The sky turned from dark to bright, then to dark again. The old carriage rattled on the road, bringing with it unbearable bumps, and the surrounding scenery changed frequently. Short forests, barren fields, barren beaches, broken bridges, deserted villages with skeletons hanging on them … Wanyan Qingjue's hair was disheveled, and he looked at everything that gradually appeared and then left. Occasionally, when there was some movement, he would subconsciously and secretly look over, and then his eyes would become empty again due to disappointment.
As the carriage sped along, the tumultuous waves in his heart did not stop. Thus, his mind was filled with chaotic emotions. Fear was the majority, followed by questions, and the further fear that came from the questions …
When he left the north, he brought with him an elite troop that was likely to be one of the best in the world. In his heart, he was thinking of killing a series of battle records that would terrify the southerners. It would be best if he could kill a strong person like Lin Zongwu after some training. Finally, he would travel to the southwest and bring back the head of the Inner Demon who might not be dead yet. These were all goals that he could achieve.
The sudden impact was too heavy, and the suddenness of it shattered all possibilities. Last night, when he was beaten down from the horse and chose to surrender, the thoughts in his mind were still a little hard to come up with. Black flag? Who knew if it was true? If it wasn't, who were these people? If it was, what did it mean …
In short, it was obvious that everything was gone.
He had a good family background, and was apprenticed to the Goddess of Grains. He had always been high-spirited, and even when he went to the south, he had the best bargaining chip. Who knew that he would lose the first battle — not just a loss, but a complete annihilation — even in the best case scenario, this would have a huge impact on his future. But most importantly, he did not have a future.
The scene of the array surging over like black water, engulfing Lu Tuo, and killing him in the next moment with a loud bang kept replaying in Wanyan Qingjue's mind — a successful person should not be discouraged by a small setback, but in everyone's heart, there was naturally a limit to one's ability. How was he compared to Mister Lu? Whenever such questions flashed in his mind, looking at the figures around the carriage, he could not imagine certain possibilities.
At the side, Chou Tianhai and the others also hung their heads with empty eyes. It wasn't that there was no resistance. Not long ago, there was someone who claimed to be an ambitious and ruthless person and demanded respect and friendly treatment. Where did he go?
Oh, he was dragged away and had his head chopped off.
A simple murder would not be able to suppress ambitious and ruthless people like Chou Tianhai and the others. What could truly silence them were the figures that occasionally appeared by the carriage. He only knew the one-armed Towering Blade Du Sha, but they naturally knew more. When Wanyan Qingjue became slightly more clear-headed and pulled himself together, he asked Chou Tianhai in a low voice about the possibility of escaping. However, Chou Tianhai only shook his head sadly. "Don't even think about it, Young Prince … The one leading them is Tyrant Blade Liu Dabiao, and … Black Flag …" Chou Tianhai's voice was muffled because of his low voice, but the name of Black Flag was even more terrifying.
In the past few years, it was proof of some kind of power.
Lu Tuo had died at the first moment. Wanyan Qingjue knew that with just a few people who had escaped and those "experts" who were responsible for contacting him, it would be more unrealistic than snatching food from the mouth of a tiger if they wanted to rescue him from the hands of this Black Flag troop. However, he would occasionally think that if he was captured, the guards near Dengzhou and Xinye would definitely be mobilized. Would they, would it be possible for them to coincidentally find him … Thus, he would occasionally look, and occasionally look. When the sky was about to turn dark and they had already traveled a long distance, about to enter the mountains, Wanyan Qingjue's body began to tremble. He did not know what kind of fate and encounter awaited him in the future …
*****
The carriage rumbled, and the horses neighed.
Under the gloomy sky, a strong wind blew, sweeping up the leaves and withered grass, scattering them into the sky. The hurrying crowd passed through the wilderness and woods, entering the rugged mountains in waves.
The carriage was about to be unloaded. Ning Yi stood on a big rock and looked into the distance with his binoculars. Watermelon, who had gone to fetch water, came back while tearing a steamed bun.
The small incident that happened outside Xiangyang City was indeed a little unexpected, but it did not stop them from making their way back. Killing, capturing, and saving people. The pressure of a night was not great for the group under Ning Yi's command. A few months ago, they had already clashed a few times with the Mongolian cavaliers in the plains of Ningxia. Even though the method they used to fight against the people from Lulin Forest was different, in truth, they were even more familiar with fighting against the people from Lulin Forest.
Once he sent Yue Yun to Gao Chong and Yin Ping's side, Ning Yi sized up Yue Fei's two children from the distance. Then, he grabbed the captives and began to retreat. Not long after, when the army near Dengzhou acted strangely and the captives were interrogated, Ning Yi learned that something unexpected had happened during their hunt, and it caused the situation to be a little awkward.
The young prince was gone, and the army near Dengzhou practically went mad. The group of horses began to scatter in all directions desperately. Hence, the group sped up again to avoid having to fight against the army.
"We're already far away. Once we enter the mountains, the army in Dengzhou should not be able to follow us anymore."
The people at the front of the group had already contacted the two Takeshi members who were assigned to scout and guide the area. While Watermelon spoke, he brought a piece of steamed bun with a pickled vegetable to Ning Yi's mouth. Ning Yi opened his mouth and ate it before he put down his binoculars.
"Wanyan Saccai's son … is so troublesome," Ning Yi said, but he could not help but smile.
"If you admit defeat, we'll let him go."
"Beat up Nüzhen? That's what you said, right? I still want to live in peace for a few years, but now you've captured the young prince. Wanyan Saccai has done a great service to Nüzhen. If he really sends his troops here in a fit of anger, what will you do, right?"
"It's not good," Watermelon agreed.
"But he's already been captured. If you admit defeat now, he'll think that you're easy to bully, and he'll immediately come to beat you up."
"You shouldn't blink in front of a tiger." Watermelon ate the steamed bun and nodded.
"He's already been captured. Look at these people beside him, they might have even beaten him up. They've already left a bad impression on him." Ning Yi smiled as he pointed at the people around him, then waved his hand. "How about this, we stab him to death and hang him at the top of Xiangyang City in the middle of the night. This will be Yue Fei's fault, hehe … Oh right, Fang Shuchang, I'm looking for you. Tell me, did you beat up the young prince? Go and apologize."
"Apologize for what?" Fang Shuchang was walking over quickly from afar. He was slightly stunned, then he smiled and said, "That young prince, who asked him to lead the charge towards us? Of course I had to stop him. He dismounted and surrendered, so I hit his neck to knock him out. Who knew that he would fall to the ground and hit his head. He's not dead, so why should I apologize … Right? Even if he's dead, I don't have to apologize."
"He's a female young prince. You beat him up and refuse to apologize, so we can only do this. Take the knife in the carriage, pick up the one from the Yue Family Army, and stab the young prince to death. Then find someone to hang him at Xiangyang City in the middle of the night and let Yue Fei take the blame." Ning Yi clapped his hands, looking excited. "That's right, Watermelon and I think this is a good idea."
Fang Shuchang laughed involuntarily and looked at Watermelon's expression. "That's too much. We know General Yue, so this isn't good."
"What's not good about it? We saved his son and daughter, so what's wrong with letting him take the blame?"
The battle last night had gone smoothly, and the tactics used to deal with the Greenwood Grandmasters had been put to the test. They had also saved Yue Fei's son and daughter, so everyone was actually quite relaxed. Fang Shuchang naturally knew that Ning Yi was deliberately joking. He coughed and said, "I'm here to give you some information. Originally, we were talking about capturing Yue Fei's son and daughter, and both sides were quite restrained and careful. But in the blink of an eye, we've lost the young prince. The people in Dengzhou have all gone crazy, and the tens of thousands of cavalrymen have split into dozens of teams to search for him. At noon, they bumped into the Beiwei Army. At this time, I reckon that things have already gotten out of hand."
"… This time, their brains are going to come out." Ning Yi nodded. After a moment of silence, he let out a breath. "Let's go quickly and ignore them."
"Okay."
Fang Shuchang waved his hand, and someone brought a horse over. Ning Yi and Watermelon got on the horse, and the group set off, heading into the mountains. Before they completely entered the mountains, Ning Yi looked back. The mountain ridge was swallowing up the relatively open area under the gloomy sky.
"This time, we've done General Yue a big favor."
Watermelon had lived in the mountains all year round, and he had high martial arts skills. He rode the warhorse on the mountain path as if it were flat ground, and he easily approached. Ning Yi nodded. "That's right. He won't be able to get away with it. He and Jun Wu will have a much easier time in the Wu Dynasty's court if they win every battle in two months. We've captured the young prince, and we'll know more about the internal affairs of the Jurchen people and Wanyan Xiyin. This time, we've gained a lot. "
"When the time comes, we can also use this young prince to negotiate with the Jin Kingdom and do some business." Watermelon clenched his fist.
Ning Yi laughed. "We'll see when the time comes. Anyway," he said, "… let's go home first."
Wanyan Qingjue's status among the Jurchen people was too high, and the Daqi government in Dengzhou and Xinye couldn't afford such a loss. It was very likely that the searching army was still chasing after them. For Ning Yi, it was a relaxing journey home. The weather at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn was gloomy, and it was unknown when it would rain. After trekking in the mountains for two to four hours, the group of nearly two hundred people finally stopped and set up camp.
Among these two hundred people, there was the special forces that had followed Ning Yi north, and there was also a group of Black Flag spies that had first evacuated from Tian Hu's territory. Naturally, there were also the captured prisoners. Ning Yi had never appeared in front of Wanyan Qingjue and the others, but he often communicated with the spies that had withdrawn. These people had been spies in Tian Hu's court for two to three years. Many of them had even become officials with high ranks, and they had instigated this rebellion. They had a lot of practical and leadership experience, and even among Takeshi, they could be considered elites. Naturally, Ning Yi was quite concerned about their situation.
The journey to the south was smooth, and everyone was rather happy. They talked about everything from Tian Hu's situation to the Jurchens' strength, to NMAU's situation, to Xiangyang's situation this time. They talked about everything under the sun until midnight before they dispersed. Ning Yi returned to the tent. Watermelon did not go out for night patrol. At the moment, she was using the dim light in the tent to mend a torn sock with her clumsy needling skills. Ning Yi frowned when he saw this and wanted to go over to help. At this moment, an unexpected voice sounded in the night.
First, there were some sounds of fighting in the distance. Then, a loud and clear voice rang through the forest.
"Mr. Ning! An old friend has come from afar to seek an audience. I hope you can spare some time for a meeting — "
This voice was emitted by inner strength. After it landed, there were still echoes of "spare some time for a meeting" and "a meeting" all around. Watermelon frowned. "Very powerful … What old friend?" She looked at Ning Yi.
This was a completely unexpected sound. It should not and could not happen here. Ning Yi was silent for a moment.
"… Yue Fei." He said the name and thought for a while. "Nonsense!"
"He probably doesn't know you're here. He's trying to trick you, "Watermelon said.
Ning Yi could naturally understand. His face was gloomy, and his fingers tapped on his knees. After a moment, he took a deep breath.
Slowly, he shook his head.
"Forget it …"
*****
The night wind whimpered above their heads. There were vigilant martial artists in front. It was about to rain. Yue Fei held the gun with both hands and stood there, quietly waiting for the other side's response.
This trip was a little impulsive. In the eyes of others, it was a decision that should not have been made.
However, those who achieved great things did not have to be like others in every aspect.
For example, Zhou Dong had raised his long spear and was about to assassinate Ni Han. At this moment, Yue Pengju had run hundreds of miles. He closed his eyes and waited for a certain possibility to appear.
If … Mr. Ning was still alive …
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