On the 10th of June, at the northern border of West Mountain Province, Feixu Pass.
What was supposed to be a day of fluttering willow catkins was now snowing lightly. The soldiers were still dressed in thick winter clothes, their armors bulging.
Outside the pass, drums rang out. It was the sound of the Shang army's drums of challenge.
"They're here again."
Tang Zhen frowned. "This is the third time. Every time, it's only two hundred riders that come and go in a hurry. They flee the moment we exit the pass. What is the Shang army thinking?"
Feng Jixing brushed off the snow on the wall and smiled. "I don't think Wu Chang and Xun Xi intend to fight for real. They're just bluffing. Send a letter to the other passes and tell them to be more vigilant. We're only making a feint here. Perhaps there will be a real attack elsewhere. We must keep each other informed and be ready to send reinforcements at any time."
"Yes, General Feng."
Tang Zhen turned and left. Feng Jixing narrowed his eyes and said, "Zhang Wei, Lin Xun, what do you think Yangshang is thinking? Why is he making a feint attack on our pass?"
Zhang Wei said casually, "It's just as Your Highness said. They're just bluffing!"
Lin Xun frowned. "Your Highness, I'm afraid there's a deeper meaning to this. The Shang army's military advisor, Xun Xi, is not a man without a plan. He must have a reason for doing this."
"Oh? What could he be planning? "
"This subordinate can't guess, but he must be trying to pin down the main force of our army here … Perhaps they have a large-scale Heavenly Book of the Law of Space. They can move the army to our rear and work together to break through the pass. Or they can directly attack the empty Xiping Prefecture and catch us off guard."
"There's no need to worry about that." Feng Jixing smiled slightly. "The number of people that the Heavenly Book of the Laws of Space can teleport is very few. A mere few hundred or a few thousand people will not be able to turn the tide of the battle. Don't forget, we have 100,000 people guarding Xiping City."
Lin Xun said, "Then this subordinate can't guess Xun Xi's intentions."
"Pay close attention to their movements and the Celestial Empire's movements. That's the right thing to do."
"Yes!"
Feng Jixing tightened his cloak and walked down the steps. "The weather is getting colder and colder. What kind of damned weather is this? I'm going to rest. You guys guard the place well."
"Take care, Your Highness!"
Looking at Feng Jixing's departing back view, Lin Xun smiled and said, "Lord Zhang Wei, do you think … that our Prince Xin has lost the confidence to fight against the Kingdom of Shang?"
"Why do you say that?" Zhang Wei was puzzled.
"Otherwise, he would have revealed what I was thinking, but he didn't. His Highness knows how formidable that Xun Xi is. It's said that the mobilization of the entire Kingdom of Shang was handled by Xun Xi, so His Highness might be … "
"Don't overthink it." Zhang Wei patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Do you think that Prince Xin's strategy will lose to Xun Xi's? I don't think so. Ever since I joined the Imperial Guards, I've never seen Prince Xin truly suffer a loss. Even when sparring with His Highness, Prince Qin, he has never been at a disadvantage. Don't worry. How much trouble can a mere Xun Xi cause? "
"Even so, we'll still have to be careful."
"Mmm, Lord Lin Xun will be on duty tonight. Pay more attention to the situation inside and outside the Pass."
"Alright."
…
There were still no battles in Red Rock City. The bored Lin Muyu brought Tang Xiaoxi, Qin Yin, Wei Chou, and the others deep into the mountains to hunt. On one hand, she was killing time, on the other hand, she was exercising her limbs, and she was also taking the opportunity to hunt for some rations for the army.
Mount Divine Deer was over 300 lis away from Red Rock City. Even hunters would rarely venture deep into the mountains like this. The accumulated snow had melted quite a lot, revealing the ground and allowing warhorses to pass through.
For this trip, Lin Muyu and the others did not wear any robes or armor. They were lightly dressed. Qin Yin and Tang Xiaoxi were dressed like two beautiful commoner ladies, while Lin Muyu and Wei Chou were dressed in dark blue clothes with animal skins around their waists. They looked like hunters. If it was not because the warhorses they were riding on were very majestic, others might really think that they were hunters.
"Quickly look over there."
Tang Xiaoxi pointed into the distance and said, "There's a bird!"
As expected, there was an eagle perched on a branch, looking around. It definitely seemed to weigh four to five catties and was rather plump.
Qin Yin smiled and said, "It's about 200 meters away from us. Let's shoot together. Let's see who can hit it."
"Alright, Wei Chou is not allowed to shoot." Lin Muyu pulled out a white diamond arrow from the back of her horse.
Wei Chou smiled but did not say anything. He only cupped his fists and bowed in agreement. If Wei Chou were to shoot together, he would definitely be the winner. In terms of archery, Qin Yin, Tang Xiaoxi, and Lin Muyu were all good archers. However, compared to Wei Chou, they were far inferior. Wei Chou's arm strength and accuracy were much stronger.
"Shua shua shua …"
At the same time, three bowstrings sounded and the eagle perched on the branch fell to the ground!
"I'll go take a look!"
Lin Muyu urged her horse forward and bent down to pick up the eagle from the ground. It was heavy and had a lot of meat. The eagle's body was pierced by an arrow, and there was a thin "Tang" character carved on the shaft. It was actually shot by Tang Xiaoxi. As for Lin Muyu and Qin Yin, their arrows seemed to have missed.
"It's Xiao Xi's prey." Lin Muyu raised the eagle and said with a smile, "It's at least seven to eight catties. We already have a delicious meal to make soup for tonight."
Wei Chou laughed and said, "Princess Xi's archery skills are indeed good!"
Tang Xiaoxi pursed her red lips and said with a smile, "Anyone can praise me, but Wei Chou, you can't. Once you do, it makes me feel like you're mocking me!"
"Haha, I won't praise you anymore, I won't praise you anymore."
Wei Chou urged his horse forward, but he suddenly stopped smiling and said, "Milord, be careful behind us. Something seems to be slowly approaching us. It might be a ferocious beast!"
As expected, the sound of someone stepping on a short branch came from the hill behind Lin Muyu. A huge creature appeared there. It was a bear, a spiritual beast with six golden lines on its forehead.
"Good fellow!"
Wei Chou said with a smile, "It's a Flame Bear, a spiritual beast that's naturally good at the power of the Law of Fire. A six thousand year old Flame Bear is rather rare!"
"Roar!"
The Flame Bear on the hill roared angrily at Lin Muyu and the others. Flames continuously spewed out from its body. Obviously, this big guy was warning Lin Muyu and the others to step into its territory. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to know how powerful this group of people were, and it didn't know that there was actually a Righteous God in this group of people!
Si Kongyao said, "Brother, the Flame Bear is a good thing. Its fur is very valuable. It's said that it's very warm to wear in winter, even hot. Although the Flame Bear's meat is rough, it will be very fragrant when it's cooked. After eating it, it can resist the cold. The Flame Bear's blood contains the power of the Law of Fire. It can be used to make medicine and has a miraculous effect on frostbite."
"In that case, this big guy's whole body is a treasure?"
Lin Muyu smiled slightly, "Who's going to get rid of it?"
Although it was a six thousand year spiritual beast, to be honest, anyone present could easily get rid of it. After all, none of this group of people were easy to deal with.
Wei Chou said, "Let me do it. Since the Flame Bear's fur is so good, then we must maintain the integrity of the bear's fur. This subordinate guarantees that an arrow will enter through the eye and pierce through the brain, but not through the skull, leaving no trace. Milord, please help me hold the line and attract the Flame Bear's attention. "
"Alright."
Lin Muyu urged her horse forward and lightly raised the Xuan Yuan Sword in her hand. She laughed mockingly, "Black bear, if you have the guts, fight me to the death?"
"Roar roar!"
Facing the provocation, the Flame Bear flew into a rage, while Qin Yin, Tang Xiaoxi, and Si Kongyao smiled. It was rare to see Lin Muyu act like this, and it made Qin Yin and Tang Xiaoxi feel as if they had returned to the past. At that time, everyone didn't have so many burdens, and their lives were incomparably free.
"You're courting death!"
Lin Muyu's arm lightly shook, and immediately, the Profound Energy of the Chaotic Star danced chaotically under the horse's hooves. It looked like it was about to explode, but this was only to attract the Flame Bear's attention. The real killing move wasn't the Chaotic Star, but an arrow that flew past Lin Muyu's shoulder!
"Pfft!"
An arrow entered the brain, and just like what Wei Chou said, the six thousand year old Flame Bear fell straight down with a miserable groan. Its body twitched a few times, and it died.
A few Imperial Guards cheered, "Great archery, Guard Commander!"
Wei Chou cupped his fists and laughed, "Quickly go and get the blood. A bowl of the Flame Bear's blood can be diluted to make over a thousand bottles of frostbite medicine. This is a great treasure!"
"Yes!"
A few Imperial Guards went forward one after another, took out empty water bags, and used their sharp swords to cut open the Flame Bear's skin on its abdomen, and started to get the blood. The blood seemed to be endless, and in the blink of an eye, seven to eight water bags were filled, and all of them were hung on the horse's back.
They only brought four Imperial Guards, so Wei Chou decided to do it himself. He pulled out the dagger on his waist, and started to skin the Flame Bear on the spot. After skinning it, he dissected it, and most of the meat was stored in the space bag. Otherwise, the war horse might not be able to bear the weight. This bear was at least five to six hundred kilograms, and no war horse could carry it for a long period of time.
Looking at the sky, Lin Muyu said, "Let's find a place to rest. It's going to be dark soon. Once night falls, the Swift Wolf Pack will come out to look for food. At that time, I'm afraid that once we are targeted, it will be very troublesome."
"Yes."
…
It was very difficult to find a campsite in the mountains. After sunset, everyone finally found a place to rest in a col. They set up tents, lit a bonfire, and started to cook dinner.
There were many hunters along the way. Wild rabbits, deer, falcons, and fat fish from the river were all there. Just the prey that Wei Chou hunted was close to a ton, and all of them were in the space bag. Therefore, there were five pots of food for dinner. There were things that flew in the sky, ran on the ground, and swam in the water. Since they were out to relax and train, it was also very important to eat well.
The fat fish was tender, and the falcons' meat was delicious. Therefore, Lin Muyu ate four big bowls of food. Then, she leaned against the tent and took a nap complacently. Meanwhile, Qin Yin and Tang Xiaoxi went into the tent to lay the bedding and wait.
At that moment, Wei Chou looked to the north vigilantly, and said, "It seems like someone is coming!"
"It's so deep in the mountains. I'm afraid it's not a human," Lin Muyu said with a smile.
Si Kongyao giggled. "Why does it sound creepy?"
In the dark, an imperial guard walked over quickly with a warhorse. He said, "Your Highness, there are a few people over there. They claim that they are lost merchants. Their fire sticks are wet from the snow, and they want to borrow our fire sticks."
"Oh? Let them come over. "
Lin Muyu chuckled. "They're robbing us. Let's take a look first."
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
