Chapter 325
Looking at the dangerously unpredictable Yin Wuyan, Zhu Xiao suddenly felt fortunate that he hadn't made a move against Zhan Feiyu at Aozi Pass earlier. If he had made a wrong decision, he might not have escaped unscathed now.
"You can leave, but only if you leave some things behind," a cold voice rang out. Yin Wuyan looked at Zhu Xiao, who was seated on his horse. "Leave some things behind."
"Who exactly are you people? Clear the way quickly, or don't blame me, Yu Dashan, for being impolite!" a furious roar erupted. The man with the bushy beard drew his saber on horseback, his entire being radiating aggression, as if ready to engage Yin Wuyan and his men in a fierce battle at the slightest provocation.
No matter how formidable Yin Wuyan appeared, Zhu Xiao's subordinates were all elites who had fought their way through battlefields and piles of corpses. Moreover, they had over two hundred people on their side. If a fight broke out, the bearded man and his men would not flinch.
As soon as the bearded man finished speaking, the fifty-odd men in the vanguard immediately drew their sabers, and a chilling aura instantly filled the air.
In contrast, Chong Guang, He Sheng, and the others did not adopt a fighting stance. They remained standing calmly, but their very composure exuded a sense of silent, formless killing intent.
Zhu Xiao frowned and looked at Yin Wuyan, speaking, "You want the list?"
So, he wasn't from the Scholar's Mansion, but sent by the Emperor? Zhu Xiao's sharp gaze quickly swept over Chong Guang and the others. They were from the Forbidden Dragon Guard!
Yin Wuyan said no more. With a flick of his wrist, a token shot out.
Zhu Xiao caught the token precisely with his right hand and looked down. Three characters were inscribed on the token in a powerful, calligraphic style: Forbidden Dragon Guard.
A moment later, the sound of horses' hooves echoed, and over two hundred people galloped furiously towards the direction of Weizhou Camp.
Yin Wuyan did not look at the list. Instead, he rolled it up and placed it into a specially made dark iron communication tube. "Send it back to the capital immediately."
A subordinate beside him acknowledged the order, "Yes."
Chong Guang yawned. They had ridden all the way to Xiangwu County, and he hadn't slept for two days and two nights. "Seventh Master, shall we go find the little fatty now?"
As for Zhan Feiyu's escape from under Zhu Xiao's nose, if it was due to her courage or luck, it was more likely because Zhu Xiao had no intention of killing her. Otherwise, no matter how capable the little fatty was, it would have been useless.
"You all return to Xiangwu County." With that, Yin Wuyan spurred his horse, and the steed neighed and galloped north, disappearing from everyone's sight in an instant.
Even though Yin Wuyan had left alone, Chong Guang didn't believe anyone could harm him. He glanced at He Sheng, who looked conflicted, and chuckled. Putting an arm around his shoulder like a close friend, he said, "With Seventh Master taking action, do you still need to worry about the little fatty? Rest your mind, let's go kill a few more barbarians in Xiangwu County, and then sleep for three days and three nights!"
...
Amidst the whistling wind, Zhan Feiyu rubbed her frozen hands and continued to walk with difficulty. Fortunately, the mountain wall was not far away, providing at least a place to shelter from the wind.
"Huh?" Seeing a burning campfire near the mountain wall, Zhan Feiyu was surprised. A thick log was propped over the fire. Even without anyone adding fuel, this log could burn for an hour.
Looking at the two frozen flatbreads placed on a stone nearby, and a water pouch, Zhan Feiyu knew that Zhu Xiao and his men had deliberately left them behind when they broke camp.
She grabbed a handful of dry grass and placed it under her to sit on, then extended her hands to the campfire to warm them. As for the flatbreads and water pouch, Zhan Feiyu guessed they were fine, but she had no intention of touching them.
It had taken over half an hour to ride from Aozi Pass. If she were to return the same way on foot, it would take at least an hour. Moreover, Aozi Pass was still a considerable distance from Xiangwu County.
Zhan Feiyu looked up at the desolate surroundings. She decided it would be best to stay put and wait for A Nuan and the others to find her.
Time passed slowly. As she warmed herself by the fire in the sheltered spot by the mountain wall, and having barely slept the previous night, Zhan Feiyu felt drowsy, her eyelids beginning to droop.
But just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly approached. Zhan Feiyu jolted awake and listened carefully. There was only one horse? It couldn't be Ah Sheng and the others.
And this direction was towards Xiangwu County, so it wouldn't be people from the Zhenbian Marquis's mansion. Could it be someone passing by?
Zhan Feiyu didn't bother with anything else. She quickly stood up, stepped on the stones by the mountain wall, and walked about ten steps to the side, finally curling up in a sheltered mountain hollow and concealing herself.
As the sound of horses' hooves grew closer, amidst the vast white expanse, a black cloak fluttering in the wind was exceptionally conspicuous. And the familiar voice from the horseback made Zhan Feiyu, who was hiding, widen her eyes.
"Big brother!" she cried out excitedly. Zhan Feiyu quickly stood up and ran forward eagerly, only to trip on a protruding stone.
Yin Wuyan leaped off his horse, but unfortunately, the distance was too great.
With a thud, Zhan Feiyu fell to the ground. She felt a sharp pain in her nose, and warm blood flowed down from her nostrils.
If she had fallen on the accumulated snow, it wouldn't have hurt too much. However, the Zhenbian Marquis's mansion had set up camp here last night, so the snow on the ground had long been trampled firm. Zhan Feiyu's fall was disastrous.
He reached out with his long arm and pulled up the little girl who had fallen. No matter how angry he had been before, seeing her now with a bleeding nose and an arrow wound on her cheek, Zhan Feiyu's disheveled appearance, coupled with her teary, wronged face, made Yin Wuyan sigh helplessly.
"Why are you still so reckless?" He gently pushed her onto a stone with dry grass and sat her down. Yin Wuyan took out a handkerchief to wipe away Zhan Feiyu's nosebleed, then took off his cloak and completely covered the pitiful little girl.
Last night, she had gone out to check due to a fire in the first half of the night, then the barbarians besieged the city, followed by breaking out with He Sheng and He Nuan to meet Yang Xu at Aozi Pass, and finally being taken away by Zhu Xiao. Zhan Feiyu had been exhausted, hungry, and freezing for the entire night, five to six hours.
The thick cloak was exceptionally warm. Zhan Feiyu sniffled, raised her head, and looked at Yin Wuyan pitifully, her voice inexplicably choked with emotion, "Big brother, why did you come? I thought Ah Sheng would be here first."
Yin Wuyan remembered that it was also winter when he saw the little girl in Jinlin Village, secretly reading in the mountain forest behind the village with a big yellow dog.
Although she was still plump then, life in the countryside was poor, and food and clothing were scarce. The little girl was only slightly plumper and fairer than ordinary village children. It was unlike later when she was well-cared for, with skin so fair and tender it seemed like water could be squeezed out.
More than two years later, Yin Wuyan saw the disheveled little girl again and couldn't help but pat her head with heartache. "Zhu Xiao took his men to the barbarians, and there were too many matters to handle, so I was delayed."
Once the Yang family was restored, the Zhenbian Marquis's mansion would be the first to be purged. Zhu Xiao, as the heir, was indeed bold. He had secretly submitted a memorial to the Emperor. He was ostensibly going to the barbarians, but he was "in Cao's camp, but his heart was in Han." This was merely to infiltrate the barbarian ranks and to atone for his sins.
Zhu Xiao's move could be described as breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats, putting himself in a position of no return to find a way to survive. However, with his sudden decision, the Emperor would surely agree. It was just that the matter of military power had suddenly become complicated.
Regarding military power, the Emperor did not trust the Zhenbian Marquis's mansion, nor did he trust the Yang family. Therefore, Yin Wuyan naturally became the best candidate to handle the subsequent issues, and he was thus tied up.
Yin Wuyan had known earlier that three thousand barbarians had besieged Xiangwu County. However, as long as Zhan Feiyu remained in the Qiu Mansion and did not come out, Yin Wuyan would have notified the Weizhou Camp people to come to her rescue immediately.
But even the wisest can make mistakes. Yin Wuyan had not expected Zhan Feiyu to not only go to the city wall to defend it but also to break through to Aozi Pass to save Yang Xu. This led to the subsequent problems. Otherwise, as long as she had stayed obediently in Xiangwu County, Yin Wuyan would have already brought his men to her.
He rubbed his nose, feeling that the bleeding had stopped. Zhan Feiyu grinned, "It's okay, Big Brother, you know me. I have my divine powers, I was just too cold."
She had initially thought that her invisibility superpower was rather useless, but Zhan Feiyu now realized that it could save her life at critical moments.
Looking at Zhan Feiyu, who was smiling brightly but with bloodshot eyes, Yin Wuyan suppressed the heartache in his eyes. "Let's go back to Xiangwu County."
"Okay." Zhan Feiyu nodded obediently. As she stood up, she realized that the cloak was too long and more than half of it was dragging on the ground.
... Zhan Feiyu didn't bother with anything else. She quickly stood up, stepped on the stones by the mountain wall, and walked about ten steps to the side, finally curling up in a sheltered mountain hollow and concealing herself.
As the sound of horses' hooves grew closer, amidst the vast white expanse, a black cloak fluttering in the wind was exceptionally conspicuous. And the familiar voice from the horse-back made Zhan Feiyu, who was hiding, widen her eyes.
"Big brother!" she cried out excitedly. Zhan Feiyu quickly stood up and ran forward eagerly, only to trip on a protruding stone.
Yin Wuyan leaped off his horse, but unfortunately, the distance was too great.
With a thud, Zhan Feiyu fell to the ground. She felt a sharp pain in her nose, and warm blood flowed down from her nostrils.
If she had fallen on the accumulated snow, it wouldn't have hurt too much. However, the Zhenbian Marquis's mansion had set up camp here last night, so the snow on the ground had long been trampled firm. Zhan Feiyu's fall was disastrous.
He reached out with his long arm and pulled up the little girl who had fallen. No matter how angry he had been before, seeing her now with a bleeding nose and an arrow wound on her cheek, Zhan Feiyu's disheveled appearance, coupled with her teary, wronged face, made Yin Wuyan sigh helplessly.
"Why are you still so reckless?" He gently pushed her onto a stone with dry grass and sat her down. Yin Wuyan took out a handkerchief to wipe away Zhan Feiyu's nosebleed, then took off his cloak and completely covered the pitiful little girl.
Last night, she had gone out to check due to a fire in the first half of the night, then the barbarians besieged the city, followed by breaking out with He Sheng and He Nuan to meet Yang Xu at Aozi Pass, and finally being taken away by Zhu Xiao. Zhan Feiyu had been exhausted, hungry, and freezing for the entire night, five to six hours.
The thick cloak was exceptionally warm. Zhan Feiyu sniffled, raised her head, and looked at Yin Wuyan pitifully, her voice inexplicably choked with emotion, "Big brother, why did you come? I thought Ah Sheng would be here first."
Yin Wuyan remembered that it was also winter when he saw the little girl in Jinlin Village, secretly reading in the mountain forest behind the village with a big yellow dog.
Although she was still plump then, life in the countryside was poor, and food and clothing were scarce. The little girl was only slightly plumper and fairer than ordinary village children. It was unlike later when she was well-cared for, with skin so fair and tender it seemed like water could be squeezed out.
More than two years later, Yin Wuyan saw the disheveled little girl again and couldn't help but pat her head with heartache. "Zhu Xiao took his men to the barbarians, and there were too many matters to handle, so I was delayed."
Once the Yang family was restored, the Zhenbian Marquis's mansion would be the first to be purged. Zhu Xiao, as the heir, was indeed bold. He had secretly submitted a memorial to the Emperor. He was ostensibly going to the barbarians, but he was "in Cao's camp, but his heart was in Han." This was merely to infiltrate the barbarian ranks and to atone for his sins.
Zhu Xiao's move could be described as breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats, putting himself in a position of no return to find a way to survive. However, with his sudden decision, the Emperor would surely agree. It was just that the matter of military power had suddenly become complicated.
Regarding military power, the Emperor did not trust the Zhenbian Marquis's mansion, nor did he trust the Yang family. Therefore, Yin Wuyan naturally became the best candidate to handle the subsequent issues, and he was thus tied up.
Yin Wuyan had known earlier that three thousand barbarians had besieged Xiangwu County. However, as long as Zhan Feiyu remained in the Qiu Mansion and did not come out, Yin Wuyan would have notified the Weizhou Camp people to come to her rescue immediately.
But even the wisest can make mistakes. Yin Wuyan had not expected Zhan Feiyu to not only go to the city wall to defend it but also to break through to Aozi Pass to save Yang Xu. This led to the subsequent problems. Otherwise, as long as she had stayed obediently in Xiangwu County, Yin Wuyan would have already brought his men to her.
He rubbed his nose, feeling that the bleeding had stopped. Zhan Feiyu grinned, "It's okay, Big Brother, you know me. I have my divine powers, I was just too cold."
She had initially thought that her invisibility superpower was rather useless, but Zhan Feiyu now realized that it could save her life at critical moments.
Looking at Zhan Feiyu, who was smiling brightly but with bloodshot eyes, Yin Wuyan suppressed the heartache in his eyes. "Let's go back to Xiangwu County."
"Okay." Zhan Feiyu nodded obediently. As she stood up, she realized that the cloak was too long and more than half of it was dragging on the ground.