Sizzle!
Blood kept spurting out from Guo Nu's neck and fell into the bonfire, giving off a very faint burnt smell. He collapsed on the ground and kicked his legs desperately. His boots kicked up clumps of mud, but he still could not stop the arrival of death, and could not stop his crotch from being wet with urine.
Some retinues stood up in shock, but no one dared to move because of years of prestige.
Zi Mo's face appeared in the dark. He used his hand, which was no longer strong but still stable, to take back the metal wire around Guo Nu's neck and wipe off the remaining blood and flesh.
He looked at the retinues with complicated expressions around the bonfire and said expressionlessly, "Even a disabled person is not someone you can disrespect. Never underestimate the means we have learned in the Judicial Department. So if you don't want to die, you'd better stay calm."
The retinues slowly sat back down and lowered their heads. No one knew what they were thinking or if they were really calm.
The current crisis was temporarily resolved, but the commanders in front of the bonfire still looked extremely pale and gloomy, just like their mood at this time. Their desperate future was one of the reasons. The most important thing was that they still could not accept the reality. They used to be respected commanders of the cavalrymen of Divine Hall. Even the generals of the South Jin Kingdom had to be respectful when they saw them. But now a random state army of the South Jin Kingdom dared to besiege them, and they were besieged so miserably that even their own retinues dared to betray them!
"Your Excellency, what … should we do?"
A Divine Commander's voice trembled as he asked in despair.
Zi Mo was the most experienced and powerful among these fallen cavalrymen of Divine Hall commanders. He was elected as the leader by the crowd. At this time, they could only hope that he could come up with a solution.
Zi Mo also did not know what to do. Where could these disabled and defeated soldiers go next? In fact, if it weren't for the punishment of the Divine Hall of Judgment, they could still be honored guests of all countries with their wisdom and strategies, as well as their ability to command on the battlefield. However, the Divine Hall of Judgment had cut off this possibility in advance. Every time he thought of this, his hatred and fear for the young Divine Priest grew stronger.
Now the only thing he could rely on was himself. Only by restoring his strength and becoming strong again could he survive in this world.
However, how could he become strong again when his cultivation was destroyed?
The legendary elixir was just a legend after all.
Zi Mo laughed at himself, then said in a low voice, "Wash up and go to sleep."
Hot water was nowhere to be found in the wilderness. While escaping, he could not care about enjoyment and could only sleep. Someone used soil to extinguish the bonfire, and the forest suddenly became pitch-black. The thick clouds in the night sky covered all the stars, indicating that there might be a storm tomorrow.
Some of them could not bear the exhaustion brought about by the escape and fell into a deep sleep.
Some people could not sleep while imagining a hopeless future.
Zi Hei looked at the dark night above his head and thought of the heavy rain tomorrow. His heart became heavier and heavier. He slowly clenched his trembling hands in extreme pain.
He desperately and unwillingly thought, If I can regain my strength and become as strong as before, then I'm willing to give my life and everything to Netherworld King.
In the silent night forest, there were still many people praying in despair.
…
…
The sky was gloomy, but there was no rain, nor was there a rainstorm. However, there were clouds covering the sun, and the midsummer journey became much cooler. Since there was no sun, Sangsang did not need to bask in the sun through the skylight of the horse carriage. Ning Que naturally occupied that position. He stepped on the soft couch and stretched his upper body out of the skylight. Facing the wind blowing on the official road, he looked at the surrounding scenery and felt a sense of joy like a rich man.
It had been a few days since they left Chang 'an, and the black horse carriage had been following the diplomatic mission from afar. Although they had taken several county roads along the way, they were never worried about losing track of them due to the intelligence reports from the government, especially from the secret guards. It was the same even when they left the wilderness and entered the mountains in the south.
A vast range of mountains appeared in the middle of the southern wilderness of the Tang Empire, dividing the territory into two regions. Perhaps the mountains had a certain influence on the climate. The same fertile soil in the south and north of the mountains produced very different crops. However, the black horse carriage was traveling in the mountains at this time, so Ning Que and Sangsang did not feel any difference.
Compared with the familiar Min Mountain, the mountains in the south of the Tang Empire were not so high. However, because the rock was special and easily dissolved in water, there were landslides all year round, which made the peaks strange and steep, extremely difficult to climb. Fortunately, there was a valley with dense green plants in the mountains, and the bottom of the valley was a natural passage. Otherwise, if they wanted to connect the north and the south, they might have to detour for more than a thousand miles.
Hundreds of years ago, the Tang Empire used a lot of manpower and material resources to widen the valley, and used Talisman Masters and Tactical Array Masters to strengthen the two loose and dangerous cliffs of the valley. Then, they planted numerous trees with developed roots that could stabilize the rocks, and finally, the natural road in the valley became a very smooth official road.
The black horse carriage traveled on the smooth official road and in the quiet valley. Ning Que leaned out of the skylight and squinted to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the official road. Looking at the green and calm cliffs, he imagined the great transformation of nature by the Tang people hundreds of years ago. He thought of the Talisman Masters and Tactical Array Masters with white hair because of the exhaustion of Psyche Power, and the soldiers and craftsmen who fell off the cliffs. He could not help but feel a little heroic. This heroic feeling had nothing to do with the skylight of the black horse carriage, and had nothing to do with the rich man.
The Tang Empire had gone through so much difficulty to open up this mountain range and connect the central and southern territories. It was easy to imagine the strategic importance of this beautiful and verdant valley.
Ning Que could faintly see that there were extremely dangerous and steep mountain paths in the distance of the valley. Beside those mountain paths, there were extremely simple and crude guard stations a few miles away. Looking at the scale of the buildings in the guard stations, there were probably no more than ten Tang soldiers stationed there. Thinking of the Tang soldiers stationed in the boring guard stations all year round, even someone as indifferent as Ning Que could not help but feel a sense of admiration.
Even the most verdant valley would be a little boring after looking at it for too long. Even the most heroic emotions would calm down after a long time, and even the most vicissitudes of history would become indifferent after experiencing it for a long time. Ning Que sat back in the horse carriage and drank the herbal tea on the short table. When he calmed down, he picked up the brush and began to write.
The purpose of going to the Lanke Temple this time was to cure and save people. At the same time, he was also seeking Buddhism, so there should not be any danger. However, Ning Que still maintained the habits of his youth. He was always ready to face a battle of life and death. Therefore, he was not writing a calligraphy section, but a talisman. The talismans he had written in the past two years had all been used on Xia Hou in the battle at the Winter Lake. He had to prepare more now.
After some time, Ning Que raised his head and put down his brush to rest. He rubbed his eyes and looked out of the window. He found that he was still in the valley and could not help but be a little surprised at how long the valley was.
When he was writing the talisman, Sangsang was tidying up the luggage beside him. She touched something and looked at it for a long time before she guessed what it was. She frowned and asked, "How did it become like this?"
She held a small iron kettle in her hand. Looking at the deep lines on the outside of the kettle, it should be the same kind of thing as the small iron kettle that had exploded in the lotus field of the snow lake. However, it was much smaller and the shape was also very different. The most obvious difference was that there was an extra bayonet at the bottom of the small iron kettle.
"This is a whimsical idea of Fourth Brother. Who would have thought that Sixth Brother would really do it? Before we left the Academy, we tried it once. That day, you and Xiaotang went to the back of the mountain to pick wisteria and cook meat, so you didn't see it."
Ning Que took the small iron kettle that looked a little delicate — it seemed more accurate to call it a small iron tube now — took out a Talisman Arrow from the iron box and inserted it into the bayonet at the bottom of the small iron tube.
With a click, the arrow and the bayonet of the small iron tube were locked tightly. It was so tight that there was not a gap, and it seemed to be unusually stable.
Sangsang reached out to try it and said, "It won't fall."
Since he was a little older, Ning Que's weapons had been handled by her personally. She was very experienced in sharpening knives and repairing bowstrings. If she said it wouldn't fall, then it wouldn't.
Ning Que took out the iron bow and assembled it. He put the Talisman Arrow in the small iron tube on the bowstring and calmly looked out of the window at the Verdant Canyon cliff trees that kept moving backward. His breathing gradually calmed down.
The Primordial Thirteen Arrows were originally extremely terrifying weapons. Now that the people at the back of the mountain of the Academy had forcibly added such a thing, it could be imagined that once it was shot, it would definitely cause a great commotion. This was not the back of the mountain of the Academy, so Ning Que could not really shoot it out. Otherwise, if he shot down the cliff that the previous generation of Talisman Masters and Tactical Array Masters had painstakingly reinforced, even the Headmaster of the Academy would not spare him, let alone His Majesty.
After a moment, he put down the iron bow in his hand and said a few words. Sangsang shook her head and took the iron arrow from his hand. She said, "Although it's not a big problem, the tail of the arrow has to be adjusted … The original Talisman Arrow could ignore wind resistance and even use the wind as a help. But now the Talisman Arrow has to be heavier. The most troublesome thing is that the area of the arrowhead facing the wind is too large. If you still want to ensure the accuracy, the shooting distance will definitely be greatly shortened."
Ning Que stuffed the bow and arrow into her arms and reached out to take a water radish. He started to chew it and said in a very irresponsible manner, "It's up to you."
…
…
The black horse carriage finally drove out of the verdant canyon and came to the southernmost plain of the Tang Empire. The scenery on both sides of the state highway suddenly opened up, but the wind became a little gentler because there was more water.
Ning Que's attention was still on the vast mountains behind him. The moment he came out of the canyon, he suddenly thought that there were countless tactical arrays and talismans set up by the predecessors in the canyon. If a strong enemy were to invade from the south in the future, he only needed a Great Divine Talisman Master like Yan Se to dispel these tactical arrays and talismans to block the canyon. Even if more than ten thousand cavalry came to attack, it would be impossible for them to attack the heart of the Tang Empire at a high speed.
Soon he rejected his own idea.
There were so many tactical arrays and talismans in the canyon, and it was impossible for one person to destroy them, even if his master was reborn. Unless the empire had already tampered with these tactical arrays when they opened up the canyon.
And even if the cliff collapsed and the road was blocked, the mountains would block the Tang Empire's reinforcements from the south at the same time. In the war, only a simple road was needed. The strong enemy who had the courage and strength to attack the Tang Empire must have enough Tactical Array Masters and Talisman Masters to forcibly open a road for the cavalry to drive. Then the initiative of the battlefield might fall into the hands of these enemies.
Therefore, his war deduction still needed a peerless powerhouse to guard the exit of the Verdant Canyon.
That powerhouse must be strong enough to kill the Buddha, the Devil, and the Taoist priest. Moreover, he could not rest, let alone sleep, eat or drink. He might even have to fight with the enemy's powerhouses for three days and three nights.
Thinking of this, Ning Que could not help laughing. He thought that there was no such a powerful person in the world. Even if there was, how could such a powerful person be so stupid to fall into a situation of certain death?
…
…
(I am looking forward to the future in advance. Green Mountain, Verdant Canyon, see you in the next volume.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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