Chapter 507: Life and Death Game (Part 1)
There was another blood moon in Kyoto that night.
The dim moonlight illuminated the shadowy figures, and the air was filled with the cold metallic smell of armor.
It's a familiar yet unsettling smell.
Su Zhengyang personally selected 80,000 former Beijing troops from the 200,000 Tianwei Army and marched towards the southwest overnight.
Although the Beijing Army and the Lion and Tiger Army had been mixed long ago, Su Zhengyang still chose to go with the Beijing Army, his "old acquaintances" who he knew relatively well, for his first expedition.
Huo Gannian led the remaining 120,000 Tianwei troops quickly northward, most of whom were former Lion and Tiger Army soldiers.
Finally, there were only 20,000 imperial guards left to guard the palace, and Nan Lijun handed over the responsibility of guarding the palace to Yan Shijiu, whom he trusted the most.
Inside and outside the city of Kyoto, soldiers were everywhere ready to go, busy mobilizing food, weapons and military equipment.
Only a tall and thin figure was different from the others. He quietly left the team that had already set out to the north, right under Zhuang Fengtian's nose, and went straight to Yan's Mansion.
Under the cover of several Black Sparrow secret guards, the figure avoided the guards inside and outside the Yan Mansion and sneaked into the bedroom of the Yan Mansion.
Yun Chen slept quietly in the cold, crude iron cage.
Her hair was a little messy, her dress was wrinkled, and she was lying on the soft couch with her clothes on, curled up tightly. Only a pale and thin face that was almost unrecognizable was revealed from the big quilt. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and tears were in the corners of her eyes. She was in pain, as if she was trapped in a nightmare from which she would never wake up.
Even when she was asleep, she kept her hands tightly clutching the collar of her chest, like a weak little animal that could only protect itself in this way.
All ten nails on those two hands were broken and bleeding, and there were two shallow horizontal marks stained with blood on the iron railing beside them.
She was actually trying to cut the railing with her nails.
Every moment she was locked in this iron cage, she tried every possible way to escape.
Even though her meals and tea were laced with muscle softening powder every day, leaving her feeling weak and drowsy, she still tried to twist her hair to open the lock, twist her coat into a twist to pry open the railing...
I tried countless times and failed countless times.
He didn't dare to think about it. With such a strong character as her, how discouraged and desperate must she be to come up with such an absolutely impossible method as scratching the railing with her fingernails?
Maybe he really has no other choice.
But she still wiped away her tears and secretly told herself, "It will work, sooner or later! If not in one year, then three years! If not in three years, then ten years!" Then she continued to grind the rough railing with her nails firmly, over and over again.
"Chen'er..."
He whispered these two words, then his Adam's apple rolled and he swallowed hastily, fearing that if he said one more word, tears would burst out.
Now that things have come to this, there is no turning back for anyone.
There is no regret and no way back.
This final battle, which concerns the fate of millions of people, he must fight to the end!
He looked at Yun Chen deeply for a long time, his heart filled with pain, attachment and reluctance...
At this moment, a red shadow suddenly flashed outside the window, waking him up from his emotions.
He hardened his eyes and turned away, the last words left in his mouth being a vow that was lighter than a feather and heavier than Mount Tai:
"Chen'er, wait for me!"
…
…
Two hours later, Huo Gannian returned to the team heading north, jumped onto the horse nimbly, and there was no sign of knee injury on his body. He walked side by side with Zhuang Fengtian.
As for Huo Gannian's return, Zhuang Fengtian, the "military supervisor" who was responsible for monitoring him, seemed to have not noticed.
But when Zhuang Fengtian saw that Huo Gannian had bruises on his face and two red threads hanging from his buttons, making him look like he had been beaten up by someone, he was secretly surprised.
He slowly distanced himself from the group and rode to a separate place with Huo Gannian. While he munched on dry biscuits endlessly, his mouth bulging, he asked in a familiar tone:
"Have you seen it?"
"Um."
"She's suffered a lot, hasn't she? You must be heartbroken seeing this. But what can we do? We have no way out. If we give up, the world will fall into Yan Xing's hands, including her. This world forced us to do this, I don't blame you."
"Um."
"So you were mad at yourself for plotting everything, including Yun Chen, and because you felt sorry for her, you beat yourself up? You were way too harsh on yourself!"
"Um."
Huo Gannian responded three times and said nothing more.
The faint light of the morning sun shone on his young and handsome face. He seemed calm and composed, but his trembling pupils and tightly pursed lips had already betrayed his inner pain.
Zhuang Fengtian wisely dropped the topic and didn't dare to mention any more about Yun Chen.
He knew that it had come to a crucial point, a real life-and-death struggle. The winner between Yan Xing and Huo Gannian would depend on this final round.
It was already a risk for Huo Gannian to risk his life to sneak into Yan Mansion to visit Yun Chen at this time.
Huo Gannian must not be distracted again.
Thinking of this, Zhuang Fengtian broke the pancake into two halves and handed one piece to Huo Gannian. The latter took it but did not eat it. He just looked at a crabapple tree in bud in the distance, and the gloom in his eyes became deeper and deeper.
Zhuang Fengtian knew that Huo Gannian was thinking about Yun Chen again, so he quickly brought up the serious topic:
"Duan Jie and the others should have already arrived in Luojiang and met up with Xiong Dun's men. Speaking of which, Xiong Dun is quite the hard-working guy. Back then, you saw through Yan Xing and Touman's conspiracy early on and planned ahead, allowing Xiong Dun to fake his own death and escape.
This guy hid in a remote tribe, disheveled and filthy, for six months, and managed to survive until now, regaining power. Since returning, he has always worn a stern mask, refusing to acknowledge the queen and concubines, and avoiding close contact with any of his close associates. His patience is truly remarkable—of course, mainly because he trusts you.
Huo Gannian raised his eyes coldly at Zhuang Fengtian's last flattery:
"Have you been in the Northwest Desert for too long? You weren't so talkative before."
"That was more than ten years ago, when I was your younger brother along with Duan Jie and Fu Lin. People change. From the letters I've sent you over the years, you should have sensed my loneliness far away in the northwest!"
Zhuang Fengtian said this, holding his chest in a comical manner, and fell on Huo Gannian. The latter led his horse away in disgust, patted his sleeve that was touched, and spoke mercilessly, just like he did more than ten years ago:
"Rangyuan, don't touch me. I talk too much, and the letters are so long. It's always hard to burn them, and they take a long time!"
“Hahahahahahahaha——”
Zhuang Fengtian laughed heartily. Just imagining Huo Gannian's face, cursing and frowning every time he sent him a letter, made him want to laugh. He also recalled many memories from the past and immediately opened up his mouth:
"Back then, there were rumors that Duan Jie and Fu Lin were sworn brothers with you. It's so easy to spread rumors, but it takes so long to dispel them. You've forgotten about me, Zhuang Fengtian, but you've also said those two were sworn brothers with you? Are they even worthy? The three of us agreed to become your disciples together and serve you like brothers!
If it weren't for what happened back then, the three of us should have become apprentices by now. We would have obtained the tiger-tooth dagger and molar pendant as apprenticeship gifts, but after that incident, we never became apprentices for a day.
You've been busy planning day and night, first sending me to the northwest, then sending Fu Lin to the black market to change his appearance, and then you have to worry about taking care of Duan Jie in Youyang. Oh, it's so hard on you! We three little brothers are just causing you trouble.
Oh, by the way, where's my pendant? You've been keeping it for me, and you've been lubricating it, right? Don't let it dry out or I'll be mad at you! Hey, do you think Xiong Dun will slaughter cattle and sheep to welcome us? Then we'll have to pretend to fight and travel by boat. It's going to be tiring! I have to eat. If you don't eat the bread in your hand, give it back to me. I need to eat more.
Hey, hello? You won't give it to me? Are you thinking you've eaten some Bashe Qinyuxiang ashes that makes you immune to all poisons and can heal bone injuries? Your leg is healed, so you think I can't beat you? Give me a bite, or I'll be really angry..."
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