Chapter 48: Quick-travel strategy for the Soldier King (VI)
I opened my red eyes and saw the person clearly in the dim light. "Who are you?" I asked in a low voice, my voice trembling with fear.
"No time to explain, follow me!" The man in black did not answer my question, but urged us.
Bi Yuntao grabbed me and asked cautiously, "Where are you taking us? Who are you?"
The man in black lowered his voice and said hurriedly: "I am here to rescue you, but time is running out. If you delay any longer, it will be too late!"
"Save us?" I looked at him in disbelief. "But how did you know we were here?"
The man in black seemed a little impatient. "Now is not the time to talk about this. Are you going to leave or not? It will be too late if you don't leave now!"
Bi Yuntao held my hand tightly, and I could feel the sweat on his palm. We both knew that staying here would lead to death, but we didn't know the man in front of us, and we couldn't trust his words completely.
"Trust me, I have no ill intentions." The man in black seemed to see our hesitation. He took off the black scarf on his face, revealing a strange face. "I was entrusted by someone to rescue you."
"You were asked to come and save us?" I was even more confused. "Who would ask you to come and save us?"
The man in black shook his head and did not answer my question. He just urged me again: "No time to explain, follow me!"
Bi Yuntao looked at me with a determined look in his eyes, "Zi'ang, let's go with him!"
We followed the man in black and walked quickly along the dim corridor. However, just as we were about to reach the exit, a burst of hurried footsteps came from a distance.
"Oh no, they're coming!" The man in black changed color and whispered, "Hide!" We hurriedly hid in a woodshed next to the corridor, our heartbeats were as deafening as thunder. I covered my mouth tightly, afraid of making any sound, while Bi Yuntao drew his dagger and looked at the door vigilantly.
The heavy footsteps were getting closer and closer, accompanied by the crisp sound of weapons colliding, and my heart was in my throat. Suddenly, the door of the woodshed was pushed open, and dazzling light shone in. A group of fully armed Qing soldiers appeared at the door.
"Search!" The leading Qing soldier gave an order, and the local soldiers immediately rushed into the woodshed and surrounded us.
"What should I do?" I asked in a low voice, feeling despair welling up in my heart.
Bi Yuntao said nothing, but held the dagger tightly in his hand, his eyes full of determination. He knew that we had no way to escape.
"Come with us!" said the Qing army leader with a sneer, his eyes flashing with cruelty.
The man in black suddenly rushed out from behind us, holding a shiny steel knife in his hand. "If you want to catch them, you have to get past me first!"
Having said that, he rushed towards the Qing soldiers like a tiger descending from a mountain. Several Qing soldiers fell to the ground in the flash of swords and shadows. However, two fists cannot defeat four hands. Although the man in black was highly skilled in martial arts, he gradually felt powerless in the face of enemies that outnumbered him by several times.
"Go!" The man in black tried his best to block the attack of the Qing soldiers and shouted at us.
Bi Yuntao took my hand and tried to break out during the chaos, but was forced back by the swarming Qing soldiers.
"Don't worry about me, just go!" The man in black was already injured in many places, but he still fought to the death, buying time for us to escape.
"No, let's go together!" I cried, not wanting to leave him alone.
"It will be too late if we don't leave now!" Bi Yuntao said gritting his teeth. He knew that if we didn't leave now, we would all die here.
At this moment, a spear pierced the chest of the man in black, and blood instantly stained his clothes red. The man in black staggered and fell to the ground powerlessly, his eyes filled with unwillingness and despair.
"No!" I screamed heartbreakingly, my eyes blurred with tears.
"Catch them alive!" The Qing army leader gave an order, and the local soldiers rushed forward and pinned Bi Yuntao and me to the ground. We were arrested again, and this time, we lost our last hope.
When I woke up again, I found myself and Bi Yuntao locked in a dark and damp dungeon. My hands and feet were chained with thick iron chains, and I couldn't move. There was still blood on Bi Yuntao's face, and my clothes were torn.
"Dad..." I murmured unconsciously, tears streaming down my face. At this moment, I wished that Dad could hold me in his arms like he did when I was a child, and tell me that everything would be fine.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Bi Yuntao's voice was hoarse and weak. He stretched out his hand and wanted to hold me, but was blocked by the cold iron chain.
I know we are finished. The traitor Zhang Han will not let us go, and Daddy...he can't even protect himself now, what can he do?
I heard that Dad finally found out about Bi Yuntao and I being arrested. He rushed to the mansion of Zhang Han, desperately knelt on the ground, begging Zhang Han to let us go.
"Master Zhang, please, let my son go! He is just a child!" Daddy cried, his voice hoarse. The once majestic patriarch was now as humble as a dog.
Zhang Hanjian sat on the armchair, sipping tea leisurely, watching his father's performance coldly, with a cruel smile on the corner of his mouth.
"Master Feng, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that these two people have committed a capital crime! They are guilty of collusion and treason, and their crimes are unforgivable!"
"No, no, Ziang was coerced by Bi Yuntao, he knows nothing!" Dad kowtowed desperately, his forehead was broken, and blood flowed down his old cheeks.
"Humph, at this point, you still want to make excuses! Someone, get Master Feng out of here!"
Daddy was ruthlessly driven out by Zhang Han's treacherous servants. He sat paralyzed on the cold stone steps, staring at the gray sky in despair, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
I seemed to be able to see the despair in my father's eyes and hear his heart-wrenching cries. My heart felt like it was being cut by a knife and I felt excruciating pain.
During the long night, Bi Yuntao and I leaned against each other, keeping each other warm. We didn't speak, but just quietly felt each other's body temperature, as if we could draw a trace of courage to live from each other.
"If...if there is an afterlife, I just want to be a child from an ordinary family and live an ordinary life..." I murmured to myself, my voice trembling.
Bi Yuntao didn't say anything, but just held my hand tightly. I knew that he was feeling as heavy-hearted as I was.
"Boom!" With a loud noise, the dungeon door was blown open. Amidst the flames and smoke, a group of figures rushed in, shouting and killing, shaking the earth. I was so scared that I hugged Bi Yuntao tightly. He held me in his arms and whispered, "Don't be afraid, they are here to save us!" In the chaos, I vaguely saw that the leader was a young general, holding a long spear, and was extremely brave.
He fought his way towards us, shouting, "Brother Bi, Master Feng, I'm late!" Bi Yuntao shouted in surprise, "Brother Xia!" The man who came was Xia Wanchun, the young hero who had fought side by side with Bi Yuntao.
Xia Wanchun cut the iron chains on us, pulled us up and rushed out. Outside, there was already a bloodbath, with fire and screams everywhere. We followed Xia Wanchun and rushed left and right, and finally fought our way out. However, before we could catch our breath, we found that there were Qing soldiers all around us and we were surrounded. Xia Wanchun fought hard, but he was outnumbered and finally fell in a pool of blood.
Before his death, he held Bi Yuntao's hand tightly and said intermittently: "Go quickly... Don't worry about me..."
We broke through the encirclement with tears in our eyes and fled all the way. However, the traitor Zhang Han had already ordered the city to be closed. We had nowhere to go but to hide in the wilderness. At night, the wind was biting cold. We hugged each other for warmth, but we couldn't feel any warmth. Where is the future? Can we still survive?
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