The news that Li Wuling reported quickly spread among the soldiers, and everyone seemed to see Bayanhaote waving at them. The enthusiasm of the officers and soldiers soared. Their exhausted bodies were suddenly infused with a tremendous amount of strength. The whole army worked as one and tread on a muddy path in the forest. They cut their way through the thistles and thorns, and after four hours, they arrived at the source of the stream that Li Wuling had mentioned.
This huge lake was located between the towering peaks of the Helan Mountains. The cliffs were as tall as trees, and like bamboo shoots cut by a knife, they soared into the sky. After tens of thousands of years of water flow, a majestic canyon was formed between the peaks, covered with gravel, and was difficult to traverse. The Heavenly Lake was located in the middle of the canyon, covering an area of more than ten acres. It was like a clear spring that fell from the sky, clean and quiet, and not contaminated by the dust of the world. The clear lake water rippled, reflecting people's shadows. Not far away, there were a few small underground springs spewing hot air, and in the midst of the smoke, it seemed to be a little closer to the sky.
The lake water flowed slowly along the canyon, gently lapping against the rocks on the shore under the breeze, making a soft sound, like a harmonious and quiet poem. The Heavenly Lake embedded in the top of the Helan Mountains was ethereal and quiet, without a trace of dust. It was a sacred place that no one had ever been to.
Lin Wanrong cupped the lake water and tasted it. A faint warm fragrance entered his nose, like his mother's milk, unusually fragrant and sweet.
"Brother Lin, how is it, is it here?!" Li Wuling cupped the lake water and sprinkled it on his face, then carelessly wiped away the water droplets, smiling proudly.
"It's here." Looking at the lake water in the distance, which was the same color as the sky, Lin Wanrong suppressed the excitement in his heart. "Only the pure, snow-like spring water of the Helan Mountains can irrigate the fertile grassland of Bayanhaote. I'm sure that the Hu fortress is in front of us. "
Hu Bugui clapped his hands excitedly. "Then what are we waiting for, we might as well march tonight, travel another hundred miles in one go, and directly kill our way to Bayanhaote."
"We can't be reckless." Lin Wanrong shook his head and said seriously, "We should have walked more than half the distance. The area of this Heavenly Lake is so large, but no one has discovered it. In addition to being on the top of the mountain, there must be a natural barrier ahead. That's why no one could find this place. "
Gao Qiu nodded in agreement. "So what do we do now? Do we stay here or continue forward?"
Three days had passed since the deadline of ten days given by Xu Zhiqing. Including the time taken to return, they had to reach Bayanhaote within three days at the latest. If more than ten days passed, even if the surprise attack was successful, the Helan Mountain pass would have been broken. At that time, the eight thousand of them would have no path of retreat, the fierce Turks hunting them down like rabbits on the steppe. The distant desert would be the burial ground for these tens of thousands of soldiers.
Time waits for no man. Lin Wanrong sighed, gritted his teeth and said, "We can't set up camp now. Let's do it before the sun sets. We have to go around the Heavenly Lake and advance another fifty li. Big Brother Hu, tell our brothers to fill up their water pouches and the warhorses. Let's continue our journey. "
Hu Bugui understood his intentions, nodded and left. Lin Wanrong paused for a long time as he stared at the glittering surface of the lake under the setting sun. Then, he suddenly lashed out with his horsewhip. He took the lead.
The Heavenly Lake of Helan Mountain covered a vast area, and even after two hours of walking along the lakeshore, they still had not completely circled around it. The further they went, the softer the ground beneath their feet and the more silt there was. Not only the warhorses, but even the humans found it difficult to step over. They could only cautiously lead their horses forward.
"Big Brother Hu, it doesn't look too good." Lin Wanrong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, pulled Hu Bugui aside, and cautiously glanced around, his voice extremely low. Dozens of feet in front of them, Li Wuling and his scout team were scouting the way.
"What's wrong?" Hu Bugui asked in a low voice.
"Quiet, too quiet." Lin Wanrong swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his eyes anxiously looking around. They had already reached the end of the Heavenly Lake. In front of them was a dense forest filled with ancient trees, rotten leaves and pine needles falling to the ground, piling up a thick layer of carpet. At sunset, it should be the time for tired birds to return to the forest, but there was a deathly silence in the forest. Apart from their own breathing, there was not the slightest sound.
It was indeed too quiet. In such a large forest, one could not hear the chirping of birds and insects, and could not see the weeds and wildflowers. Under the faint setting sun, the forest was unexpectedly flashing with a strange pale yellow light. Hu Bugui's hair stood on end, and he subconsciously tugged at Gao Qiu's sleeve. Before they could say anything, they suddenly heard a scream in front of them, "Retreat, brothers, retreat, ah — —"
The five or six scouts who were advancing in front, just as their front feet touched the ground, their bodies fell straight forward. As soon as they cried out, the swamp beneath the larch needles instantly revealed a large black mouth, swallowing their bodies in the blink of an eye.
"It's the Dead Quagmire — — stop, everyone stop." Hu Bugui's shout was a little late. The dozen scouts at the front tilted, and before they could blink, the quagmire had drowned their heads.
"Little Li — —" Seeing that Li Wuling, who was at the back of the team, had stepped into the air, and his head was plunging straight into the quagmire, Lin Wanrong was furious. With a roar, he pounced forward like a mad wolf.
Gao Qiu, who was at his side, was frightened out of his wits. "Brother Lin, don't, that's a quagmire — —" Lin Wanrong's movements were extremely fast, rushing over. Gao Qiu could not hold him back, so he screamed and pounced forward, grabbing onto Lin Wanrong's legs. The moment Lin Wanrong fell to the ground, he tightly grabbed onto Little Li's hand.
Li Wuling sunk deep into the quagmire, the mud had already reached his nose, his face flushed red, and he desperately shook his head, struggling to sink.
"Little Li, hold on!" Lin Wanrong yelled angrily, grabbing onto Li Wuling's hand and desperately pulling him up. But the quagmire was formed from thousands of years of accumulation, and was extremely strong. No matter how much strength he exerted, Li Wuling's body still slowly sank into the mud.
"Let me!" Hu Bugui yelled, fiercely throwing himself to the ground, grabbing onto Li Wuling's other hand. The several soldiers behind him also lay on the ground, tightly hugging onto Hu Bugui's legs. Like pulling a carrot, the dozens of people simultaneously exerted their strength, dragging Li Wuling's body out of the quagmire inch by inch.
Of the more than twenty scouts, only Li Wuling was saved, the rest had all sunk into the deep quagmire, and not even their bodies could be found. Li Wuling clenched his fists, his face pale, looking at the quagmire where his comrades had disappeared, his eyes filled with tears. In an instant, this carefree youngster had matured a lot.
"Don't cry." Lin Wanrong's face was as black as ink, silently picking up a large blade that was left in the quagmire, stroking it for a long time, and then handed it to Li Wuling, fiercely yelling, "Straighten your back — Li Wuling, remember, a man only cries when he wins."
Li Wuling wiped away his tears and snot, the expression on his face instantly turned solemn. Lin Wanrong nodded, patting him on the shoulder, his expression incomparably solemn, "Write down the names of these brothers here — — If I can return alive, I promise you, they will be the most respected people in China."
Lin San had never failed to keep his promise, this was a well-known truth. Li Wuling gratefully grunted, wiping away his tears, but his face was no longer as innocent as before.
Having lost more than twenty good brothers for no reason, the atmosphere in the camp suddenly became gloomy. This quagmire was the only path to the northwest, so they had to go through it. Hu Bugui organized people to chop down trees overnight, and countless wooden planks were assembled together to increase the surface area of the quagmire, spreading it inch by inch. The newly formed scout team carefully and slowly moved forward, walking a full five or six miles before they passed through the forest and set foot on the thick black soil.
After receiving the scout's report, Lin Wanrong nodded indifferently, looking at the quagmire that had swallowed more than twenty brothers, his eyes flashing with a fiery flame.
"To the fallen warriors — — salute!" Lin Wanrong bellowed.
"Shua — —" Countless snow-white steel blades drew a sharp arc in the air, raised high in front of the chests of the soldiers. The flashing cold light broke through the forest and mountain peaks, straight into the depths of the sky.
After passing through the quagmire, it was already five o 'clock the next day. The sky was still dark, and the plan to set up camp had long been foiled. Lin Wanrong simply decided to go all out, reorganized the troops, and in one breath advanced dozens of miles.
"General Lin, quickly look — —" Hu Bugui's voice startled Lin Wanrong, who was still in deep thought. He looked up, only to see the clouds and mist under his feet, so deep that he could not see the bottom. It was a precipitous cliff. Opposite him was a towering mountain peak thirty feet away, piercing straight into the clouds, dangerously close to the horizon. The Heaven Lake of Helan Mountain flowed here, falling vertically, forming a beautiful waterfall that reached the Nine Heavens, the sound of water crashing against the rocks. It was incomparably clear.
A dead end!!! Lin Wanrong's eyes widened, and cold sweat trickled down her face. He had spent so much time and energy, and also sacrificed dozens of good brothers, thinking of passing through Helan Mountain, but he did not think that. A precipitous cliff would ruin all hope.
"What's there to look at?" He shook his head speechlessly. "A cliff filled with bitterness and hatred!"
"No," Hu Bugui said anxiously. "It's not this cliff. Look, quickly look into the distance — — "
In the distant horizon, there was a crescent moon as white as snow. Faint light sprinkled over every corner of the desert grassland. In the dusky horizon, the morning stars were sometimes bright and sometimes dark, faintly twinkling. Mixed in the distant sky, there was an unusually fiery little star, constantly swaying and twinkling.
"Isn't it just a star, what's there to look at?" Gao Qiu said.
Hu Bugui hurriedly shook his head. "My brother Gao, you're confused, how can that be a star? That's the place we swore to find — — Bayanhaote!!! "
"What, what did you say?! Bayanhaote?! "Lin Wanrong was shocked. He grabbed Hu Bugui. "Brother Hu, isn't that a star? How do you know that's Bayanhaote? "
Hu Bugui smiled. "Brother Lin, when it comes to the customs of the Turks, you can't compare to me. The Turks lived on horseback, and it was common for them to lose their way in the desert grassland after riding hundreds of miles in a night. The Turks would light huge bonfires at night to point the way home for the tribal warriors. This bonfire was also a symbol of the strength of each tribe. The stronger the tribe, the bigger and brighter the bonfire. After the Turks established the Khaganate, due to the many battles, the custom gradually evolved into lighting bonfires at important junctions. Judging from the direction, the brightest 'star' you saw is in the northwest, so it should be Bayanhaote. Looking at the distance, it should be hundreds of miles away. "
That's Bayanhaote?! The excitement in Lin Wanrong's heart was indescribable. At the most desperate time, the sudden appearance of the destination gave him a pleasant surprise, but also ignited a glimmer of hope in his heart.
Silently staring at the fiery red 'star' for a long time, Lin Wanrong clenched his fists and turned his eyes to the opposite cliff. "Brother Gao, do you know archery?"
Gao Qiu boasted shamelessly. "Brother Lin, didn't I tell you that I'm an all-rounder?!"
"Good!" Lin Wanrong shouted, took the strong bow from Hu Bugui's hands and handed it to the old master. "Brother Gao, do you see the big tree opposite, shoot him!"
This crossbow had been modified, with an extremely thick rope tied to the back. It was dozens of feet long and coiled heavily on the ground.
Gao Qiu was shocked. "Brother Lin, do you mean we slide along the rope? But what about the war horses? "
Lin Wanrong clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "At this time, we can't care so much. Bayanhaote is the granary of the Turks, there should be no shortage of horses! Brother Gao, you just need to answer me, can we go over? "
Gao Qiu nodded vigorously. "Snatch the war horses of the Turks, snatch the women of the Turks — — I, Old Gao, have trained hard for thirty years, and I can finally put it to use. Look at my divine arrow, shoot — — "
He roared, pulled the crossbow, raised the bow, and shot. The arrow sped along with the rope, and with a loud thud, it hit the trunk of the old tree opposite and disappeared.
"Good skill!" Lin Wanrong praised and took the lead to applaud.
Gao Qiu laughed and shot out two more ropes, both hitting the target. He tied the rope around his waist, gave a cupped fist salute to everyone, and slid like a meteor straight to the opposite cliff.
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