"No, that's not it …"
The general's face darkened, but it was too late to make up for it. Fu Wang would not listen to his excuses.
Fu Wang walked up and used his free hand to violently wipe away the dirt on the general's face. He brought the torch in his right hand closer to examine it.
He laughed coldly. "Ignorant child, don't you know that I've seen An Cui before?"
The general's mouth was bitter. How could he know that Fu Wang had seen An Cui before? He had been exposed almost immediately.
If that was all, it would have been fine, but he had made an extremely stupid mistake — even if this ambush was a trap, they could not have known that An Cui was personally leading the army. In other words, there was no need for the general to put on An Cui's clothes to draw the enemy away. Not only would this not buy time, but it would also expose the fact that An Cui was among the fleeing troops, drawing the enemy's pursuit.
The correct method should have been for An Cui to disguise himself as a fleeing soldier and use the chaos to escape into the dense forest. Only then would he have a chance to escape.
In the end …
Because of the urgency of the situation, he had neglected this point and exposed his lord An Cui's existence.
Not only that, but this mighty general had seen An Cui before. Once An Cui was captured, there was basically no hope of escape.
Thinking of this, the general was so regretful that he wanted to commit suicide.
Fu Wang observed the captive's expression coldly. He had already figured it out.
He had lied. Fu Wang had never seen An Cui in person, only his portrait. He had lied to deceive the captive.
"Men!"
Fu Wang suppressed the wild joy in his heart. If he could capture An Cui alive, how great of a contribution would that be?
All men were ambitious, and Fu Wang was no exception.
The general heard the commotion and hurried forward to receive orders. Fu Wang ordered him to send more men to hunt down the fleeing fish.
"You go first, I'll follow soon."
Military merit was very attractive, but Fu Wang would not abandon the battlefield for military merit. What if he accidentally tricked Xie Ze?
The general was ordered to retreat. When An Cui's general heard this, his vision darkened and he almost fainted.
Fu Wang glanced disdainfully at the captured enemy general. He was stupid, but he still thought himself clever. It was time for him to train his brain.
The deputy general had been Fu Wang's right-hand man for many years. He had once followed Fu Wang's adoptive father, Fu Yang, when he was young. Now, he was also an experienced and prudent old man. Fu Wang was completely at ease leaving the heavy responsibility of pursuing An Cui to him. Even if Si Jiang could not catch An Cui, he would not let An Cui escape so easily. Once Fu Wang settled the situation on this side, he would quickly catch up to them.
Fu Wang's plan was undoubtedly very comprehensive, but he had forgotten one thing — his lord was focused on snatching the kill!
On the other side of the story, An Cui disguised himself as an ordinary soldier and was running for his life on horseback.
There wasn't much light in the dark night. They could barely see the small path, but they couldn't see the specific road. Thus, this escape route was very bumpy. Under the whipping of the horse, the warhorse galloped forward with all its might. The oncoming night wind slapped against its face, causing it to hurt. Ann Cui felt like vomiting from the jolting, but he didn't dare to stop the whip. He could only endure the paleness of his face and continue.
"Hyah!"
An Cui whipped the warhorse under him again. The warhorse neighed in pain. Its front hooves suddenly missed their footing, and its strong body fell forward. They didn't know what it had touched, but the horse's leg made a bone-cracking sound. The warhorse's body fell heavily to the ground due to inertia. An Cui was also thrown backward by the force of the fall. He rolled on the ground twice, his teeth scraping against the skin of his mouth. The thick taste of blood spread in his mouth. The others couldn't care less about the half-dead warhorse. They hurriedly pulled on the reins to stop the warhorse and dismounted to help An Cui up.
An Cui's luck was pretty good. Even after such a heavy fall, he had only loosened his front teeth, seen stars, and suffered some superficial wounds.
If he had been unlucky, his organs might have been displaced by the weight of the warhorse.
"My lord!"
"My lord!"
Cries of "my lord" rang out in An Cui's ears. An Cui took a few deep breaths before he managed to regain his composure. He felt like he was standing on solid ground.
When he thought back to the dangerous scene just now, he was very flustered. He had almost thought that he was going to die.
"I'm fine. Time is of the essence, let's leave as soon as possible."
An Cui raised a hand and wiped his face heavily. He accidentally pressed down on the bruises on his face, and the pain made him suck in a cold breath.
"This general has offended you." A certain general helped An Cui onto his warhorse. After he was seated properly, he flipped himself onto the horse. He grabbed the reins and lashed out with his whip. The fleeing group that had stopped set off once again. Everyone's hearts were in their throats. They didn't dare to stop.
Even so, they had still been discovered by the enemy. The sound of hooves behind them was getting closer.
The two sides were in hot pursuit, and the distance between them was very close.
When the sound of hooves entered An Cui's ears, it didn't sound like they were stepping on the ground, but more like they were stepping on his heart to hasten his death!
"Chase them — they're right ahead!"
"Hyah!"
The hooves of the horses stomped on the ground, causing the sand on the ground to tremble slightly as if an earthquake had occurred.
This scene reminded An Cui of his great escape experience in the past. At that time, he had also been riding on a horse that he had stolen. He had whipped the horse with all his might in an attempt to shake off the southern barbarian soldiers who were chasing after him. He had been chased so hard that he couldn't breathe. He didn't have the energy to recall the tragic deaths of his parents, wives, concubines, and children. There was only one thought left in his mind — escape, survive, and take revenge!
In the end, he had been shot three times in the back by the enemy. While unconscious, he had jumped into the fast-flowing river and luckily escaped with his life.
When the ice-cold river water had submerged his head, his brocade clothes had absorbed all the water, and his exhausted body had flowed along with the river water, he had thought that he was dead for sure. After experiencing a long period of darkness, he had woken up despite his tenacity. Dragging his body full of injuries, he had tried his best to leave Nansheng. In the first half of his life, An Cui had been a nobleman who had enjoyed a life of luxury. He had never had to do any chores. However, during the few years he had been on the run, An Cui had suffered countless hardships and had struggled on the edge of life and death several times. Every time, he had wanted to give up, but the nightmares would always remind him of the tragic deaths of his wife, children, and parents, stirring up the indignation and hatred in his heart … In the end, he had gone into exile in Dongqing.
Many years had passed. An Cui had thought that the most difficult days were far away from him. He hadn't expected that he would have the chance to relive them today. Back then, he had been fortunate enough to survive. In the end, he had made a comeback and destroyed the southern barbarians to take revenge. If he could escape today, he might be able to create another miracle.
An Cui harbored such thoughts. His silent eyes seemed to be burning with two clusters of flames.
Whether it was Lu Zheng who had betrayed him, Jiang Pengji who had stopped him, or Hua Yuan who had secretly disobeyed him …
An Cui was immersed in his own emotions when he suddenly heard the voice of the general under the tent. It was just a few words, but they were like the sounds of nature.
"My lord, we've shaken off our pursuers!"
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