Chapter 857 Jiaojiao and the Ghost King (Second Update)
Pucheng was silent at midnight.
Jie Xingzhou and the swordsman carried Min Hongyi's body back to the city lord's mansion.
Gu Jiao's silver spear pierced Min Hongyi's heart, killing him instantly.
The swordsman pulled out the silver spear from his body, taking only his corpse with him.
His body was covered with a white sheet and carried into the flower hall of the city lord's mansion.
A man dressed in silver brocade stepped inside. He was about thirty years old, with a cold and stern face, thick eyebrows with high arches, and even when he was not angry, he gave people a sharp and unapproachable feeling.
His appearance is rather handsome, which occasionally softens his sharp features.
But if you underestimate him because of this, your own death will come soon.
This was the most warlike man in the State of Jin.
Compared to Min Hong, he was insignificant.
However, ordinary experts are not worth his attention; only fierce generals like Xuan Yuanli and Xuan Yuansheng are the ones he ultimately wants to challenge.
"My lord!"
Upon seeing the newcomer, Xie Xingzhou quickly turned around and respectfully bowed.
Gongsun Yu, exuding an aura of authority, strode over to the corpse covered by a white sheet and gestured with his hand.
Xie Xingzhou knelt down on one knee and removed the white cloth covering the corpse's head, revealing Min Hongyi's blood-stained face.
Gongsun Yu's expression remained unchanged.
Xie Xingzhou pulled the white cloth down to his ankles, revealing all of Min Hongyi's injuries.
"The fatal wound was the bullet to the chest. In addition, he was hit in the abdomen by a poisoned dart, and his thigh was pierced and twisted by a spearhead..."
Xie Xingzhou didn't list all the minor cuts and scrapes, but even those were shocking enough.
Min Hongyi was a master swordsman of the Jin state, the top swordsman under Gongsun Yu. His skills were profound, and even Xie Xingzhou could not guarantee that he could injure him to such an extent.
"Hmm." Gongsun Yu raised his finger.
Two guards stepped forward, covered the body with the white sheet again, and carried the body and stretcher out.
Gongsun Yu took the seat of honor, lifted his cloak, and sat down, asking with icy eyes, "What exactly happened?"
Only Gongsun Yu, Xie Xingzhou, and the surviving swordsman remained in the flower hall.
The swordsman was the first eyewitness, and he should have been the one to report. However, Jie Xingzhou had been negligent on this trip, so he stepped forward first, cupped his hands, and apologized: "Reporting to my lord, it was my fault for not doing my job properly! I shouldn't have stayed outside Ghost Mountain to collude with Min Hong from the outside. If I had brought troops with me, perhaps this tragedy would not have happened."
Gongsun Yu is not someone who cares about the process; he cares more about the result.
The result was that Min Hongyi died, and no amount of investigation into Jie Xingzhou's negligence could undo the loss.
Jie Xingzhou is still useful.
Then he wouldn't be dismissed from his post as boatman.
"How many have returned?" he asked in a cold voice.
Xie Xingzhou forced himself to say, "One."
Min Hongyi.
And there was only a cold corpse.
His five hundred men were all wiped out in the forest, not even a hair of their heads came out.
“Ghost Mountain…” Gongsun Yu clenched his fists and closed his eyes. “Our great Jin’s old general died at Ghost Mountain!”
The old general of the Great Jin Dynasty was Gongsun Yu's grandfather. He was brave and skilled in battle for most of his life, but he died in a battle at Guishan more than 30 years ago.
—They didn't even find the body!
The person who killed his grandfather was none other than the Shadow Lord of Yan!
—The man who founded the Imperial Preceptor Hall and the Xuanyuan Army!
After more than ten years of effort, the royal family of the Great Jin Dynasty and the Gongsun family finally wiped out the Shadow Lord's henchmen one by one!
As for the forces created by the Shadow Lord, the Xuanyuan Army has been destroyed, and now only the Imperial Preceptor Hall remains.
When he leads his army into Shengdu, he will personally... burn down the Imperial Preceptor's Hall!
Gongsun Yu glanced indifferently at the swordsman before him: "Elder Lu, I sent you to rescue people, and you only brought back a corpse. Has your Sword Pavilion lost its loyalty to the court, or has it lost its former strength?"
The swordsman, addressed as Elder Lu, said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Although I am unwilling to admit either of the two points the General mentioned, if the General insists on believing it, I have nothing to say. This time, our Sword Pavilion also suffered heavy losses in the attack on Yan Kingdom. Elder He and two inner disciples died in Quyang, and Elder Fang died on Guishan Mountain while saving Min Hongyi. I couldn't even bring back Elder Fang's body."
Gongsun Yu said bluntly, "It seems that without Shitian and Anhun, Jianlu is indeed getting worse and worse."
Elder Lu smiled faintly, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "It's not that things are getting worse; it's just that the Yan Kingdom has produced some very powerful experts. We underestimated their strength and didn't send out any stronger swordsmen. Speaking of which, I'd like to ask General Gongsun, why are you so unclear about the enemy's intelligence? If you had told me they had such experts, I would have made other arrangements!"
Gongsun Yu clenched his fists: "Experts? Hmph, they're just a bunch of bandits!"
He disliked Elder Lu's sarcastic remarks, but the Sword Pavilion held a very special position in the Jin Kingdom—the Sword Pavilion Master's younger sister was a concubine of the Jin Dynasty.
Besides, he still needs Elder Lu's help in some ways.
Gongsun Yu looked at Xie Xingzhou: "How many remnants of the army are in the woods?"
Xie Xingzhou thought to himself, "Why are you looking at me? I didn't even go into the woods."
He gave Elder Lu a pleading look.
Elder Lu said indifferently, "No more than five hundred. This is the maximum estimate. There should only be a little over three hundred troops."
Gongsun Yu slammed his hand on the armrest: "You dare to play tricks on Ghost Mountain with just over three hundred soldiers!"
This is a disgrace!
A disgrace to the entire Jin army!
A valiant general of the State of Jin, leading five hundred elite soldiers, was actually defeated by three hundred bandits!
"Jie Xingzhou!" Gongsun Yu gripped the armrest tightly, his gaze icy.
"Your subordinate is here!" Xie Xingzhou clasped his hands in greeting.
Gongsun Yu said, "Tomorrow morning, you will take 20,000 troops and flatten Ghost Mountain!"
Xie Xingzhou was stunned.
Deploying 20,000 men to deal with 300 is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
But then he thought about it again and realized he could understand the general's decision.
The old general died at Guishan, which greatly weakened the Jin army, and for more than ten years they dared not go to war with the Yan state.
For the general, Ghost Mountain was a place filled with hatred; he wished he could raze it to the ground.
He was venting his anger!
We offer sacrifices to the spirit of the old general with the vegetation, the creatures, and the troops of Ghost Mountain!
Gongsun Yu spoke calmly, but his words were chilling: "Kill them all for me, don't leave a single rabbit behind."
Xie Xingzhou knelt on one knee, his fist braced against the ground: "Your subordinate obeys!"
...
Quyang.
Shangguan Yan waited in the military camp all day but Gu Jiao did not return. She paced back and forth in Gu Jiao's tent.
Huan'er sat to the side, supporting her head with one hand, when a chick pecked at the rice and bumped its head on the table.
She hurriedly stood up: "This servant was wrong..."
"Go check the entrance again," Shangguan Yan said.
"Yes!" Huan'er lifted the curtain and went to the main gate of the military camp. She looked carefully at the official road for a long time, but did not see a single person.
She returned to the camp to report: "Lord Xiao has not returned."
"Still not back? It's been a whole day and night." Shangguan Yan clutched her chest. "I don't know why, but I just feel uneasy."
Huan'er comforted him, "Lord Xiao is so clever, he'll definitely be alright!"
"Lord Xiao!"
Suddenly, Hu Shiye's greeting came from outside the tent.
Jiaojiao is back!
Before Huan'er could lift the curtain, Shangguan Yan went over and lifted it herself, only to find that Xuanping Hou had a face that looked like he wanted to be slapped.
Marquis Xuanping was just passing by.
Everyone in the camp knew that he was Commander Xiao's biological father, so they respectfully addressed him as Lord Xiao.
Shangguan Yan's face darkened: "What, it's you again?"
Marquis Xuanping: "I was just passing by, how can you blame me for this?"
Shangguan Yan ignored him.
She wasn't a unreasonable person, nor would she throw a tantrum at a man.
Marquis Xuanping said with a half-smile, "What? Missing my son?"
Is Jiaojiao your son?
Shangguan Yan glared at him, then turned and went into Gu Jiao's tent.
Marquis Xuanping touched the bridge of his nose helplessly.
Women are so hard to understand.
He shook his head and returned to his own tent.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, "Where did that Tang fellow take my son? Why hasn't he come back yet?"
There was nothing fun in the military camp, and with the attack on the Liang army scheduled for early the next morning, Marquis Xuanping went to bed early to conserve his energy.
He had a hazy dream in the middle of the night.
He dreamed of a slender boy with a face that looked remarkably like Ah Heng's, yet it wasn't Ah Heng's face.
He suddenly appeared in front of him and reached out his hand.
Somehow, he recognized that it was his son with Qin Fengwan.
A surge of joy filled his heart, and he strode towards the other man, calling out, "Son!"
Just as he was about to reach out and touch the other person, a long sword suddenly shot out from the darkness and pierced his son's chest from behind.
Rumble—
A thunderclap exploded in the sky!
Marquis Xuanping shuddered and awoke from his nightmare.
His clothes were sticky, clearly he had been startled and was covered in a cold sweat.
How did he have this dream?
Before I even saw my son, he was...
Get lost!
His son is perfectly fine.
After he finishes fighting, he will take Xiao Qing back to see his mother.
He had never seen Qin Fengwan so surprised and out of control in his life, and he believed he would see it soon.
This son must be exceptionally well-behaved.
...
Ghost mountain.
Night had fallen, and the villagers and ghost soldiers, who had been busy all day, all returned to their houses, plunging the bustling village into tranquility.
In Quyang City, wind and rain raged with thunder, while in Pucheng, the night was beautiful.
Gu Jiao lay in the small thatched hut that Shangguan Qing had arranged for her, looking up at the starry sky through the window: "Tomorrow will be another clear and crisp autumn day."
Tang Yueshan lay in another room of the small thatched hut, snoring loudly.
Black Wind King did not lie down to rest. Instead, it and another Black Wind Rider quietly stood guard outside the small hut, taking a nap with their eyes closed.
As Gu Jiao listened to the wind blowing through the mountains and admired the boundless moonlight, she felt a sense of peace in her heart.
"Boss, we're going back tomorrow," she said to Black Wind King outside the window.
Black Wind King responded to her with a loud snoring.
Then it snored again, signaling to Gu Jiao that it was time to sleep.
Seeing that Gu Jiao still had her big, bright eyes open, it simply stuck its head through the window, blocking out the moonlight and the night.
Gu Jiao: "..."
Okay.
I'll just go to sleep.
Gu Jiao turned over and, under the protection of the Black Wind King, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
"grown ups……"
"grown ups……"
"grown ups……"
Gu Jiao heard a faint, indistinct voice in her dream.
Who is calling her?
Gu Jiao couldn't sleep soundly. She turned over, fell off the bed, and landed on the floor with a thud!
"Who, who, who!"
Startled, Tang Yueshan next door sat up with a jolt, but sensing no danger, he went back to sleep, clutching his large bow.
Gu Jiao fell quite hard.
She just had another dream where people were calling her, and there was more than one person.
Some called her "sir," while others simply called her...
She didn't hear anything else when called, and she woke up after falling.
Black Wind King poked his head in.
"I'm fine." Gu Jiao stood up, her head covered by a large bump.
That fall woke her up completely.
The moon and stars were bright in the first half of the night, but dark clouds covered the area in the second half.
It looks like it's about to rain.
It was stuffy inside, so Gu Jiao came out to get some fresh air.
She stood beside the Black Wind King, admiring the mountains tinged with the darkness of the night.
Suddenly, her little head unconsciously turned to look east.
The Black Wind King happened to be standing on the east side, and it used its head to push her head against it.
Do not look.
Gu Jiao looked again.
Black Wind King charged forward again.
Gu Jiao simply jumped up and lay down on its back, staring intently.
She blinked: "Boss, shall we go for a walk in the back mountain?"
Black Wind King, unable to keep an eye on his unruly child, sighed helplessly.
Black Wind King carried Gu Jiao toward the back mountain.
There was a formation set up in the forest, and ghost soldiers were on duty there. There were no ghost soldiers patrolling in the village.
Black Wind King moved very quietly, without waking any of the villagers.
To prevent villagers from accidentally wandering into the back mountain, Shangguan Qing ordered a row of fences to be built, each as tall as a person.
Black Wind King easily leaped over it.
Gu Jiao patted its mane and said proudly, "Boss, you're awesome."
Black Wind King: Don't flatter me.
Black Wind King and Gu Jiao arrived at the foot of the mountain. Gu Jiao dismounted and looked at the dark mountain, muttering, "The back mountain is so big, where exactly is that Ghost King? Never mind, let's go in first."
A person and a horse climbed the hillside and entered a dense forest.
This forest is rarely visited and has much denser vegetation than the area on the front mountain.
A venomous snake slithered down from a tree branch, flicking its dangerous forked tongue at Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao raised her hand and grabbed.
Viper: "...!!"
Gu Jiao wasn't interested in the small venomous snake and casually threw it away.
The man and his horse walked forward for a while longer.
Gu Jiao thought it wouldn't be that easy, but to her surprise, she saw a graveyard as soon as she left the woods.
At the highest point of the cemetery sat a general, holding a long sword, wearing armor, and motionless... as if he had been petrified on the spot.
The three-foot-long green sword in his hand gleamed coldly, as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
At this moment, Gu Jiao finally understood what Shangguan Qing meant.
Shangguan Qing's description was correct.
This person is really... "dead".
He had no trace of human life on him, and he believed in his heart that he was already dead.
He was left with only a broken shell in the world, like a soulless walking corpse.
The moon pierced through the thick clouds and climbed into the night sky, casting a cool, clear light on the gravesite and on him.
Click!
His neck suddenly turned, and he slowly and sluggishly looked in Gu Jiao's direction.
Rubbing my hands together, my little darlings, do you still have any monthly passes left?
(End of this chapter)
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