Chapter 35
Tang Yan's medicine was very effective; within about two hours, most of the poison in Li Jinglan's body had been neutralized. With careful rest, he would be fine.
When she finally opened her eyes, Tang Yan breathed a sigh of relief. She turned her numb wrist and asked Gui Luo, "She's out of danger. Can I leave now?"
"cannot."
"You've gone back on your word!" Tang Yan exclaimed, agitated.
"You go out first." Gui Luo ignored her accusation.
Tang Yan glanced at him, and seeing that Gui Luo had no intention of discussing it, she had no choice but to remain silent, lift the curtain, and go out.
"Can you walk?" he asked Li Jinglan, who nodded. Gui Luo then grabbed a robe from the side and tossed it to Li Pingfeng, saying, "Remember how you got here? Take your mother with you and leave. I've arranged for people along the way to escort you directly to the Northern Dynasty's imperial palace."
“My mother just woke up, brother, why are you in such a hurry to leave?” Li Pingfeng asked.
"I don't trust the people of the Shuo Dynasty, and I can't stay here for long."
Li Jinglan grabbed his sleeve and said, "Come with us. You'll come back to Beidai with me, and stay far away from that person."
“That person can no longer threaten me. Now, I am the one with the sword hanging over my head.” Gui Luo broke free from her hand, grabbed the robe and tied it around Li Jinglan’s body, saying, “Let’s go, Auntie.”
Tang Yan squatted outside the tent for a long time, her hand touching the ground. The soil was very moist, indicating that there must be a good water source nearby. She and Gui Luo had been walking for about six hours since they started from Dongshou Mountain. Based on this time and distance, they were most likely currently—
"What are you thinking about?" Gui Luo suddenly asked from behind.
Tang Yan was startled, and replied, "I was thinking about how to deal with someone who goes back on their word."
Gui Luo lifted the curtain to signal her to go in, but Tang Yan had just entered when she discovered that the person inside had already disappeared.
There's a secret passage! Tang Yan suppressed his excitement.
"Stay here and wait for our army to withdraw, and you will naturally be free," Gui Luo said.
Tang Yan hummed in agreement.
...Nobody would believe that.
The reason they're not letting her go now is probably so that if the Shuo Army comes looking for her, they can use her as a shield.
Only a fool would let himself be slaughtered.
Tang Yan's gaze kept wandering around the tent, his mind calculating where to hide in the secret passage. Gui Luo also sat down in the tent, and the two of them remained silent, each with their own hidden agendas.
After an unknown amount of time, someone suddenly screamed outside. Gui Luo immediately got up and said to Tang Yan, "Hide here and don't come out." As if he had expected this, Gui Luo's expression was not flustered.
Tang Qi fired a rocket that pierced through the Nanzhou camp.
"You remnants of the army, disarm and you will not be killed!" Deng Ning, who was standing beside him, said sternly.
"Disarm and you won't be killed?" Gui Luo slowly walked out of the tent, looked at Deng Ning standing in the mountains, and said with a smile, "Are you saying this to yourself?"
When he appeared, Deng Ning and the others were all taken aback.
The soldiers from the Southern Continent on Dongshou Mountain were actually Guiluo.
"Who is he?" Cheng Junshi asked, noticing Tang Qi's wariness beside him.
Tang Qi: "A ruthless character."
Although he only had one brief encounter with Gui Luo, that confrontation was enough to make Gui Luo a target of Tang Qi's vigilance.
"Who do you think you are? It's you, you brat, sneaking into the northern border. Are you looking to die?" Deng Ning said.
Gui Luo Huan looked around, shrugged and laughed: "Yeah, with so many of you trying to capture me, I naturally have no chance of winning."
"General Killer, you're nothing special." Deng Ning chuckled and continued, "Surrender obediently and release the princess, and I might spare your life!"
Gui Luo frowned.
“Princess? When did I…” He suddenly realized and turned his head to look at the large tent behind him. Then his eyes changed and he chuckled mockingly. His tone became fierce as he said, “So that’s why you are—Princess.”
He took the knife from his waist and threw it aside: "I know my place. There are so many of you, I'm too lazy to run away. But I have a problem, I'm really afraid of pain. When you tie me up, use a more comfortable rope. This life is yours."
"What is he doing?" Cheng Junshi asked.
"I don't know, I have a bad feeling about this—have you seen your brother?" Tang Qi said to Ye Qian in a low voice.
"They're lying in ambush on the other side."
Deng Ning remained vigilant. Gui Luo met his gaze and suddenly tilted his head, saying, "Ah... I recognize you."
“You are—” Gui Luo smiled innocently, but his eyes seemed to want to dig out the most rotten and deep-rooted darkness in Deng Ning’s heart and expose it to the world: “Katyu’s.”
Deng Ning stiffened and shouted to the men around him, "Fire! Fire!"
The Shenghui army all nocked their bows and aimed their arrows at Guiluo.
A barrage of arrows rained down, and the Southern Continent army, shields raised, firmly surrounded Gui Luo, who remained unharmed. Gui Luo continued his standoff with Deng Ning: "Let me remind you, these arrows can't break my shield."
"Fire-binding stone!" Deng Ning was furious.
Tang Qi frowned and turned to look at Deng Ning—Deng Ning panicked.
"General Deng! Be careful, this might be a trap!" Ye Qian said.
“What kind of trick could there be? They only have so many people. Even if they use knives, he won’t escape death today—you, charge down there!” Deng Ning said to a group of Shenghui soldiers next to him.
With his superior position and the enemy troops charging forward at a low vantage point, Deng Ning was confident of victory.
"No, no—!" Tang Qi suddenly shouted.
The arrow he had shot earlier, which was tied with a flint, did not go out after burning down the camp.
Deng Ning raised his hand, and rockets were aimed at the Southern Continent Army.
"Oil! It's oil! Don't shoot arrows!" Tang Qi immediately shouted to Deng Ning, stopping Cheng Junshi and the others who were about to follow.
Of course, it was too late.
Gui Luo smirked as he watched the Sheng Hui Army charging down in fury.
Fire rained down, and flames shot up rapidly, with only agonizing screams heard from within the flames.
"Alas, it seems you're not going to survive to capture me." Gui Luo's smile faded as he continued to those around him, "Proceed according to the original plan and retreat to the Southern Continent."
"Trying to escape? A bit too early!" Ye An shot out an arrow.
As soon as the fire started, Ye An led his men who had been lying in ambush to get up from the other side.
"General, there are still people over there!" the Southern Continent Army said.
Gui Luo grabbed a bow from someone nearby and shot it unerringly at Ye An's face. Ye An dodged in time, and the arrow knocked off his helmet.
"Light the fire over there and continue retreating," Gui Luo said coldly.
His soldiers immediately obeyed and went to light a fire. Ye An naturally saw through his intentions and led a group of soldiers down the mountain.
The two groups faced off head-on. The fire had just been lit when Ye An spurred his horse and leaped steadily into the ring of fire.
"If he can't handle it, I will."
As the sound of the iron cavalry of the Shuo Dynasty rang out, chaos immediately erupted around them. Tang Yan shrank to a corner, seized the opportunity, and finally rushed out. Outside the tent were fleeing crowds, soldiers and horses jostling each other, and in the midst of the chaos, all she could hear was the deafening sound of hooves.
"Search with all your might! Find the princess at all costs!" The tall figure of the young man on horseback pierced through the crowd and caught Tang Yan's eye. Her heart pounded, and she was about to speak, her eyes filled with joy: "Little..."
Something sharp pressed against her waist, and Tang Yan's pupils contracted sharply, fear creeping onto her face.
Gui Luo hid among the fleeing crowd, leaned down and whispered in her ear, his voice like a ghost clinging to Tang Yan's neck: "Your life is anything but cheap~ Princess, Your Highness."
Tang Yan dared not move rashly. Gui Luo's voice was exactly the same as when they first met. She dared not make any unnecessary movements, fearing that she would die under his blade in the next instant.
"Come with me."
She and Gui Luo were in the scattered crowd, Ye An only a few dozen steps away. If she called out, Ye An would definitely turn around. Gui Luo's knife pierced another inch, but before Ye An could reach her to save her, Gui Luo would definitely kill her. Tang Yan was absolutely certain of this.
So after only a second of hesitation, Tang Yan let Gui Luo lead him away. Ye An, on horseback, seemed to sense something and looked towards where they were standing.
Of course, he saw nothing; all that remained was the rising dust. So Ye An withdrew his gaze, tightened his grip on the reins, and shouted sternly at the soldiers, "Search carefully, don't miss any place. If you encounter Gui Luo, kill him without mercy!"
Meanwhile, Tang Qi, along with Cheng Junshi and others, shoveled earth to put out the fire, while Sheng Xingxing directed the rest of the group to escort the soldiers who had escaped death down the mountain for emergency medical treatment.
Deng Ning, however, pulled another soldier beside him and continued, "You! Lead the team and continue the pursuit! We can't let that Southern Continent soldier escape!"
Tang Qi took a moment to scold him: "Then go chase after it yourself. Are you standing here because you're afraid of fire?"
Deng Ning frowned and looked at Tang Qi with a fierce expression. "What's your name?"
Sheng Xingxing stepped between them and smiled, "General, calm down."
Extinguishing the fire and rescuing people is the priority.
Tang Qi kept his head down, while Ye Qian beside him was speechless, wishing he could slap Tang Qi on the head with a few iron hammers.
Why say anything more at this time?
The Southern Continent's munitions didn't use much oil; the attack just now was a surprise attack, and the Shenghui army was indeed too close, which is why they were able to hit him so hard.
The fire had now subsided, and Tang Qi and the others quickly ran down the mountain to meet up with Li Guangjun. Ye An had already dismounted, and the Nanzhou garrison had been completely cleaned up.
“Only a few of them are left.” Ye An looked at the Southern Continent soldiers lying on the ground with their hands and feet bound and continued, “They all committed suicide.”
Tang Qi squatted down and lifted the clothes off those men's arms: "They are suicide soldiers, probably left behind to cover the retreat."
"Where's Gui Luo? Have you caught him yet?" Deng Ning asked.
Ye An shook his head: "No trace of Gui Luo has been found in the Southern Continent army. My men have already gone after him."
"Report to me immediately if you have any news!"
Ye An nodded in agreement.
"Which way did they go?" Ye Qian asked.
“They were on both sides, and they escaped very quickly. They seemed to know this route very well,” Ye An said.
"It's quite surprising that the people of Nanzhou are so familiar with the territory of Shuochao." Tang Qi smiled meaningfully, then turned to Deng Ning and said, "Aren't you right, General Deng? You seem to be quite familiar with that guy named Gui Luo."
The atmosphere became tense. Deng Ning stared at him, but Tang Qi smiled and said, "Of course you know them well. After all, you were the one who repelled the Southern Continent Army in Katyu. That Gui Luo was just a defeated opponent of yours."
Deng Ning walked towards him, and everyone's eyes were focused on him. Just when everyone was tense, Deng Ning suddenly laughed out loud, and then, under everyone's gaze, slapped Tang Qi's arm: "You know quite a lot, kid." Tang Qi raised the corners of his mouth slightly: "I have admired General's demeanor for a long time, and naturally I know a lot from what I've seen and heard."
"However, you're wrong about one thing. I didn't defeat him in Katyu."
Tang Qi's first expedition.
How could that be? The leader of the Southern Continent soldiers during Katyu's time was clearly Gui Luo.
"Ye Shoujun! Traces of the Southern Continent Army have been discovered over there!" Suddenly, a person rode in from afar, interrupting Tang Qi's thoughts.
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