It was already the darkest time before dawn. Shi Jin sat on the wooden beam. Hearing Zhou Dong mention Lin Chong's name, he didn't know how to answer. After a long silence, he heard Zhou Dong ask, "How is Lin Chong now?"
Something was stuck in Shi Jin's throat. He swallowed his saliva and said, "After Liangshan fell, that time … he said he would see you in Yiyuan County. Later … I don't know why, but he didn't go back to us. When I heard about him again, he was being chased and might have died. "
The old man frowned and closed his eyes, "Dead?"
Shi Jin said, "Maybe dead."
"That means he's not dead," Zhou Dong said, "We can see each other again in the future."
In the dim light, the old man's voice was calm. It was more like a kind of certainty than expectation or comfort. Shi Jin saw Lin Chong fall off the cliff. He didn't know where the old man's certainty came from. But at this time, they were trapped in the city and had to do something that was almost equivalent to death. They didn't care about this matter in their hearts.
After a while, he asked, "Senior Zhou, when will Nie Han enter the city?"
"I don't know," Zhou Dong replied, "Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after tomorrow. When the Female Zhenren sent troops, I was in the territory of the Jin Kingdom, following their army all the way south. Nie Han is a bit brave. He won't wait until there is no one in the city. When the resistance in Xinzhou City is almost killed, he will enter the city. "
Shi Jin frowned, "Then we have more than 70 people to hide in the city for at least two days?"
Zhou Dong said, "It's not easy, but there's no other way."
Between the two, the conversation and the answer were very simple. After that, the courtyard became quiet. The courtyard that had been looted was filled with the smell of blood and fire. The body of the dead owner was still near the front door, and the sound of the Jin Men fighting could be faintly heard. The old man stood up and walked to the other end of the courtyard. Then he picked up two sticks and threw one to him.
"You are Wang Jin's disciple. Practice a set of Devil-subduing Stick with me."
As he spoke, he got into a stance. The Demon Subduing Staff was a basic staff technique in Jianghu. It was simple and simple. Shi Jin had practiced it countless times. At this time, he also put on a stance. When the old man swung the first stick, he also followed.
There was not much power, and there was not much sound of breaking the wind. Zhou Dong led Shi Jin to perform the routine of this stick technique. Under the eaves of the nearby houses, there were also other martial artists who raised their heads to watch this scene. Zhou Dong's staff techniques were only smooth and average.
Only Shi Jin, after finishing a set, his whole body had relaxed, and a warm breath was swimming in his body. At his level of martial arts, if he wanted to take another step forward, he would need to understand the mysteries of the mysteries. In Ning Yi's words, he would even need to sublimate his three views and philosophical system. Zhou Dong's stick technique was almost the same as his, but after they were in sync, Zhou Dong also prompted him to make slight adjustments and changes in the tiniest details. These small details gave him a glimpse of a perfect possibility.
The courtyard was quiet. After he finished practicing the set of staff techniques, Zhou Dong nodded at him and walked away.
Not long after, this brief moment of peace was gone …
*****
Before Wu Han entered the city, more than seventy people had to hide in the city for at least two days.
This was just a simple conversation between Shi Jin and Zhou Dong, but when it fell on the practical level, what followed was the most difficult period of time.
When Xinzhou City was suddenly breached, the four gates were closed, and the Wu dynasty army, which was divided in the city, formed a large-scale resistance and fought in the streets. During this period of time, Shi Jin and the others had a good time. However, on the morning of the eighth day of the eighth month, the army had either died or surrendered, and the organized resistance had completely collapsed.
The Female Zhenren's massacre and looting team spread out in the city. On this day, the huge net of search and capture that had been spread out became thinner and thinner. The real hell had descended on Xinzhou City. Massacres, looting, and fires could be seen everywhere. Civilians hiding in the city were captured in large numbers, and women with a little bit of beauty were inevitably raped. Those who dared to resist were killed, beaten, or even hung on flagpoles and burned alive, or tied to horses and dragged to death. Scenes of people dying could be seen everywhere.
Occasionally, when they encountered large-scale resistance, the Female Zhenren would release whistling arrows, and nearby companions would quickly come to support them.
This was a carnival that belonged to the Female Zhenren and the original Liao people.
Shi Jin and the others shuttled through the city to hide. Even though most of them were experts, they couldn't use their fists and feet here. The tragedies they occasionally witnessed made them feel indescribable resentment. There were also those who suddenly encountered the Female Zhenren patrol team and couldn't avoid them in time, or those who couldn't swallow their killing intent and suddenly attacked. On this day, more than ten people were successively injured.
Great fatigue accumulated on everyone's body, but the biggest loss was on this afternoon, when they accidentally encountered a family hiding in the city. Seeing that most of them were experts and heroes, the other party cried and shouted for Shi Jin and the others to take them. After being unable to explain clearly, the family, which was almost driven crazy, began to madly follow them, shouting loudly.
The Female Zhenren cavalry was lured over. At the corner of the ruined street, the last group of people were caught up. When Shi Jin looked back, he saw that the people at the intersection were no longer running. Their leader was the old Taoist priest, Chou Henian. He was already old, and his neat Taoist robe was now in tatters. However, his gait still had an otherworldly grace that was worthy of respect.
He waved his hand, pulled out his sword, and led the injured martial artists to meet the Female Zhenren cavalry.
Shi Jin and the others never saw him again. It was only on the afternoon of the next day, when they ran through the nearby streets, that they caught a glimpse of a corpse hanging from a flagpole. The corpse was broken and twisted, missing an arm, a leg, and a head. Only a touch of blue that seemed to belong to the Taoist robe could be faintly seen amidst the black blood that had dyed the corpse black. But because so many people had died nearby, he couldn't be sure if it was the old Taoist priest's corpse.
After this day, it was still a long and tense night, followed by a long and tense day. The most powerful thing about a martial artist was the anger in their heart. They could burst forth with a single drum, then weaken with a second, and exhaust with a third. If the cries and hot-bloodedness at the beginning could raise morale, then waiting and hiding like this gave people the feeling of a soft knife cutting through their flesh.
The Female Zhenren's search became more and more intense. Would Nu Han come? When Nu Han came, would they still have the strength? Would there still be enough people to stand in front of him? All of this was slowly cutting into everyone's heart. Things that really made people passionate and impassioned might only appear when others talked about it, and those who really participated in it would only experience great pain and suffering …
Only on the afternoon of the ninth day of the eighth month, when it was almost dusk, did a piece of news arrive, causing all of these things to surge out from their hearts. At this time, there were only thirty-eight people left by Zhou Dong's side who could truly fight.
Nu Han had entered the city.
*****
When the setting sun turned warm yellow on the horizon, the autumn leaves were swaying in the wind. When Wanyan Xiyin looked up, it was a big tree that had been burned in half, half charred black, and the other half with yellow leaves.
Not far away came the cries of women, screams, and laughter, but it seemed that there was not much resistance nearby. Wanyan Xiyin took a deep breath. When the deputy general came over, he vaguely heard him sigh.
"The green mountains are far away … the autumn wind is raging …"
The deputy general looked around, but the autumn wind was soothing, the leaves slowly swayed, and the wind blew on his face, making him feel warm.
A whistling arrow flew up not far away.
… …
Wanyan Zonghan's cavalry entered a Taoist temple on the side of the city.
This Taoist temple had not been ravaged by the flames of war, but there were some bloodstains on one side of the steps. Large trees with lush leaves were lined up in two rows, stretching from the vestibule to the main hall of the Taoist temple. A raging fire was burning in the copper tripod in front of the main hall.
The sky was about to turn dark. The people who followed Wanyan Zonghan into the city were tall and sturdy, their steps steady. Most of them were important generals in the army, as well as close brothers and relatives, such as Generals Wanyan Yinshuke and Wanyan Balisu, Great General Chi Xian, Zonghan's cousin Wanyan Saba, and Zonghan's number one warrior in the army, Moyan Dangshi, and so on. They were all warriors who had followed Aguda to the south and destroyed Liao, and each of them had an awe-inspiring record of meritorious service.
Now that they had reached Xinzhou, their next goal was the largest and most fortified city on the east side of the river, Taiyuan.
In the evening breeze, the crowd walked towards this dignified Han Taoist temple. The soldiers who had gone ahead had already cleared the surroundings and set up a command hall here.
… …
Two nearby groups of Jurchen cavalry charged towards the place where the whistling arrows had come from.
Not long after, two whistling arrows rose up from another street. Wanyan Xiyin, who was moving forward, frowned as he listened to the nearby troops move in that direction.
A thought flashed through his mind. He reined in his horse and stopped in the middle of the road. The whistling arrows of the Jurchen soldiers were only released when they encountered a difficult enemy that they couldn't defeat. If they were randomly released, they would also be punished. Between yesterday afternoon and this morning, whistling arrows had been released more frequently in the city. By this time, the vicinity should have been cleared out, so why were there suddenly more of them?
Then, he saw another whistling arrow fly out in the distance.
Wanyan Xiyin frowned. After a moment, he suddenly turned his horse around.
"Come back with me to find Marshal Zonghan. There might be something …"
Before he finished speaking, a whistling arrow also suddenly rose in the direction of Wanyan Zonghan and the other generals.
"Go!"
With a sudden roar, he drew his sword and madly ran.
The surrounding streets suddenly exploded, and the surrounding personal guards also madly ran with him!
… …
"Kill!"
An explosive shout suddenly rang out from the west side of the Taoist temple, followed by the sounds of fierce fighting.
In the main hall, everyone turned around and heard the invading enemy fighting with the soldiers. The sound of battle cries continued to spread, and it was clear that the newcomer was a true expert. At the bottom of the steps, the leader of Zonghan's personal guards, a burly man named Moyan Dengshi, untied his spear and looked at the wall.
"The newcomer is very powerful."
"It's just one or two people, a desperate struggle." Wanyan Zonghan listened for a while. "Don't worry about him. Don't fall into the trap of luring the tiger away from the mountain."
The sounds of fighting soon died down. It was clear that the invading enemy had been beheaded. Zonghan turned around and walked to the seat at the top of the main hall. In the courtyard on the west side, the Jurchen guards cut off the heads of the intruders. At the same time, in the courtyard on the east side, martial artists were flying in through a small secret hole. This Taoist temple occupied a large area, and there were many Jurchen soldiers guarding nearby. But after all, it was once a Han place. When the Jurchen began to clean up the surroundings, the people of Greenwood responsible for surveillance were able to roughly determine Zonghan's position after coming in, and then found a loophole.
The Jurchen soldier in the courtyard on the west side ran to the main hall with the heads. He knelt down and raised the two heads. Just as he was about to speak, the sound of fighting rang out.
Countless weapons clashed and killed. Whistling arrows flew into the sky. In the east side, someone shouted, "Kill Zonghan."
"Kill Zonghan —"
Then there was a thunderous voice, "Kill Zonghan —"
The sound of a frantic confrontation rose to the peak in that instant, causing one's hair to stand on end. The noise in the courtyard on the east side spread amidst this huge commotion, and in the blink of an eye, it was coming towards the main hall. The Jurchen's outer defenses were easily cut down. At the gate outside the courtyard, the Jurchen soldiers seemed to have been pushed forward by ten thousand horses. Broken corpses flew past everyone's eyes with streaks of blood.
An arrow flew across the long courtyard with a violent whistling sound, heading straight for Wanyan Zonghan's face. Wanyan Zonghan pulled out the long saber at his waist and slashed the arrow in the air. "Get into formation!"
The figures of the Wu dynasty's Jurchen jumped over the walls and roofs of the courtyard, throwing darts at the guards in the courtyard. In the main hall, Wanyan Bali rushed down the stairs, pulled out the steel spear on his back, and took a few steps forward. The steel spear whistled towards the roof, piercing straight into the chest of a Jurchen. The steel spear pierced through the Jurchen's body like a cannonball, and flew into the air with blood. "Get into formation —"
The dozens of Jurchen guards in the courtyard had already gathered in front of the main hall. Moyan Dangshi waved his steel spear and roared thunderously, "Get into formation — kill them —"
The Jurchen experts wielding different weapons surged out from the gate, outside the walls, and on the roofs. Most of them were injured, but their killing intent was overflowing, and their eyes were fierce. Before this, the hostility and killing intent that had been accumulating in their hearts finally erupted at this moment.
In front of them were the Jurchen elites who had killed their way out of the White Mountains and Black Waters. They had struggled to survive on the land that was covered in snow all year round. Before this, they had risen up in revolt and destroyed the entire Liao nation. To them, this campaign to the south was as simple as playing a game. But at this moment, at least in a small area, they finally felt the huge killing intent pressing in on them. The Essence Qi Beacon of the Northern Lands had crossed thousands of miles and finally spread to this place.
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