavily against the opposite wall. In just a few moments, Yin Zheng left the alley without slowing down at all, and three corpses were lying in a mess at the entrance of the alley.
Dark red blood spread, and the ferocious smiles on the faces of the corpses died while they were still transforming into fear, causing the expressions on the corpses' faces to appear hideous and deformed.
Jiaojiao, who had been staying in her father's arms, suddenly reached out and pulled her father's clothes when her father was about to step onto the street on the left.
Jiaojiao's force in pulling at her clothes wasn't very strong. Normally, such a slight force would be easily ignored when someone was running at top speed, but Yin Zheng noticed it and even lowered his head to look at Jiaojiao, whose eyes were shining in his arms: "?"
"Dad, go this way."
Jiaojiao wrinkled her nose and pointed to the street which was completely opposite to the direction Yin Zheng was approaching.
Normal adults would usually choose to ignore or question the direction a child suddenly pointed, but Yin Zheng ran in the direction Jiaojiao pointed without hesitation.
Just after Yin Zheng and the sound of Yoyodada's footsteps disappeared, a small group of Turks rushed over from the street where Yin Zheng was originally going.
"Dad this way!"
"here."
"Don't go there, that's not good, go this way."
With Jiaojiao's continuous guidance, Yin Zheng encountered Turks less and less frequently, and even did not encounter any Turks for several quarters of an hour.
It was obvious that the Turks were wreaking havoc in the entire county, and one could hear their roars and cries constantly. However, Yin Zheng, who was running among them, did not encounter a single Turk. This could not be explained by good luck.
In Lijia Village, the village chief climbed onto the roof and looked down at the flames rising from the downstream village with a gloomy expression. His face was as dark as water: "Something happened in the downstream village."
Li Da climbed up and saw a thick smoke rising into the sky in the west. He could vaguely see the light of fire, but it was not clear because it was blocked by the foggy mountain and tall trees.
His heart sank immediately. Seven years ago, when the Turks moved south, Huaishu Village was burned down. No one in the village, young or old, was left alive. If the soldiers from the provincial government had not arrived quickly, their Lijia Village might have suffered as well.
After coming down from the roof, the village chief took Li Da and went door to door to call a dozen people, holding torches and walking along the mountain road to the downstream village to investigate the situation.
In the carriage that fled to the southern dock from Jiayang County, Meng Qiwu tightly grasped the handkerchief in her hand, and her eyes, covered by her eyelids, were filled with unwillingness. She was clearly about to hold Qin Zhiyi's child in her hands, but the sudden appearance of the Turkic people made everything she had go to waste.
Are those useless people in the West Camp just eating for free? Why did they let the Turks...
Meng Qiwu, who was secretly thinking cruelly in the car, suddenly hit the car wall with his head, and then the whole world turned upside down.
The solid wood that came crashing down on the horse knocked it to the ground. The carriage instantly flipped over and flew out, rolling several times on the ground before stopping.
Meng Qiwu, holding his bruised head, raised his head from the carriage. With his head dizzy, he heard the laughter and scolding of the Turks, as well as the crying and screaming of maids and family members.
Meng Qiwu shuddered and turned her head to meet the blood-red eyes that were looking in from outside the carriage. Her gaze fell on the Turkic man's appearance that was different from that of the Central Plains people. She suddenly widened her eyes in horror, and when she was dragged out by the feet, desperate cries and screams burst out of her throat. She kicked the hand holding her ankle like crazy, trying to break free from the tragic fate she was about to face.
The Turkic man raised his hand and slapped her hard in the face, causing stars to appear in her eyes and blood to flow from her mouth and nose.
Looking at the people who had quieted down, the Turkic man grinned with satisfaction. When he untied his belt and was about to do something, a sharp arrow shot out and pierced the left eye of the Turkic soldier.
A scream broke out from his mouth. The severe pain stimulated the brutality in the Turkic soldier's heart. He reached out and broke the arrow in his eye, turned his head to look in the direction from which the arrow came, shouted something, and rushed forward with a knife.
The person who shot the arrow was Zhao Zexi. He knew that his arrow would be very dangerous, but the education he received since childhood made it impossible for him to sit idly by and watch this scene.
Facing the charging Turkic soldiers, he pulled the reins, turned his horse around and ran, looking back and shooting arrows as he ran, keeping the hatred firmly on himself.
The rescued Meng Qiwu crawled to his feet from the ground, climbed onto the horse beside him with trembling hands, and rode it crookedly towards the dock.
The dead and the living were piled up on the streets, the painful groans and the spreading blood painted an extremely tragic picture for this night.
"Dad this way!"
Yin Zheng ran towards the direction Jiaojiao pointed without stopping. By now, there were more and more Turks in the city, and Yin Zheng gradually ran into one or two Turks. When dealing with the two scattered Turks he met, he accidentally ran into a small group of Turkic soldiers. Knowing that he would encounter more people if he dragged it on, Yin Zheng ignored them and turned around and ran around.
The leader of the Turks suddenly shot an arrow into the sky. The arrow, with fire and sharp sound, rose into the night sky. It was obvious that they were gathering people to encircle Yin Zheng.
Yin Zheng was a little confused. Logically speaking, with so many people fleeing all over the county, there was no need to send out flares to summon people to chase him. He was not an important general of Dayong.
What Yin Zheng didn't know was that one of the Turkic soldiers he had killed before was a small leader among the Turkic soldiers. The most important thing was that the identity of this small leader was a bit unusual. He was the youngest son of the leader of a Turkic tribe.
Although he was not seen at the time, he was holding a knife and had a fierce aura that was no less fierce than the Turkic soldiers, so he was obviously a key suspect.
Yin Zheng's speed was obviously faster than these Turks, and he soon put some distance between himself and them. However, as more and more people came in this direction, even with Jiaojiao's guidance, he would still meet one or two Turks at the corner or the next intersection.
As time went by, a long line of people chasing Yin Zheng formed, which was terrifying to look at.
While dodging attacks from all corners, Yin Zheng continued to run quickly through the streets and alleys towards the north of the county town.
The reason why the Turks could not catch up with Yin Zheng was not only because they could not run as fast as Yin Zheng, but also because of various strange and unexpected events that could be attributed to bad luck.
For example, while chasing, they were suddenly tripped by a protruding stone on the ground, and the knife in their hand slipped and stabbed themselves in the neck, killing them on the spot. Or, while running, a brick fell from somewhere, hitting them on the head and causing a bloody scene. Even more outrageous was that the ground suddenly collapsed into a huge pit, and the Turks who were unprepared and still holding knives were caught off guard and fell into it. Many people died on the spot, and all of them were stabbed through by their companions' knives.
It's just fucking outrageous!
"Over here! The person is over here!"
"Two of you come with me and chase from this side. The rest of you will split into two teams and flank us!"
"Here, here, quick!"
Although Yin Zheng couldn't understand the chattering sound, he understood that it was probably talking about how to surround him.
In front of them, Yin Zheng jumped up, grabbed the edge of the wall with his arms and climbed over, holding a deer in his hand.
A group of people hurriedly chased after it and saw that it was not an easy wall for anyone to climb over. So they immediately stepped on each other and climbed up.
After they climbed up, they saw Yin Zheng running from the roof to the street, and then from the street to the roof. After climbing several streets, he disappeared.
The Turkic man standing on the roof blinked, and for a moment he was a little confused about what to do.
Fortunately, more and more people gathered around, and within a quarter of an hour after he disappeared, news of his whereabouts was received again.
As they were getting closer and closer to the north of the county town, a raging fire snake suddenly jumped up. With the help of strong fire oil, it engulfed the entire north in a blink of an eye. The fire was so fierce that it lit up half the sky.
A normal fire would definitely not spread so quickly. Yin Zheng smelled a pungent smell and realized that they must have used something to help with combustion.
The way ahead was blocked by the fierce fire, and the way behind was blocked by the pursuing Turks. Yin Zheng held Jiaojiao's head in his arms, clenched the bone-cutting knife in his hand, turned around and looked at the person in front of him.
The Turks were not unfamiliar to Yin Zheng. After all, he had fought his way out of the Turks seven years ago, and the scar on his face was left at that time.
A small-scale fight broke out in Hulu Lane, East Street. When his body was stabbed through, Zhao Zexi madly chopped down the steel knife in his hand.
Hot blood splashed all over his face, and the strong smell of blood made him nauseous. He gripped the knife in his hand and stabbed it hard, then kicked the man in front of him down. The steel knife that was stuck in his abdomen was pulled out of his body as the Turk fell down.
A large amount of blood flowed from the wound, and the severe pain tore at his entire body. All the noise was fading away. The moment he fell on his back on the ground, Zhao Zexi stared blankly at the sky blocked by thick smoke.
As he watched, his mouth opened wide, revealing a mouth full of blood, and a large amount of blood vomited out of his mouth. Before he lost consciousness, he thought, it seems not a loss, his life was exchanged for the lives of three Turks!
At the dock, just as she was about to board the ship, Meng Qiwu was shot through by an arrow flying from a distance. Severe pain exploded from her chest. She slowly lowered her head to look at the arrow on her chest, then raised her eyes and stared at the nearby ship. Her body uncontrollably tilted to the side, and with a splash, the blood-soaked figure fell into the cold river water.
The bloody and sticky smell lingered in the place. The narrow alley was filled with corpses. The overly strong smell of blood made people nauseous. During the fight, Yin Zheng kept one hand firmly pressing Jiaojiao's head in his arms, not allowing him to see the scene in front of him.
The heavy blade slashed diagonally from the ribs to the chest, and thick, hot blood spurted out from there, splashing all over Yin Zheng's face, dripping down his jaw, and hitting Jiaojiao's hand, who was curled up obediently in her father's arms.
Another knife struck the chest of the Turkic man who was charging towards him. The force was so great that the man was thrown into the air and knocked over several Turkic men in front of him.
The alley was not conducive to Yin Zheng's escape, but it also restricted the Turks' attack. The narrowness of the alley allowed only two Turks to walk side by side, which meant that there were always only two people in front of Yin Zheng.
Corpses filled the alley, forming a waist-high wall of flesh between them and Yin Zheng. Firelight shone from the front, and they couldn't see Yin Zheng's face, facing away from the light. They could only see a dark figure and the flash of a knife. Every time the knife flashed, two people fell.
Looking at their comrades who kept falling, these Turkic people who had just fought on the battlefield couldn't help but feel a chill. The boiling blood in their bodies cooled down. In this cold winter, these Turkic soldiers finally felt the bone-chilling cold.
The fighting in various parts of the county was still going on fiercely, but more and more Turks were surrounding this alley. When one of the generals on horseback came over, the main force of the Turks had arrived.
After looking at the situation in the alley for a while, the Turkic general named Bashu took the bow and arrow, pulled the bow to its full length, aimed at the package on the Han man's chest, and then let go.
The sound of breaking air was heard, and Yin Zheng's eyes moved. While splitting the Turks who were rushing towards him, the tip of the knife slashed to the left and accurately chopped down the arrows shooting from the air.
bite!
The sound of metal falling to the ground was almost inaudible amidst the noise, but the Turkic general in the distance still heard the sound of the arrow hitting the ground.
He narrowed his eyes, finding it difficult to tell whether it was a coincidence or intentional.
If it was a coincidence, it wouldn't be a big deal, but if it was intentional, then the person in front of me was a bit...
Thinking of this, he shot a few arrows in succession. As expected, these arrows were chopped down to the ground by Yin Zheng when he saw the people rushing towards him.
He did it on purpose!
Bashu came to this conclusion.
A person who can accurately cut off the arrows shot by him in such a situation must never be allowed to appear on the battlefield. Death here is the best outcome.
Ba Shu brought his men to plunder the valley and cause some trouble for the Han army. After seizing food, gold, silver and people, he should have evacuated to avoid being chased by the Han army. However, his younger brother died here, which made him heartbroken and furious. He vowed to find the Han man who killed his brother, chop him into pieces and feed him to dogs.
Ba Shu's eyes fell on the bone-cutting knife in Yin Zheng's hand. His eyes trembled, and then he became furious. He had seen the wounds on his brother's body, which were exactly the same as the wounds caused by this knife. His brother died at the hands of this lowly Han Chinese.
Ba Shu was extremely angry after coming to this conclusion. He kept shouting at the soldiers to go forward and kill him, and even announced that anyone who killed the man would be rewarded with 500 yuan.
After hearing his words, those who had wanted to retreat after being killed were instantly full of fighting spirit again, holding steel knives and rushing towards Yin Zheng. After realizing that the people in front of them were intentionally protecting the things wrapped in cloth on their chest and back, the attack direction of this group of Turks was concentrated on Yin Zheng's chest and back. Coupled with the occasional cold arrows shot from a distance, this accelerated the energy that Yin Zheng needed to consume.
As time passed, the smell of blood became stronger, and wounds gradually appeared on Yin Zheng's body. His movements inevitably slowed down, but his eyes became more ferocious and fierce.
At this moment, Yin Zheng was like a tiger surrounded by wolves. No matter how ferocious and violent he was, his fate was foreseeable.
A steel knife hit Yin Zheng's left shoulder, and the sound of cloth breaking reached his ears. Yin Zheng turned around and chopped the man in half with a knife. At the same time, he reached out to catch Qin Mianmian who fell behind him, and used his strength to throw him behind him. There was a white deer tied there by Yin Zheng, unable to break free.
After doing all this, he hugged Jiaojiao in his arms, quickly tied the torn bed sheet at his shoulders, raised his knife to block the two steel knives that were chopping down. The muscles on his arms bulged, and he flipped his hand to press down the two steel knives while raising his leg and sweeping across, kicking the two men out and knocking down three or four people behind him one after another.
This series of actions prevented Yin Zheng from dodging in time, and the rapidly shot arrow pierced his left shoulder. He swung his sword to cut off the arrowhead, without a single change on his face.
During this time, Yin Zheng always held Jiaojiao in his arms, fearing that he would see these bloody scenes.
Jiaojiao also curled up in her father's arms very obediently, her little hands tightly grasping the clothes on her father's chest, and she was very good and didn't cause any trouble to her father.
But when a person is exhausted, as time goes by, Yin Zheng's movements become slower and slower, and the injuries on his body become more and more. His arms, abdomen, thighs, shoulders, back, only his chest was not hurt at all. Many times, he was too late to use his back to bear the damage.
Under the flames rising into the sky, his entire body was soaked in blood, some of which was his, but more of it was from the Turks.
Seeing this man getting closer and closer to the entrance of the alley, Ba Shu outside couldn't help but feel frightened. These were the best fighters under his command. Although they were not experienced in hundreds of battles, they had at least fought in the battlefield no less than five times and came back alive. However, these people were like melons and vegetables in front of this man.
Fortunately, this is an alley with high walls on both sides. If it were in a wide area, this man would have broken out of the encirclement long ago.
Ba Shu's face was extremely ugly. The casualties of his personnel had almost reached the critical point that he could bear. If this continued, the losses in this battle would be devastating.
Bashu was hesitating. If he gave up just like that, it would be too much... Just as he was thinking about what a Turkic man on horseback said to him from a distance, Bashu clenched his fist and looked at Yin Zheng with a vicious look, and he had to order the entire army to retreat.
Just as he gave this order, a steel knife came down from Yin Zheng's right shoulder, and the tip of the knife cut through the bed sheet, leaving a two-inch long cut on Jiaojiao's arm.
Blood oozed out of the wound. Jiaojiao clutched his father's clothes tightly and bit his lips hard to hold back his tears, but the severe pain in his arm still made him unable to hold back his tears.
The two cries sounded like thunder to Yin Zheng's ears. His eyes, which had been expressionless, trembled slightly and he became visibly panicked. He carefully lifted the sheet that wrapped Jiaojiao to see where she was hurt, but Jiaojiao saw the wounds on his face, shoulders and hands.
In that instant, the child's cry broke out from his arms and spread far away.
Jiaojiao knew that being injured and bleeding was not good, but since he had never been injured or bled in this world, he only had a bad impression in his mind, and he himself was vague about why it was bad.
Until now, the pain has spread from his arm to his whole body. He was still afraid of disturbing his father. While enduring the pain, he saw the dense wounds on his father's body. The grievance, pain, fear, worry, and heartache burst out at the same time. He didn't know what to do, so he chose the way children are best at expressing emotions, crying!
Outside the city, Qi Zuqing, who was leading his men to Jiayang County, looked up at the sky. He didn't know if it was his illusion, but the whole sky seemed to darken in an instant.
In the west of the city, Kong Chen, who had broken his vow of killing, turned his head in horror and looked towards the firelight in the north of the city. His monk robe was stained with blood, and the bloodstains on his face did not destroy the compassion between his eyebrows, especially his eyes, which were extremely warm and clear, without any worldly dust.
Others might not be able to see clearly due to the thick smoke above the county town, but Kong Chen, who was extremely skilled in observing the sky, spotted the strange phenomenon in the northern sky at a glance. It was difficult to describe the creepy feeling that rose in his heart the moment he saw the strange phenomenon in the northern sky, the uncontrollable urge to get closer, yet the instinctive urge to retreat.
Kong Chen frowned and looked at the strange phenomenon in the northern sky again. After confirming something, he tightened his grip on the knife in his hand and ran quickly towards the north of the city.
Ba Shu, who was retreating with his men, stopped inexplicably the moment he heard Jiaojiao's crying.
“Boom!”
The crying of children was accompanied by thunder, and purple lightning flashed across the night sky. Lightning in this winter month is rare and somewhat strange.
Ba Shu looked up almost subconsciously, and saw densely packed lightning bolts as thick as bowls flashing in the thick dark clouds, covering the night sky like a spider web, which made people inexplicably afraid.
"Dad... Dad... Wow..." Jiaojiao cried miserably while grabbing her father's clothes.
Seeing Jiaojiao crying for the first time, Yin Zheng was at a loss. He raised his hand to wipe Jiaojiao's tears, but his bloody hand left a stain on Jiaojiao's fair face. He retracted his hand and looked at Jiaojiao crying so hard that she couldn't breathe. His eyes fell on the wound on his arm.
When he saw the wound, Yin Zheng felt as if his chest was being torn by something, causing him tremendous pain.
He staggered towards the clinic holding Jiaojiao in his arms, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground behind him.
Jiaojiao, who was crying so hard that he couldn't breathe, was carried by his father to the clinic. He looked up at Bashu and the others who were about to disappear from his sight in the distance. He raised his uninjured hand and pointed at their backs: "Bad...bad people..."
The crying voice was full of grievance.
A huge blue-white beam of light crashed down towards Ba Shu and the others, and at that moment the entire world was illuminated.
"boom!"
The loud noise that resounded through the heavens and earth was delayed and exploded in the ears. At that moment, the horse neighed and knelt on the ground. Qi Zuqing, who had just ridden his horse to the city gate, fell directly off the horse. Everyone experienced tinnitus at the same time, and only a buzzing sound was left in their heads.
The earth-shattering sound not far away seemed to tear the sky apart. Kong Chen, who was running in that direction, couldn't help but groan and fell to his knees.
The entire county suddenly became quiet, with only the roar of thunder and lightning remaining. The terrifying power contained in the lightning net made people's hearts palpitate, and just looking at it from afar made the chest hurt so sharply that it was hard to breathe.
Everyone was filled with horror. Those who had not experienced it personally could not understand that kind of fear.
The only person in the entire county who was not affected was Yin Zheng. Even Qin Mianmian and Youyou, who had chased out of the alley, were forced to lie on the ground by the pressure of the noise.
When everything quieted down, everyone was stunned for a long time. After about three quarters of an hour, Kong Chen took the first step. He supported himself to stand up and staggered towards the place where the lightning beam fell.
Qi Zuqing at the city gate also came to his senses and quickly entered the city with his men.
The lightning beam did not cause much damage to the county, except to the Turks.
Yes, all the Turks died under the thunder.
When he saw the charred bodies of the Turks who were deader than dead, even Qi Zuqing, who never believed in retribution, fell silent.
The winter thunder and lightning were strange to begin with. It struck with such force, yet it didn't kill anyone in the city except the Turks. It was hard not to say this was retribution for the Turks' excessive evil deeds.
When a hint of dawn appeared in the sky, Yin Zheng, who had treated his wounds, walked out of the clinic holding Jiaojiao, who was already sleeping in his arms, and squatted down in a corner on the street.
A feeling of fatigue spread from deep within his body. Yin Zheng planned to take a rest and then take Jiaojiao home, back to Lijia Village.
He sat silently on the street, his back hunched, holding Jiaojiao tightly in his arms.
There were many wounds on Yin Zheng's body, and the dense wounds looked horrifying, but the strange thing was that there were almost no wounds on vital parts, and even if there were, they were not deep, and were just at the point where a deeper wound would have been dangerous.
This has to be said to be a kind of luck.
Qin Mianmian, who had come over at some point, ran over with Youyou and squatted beside Yin Zheng. He leaned over to look at Jiaojiao in Yin Zheng's arms, but because Yin Zheng was hiding very well, he didn't see Jiaojiao. He could only ask, "Uncle Yin, how is Jiaojiao?"
"Asleep."
"Yeah." Qin Mianmian nodded to show that she understood, and then squatted quietly beside Yin Zheng without saying a word.
In Hulu Lane, East Street, a young man lying on the ground woke up with his eyelids trembling violently.
Zhao Zexi, who didn't expect that he could wake up, looked dazed. He lowered his head to look at the three-inch long knife wound on his abdomen. His eyelashes trembled as he remembered the feeling of being pierced through the body at that time.
It's very strange. He should have died with such a wound, but he didn't die!
Zhao Zexi stood up with difficulty, covering his wound. During this time, something wrapped in a handkerchief in his arms fell out.
He reached out and picked it up. There was nothing valuable inside, just the candy that the child had given him that time.
When he woke up early yesterday morning, he suddenly remembered to eat one and it tasted surprisingly good.
Thinking of this, he opened his handkerchief, took out a piece of candy from it and put it in his mouth. The sweetness spread from his mouth, and the severe pain in his body seemed to be less painful.
Zhao Zexi curled the corners of his mouth and walked towards the clinic with difficulty, holding on to the wall. As expected, no matter what time, eating sweets always makes people feel better.
After resting for a while, Yin Zheng carried Jiaojiao out of the city and walked towards Lijia Village. Qin Mianmian followed behind him. She didn't say anything even when she couldn't walk anymore. She pursed her lips and tried hard to follow Yin Zheng.
Yin Zheng, whose whole heart was on Jiaojiao, didn't notice him at first, until Youyou ran up and grabbed the corner of his clothes and pulled it back, then he realized that Qin Mianmian had fallen far behind.
He walked back, picked up Qin Mianmian and held her in his arms. Qin Mianmian, who finally felt at ease in his arms, soon fell asleep.
Lijia Village was fortunate enough not to suffer any losses in this war.
After returning home, Yin Zheng put Jiaojiao on the kang and changed her clothes quietly. He went out to light the kang and then boiled some hot water to wipe Jiaojiao's hands and face. After cleaning up Jiaojiao, he went to see Qin Mianmian next door and saw that she was already asleep in bed. He turned around and went back to wipe the blood off his body, changed into clean clothes and lay down on the kang.
The winter sun shone in from the window, and Yin Zheng on the kang woke up from his dream after less than half an hour of sleep. After waking up, he couldn't fall asleep again, so he looked at Jiaojiao in his arms intently and silently.
Jiaojiao was sleeping soundly in his arms, with a hint of paleness on her fair and tender face. Because she was lying on her side, her chubby face had a lovely curve. Her long, raven-black eyelashes were quietly drooping, and a small fan-shaped shadow was spread under her eyelids.
Under the vivid light and shadow, the sleeping Jiaojiao is like the colored glaze fired by craftsmen from generation to generation, rare and fragile.
Yin Zheng moved his fingers, wanting to poke his face, but suddenly he realized something and lowered his head, his eyes falling on his fingers. Only then did he realize that the little hand, which was fair and clean, with a light pink at the joints, had been tightly holding his index finger.
Yin Zheng's hands, covered with calluses and new and old wounds, looked even uglier and more hideous when placed next to this tender little hand.
He lowered his eyes and watched the scene quietly, then slowly closed his palm and held the chubby little hand in it.
After a while, Yin Zheng was still worried and carefully brought the soft, small and extremely fragile Jiaojiao closer to his arms, like a fierce and silent dragon clumsily and carefully guarding his precious and fragile treasure.
Chapter 3~ I'm sorry, due to my current situation, the update time has been very disordered.
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