Chapter 335 Snowman
Apart from the tense preparations before the war, the selfless fighting during the war, and the grief and trauma after the war, military life is actually very boring, and marching in the snowy mountains is even more monotonous and boring.
Behind the majestic snow-capped mountains, there is always another more majestic and towering mountain.
The vast sky and the endless snowfield meet endlessly. People seem as small as grains of sand. After walking for days and nights, they still seem to be going around in circles.
Only when the increasingly cold winter wind blows on your face can you feel that you are moving forward.
When the weather was good, the soldiers trudged through knee-deep snow to forge a path;
When the sky is gloomy and heavy snow is about to come, the team will camp in the leeward place and wait for the wind and snow to pass before marching again.
Sometimes, like now, a cold front would blow up a howling white-hair wind, and the team would be stuck for several days and unable to move forward.
The camp was quiet.
The main tent was warm, and the thick curtains kept the wind and snow out.
The mountain wood in the stove was burning red, boiling a pot of snow-brewed rice wine with a fragrant aroma and bubbling continuously.
On the table was a palm-sized guinea fowl, two cold-water fish, a dish of boiled salt peanuts, a plate of stir-fried winter bamboo shoots, and a bowl of vegetable and tofu soup, making up a rare "farewell banquet".
Huo Gannian raised his glass to Shan Ji:
"Brother, thank you so much for this time. Otherwise, Chen'er would be seriously ill, and I wouldn't have the time to attack the rebels' grain depot. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid we would still be trapped in the defense line."
Shan Ji waved his hand nonchalantly, and just finished drinking a cup, Yun Chen, who was standing next to him, exchanged glances with Huo Gan for a while, then came over with a smile, holding his cup, clinked it with Shan Ji's, and said with a smile:
"Brother Feiyu's martial arts skills are unparalleled. Going back and forth between the rebel lines is as easy as going in and out of home. Thanks to Brother Feiyu's cold medicine, I recovered so quickly."
It was the first time that Yun Chen toasted Shan Ji, so there was no reason for him not to drink.
After drinking, Yun Chen immediately filled Shan Ji's glass again:
"Brother, are you really not going to stay with us for a few more days? Are you leaving now?"
"No." Shan Ji said, "If I were alone, it would be fine, but with so many brothers following me, it's inconvenient for me to stay for long."
Huo Gannian toasted again: "Then I wish you a safe journey, big brother. With your skills, the Wuyi Blood Guard will surely prosper day by day, and dominating the martial arts world is just around the corner!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Yun Chen nodded in agreement in a rather servile manner, and filled Shan Ji's glass with wine again.
He was sandwiched between Huo Gannian and Yun Chen, with a wink on the left and a glass of wine on the right. Shan Ji drank more than ten glasses without realizing it, and felt relaxed all over.
Seeing Shan Ji's happy expression, Yun Chen smiled slyly, held a chicken leg to Shan Ji's mouth, and began to chat pretentiously:
"Brother, the Wuyi Blood Guards are so powerful, their annual income is equal to that of the entire Huo Gang, right? They must have saved a lot of money, right?"
Shan Ji took a bite of the chicken leg, took a sip of wine, and said:
"That's not the case. The Wuyi Blood Guards are all free-spirited people with no relatives or friends. They spend whatever they earn. Although they are well paid, they either spend it on women or alcohol, leaving them with very little. However, the previous leaders of the sect have all saved money, so they don't have to worry about money."
"Brother, you are too modest." Huo Gannian interrupted.
"That's right!" Yun Chen gave a thumbs up. "Brother Feiyu is such a generous person. He spends tens of millions of taels. He is a wealthy and powerful man!"
Shan Ji chewed the chicken in his mouth, and the more he ate, the less it tasted. He raised his eyebrows and asked:
"You two are out of money, right? Do you want me to give you a discount on the cost of this trip to Wuyi Blood Guard?"
Yun Chen laughed and said, "How could that be possible! Brother Feiyu has worked really hard on this trip, not a penny less!"
Then she changed the subject, picked up the plate of guinea fowl, and solemnly approached Shan Ji:
"Let's put it this way. We must give Brother Feiyu a lot, and we must give us a lot too.
Huo Gannian immediately followed up with a serious tone, saying:
"Brother, to give you a farewell party today, I specially killed the Nine-Colored Auspicious and Wishful Guinea Chicken, the treasure of the Lion Power Army. Each one costs 35 million taels of gold. In addition to what I owe you, you just need to give me another 20 million taels of gold. Hey, hey, don't go—"
Before Huo Gan finished speaking, Shan Ji had already spit out all the chicken in his mouth and ran out, laughing and cursing as he walked:
"Damn it! Not only do they not want to pay, but they also want me to pay for it? Look at how they're doing it! What a pair of thieves!"
Regardless of the "sweet words" that Huo Gannian and Yun Chen said behind him, Shan Ji just felt that it was not appropriate to stay here for long, so he ran as far away as possible.
After leaving the main tent, Shan Ji was about to call the Wuyi Blood Guards to run away quickly. When passing by a tent, he was attracted by a figure who was practicing sword swinging.
Firstly, the wind and snow were so strong that everyone was huddled in their tents to keep warm. It was hard for Shan Ji not to notice this fool who was practicing sword in the wind and snow.
Secondly, the sword-swinging action was so clumsy and slow that Shan Ji couldn't help but grit his teeth.
The third one is that the swordsman’s posture is too eye-catching.
Women in the army are rarer than gold. In addition, since they had ridden the same horse across the defense line, Shan Ji immediately recognized that it was Huo Luyu.
He walked forward slowly, leaned against the tent with his arms folded, and looked at Huo Luyu with interest.
Huo Luyu was completely unaware and was concentrating on using his sword to chop, stab and cut in the air. His eyes were sharp and dark, as if he wanted to die together with the invisible enemy in the air.
As if she was caught up in some strange and chaotic thoughts, Huo Luyu swung the sword faster and faster, and the force of the sword became stronger and stronger. The last blow directly sent her flying and she fell headfirst into the snow.
She got up and brushed off the snow on her body. She was choked by the snow particles and coughed repeatedly. Then she noticed a tall, blood-red figure beside her. She was so scared that she turned around and stepped back several steps.
Seeing her extremely embarrassed and frightened appearance, Shan Ji narrowed his eyes and had some bad guesses:
"Who bullied you?"
This sentence, which seemed so incoherent and reckless, made Huo Luyu inexplicably less vigilant.
She picked up the fallen sword and ignored Shan Ji, continuing to practice swordplay.
After pondering for a moment, Shan Ji asked again:
"Black Scale Cavalry?"
Upon hearing these four words, Huo Luyu suddenly lost the strength to swing his sword. His legs went weak and he was about to fall down.
Shan Ji was quick-eyed and quick-handed. In the blink of an eye, he flew to Huo Luyu's side and helped her stand steadily.
He didn't even look at how pale Huo Luyu's face was, nor did he continue to ask what had happened, what troubles he had, or whether he needed comfort.
Shan Ji didn't say a word and started making a snowman on the ground.
After building the body of the snowman, he pinched a large ball of snow together firmly, weighed it in his hand twice, and felt that it was not quite up to standard.
He then found a large stone, wrapped it in a snowball, and placed it on the snowman's body as a head. He said to Huo Luyu:
"Aim for the space between the head and the body, take a horse stance, and strike with the sword at an angle. Unless the opponent has cultivated Qi and has completely dislocated his internal organs and meridians, you will definitely hit the neck meridian accurately, killing him instantly. Even if you miss, don't be afraid of hitting a stone. Just think of it as hitting bone. The human skull is very hard, almost as hard as stone. Try it."
After hesitating for a moment, Huo Luyu adjusted his posture, took a deep breath, swung the sword fiercely, and chopped off the snowman's head cleanly. As expected, the sword blade hit the stone.
Fortunately, she was mentally prepared and was not afraid, but her hands were numb from the shock.
Shan Ji once again kneaded the stone and snow together, placed them on the snowman's body, and said with a smile:
"Good chop. Do it again!"
One sword after another.
The snowman's head rolled over and over again.
How she wished that the head she chopped off at this moment was that of a Black Scale Cavalryman, so that she might not have nightmares every night anymore.
She dreamed of a long, dark procession lined up behind her, pressing close to her in black, cold armor...
"You want to go to the battlefield? Like Chen'er?"
"No. I just want to kill the Black Scale Cavalry."
"How many do you want to kill?"
"One hundred and seventy-three."
The howling winter wind brought even heavier snowflakes, and the sound of the silent mountains was scattered in the wind, with a cold, hard and reliable sharpness.
"We have a special iron box specifically designed to hold human heads. Every time the Wuyi Blood Guards complete an assassination mission, they must bring back a human head as proof. However, human heads bleed easily and are easily rotten, making them difficult to carry. So, we use pine oil, resin, or snow to wrap the heads into snowball shapes, place them in the iron box, and bring them back to our sect."
Huo Luyu didn't know why Shan Ji suddenly said this.
Shan Ji looked at Huo Luyu's dark eyes, which were like beautiful gems inlaid on his flawless snow-white skin.
She was like a little wild animal that had stepped into a dangerous jungle too early.
Although he is melancholy, weak and pitiful, he cannot hide the stubbornness that is growing wildly in his bones.
"It's nothing, I just told you something new." Shan Ji smiled, then waved his hand and left without looking back.
Huo Luyu didn't pay much attention to it. He imitated Shan Ji and made and chopped snowmen until he was so tired that he couldn't even lift his arms. Then he dived into the tent and fell asleep.
The next day, just after dawn, Huo Luyu was awakened by the noise outside the tent.
She followed the voices and walked out of the tent. Several soldiers were standing not far away, pointing at her tent.
She looked closely—
The open space around the tent was densely packed with snowmen covered in black cloth.
No more, no less, exactly one hundred and seventy-three.
In an instant, Huo Luyu's scalp went numb, and nightmares and past events flooded into his mind.
But the next moment, she picked up the sword, gripped the cold and solid hilt, and felt her heart become more peaceful.
There was a force more powerful than fear that was quietly filling her heart.
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