Chapter 575: Eight Hours to Death (5k)
That night, the people of Jingchuan County hid in their homes and had no idea what was happening in the outside world.
When people came out of their homes at dawn the next day, they were shocked to find that the flags on the city walls of many towns had changed color.
Inside the Huai'an Palace.
"Father, breakfast is ready. Go and have a bite, or should we ask the cook to bring it over?"
Prince Xu Qian walked along the winding corridor to the central hall of the third house and looked at Prince Huai who had been sitting in the hall all night.
Throughout the main hall, all the candles were extinguished. The late autumn morning sunlight shone through the trees in the mansion, illuminating the courtyard, and a thin layer of dew formed on the flower beds.
The wealthy Prince of Huai'an sat upright in the armchair, accompanied by the elegant and sweet Princess Xu Junling.
The father and daughter looked at the prince at the same time. Prince Huai's tired cheeks twitched and he cursed:
"Eat, eat, eat, that's all you do! What time is it? And you still have the mind to eat? Why don't you piss me off to death?"
Xu Junling sighed and advised, "Brother, you are also worried about Father's health..."
That night, no one in the palace could sleep.
The female members even packed up their gold and silver jewelry overnight, ready to lead the masters in the palace to protect the female members and break out if the situation becomes critical.
Xu Junling didn't sleep a wink all night, but the expected fight and danger did not happen.
As for the current situation in Jingchuan Town, the princess is still unaware and is anxiously waiting.
The prince felt aggrieved and dared not say a word. Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard outside the mansion.
Then, the head treasury manager Feng Xiaolian hurried back with several guests from the mansion. Feng Xiaolian was still wearing his nightgown, with a scabbard hanging from his waist. He stood outside the main hall, clasping his hands and saying:
"Your Majesty, I am back."
Prince Huai'an's eyes lit up, he suddenly jumped up from his chair, walked out a few steps, and asked anxiously: "What's the situation?!"
Feng Xiaolian explained:
"Last night, following your instructions, we split up and went to the various noble families in Jingchuan Town to engage in a fight with the rebels. Although there were some setbacks, it was generally smooth sailing.
In the middle of the night, the rebels on the front line were defeated and fled in all directions. The imperial army had already advanced straight into the city and was now split up to hunt down and encircle the rebels in Jingchuan County.
When I returned just now, I saw that the imperial army had already entered the county town, and the flags on the city walls had been replaced with the dragon flags of the Beijing Camp..."
Xu An, Xu Qian and Xu Junling listened to the latter's report in a daze and were all shocked.
The rebels were defeated?
So fast?
They originally thought that the two sides would confront each other for some days, but they didn't expect that the winner would be decided after just one battle.
The imperial army occupied Jingchuan Town much faster than expected.
Thinking of this, Prince Huai'an felt relieved and looked at his daughter beside him with a complicated look:
If Xu Junling had not decisively chosen sides last night and the imperial army had not entered the city today, the Huai'an Palace would have been truly finished.
"Prince Mu was defeated so quickly? Could it be that he was really captured and killed by Zhao Duan?" The naive prince Xu Qian couldn't help but ask.
Feng Xiaolian shook her head and said:
"I returned in a hurry. The entire Jingchuan County is in chaos right now. I don't know where Governor Zhao is currently moving. However, a large battle did break out in the direction of Baishi Garden last night, and the momentum was astonishing."
Last night was such a mess!
Even with the intelligence capabilities of the Huai'an Palace, it was impossible to learn the situation in such a short time.
At this moment, the sound of dense horse hooves was heard again outside the palace, and flags were raised outside the wall.
"I'm afraid the generals from the imperial court are coming." Xu Junling's face changed slightly and he reminded.
King Huai'an took a deep breath and hurriedly led his daughter and son out to greet them.
When they arrived at the gate, they saw that the entire palace had been surrounded by soldiers from the Beijing camp.
On the tall horse outside the gate, the commander of the Fifth Army Camp, Yuan Feng, was sitting in armor.
"Commander Yuan led the royal army into the city. I was just about to pay a visit, but General Yuan arrived first." King Huai'an laughed and greeted warmly.
Yuan Feng stared at him unkindly without getting off his horse. The atmosphere was oppressive and serious. He said with a forced smile:
"Prince Huai, please don't move. Swords and knives have no eyes."
Xu Junling's eyelids jumped, and he quickly explained:
"Back in Yongjia Prefecture, my father had already reached an agreement with Governor Zhao. Last night, Governor Zhao came to our house, and my father worked with him to suppress the rebellion overnight... What does General Yuan mean by this?"
Yuan Feng was stunned. This was something he didn't know.
However, he was aware of the contact with Yongjia City and Zhao Duan's attack on Jingchuan Town.
At this moment, he was not sure whether the princess' words were true or not, but he did not dare to be presumptuous. After a slight hesitation, he raised his hand and waved, and the soldiers around him put away their swords.
However, the blockade on the palace was not lifted.
He sneered and said, "This general has not received any news. Everything can only be determined after seeing the governor."
Xu Wen breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and asked cautiously:
"May I ask, General Yuan, what is the current situation? Can the traitor Xu Jingtang be brought to justice?"
Yuan Feng frowned:
"Don't you know? Last night on the front line, General Zhao Shixiong broke into the enemy camp alone and killed Xu Jingtang's second son. As a result, the rebels were leaderless and suffered a crushing defeat.
Zhao Shixiong then rushed to Baishi Garden, but unfortunately, he found nothing. Xu Jingtang was nowhere to be found. Upon his arrival, he encountered only the evil sorcerers of the White Clothes Sect. General Zhao engaged the White Clothes Sect leader in a fight, and the latter fled, gravely wounded...
Right now, our Jingying army is hunting down the defeated soldiers everywhere, and General Zhao, as the vanguard, is also searching for Xu Jingtang..."
He briefly explained these matters that did not involve any confidentiality.
The Xu family father and son were stunned for a moment. Xu Junling stepped forward and asked, biting his lip:
"Then we can see the whereabouts of Governor Zhao?"
Yuan Feng was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "We have just arrived in Jingchuan and have not yet reunited with Governor Zhao."
The subtext of this sentence is:
Zhao Duan and his group disappeared along with Xu Jingtang, and their whereabouts are currently unknown.
It would be more accurate to say that the Beijing army was frantically searching for Zhao Duan rather than chasing the defeated soldiers.
Both parties disappeared... Xu Junling's heart sank suddenly, and he had a bad premonition.
…
At the same time, in a remote alley in the county town.
Where the sun never shines.
Ji Yue hugged her knees, with disheveled hair, and curled up beside an old door frame. The door frame was wet and covered with early morning dew, but the socially anxious sorceress did not move.
She waited foolishly all night, obeying Zhao Duan's orders and not daring to leave.
Just guarding the two life gates.
Yet, none of them noticed that the flower mark on the Two Life Gate had long since vanished. When the Death God unleashed his curse, the magic that allowed Zhao Duan and his companions to return to the Two Life Gate had already been wiped out.
Under Jiyue's black hair, her delicate little ears moved, and her white pupils alertly peeked out from the black hair, looking towards the entrance of the alley.
She could vaguely hear the sound of the army entering the city, but they should be entering the city from another direction, far away from here.
She was restless and didn't know what to do.
suddenly.
Heavy footsteps were heard at the entrance of the alley, and then a shadow appeared, blocking the sunlight.
Ji Yue vigilantly took a defensive stance, and then was stunned to see the figure covered in blood, with disheveled hair, a blood-stained long stick on his back, and in his right hand, his arm and a broken scimitar were tied together with a cloth strip.
The man walked towards her step by step against the sunlight, and then his knees gave way and he fell to the ground with a thud, barely breathing.
"Lang Eighteen!"
Ji Yue was horrified and looked at the old northern soldier at a loss. He was covered in wounds and had no idea what he had been through. He was seriously injured but had managed to crawl back with strong willpower.
Lang Shiba was panting heavily, blood staining his stubbled face. He lay on the ground, his cheek on the side, panting like a cow, and said weakly:
"My lord...there is an order...there is an order..."
…
…
The early morning sun pierced through the mist, and in a desolate suburb, an illusory carriage was galloping along at lightning speed.
Zhao Duan leaned against the edge of the carriage, silently looking at the brightening sky outside and the unfamiliar scenery. On his knees was a map.
"Yunfu..."
According to calculations, they have now left the Huai River border and headed southwest into the Yunfu Dao territory, which is also the base camp of King Mu.
Zhong Pan's unicorn was indeed capable of traveling a thousand miles a day. It carried them over mountains and across rivers, and within a few hours, they had escaped to an unknown distance.
"Xu Jingtang hasn't caught up yet. Is it possible that he couldn't find us and didn't choose to chase us?"
Inside the carriage, Yuxiu, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, opened her eyes, her eyes overflowing with spiritual energy as she spoke tiredly and calmly.
Jin Jian curled up beside her, because during the day, the young priestess became weak, her eyelids drooping, and she was in a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness, not daring to truly fall asleep.
Zhao Duan retracted his gaze, glanced at the map on his lap, and shook his head.
"Not sure, but I think he's still chasing us."
This is both an intuition and a logical analysis.
While fleeing last night, he discussed the strength of Xu Jingtang with three people from the Tianshi Mansion.
Two conclusions were drawn.
First, as long as Xu Jingtang does not waste it, he can keep the power of the God of Death in his body for a long time. If he only uses it to travel, he may be able to maintain his combat power for ten days or half a month.
Second, if Xu Jingtang chose to go to the front line, he could at most defeat the Beijing camp army, but it would not be enough to destroy the Beijing camp on his own.
Even a true celestial being didn't have such power, not to mention he was only borrowing the power of a god. The God of Death wasn't a god that was good at fighting.
Coupled with the old Taoist priest's deliberate arrangement... Zhao Duan put himself in Xu Jingtang's shoes and thought that Xu Jingtang would most likely choose to chase him.
Past experience has proven time and again that if Zhao Duan could be eliminated, the loss to the court would definitely be greater than an army or a piece of territory.
"Shhh!"
Suddenly, the pure white unicorn neighed and stopped abruptly. The animal stamped its hooves restlessly and swung its tail.
Looking into the distance vigilantly, he was actually slowly retreating!
"He's coming!" Zhong Pan, who was in charge of driving, held the reins and spoke in a deep voice.
For a moment, the three people in the carriage had their hair standing on end, staring at the front. They saw a dark cloud suddenly floating over a mountain in front of them behind the morning mist.
Under the dark clouds, a black dot the size of a grain of rice stood on the top of the mountain.
The two sides looked at each other. The dark clouds were floating towards them at an unreasonable speed. Almost in the blink of an eye, Zhao Duan saw Xu Jingtang, who was wearing armor and a helmet and bare-handed, running wildly on the ground.
Wisps of gray air overflowed from the cracks in the armor, forming long threads that connected with the dark clouds above.
Xu Jingtang's eyes were red, and he couldn't hide his joy on his face. He ran with big strides, and each step was over a hundred feet.
He chased her for almost the entire night!
Zhong Pan's carriage was indeed very fast, and coupled with the distance created by the initial teleportation, this pursuit was much more difficult than Xu Jingtang had expected.
During this period, he even thought about giving up and returning to Jingchuan Town.
But in the end I still chose to catch up.
Finally, his hard work paid off and he was able to stop Zhao Duan.
The corners of his mouth curled up, and even from a distance, he laughed wildly, his voice echoing between heaven and earth:
"Zhao Du'an! I told you that you can't escape! This is where you will die!"
Zhao Duan pursed his lips, then suddenly stood inside the carriage, half of his body leaning out, and also shouted with a smile:
"Xu Jingtang, you old dog have a really sharp nose, but in order to chase me, you actually abandoned Jingchuan Town. The imperial army must have marched south by now, and your second son's life is in danger. I really don't know what you are planning!"
Xu Jingtang was furious. The gray mist spewing from his armor became thicker. He quickened his pace and said with a sinister grin:
"I have plenty of sons, so I don't need one. I'll just wait and kill you. Seeing how lonely and empty my niece's lower body is, I'm kind-hearted and will give her a few more children!"
Zhong Pan and others' expressions changed slightly, thinking that Xu Jingtang was crazy?
Do you think you can be invincible in the world just because you have the blessing of the God of Death?
Dare to say anything?
As expected, Zhao Duan still had a smile on his face, but there was no smile in his eyes anymore, only murderous intent.
There is a new red name in Zhao Yanwang’s little notebook that must be killed.
But... not now.
Seeing Xu Jingtang raising his fist and pouncing towards the carriage like a tiger, the banyan leaf in Zhao Duan's palm burst into green light.
Green light engulfed the carriage.
"boom!!!"
Xu Jingtang swung his fist, hammering a huge deep pit into the ground. The earth splashed and countless curses spread.
The surrounding area of a hundred feet has turned into an ominous place filled with curses!
"Run away...run away again..." Xu Jingtang stood at the edge of the pit, his fists clenched tightly, and his joints made crackling sounds.
The sky was covered with gray clouds, lightning and thunder, birds and beasts were dormant in the mountains, and the sky and the earth changed color.
…
Yunfu Road, in a forest.
A burst of green light filled the air, and a pitch-black carriage appeared out of nowhere. Its wheels slammed heavily onto the ground covered with dead leaves. The unicorn was so frightened that its hooves went limp, and its cries were filled with fear.
After making sure that the fierce god had disappeared, his eyes widened in confusion.
"We escaped again." Zhao Duan looked around, exhaled silently, and then spread out his sweaty palms. He saw that the banyan leaf had dimmed a lot, and the remaining magic power seemed to have been consumed by most.
Zhong Pan took a look and said calmly, "If we send it again, I'm afraid this banyan leaf will be useless."
Yuxiu, who had survived the disaster, bit her lip, looking unhappy: "One time...will we be able to reach Zhengyang Mountain in time?"
"Then we need to locate where we are first." Zhao Duan said with extraordinary calmness.
Yuxiu was silent for a moment, then took out a small compass and began to cast spells to locate the location. Although her cultivation was still under the curse, she could still use some simple spells.
After a while.
She pointed to a spot on the map: "We are here."
Zhao Duan took a closer look, measuring his current position, the location before his escape, and the point of his first teleportation with his hands, and calmly analyzed:
"It seems the banyan leaf travels about the same distance each time. The direction isn't fixed, but it's generally heading southwest. And based on our last experience, even if we rush as fast as we can, it will take Xu Jingtang at least four hours to catch up with us."
Four hours, this is not a comforting number.
Yuxiu shook her head and said:
"That's not enough. If he catches up next time, it will still take four hours, and if we use up our last teleportation opportunity... we're still too far from Zhengyang Mountain!
Even a unicorn needs to rest and can't keep running. Besides, I'm worried that Xu Jingtang won't be able to catch up with me for that long next time."
Zhong Pan glanced at her and asked, "Do you think Xu Jingtang might have guessed where we were going?"
Yuxiu said calmly:
"He couldn't have known we were heading to Zhengyang Mountain, but he wasn't stupid. After discovering we weren't fleeing north, but heading straight southwest, he should have understood that our destination was Yunfu!
Perhaps in his eyes, we were heading to Yunfu to destroy his lair. What he thought was unimportant; what mattered was that as long as he could lock onto our direction, he would save many detours and be able to catch up with us more easily.
This analysis made everyone feel heavy-hearted.
It seemed that no matter how they calculated, they could not escape death.
Even if the old Taoist priest could vaguely predict the danger, since it involved "gods", it was impossible for Zhang Yanyi to deduce all the details accurately.
Therefore, it was impossible for Zhang Yanyi to predict their current predicament in advance.
In the silent atmosphere, the young Taoist priest Zhong Pan took a deep breath and said calmly:
"There is always a way out. Let's keep going. There will always be a way. Perhaps if we delay for a few more hours, Xu Jingtang's magic power will decline."
Yuxiu didn't say anything, she was not optimistic about this.
However, at this moment, Zhao Duan suddenly dropped the map, jumped off the carriage, and began to clear a small area of the forest.
"What are you going to do? We have to race against time." Yuxiu was stunned and stared at him.
Zhao Duan blew out a palm wind, blowing away the dead branches and rotten leaves, clearing an area, and turned his head to smile:
"We've been running all night, it's time to eat. Get out of the car, I'll go find some prey nearby and eat it. You guys gather some wood and we'll grill the meat later."
Hearing this, the three people in the car were all confused and stared at him.
At such an important time, do you still have the time to hunt and barbecue?
"What are you looking at me for?" Zhao Duan smiled.
"Since Xu Jingtang will take several hours to catch up, a little while longer won't hurt. Even if we have to die, we can't go on the road on an empty stomach, right?
Besides, didn't you say, Jade Sleeve Priest, that the unicorn needs to rest too? Look at how cowardly it is. If it keeps running, I'm afraid this beast will die of exhaustion before we die."
The unicorn seemed to understand what people were saying and stared at him hard, but it couldn't hide its tired look.
Zhong Pan, Yu Xiu and Jin Jian looked at each other. Although they thought it was absurd, they still got off the car.
The unicorn's hooves softened and it knelt on the ground. Zhong Pan took out feed to feed it.
Yuxiu went to collect firewood, and Jinjian was so sleepy that he sat down and waited for dinner.
After a while, Zhao Duan returned from the forest carrying a roe deer he had hunted.
Then, a fire was lit, and the four of them sat around it in the woods, while Zhao Duan cooked himself.
He even took out several bottles and jars from the silver scroll, which contained the seasonings he had mixed himself at home.
When the steaming hot barbecue sprinkled with seasonings was distributed to everyone and swallowed, everyone's mouths began to water, and the anxiety of running for life all night was relieved.
"Let's have a meeting. We must find a way to break the impasse."
Zhao Duan swallowed the barbecue and suddenly said.
(End of this chapter)
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