Wen Zichuan is trapped in a dream and can't wake up...
Wu Wen raised her head, her eyes filled with hatred as sharp as a dagger tempered by molten iron.
He had seen the violent man before him. He was called "General Amang" by his subordinates. It was also he who shot his mother Wu Rao to death with an arrow. There was a blood feud between them.
"The men of the Wu tribe are so cowardly, letting a woman lead the charge," Ah Mang chuckled. He grabbed Wu Wen by the neck and lifted him up like a chicken. "Your tribesmen have already been distributed to your brothers. As for you, the tribe leader, how should I deal with you to appease everyone's anger?"
Wu Wen grabbed Ah Mang's wrist, her throat churning as she snatched at the last bit of air she had left: "Kill... me! Kill me...!"
Ah Mang tightened his fingers, sensing something that shouldn't be there. He suddenly pulled back and tore open Wu Wen's blood-stained collar. His chest was flat beneath the cloth, proving that he was a genuine man.
In A Mang's eyes, men and women are different.
In his homeland, no matter how noble a woman's status, she was used to bear children, and ordinary women were no different from cattle and sheep. They could be taken to the market and bought and sold at will. When food was most scarce, they could even be killed and eaten.
So insulting women is similar to insulting cattle and sheep, and it gets boring after playing it too much.
But the man was different. He planned to humiliate the so-called clan leader with the worst means, and finally hang the body on the flagpole outside the camp gate to intimidate those hateful witches who were as hateful as mosquitoes and flies.
A Mang ordered the soldiers to invite all the generals who had made military achievements in this expedition and form a large circle in the tent.
The march was bitter and cold, and the generals who did not receive any prisoners had not vented their anger for many days.
They stared at Wu Wen, whose robes were disheveled, like tigers and wolves. Whether it was his skin as white and delicate as the flesh of a melon, or the mottled wounds on his skin oozing blood, they all made people salivate.
A man who can pretend to be a woman has a face that is difficult to tell whether it is male or female.
A'mang wanted to use him to reward his subordinates, but didn't want them to fight over him, so he asked everyone to take turns tearing off his clothes, promising that whoever tore off the last piece would be the first to enjoy it.
A man came up. Wu Wen was seriously injured and exhausted, and had no power to resist. While struggling, he spit a mouthful of blood foam on the man's face, which immediately earned him a slap in the face.
The blow made him dizzy and he could not see anything except a blur of blood.
The man tore his pants, revealing his long legs, which made the people behind him even more eager.
Wu Wen hugged himself and tried to avoid it by shrinking his body, but the generals in the queue could not wait any longer and rushed forward to strip him naked.
They were like dozens of gluttonous beasts, not knowing whether to attack first or stretch out their mouths. Some of them couldn't wait to unbutton their pants and rush in.
Wu Wen was filled with shame and pain. She used all her strength to let out a horrifying scream, then stared at Amang and cursed everyone's death with an unknown spell.
A Mang felt a chill on his back when he was stabbed by his gaze. He was so angry that he smashed a piece of red-hot charcoal, pinched Wu Wen's jaw open, and forced him to swallow it alive.
Wu Wen was in unbearable pain, but he could not make a sound. Tears kept flowing from his red eyes.
"Follow my command! Shoot!"
There was a distant shout outside the tent, and before anyone inside could react, a raging fire had already started on the roof of the tent.
A Mang realized something was wrong and wanted to go out, but found that the tent door was blocked by a heavy object.
"Someone! Quick! Get out of here!"
The fire grew bigger and bigger, with thick smoke billowing everywhere. Everyone's survival was threatened and they had no intention of bullying Wu Wen anymore.
They gathered their strength and struck the door repeatedly, finally pushing open the pile of heavy objects blocking the door. However, as soon as the two lieutenants stuck their heads out, a cold light flashed, and their heads flew more than ten feet away in an instant.
The rest were all horrified, not daring to advance or retreat.
"Kill them all! Leave no one behind!"
Another command sounded, and the soldiers outside the tent rushed into the tent. They covered their faces with wet cloths, covering their mouths and noses, and stabbed the enemy's vital points.
In just a moment, all the generals who were in disheveled clothes and had inhaled smoke were wiped out.
Seeing that the tent was about to collapse, the leading young general pulled out the dagger that had pierced Amang's chest and immediately signaled his subordinates to retreat as soon as possible.
Before leaving, he saw a person curled up in a corner. Even though he was seriously injured and dying, and covered in filth, it couldn't hide his extremely beautiful appearance.
He tore off his outer robe, wrapped Wu Wen in it, and carried her horizontally onto his horse.
Wu Wen only had time to look at him once before she fainted in his arms.
Wen Zichuan was going crazy. He felt like he was trapped in a dream and couldn't wake up. He could truly and strongly feel the shame and harm inflicted on Wu Wen.
What's even more bizarre is that the young general who took Wu Wen away looked exactly like Cheng Sizhou!
"Brother Zhou! Brother Zhou——!"
Wu Wen had lost the will to live, and Wen Zichuan was also affected by the feeling of despair. His instinct to survive made him shout loudly, but no sound came out.
After being in a coma for seven days, Wu Wen finally woke up.
The man standing by was overjoyed and shook his hand happily: "Are you awake?"
Wu Wen pulled his hand back. He didn't like others touching him, let alone after experiencing all the insults and filth.
The man was a little disappointed: "Amang and his men are all dead. It's safe here."
Wu Wen turned inward and didn't want to pay attention to him.
"Have a good rest. My name is Shi Cheng. You can call me if you need anything..." The man walked to the door, as if reluctant to leave. "If you are sad and need someone to accompany you, you can also call me..."
Wu Wen didn't say anything, but tears flowed down her face, soaking the pillow.
Not long after, Shi Cheng came again. He brought a doctor to treat Wu Wen's injuries.
Shi Cheng was busy getting and decocting medicine for him. The medicine for internal use was easy, as Wu Wen would drink it if he fed it to his mouth. But the medicine for external injuries was difficult, as he didn't want to be touched by anyone, and Shi Cheng couldn't force him.
Late in the night when everyone was asleep, Shi Cheng held the prepared ointment and planned to persuade him to try it again.
He had heard from Amang's subordinates that the general had captured the chief of the Beilingwu tribe, who was of noble status and looking at him any longer was blasphemy. Now that he was captured, he was just like an ordinary person.
Perhaps Wu Wen was still too proud of his status. Shi Cheng pulled a piece of white cloth over his eyes and said, "I promise I can't see a thing. Let me apply the medicine on you, okay?"
For the first time ever, Wu Wen finally spoke: "Come on."
His voice was damaged by the charcoal fire. His voice, which used to attract the admiration of young girls just by reciting a hymn, now sounded hoarse and turbid like that of an octogenarian.
Shi Cheng felt sorry for him but didn't dare to delay, so he carefully felt for his wound and applied medicine seriously.
When he reached the most difficult part to talk about, Shi Cheng's fingers just touched him, which triggered a shudder of fear.
He didn't dare to continue. As he was struggling, he heard Wu Wen say again, "Come on."
Shi Cheng cursed inwardly a thousand times, those bastards of Amang are such beasts!
Fortunately, the man had been killed by him, and Huaixiang could enjoy peace for a while, and the young patriarch could rest and recuperate.
Under Shi Cheng's personal and careful care, Wu Wen was finally able to get out of bed and walk a month later.
It turned out that this was a small village at the border between the two countries, with a population of more than 200 civilians, which was even smaller than the number of the Beilingwu tribe.
Shi Cheng told him that when two countries go to war, the people will suffer. Today one will be robbed, tomorrow another will be robbed, and no matter how much food is grown, it will never be enough to eat.
Wu Wen remained silent. She broke off a dry branch and wrote in the snow, "Why did you come?"
Shi Cheng shook his head and smiled bitterly, "That's a long story. My father was from the Southern Imperial Court. He advocated war over peace, offended the powerful, and was imprisoned and executed. To protect my mother and me, he asked his former subordinates to escort us away. On the way, my mother fell ill and died. Now I'm the only one left, surviving with my former subordinates who refused to submit to the imperial court."
Wu Wen wrote again: "What is the grudge between you and A Mang?"
Shi Cheng replied, "Huai Township is a barren land. Since the war began, everyone who could move has left, leaving mostly women, the elderly, and children. The enemy army doesn't fancy this place, but Amang claims there are jade mines in this area, hoping to find them and then present him to the court for merit. He's been stationed here for over a year, and when food is scarce, he comes to steal food and often takes women away to serve as concubines. The people are so frightened that they've moved in together. We've set up sentries outside the village, and I've captured any children who aren't working the land to train us. Sometimes, we even fight back, and Amang won't dare act recklessly again!"
Wu Wen understood that the day he was captured was the perfect opportunity for Shi Cheng to launch a surprise attack. He killed Amang and the people were finally saved.
"Is it very hard?" He paused and wrote, "Great hero."
"What? I don't..." Shi Cheng's face suddenly turned red. Although everyone praised him for his bravery in that battle, he never expected that the high and mighty leader of the Wu clan would use such flattering words.
Seeing his silly look, Wu Wen suddenly smiled, and the spring water thawed, and flowers bloomed all over the mountains and fields.
A few days later, Shi Cheng brought Wu Wen to another residential area. The Beiling people who were captured by Amang were also rescued. They were more seriously injured than Wu Wen and it took a long time for them to recover.
"I'm sorry," Shi Cheng said regretfully, staring at the ground, "some of them were too badly injured to be saved."
Wu Wen did not blame him. She just hugged the only surviving witch and cried "Au".
Auntie stroked his hair and said, "Awen, you are the clan leader. Your mother in heaven also hopes that you will be strong."
After the Beiling people have recovered from their injuries, it will be time to say goodbye.
It was also at this time that Shi Cheng understood what the difference was between the witch clan and ordinary people.
The tribe leader Wu Wen was a few years younger than himself, but he knew almost all the flowers, plants, birds and animals; they could make mechanisms so that very few people could move heavy objects; they could also mix a kind of incense and place it in a upwind position, so that lost tribesmen would follow the scent and come to reunite with them.
When Shi Cheng was fascinated by what he saw, he would want to bring all of this back to the court, use the power of the government to promote it throughout the country, and let the people live a good life.
Unfortunately, his father’s injustice was not resolved, and he had no way to return to the court.
"Shi Cheng, I'm leaving." When Wu Wen came to say goodbye to him, he put on the tribe leader's attire again, a white robe with red stripes, a long skirt that dragged on the ground, and hundreds of Wu clan members followed behind him.
Shi Cheng remembered Wu Wen mentioned that the Wu clan had lived in seclusion for generations and ordinary people could not easily find them.
A Mang accidentally discovered a jade mine, which proved that the original settlement was no longer safe and they would move to a more secluded place.
"Where are you going? Will I be able to visit you in the future?" He admitted that he was a little anxious. He had lost his father and his mother, so he shouldn't be so afraid of separation.
"The tribe members have been severely injured this time and may not want to be disturbed." Wu Wen said tactfully.
"Okay, take care of yourself..." Shi Cheng turned around, "I'm sorry, I don't want to see you go."
In fact, he did not tell Wu Wen that after Amang's death, the village no longer needed protection. He planned to take his men to join the imperial army. If he could make military achievements, he would overturn his father's case.
But they were going to separate, and it didn't matter whether she told him or not.
Shi Cheng tried hard to dispel his emotions and restrain the urge to keep him, until something cold was stuffed into his palm.
He turned around, and the witch clan had disappeared. What he held in his hand was a heart-shaped jade pendant with a warm texture and crystal clearness.
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