Chapter 101
"Miss Chen has disappeared!"
A soldier rushed into the house to report.
"Who did you say is missing?" Tang Qi asked, her face full of surprise. How could Chen Zhiqing be missing at this critical juncture?
He quickly looked at Ye Qian, who also had a furrowed brow: "What happened? Explain in detail."
"This afternoon, Miss Shen was helping Elder Yao treat the wounded inside the room. Later that night, she said she had a headache and went back to rest. Just now, Elder Yao was short-handed and asked me to go find Miss Shen. But I knocked on the door for a long time and no one answered. When I opened it, I found that Miss Shen was not in the room at all." The soldier spoke very quickly, looking anxious.
"Have you searched everywhere?" Ye Qian asked.
"We've searched everywhere, but we haven't even found a trace of Miss Chen, let alone her."
“Qingqing wouldn’t just wander off like that,” Tang Yan said, looking at Ye Qian. “Something must have happened.”
Ye Qian's brows remained furrowed.
Soon, another person rushed in, presented a note, and knelt down, saying, "Young Master, something terrible has happened! Miss Shen has been arrested!"
"What?!"
Ye Qian strode forward, grabbed the note, and froze on the spot. He crumpled the paper and said angrily, "It's from the Southern Continent Army. They captured Qingqing and want us to surrender."
Everyone's eyes immediately turned to Ye Qian.
Ye An's voice was weak: "Brother..."
“I know,” Ye Qian gritted his teeth, “we cannot retreat.”
"But what about Sister Qingqing?"
"I'll go rescue them." Tang Qi, who had been watching from the sidelines for a while, finally spoke, looking at Ye Qian: "Are you coming with me?"
Ye Qian looked at him and finally nodded.
"I'm going too," Ye An said abruptly, drawing his sword.
“You’re the young marshal, why are you running off to take charge of Li Guang?” Sheng Xiaoxin suddenly frowned and said, “Since she was captured by Nan Zhou, those people captured her to threaten us into retreating from Jue City. As long as we can confront them and buy time, we won’t be afraid of them making a move.”
"Besides, if they could take Shen Zhiqing away silently from within Juecheng, do you think Juecheng doesn't need a thorough investigation?" Sheng Xiaoxin's voice turned cold. He then gripped his sword, picked up the two men who had come to report earlier, and said as he walked away, "I'll investigate. You can handle the rescue."
“Brother, you and Ta Qing alone have no chance of saving them.” Ye An tried to struggle a bit more, but Ye Jin quickly said, “It’s not your turn to go. You guard Jue City well, I’ll go with them.”
"Second Sister!"
"If you keep arguing like this, Qingqing might die on the way." Tang Yan pouted at their pushing and shoving, then turned and left without waiting for them to speak. Tang Qi instinctively opened her mouth behind her: "You go..."
"Ayan! Wait for me!" Sheng Xingxing jumped and immediately followed.
"Do you even know where to go to rescue them? Why are you walking so fast!"
"I'm confident." Tang Yan still didn't turn around.
Tang Qi felt something was off, turned around and exchanged a glance with Ye Qian, who immediately stepped towards him: "Then the few of us will go."
Before Cheng Junshi could speak, Tang Qi gave him a look. He tilted his head, his expression full of doubt. Tang Qi called out Hu Xingche's name, and then looked at him and said, "We can't all go. Someone has to guard this place. I'm worried that Nanzhou is using this as a diversionary tactic to send us away so they can take the opportunity to attack the city."
Cheng Junshi realized that this was indeed something that could not be ignored.
Just as the group was about to leave, Ye Jin suddenly rushed out again: "I'll go with you."
Tang Qi and Ye Qian stopped in their tracks, exchanged a glance, and nodded in agreement.
Ye Jin needs to do something to ease her mind.
In the darkness, several figures silently left Juecheng. Once outside the city gate, Tang Yan took the lead, moving so fast that Sheng Xingxing almost had to pull on the reins to keep up.
"Ayan, what makes you so confident?" Sheng Xingxing asked breathlessly.
Tang Yan's speed did not decrease, and his voice was scattered by the wind, leaving only a short sentence in Sheng Xingxing's ears: "Go find them, don't follow me."
Tang Qi, who was following closely behind, also heard these words. As he watched Tang Yan's headstrong back, his doubts grew stronger.
Why is everyone so strange?
He rode alongside Ye Qian, lowering his voice deliberately, and said, "Tell me the truth."
Ye Qian feigned ignorance: "Explain what?"
Tang Qi chuckled on horseback: "Do you think I'm stupid? Your acting skills might fool others, but do you really think you can fool me? Was this a scheme you and Xiao Qing set up together?"
Seeing that Ye Qian remained silent, Tang Qi pressed on, "If Xiao Qing were really arrested, would you still be as calm as you are now?"
Ye Qian originally wanted to make a few excuses, but they were too familiar with each other to hide it from him, so he simply said directly, "I already told Qingqing, I can't hide it from you."
He straightened his face and said, "I thought I acted quite well this time."
Tang Qi chuckled: "Looks like you and Junshi have been putting on quite a show these past few years."
"So where exactly did Shen Zhiqing go? Why did you suddenly come up with this scheme?"
Ye Qian didn't answer each of the questions in a row, but simply said, "Zhong Le, you guessed wrong this time. Qing Qing has indeed been arrested."
Now it was Tang Qi's turn to be stunned on horseback: "What did you say?"
"It was Zhou Ziye who arrested her."
Tang Qi was even more stunned, then murmured, "No wonder."
"No wonder you didn't let Ye An and the others come along. Those two people who came to report were also arranged by you, weren't they?"
Ye Qian nodded, which was taken as tacit agreement.
"When did he approach Xiaoqing... uh, you?" As if realizing something was amiss, Tang Qi changed the subject again.
“He has an accomplice inside Juecheng. He passed a note to Qingqing, instructing her to go to the back mountain of Juecheng alone at midnight tonight.”
"She went?" Tang Qi asked.
"Hmm." Ye Qian nodded, but quickly added, "I sent someone to follow them."
He pointed to the tracks on the road and continued, "Follow this, and you'll find them."
“But we’re too late…” Tang Qi suddenly pulled the horse to a stop: “Have you ever thought that these marks could not only guide us, but also guide others?”
Upon hearing this, Ye Qian quickly pulled the rope and turned around, staring blankly ahead.
"Ayan, come back!"
Just then, Sheng Xingxing let out a short, startled cry from ahead. Ye Jin immediately rushed forward, only to find Sheng Xingxing standing frozen in place, while Tang Yan was nowhere to be seen.
Tang Qi and his companions slowly rode over. He drew his sword from his waist, glanced around, and said, "Still lying in ambush? Aren't you afraid of suffocating yourselves? Wouldn't it be better to be more open?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding plants and trees began to move, and soon more than a dozen figures emerged. The leader looked very familiar. Tang Qi couldn't help but sneer after recognizing the person, his hatred seeping out from between his teeth.
"Long time no see, General Deng."
These words were spoken by Ye Qian.
Deng Ning, clad in light armor of the Southern Continent Army, slowly emerged from the shadows, a savage grin spreading across his face. His gaze swept over Tang Qi before finally settling on Ye Qian.
"Young Master Ye, how have you been? Where are you headed in such a hurry?" Deng Ning's voice was hoarse, with a hint of teasing.
Ye Qian laughed instead of being in a hurry, and looked him up and down: "I didn't know that General Deng had become a Southern Continent person."
“A good bird chooses a good tree to perch on,” Deng Ning said, spreading his hands without any remorse. “I simply chose what was more beneficial to myself. If Young Master Ye wishes to surrender, he can offer Juecheng as a gift, and I will introduce him to you.”
"Pfft," Tang Qi slowly clapped his hands: "This is the first time I've heard someone describe selling out their master for personal gain in such a fresh and elegant way. This is truly an eye-opener."
Ye Qian chuckled, "Your deal with Nanzhou probably started a while ago, didn't it?"
"In those previous cities, you were defeated and fled. Now I'm curious whether it was a genuine defeat or if you never intended to fight at all? Those previous cities were probably just excuses you used to surrender, weren't they?" Ye Qian's eyes were filled with disgust.
Deng Ning ignored Ye Qian's accusations and paid no attention to them.
"Have you considered Miss Deng when you decided to find a new master? She has always been proud of you," Ye Qian continued with a cold snort.
“My daughter is none of your concern.” Deng Ning’s eyes continued to sneer: “The victor is king, the loser is a bandit. The Shuo Dynasty of today is no longer the Shuo Dynasty of the past. Once Jue City falls, the Southern Continent will become the new overlord. At that time, you will be nothing more than ghosts under this land. Ye Qian, ghosts don’t have that many words to say.”
Tang Qi pointed his sword directly at Deng Ning, laughing angrily, "Aren't you afraid that in the dead of night, the wronged souls of this land will drag you to the underworld?"
"Where is the underworld?" Deng Ning asked with a forced smile. "I'll wait for you all to come find me as ghosts." Before he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the elite troops from the Southern Continent who were lying in ambush around him instantly tightened their encirclement, their killing intent palpable.
Tang Qi's eyes sharpened, and he shouted in a low voice, "Break through! Don't linger in the fight!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he spurred his horse forward and charged straight at Deng Ning with his long sword drawn. Sheng Xingxing and Ye Jin also attacked at the same time, while Hu Xingche protected the flanks. The group of men, like sharp blades, tried to tear apart the encirclement of the Southern Continent Army.
However, Deng Ning was clearly prepared, with far more men lying in ambush than expected, and each one was highly skilled, keeping them firmly occupied. Even more troublesome was that these men didn't seem to be in a hurry to kill; instead, they appeared to be deliberately delaying.
"They're stalling for time!" Tang Qi parried an enemy soldier's knife and shouted to Ye Qian, "Something must have happened in Juecheng!"
Ye Qian was well aware of this, but the enemy's relentless fighting prevented him from escaping. In the midst of the fierce battle, Sheng Xingxing, in order to shield Ye Qian from a stray arrow coming from the side, was suddenly slashed on the shoulder, and he immediately cried out in pain, clutching his shoulder.
"Ninth Prince!" Ye Jin exclaimed upon seeing this, immediately wielding her sword to force back the enemy in front of her, and subconsciously moved towards Sheng Xingxing to try to rescue her.
In that instant, Deng Ning suddenly changed direction. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. He deliberately created an opening for Tang Qi, and then pounced on Ye Jin, who had been distracted and left an opening.
"Watch out!" Ye Qian sensed something was wrong and warned him sharply.
Tang Qi also realized Deng Ning's intention and was about to rescue him when he was entangled by the others.
Hearing the warning, Ye Jin tried to draw her sword to save herself, but it was too late. Deng Ning feinted an attack and then suddenly scattered medicinal powder.
Although Ye Jin managed to hold her breath and step back in time, she had inhaled quite a bit, and she immediately felt dizzy and weak in the limbs. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Deng Ning grabbed her wrist and quickly stuffed a pill into her mouth with his other hand. Ye Jin struggled for a few moments, but the combined effects of the drug and the anesthetic finally caused her vision to go black, and she collapsed.
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