Liu Nanyuan also wanted to go out with the army, but was severely prohibited by Liu Xianche and had to stand by the road that day and watch the army leave. Then she turned her head and asked in a strange tone: “What are you happy about?”

The little maid replied with a flushed face: “The prince and our Second Young Master are a perfect match, ah.”

“…..It’s not the first time you’ve seen them.”

“But they haven’t worn armor before.”

He had previously not been wearing battle armor, but ordinary luxurious clothes. In the eyes of the little maid, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang wearing battle armor immediately turned into a grim god descending to earth. His whole body was filled with turbulent chills and thunderstorms, and wherever he went, black clouds stretched over the mountains and sun, making people feel endlessly terror-stricken. As for Second Young Master Liu wearing armor, although he didn’t have any murderous intent, good-looking was truly good-looking. Even Liu Nanyuan questioned the exquisite silver light armor on her Er-ge that looked quite expensive at first glance. Did it have any defensive functions, or was it just for show? Otherwise, why would he not even wear a helmet, just a silver hairpin stuck casually in his dark hair? How could anyone go to war so loosely?

The only thing that could be related to “war” may be the white war horse. Even this was a last-minute decision made by Liang Shu, because if not for the fact that the fat little red horse had short legs and had never run in the dense forest full of dead vines, Liu Xian’an would be seriously prepared to charge into battle with it and advance and retreat together.

“Never mind, let him do what he wants,” Liu Nanyuan said in the tone of someone with experience. “Anyway, the prince will definitely protect Er-ge. We’ll just wait in the military camp.”

The Silver Scimitar Moon Tribe’s troops divided into seven groups, leading the Southwest Garrison through the dense forest to quietly approach the center point. 

. . . . . . .

Wumeng Yunyou turned over and dismounted. The disciples at the door were stunned to see him coming back in such a hurry. They stepped forward to inquire, but Wumeng Yunyou had already vanished from everyone’s sight like a gust of wind.

“Quick, go and report to the Leader!”

It was still extremely quiet in the forest at this time, and the early morning mist had not yet dissipated. Wumeng Yunyou ran all the way to his sister’s residence, but stopped on the way: “…..Master.”

Mu Zhe looked at him: “I heard from A-Le that you went to kill Liu Nanyuan.”

Wumeng Yunyou said leisurely: “Yes.”

“Did you accomplish it?”

“No.”

“Then why did you return?”

“Because I heard…..I heard that A-Le….” Wumeng Yunyou clenched his fists. He really couldn’t say the dirty words he had heard along the way, and only said, “I want to see her first. Where is Uncle?”

Hearing him mention Feng Xiaojin, Mu Zhe’s expression changed visibly, but Wumeng Yunyou interpreted this as a sign that something was wrong with his sister. His heart felt empty, and he disregarded everyone to rush to the back courtyard. Mu Zhe was not willing to allow him to be so unbridled. He waved his sword and struck him with a sword glare, making him stagger forward two steps and nearly fall down. 

The other disciples rushed forward. Wumeng Yunyou drew his sword out of its sheath and swept the area around him, causing people to scream in pain. Seeing this, Mu Zhe’s eyes became more and more gloomy. He flew forward and grabbed the back of the other’s neck. He picked him up like a chicken, slammed him against a sturdy branch, and shouted angrily: “Presumptuous!”

Wumeng Yunyou was hit so hard that his eyes were filled with stars, and he felt that all his bones were about to be crushed. Blood oozed from the corners of his mouth. Just as he was dizzy and in agony, his ears picked up a long whistle coming from out in the forest!

It was sharp and harsh, an alarm for incoming enemies.

The sound was close, only a few li away. All the disciples were shocked, and even Mu Zhe turned around to look. Wumeng Yunyou took the opportunity to break away from him and continued to run desperately toward his sister’s residence.

Mu Zhe ignored him this time, because someone had already dismounted their horse to say in a hurry: “Leader, the Yan army…..the Yan army is invading!”

“Where are they now?”

“White Incense Grove. By the time we reacted, they already…..seemed to have fallen from the sky!”

“What about the beasts in White Incense Grove?”

“It took less than a cup of tea to force them all back.”

“Impossible!”

“They used a strange kind of crossbow. When it was cocked, it could fire countless arrows, and the sound it made was like a rattlesnake. When the beasts heard this, they panicked and fled.” The disciple held an arrow in his hand and said, “This is it.”

Mu Zhe took it in his hand. The arrow was hollow, something he had never seen before. But now was obviously not the time to study the opponent’s weapons. He turned around and commanded: “Fight!”

“Baifu Buddha Mother, bless the common people! Victory in every battle!” 

Cult believers poured out from everywhere like leeches.

In the forest, Liang Shu praised: “The crossbow made by Song-xiansheng is indeed easy to use, worthy of being the first in the world.”

Song Changsheng tightened his horse’s reins. “Your Highness is joking. If not for Second Young Master Liu providing the prototype for the weapon, I wouldn’t be able to perfect it, let alone see this giant weapon that only appeared in ancient times.”

In the beginning, it took a lot of manpower and material resources to restore this giant crossbow. Everyone thought it was unreliable, because Second Young Master Liu only drew less than twenty strokes. However, the person in question said: “Try it.”

Liang Shu also thought they could give it a try. He thought liberally that if the attempt failed, he would use his own salary to make up for the shortfall, and after making up for it, he would go to Baihe Mountain Village to make an honest living.

As the attempt was successful, even in the current situation with all the beasts running away, the army under the cover of the giant crossbow could ignore the enemy’s defenses and continue to advance straight in. 

“Baifu Buddha Mother, bless the common people! Victory in every battle!” 

Cries resounded from every direction in the dense forest.

Gao Lin led his troops to attack from the other side and caught up with the chants. He dodged to the side to avoid a stray arrow and said: “It actually looks like a normal army.”

“This group of people has been rooted in the southwest for many years, after all.” Chang Xiaoqiu gripped the Pojin sword, kicked the horse with one foot, and charged bravely toward the enemy.

The sounds of killing shook the sky, and the land around was in complete disorder.

The only relatively quiet place was the few remaining back courtyards surrounded by ancient trees.

Wumeng Yunyou panted as he ran wildly, hoping against hope that A-Le hadn’t done such a thing, that she had not become the person the believers said she was. He swung his sword, killing the two maids who came forward to stop him, and kicked the courtyard door open without saying anything. He saw a strong-bodied man walking out of the bedroom with his clothes wide open.

“Yun—”

As soon as the other party spoke a word, his head was already soaring into the air, and the bloody mist fell onto Wumeng Yunyou’s body like a waterfall. His eyes were dyed as red as a ghost’s, and the blood on his sword’s edge dripped to the ground. Still unable to vent his anger, he simply continued to swing his sword, chopping the headless corpse into a pile of meat. Then, panting, he staggered toward the house. 

“Ah!” The maid in the front hall screamed in fright, and for a moment, she didn’t recognize the person covered in blood before her. The Nanyang woman opened the bed curtain with both hands and looked at the terrifying Wumeng Yunyou standing at the door. She was also shocked, and immediately covered her chest, calling “Gege” with tears in her eyes.

Wumeng Yunyou asked word by word: “What have they done to you?”

The Nanyang woman just cried and sobbed, refusing to speak.

Wumeng Yunyou really didn’t want to believe everything in front of him, and gritted his teeth as he asked: “Where is Uncle?” He didn’t understand. His uncle had clearly said that he would protect A-Le. How could he allow this to happen?

“Uncle, Uncle, he…..” The Nanyang woman covered her face and howled loudly. Wumeng Yunyou felt a sharp pain in his heart and bent down to pick up the cloak on the ground. He stepped forward to give it to his sister, but there was suddenly a cold, numb feeling in his abdomen.

And then hot blood flowed out.

He lowered his head in disbelief to look at the dagger inserted into his body and the white hands with red nails holding the handle.

The Nanyang woman looked at him with a smile and suddenly twisted her hand! The sharp blade twisted his internal organs to pieces, and blood flowed from Wumeng Yunyou’s mouth. He looked straight into her eyes: “You…..you aren’t A-Le!”

“Why do you disown me so quickly, Gege?” Holding the knife, the woman moved out of bed and forced him to retreat step by step. “I haven’t had enough fun. Who allowed you to come back and ruin my good deeds?”

“Yunle…..Yunle…..”

“Didn’t I tell you long ago that she eloped with Ku You to the Dayan military camp? You didn’t want to believe it.” The Nanyang woman said, “You can’t blame me for this.”

A-Le. Dayan military camp.

Wumeng Yunyou recalled in a trance the girl in red who died by his venomous snake, and fear immediately took over his entire face. A-Le…..she was in the Dayan military camp.

“You’re afraid?” The Nanyang woman touched his bloody face with her fingers. “It’s a pity that at such a good age and with such good looks, you’re here today in such a broken and filthy state. I can only look but not eat.”

As she spoke, she tried to stab him again, but Wumeng Yunyou held her wrist and twisted it back, causing the bone to give an obvious crack!

Unprepared, the Nanyang woman screamed and was thrown to the ground by him. The blade penetrated deeper into Wumeng Yunyou’s body, but it was as if he didn’t feel the pain at all. He just used all his strength to strike her hard in the face with his hand!

The hidden Gu weapon penetrated the mask deeply, and also cut through the original skin beneath the mask. Wumeng Yunyou’s hand slowly moved down, opening the bloody groove deeper, and blood also gushed from his own mouth in large quantities. He said with a ferocious expression: “Give A-Le’s face back.”

“Ah!” The Nanyang woman tried her utmost, but still couldn’t break away from the murderous lunatic on top of her. She twisted the dagger in his hand randomly, and finally escaped just before her throat could be slit. The fury of her appearance being ruined also turned her mad. She pulled out a venomous snake that had been raised in a jar, and with a curse, she pinched Wumeng Yunyou’s mouth open with one hand. As she was about to put the snake in, she was suddenly knocked into the corner by a huge force, almost breaking all her bones.

Wumeng Yunyou was dying. He gazed at the silver hair of the person in front of him and grabbed his wrist with all his strength: “A-Le…..A-Le…..”

“She is with the Dayan army,” Ku You said. “She is very safe.”

“In the Dayan army…..safe?”

“Safe.”

“Good. Then you…..protect A-Le.” Wumeng Yunyou lay in a pool of blood, repeating over and over again in despair, “Protect her.”

He knew what he had done.

But he didn’t want to know.

Ku You raised his hand and closed the boy’s eyes.

The Nanyang woman in the corner was half-mad by now, holding her bloody face and screaming with vicious fury. Ku You picked her up by the collar, dragged her out of the room, and threw her onto the horse.

“Ya!”

. . . . . .

“Baifu Buddha Mother, bless the common people! Victory in every battle!” 

There was so much noise that one of Dayan’s lieutenant commanders felt dizzy. This team was originally part of Ku You’s troops, and were considered some of the best soldiers in the entire southwest garrison. Therefore, Liang Shu had ordered them to act alone to attack the most difficult and dangerous line. Not to mention the high density of the forest in this area, there were muddy swamps all over and not even a few spacious paths to be found. However, the cult believers on the opposite side still had very high morale. They pushed two walls of archers to guard the front, and there was a strong intention to counterattack and advance.

“Baifu Buddha Mother, bless the common people! Victory in every battle!” 

“Stop your damn howling!”

Two voices sounded at the same time.

The cursing came from the lieutenant commander.

Thud, something was thrown in front of him. 

With wounds all over her face, the Nanyang woman was tossed into the crowd of cultists, causing an uproar. She continued to scream as poisonous Gu roamed around her body, which looked extremely terrifying. This horrified all the believers. They could not comprehend that the saintess who was entrusted by the Baifu Buddha Mother could be harmed by mere mortals. Thus, they all retreated in a panic. Their faith collapsed, and nobody was willing to rush forward to kneel and kiss her as they normally would.

“You, you…..You‘re not the Holy Maiden! You’re not!”

Ku You jumped back on his horse, silver-haired and golden-eyed, and stretched out his hand: “Sword.”

The lieutenant commander was overjoyed when he saw who had come. He quickly ordered the soldiers to bring his sword, saying happily: “No wonder His Highness asked us to carry the commander’s weapon!”

Ku You raised his arm and shouted: “Kill!”

The Dayan army moved with grand momentum, but there was no one on the side of the howling Baifu Buddha Mother.

A-Ning followed the army with a medical kit in his arms. When he saw Chang Suyue riding past, he quickly reminded her: “Cheng-guniang, please remember to help find A-Chang!”

Cheng Suyue agreed, thinking to herself that since the commotion was so loud, anyone with a bit of brains should know to hide or run out by himself.

The truth was as she thought. A-Chang was indeed hiding quite safely. Not only was he safe, but he was also eating steamed buns, at the same time not forgetting to give Feng Xiaojin a bite or two. 

The sweet smell of food spread in the dark room. Reclining on the bed, Feng Xiaojin asked: “Do you hear the sounds outside?”

“I hear it.” Liu Hengchang said, “It should be that the Yan army has already invaded.”

“Then why don’t you leave?”

“I need to eat something first, otherwise I’ll be dizzy if I go out hungry and be unable to help.” Liu Hengchang drank over half a cup of water in one breath. During this time, he had been detoxifying Feng Xiaojin. Although he was hanging onto life, it was only by a thread. He said: “My family’s Second Young Master will definitely be able to figure out a way to detoxify you.”

“My poison does not need to be cured,” Feng Xiaojin said. “Even if it is cured, according to Dayan law, nine generations of my family should be killed.”

Liu Hengchang knew of his theft of disaster relief funds. Although his words were correct, as a doctor, he must try his best to give the patient the will to live. So he comforted him: “Young Master Feng gave Commander Ku a lot of secret information. Merits offset the demerits…..anyway, don’t think about it too much.”

“I had enough of life a long time ago.” Feng Xiaojin said, “If it weren’t for Yunyou and A-Le, I would have long since died. I should have died when he made me an immortal monster.” He closed his eyes and said, “I robbed that batch of silver and grain just because I wanted to make the man surnamed Tan miserable. As for the deaths of the victims, I didn’t care at the time, and I don’t care now either. Tell me, do people like me who are born evil deserve to die?”

Liu Hengchang was silent for a moment, then said: “Disaster victims are always innocent.”

“So, you deserve to live, but I don’t.” Feng Xiaojin gave a wretched laugh. “But Yunyou and A-Le, they are still young. Perhaps…..perhaps they still have the chance to see the world through the eyes of normal people. Even if they only see it once, and die after seeing it, they will be a thousand times better than me.”

As he spoke, he turned his head to Liu Hengchang: “Thank you for what you’ve done during this time.”

“It is me who should thank Young Master Feng,” Liu Hengchang said truthfully. “Otherwise, I’m afraid my identity would have been exposed long ago, and I would have been thrown into a trap with thousands of Gu. Although Young Master Feng claims to not know good and evil, and slaughters people, at least he truly helped me in this matter.”

“Then for the sake of me helping you, treat Yunyou and A-Le kindly.” Feng Xiaojin sat up and took a bottle of medicine from his sleeve. Liu Hengchang was taken aback when he saw this and asked: “What is this—”

Before he finished speaking, Feng Xiaojin had already drunk the contents of the bottle. Then he stood up and walked out stiffly and strangely.

Shocked, Liu Hengchang hurriedly caught up: “Young Master Feng!”

Feng Xiaojin waved his hand back and flung him to the side.

Liu Hengchang was beaten to dizziness, and asked with difficulty: “Where is Young Master Feng going?”

Feng Xiaojin opened the mechanism door and gazed at the dazzling sunshine outside: “I’m going to collect the debt Mu Zhe owes me.”

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Chapter One Hundred Twenty << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Two