#737 - Prologue (I)
Two hours later, at Xu hour (7-9 PM).
The setting sun was like blood, the last trace of red disappearing into the horizon amidst the earth-shattering sounds of battle.
Beneath Fengyuan City, countless fire feathers soared into the sky, the firelight instantly filling the heavens, before whistling and plummeting into Fengyuan City.
"Quick! Put out the fire!!"
"You guys go over there!"
"Save the armaments first! Then the food! Ignore everything else!"
"Amitabha, Amitabha..."
"..."
Amidst the chaotic shouts, people ran between the fires, buckets of clear water splashing onto the burning houses, the sound of "chi la chi la" echoing continuously.
In the streets and alleys, bodies lay everywhere.
Some were wounded soldiers who had succumbed to their injuries, some were civilians who had died from the indiscriminate bombardment outside the city, and some were warrior monks in yellow-gray robes.
All the corpses were exposed in the streets, and if they were unfortunate enough to be hit by a rocket, they would burst into flames, eventually turning into charred remains in the fire.
In fact, being "burned to ashes" was already a good ending...
At least compared to those rotting corpses covered in maggots, this was always more "dignified".
The Battle of Fengyuan had lasted for half a month, and the soldiers and civilians in the city had defended for half a month.
Although they had repelled the enemy's attacks time and time again with Xu Suisui's numerous plans.
But today, everyone in the city was like an arrow at the end of its flight.
Even though it had flown far beyond its normal range, it would eventually lose all its strength at some point and fall powerlessly to the ground at any time...
"Your Majesty! We can't wait any longer!"
In the brightly lit hall of the Xin Feng Imperial Palace, more than a dozen people stood before the haggard-looking Xu Suisui, their expressions extremely serious.
"There are now fewer than 40,000 soldiers who can still fight!"
"If the formation is not activated, we may not even survive tonight!"
"Moreover, Sect Leader Qin has been fighting continuously for the past few days, and is now exhausted and unable to support himself!"
"If the city falls, it will be too late!"
"Your Majesty! Activate the formation!"
"..."
The forceful voice came from a bald old monk.
Although the top of his head was empty, with only nine initiation scars, the wisp of fluttering white beard added a solemn aura to his entire person.
Obviously, this old monk must be an enlightened master.
As for the "activate the formation" in his mouth, it was undoubtedly Xu Suisui's last resort.
"Now... where are the Ning and Shu reinforcements?"
On the other side, Xu Suisui, standing on the dragon platform, was pale, obviously due to excessive mental exhaustion.
She looked up at the old monk and asked softly, "How many more days until they arrive?"
"Your Majesty, the reinforcements have only reached Yanmen County."
The old monk sighed and replied truthfully, "At the fastest, it will be six or seven days before they reach Fengyuan."
"Six or seven days..."
Xu Suisui shook her head with a wry smile, "Abbot Wuchen, the Buddhist formation can only last for three days at most."
"If the formation is activated now but still cannot last until the reinforcements arrive, then at that time..."
"Your Majesty! But if the formation is not activated, Fengyuan will fall tonight!"
The old monk, called Wuchen, frowned and interrupted directly, "Being breached in three days is better than being breached today!"
Facing his warning, Xu Suisui lowered her head and asked somewhat unwillingly.
"Can we really not hold on any longer?"
"Your Majesty, this poor monk dares not say for sure."
Wuchen stared straight at Xu Suisui and said, word by word, "This poor monk is only making a suggestion, as for whether to activate the formation or not..."
"That depends on whether Your Majesty dares to gamble."
"..."
"I understand, activate the formation..."
In the lamplight, Xu Suisui, dressed in a golden long dress, finally nodded with difficulty after a long while.
"This palace is a little tired and wants to go back and rest."
"I will trouble all the esteemed monks with this matter."
After saying the last sentence, Xu Suisui silently turned around, walked past a screen, and left the hall.
"Huff!"
As soon as she left the hall door, a biting cold wind howled, shaking her body gently.
In the sky, countless not-so-distant fires were still falling, tearing apart Fengyuan's night in the midst of various chaotic sounds.
However, Xu Suisui did not look up, but slowly walked in the cold and secluded corridor, with no one around except for a small eunuch following behind her.
It's not to say that her guards were all guarding in the dark.
It was just because just a few days ago, even the servants in the palace had been sent to the city walls.
Looking at it this way, Fengyuan might really have reached the end of its rope...
Thinking this in her heart, Xu Suisui's steps became even heavier, and she didn't even notice the disappearance of the small eunuch's footsteps.
It wasn't until a long sword gleaming with a cold light was placed across her neck from behind that she suddenly stopped, looking at the shadow on the ground for a long time.
"Wei, Wei Changtian..."
"Is it you?"
"..."
A somewhat trembling voice, but with a hint of relieved excitement.
Just like a woman who pretends to be strong in a difficult situation finally waiting for the only man she can rely on, rather than saying that Xu Suisui guessed that the person was Wei Changtian, it was better to say that she was expecting this person to be Wei Changtian.
But unfortunately, the voice that sounded behind her was not that familiar voice.
"Hehe, Your Majesty, I'm sorry to disappoint you, this little one is not Young Master Wei."
"This little one is here on orders to take your life."
"..."
Qingzhou, East Extremity Sea.
"Splash! Splash splash splash!"
The distant night sky was shrouded in a vast expanse of dark cyan, and successive tides crashed against the rocks, stirring up monstrous waves.
Broken waves were like snow, scattered in the air, and before the turbulent sound of the waves subsided, another wave came up, again and again, endlessly.
On the not-so-large island, Chu Xianping stood among the rocks, surrounded by the same dozen or so men in black.
Yes, after leaving Qingzhou City three days ago, they did not go anywhere else, but continued east, then took a boat into the sea, and finally landed on this small island far from the mainland just now.
Obviously, Chu Xianping's running to this godforsaken island was not to escape the pursuit of the Suspended Mirror Division.
Strictly speaking, coming here was not his intention at all.
"Young Master Chu, this is the place."
Not far away, a man in black stood beside a huge reef and shouted coldly at Chu Xianping.
"..."
Looking at the man in black, Chu Xianping walked to the side of the reef with an unchanged expression and looked up.
Then, in the next second, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Black mist lingered, hazy and mysterious.
Chu Xianping was all too familiar with this scene, because it was exactly the same as the cloud of mist in the Mountain God Temple!
In the East Extremity Sea, there is also a teleportation array!
"Huff"
Taking a deep breath, Chu Xianping's brain worked quickly.
However, the man in black next to him was not patient, clasped his fist at him, and then said without any emotion:
"Young Master Chu, you have already seen this array in Liangzhou, this little one will not say more."
"Please."
"..."
The waves roared, and the stirred-up water droplets hit Chu Xianping's body, chilling him to the bone.
Chu Xianping did not speak, but used his inner strength to force out a few drops of blood from his fingertips, and then burst into a sparse cloud of blood mist.
He took the first step over the blood mist, and the second step into the black mist.
"Boom!!"
Another huge wave crashed against the reef, and then darkness swallowed everything.
