The canal was filled with thick smoke and was engulfed in flames.

The screams of the Utos, their panic, and Maka's orders mixed together, and finally all were silenced by the crackling sound of the fire burning through the firewood on the boat.

This east wind came late, but it was strong. It seemed that it knew it was late, so it was desperately unwilling to stop. Thousands of Wutuo warships were connected together by iron hooks. The fire came so fast that there was no time to escape. In the blink of an eye, they were all trapped in the sea of ​​fire. The rare Wutuo people who were a little further away tried their best to cut off the iron hooks, but the thick smoke made it impossible to tell the direction. There were reefs everywhere, and if they accidentally hit one, the ship would capsize.

At this time, the small boats of the Jiyang City Army played an advantage. The small boats were flexible and could pass through waterways. Even if they could not tell the direction, they were all from Jiyang and knew how to get to the waterways. They could leave easily. Even if they were caught in the fire, everyone in Jiyang knew how to swim. They would dive underwater early and swim to the shore, and most of them were unscathed.

The Utopian soldiers were not so lucky. After the fire attack, only a few managed to escape. Even if they did, their morale was greatly disrupted and their military spirit was dispersed. I'm afraid they would have been defeated before the battle even started.

Under the water, He Yan and Xiao Jue swam towards the shore.

The moment the fire was lit, Xiao Jue grabbed her and jumped into the water. The river water was still cool in spring. He Yan could swim, but when the water covered her eyes and nose, she stiffened unconsciously.

She seemed to have returned to the moment when He Wanru drowned her in the pond at Xu's house. The sky was above the water, getting farther and farther away from her. She was forever trapped underwater, unable to see the light again.

At first I could still hold on, but after a while, I found it increasingly difficult to hold on. I could always deal with the physical discomfort quickly, but the fear in my heart and the shadow left by something were not easy to forget.

She gradually fell behind Xiao Jue.

Xiao Jue, who was in front, seemed to have noticed something. He saw that He Yan was lagging behind him and his expression was rarely painful. He couldn't help but be slightly startled.

He Yan had never mentioned in front of Xiao Jue whether he could swim, but he definitely could, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to make it here after jumping off the boat just now. But now it seems that he is afraid of water?

This is also possible. For example, people who have been burned by fire in the past will avoid fire when they see it later. People who fall off a horse and get injured will never get on a horse again, even if they were an expert rider in the past. He Yan should be able to swim, but he is afraid of water, probably just like those people.

Just as he thought of this, he saw He Yan's eyes closed, and his expression was not quite right.

Xiao Jue frowned slightly. Not even taking a breath? She would suffocate to death if this continued.

He turned back to He Yan and pressed her shoulder, trying to wake her up. However, He Yan seemed to have lost most of her consciousness and did not respond to his actions.

She looked in pain, and no one knew what bad memories she had thought of. Even under the water, she could vaguely see that she was nervous. Xiao Jue looked up and saw that they were still some distance away from the shore. If she continued like this, she would die.

The girl's face was close at hand. Under the water, her long hair had long been spread out, and the dirt on her face had been washed away, making her facial features look as transparent and fragile as glass, as if they were about to disappear underwater. Xiao Jue made up his mind, took a deep breath, held her shoulders, leaned over and kissed her.

The breath kept passing over her lips, and the feeling of suffocation was instantly relieved a lot. He Yan felt someone holding her up. She opened her eyes dazedly and seemed to see the handsome face of the young man in front of her.

Was it a dream? He Yan thought to herself, how could she have such a dream at this critical moment? The object of this dream was very handsome, but it happened in the water, which was quite a pity.

She wouldn't remember anything more.

The coolness slowly spread from her face. He Yan coughed and spat out a mouthful of water, then sat up all of a sudden. Beside her was Mu Yi, who breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her wake up. He said, "Miss He, you're finally awake."

This was on the shore, and the water surface of the canal in the distance was still thick with smoke and a sea of ​​fire. She still remembered that she and Xiao Jue jumped into the water, looked back, and there was no trace of Xiao Jue, so she asked: "Where is the governor? Why am I here?"

"As soon as I got to the shore, I saw the governor carrying you out. Miss He, you looked like you fainted. The governor asked me to take care of you and left." Mu Yi scratched his head and said, "There are many Wutuo people on the shore. The Jiyang City Army is not enough. Miss He, you rest here, I will go to help first."

"No need." He Yan pulled a piece of cloth out from the hem of her tunic, tied up her long hair that was scattered in the water, and stood up. "I'll go with you."

…

There was also a fierce battle inside the gourd's mouth at this moment.

Previously, Liu Buwang used a battle formation to trap a group of Wutuo people. After the Wutuo people broke through the battle formation, they fought fiercely with Liu Buwang. In the end, they lost their morale and rushed forward rashly. When they arrived at Huluzui, they were all impatient and did not notice the crisis lurking in the dark. The archers ambushed by Cui Yuezhi shot arrows and attacked the Wutuo people by surprise. At this moment, there were not many Wutuo people left, and they were in a melee with the 5,000 Jiyang City troops arranged by Cui Yuezhi.

"I wonder what the situation is like on the river." Cui Yuezhi was thinking, when suddenly someone came up and said in a loud voice, "Lord Zhongqi, the east wind is rising, and Commander Xiao has already set fire to the Wutuo warships. The Wutuo people are in chaos and have lost their army!"

"Really?" Cui Yuezhi was overjoyed, "God bless my Jiyang!"

The Wutuo people on the other side heard this and were immediately confused. On the one hand, they ordered the soldiers around them not to believe the enemy's tricks to disrupt the morale of the army, and on the other hand, they couldn't help but have wild thoughts. They were originally arranged to go ashore first, and the troops behind them would arrive later, but they had just encountered the white-clothed swordsman when they went ashore. It took them a long time just to get out of the formation. It has been so long, and the troops behind should have arrived long ago, so why is there no movement now?

The first attack was powerful, the second was weak, and the third was exhausted. Cui Yuezhi became more and more courageous as the battle went on, and the Wutuo soldiers were defeated step by step.

"My sons!" Cui Yuezhi shouted, "Follow me and fight!"

…

On the bank of the canal, a fierce battle broke out between the Uto soldiers who escaped from the sea of ​​fire and the Jiyang City troops.

When He Yan rushed over, he heard the sound of swords clashing all around him. Cui Yuezhi was not here, and the dozens of people who had previously set fire to the ship with He Yan all spontaneously followed He Yan's lead.

"The advantage of the number of Wutuo soldiers is gone, at least now the difference is not too big." He Yan said. The fire buried most of the Wutuo people in it. Although the remaining number is more than that of Jiyang City, it is not to the point of being drastic.

"Besides, their morale must be low at the moment. We can take this opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop." He Yan clenched the whip in his hand, "Go!"

At the side of the ship, she saw Xiao Jue being surrounded by Wutuo people. These were Maka's confidants. It seemed that Maka had not been able to escape from the fire just now. Seeing that their master was gone, the remaining confidants would die if they returned, so they all set their sights on Xiao Jue, and whoever could be dragged to the back would be counted as one. If Xiao Jue could be killed, perhaps they could make up for their mistake.

The Wutuo people were so dense that they took turns rushing up to attack Xiao Jue. He Yan rushed towards the crowd with a whip, knocked down one person with one whip, kicked the person in front of him away, and retreated to Xiao Jue's side.

Xiao Jue was a little surprised and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Of course I'm coming," He Yan said, "We agreed to advance and retreat together. I'm also counting on this time to make a contribution, and the governor will recommend me to the court and give me an official position or something."

Xiao Jue sneered: "You wish."

He Yan slowly held the whip in front of him, "Isn't it a shame that you can't even dream about beauty?" He rushed into the crowd.

This group of Wutuo people were extremely cunning and brutal. They only attacked Xiao Jue and He Yan desperately. They were almost crazy and seemed to be fighting to the death. The remaining Jiyang City Army was mixed with the rest of the Wutuo people and could not get close at all.

He Yan was a little annoyed. The number of Jiyang City soldiers was too small. And right now, these Wutuo people were either fighting or gathering to kill Xiao Jue and her.

"We have to deal with the leader of these people first." She said secretly.

As she was thinking, she saw that the group of Wutuo people suddenly increased the intensity of their attack. Logically speaking, since they were murderers and she had caused them such a great loss, they should not ignore her. However, this momentum was directed towards Xiao Jue alone.

What are they going to do? He Yan became alert. He stepped back subconsciously, wanting to warn Xiao Jue, but as soon as he turned around, he heard a "boom".

The small boat of the Jiyang City Army that was docked, along with Xiao Jue and the Wutuo people, exploded with a huge bang, just like the fireboat in the center of the river just now. He Yan was also blown to the shore. She immediately got up and looked into the distance. Her mind suddenly "buzzed" and she shouted, "Xiao Jue!"

The fragments of the ship were blown everywhere, and the water surface was violently churning. Someone came to pull her hand back. It was Mu Yi. Mu Yi said, "This is a firearm! I heard before that some craftsmen of the Uto people can make firearms, but they are extremely rare. I didn't expect them to carry one with them today... They must be coming for Governor Xiao!"

He Yan had heard of it before, but firearms are difficult to make and cost a lot of money. Even if ten were made, they might not work. The military pay of the Suyue Army was limited, so they gave up in the end. The Utuo people should not have many firearms, otherwise they could have thrown dozens of them at the beginning. I think seeing that Maka was gone, they followed the idea of ​​losing both sides and dragged Xiao Jue down with them.

"Damn it." She gritted her teeth, turned around and ran in the direction where the ship exploded.

"Miss He!" Mu Yi grabbed her and said anxiously, "There are still residual firearm fragments around. It is very likely to explode again. It is very dangerous for you to go now."

He Yan shook off his hand. Mu Yi was about to persuade her again, but when he saw her expression clearly, he suddenly paused and loosened his hand.

He Yan turned around and ran into the water.

There were more and more Wutuo people around, blocking He Yan. She simply flicked the whip, sneered, turned over and jumped up, snatching the long swords from the hands of two Wutuo people. With two swords in hand, she did not hesitate at all, and the enemy fell down in the blink of an eye.

She was limited in her ability to use a sword to avoid exposing herself, but at least she could use a knife. But what good would that do? If she could have done it earlier... earlier... He Yan's heart suddenly choked with sobs.

There was nothing on the water, only the debris of the boat floating, and no trace of Xiao Jue. That person... the person who pulled her out of despair, remembered her birthday, made longevity noodles for her, took her to see fireflies, and laughed at her in the spring but also tolerated her, how could he disappear here?

She had to get to the surface of the water as soon as possible and find Xiao Jue. Lin Shuanghe was still in Jiyang. If she found him soon, she might still be saved. There were not many people in this world who were kind to her, and the one who was the best to her must not die.

Wu Tuo was too clumsy. He Yan's eyes were cold and sharp, and the long sword in her hand was flying, which made people dizzy. She did not stop and rushed to the place where the explosion just happened.

Mu Yi looked at the girl and felt that nothing in the world could stop her. She stretched out her hand as swiftly as an eagle and as sharp as a knife. He didn't know that a woman could be like this.

The Wutuo soldiers came up, but were pushed away one by one by He Yan. She just kept moving forward, with the corpses of the Wutuo soldiers lying behind her, and finally reached the surface of the water.

"Xiao Jue——" she shouted.

No one answered.

"Xiao Jue——"

He Yan bent down, trying to pick something out of the water, but when he lifted his hand from the water, only water flowed through his fingers, leaving nothing.

Empty.

She was somewhat dazed, so dazed that she could not tell what the uncontrollable sadness in her heart was. It felt like the day she suddenly went blind, or the day He Wanru held her in the water. She was about to lose something very important, and she felt this sad.

"Xiao Jue..." she murmured.

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from behind: "What are you shouting?"

She turned around suddenly and saw a young man in black armor striding towards her, with a hint of mockery in his eyes as cold as autumn water.

From the shore to the shallow water, there were all the Wutu people she had just killed in a fit of rage. The bodies lay to the side, and one could see that the knife skills were exquisite and brutal, and they were all killed with one blow.

The young man raised his eyebrows, his eyes fell on the long knife in her hand that was dripping with blood. After a moment, he looked at her with a half-smile, "So fierce?"

The next moment, the girl suddenly rushed over, threw herself into his arms, wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, and buried her face in his arms.

The Jiyang city soldiers on the shore behind him were all stunned.

Xiao Jue's body stiffened, his eyes slightly annoyed: "You..."

The next moment, he shut his mouth, because he felt the body in his arms trembling violently. She had jumped into the water before and almost suffocated herself in the water. Her underwear was soaked through, and the armor was heavy, which looked particularly cold on the girl, making her look particularly vulnerable.

Xiao Jue endured it again and again, but finally couldn't bear it anymore and pulled her face out of his arms.

"What are you doing? I'm not dead yet." He sneered.

He Yan stared at him in a daze. This person was standing right in front of him, alive and well. He was right in front of him.

She suddenly burst into tears.