August 30th, in the northwest.
It rained at the end of autumn and there was no sign of it stopping. The heavy rain fell on the barren hills, short trees and withered grass, flowing water, and occasionally, corpses could be seen lying on the ground. The man or the warhorse stopped breathing forever in the mud or the bushes.
Last night's chaotic battlefield, the tracks of fighting extended for more than ten miles from north to south. In fact, it was only a conflict between two to three thousand people. Along the way, they killed relentlessly. Now, the corpses in the corner of the battlefield were not taken care of by anyone.
A group of 43 people came from the south to the north. On the way, they picked up four injured horses and carried four of them. When they saw corpses along the way, they also sent people to collect some things.
The unrestrained rain had already soaked their bodies. The air was cold and gloomy. The boots on their feet were embedded in the mud on the road. It took a lot of effort to pull them out. Zhuo Yongqing had already hung the shoes on his neck. He felt a faint pain in his chest and stuffed a small piece of military food into his mouth.
"Pfft … You say, where should we go now?"
The heavy rain was the most annoying. They wiped the water stains on their faces as they walked forward. But soon, they were blinded by the rain again. Walking next to them was their comrade Chen Side. He was fiddling with the crossbow on his body. It might be broken.
"Let's go back to where we came from last night." Chen Side looked ahead. "Logically, there should be people waiting over there."
"Will the golden dog also send people over there?"
"… It's hard to say." Chen Side hesitated for a moment, then pulled back the crossbow in his hand. With a "pa" sound, the crossbow broke into pieces. Zhuo Yongqing said, "Let's go get a better one." He squatted down to pick up the iron pieces, bolts and other things in the mud. These things in the crossbow were still useful when they were brought back.
The rest of the people walked from the side, one step at a time and the other one at a time. There were also some injured people supporting them. Suddenly, there was a loud noise behind them. A figure fell from the back of a horse and splashed the muddy water. The person leading the horse stopped and someone behind ran over. Zhuo Yongqing wiped the water droplets from his eyes. "It's Lu Shitou …"
At this time, everyone in the front and back had already stopped. They looked at the comrade who was helping the silhouette in the muddy water. That comrade's body froze for a moment. He turned his head and looked half a circle, "Dead … Lu Shitou …"
Someone moved. Qu Qing walked out from the front of the group. "… Take his things and leave him by the side of the road."
"… Should we bury him?" someone asked in a low voice.
"There's no time." After Qu Qing said this, he paused and pointed to the three horses behind him. "Find a place to heal first and catch up with the main group. There are us and Perfected Women here. It's not peaceful."
Everyone did as they were told. They took away Lu Shitou's sword, shield, and crossbow. Then, they helped another heavily injured man onto the back of a horse, covered him with a straw raincoat, and continued their journey.
It was still a gloomy autumn rain. More than forty people walked along the mud and were about to turn around the rugged mountain path in front of them. Under the silver-gray sky, more than twenty northern men dressed in Jurchen military uniforms were also coming down the mountain path. Due to the obstruction of the earth and rocks, the two sides had yet to see each other.
"… Last night, the main force should not have dispersed yet. We killed too hastily … I remember Lu Lifu died. "
"Lu Lifu … Where is he?"
"I don't remember. On the way here, Jin Gou's warhorse … knocked him flying. Help me hold this. "
As he spoke, Chen Side was still fiddling with the other crossbow in his hand. After drinking a mouthful of water, he handed the rattan weave canteen he always carried with him to Zhuo Yongqing. Zhuo Yongqing took the canteen and subconsciously pressed it against his chest.
"Being knocked flying doesn't necessarily mean death. My bones might have been damaged, but I didn't die. So he might … "
While he was still speaking, there was suddenly movement from the top of the hill. That was the sound of people fighting and crossbows. Two figures suddenly tumbled down from the top of the mountain. One of them was one of the three scouts from the Black Flag Army, and the other was clearly a Jurchen spy. At the corner of the road in front of the formation, someone suddenly shouted, "Accept battle!" An arrow flew past. The person walking at the very front had already flipped up his shield.
In this instant, Zhuo Yongqing was stunned. A tremor suddenly rose from the back of his head and exploded. He only hesitated for a moment. Then, he suddenly charged forward. He threw away the canteen in his hand, untied the crossbow, and pulled the string of the crossbow. There were already people rushing over at an even faster speed.
A few simple shields were set up in a loose formation in the blink of an eye. The arrows from the other side struck the shields. Luo Ye raised his blade and shouted, "How many …"
"Twenty …"
"Kill them!"
At the corner of the road, a warhorse suddenly charged over, charging straight at the hastily formed shield wall. A Chinese soldier was knocked away by the warhorse. The Jurchen threw herself into the mud, brandishing her long blade and hacking. Another warhorse had already charged in. The Jurchen charged over, and the people on this side also went up to meet them.
Luo Ye walked in the mud with a blade in one hand. When he saw the Jurchen cavalry charging at him, his steps did not slow. The one hand holding the blade turned into two hands. When the warhorse crossed paths with him, his steps suddenly stopped. His body moved horizontally, and with a loud shout, he slashed out with his blade.
"Arrogant your mother …"
The warhorse flew out with blood spurting out. Before the Jurchen could get up, she was stabbed to death by the spears of the people behind her. At this time, the battle had already begun. People were fighting on the muddy road and the dangerous hillside. Zhuo Yongqing charged forward. Nearby was Platoon Leader Mao Yishan, who had drawn his blade and slashed at the Jurchen. The muddy water was stirred up as he ran. The Jurchen dodged the slash and also attacked with her blade. Zhuo Yongqing raised his shield and blocked the blade.
Mao Yishan crossed the shield and slashed again. The Jurchen rolled and dodged again. Zhuo Yongqing pressed forward. Just as he was about to raise his blade and slash, the Jurchen fell into the muddy water with a bang. She no longer moved, but her face was hit by a crossbow arrow. Zhuo Yongqing looked back and didn't know who shot it. At this time, Mao Yishan was already shouting, "Stick together …"
In the autumn rain, the dangerous killing became the theme of the mountain road in the blink of an eye. Zhuo Yongqing, Mao Yishan, and the others had already huddled together. At some point, their faces were stained with sticky blood. Not far away, Luo Ye and a few others formed a small group. They were the most aggressive. Hou Wu, Qu Qing, and the others formed another group. They had the most people. In this sudden encounter, the Female Zhenren was extremely fierce. However, when the Huaxia army soldiers gathered together, their fierce hunting could not gain the upper hand. In a short moment several people fell down, fresh blood once again flowed on the hillside.
The injured soldier called Pan Xiaomao hid beside the warhorse carrying the heavily injured. He guarded seven or eight crossbows and occasionally shot arrows. Sometimes they hit the horse, and sometimes they hit the people. One of the Jurchen soldiers was shot in the leg and limped down the hillside. Not far below was the cliff of the mountain stream. The soldier called Wang Yuan raised his saber and chased after her. When he reached the edge of the cliff, Luo Ye shouted, "Come back!" However, it was too late. The soil and rocks on the hillside slid and he fell down with the Jurchen.
The battle lasted for an unknown period of time. Two Female Daoists escaped on horseback. When there were no more Female Daoist soldiers nearby, Zhuo Yongqing suddenly sat down while panting. Mao Yishan patted his shoulder and said, "Good job!" However, Zhuo Yongqing didn't kill anyone this time. He had used up a lot of energy, mainly because the injury on his chest had increased the consumption of energy.
"Check the number of people! Save the injured first! " Qu Qing shouted in the crowd, and everyone rushed towards the injured. Luo Ye ran all the way to the edge of the cliff and bent down to look down, hoping to find a chance of survival. Zhuo Yongqing took a few breaths and stood up shakily. He wanted to check on the injured. When he walked back, he found that Chen Side had already fallen in a pool of blood. An arrow had pierced through his throat, and it had gone straight through.
Zhuo Yongqing's mind buzzed. This was of course his first time on the battlefield. However, Chen Side wasn't the first comrade and friend he had seen die in the past few days. Witnessing such a death, what was stuck in his heart wasn't sadness, but more of a weight. It was a living person. Their daily interactions and conversations … Chen Side was good at handicrafts. In the past, he could take crossbows apart and repair the broken ones with his own hands. There was a rattan water bottle in the muddy water with a leather pouch inside. It was extremely exquisite. It was said that Chen Side's mother made it for him when he joined the Huaxia Army. Many things, after coming to an abrupt stop, seemed to suddenly be pressed down at this moment. This kind of weight made it difficult for people to swallow it directly.
However, no matter who it was, they had to swallow it all down. Death was very heavy, but at this moment, it was also very light. People died all the time on the battlefield. Indulging in death on the battlefield would delay even more important things. This extremely light and extremely heavy contradiction was pressed together.
Zhuo Yongqing's eyes were filled with sorrow. He turned his head to look at the people around him. Madman Luo stood at the edge of the cliff for a while, then turned his head and walked back. Some people were saving people on the ground, constantly pressing on their chests. Their seemingly calm actions were mixed with a trace of madness. Some people checked the dead for a moment, and after being stunned for a while, they silently walked to the side. Hou Wu helped an injured person up and shouted to the people around him, "He's okay! Bring the bandages — bring the medicine — "
Zhuo Yongqing picked up the rattan water bottle on the ground, hung it on his body, and went to the side to help the others. After a while, they counted the number of people. There were still thirty-four people left, ten of whom were injured. Zhuo Yongqing, who didn't have a knife wound that affected his battle, was not counted. When everyone was ready to move forward, Zhuo Yongqing also subconsciously said, "Should we … bury them …"
He looked at the bodies that were placed on the side of the road.
"… We don't have time," Luo Ye said. Luo Ye said this, then he paused and suddenly pointed down. "Why don't we throw them down there?"
"Okay." Qu Qing nodded and was the first to walk to the bodies. "Everyone, hurry up."
They threw the eight bodies on the side of the road into the deep stream and then continued to move forward. They originally planned to go back along the original route from last night, but considering the condition of the injured, there would not only be their own people along the way, but also the situation of the Female Enlightened Masters. So they simply found a fork in the road. After walking for a few miles, they temporarily left the seriously injured in a relatively hidden col under the cliff and arranged for two people to look after them.
"You can't go any further." Qu Qing said to these people, "Even if you go over, it will be very difficult to fight with the Female Enlightened Masters again. Now, either we find the team and inform the Zhong family to pick you up, or we can't find them and turn back at night."
After leaving these 12 people behind, Zhuo Yongqing and the other 22 people rushed to the place where the battle took place last night. On the way, they encountered a team of five Female Enlightened Masters and killed them, losing one person. On the way, they met up with another five people. When they arrived at the small forest on the hilltop where the battle took place last night, they saw traces of the battle were still there, but the Huaxia army had obviously moved away with the Female Enlightened Masters.
The 26 people risked their lives to explore the forest and hurriedly retreated from the enemy's rear. At this time, the Female Enlightened Masters were also visiting this place. The Huaxia army was strong in formation and cooperation, while these Female Enlightened Masters who fought in the White Mountains and Black Waters were better at fighting alone in the wild or in the forest. Perhaps it was a good choice to stay here and wait for their companions, but it was too passive. Qu Qing and the others discussed and decided to go back to take care of the injured first. Then, they estimated the possible location of the Female Enlightened Masters and chased after them.
It was a muddy rainy day. When they approached the col, they saw a body lying on the side of the road with more than a dozen arrows stuck in it. This was the soldier they left to take care of the injured, named Zhang Gui. Everyone suddenly became nervous and rushed to the col with vigilance.
But it was too late.
The col was full of the smell of blood and the ground was covered with corpses. There were 11 Huaxia soldiers' bodies, each with arrows stuck in their bodies. Obviously, when the Female Enlightened Masters came, the injured soldiers put up their shields and shot at them with crossbows, but they were killed by the Female Enlightened Masters in the end. In the innermost part of the col, four seriously injured soldiers who couldn't move were killed by the Huaxia soldiers themselves. After killing them, the lightly injured soldier stabbed his long knife into his heart. Now the body was sitting next to him, but there was no head — the Female Enlightened Masters had chopped it off.
The sky had darkened, but it was still raining. They carefully checked everything. Someone thought of Zhang Gui's dead body on the side of the road and whispered, "Zhang Gui wanted to lead the Female Enlightened Masters away …" Luo Ye and several others went out silently with sabers in their hands. Obviously, they wanted to find the traces of the Female Enlightened Masters. After a while, they heard Luo Ye's roar in the dark mountains, "Come on —"
After a while, there was another roar, "Come on —" but there was no reply. Soon after, Luo Ye came back. On the other side, someone also moved Zhang Gui's body back.
"Now we have some time," Hou Wu said, "Let's bury them."
Luo Ye nodded, "Light a fire and cook. Let's rest for the night."
"The Female Enlightened Masters may still be around."
"Let them come!" Luo Ye gritted his teeth and said. After a while, Qu Qing said, "Still light a fire. Dry the clothes."
Everyone dug a hole and buried the twelve corpses. That night, they rested against the graves in this place. The soldiers ate some hot military rations. Those who were injured like Zhuo Yongqing were bandaged. After a day of tossing and turning, heavy rain, mud, battles, and injuries, everyone was extremely tired. After drying their clothes, they extinguished the fire. Zhuo Yongqing's body was alternating between cold and hot. His ears were drowsy as he listened to everyone discussing where to go tomorrow.
"… Wanyan Loushi has been circling Yanzhou and Qingzhou for the past few days. I think he's waiting for reinforcements … The Zhong family's army has already surrounded them, but maybe the Zhe family's army will also come. It's hard to say if the Jinning army will come to join in the fun. In a few days, the surroundings will be a mess. I think if Wanyan Loushi wants to go, he will probably choose the direction of Xuan Jia Ao today … "
"… Wanyan Loushi is not afraid of fighting. He's just cautious and knows how to fight. He won't fight us head-on. He's afraid of our cannons and balloons …"
"If he pushes like this, he might start a big fight in the rain …"
"Maybe tonight …"
"Yeah …"
"No matter what, let's hurry to Xuan Jia Ao tomorrow?"
Zhuo Yongqing leaned against the grave and listened to Luo Ye and the others discuss for a while. He didn't know when, but he heard Qu Qing say, "It's my fault for leaving the wounded here …"
"What's your fault? Don't take the blame for yourself!" Luo Ye's voice became louder. "The wounded can't leave, and we have to rush to the battlefield. Everyone can only do this! The one who should be killed is the Female Daoist. What we should do is take revenge from the Female Daoist! "
"Maybe we can send a few people to find the battalion. We'll wait here."
"There's no such choice!" Luo Ye said decisively. "Who are we fighting right now? Wanyan Loushi! The number one Female Daoist! Right now it looks like we're evenly matched. Who knows when we'll show a flaw, and then they'll eat us up! Since we're going to fight head-on, then we'll go all out! We only have twenty people, but who knows if we'll be a bit weaker in the front because we're not there? Send people to find the battalion, and the battalion will send some people back to find us? Qu Qing, fight! What's the most important thing in fighting? Mister Ning said it, to put our lives on the line! "
Luo Ye paused. "Our lives, their lives … I'm sad that my brothers died. I can die for them, but we can't lose a battle! Fight! That's risking our lives! Mister Ning said that we'll do anything. Risking our lives, risking the lives of others! Risking our lives to the extreme! Risking our lives. If others can't keep up, then risking our lives! Don't think about those useless things. It's not your fault, the Female Daoist deserves to die! "
"Thank you, Madman Luo." Qu Qing said. "Don't worry, the fire in my heart isn't any less than yours. I know what I can do."
"Hmph, here today, I don't see anyone with less fire in their heart …"
The cold faded, and the wave of heat came again. Zhuo Yongqing leaned against the grave, gritted his teeth, and clenched his fists. Not long after, he fell asleep again. The next day, the rain didn't stop. Everyone ate something, bid farewell to the grave, and then set off in the direction of Xuan Jia Ao.
It was heavy rain and rugged roads again. However, on the battlefield, as long as one still had a breath left, there was no place to complain and complain …
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