Chapter 120 Shocking Change
Yelu Duhan said slowly, "When will the Bohai group return?"
Han Zhao quickly replied, "We will set out the day after tomorrow, crossing the border from the east."
"Follow them, and then we'll go through the pass and kill them." Yelu Duhan pulled out a dagger from the table. The tip of the dagger pierced the screen and lodged itself in the Bohai territory east of Northern Liao. In just a few words, his ambition was clear, and his murderous intent was overflowing.
Han Zhao nodded solemnly and was about to respond when suddenly a curtain was lifted to reveal a man riding his horse through the camp. As the people in the tent turned to look at him, he dismounted, sweat pouring down his forehead. He threw himself to the ground, crawling to his knees at Yelu Duhan's feet. He closed his eyes and let out a thunderbolt that shocked everyone present.
"Report! Tianshui raid! Elite troops have arrived outside Xijin City and are currently breaking into the city!"
"What?!"
Thunder roared, startling the entire Liao army. They all stood up, knocking over tables and chairs. Yelu Duhan turned around and suddenly drew his dagger, the sharp blade pressing dangerously against his forearm.
"Absolutely impossible!" Han Zhao, stunned for a moment, denied it without a second thought, saying quickly, "The situation is extremely critical right now, so we absolutely cannot initiate an invasion. Furthermore, the entire route from Xijin to the border is guarded by border troops, with over a dozen patrol cavalry units deployed. A large army approaching the border would be a significant development! How could we not have received any news?"
The others nodded in agreement. This was indeed true. Xijin was a Northern Liao stronghold and the fortress of the Southern Prefecture. It housed 60,000 heavy cavalry and 100,000 other troops. If Tianshui were to attack Xijin, they would have to prepare at least 150,000 men. With so many men marching so forcefully, how could they have achieved such a remarkable feat without even realizing it, reaching the gates of Xijin before being discovered?
Yelu Duhan looked gloomily at the man's flushed face and asked, "Is the news true?"
"Of course it's true!" The man banged his head heavily on the ground, making a loud noise. "The city gate is on fire, and the Tianshui cavalry are charging bravely and breaking it down! The city defenders number only a thousand, and they won't be able to hold out for long. Please make a quick decision, sir!"
Yelu Duhan paused for two seconds, then waved his sleeves and strode out, shouting as he went, "Heavy cavalry, listen to my orders! Leave the camp and return to the city!" The generals behind him quickly dispersed, marshaling their troops and dispatching them. The man with the bulging belly caught up with them and hurriedly asked, "Are you going to the Xianyin Division yourself?"
"I'll go myself." Yelu Duhan was filled with murderous intent, his anger like thunder: "My place, if the Tianshui Army comes, no matter who they are, they will never return!"
When he reached the tent, someone had already brought his warhorse. Yelu Duhan was about to mount when he suddenly paused for two seconds. Then, before everyone's bewildered gazes, he abruptly dropped the reins and turned, heading in the other direction.
"Where are you going, sir?" The man with a pot belly looked at his back, puzzled.
Han Zhao knew who Yelu Duhan was going to look for at this time.
Xingyi Jian possessed considerable abilities, and he had heard of the previous incident in Xingqing. The situation in Xijin City was still unknown. If Tianshui had truly reached the city and the military camp was in chaos, there was no guarantee Wen Yao would seize the opportunity to escape. Yelu Duhan had meticulously planned and painstakingly brought Wen Yao back. He would not let Wen Yao escape easily and would keep him under close watch.
"Don't worry about it." Han Zhao didn't hesitate. He waved his hand and instructed the man with a big belly, "Take the troops to Xijin first to investigate the situation. My lord will follow soon."
*
Before Yelu Duhan came over, Wen Yao had just finished drinking a large pot of soup under the gaze of everyone in the kitchen.
She came back from a quarrel with Yelu Duhan, feeling satisfied. When she returned to the camp, she saw Ah Si's cold eyes and found them endearing and cute. She said casually, "I've been hanging out with your Lord Xianyinsi all night and I'm hungry again. It just so happens that the soup we had tonight was delicious... How about this, I won't bother the servants and I can go to the kitchen myself?"
"Don't be so proud." Ah Si was extremely disgusted and said coldly: "My Lord is only interested in you for a while! My Lord has great ambitions and it is impossible for him to have any friendship with a woman from Tianshui!"
"I said I was going to the kitchen to make soup. What are you talking about? I'm proud or not, friendship or not." Wen Yao passed by Ah Si and said lightly, "If you don't come with me, I'll go by myself."
Perhaps Yelu Duhan had issued a death order requiring Ah Si to follow Wen Yao at all times. Ah Si clearly hated Wen Yao to the extreme, but she still followed her to the outside of the military camp kitchen. There were people in the kitchen, and when they saw Wen Yao, they stood up and looked at her silently.
"Sit down, sit down. I'm not doing anything, just making some soup." Wen Yao smiled and walked over to the side, rummaging through the baskets. Soon, she found a large paper bag of round chrysanthemums in a basket. They were the size of a thumb, with the tip pointing upwards and a ripe brown color.
The chef who cooked this forsythia and chrysanthemum soup tonight is definitely from Tianshui, and he is also a wonderful person who understands the principles of medicinal food. Wen Yao has to admire his wonderful ideas.
Forsythia clears heat, detoxifies, reduces swelling, and resolves nodules. Its effectiveness isn't great, but coincidentally, it specifically counteracts Huagong Powder, serving as its primary antidote. Huagong Powder, as it's known, is quite commonplace in the martial arts world and isn't considered a significant remedy. After all, it merely blocks the flow of internal energy without harming the body's fundamentals, making it a rather useless ingredient. Unless someone like Wen Yao swallows three large bowls of it daily with rice, the effects will resolve on their own after a while.
What’s even more interesting is that these Liao people now obviously know nothing about pharmacology.
Ah Si held the sword and watched coldly as Wen Yao worked halfway with a bunch of broken grass and drank a large pot of soup. In her opinion, Wen Yao was really long-tempered. Not long after drinking the soup, he had to go to the toilet again.
Ah Si couldn't hide his murderous intent, his face looked extremely bad, and he retreated outside the tent to wait.
The felt carpet hangs down, isolating the inside and the outside.
Wen Yao's expression suddenly changed. She leaned back against the table, spitting out large mouthfuls of black blood. She pressed a hand against the tendons in her right hand, straining to steady her rapid breathing, breathing deeply and slowly. The medicinal properties of the Forsythia Decoction assisted her internal energy flow, successfully breaking through the Hua Gong Powder. The blood clots left behind by the previous forced attack of the Hua Gong Powder were now forced out.
A long-lost surge of inner strength coursed through her body, her skin burning hot and her heartbeat rapid. She smiled unconcernedly, leaning aside and spitting out blood, black blood followed by red.
After all, he was still forcing his mind to work. Even with the help of Lianqiao, Wen Yao's meridians were still in a state of distress, with a faint crack. It felt like tens of thousands of needles were running through his veins when he was working on his energy. Wen Yao couldn't hold back his laughter, so he squatted down and grinned silently.
After she finished, she caught her breath, looked up and shouted outside: "People have urgent needs, please wait a moment!"
Asi didn't say anything, his figure reflected in the tent.
Wen Yao silently grasped the Xingyi Sword, walked to the other side of the tent, opened the window, turned over, and quickly headed towards the stables. Given her current injuries, escaping Yelu Duhan's control would require more than just light martial arts skills; she needed a fast horse.
Almost as soon as Wen Yao left, Yelu Duhan arrived with his men, swords drawn. His expression was so grim that Ah Si, who had been somewhat pleased to see him, was startled. The smile faded and he muttered, "Sir."
Yelu Duhan's eyes were like knives, mercilessly slashing at the female guard he had assigned to Wen Yao. He asked in a deep voice, "Where is she?"
"She ate something and went to the toilet in the tent." Ah Si felt a pang in his heart and replied in a low voice.
Going to the toilet?
Yelu Duhan listened carefully but didn't hear anyone breathing in the tent. He understood immediately, then laughed in anger and kicked A Si in the stomach without mercy!
This kick, laced with internal energy, was incredibly brutal. Ah Si's flesh instantly swelled and bruised purple, sending him flying several meters. He collapsed to the ground in a heap, spitting blood. He looked at Yelu Duhan in disbelief, "...Sir?"
Yelu Duhan didn't even look at her, swung his sword and cut the felt blanket at the entrance of the tent, then strode in. When he got inside the tent, he looked closely and saw only two large pools of blood on the ground. The tent was empty, without a single person in sight.
"Search!" Yelu Duhan's face was cold, his jaw clenched as he squeezed out each word through his teeth. The long sword dangled from his hand, the tip of the sword not touching the ground, but the ground had already been torn open by the sword's energy, revealing the soil underneath.
Xianyinsi's furious voice echoed in the hearts of those around him: "Search inch by inch, turn the tent over, pull out the grass, and bring the man back to me!"
Wen Yao discovered something was wrong in the military camp almost as soon as he went out.
She watched the people running back and forth below. Some rushed into the house, clearly out to capture her. Some looked like generals, but were hurriedly running out with their men.
Run outside, is there something wrong outside?
Wen Yao squatted on a tent, looked down for a moment, then turned and quietly groped for the stables. Her current physical condition made it impossible to traverse the vast grasslands with just her light kung fu skills; she needed a good horse.
The horse, which had been nibbling on the flower in Wen Yao's hand tonight, was incredibly affectionate, licking her palm upon seeing her. Wen Yao patted it, and the next moment, the Xingyi Sword was unsheathed, shattering the stable fence into dust and falling to the ground. She led the horse up, feeling refreshed, and flung the reins, saying, "Come on! Take me out, and I'll let you go back to the grasslands!"
Wen Yao rode out, causing an uproar. Those searching for her drew their swords to try to stop them, but they were powerless against the Humvee's charge. Furthermore, the situation was chaotic, with soldiers entering and leaving the barracks everywhere, so Wen Yao easily broke through and escaped.
Someone shouted loudly: "The man ran away! Quick! Tell the Lord of the Xianyin Division!"
Thanks to Yelu Duhan, Wen Yao had been able to take a stroll ahead of time and get a general idea of the situation. Otherwise, outside the military camp would have been endless grassland, with everything looking the same. She really wouldn't have known where to go.
Wen Yao turned a deaf ear to the sound of horses' hooves chasing him from behind, and leaned over the horse's back. Man and horse stepped on the grass without leaving any trace, and rushed across the grassland like lightning.
"Wen Yao!" With a shout, Yelu Duhan spurred his horse and chased after him. In a few moments, he left the crowd behind him and chased after Wen Yao.
He held the reins tightly in his hand and shouted, "There's a swamp ahead. Do you want to die if you go over there like this?"
Hearing his voice, Wen Yao finally turned around and looked back. Her eyes were full of emotion, her heart pounding like a drum from the galloping horse. A sense of ease and comfort filled every inch of her body, along with the pain.
"Just now, it seemed like there was trouble in your barracks!" Wen Yao recalled the generals who hurried outside and shouted into the night wind, "My life or death has nothing to do with you! If you don't want to die, go back and deal with your problems. Don't chase me!"
The further south they ran, the darker the color of the surrounding meadows became, and the closer they came to the swamp. The swamp on the grassland was silent and ferocious, it would swallow up everything, whether it was cattle, sheep, horses or the most fierce warriors in the tribe. It was the grassland's deterrent to all creatures, forcing them to keep their heads down and be cautious with every step. The native creatures on the grassland instinctively feared the swamp and would avoid it. Only the horse under Wen Yao, for some reason, was desperately trying to get into the swamp. Wen Yao also let it go, his hands off the reins, without any restraint.
Her voice carried far ahead on the wind, reaching Yelu Duhan's ears and sending his blood boiling. He tugged at the reins tightly, raised his hand and whipped the horse again, accelerating towards Wen Yao.
This frightened the cavalrymen chasing him. A general shouted anxiously, "Xiang Yinsi! Don't go any further!" In a place as easy to lose life as a swamp, how could such a noble Xiang Yinsi risk his life for one person!
After saying that, he grabbed a crossbow and threw it towards Yelu Duhan, signaling him to raise the bow and shoot.
Yelu Duhan didn't even bother to look, but stretched his arm back and caught the crossbow bolt firmly. His fingers gripped the slide, the heavy crossbow pressing against his arm, the iron arrow in the center gleaming coldly, pointed firmly forward.
Wen Yao heard the movement behind her but didn't turn around. The violent jolt made her damaged internal organs hurt even more. Some blood spread to her lips, which she wiped away with her hand.
She let the wild horse, which had a good relationship with her, step across the last piece of Ruin grass and enter the dangerous swamp in the dim night.
Yelu Duhan, with his crossbow on his arm, seemed frozen in stone. He pressed his fingers against it for a long time, motionless, beside the wildflower-filled hot spring. Wen Yao's words and the look she gave him felt like sharp blades piercing his heart, sending a throbbing pain through that violently throbbing mass of flesh.
His brows knitted together, and at the last moment, his arm muscles tensed as he reined in the horse fiercely. The horse neighed, its neck raised, its front hooves raised high, almost vertical, and then, after landing with a thud, it paced anxiously back and forth. Yelu Duhan's hands were already worn by the reins. He stared at the figure disappearing into the swamp ahead, turned his horse's head, and headed in another direction, skirting the swamp in pursuit.
"Master Xianyinsi!" The general who had finally caught up behind them hurried forward and advised, "Master! The army is attacking, and the most important thing right now is Xijin City! The year's planning and layout between you and Bei Liao must not be ruined today in such an unclear way! I hope you will quickly go to Xijin, take charge of the overall situation, and investigate the situation!"
The others echoed, "Sir! If Xijin makes any mistakes, His Majesty will definitely hold him accountable. The Queen will definitely make a big fuss about this! Your Excellency will then be in a precarious situation!"
All sorts of random words crowded into his ears. Yelu Duhan sat on his horse, his back straight, his expression frozen under the silver moonlight.
He stared at the darkness ahead without blinking, then threw away his crossbow and arrows. He turned back to look at the others, his eyes blazing with rage. He shouted, "Return to camp immediately and surround the swamp! No one can leave until I return!"
No one dared to confront Xianyinsi's wrath, so they bowed their heads in response. The cavalry that had followed them quickly dispersed, preparing to encircle the area along the border. Several generals gathered behind Yelu Duhan, accompanying him as he led his troops toward Xijin City.
Tonight, the Liaobei grasslands are bathed in a rare full moon. The moonlight is pure, silvery white, and clear as water. In this magnificent hue, every gust of wind across the grasslands can be clearly seen. Clouds drift, casting shadows on the ground, and slowly cruise amidst the murmurs of birds.
All was silent.
As soon as Yelu Duhan's horse's hooves moved, a shadow suddenly rose from the dim, indistinct depression in the distance. Dozens of black-armored cavalrymen, spears in tow, rose from the ground and charged without a moment's pause at the Northern Liao cavalry! In just two breaths, the foremost black-armored cavalrymen were directly before the Liao cavalry, their black helmets veiled, their faces resembling those of the devil. They raised their spears, pierced one man, lifted him high, and threw him off his horse!
Yelu Duhan was startled and drew his longsword. The soldiers around him were also stunned. They tightly protected Yelu Duhan and shouted, "It's the Tianshui cavalry! It's really a Tianshui raid! Quick! Escort Master Xianyinsi away!"
The raid was launched too quickly, they were in a hurry. They pulled out the flares from their waists and fired them into the sky, then took Yelu Duhan away. They had no time to think about how the Tianshui army, which was just outside Xijin City and they didn't know whether it was real or fake, could attack the Northern Liao camp in such a short time.
Yelu Duhan stopped moving. Like a beast that smelled the scent of another ferocious masculine being, he turned his head with a feeling of disbelief in his heart as he looked at the man who was riding a horse and holding a sword behind the Tianshui cavalry.
Zhao Xuanxu's long hair fell behind him, tied only with a single strand of brocade. He wore a black robe, his skin pale, his brow furrowed, a gloomy, sinister expression, both beautiful and sharp. Behind him followed Gao Shaoshan, the Left General, clad in armor, looking defiantly at the green-eyed Liao man across from him.
"Master!" Gao Shaoshan's voice was as loud as a bell: "We have found the leader of this group of Liao people."
Yelu Duhan's expression suddenly darkened, and his reaction was incredibly quick. After comparing the number of cavalrymen guarding him and Zhao Xuanxu, he quickly turned his horse's head, adjusted his direction, sneered at Zhao Xuanxu across from him, and said coldly, "Your Highness Prince Yan, I didn't expect to see you here again."
Under the moonlight, Zhao Xuanxu's gaze was sinister. He glanced at Yelu Duhan and then moved toward the swamp behind him. He hadn't seen him for dozens of days, and while his appearance hadn't changed, his aura was subtly different.
Zhao Xuanxu didn't order anyone into the swamp to search for Wen Yao, his right hand steady. The armored steed beneath him tilted its head, ready to move. It took a few strides before sprinting forward, its speed increasing until it was like a gust of dark wind, charging straight at Yelu Duhan.
The surrounding Northern Liao cavalry naturally tried to stop them, but were stopped by the rapidly approaching Feathered Guards. High whistles whistled across the grasslands as Gao Shaoshan, with his broadsword in hand, led his men in a swift, piercing attack, forcing the generals surrounding Yelu Duhan out of the way with a few strikes.
The two sides clashed, flashing cold lights as the two sides engaged in a fierce struggle. The soft grass was crushed by the horses' hooves, leaving deep tracks.
Zhao Xuanxu rushed to Yelu Duhan, waved his hand and raised his sword, wrapped it with a strong and domineering internal energy and slashed at Yelu Duhan! If this blow landed on the ground, even the hardest stone could be cut open.
Yelu Duhan did not retreat a single step. The fighting spirit, murderous intent and strong hatred surging in his body made his blood boil. His eyes turned red and he raised his sword without hesitation to firmly block the attack.
The two refined blades twisted and rubbed against each other, sparks flying with a teeth-grinding sound. Under the immense force, the two men passed each other, and the next moment, they were riding close together again, swords clashing.
Every strike was a killing blow, every ounce of murderous intent. Neither considered the Three Kingdoms or the greater good; their sole purpose was to bring the other to his death. The swords lingered like shadows, their energy sharp. Within a few blows, both Zhao Xuanxu and Yelu Duhan were covered in blood. Hideous wounds spread from their hearts to their necks, each a fatal blow.
Yelu Duhan's frown deepened the more he fought. He felt Zhao Xuanxu's internal energy was strange and powerful, scorching hot. It exploded upon contact, flooding into his meridians. It seemed incredibly masculine and masculine, but in reality, it was insidious. The intense heat was followed by a chill that penetrated deep into the bone marrow.
A Northern Liao general noticed that Yelu Duhan was gradually losing ground. He gritted his teeth and forced Gao Shaoshan to retreat. He rushed over and blocked Zhao Xuanxu's attack, shouting loudly: "My lord, leave!"
The Northern Liao military camp is not far from here. As long as they get rid of these Tianshui cavalry that suddenly appear like ghosts, the Xianyin Division will be able to lead the army to counterattack here!
Yelu Duhan naturally understood this. He reined in his horse and took two steps back, groaning as he clutched his burning heart. The smell of blood filled his throat and nose, revealing he had sustained serious internal injuries.
Many doubts weighed heavily on Yelu Duhan's heart. He no longer hesitated, and taking advantage of the moment when Zhao Xuanxu was blocked, he turned his horse and galloped away. Several Liao cavalrymen who had escaped victorious after killing the Feather Guards followed closely, guarding him at his side.
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