Chapter 596 Father's Love is as Solid as a Mountain (Second Update)
Empress Dowager Zhuang, sitting inside the carriage, witnessed the hunt firsthand.
That's right, it's hunting.
She knew just how powerful the Dragon Shadow Guards were. Strictly speaking, the Dragon Shadow Guards brought by General Nangong were even stronger than those of Zhao Kingdom. However, in front of Marquis Xuanping's Ghost Face Army, these Dragon Shadow Guards had no way to use their martial arts. They became prey in the forest, allowing the Ghost Face Army to hunt them down at will!
This is a tactical advantage, as well as an overwhelming sense of momentum.
Marquis Xuanping seems to have been born with an aura. He just stands there and does nothing, yet he exudes an air of "I am the best in the world"!
Of course, bluffing won't work; he needs to have substantial military strength and capability.
As it turned out, Marquis Xuanping accomplished all of them.
There was a time when Empress Dowager Zhuang thought that the most skilled general in Zhao Kingdom was the old Marquis Ding'an, Gu Chao. But now, after seeing how Marquis Xuanping dealt with the Dragon Shadow Guards of Yan Kingdom, she realized that Marquis Xuanping's understanding and control of the battlefield and tactics had reached an unparalleled level.
If such a person were born into a powerful family like the Nangong family, who knows what kind of achievements they would have made.
The hunt ended quickly, leaving a few survivors.
"Take the prisoners back for interrogation. As for the rest, clean them up or bury them."
The term "cleaning up" means seizing the enemy's weapons and property. In this respect, Marquis Xuanping and Gu Jiao were in complete agreement: no war resources should be wasted.
As for properly handling corpses, it was mainly to prevent the spread of plague.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless and that he had lost an arm, General Nangong could no longer afford to fight the young master of the Dark Night Sect. He threw a black powder and turned to flee!
Chang Jing, sword in hand, gave chase with an icy expression!
Marquis Xuanping was not worried about Chang Jing's safety. In the capital, apart from those old fogies and Long Yi, basically no one could touch Chang Jing, especially since Nangong Li had lost an arm.
Marquis Xuanping arrived in front of Empress Dowager Zhuang's carriage, dismounted, and bowed to the closed carriage curtain, saying, "Your Majesty, I have arrived late to rescue you and have caused you any distress."
Empress Dowager Zhuang glanced at Xiao Heng beside her and said, "Go, have your father escort you back. I'm returning to the palace tonight." She knew that Marquis Xuanping hadn't actually come to greet her.
Xiao Heng: You clearly made an appointment with Aunt Liu to play cards.
“Go,” said Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Xiao Heng reluctantly got off the carriage.
Marquis Xuanping picked out a docile horse for him: "We're in a hurry and didn't prepare a carriage. Here, you can ride this one."
Xiao Heng walked expressionlessly to the horse, grabbed the saddle, and was about to step into the stirrups to mount.
Suddenly, Marquis Xuanping reached out and grabbed his waist, intending to lift him up as he had done in childhood. But Xiao Heng turned his face away calmly and said, "I'm not a child anymore! I can ride a horse!"
Marquis Xuanping withdrew his hand in a huff.
Xiao Heng indeed stepped onto the stirrup and nimbly flipped himself onto it.
Marquis Xuanping exclaimed in surprise, "You've really grown up!"
Marquis Xuanping also mounted his horse. His horse was much wilder than Xiao Heng's horse. As soon as it got close to Xiao Heng's horse, it started to be aggressive and bully it!
Xiao Heng's horse was terrified!
Marquis Xuanping tugged at the reins impatiently and threatened, "If you show off again, I'll stew you when we get back!"
Then his horse behaved itself.
Whether it was to curry favor with its heartless, unethical, and uncaring master, it fawned over Xiao Heng's horse by rubbing its head against his.
Xiao Heng's horse became even more frightened.
Marquis Xuanping: "..."
Marquis Xuanping's horse: "..."
Meanwhile, on the other side, Grand Tutor Zhuang was captured by Marquis Xuanping's men. This old scoundrel has caused a lot of trouble. Marquis Xuanping doesn't follow the rules of the government offices, so he has to be killed now.
Xiao Heng said, "I promised Prince An that I would spare his grandfather's life."
Although Marquis Xuanping really wanted to crush that old bastard, since his son had said so, it wouldn't hurt to spare his life. After all, he was suffering anyway, so let him suffer a fate worse than death.
Xiao Heng spoke first. Although he had something to say, Marquis Xuanping was still quite happy. He smiled and said, "Son, why did you think of writing to me? Do you think your father is the most reliable person?"
Xiao Heng glanced at him sideways: "I just don't want Jiaojiao to go to war again."
Gu Jiao will inevitably accompany the Gu family army.
Marquis Xuanping, sitting on his horse, leaned to the side and said to his son, "The Gu family army is not as powerful as my Ghost Face Army. They will suffer heavy casualties when dealing with the Dragon Shadow Guards, but my Ghost Face Army will not."
The Ghost Face Army was a high-end fighting force; though small in number, its combat power was extremely strong, making it perfect for dealing with the Yan Kingdom's elite assassins.
Xiao Heng said solemnly, "The Gu family army is large in scale and its combat strength is not bad either."
Marquis Xuanping looked at him with an expression that said, "I won't listen to you, I won't listen to you: Anyway, you came to me, so in your heart, I'm the stronger one!"
This guy is such a grown man, and he's still comparing things like this. Xiao Heng really didn't want to talk to him anymore.
Xiao Heng wanted the horse to go faster, but he didn't have a whip. He hesitated for a moment, then said calmly, "Can you make it go faster?"
Marquis Xuanping retorted, "No."
I just want to spend more time with my son!
Xiao Heng took a deep breath, tightened his grip on the reins, and said, "There's a shortcut around here, let's go that way!"
Marquis Xuanping's lips twitched.
Hold!
Forgot about this!
Xiao Heng led the way, and at a fork in the road, they got off the main road. There was a village there, and if they walked there and crossed a stream, they could save half the distance.
However, when Xiao Heng arrived at the stream, he discovered that... the water level had risen!
Xiao Heng's face darkened instantly. Was he really that unlucky?
This is because the snow on the mountaintop has melted, and the meltwater has flowed down as streams. What was originally a shallow layer of water is now up to the thighs, and in the deepest places it may be even deeper.
Most importantly, the stream was flowing quite rapidly.
Xiao Heng's horse refused to move no matter what.
Marquis Xuanping's steed was eager to try, but the waters were unpredictable, and riding on horseback was not very safe.
I finally managed to show you the way, and this is what happened. It's impossible not to feel embarrassed.
Xiao Heng gritted his teeth and decided to turn back, even if it meant losing face.
Before he could even speak, Marquis Xuanping spoke first. He dismounted and said to Xiao Heng, "Get down and walk over there."
Xiao Heng is a grown man; he can back down once he sets his bottom line. But to ask his own father to say, "I can't do it, I can't swim across," is something he finds hard to say.
He took a deep breath, dismounted, steeled his resolve, and strode towards the rushing stream.
Unexpectedly, as soon as his feet touched the water, he was grabbed by a pair of strong hands and thrown onto someone's back.
Xiao Heng felt dizzy for a moment, and when he came to his senses, Marquis Xuanping was already carrying him on his back, supporting his legs with both hands, and resolutely wading into the cold river.
On the battlefield, when encountering all kinds of harsh and treacherous terrain, this level of stream would be something that Marquis Xuanping could cross with his eyes closed. But that was when he was alone, so it didn't matter if he fell or bumped into something.
Now that he has a son on his back, he has become extremely cautious, and he dares not take a step too easily.
You have to walk around the whole area to find the best place to step.
When someone holds a place in a person's heart, their life gains weight from that person.
The Marquis of Xuanping walked for a long time across a stream less than two zhang wide without letting Xiao Heng feel the slightest stumble.
After crossing to the other side, Marquis Xuanping was completely soaked from the waist down.
Xiao Heng's shoes were only slightly wet.
Marquis Xuanping showed no intention of putting him down and continued to carry him forward.
Xiao Heng lay on his back and said seriously, "Put me down, I can walk by myself."
Marquis Xuanping walked steadily and swiftly, his wet military boots crunching on the ground: "This part is a mountain path, it's not easy to walk."
Behind the two, out of Xiao Heng's sight, the blood in the stream was washed away by the waves.
Marquis Xuanping carried Xiao Heng up and down the mountain, his body dripping with water all the way.
At first, Xiao Hengzhen thought it was all water droplets, but gradually, as the water droplets decreased, a stronger and stronger bloody smell began to spread over Xuanping Hou's body.
Xiao Heng frowned and looked back at the ground.
Under the dim moonlight, bloody footprints were clearly visible on the ground.
"You're injured?" Xiao Heng asked in surprise.
When fighting the Yan people just now, Marquis Xuanping did not personally take action, so it should not be a new injury.
Marquis Xuanping casually hummed in agreement: "A minor injury."
No one goes to war without getting injured. Over the years, he has suffered countless wounds, big and small. The most serious one is a back injury he sustained many years ago. He was injured in the same spot three times, which left him with a chronic condition.
This time, it was because his back injury flared up during the last battle, and he was accidentally stabbed twice, once in the back and once in the thigh.
When he received Xiao Heng's letter, he was getting stitches in the military camp.
Xiao Heng suddenly became very angry: "Why didn't you say you were injured! You were riding a horse! Wading through water! Walking! Carrying people and carrying heavy loads!"
Marquis Xuanping suddenly stopped and turned around slightly: "Aheng, are you worried about me?"
Xiao Heng choked and turned his face away: "I didn't."
(End of this chapter)
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