"I know my time has come." She exhaled lightly and said in a low voice, "I have long thought that this day would come, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon."
A gentle and calm face suddenly appeared vaguely before her eyes. Miss Yu smiled gently, and the blood from her wounds was like a winding stream, seeping through the cloth and flowing out slowly. She stretched out her hand with difficulty, as if trying to touch the blurry face, and vaguely recalled the scene when they first met many years ago. They were young at that time. She was punished by her master in the street for running away. She was beaten to a pulp, but she tried hard not to cry. He followed the master past the bridge, and suddenly squatted down and handed her a bottle of medicine, then frowned and said, "Take it once in the morning and once in the evening, take good care of your wounds."
With a smile on her lips, Miss Yu said tiredly, "Ah Chu, I want to sleep for a while. If Daoya arrives, remember to wake me up."
Chu Qiao bit her lower lip and nodded desperately. Miss Yu closed her eyes at ease, her brows full of fatigue and sleepiness. She whispered, "I'll just sleep for a while. I'm too tired. I'll just sleep for a while."
Her long eyelashes cast a faint silhouette on her bare face. Her heartbeat became slower and slower, until it could no longer be heard. Her fingers slid down and fell heavily into Chu Qiao's arms.
The wind outside the door suddenly became stronger, bringing cold rain in. In the small thatched cottage, Chu Qiao's body gradually stiffened. She lowered her head, and a tear fell, hitting Miss Yu's cold cheek, winding down, rolling into the pool of blood on the ground, gently melting and blending into the blood.
"Sir!" He Xiao suddenly rushed in regardless of everything. Seeing the dead Miss Yu, the weathered man was stunned.
Chu Qiao slowly raised her eyes, looked at him quietly, and asked in a hoarse voice: "What's the matter?"
He Xiao was silent for a long time before he slowly said, "Mr. Wu is here."
It was still raining when she met Mr. Wu. Chu Qiao, wearing a raincoat, came to the edge of Qiulanping under the protection of He Xiao and others. In the dark and vast wilderness, the soldiers lit torches soaked in tung oil. The entire road was littered with corpses that had turned bleached by rain. He Qi stood under a poplar tree holding a large umbrella. Mr. Wu was kneeling there, facing the direction where Chu Qiao and the others had come from. There were three sharp arrows stuck in his back, one of which pierced through his back and hit his heart. His face was pale, with a streak of blood running down the corner of his mouth. He was no longer breathing, but his eyes were still open, as if he was staring at something. Even though he was dead, he still stood, his eyes were earnest, and his brows were tightly furrowed.
"When we arrived, the gentleman had already gone."
He Xiao's voice sounded low in his ears. The night was so dark that no light could be seen. Chu Qiao sat on the horse with her back straight, her eyes dry and she couldn't shed a single tear.
"Everyone has their own desires in life, and what I want is just to be closer to my beliefs. For this, I am willing to give up my freedom and sacrifice my love, because I think it is worth it."
Vaguely, Chu Qiao could even hear what Mr. Wu said on Huihui Mountain a year ago. The night wind was howling and the rain was pouring down. Chu Qiao closed her eyes and raised her head. The cold rain poured on her face like sharp knives.
Miss Yu, you have to wait a while, the person you are waiting for has come. You are too tired in this life, so in the next life, don’t take so many responsibilities. You have to be together, live a good life, and don’t think about anything else.
The sky and the earth are bleak, the wind is blowing wildly, and the long night has just begun... The night is deep, the clouds are low and thick, and it is all pitch black. The wind is blowing, making a low whimpering sound.
"Fire!" A deep voice gave monotonous attack orders over and over again. The number of soldiers trapped in the valley became fewer and fewer. Blood spread. Countless arrows were shot at the soldiers in red uniforms. A desperate shout of killing rang out on the battlefield. The sharp bells sounded loudly and more than twenty distress signals were sent out. This was already the southern slope of Huoleiyuan, less than an incense stick of time away from Beishuo City. They didn't understand why the Beishuo defenders still hadn't come out to rescue them. Was Beishuo City surrounded? Who are these enemies of unknown origin?
"Who is it?"
There was a sharp arrow stuck in Xiaohe's shoulder, and blood was flowing out of his body like a stream. The comrades beside him fell down one after another like wheat in autumn harvest. His eyes were already red. He didn't understand. He had clearly received an order from His Majesty to return to Beishuo to accept an award, so why was he suddenly ambushed by an unknown enemy?
Xiao He looked at the crazy scene in front of him, as if he had fallen into the most terrifying nightmare. The situation is like a huge rock rolling down from the top of a mountain. No one can stop it, and anyone who tries to stretch out their hands will be crushed into meat paste.
They still haven't fought with the enemy because they are in Yanbei's homeland and have come here to receive titles, so they don't carry any long-range attack weapons, no shields, no bows and arrows. The five thousand of them were trapped in this low-lying valley, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Arrows shot at them as if they had eyes. They had no way to evade, retreat, or block them. All the soldiers who tried to charge were nailed to the ground by the arrows. Blood flowed wildly, corpses piled up into a small hill, and the soldiers screamed wildly:
"Who is on the other side? Why are they attacking us?"
"Why didn't anyone come to rescue us? Where are the Beishuo defenders?"
"They are using crossbows. They are our own army!"
"Who is it? Who wants to kill us?"
Xiaohe's eyes were red. His deputy general stood in front of him with a knife and shouted over and over again: "Protect the general! Protect the general!" However, as soon as he finished speaking, a sharp arrow pierced his throat. His voice suddenly became like a leaky bellows. Blood gushed out and splashed on Xiaohe's face.
Xiao He hugged the deputy general's body. The 30-year-old strong man opened his eyes wide in fear and clutched his cloak with both hands. Blood kept pouring out of his mouth. He said intermittently: "Who... who... who wants to kill us..."
The incomplete corpses covered the area layer upon layer, gradually piling up into a sea of corpses at Xiaohe's feet. He could no longer feel the pain from his wounds. At midnight, it began to rain. The heavy rain poured on the ground, mixing with the blood and mud. The soldiers resisted with one foot deep and one foot shallow, using the bodies of their comrades to build high trench walls to block the enemy's sharp arrows.
There were screams and curses everywhere. After an unknown amount of time, the offensive from the opposite side suddenly slowed down, and the rain of arrows disappeared. However, they were still surrounded quietly, and no one made a sound, like a silent stone.
The Second Battalion of the Fire Cloud Army was almost wiped out, and the survivors were only breathing one breath more than the dead. They no longer had the strength to charge forward, and their heavy breathing sounded like a dying wild dog.
Quiet, too quiet, as quiet as death.
Suddenly, a low sound of mechanism was heard slowly. The soldiers opened their eyes wide in horror and looked up suddenly, only to see an overwhelming amount of long-range and powerful bows and crossbows whistling towards them. Their lengths were like sharp spears, which pierced through the trenches filled with flesh and blood with a whoosh.
"ah!"
"Son of a bitch, I..."
The tragic shouting and cursing sounded again, but it stopped abruptly before it was finished. Xiao He had three or four sharp arrows stuck in his body and was covered in blood. His face was unrecognizable. He was swinging his sword and fighting when an arrow suddenly struck him, piercing his shoulder and nailing him to the battle flag of the Huoyun Army.
"General!" A soldier saw this and staggered forward. However, just as he was about to reach Xiaohe, a sharp arrow suddenly pierced through his back, and the soldier's pupils suddenly dilated. He lowered his head as if in some confusion, reached out to touch the sharp arrow that had pierced his body, frowned slightly, and like a naive child, he knelt down, supported by the bow and arrow, and died in front of Xiaohe.
The young general burst into tears and roared like a ferocious lion.
"Protect the General!"
The soldiers swarmed forward, and the enemy on the opposite side noticed the movement here and shot a concentrated rain of arrows at them.
A soldier whom Xiaohe had never seen before turned around and smiled at him. His clear eyes were filled with carefree brightness. He smiled and said, "You guys save the adults. I'll go first."
Then he turned around and rushed towards the oncoming rain of arrows. Countless sharp arrows pierced his chest and head. He stood there like a target, refusing to fall down even though he would rather die.
A heart-wrenching pain arose in his heart, Xiaohe roared and rushed forward, his body forcefully pierced by the long arrow.
The young general rushed forward madly, brandishing his sword. Arrows kept shooting at him, but he kept charging. The enemies hiding in the darkness were shocked. Some soldiers stopped in a daze and watched the soldier covered in blood roaring towards them.
At this moment, a sword suddenly flew out, and with a swish, the sword hit Xiaohe's leg. Xiao He staggered and fell to his knees. He looked at the enemy camp not far away, and his eyes glowed blood red. What kind of eyes were those? Full of despair, unwillingness and crazy anger, his sight swept through the soldiers in black clothes and armor like a knife. Suddenly, a mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth. The young general stood up again with amazing perseverance, roared and rushed over, shouting: "Who is it? Who wants to kill us?"
A barrage of arrows shot out at the same time, nailing Xiaohe firmly to the ground, making it impossible to see his head or face. There was a low tremor between heaven and earth. Cold rain poured down, pouring on the cooled corpses. Blood flowed along with the rain. Muffled thunder rolled across the sky. Finally, there was no body left standing.
"Burn them." A low command voice sounded slowly, and the soldiers ran forward with wooden barrels, pouring buckets of pine oil on the bodies of the soldiers who had just died. Mixing with the fishy blood, it had a disgusting smell. Torches were thrown up, and a huge fire broke out with a whoosh. The heavy rain could not extinguish it at all. The black-clad warriors stood where they were, watching quietly as the fire devoured all unwilling thoughts.
Yes, killing cannot destroy ideas, but it can destroy the carriers of ideas.
The rainy night was still dark and cold. The soldiers turned and headed towards Beishuo City. No one was interested in taking a look at what was behind them.
The morning star rose slowly in the sky, and the messenger came running and said loudly: "Princess Wan Wan has led her troops to the city gate. His Majesty ordered the general to lead his troops immediately."
The killing is not over yet, everything is still going on. "Sir, there are people ahead, about three hundred of them, probably scouts from Beishuo, all riding very fast war horses. Do you want to hide for now?"
Chu Qiao frowned. The heavy rain had just stopped and the dark clouds slowly dissipated, leaving the sky and the earth filled with mist as pale as milk. She frowned and looked, her eyes sharp like a white eagle spreading its wings in the sky.
"Sir! It's the Fire Cloud Army. There are a large number of pursuers behind us. It looks like there are more than 5,000 of them!"
The scouts rushed back quickly. Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows and made a prompt decision, "He Xiao, take people to rescue Princess Wan Wan immediately and stop the pursuers behind."
"yes!"
He Xiao agreed, reorganized four thousand soldiers and horses, and set off.
Chu Qiao led the troops and followed behind. The horses' hooves stepped on the muddy road, and faint traces of red could be seen in the mud.