The man was stunned for a moment, and quickly knelt on the ground, "I dare not."
"So you think I'm collaborating with the enemy? Or is there something wrong with my brain?"
Sweat began to flow down the officer's forehead. He nervously said, "I am confused. I dare not."
The man raised his head, without even looking at him, and said calmly: "Since you don't dare, then you should know what to do."
"Yes, yes, I understand." The man quickly stood up and said to the soldiers behind him, "Retreat, retreat, the rear troops retreat first, and the others follow in order."
The sable man slowly turned his horse around and glanced at Chu Qiao's face indifferently before leaving. The girl was wearing a white fur coat and looked thin, which only made her big eyes stand out more. She held the reins and looked at herself without saying a word. The wind blew through her hair, which danced in perfect arcs like ink dropped into water.
The enemy army just marched away in front of them, with more than 3,000 people in total, leaving behind more than 1,000 fully armed "refugees". The battle started with surprise and ended with horror. Only at this moment did someone quietly ask, "Are they just leaving like that?"
Everyone was stunned. After a long while, someone whispered, "Didn't you see the adults coming? They were scared away."
"He Xiao, you organize the troops first, I'll be back soon."
Seeing Chu Qiao was about to chase in the direction of the enemy's retreat, He Xiao was startled and hurriedly pulled Chu Qiao's reins, saying loudly: "Sir, you must not do this. If we fall into the hands of the enemy, our death will not be enough to atone for our sins."
"Don't worry," Chu Qiao smiled slightly, "Nothing will happen to that person..."
Having said this, her voice suddenly paused. What words should be used to explain the relationship between the two? Enemy? Rival? Or maybe...
"He's my friend." Even without seeing him with her own eyes, Chu Qiao could guess the other person's identity. In this world, besides Yan Xun, who grew up with her, who else could catch her arrow? The horse ran for less than an incense stick of time before seeing two people standing under a big tree in the distance. One of them saw her coming and immediately ran over happily, saying with a smile: "Miss Xing'er is here. The young master said you would come, and I was worried."
The moonlight was bright white, and on the vast snowfield, the big tree looked like a big umbrella. Although its branches and leaves were scattered, it was still unusually tall and straight. Zhuge Yue stood under the tree, looking at her quietly without saying a word. The white horse strolled leisurely beside him, and when it saw Chu Qiao, it neighed happily, as if it had seen an acquaintance.
Yue Qi was talking nonstop, holding the reins for her naturally. Chu Qiao jumped off the horse and smiled at Yue Qi: "I didn't expect to meet you here. Are you all right?"
"Who are you asking, girl? Are you asking me if Yueqi is okay? I'm fine. I can eat and sleep well, and I even got married a while ago." Yueqi said with a smile.
Chu Qiao was a little embarrassed, but still smiled and said, "Then I really have to congratulate you."
"Yueqi, go ahead and tell Yu Chao to walk slower, so as not to accidentally fall into the snow cave."
Yue Qi turned around and said to the man under the tree, "Master, Yu Chao is a general from the northwest. Instead of worrying about him, you should worry about whether I will fall into a snow cave while delivering the message."
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Yue raised his eyebrows, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes.
Yue Qi quickly raised his hands and said repeatedly: "Okay, okay, I'll go right away, just to express the young master's care for his subordinates." After that, he mounted his horse, flicked the reins, and rode away.
In fact, it was only two months since they last saw each other, but for some reason, Chu Qiao felt like it had been a very long time. A lot of things had happened during this period. After the war with Daxia, all sorts of things had come to the fore. Especially between him and Yan Xun, the gap between them grew deeper and deeper. Zhuge Yue's words had all come true. She had walked with difficulty and had a hard time trudging through the journey, but now that she saw him again, a myriad of thoughts flooded into her mind, making her unable to sort out her feelings for a moment. Their relationship was so awkward that she didn't know what to say. She could only stand there stupidly, like a dead tree in the wilderness.
“Is there something wrong within your ranks?” Zhuge Yue suddenly spoke up, but it was such a private military secret.
Chu Qiao was stunned and looked at him strangely. What did he want to say? Are you trying to find out information about the Yanbei Army?
“Your people led me here.” Zhuge Yue said slowly, “I guess someone wanted to use me to get rid of this army, but I didn’t expect it was your people.”
Although she had guessed it a long time ago, Chu Qiao still felt furious when she heard this. She bit her lower lip, clenched her fists tightly, looked at the ground, but said nothing.
“Be careful. This time you met me, next time, it might be Zhao Che.” Zhuge Yue said, and turned to leave, leading his horse.
Chu Qiao was startled and quickly took two steps forward, saying, “Zhuge Yue!”
Zhuge Yue turned around, tilted his head and looked at her with a frown. Chu Qiao thought for a long time, and finally said: "Will it cause trouble for you?"
Zhuge Yue sneered, “As long as you don’t write to the Council of Elders, I think nothing will happen.”
Chu Qiao took a deep breath, her eyes shining like stars, she looked at him steadily, and finally said in a deep voice: "Thank you."
Zhuge Yue led his horse and left, waving his hand casually, saying, “If you can’t do it yourself, go back and tell Yan Xun. Your battle will be very difficult if the internal situation is unstable.”
The moonlight reflected from the snow, making it sparkle brightly. Zhuge Yue, dressed in a long purple fur coat, looked even more gorgeous and handsome. His slender back stepped step by step on the snowy plain, his horse clanging as he moved forward slowly.
Chu Qiao kept standing there, watching his back as it got farther and farther away, until it finally disappeared under the snow slope in a flash, and could no longer be seen.
Her throat was congested, and she felt like thousands of words were stuck in her neck, but she couldn't utter them. The complex emotions almost overwhelmed her rationality. She just stood there for a long time, motionless, until He Xiao, who was worried about her, came with his troops, and she slowly came back to her senses.
"Sir, let's go back."
Chu Qiao nodded and said, "Go back and tell the brothers not to mention what happened tonight to anyone."
He Xiao nodded and said, "Yes, sir, please rest assured." After thinking for a while, he asked tentatively, "So this time, we'll just let it go?"
Chu Qiao's expression suddenly turned cold. She snorted coldly and said in a deep voice, "Of course we can't just let it go like this."
She jumped onto the horse swiftly, and the horse neighed loudly, breaking the silence of the night. The bleak wind blew, snowflakes flew, and there was a trace of solemnity. Chu Qiao turned her head and looked at the vast snowfield, which was pale and bright, like an endless sea. The big tree stood there quietly. It was unknown how many years it had lived alone, and how many people had passed under it with tender eyes, traveling through time and space.
"Go back to camp!" The wind was howling, snowflakes were rolling, and the night was as dark as thick ink. The army of the Southwest Town Governor stood in front of the camp gate. After receiving the report from the front, the camp gate slowly opened. The dark entrance looked as ferocious as the bloody mouth of a wild beast. He Xiao was riding on a horse, standing beside Chu Qiao, with his sword hanging quietly on his waist. A light blue light was flickering subtly, and it was particularly bright under the moonlight.
"Sir, shall we go and report to His Highness now?" He Xiao asked in a deep voice.
Chu Qiao shook her head quietly, the cold wind blowing through her hair like winding tentacles. She frowned slightly, looked deeply at the brightly lit camp, and said in a deep voice: "No need. If things are complicated, there will inevitably be more twists and turns. It's better to act first and report later."
He Xiao hesitated a little, frowned and said, "Will His Highness be angry if I do this?"
"I don't know." Chu Qiao said calmly, "Let's do it first and then we'll talk about it."
After saying that, she rode forward first. The guarding soldiers saluted to her in unison, but she seemed not to see them and rode into the camp on her horse, followed by more than a thousand soldiers from the Southwest Town Government who had escaped death. The team swept through the camp like a tornado. The sound of horse hooves sounded like rumbling thunder, snowflakes were flying, and a fine mist of snow was spreading under the horses' hooves.
Many sleeping soldiers were awakened, thinking that the enemy was attacking the camp. They quickly put on their clothes, picked up their weapons and rushed out of their tents. As soon as he came out, his head was filled with snow powder. Seeing the officers and soldiers of the Southwest Town Government rushing towards the East Camp aggressively, he was immediately surprised. An old soldier in his forties hadn't put on his clothes yet, with his belt half-tied. His wrinkled face twitched as he frowned and said, "Why are these guys so angry? Something must have happened. We should notify His Highness right away."
"Do it!" Chu Qiao shouted coldly, and more than twenty hooks were thrown out like arrows, and hooked on the tent in a flash. The soldiers immediately whipped their horses, and the horses neighed long, raised their hooves, and galloped in all directions. The next second, the huge tent was torn into pieces. Cheng Yuan hadn't put on his clothes yet, but he still stood in the tent with his chest and head held high, holding a sword. When he saw Chu Qiao, he shouted angrily, "Master Chu! What do you mean by this?"
"General Cheng, you falsely passed on military orders, colluded with the enemy, and killed people with a borrowed knife. What a cruel method!" He Xiao said angrily, and the bones of his hand holding the knife crackled.
Cheng Yuan frowned and pretended to be ignorant and asked, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."
He Xiao wanted to say something else, but Chu Qiao stopped him with her hand and said coldly, "No need to waste time talking to him."
"Master Chu, I think this is a misunderstanding. If you have anything to say, may I ask..."
However, before he could finish his words, Chu Qiao suddenly drew the long sword from her waist and shouted coldly: "Kill him!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the officers and soldiers of the Southwest Town Government rushed forward immediately. Cheng Yuan's personal guards rushed forward in a panic. None of them had yet put on their armor. They stood in the cold north wind with pale faces and blue lips. They raised their sabers, but could only stab their war horses. Before the blood could spurt out, their heads were chopped off by someone. A sharp shout broke the silence of the entire army. Cheng Yuan shouted loudly: "Reinforcements! Reinforcements! The Southwest Town Envoy has rebelled again!"
The nearest guards were already rushing over at full speed, and the sound of their footsteps was like a raging flood, striking heavily on everyone's hearts.
Jiang Chong, the captain of the guards of the Third Guard of the Second Army, came with his troops and was about to rush into the battle, but he saw Chu Qiao standing tall in the chaos and shouted loudly: "Soldiers of the Second Army, do you want to be my enemy, Chu Qiao?"
Jiang Chong was stunned. How could he not know who Chu Qiao was? After the Battle of Beishuo, Chu Qiao had already become a household name, and he was even more proud of having fought side by side with her. Seeing her standing in front of the Southwest Town Envoy, he was stunned and quickly reorganized his guards, shouting, "Lord Chu, what's going on?"
"I am dealing with the traitor. Please do not act rashly for now. Once this matter is resolved, I will give you an explanation."
On one side was the Southwest Town Governor who was guilty of treason, and on the other side was Cheng Yuan who escaped during the Battle of Beishuo. Both of them were sensitive topics in the army. Jiang Chong thought for a moment and immediately issued an order: "Immediately block the war zone. If any party tries to escape or spread the war, they will be killed without mercy!"