Chapter 13 Arms As the old saying goes, those with soft hair often have hard hearts...
At night, Fang Yilan came to bring food to Zhao Huaixu as usual.
Zhao Huaixu was chained to a wooden stake with a thick iron chain, like a trapped beast with broken wings. He looked extremely miserable, with a crack at the corner of his mouth and a few streaks of dried blood on his face, which still had a dark, cloudy color.
"Who did this?"
Fang Yilan was furious, cursing these bandits in his heart for going back on their word. The conditions they had agreed on were completely untenable.
"It's alright, General. Rescuing Lieutenant General Lin is more important right now."
Zhao Huaixu forced a smile and deliberately avoided a direct response, but she could not guess that, apart from Qi Chun, who else could be so cruel.
"I think Qi Chun is going to attack Huan Ying. General, please be more careful."
Fang Yilan felt a little guilty, and her voice unconsciously lowered a few notes: "I have already discussed it with Huan Ying and Xiao Yue. If nothing unexpected happens, Qi Chun will rebel in the next few days."
As she spoke, she quickly stuffed the flare and a sharp dagger into Zhao Huaixu's sleeve.
"By then, he will transfer all the people in the village. You should choose the right moment and release this signal flare. After we capture Qi Chun, I will make him pay double for the injuries he inflicted on you." Fang Yilan's eyes were burning.
"General, don't worry. Huaixu will not fail in his mission. General, please don't worry about other trivial matters for me." Zhao Huaixu looked calm, without any sign of grievance or complaint in his eyes.
Fang Yilan felt more and more uncomfortable when she saw his miserable but forcing appearance. Her eyes fell on the man who was chewing the coarse food, and she raised her hand and gently stroked his head.
The moment I touched it, the hair slid smoothly through my fingers, and the touch was surprisingly soft.
The old saying goes that people with soft hair often have hearts as hard as iron. This doesn't seem to be quite right. This person has a gentle temperament like jade and a very good heart.
"Don't worry, I will definitely vent your anger." Every word he spoke was firm.
"It doesn't matter. Maybe God will punish him." Zhao Huaixu smiled gently, his eyes curved into a crescent shape.
Suddenly, a gust of autumn wind blew over, and she couldn't help but shiver. The autumn night seemed to be getting colder. She still had to find out the whereabouts of Lieutenant General Lin first. She wondered if he could hold on for so many days.
"I'm leaving now. Remember to protect yourself."
Fang Yilan walked out of the woodshed, quickened his pace, sneaked to Qi Chun's yard, and heard a conversation coming from the house.
"That old guy is so confused that he has no idea who is the one who can lead us brothers to a good life. If I hadn't been more careful and found the letter of surrender in time and arrested Lin Hongguang first, we brothers would have gone down the mountain and become prisoners sooner or later." Qi Chun was so angry that he slammed the table, making the cups and plates on the table clang.
"Of course not! Third in command, you are a man of great talent and strategy. Only by following you can we brothers have hope for the future." A pointed-faced minion beside him hurriedly agreed with a flattering smile on his face.
"We can't keep wasting time like this. If Xiao Yue really takes over this stronghold, how can we live a good life in the future? We are not allowed to rob this or that. There are so many rules. We will starve to death!" Qi Chun became more and more angry as he spoke.
"Yes, Third In Command, why don't we just go all out and kill Xiao Yue to eliminate this trouble once and for all!" Another strong man rolled up his sleeves and gestured at his neck.
Qi Chun's eyes rolled around, he put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth.
"That being said, if we really attack Xiao Yue, how could the Qishan gang let it go so easily? If there really is internal strife, it will be a troublesome matter."
"As long as this is done, you will be the one who has the final say in the mountain stronghold from now on. If anyone is blind and says something behind his back, just drag him out and chop him into pieces!" The strong man spoke excitedly, spitting everywhere.
Qi Chun grinned and patted the burly man's shoulder heavily: "Well said! When this is done, you will be my right-hand man, and wealth and glory will be yours!"
Suddenly, the sharp barking of dogs echoed over the yard.
A black dog suddenly appeared from the corner, smelled Fang Yilan's scent, and started barking wildly in her direction.
"Who!" someone in the house shouted alertly.
"Not good." Fang Yilan thought to himself that something was wrong. He didn't care about anything else and turned around and ran away without hesitation.
"Third Master, this is bad." A lackey rushed into the room in a panic, his voice trembling. "It's...it's that Second Master's young lady. She must have heard our plan."
Qi Chun's eyes flashed with ruthlessness. Without saying a word, he grabbed the heavy knife from the table and stood up suddenly, "We can't delay any longer."
"Go, call all the brothers, there will be a fierce battle tonight."
Fang Yilan ran like the wind towards Huan Ying's residence. As she was about to reach the door, she bumped into Xiao Yue who was about to walk out of the house.
Xiao Yue steadied himself and asked disdainfully, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
Fang Yilan supported her knees with her hands, bent over and panted rapidly: "Quick, call your men, Qi Chun is coming to kill us soon."
Xiao Yue was about to open his mouth to ask more questions when Fang Yilan suddenly stood up and urged him sharply, "Do it immediately! What are you waiting for?"
Xiao Yue was frightened by this momentum. Before his mind could react, his legs had already taken the lead and he ran out of the yard. He ran a long way before he suddenly came to his senses. When did he become so obedient?
When Fang Yilan saw the man running away, he strode into Huan Ying's room and took down a precious sword hanging on the wall.
It feels heavy in the hand, and the blade is shining with a cold light. It is a good knife.
"I'll borrow it for now."
Fang Yilan stood guard in front of the yard, looking at the woodshed in the distance of the village with a frown on his face. Now he could only pray that Zhao Huaixu would be smart enough to notice something was wrong and bring help in time.
*
Qi Chun came to Huan Ying's courtyard with a big knife in hand, leading a group of followers and holding torches. He saw Xiao Yue also leading his trusted guards to line up in front of the courtyard gate.
Xiao Yue held the sword and snorted coldly: "I knew that sooner or later you would give up your ambition."
Qi Chun stiffened his neck and retorted, "If I don't take action, am I going to wait for you to strike first? When did you, Huan Ying, and Xiao Yue, ever treat me like a brother? You're always on guard against me. Don't you think I don't know?"
Huan Ying stood behind the crowd, his eyes filled with reluctance and determination. "Why did we all come to Qishan together back then? Ah Chun, you've forgotten that original resolve."
Qi Chun laughed out loud as if he had heard a huge joke.
"Hold on? You're talking to me about holding on?"
"You are so noble! You won't fight or rob anything. What can be grown in this broken mountain? If it weren't for the people of Qishan, everyone, young and old, would have starved to death during the famine. When we asked for help back then, did Ruining care whether we lived or died?"
"Now that things have finally started to get better, you're standing on the moral high ground and pointing fingers at me."
Xiao Yue's face was terribly gloomy. He stared at Qi Chun coldly, but did not refute him.
"Is it just a high-sounding excuse for your insatiable greed? And you think you've reached a higher level?"
Qi Chun's gaze fell on Fang Yilan who had spoken, his eyes full of resentment: "You stinky woman, you have ruined my plans time and time again. Tonight I will make sure you die without a complete corpse."
Fang Yilan's eyes were full of provocation: "Then you come and try it."
As soon as the words fell, a knife appeared.
The two sides collided, shouts of killing shook the heavens, blades clashed, the clang of blades continued, and blood splattered everywhere.
Qi Chun brandished his sword straight at Fang Yilan's face. Fang Yilan blocked it calmly, as if he was deliberately teasing Qi Chun.
Qi Chun became even angrier and attacked with all his might. Xiao Yue seized the opportunity and stabbed Qi Chun in the back with his sword. Qi Chun heard the sound of wind behind him and hurriedly turned around to block.
Just when everyone was so engrossed in killing that they had no time to look after anything else, the sound of flapping wings suddenly came from deep in the forest. A flock of migratory birds rushed out of the forest into the sky. Almost at the same time, a spark of fire suddenly exploded in the night sky.
Qi Chun suddenly came to his senses and shouted at Fang Yilan, "You are from the Fang family army!"
Fang Yilan pretended to open her mouth wide, her eyes full of amusement, and exclaimed in feigned surprise, "Wow, amazing! You finally guessed it."
Her deliberately sarcastic look made Qi Chun so angry that smoke almost came out of his head.
"It's a trap, run!" Qi Chun yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing in the night. Upon hearing this, his followers immediately lost their composure and, desperately looking for an opportunity, fled for their lives deep into the mountains.
Fang Yilan would never let Qi Chun go easily, and was about to chase him with a knife in hand, but suddenly a few loyal subordinates appeared, protected Qi Chun behind them, waving their weapons, and fought desperately with Fang Yilan, fighting and retreating, and managed to carve out a bloody path for Qi Chun.
"General!" Lieutenant General Wang came in a hurry with 5,000 elite soldiers, and the originally dim Qishan stronghold was now as bright as day.
Looking at Fang Yilan who was fighting with several burly men, a hint of surprise flashed in Brigadier General Wang's eyes.
The general's swordsmanship is so superb!
While Fang Yilan was fighting with several of his men, he shouted, "What are you standing there for? Go chase Qi Chun."
Upon receiving the order, Lieutenant General Wang waved his hand and sent his elite men to chase quickly into the depths of the forest.
The few minions who were still fighting with Fang Yilan, when they saw the soldiers chasing into the deep forest, no longer wanted to fight, but made a few feints, and when they saw the opportunity, they turned around and rushed into the deep mountains and forests.
Fang Yilan was about to catch up, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Zhao Huaixu walking slowly towards them, with unsteady steps, struggling to support the disheveled-haired Lieutenant General Lin.
When Lieutenant General Lin saw Fang Yilan approaching, his eyes instantly turned red, his knees weakened, and he was about to kneel down: "General, it was I who caused such a disaster. I rashly trusted others and put you and Master Zhao in danger."
Fang Yilan hurriedly supported Lieutenant General Lin and spoke earnestly, "Lieutenant General Lin, please don't say that. Huan Ying's surrender is absolutely true. It was Qi Chun who had ulterior motives and deliberately disrupted the situation. How can you be blamed? This matter is complicated. I will explain it to you later."
As he spoke, Fang Yilan noticed that Zhao Huaixu's face was pale, his lips were cracked and pale, and he was extremely weak.
He just managed to utter the word "General...", but before he could say anything else, his body swayed a few times, he lost consciousness, and fell forward, right into Fang Yilan's open arms.
The author has something to say:
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I made up this old saying, don't cry if you have fine hair, because I have the same problem [burst into tears]
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