#261 - Chapter 255 Bai Youheng
“Rumble...”
The 30,000 Shu Province soldiers had already disappeared at the end of the official road, with only the earth still trembling slightly.
Standing on his horse, gazing at the billowing dust, Wei Changtian's heroic feelings gradually faded, and after a long while, he shook his head slightly.
Although he sincerely hoped that Liang Zhen could return in triumph, whether he could ultimately "return in triumph" was not actually in Liang Zhen's hands.
After all, a Shu Province General cannot possibly be the commander of such a large-scale national war.
Above the General are the four Generals of the East, West, South, and North, and above them are the骠骑 General and the 镇国 Grand General.
Huh? Speaking of which, is it possible that Ning Yongnian will send Han Zhao to be the commander?
If that were the case, it would be great.
“Da da da ~ Da da da ~”
While lost in thought, a burst of rapid hoofbeats suddenly sounded from behind.
Wei Changtian retracted his gaze, turned his head to look, and then saw Chu Xianping galloping towards him on horseback.
“Young Master!”
“I found it!”
Half an hour later, Yanyun Mountain.
Standing before the muddy pit, Wei Changtian frowned tightly.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Chu Xianping beside him replied in a deep voice: “That Yun Lian did come to Yanyun Mountain six days ago.”
“Six days ago... That was the second day after she arrived in Shu Province City?”
“Yes.”
Chu Xianping nodded: “A hunter saw her entering the mountain alone. The brothers from the Gongji Society have searched the mountain, but they didn't find anyone, only this deep pit.”
“These four skeletons are scattered in the pit, and there are no items on them that can identify their identities.”
Buried here were the five second-rank experts belonging to Kui Long who had come to help Xiao Feng!
But why are there only four corpses now?
Judging from the tattered clothes, the missing one should be that Wu Tianqing or whatever his name was.
If we combine that with the information provided by the chief镖头 of the Wantong Escort Agency before...
So all of this was done by Yun Lian?
Then why did she take Wu Tianqing's body away?
Could it be...
Wu Tianqing is actually the person Yun Lian came to Shu Province to find? Is he Yun Lian's husband?!
Wei Changtian stood there with his arms folded, feeling speechless.
Good heavens! What a coincidence?!
But if it's not like that, is there any more reasonable explanation?
“Young Master...”
Beside him, Chu Xianping noticed the change in Wei Changtian's expression and couldn't help but ask: “What's wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Wei Changtian shook his head and, after pondering for a moment, ordered: “Rebury these four corpses properly.”
“Send more brothers to guard my house and the General's mansion. Yun Lian is likely to appear nearby.”
“Also, go to the prison in the yamen and find a death row inmate. Take him to the Tianluo Sect first, and I'll be over later.”
“...”
“Yes.”
Chu Xianping didn't understand the origin of these three orders, but he didn't ask any further, and went to arrange them after responding.
Wei Changtian rubbed his forehead, then looked at the sky through the gaps in the leaves.
It was noon, which should be the time with the best sunlight.
But for some reason, the weather had been gloomy for the past few days, but it hadn't rained heavily yet.
Thick clouds filled the sky, and a few rays of golden light pierced through the dark clouds, sharp as blades, somber and chilling.
Coupled with the four skeletons next to him...
Wei Changtian suddenly remembered two lines from Du Fu's "The Ballad of the Army Carts" from his previous life—
“Have you not seen, at Qinghai's edge, / From ancient times, white bones no one claims.
New ghosts fret and old ghosts weep, / The sky is dark, the rain is damp, their voices chirp.”
Yuan Prefecture, Yuan Prefecture City.
“Boom!!!”
“Kill!”
“Brothers! Kill for me! The first to enter the city! A reward of a thousand taels of silver!!”
“Today, let's show this group of useless people from Da Ning who are the real men!”
“For Da Feng! For the Emperor! For the Grand General!”
“Take back Yuan Prefecture!!!”
“Dong dong dong!”
“Dong dong dong!”
“...”
An hour ago, just as the Shu Province army was marching valiantly towards Yuan Prefecture, the Da Feng army, which had been stationed at the border between the two countries for several days, finally crossed the Yuan Prefecture boundary marker for the first time, launching a fierce attack on Yuan Prefecture City, which stood on the border, with 100,000 elite soldiers as the vanguard.
The war drums had been sounding for an hour, and the battle had been going on for an hour.
For the Yuan Prefecture army stationed there, all of this was not too sudden. Having made thorough preparations, it was roughly estimated that they could hold out for at least three days.
The situation on the battlefield is ever-changing, and "three days" is just an expectation.
Now, the reinforcements from various prefectures of Da Ning are rushing to Yuan Prefecture, and the subsequent troops of Da Feng are also marching day and night... Whoever can reinforce the battlefield first will undoubtedly gain a huge advantage.
Of course, such "strategic" matters are issues to be considered by the generals.
For the soldiers of the two countries who are fighting on the front line, they only need to, and can only, consider how to kill the enemy and how to save their own lives.
“Brother Bai! Be careful!!”
“Clang!”
Cold light flashed, and long blades crossed.
Along with a roar, a man wearing Da Feng black armor swung his knife to block a fatal blow for his companion.
The latter's reaction speed was also very fast. Without thanking him, he immediately stepped forward and approached the Da Ning soldier who had ambushed him, and slashed down with a knife without saying a word.
The Da Ning soldier hurriedly raised his knife to block, but when he saw the eyes of the man surnamed Bai, his entire body's movements froze for a moment.
In a martial artist's duel, even the slightest difference can lead to a great error, and a moment of distraction can determine life and death.
“Crack!”
“Puchi!!”
The hundred-refined military knife split the military helmet, and with unparalleled power, it continued downward, until it cut the person under the knife in half alive.
This scene was undoubtedly extremely bloody, and if ordinary people saw it, most of them would probably be so frightened that they would collapse directly to the ground.
However, no one would have such a reaction now, and no one would even look at the dead soldier.
In war, the death of ordinary soldiers has always been insignificant.
Even though these people are also sons, husbands, and fathers, they are also the pillars of their families.
“Clang clang clang clang!”
Behind them, the sound of golden gongs symbolizing the retreat suddenly sounded, which also meant that this tentative siege battle had temporarily come to an end.
The Da Feng soldiers in this area turned around and jumped off the city wall one after another. Some were able to quickly disengage from the battle, while others failed to escape the blades and arrows coming from behind, and died regretfully during the retreat.
“Brother Bai, we brothers were really lucky this time!”
Under the city wall of Yuan Prefecture, the two Da Feng soldiers who had been talking earlier rushed towards the distant, sprawling military tents, expressing their feelings of surviving a disaster.
“I never expected to be assigned to the vanguard army. I'm really unlucky!”
“Huh? Brother Bai, if I remember correctly, you used to work as a night watchman, right?”
“What a good job! The salary is high and it's prestigious! Why did you come to be a soldier?”
“Could it be that you offended some big shot?”
“...”
The man who was speaking may have had a bit of a talkative problem, and he babbled endlessly along the way.
And the "night watchman" in his mouth is not a real night watchman, but the intelligence organization of the Da Feng royal family. The scale is smaller than the Hanging Mirror Division, and the responsibilities are also relatively simpler.
“Brother Li...”
Unlike the man, this soldier surnamed Bai, who used to work as a night watchman, was much more silent. Facing a bunch of questions, he just smiled and replied.
“Thank you for saving me just now.”
“Hahahaha! What does this count as...”
After laughing a few times, the man was indeed led astray, and the few questions that had not been answered just now were all thrown to the back of his mind.
He only regarded the little brother beside him as a poor egg who had an unsuccessful career, but he didn't know that even if he hadn't saved him just now, the latter would have been fine.
The man didn't even know that the latter hadn't offended any big shot at all, but had taken the initiative to request to be transferred to the army, so that he could participate in this national war.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh!”
Wherever the two passed, countless black shadows that only one person could see shot out from the corpses strewn across the field towards the man surnamed Bai, and then disappeared into a small bronze mirror hidden in the latter's arms.
Every black shadow is the soul of a dead person.
Where are the most fresh corpses?
In Da Feng, the second place is undoubtedly the Yamen of the Night Watchman, and the first place... That is definitely the battlefield.
This is why the man surnamed Bai appeared here.
【9: Da Feng Dynasty, Bronze Gong Night Watchman, Bai Youheng】
The Way of Ghosts and Evils.
