Chapter 208: Ten days, can Yun Ji still hold on?
March 23rd is the beginning of summer.
The midday sun was already scorching hot, and even in the mountains, one would sweat all over when walking.
The mountain forests were filled with heavy moisture, making it sticky and uncomfortable.
The three secret guards didn't care about anything else and just rolled up their sleeves and trouser legs, but it didn't help much.
They left in a hurry and didn't bring any spare clothes with them. They couldn't show up, so their clothes were soaked with sweat, and then dried again. They already had a sour and smelly smell, and were uncomfortable to wear.
If Su Rui hadn't been there, they would have stripped naked and found some leaves to cover their crotches.
But it's not possible in front of Su Rui, and Su Rui has a harder time than them.
Although she was not shy about tying up her sleeves and trouser legs like them, she was a woman after all, and her collar could not be opened like them. She was not as strong as them, and she was pregnant.
But even so, she never complained of being tired during these few days. Apart from sleeping, she only rested three times a day. She shuttled through the woods, and her hands and feet were scratched by sharp thorns and leaves, leaving bloody marks.
There was even one time when he didn't even notice that he was cut by a long thorn. Su Rui just picked some herbs, chewed them in his mouth, applied them on the wound, tore off a strip of cloth from his clothes, tied it up, and continued walking.
Since Su Rui was like this, the three grown men naturally had to insist even more. Although they didn't say anything, the three of them walked on Su Rui's left, right and back in tacit understanding, keeping an eye on their surroundings while swinging the long swords in their hands to push away the sharp branches.
Su Rui saw it, but now was not the time to express gratitude.
In order to avoid being discovered by the Second Prince, the Lin family, and Prince Long's men, she no longer took the official road the next day, but walked through the endless mountains and forests.
There were mountains upon mountains, one after another, and they had been running non-stop for two days. The Second Prince and Prince Long had no idea where she was going, whether she was escaping or not, so it would take time to catch up with them.
But we cannot slow down because of this. Not to mention the people chasing us, even Yun Ji in Weicheng cannot wait any longer. We must hurry and get to Beimo as quickly as possible to ask General Tang to send troops.
Although we were hiding in the mountains and forests most of the time along the way, occasionally when we were close to the official road, we could hear the voices of people coming and going in the inn where we stayed.
The closer we got to the Northern Desert, the more we heard about General Tang.
Especially the traveling merchants who came from the northern desert, all of them praised General Tang highly.
In their words, General Tang was a man who served his country and his people, was loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and was like a parent to the people of the Northern Desert.
The original Northern Desert was mired in constant wars, and the garrisoned generals were replaced again and again. None of them treated the people of the Northern Desert as human beings. Once a war broke out, they would immediately retreat, leaving the people as vanguards, and only fight back after a round.
The northern desert was desolate, surrounded by garrisons and battlefields, and was not much better. The next inner city was more than a thousand miles away, and escaping there would be difficult, and the inner city would not take them in. The suburbs were full of bandits, so they could only stay in the northern desert and pray that they were not the next to die.
Until General Tang was sent to Beimo to take over, he attacked the local bureaucrats and gentry as soon as he arrived, and took their money to rebuild two walls to surround the inner city of Beimo. The outer wall was used for defense, and the barracks were located outside the outer wall.
The Northern Desert Army became the first wall of the Northern Desert, keeping the invading enemy troops outside the city walls every time.
Even though it was the most difficult battle, General Tang ordered his troops to fight to the death and not retreat into the inner city wall, and to defend the outer city wall to the death, so as to buy time for the people to escape.
The battle was ultimately won, and General Tang could have returned to the capital to be granted a title of nobility, but he stayed in the Northern Desert.
Moreover, he was not particular about who he employed, and mostly used talented people from Mobei. The soldiers he recruited were also from Mobei or its surrounding areas. He did not discriminate against them, nor did he try to steal their merits. Now the deputy general beside him was originally a farmer from Mobei.
Under the protection of General Tang, the people of Beimo lived and worked in peace and contentment, and farming was successful. Merchants also preferred to travel through the safer Beimo, and over the past ten years it had become a rich land.
Everyone says that General Tang is the patron saint of the Northern Desert.
The reputations spread to Shengjing may not be true, but since they come from the mouths of the people and are all praises, they must be done very well.
Even if it is fake, if it can be faked for more than ten years, it must be half true.
If you have half, the chances are much greater.
Therefore, Su Rui was in a hurry to get on with her journey.
But his legs were really not fast enough, not to mention he was pregnant. Even if he ran the last two legs on horseback, it would still take ten days to reach Mobei.
Can Yunji hold on for ten days?
While thinking, Su Rui didn't notice that there was moss on the stone under her feet. Her foot slipped and she was about to fall.
The three of them quickly grabbed Su Rui, but her belly was too big and heavy, so she still sprained her ankle.
"Concubine, why don't you take a break?" said the secret guard Wu Yu.
"It's not dark yet, we can still walk." Su Rui tried to step on her sprained foot.
It's okay, I can bear it.
"Concubine, you..." Another secret guard wanted to persuade her, but Wu Yu held him back.
He understood that Su Rui was worried about her master, and they were worried too. He also understood that she was extremely anxious at the moment. If she stopped for a moment, her heart would be in great torment.
Su Rui didn't know what Wu Yu was thinking, she only had one thought.
Faster, faster.
"There's movement!" Another secret guard near the official road shouted softly and quickly ran towards the official road.
Are you chasing me?
You shouldn’t!
But Su Rui remained alert, holding the crossbow at his waist tightly.
After a while, the secret guard came back and said, "There is an army coming from the front, and there are quite a few of them."
Ahead?
Coming from the Northern Desert?
General Tang is stationed in the Northern Desert and cannot return without being summoned. It is impossible for him to leave the Northern Desert.
But ahead, except for Beimo, no other place will take this road.
Or did they guess that she was going to the Northern Desert instead of escaping, and sent a pigeon to inform General Tang to send people to encircle her from both sides?
"Did you see the person clearly?" Su Rui asked.
The secret guard shook his head. "I didn't dare get too close, so I couldn't see clearly. But the leader looked very powerful. He seemed to be able to see through me even from such a distance."
People fighting on the battlefield are all good at insight, but the secret guards have been trained since childhood and are the best at hiding and tracking. Moreover, they can detect the opponent from such a long distance, which means that the opponent is definitely not an ordinary person.
Is there such a capable person in Beimo?
Or, is the person coming General Tang?
The troops ahead were marching very fast, and Su Rui could already hear the sound of horse hooves approaching quickly.
Looking at the high mountains ahead, Su Rui hesitated for a moment and decided to take a gamble.
She gave Wu Yu and the others a few words, then endured the pain and limped towards the official road.
Seeing the huge figure approaching in the billowing dust at an extremely fast speed, Su Rui gritted his teeth, rushed onto the official road, and opened his arms to intercept.
“Whoa!”
With an urgent sound, the leading horse was pulled and raised its front hooves and neighed.
He turned the horse's head and landed again, and the person on the horse looked over sideways.
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