Gou Hanshi was quiet for a while, then said, "I know who he is."
Liang Hongzhuang was Liang Wangsun's younger brother, and he had another secret relationship with the Mount Li Sword Sect. He was a clansman of Liang Banhu and Liang Xiaoxiao.
The two were silent. The stone room was very quiet.
Just as they had discussed earlier, there might be unexpected losses this time. Some people who should not have died so early in their eyes … had died.
Liang Hongzhuang was this sort of person. He was an important member of the Liang Household, and also a Star Condensation expert.
The war had not even begun many days ago, and based on past events, it was far from reaching the most bitter stage, yet he had died.
Chen Changsheng and Liang Hongzhuang had met three times and exchanged several dozen words. They could not be considered familiar, but they were still people he knew.
He also knew many people on the battlefield: Tang Thirty-Six, Linghai Zhiwang, the teachers and students of the Orthodox Academy, like Chu Wenbin, and her.
But Gou Hanshi also knew many people: Guan Feibai, Liang Banhu, Bai Cai, his martial uncles from the Sword Hall, his fellow Daoists from the south.
"My apologies, you shouldn't be the one advising me," Chen Changsheng said to Gou Hanshi.
Gou Hanshi replied, "You should have guessed that Yourong wanted me to say these words to you."
Chen Changsheng gazed at the string of stone pearls on his wrist and said, "She could have said these words to me herself."
… …
… …
The former Governor of Xunyang City, Feng Guijun, had once worried about whether they could endure a night of continuous demon attacks, whether they could see the morning light of the next day.
As it turned out, his worries were unnecessary.
His army had not been able to endure the first wave of attacks. Just as night fell, those crazed demon soldiers broke through their defenses.
The number of devil soldiers was just too great.
When they saw the black tide on the plains under the starlight, he and all the other human soldiers inwardly groaned.
Liang Hongzhuang did not groan, no fear on his face. He did not howl or howl, nor did he sing a heroic song. He simply charged at the black tide.
Reality also proved that brave people would always be rewarded with good fortune.
Divine General Peng Shihai personally led the cavalry to successfully change the course of the battle, saving these soldiers who had bitterly held out for two days and two nights.
Fierce battles were happening everywhere on the grassland. Most of the time, people were fighting for themselves. The fact that this place could be rescued naturally meant that there was an important person here.
Although the Imperial Court had sent him to his death, the Imperial Court was not willing to see the governor of Xunyang City die so early, let alone Liang Hongzhuang.
The bonfire was lit again, illuminating the meadow.
The demon soldiers had already lost their minds, so there was no need to worry about being ambushed.
The surviving soldiers gathered around the bonfire, their faces covered in blood and water without any expression.
More than a dozen white ceremonial robes fluttered on the meadow. They looked like beautiful white flowers and attracted many gazes.
The teachers and students of the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green searched everywhere for the survivors, using medicine to provide timely treatment. Occasionally, they could even see the clear light of the Sacred Light Technique.
Unfortunately, in such a fierce war, it was hard to find too many wounded people. Dead bodies of human soldiers were everywhere on the meadow.
In the end, no one found Liang Hongzhuang.
When the former Governor of Xunyang City, Feng Guijun, was found, his body covered in blood and his expression particularly perplexed. In a daze, he was constantly muttering to himself.
"Ah, ah … there was no need, there was no need …"
No one understood what he was trying to say, nor did anyone know why he had become like this.
Feng Guijun clearly remembered what had happened just now.
Liang Hongzhuang raised his spear and charged at the black tide of demon soldiers, but was quickly drowned out.
He, who had lived like a prince for so many years, truly was very afraid. He wanted nothing more than to turn and run, but his experience over the last few days told him that the demon soldiers had already become true beasts. There was no longer any reason to speak of. If he did not kill them all, they would continue to chase him.
And he was still the Governor of Xunyang City.
He had once been the Governor of Xunyang City.
Now he was a general.
With a roar, he led the surrounding soldiers and charged at the demon soldiers.
He had basically forgotten what happened next. He only remembered that he was constantly swinging his blade, constantly falling, and then crawling back up. At the beginning, he could still feel the pain from his body, but later on, he couldn't even feel the pain anymore. He only felt that the blade in his hand was getting heavier and his breathing was getting heavier and heavier.
Just when he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to put aside everything and just fall asleep, he suddenly heard a distant voice in the darkness.
Reinforcements had arrived!
His mind roused, he used the last of his strength to charge towards the perimeter, but he sank into despair behind the meadow.
Several dozen demon soldiers had just charged out of the darkness, their mouths dripping with stinking saliva and their eyes blood red.
Just when he believed that he and his bodyguards were doomed, he suddenly saw a person amongst the demon soldiers.
Liang Hongzhuang stood up, leaning on his spear, on the verge of collapse.
Feng Guijun wanted to tell Liang Hongzhuang to run, but he could not make a sound.
Liang Hongzhuang did not run.
He had chosen to self-detonate.
The true essence in his Ethereal Palace and the one hundred and eight Qi openings simultaneously erupted.
A silver firework illuminated the meadow.
The blazing and divine star radiance instantly tore apart the bodies of those demon soldiers.
For cultivators, this was the most tragic way to die, the most painful farewell.
… …
… …
"There's no need, isn't it just death?
"It's not like I said I wasn't willing to die, so why make yourself feel so much pain?"
Feng Guijun absentmindedly sat on the grass.
"General Feng?"
A woman dressed in white ceremonial robes walked up to him.
The curtained hat covered her face, making her voice somewhat indiscernible.
Feng Guijun ignored her.
There was a flash of black light.
Feng Guijun's palm was pierced by a small hairpin, leaving behind a delicate bloody hole.
The perfect amount of pain finally brought him back to his senses, but it was not enough to make him scream.
Still using the starlight, he did not see the tide of demon soldiers, but an incomparably beautiful face that also left him stunned.
"Is it … Milady?"
Feng Guijun asked in a trembling voice, and then began to cry.
"Milady should have come to save him."
The woman ignored him, indifferently saying, "Congratulations, you now have two choices. You have already been proven to be courageous in battle, and the crimes you once committed have already been redeemed. You can return to Xunyang City. Of course, you can no longer serve as the city guard, but you can continue living as an ordinary citizen."
Slightly perplexed, Feng Guijun asked, "The second is?"
The woman replied, "You can stay. Once you recover from your wounds, you can follow the army north."
Feng Guijun did not speak for a very long time.
Anyone else would have known which of these two choices to choose.
If it was an hour ago, he would have made a decision very easily.
Now, he found it extremely difficult.
He knew that she would not deceive him, because that was something that she disdained to do.
"I choose the second choice."
His voice trembled, clearly still fearful and uneasy.
The woman was somewhat surprised. "Why?"
Feng Guijun raised his head and earnestly asked, "I hear that there's an opera in Xuelao City?"
The woman nodded.
Feng Guijun said, "I want to go there and hear just how different it is from the singing of the Jin clan of Luling and the Orange Water Zhang."
… …
… …
Feng Guiqun and the heavily wounded that had already been discovered were sent to the southern camp to be treated.
After recovering, they could choose to return to the army or go home.
The teachers and students of the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green remained on the battlefield, continuing to search for the wounded and treat the soldiers.
At certain times, the faint fragrance of herbs even masked the stench of blood and decay.
But the most serene and peaceful was still the Sacred Light.
The work of treating the wounded continued into the day.
No matter how serious their wounds were, as long as they could find them, they could all be treated. Sometimes, it was almost a miracle.
The battle came to a pause.
All the demon soldiers in a hundred-li radius had been cleanly killed.
The vanguard reorganized itself, but strangely, besides the Red Falcons heading to the main camp, many Red Geese had also landed in the meadow, and in the afternoon, many fast horses were arriving.
A piece of news gradually began to spread among the tens of thousands of soldiers.
The Holy Maiden was on that meadow.
… …
… …
Xu Yourong walked toward the front of the meadow.
Wherever she passed, the golden flames would burn the rotting corpses of the demon soldiers into smoke.
Now that her identity had been exposed, there was naturally no need to conceal it.
A gentle breeze blew away the smoke, restoring the meadow to its former brightness.
Ten-some cavalry were waiting in front of her.
The two sides of the meadow were covered in kneeling soldiers. The wounded were also struggling to kneel, their faces brimming with piety and fortune.
To be personally treated by the Holy Maiden, how many lifetimes was this fortune that could be cultivated?
The cavalry that had come from all over represented the will of many Divine Generals, as well as some important personages of the capital.
They were all emissaries that wanted to persuade Xu Yourong to hurry back to the capital.
The most important reason was naturally safety.
Everyone knew that the Holy Maiden had the bloodline of the Heavenly Phoenix and was a true cultivation genius. Although young, she was already half a step from the Divine.
But this was a battlefield brimming with death and slaughter. Without the Pope at her side, one could not help but feel somewhat uneasy.
Another important reason was that the South Stream Temple sword array was also not at her side.
The disciples of South Stream Temple were also not in the southern camp, but in the even more distant and even more important Central Army Tent, responsible for protecting the commander-in-chief of the northern expedition.
The cavalry began to kneel, begging the Holy Maiden to return to the capital as soon as possible.
Xu Yourong did not even glance at them. She took a letter from the hands of a South Stream Temple disciple.
This disciple had traveled day and night and was extremely exhausted. She sat down on the ground and began to meditate. From this, one could easily imagine the importance of this letter.
This letter came from the Central Army Tent, but it did not come from the commander-in-chief, nor did it have anything to do with the capital. It had been written by Ye Xiaolian.
The South Stream Temple sword array that guarded the Central Army Tent was currently under her command. For this reason, she knew many secrets.
Of course, one could not rule out the possibility that some important personage wanted to use her to accurately deliver information to Xu Yourong.
… …
… …
Many important personages, including the Divine Generals, had always known that the Holy Maiden was on the battlefield.
In the bitter battles of the last few days, she had led the teachers and students of the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green to various battlefields, saving the lives of countless soldiers.
Why was it that these important personages had not pointed it out in the past few days, but now stood up and used the name of safety to implore her to return to the capital?
The explanation Ye Xiaolian gave in the letter was that Xu Yourong had saved too many wounded people on the meadow today.
To save so many heavily injured people on the verge of death, one could not rely solely on the Sacred Light technique. The Holy Maiden had assuredly used that medicine.
In the last few days, she had probably also used that medicine, but she had not used too much, so everyone could still endure it.
Today, she had used too much medicine, so everyone was truly unable to endure it, so they wanted to ask her to leave.
In truth, everyone believed that the authority to distribute this medicine should not have been in her hands. The Holy Maiden was benevolent and loved the people of the world, willing to pay any price to save anyone who was injured. But if that medicine was used up on ordinary soldiers, what would happen if a Divine General was injured in the future? What would happen if a prince died?
This sounded very callous, but this was a battlefield, a war. The distribution of any resource had to have rules. Life and death were fated, but there was definitely a weight to it.
There had been no war in the last few years, so the Li Palace had removed the monthly distribution of Cinnabar Pills. One only needed to make a simple calculation to know how many Cinnabar Pills they had accumulated.
The authority to distribute the Cinnabar Pills was in the hands of the Li Palace, but when it came to the specifics, they still had to consult the generals on the front lines.
In times of peace, the combined will of the powerful personages represented by these cavalry would not have been able to shake her in the slightest. But this was a time of war, and the status of the army was rising. Moreover, the intentions of the generals were reasonable from a certain point of view, and they had given her sufficient respect.
So what sort of answer would she give?
Xu Yourong slowly took off her veil hat, revealing her perfect face.
The surrounding plains grew even quieter.
Only the nearby disciples of South Stream Temple could see the exhaustion on her face.
She turned to those cavalry.
A cool breeze rustled the long grass of the plains, creating a sound like waves.
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