Chapter 73
The moon of Qin shines on the passes of Han, yet the soldiers on the long march have not returned. In this chaotic world, the smoke of war stretches for miles, and human life is cheap and worthless.
Lin Qiang had assumed that Yuwen Zhe would launch an attack on Black Cloud Village after Yuan Liuniang returned.
However, to everyone's surprise, Yuwen Zhe chose to deal with Yuwen Ting first!
For Guan Shengran, Yuwen Ting was his sworn enemy, the one who killed his father!
With Yuwen Zhe's full support, within half a year, he directly annihilated most of the forces of the alliance of Yuwen Ting and other feudal lords, forcing Yuwen Ting out of the Great Yan Kingdom's borders and into the depths of the desert, where he never dared to show his face again.
At this time, the biggest threats in the country were only two folk uprising forces: the Hongmen and the Black Cloud Village.
During the past six months, Yuan Qiong visited Hong Xin several more times. On the day before Yuwen Ting was destroyed, she officially facilitated the alliance between the two forces to jointly fight against Yuwen Zhe.
So, when Guan Shengran, his hands stained with blood, led his army to the city gates where the two armies faced each other, the first thing he saw on the prayer platform was that figure in a pink dress. That legendary fairy of Yaochi, Wang Yao, who enjoyed immense prestige among the people.
"Qiong'er?!"
For a moment, he almost thought he was dreaming. Otherwise, how could he see the person he had missed day and night, the person whose mere thought caused him unbearable pain?!
Yuan Qiong gazed at him from afar, smoothing her wind-blown hair, her slender fox eyes crinkling with a smile: "Sheng Ran, long time no see."
Her words were scattered in the wind, but Guan Shengran caught them little by little.
Beneath his armor, the eyes of this talented general who had abandoned literature for military service, this man forged into a steely soldier by the crucible of war, gradually reddened.
"haven't seen you for a long time....."
He joined the army for her sake. Now, he faces her on the battlefield...
Guan Shengran looked at her intently again, as if trying to imprint her image into his heart. Then he turned his horse around and shouted, "Withdraw!"
Then, amidst the astonished gazes of his soldiers, he quickly spurred his horse back to the city.
Hong Xin stared in disbelief at this scene. Guan Shengran was a man of both literary and military prowess, courageous and resourceful—the very general he had been most worried about! And now he was dismissed with just a few words from this young woman?!
That's fucking weird!
Lin Qiang, on the other hand, was extremely jealous!
He shouldn't have let that little girl come today! He's going to fight Guan Shengran!
That evening, Guan Shengran met Yuan Qiong alone, without bringing a single soldier. What they discussed remains unknown. Only before leaving did Lin Qiang successfully engage him in a fight—a one-sided and utter defeat, of course. The next day, Guan Shengran submitted his resignation.
Lin Jiangzhi, who had not shown his face until now, had witnessed the whole thing from beginning to end and felt a mix of emotions.
The Four Great Scholars of Jiangnan: Shuangyue Mingjiang.
Guan Shengran, using the alias Shengyue, was sworn brothers with the three of them. Who would have thought that the renowned Young Master Shengyue would end up dying in the army? And now, they were even on opposing sides.
His former close friends, who once cherished each other, are now adversaries. He truly doesn't know how to face them.
Thankfully, he's gone now...
Guan Shengran's retreat seemed to be within Yuwen Zhe's expectations. In just one day, another general took over his position as marshal and launched an attack on the rebel army.
This battle lasted for three whole months. The battlefield was stained with blood, and the land was soaked black with blood, yet the two sides remained deadlocked.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Tan Xiaoque decided to stop worrying about the timeline of the plot and take action against Yuan Qiong!
"It really was you."
Under the cover of night, Lin Qiang grabbed Tan Xiaoque's arm, making her fingers, which glowed with a faint green light, stop two fists away from Yuan Qiong.
Yuan Qiong opened her eyes, got out of bed, and there was no trace of sleepiness in her eyes.
"Oh, so you were just pretending to be asleep!" Tan Xiaoque remained completely unfazed, smiling as she withdrew her hand, crossed her legs, and sat down in a chair, her cat-like eyes fixed on the two of them: "When did you start to suspect me?"
“From the moment Granny Tian died,” Yuan Qiong curled her lips, “Granny Tian died silently, without a trace. That’s when I began to suspect you.”
"As expected of Yuan Qiong, you're really smart. The 'blind spot under the lamp' tactic is useless against you."
Lin Qiang frowned: "Grandma Tian was so good to you, how could you do this to her?! Who exactly are you?"
"Who I am is not important. What's important is that I'm the one who will stop you!" As soon as Tan Xiaoque finished speaking, her pupils instantly turned into vertical slits, and her round cat-like eyes became unusually eerie. With a piercing scream, the bell on her hand jingled without wind, and swarms of snakes, insects, and rodents rushed in from all directions. "Today, I will make up for the mistakes I made due to my carelessness!"
As soon as she finished speaking, countless poisonous creatures pounced on her.
Lin Qiang immediately pulled Yuan Qiong into his arms and used his internal force to shake off the poisonous creature that was lunging at him.
He held Yuan Qiong in his arms, fighting back while channeling his inner energy to fly away.
At this moment, the wolf who first sensed something was wrong ran out of the tent: "Big brother?!" He then looked up and saw Tan Xiaoque chasing after him: "Xiaoque! What are you doing!"
"Wild Wolf, get out of the way! She's not your sister, Tan Xiaoque!" Before Lin Qiang could finish speaking, a long snake pounced on Wild Wolf and bit her arm. "Ah!" Wild Wolf's face instantly turned ashen.
More and more people emerged from their tents, and the venomous creatures, as if starving, became exceptionally ferocious. Many people, before they could even react, suddenly lost consciousness as everything went black.
"This won't do!" Yuan Qiong looked at Lin Qiang anxiously. "Run! Get as far away from the camp as possible! Let her chase us!"
"good!"
Lin Qiang leaped away from the tent, and sure enough, Tan Xiaoque gave chase. The three of them, two fleeing and one pursuing, eventually arrived at a deserted mountaintop.
"You're not Tan Xiaoque, who are you?!"
"Hehe, what you said, Boss, really hurts Little Sparrow's feelings. I am Little Sparrow! I've always loved you since I was little!"
Yuan Qiong stared at her coldly: "Shameless!"
"Shut up!" A sharp voice came from Tan Xiaoque's mouth, her eyes instantly turning into vertical pupils again: "It's all your fault! It's all your fault, you woman!"
"If it weren't for you, he would never have gotten involved in all this! It's all your fault! What's so good about you?! How could he go to such lengths for you?! You deserve to die!!!"
The bell rang again, and the attacking venomous creatures became frenzied, lunging forward relentlessly as if there were no end in sight. Even with Lin Qiang's strong internal energy, he couldn't withstand such an onslaught for long.
Suddenly, a stray poisonous creature landed on the back of Lin Qiang's hand. A sharp pain shot through him, and Lin Qiang was momentarily dizzy before quickly returning to normal.
He knew that this was due to his special constitution; an ordinary person would certainly be beyond saving if bitten.
The little girl was still in his arms; he absolutely could not collapse at this moment! Absolutely not!
"Don't be afraid, I will protect you." Amid the chaos, Lin Qiang remained on high alert, keeping a close watch on Yuan Qiong while also trying to reassure her.
Yuan Qiong gripped his collar tightly, remained silent for a long while, and then hummed in agreement.
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