In the darkness of the night, the figures of men and horses galloped through the forest and came to a slightly wider view of the hills. The dilapidated mud road extended down the hillside, and in the distance was the deserted village that had become a ghost town.
The village was recently abandoned. Although there was no one there, there were not too many traces of the ravages of time. This place … was close to Dengzhou. Tied to the back of the horse, Silver Bottle recognized that she had come here once with the soldiers of the Beiwei Army a month ago.
There was the sound of the wind passing by, and a faint noise came from afar. It was a small scale fight. The girl tied to the horse held her breath. In this side of the team, someone cast an attentive gaze into the darkness. After a while, the fighting stopped.
A man on a horse came from afar, holding a torch in his hand. When he came near, he untied the two heads hanging on his waist and threw them into the mud ditch by the roadside. Silver Bottle closed her eyes and heard the man say, "Two people from the Green Forest."
"A couple?" Someone seemed to look into the mud ditch.
"Adulterous couple, die together."
From behind came a whining sound from the horse's back, followed by a slap. After the slap, the man on the horse scolded, "Little bastard!" Yue Yun was probably struggling with all his might, but he was hit again.
In the night wind, someone laughed contemptuously. The team continued to move forward.
The village was nearing, and so was Dengzhou.
Getting closer to Dengzhou meant that the possibility of her and her brother being saved was getting smaller and smaller …
*****
Probably no one could describe the concept of war in detail.
If one had to sum it up, the closest phrase would probably be "stop at nothing". Since the beginning of human history, no matter what kind of means or things, as long as it could happen, it could happen in war. The Wu dynasty had been caught in the flames of war for several years.
Xiangyang, which had changed hands two months ago, had just become the frontline of the war. Currently, the area between Xiangyang, Dengzhou, and Xinye was still a chaotic and dangerous area.
The aborigines dispersed, the refugees gathered, and the Beiwei Army, the Daqi Army, and the Jin Kingdom's army fought nearby, causing the area within a radius of a few hundred miles to become a chaotic battlefield.
Before the main force gathered and counterattacked, the fake Qi patrol team focused on intercepting and killing the refugees. Those who had already reached this point were basically killed without mercy. The Weiwei Army sent out a team to pick up as many refugees as possible during the initial clashes.
Last month, for the sake of a group of commoners, the fake Qi army attempted to ambush the Beiwei army. After being seen through by Niu Gao and the others, they counterattacked and surrounded them. Afterwards, they besieged the enemy and attacked the reinforcements to expand their victory. The fake Qi reinforcements cooperated with the Jin supervising troops to slaughter the commoners and besiege Wei to save the besiegers. This small battle almost escalated. Later, the Beiwei army gained the upper hand and retreated. Half of the refugees were slaughtered.
Similar conflicts were common these days, but after a large-scale conflict almost broke out, both sides temporarily maintained a restrained attitude. The Beiwei army had just won a great victory, and the other side had already pulled up a defensive formation. They needed to digest the experience gained from this great victory and consolidate the army's confidence.
The Daqi army was timid and afraid of battle. Relatively speaking, they were more willing to intercept and kill the refugees heading south, killing them all and robbing them of their belongings. Under the pressure of the Jin supervising troops, they could only continue the stalemate here.
As for the Jin side, when they first supported the Daqi regime, they had left a few troops in the Central Plains. But these troops were not elites. Even though there were a few Jurchen founding soldiers supporting them, they had been in the Central Plains for several years. The local officials flattered them and no one dared to openly oppose them. These people lived like princes and gradually wore down their morale. When they arrived at Dengzhou and Xinye, the Jin generals urged the Daqi army to go into battle, while the Daqi army constantly asked for help and delayed.
In the general direction, the three forces were in a stalemate. In the gap between the confrontation, the situation of the refugees being slaughtered did not slow down. Under the suggestion of the advisor Sun Ge, the Beiwei army sent out three to five hundred troops to patrol in batches to support the people heading south from the north. Occasionally, they would see the tragic scenes of civilians being slaughtered and looted in the woods or in the wild. The elderly and children who were killed, and the women who were raped … When these soldiers came back and talked about these things, they wished they could immediately rush to the battlefield, drink the enemy's blood, and eat their flesh. As a result, these soldiers became even more capable of fighting.
Of course, in the rear of the Beiwei army, there were some different voices fermenting because of these things. In order to prevent spies from the north from entering the city, the Beiwei army strictly controlled Xiangyang. Most of the refugees were diverted to the south after a short rest. There were also scholars and officials in the south who heard many things and keenly sensed that the Beiwei army did not have the ability to continue to advance north.
If the Beiwei army pushed north in a more determined manner, instead of only sending three to five hundred people out of the city at a time, these people who died in Xiangyang, Dengzhou, and Xinye might be able to survive because of this.
Of course, under such a great victory, such voices were not too obvious. Yin Ping, who was only thirteen or fourteen years old, was not very clear about these things. However, she could understand that her father would not and could not push the army out of Xiangyang to save her two children. Even her father himself would not abandon Xiangyang and chase after them from the rear. When she realized the strength of the troops that captured her and Yue Yun, Yin Ping vaguely felt that the chances of survival for the two of them were slim.
Two days ago, the scar-faced giant who attacked the two of them in Xiangyang City only used three moves to defeat them. When they woke up, they were already outside of Xiangyang City. Waiting for them was a core group of about forty to fifty people. The group consisted of both men and women. After capturing the two of them, they kept running around Xiangyang City.
The core group of forty to fifty people was separated from them, and according to the occasional reports, there were obviously more people. At this time, the experts of the Beiwei army had already chased them out of the city. The army was probably already setting up a tight defense. When Yin Ping woke up, the first thing she did was to calmly assess the situation in front of her. However, after encountering the Beiwei army's scouting team, Yin Ping began to feel that something was wrong.
The leader of this team was a thirty-something-year-old female Zhenren. The dozens of people she led could be considered as the top experts of the Lulin Forest. Among them, the most skilled one was the scar-faced giant who entered the city earlier. This person looked fierce and did not speak much, but the leader of the Golden Men addressed him as Master Lu. Yin Ping did not have much experience in Jianghu, but she vaguely thought of someone. That was the grandmaster who once dominated the north, the 'Fierce King of Hell' Lu Tuo.
Back then, when Inner Demon Ning Yi was in charge of the Office of Secret Investigation, he had collected all kinds of information in Jianghu. After Ning Yi's rebellion, the Office of Secret Investigation was disbanded, but many things were secretly kept by Princess Cheng's residence. Later on, it was passed down to the crown prince, Jun Wu. As the crown prince's trusted aides, Yue Fei, Wenren Bu 'er and the others naturally had access to it. In the process of Yue Fei establishing the Beiwei army, many people from the Lulin Forest joined him. Yin Ping flipped through the archived information and saw Lu Tuo's name.
Compared to Fang La, Zhou Dong, and Lin Zongwu, who were renowned as Great Grandmasters, Lu Tuo, the Ferocious Yama, was slightly inferior in martial arts, and his sense of existence was much weaker. The main reason was that he was not the leader of a force or an expert with an independent identity. From the beginning to the end, he was just a lackey of the Qi family in Hebei Province.
Among the many aristocratic families in the Wu dynasty, the one with the worst reputation was probably Hebei's Qi family. Before the Blackwater Alliance, the aristocratic families in Hebei still had Wang Qisong's Wang family to keep them in check, and Hedong also had Zuo Duanyou's Zuo family to support them. After almost all the males in Wang Qisong's family died out, the females retreated to the south, leaving only the Qi family in Hebei.
Due to their geographical advantage, the Qi family was most enthusiastic about doing business with Liao and was a firm supporter of peace. Because of this, when the noble of Liao went missing in Jiangning, the Qi family sent Lu Tuo to rescue him and also sent someone to assassinate Qin Siyuan, who was about to rise to power. If Lu Tuo had not been in charge of the rescue mission, Qin Siyuan and Ning Yi would not have survived if they had encountered Lu Tuo.
After the fall of Liao, the Qi family was still a supporter of peace, and they were the first to contact the Jin. When the Jin occupied the Central Plains, the Qi family sought refuge with the Jin and supported the Pingdong General, Li Xizhi. Throughout this process, Lu Tuo had always been a supporter of the Qi family. His martial arts might be slightly inferior to the famous Lin Zongwu, but he was still a rare match in the forest. Other than his father, perhaps only the vanguard, Gao Chong, could compete with him in the Beiwei Army.
In a battle between armies, the importance of a master was only to become a general and unite the army's morale. However, it was a different matter when two troops were in pursuit. On the first day, the troop was intercepted twice by scouts. The scouts in the army were all elites, but in the face of these masters, it was difficult for them to last more than a few rounds. Lu Tuo did not even have to take action himself. The people who rushed over caught up with the scouts and killed them.
From the silver bottle, it could be seen that the middle-aged Taoist nun who was in charge of watching over her was tall and thin. Her fingers and palms were as hard as fine iron and had a faint green color. This was a sign that her claw skills had reached perfection. The middle-aged man who was in charge of watching over Yue Yun at the back had a pale face and no beard. He was short and had a body like a ball. When he dismounted from the horse, he walked as if his feet did not touch the ground. This was the manifestation of the Thirteen Gangsters' Soft Soft Kung Fu. According to the information from the Office of Secret Investigation, he seemed to be the fierce Chou Tianhai who once hid in Shandong. His White Ape Arms, Soft Soft Palm, and Spring Kick Kung Fu were extremely high. In his early years, because he killed his Senior Sister's family, he disappeared in the forest. Now that the Jin Kingdom had overthrown the Central Plains, he finally came out again.
In addition to these two people, among these people, there were people with excellent qinggong, there were masters of Tang Shou and Wu Zang Quan, there were experts of staff techniques, there were fierce martial artists who had integrated every move and every style into their every movement. Even the Female Zhenren among them, each one of them was agile and nimble, their archery was outstanding. Obviously, these people were the elite team that the Female Zhenren had scoured for.
Even if there were many masters in the Beiwei army, it was not easy to gather so many masters in one go.
On the first day, the silver bottle still felt lucky. However, this group of people killed the Beiwei army's scouts twice. At night, the Beiwei army's general Xu Xu, who was chasing after them, was ambushed and killed. The silver bottle's heart sank.
She had been taught by Yue Fei since she was young. At this moment, she could see that this troop was led by the Lady Zhenren. Obviously, they thought highly of themselves and wanted to use their own strength to disrupt the situation in Xiangyang. In such a large area with more than a hundred masters running around, it was not something that could be surrounded by a few thousand soldiers. Even if a small group of elites could catch up from behind, without Gao Chong and the other masters leading the troops, it would be difficult for them to win. And to mobilize the army was even more risky. No one knew if the Daqi and Jin Kingdom's troops were already prepared to attack Xiangyang.
This troop ran around in circles and on the second day, they finally turned back towards the direction of Dengzhou. Occasionally, they would meet refugees and then a few rescuers. After they were killed by the other party, the silver bottle found out from the group's laughter that the strange movements in Xiangyang had alarmed the nearby Lulin Forest. Many people from the Lulin Forest in Dengzhou and Xinye had already been mobilized to rescue General Yue's two relatives. However, how could an ordinary mob fight against these specially trained and top notch masters? Often, they would be detected and killed when they got close. News of their arrival could not be spread out no matter what.
There were also two times when the other party brought the captured people from the Lulin Forest to Yin Ping and Yue Yun and humiliated them before killing them. Little Yue Yun was so angry that he cursed loudly. Qiu Tian Hai, who was in charge of looking after him, had a terrible temperament. He laughed loudly and then beat him up as entertainment along the way.
In the middle of the night, Lu Tuo's group approached the deserted village and Dengzhou. In fact, with the distance between Xiangyang and Dengzhou, it would not take them two days to cover the distance. However, the Lady Zhenren who was the leader thought highly of herself. This troop was obviously not under the control of Dengzhou or Xinye's troops. Lu Tuo capturing Yin Ping and Yue Yun was just a spur of the moment. After capturing them, they took a detour in the vicinity to lure the Xiangyang garrison to attack. Then, they would inform Dengzhou and Xinye and wait for an opportunity to attack.
The group was a little tired after running non-stop. They stopped near the village, lit a bonfire and ate some dry rations. Yin Ping and Yue Yun were put down and the cloth gags were removed. A man walked over and placed two bowls of water in front of them. Yue Yun was still recovering from the beating he received earlier. Yin Ping looked at the man and said, "If you don't untie my hands, I won't be able to drink it."
"Then drink it while lying down."
"Heart Fist Li Gangyang! You are also a Han, why … "
Yinping raised her head and called out that person's name, but before she could finish her sentence, a loud slap was heard. The Taoist nun beside her had slapped Yue Yinping's face. Yin Ping's martial arts cultivation and foundation were not bad. However, she did not even feel the slap. She tasted something sweet in her mouth and her mind buzzed. The Daoist nun said coldly, "Women need to be quiet. If you talk too much, I will pull out your tongue like your brother."
Yin Ping's eyes were bloodshot. She turned her head and looked at the Daoist nun. Her face gradually swelled up. The people around them laughed. "Li Gangyang, you have finally been recognized. You are indeed famous."
"This little girl is quite knowledgeable."
"Who else do you know? Do you know me? Do you know him? Haha, tell me, there is no need to be afraid of this female Daoist. "
"Mianzhang Chou Tianhai, Wind-riding Hand Zheng San, Supreme Beginning Blade Pan Dahe … That is Lin Qi Gongzi, Buddha Hand Lei Qing … That is Yama King Lu Tuo …" Yin Ping's bones were also fierce. She stared at the Daoist nun and said each word clearly. Lu Tuo was sitting far away from the bonfire. He was only listening to the female Daoist nun. When he heard Yin Ping calling his name, he only glanced over and did not say anything.
When the rest heard Yin Ping calling their names, some were silent, some looked unhappy, and some laughed. These people were after all Han. Regardless of the reason why they worked for the Jin, many of them were unwilling to be called out. That Taoist nun listened to Yin Ping's words and remained silent. She waited for Yin Ping to finish her sentence and slashed out with her palm. A clear "ping" sound was heard in the air, followed by a series of clanging sounds. The man who said "there is no need to be afraid of this female Taoist nun" suddenly made a move and blocked the attack for Yin Ping.
Their exchange was as fast as lightning. Yin Ping could not even see it clearly. After the exchange, the man beside her kept the knife in his sleeve and laughed. "Little girl, you are in trouble now. You should know that this Daoist nun beside you is ruthless and always does what she says. When she was young, she was betrayed by a man. Later on, she went to him and killed his entire family of more than fifty people. She did not even spare a chicken or a dog. The man who betrayed her was almost completely torn apart by her. You even dared to offend the Heaven's Calamity Claw Li Wanlian. I won't be able to save you a second time. "
Little Yue Yun struggled to sit up. "You people have such horrible nicknames …"
While they were talking, sounds of fighting could be heard from afar. The closer they got to Dengzhou, the more people from the Green Forest came to stop them. This time, the battle was not small. Although the people who were sent out were also experts, there were still a few figures rushing over. They were obviously attracted by the campfire. The people on the other side did not move. The short, chubby Chou Tianhai stood up and swung his arms and legs. "I am going to revive my Qi and blood." In the blink of an eye, he passed through the crowd and met the few figures rushing over in the night.
The fighting silhouettes moved like ghosts. Chou Tianhai's Penetrating Fist, Tan Tui, and Soft Palm martial arts moved like they were light. In the blink of an eye, he killed three of the four people rushing over. The remaining one waved his long knife like a madman, chasing after Chou Tianhai and slashing at him but could not hit him.
This playful chase came over to the campfire. Amidst the chatter and laughter of the crowd, they saw that the knife wielder who was toyed with by Chou Tianhai was covered in blood. His knife skills might be considered good in the city, but in front of Chou Tianhai and the others, it was not enough. When he got close, he was panting like a bull. Suddenly, he saw Yin Ping and Yue Yun. He was stunned for a moment, then shouted, "It's General Yue's Young Mistress and Young Master! But — "
Yin Ping and Yue Yun shouted, "Be careful —"
Behind the man, Chou Tianhai's body suddenly expanded. He originally had a round and short stature, but at this moment, in the darkness, he seemed to have doubled in size. The force of his fist started from the left and went to the right, circulating through his entire body. The strength of his limbs gathered at his back. This was the ultimate move of the White Ape Penetrating Fist, "Sky Scraping Cloud". He was highly skilled in martial arts. When he struck out with this punch, even Yin Ping, Yue Yun and the others could see it clearly.
With a muffled bang, before the man could finish his sentence, blood spurted out from his mouth. His whole body was sent flying two feet away, and he died.
"Good!" Immediately, someone cheered.
As the saying goes, the amateurs watch the show, while the experts see the artistry. Everyone was also skilled in martial arts. At this moment, they couldn't help but comment and praise. Someone said, "Old Chou's skills have improved again."
Someone said, "This Penetrating Fist, the force travels through the whole body, and is released at a single point. It's really amazing. Old Chou, your method of releasing force is not bad, let's find some time to spar? "
After Chou Tianhai revealed this ultimate move, he returned proudly to the endless praises. On the ground, Yin Ping and Yue Yun looked at the dead man, clenching their teeth. Yue Yun suddenly laughed, "Hahahaha, what's so great about it!"
The twelve year old child had a tender voice, and at this moment, his words were especially ear-piercing among the comments, but no one was willing to lower their status, nor would they really argue with him at this time. An old man who practiced rod techniques looked at Yue Yun and said in a clear voice, "Your father naturally has even more amazing skills. If there's a chance, this old man would also like to exchange pointers with him."
As the last disciple of Iron Arm Zhou Dong, Yue Fei's martial arts skills had long been rumored in Jianghu. When the old man said this, everyone nodded their heads. Yue Yun was still smiling, "What's so great about it? In a battle, how many people can you fight against? In my Beiwei Army, the people I look up to the most are not you clowns who sell your skills, but the men who charge and kill in battle, the men who are not afraid of death and not afraid of losing their heads. What's the use of your beautiful fists, you are the dogs of the Jin — — "
When he said this, everyone's expression changed. In fact, these Han people who had already surrendered to the Jin Kingdom, if there was anything they could be proud of, it would be their skills. If Yue Yun said that their martial arts skills were not as good as Yue Pengju's or Zhou Dong's, they wouldn't have the slightest bit of rebuttal. But when he said that their martial arts skills were useless, it was a real slap in the face. Someone slapped Yue Yun to the ground, "Ignorant child, if you dare to talk nonsense again, I will cut you into pieces!"
Yue Yun's mouth was full of blood, but he laughed on the ground, "Hahahaha, hahahaha … See, this young master is not afraid of losing his head in front of you lowly dogs. Cut me into pieces? Your grandfather Yue Yun is twelve years old this year. If you cut me into pieces, I will not be a man if I beg for mercy and cry out in pain! Otherwise, I am your grandfather. Do you want to come? Come — wu — wu wu wu wu … a mud drum is better than a human drum, wu wu wu … drum … "
Everyone had captured Yin Ping and Yue Yun, but they couldn't kill them now. In the future, whether it was to use them to threaten Yue Fei or to sacrifice them on the battlefield, they would be of great use. Chou Tian Hai came over with a gloomy face and stuffed the cloth near Yue Yun. The child was still struggling, repeating to Chou Tian Hai, "You are the dog of the Jin … Dog, dog, dog …" Even though his voice had changed, everyone could still tell, and for a moment, they felt ashamed.
At this moment, on the other side of the bonfire, Lu Tuo's body suddenly expanded, and the wind pressure caused the bonfire to suddenly collapse. Someone in the air shouted, "Who — —" On the other side, someone suddenly shouted, his voice like thunder, "Haha! You are the dogs of the Jin — — "
What suddenly rushed out from the darkness was a violent and overbearing dark red spear. It appeared from the side of the camp, and had actually stealthily approached. When it was discovered, it suddenly launched an attack. The nearby expert, Lin Qi, noticed it in time and hastily exchanged blows. His whole body curled up and was sent flying. The long spear seemed to split the waves, passing through people and heading straight for Yue Yinping and Yue Yun's position. At the same time, Lu Tuo's figure rushed over the bonfire like a demon god, waving his hand with the sawtooth blade on his back.
Two figures collided, one blade and one spear. In the darkness of the night, a thunderous explosion of light and fire exploded.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
