Novoland: Eagle Flag Chapter 2: Konghou Yin

"Patriarch, Patriarch! The emperor has letters, the emperor has letters!"

From the corridor outside came the cry of the house slave, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps.

Ye Yongrong slowly put the scroll of manuscript in his hand back on the desk, after a moment of silence, he stood up calmly. There was only one oil candle lit in the study, drawing her long shadow on the wall, she walked slowly step by step, but never stagnant.

Opening the door, the night breeze blew on her face, which was very cool. The sky is clear, under the brilliance of the stars and the moon, the towering giant-like shadow of Beiman Mountain in the east lies in front of the small house in the mountain, slightly blue, and it is another spring.

In the spring of last year, she was only the young lady of the Ye family in the cloud, but when the severe winter came, her father held her hand tightly in the dying state, and before he could say the last word, he closed his eyes forever. So Ye Yongrong became the patriarch of the Ye family in Yunzhong, the last authentic heir of "Blood of Famous Generals", a twenty-four-year-old daughter. Ye Yongrong knew what her father wanted to say at that time, she reached into her father's sparse gray hair and combed it carefully, nodded silently, feeling his body cooling down slowly.

The slender female head of the house stood with her arms folded under the wide eaves, silently overlooking the mountains. This natural majesty made the house slaves dare not be presumptuous. He lowered his hand waving the letter paper, lowered his voice and knelt aside.

Ye Yongrong looked sideways at the letter paper in his hand, it was indeed the light brown birch bark paper that princes and nobles in the imperial capital liked. She hadn't received a letter from the imperial capital for six years, and now she heard news from the imperial capital again, she didn't know whether it was joy or sorrow. Grand Tutor Xie's position among the royal ministers is still in full swing, maybe the case of King Xue Yeqin has finally come to light, and the memorial to death has been chased to Yunzhong City. She thought so, but she didn't show fear, on the contrary, she was a little lost in thought.

"Patriarch, the emperor has a letter. It is His Majesty's own handwriting, summoning the patriarch to leave for the imperial capital immediately, and take the position of Yulin Tianjun shogunate military aircraft to participate in politics, leading the shogunate staff with 175 people," the house slave tried his best to suppress his excitement, "Patriarch, the chance for our Yunzhong Ye family to come back is finally here! It's finally here!"

"What? Call me to take part in politics?"

The unexpectedly good news made Ye Yongrong feel at a loss. Even if Xie Qiwei was not troubled by the case six years ago, she left Tianqi City privately, abandoned her official position and retired to seclusion, and lived in seclusion at the foot of Beiman Mountain all these years to study without making any achievements, how could the royal family suddenly call her to participate in politics for military reasons? ? There are more than 100 staff officers of the Yubayashi Heavenly Army, and only one soldier participates in politics. He can further participate in the royal military affairs in the Tianqiong Temple, and one step back is the chief strategist of the Yubayashi Heavenly Army.

"Your Majesty's letter is written by your majesty and sealed with the national seal. There is nothing wrong with it!" The servant thought she was stunned, and spread the letter over his head, "Patriarch Baili made a recommendation for you. Don't dare to underestimate our Ye family!"

"Patriarch Baili? Baili Moyan?" Ye Yongrong looked at the lacquered seal on the corner of the letter, and had no idea.

There are countless aristocratic families in the imperial capital, but the Baili family has been the leading family for a century. No matter how the power in the court changes, the ministers in power dare not confront the Baili family's power head-on. When it comes to the number one wealthy family in the imperial capital, it is still the Baili family after all. The patriarch of this generation, Baili Moyan, is even more of a noble figure with literary talent, but she never even had the opportunity to visit her. I don't know why Baili Moyan made such a big sponsor for her.

He felt a little perplexed, like when he saw Xie Qiwei's eyes at that time, he realized that in the power field of the imperial capital, there are cliffs everywhere.

"Master..." The servant was puzzled by her indifference, as if a basin of cold water had been poured on her head, and looked at her in bewilderment.

Ye Yongrong withdrew his eyes, still looking at Beiman Mountain silently with his hands in his sleeves, his untied black hair seemed to have been washed with black, rising and falling leisurely in the night wind.

"Ye Wei, why did Baili Moyan recommend me?"

The servant named Ye Wei was stunned for a moment: "Of course it is the prestige of the blood of the famous Ye family in our cloud. Now that the royal family has no famous ministers and generals, it is an opportunity to recruit talents. Who else is like us Ye Wei?" The family is loyal to the emperor and serves the country? Patriarch does not have to hesitate, the wish of the old patriarch before his death will finally come true, our Ye family is still one of the seven major clans in the eastern part of Kyushu, success or failure depends on the patriarch's coming to Beijing to establish his prestige this time."

Ye Yongrong smiled silently: "Ye Wei, think carefully about everything. You probably know why I left the imperial capital six years ago. Since Emperor Xi passed away, the chaos in the current situation is no longer due to the royal family alone. The power can be suppressed. After the battle of Shangyang, Ying Wuyi withdrew from the imperial capital, and Chu Wei, Xiatang and Chunguo replaced them. The royal ministers who used to be attached to Ying Wuyi are now attached to different princes. The situation in the world is in a small There are ups and downs in an imperial capital, various factions are fighting, and the emperor has no power. Now this letter means that the Baili family suddenly came to ask for friendship. Do you think that when I step into the imperial capital, I just take the position of the leader of the Yulin Tianjun shogunate?"

Ye Wei's eyes widened and he was at a loss. He is just a samurai, he has never studied military science, he is not afraid of swords, but he doesn't understand how much murder is more important than the edge of a sword in the struggle for power.

"Then... Patriarch means...not going to the imperial capital anymore?"

"No," Ye Yongrong said decisively, "Clean up, we will leave as soon as possible."

"Yes!" Ye Wei lowered his head suddenly.

"Knowing that it is a killing field, but we have to try it. We are the descendants of the Ye family in the cloud. The Ye family has been loyal to the royal family for many generations. How can we escape in this declining era? Perish in troubled times," Ye Yongrong said in a low voice, "This is my father's wish, and it is also my wish!"

"Yes!"

There is no more words between master and servant. Ye Wei didn't dare to withdraw without authorization, fearing that the Patriarch would still have status to order, but Ye Yongrong just watched the mountain quietly under the eaves. Ye Wei raised his head and took a peek at her, that face that was still as bright as pearls, seemed to have been covered with a layer of frost under the moonlight, repelling people thousands of miles away. Ye Wei grew up with her, and he knew clearly that the head of the family was twenty-four years old, and You Ran was unmarried.

A twenty-four-year-old woman, even if she is still beautiful, how long can she be beautiful? Ye Wei thought about it, but shook his head in his heart, after all, he was the head of the Ye family in Yunzhong. How can one imagine the heir to the blood of a famous general marrying as a married woman and acting like a child under the grape arbor?

"Then what is your wish?"

Ye Wei raised his head blankly, not understanding why the Patriarch suddenly said this incomprehensible sentence. Ye Yongrong was also taken aback for a moment, and smiled, like a quietly blooming spring flower.

At this time, across the vast land of Wanzhou, across the Leiyan Mountains that reach straight into the sky, on the vast and high plains of Zhongzhou, a pile of fire is crackling and burning, reflecting the clear starlight in the sky, illuminating the sky. around the camp.

The carts full of goods formed a circle around them, and the big ropes binding the goods were wrapped with small black flags. This was a rather large caravan.

This is the east of the Imperial Capital Plain. The terrain of Zhongzhou is higher than that of Wanzhou and Yuezhou, and there is only one piece of imperial capital plain, which is low-lying and suitable for farming by accumulating rainwater. Other than that, most of them are plateaus that stretch as far as the eye can see. Farming only produces sorghum and millet, which is more suitable for grazing. It turned out that the two princes of Chen State and Lou State owned land between the Imperial Capital Plain and Leiyan Mountain. Three hundred years ago, the barbarians went south and washed away Lou State in one fell swoop. Desolate lands, relocate the population to the fertile lands east of Thundereye Mountain.

In this way, the highland between Leiyan Mountain and the Imperial Capital Plain became a wasteland, and only a few refugees who could not pay the tax would reclaim a wasteland here and grow some corn to feed themselves. On hundreds of miles of land, there are only a few sparse villages scattered.

Originally, caravans shouldn't set foot in such a place, but the wasteland has special produce. The most poisonous adder in East China is produced in this sparsely populated place. The venom of the adder has an advantage. If you are bitten by another snake, you only need to swallow the venom of the adder immediately to save your life. But the venom of the adder itself is extremely poisonous, if it wasn't for the deep venom of other snakes, as long as one is bitten by the adder, it would only last three days at most. Therefore, the venom of vipers has become a rare drug for detoxification. Merchants came with large carts of goods, and let the refugees who could not eat enough to catch vipers. Gradually, catching snakes became the main business, and farming was neglected. .

As long as you dare to risk your life to catch snakes, you can still drink the fine wine of the barbarians and use the cold silk of Wanzhou here.

"Oh, my waist, if I shake it again, it will break. This big brother, please help me get some water for the villain."

The person who spoke was a young businessman, not tall, but with delicate features, but he was slightly treacherous, his eyes flicked left and right, and finally he fell in love with a merchant from Chen Guo who was drinking, and he leaned over to the other party and said in a low voice Beg.

"Let's go! Get the water yourself!" Chen Guoshang was drunk and gave him a look.

"Alright, alright, go by yourself," the young merchant had no choice but to stand up with one hand on his back, when he leaned down on the grass again with an "ouch" sound, his eyebrows frowned, and his face twitched When I woke up, it seemed that the pain was really unbearable.

"Twisted your waist?" The Chen Guo merchant was the roughest one in the caravan, and he glared at him impatiently, "Your body is as thin as a piece of paper, and you have to go out for business! Trash!"

Too lazy to look at the face of the young businessman, he grabbed the copper pot by the fire, turned over and jumped onto the grazing horse. He had a huge body, but he was as light as a flying swallow when he got on the horse. He pulled the rein and rode the horse to the small river not far to the east.

As soon as the background of Chen Guoshang disappeared in the night, there was a muffled groan from across the fire: "Xiyue Shisan, why is your waist broken again? It was broken dozens of times along the way, and you can still recover." Getting here, you are afraid that you took the extra lumbar vertebrae and changed it all the way?"

The young merchant was still rubbing his waist, and his movements had become unhurried. After hearing this, he glanced at the direction where Chen Guo's merchant was leaving, and then smiled cheekily: "Brother Nian again Make fun of small merchants like us. If my family didn’t have a dead father above and no brothers below, it wouldn’t be my turn to be a frail and sick person to do business. My waist is really a problem from childhood. I can’t move when I catch a cold at night. It’s good to see the sun out during the day. It’s thanks to the support of you big brothers to make it this far.”

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by the person opposite.

"Waiting?" The voice from the unknown place wandered in his ear, "Waiting for you here is enough. There are still three days left to go to Beixiang Mountain. I'm afraid you won't be able to support that time. Leave your things and rest here!"

The voice was faint like a ghost crying, Xiyue Shisan felt awe-inspiring, his whole body was numb, and he looked around unnaturally.

The sound of drawing a knife suddenly broke the silence, Xiyue Shisan looked in the direction of the sound, and the shadow in the darkness who was sitting silently by the side suddenly raised a knife, striding towards him, passing by the fire The time was so full of sparks that he couldn't see his face clearly, only a tall and thin figure.

"Brother, this is..."

Before Xiyue finished speaking, he saw other merchants getting up, forming a half circle and pressing forward. Xiyue Thirteen felt that those eyes were suddenly shining The greenness is like a pack of wolves walking at night. His face turned pale, and he suddenly remembered the rumors on this road. Most of the caravans who dared to take this dangerous road had some tyrannical backgrounds, and many of them were bandits themselves. Some of them did not change their evil deeds, and often the merchants who joined the team were solved halfway by them, the goods were taken away, and the people were hung alive on the tree branches. When the second caravan passed by, they only saw a dried corpse .

Xiyue Shisan was not a member of this caravan at all, he was doing business alone, so he waited halfway for someone to take him, and finally got the caravan to let go. At this time, I felt that it was so stupid that I sent myself into the tiger's mouth. He waved his hands trembling, suddenly screamed, jumped up suddenly, and burrowed into the darkness without thinking. Before he could run a few steps, he bumped into a person, his whole body was paralyzed, lying on the ground with his head hugged, curled up like a dry shrimp.

I could only hear the sound of footsteps around me. I don't know how many people gathered around me, laughing and resonating strangely. He didn't dare to open his eyes, and stubbornly pulled the soft hat on top of his head to cover his eyes, as if he was afraid that his blood would splash out when the long knife fell.

"Oh, you can't move when you catch a cold at night?"

Someone picked him up vigorously and tore off the bonnet from his head. I don't know how many slaps hit him on the head. Although the pain didn't hurt, he was dizzy. He timidly opened his eyes a narrow slit, only to see that all around him were road guards from the caravan, and the merchants were all sitting in the distance without moving. Because of the old man laughing and shaking him by the back of the collar, he remembered that the figure of the tall and thin ghost was the head of the road guard. He usually held his knife and bowed more than anyone else. They are all wretched, standing upright for a while, but they are as tall and thin as a bamboo.

"Who ran as fast as a rabbit just now?" The old man laughed, full of complacency after teasing others.

Xiyue Shisan suddenly understood, and the fear in his heart disappeared immediately. He tried his best to suppress the blood on his face, and said with a moaning voice: "When a person encounters a catastrophe, even if he has no waist, he can still run!"

"That's that," the old man laughed, "chickens and ducks can run fast without waists, and geese can fly without waists.

Xiyue Thirteen cannot refute. He walked along with others, and he had no status in the caravan, so he just shrugged his head and stopped talking.

"Okay, okay, accept it if you applaud," the old man opened a road guard's hand extended to Xiyue's head, "don't make the child stupid."

A group of people turned their heads to leave, but suddenly heard a voice from behind in the darkness: "Misters, the child was not fooled, but passers-by were almost killed."

This time it was the turn of the old man and Yigan Luhu to feel a chill in their hearts. They have been walking this trade route for a long time, and their eyes and ears are extremely sharp, but they did not notice that there is such a quiet person beside them who has never made a sound. Several road guards pulled out their weapons with a bang, formed a semicircle, and tried their best to widen their eyes, only to see the gray shadow walking slowly in the darkness.

Several businessmen followed up with torches, and the stranger who met in the firelight took off the hood on his head and smiled at everyone. Everyone's hostility disappeared for a while, and Xiyue vaguely remembered that he had bumped into this person in the gray windbreaker at that time. He was a little dazed, he had always been conceited and handsome, but he never expected to see such a person in this endless wasteland, such a person should only appear in the painting. The kind of fine brushwork painting titled "Qi Luo Chun Embroidery Picture" is dedicated to painting the noble son of the imperial capital, twisting a half-blown rose in his hand, and sitting with the beauty under the shade of the willow near the water.

"Finally I met someone," the strange young man untied his windbreaker and let out a long breath, "Otherwise, if we continue walking, we will really be stuck in this place."

He was talking, but no matter how he heard it, he still felt like a rich man in a big city who was traveling and met a tea shop on the way and wanted to take a break and drink a cup of green herbal tea.

"Xiang Hong, a native of Wuyuan, is lucky enough to meet you. Is it okay to sit and enjoy the fire?"

New firewood was added to the fire. Although it was just dead branches and leaves picked up nearby, there were still warm flames rolling up, which warmed people's hearts in this lonely night.

The young man who called himself Xiang Hong was a good talker, and the merchants did not dare to be negligent. There was still a little hot water in the remaining copper pot. Someone brought Wanzhou's famous Wuyu tea and made a cup of it hot. Drive Xiang Hong out of the cold. Xiang Hong was not too polite, took it and only glanced at it, then laughed loudly: "Flags and swords, good tea!"

The businessman who brought tea with him was surprised when he heard this. Those who do not forget to bring tea with them on a long-distance businessman are naturally tea-loving connoisseurs, but they never expected to meet like-minded people on such a barren and desolate plateau. His Wuyu tea is the top-grade "Double Swords of Banners". The new tea is picked in March in Yangchun, before the plum rain, when the tea leaves are still tender, and only the tea head with one bud and two small leaves is picked. After frying, it curls up like pearls. But when it is soaked, each branch is like a banner on the top and two small swords below. Even in the big city of Wanzhou, it is not easy to buy with money.

"The copper stove is warm, and the tea smells like water, which makes people think of the imperial capital again," Xiang Hong sipped lightly, admiring in a low voice.

Under his gray windbreaker, he was wearing a long robe as white as snow. After a long journey, it was still not stained with a speck of dust, reflecting the red bonfire, it became the color of sunset.

"Sir, come from the imperial capital? Why did you come here alone?" The tea merchant talked to him, feeling a little uneasy.

"No," Xiang Hong smiled, "I was born in Wuyuan, and I used to linger in the imperial capital, but I have been away from there for a long time. This time I came all the way north, and I was entrusted by someone to paint the surrounding area. Originally, I also hired two road guards and a boy, but who knew that they encountered wild soldiers on the way, and they were scattered when they ran.”

"Map? Mr. Xiang wants to draw a map of this place? The area here is three to four hundred miles, and there are only a few dozen villages in total. Except for the mountains, there are flat lands, and there are mountains after the flat lands. There is nothing else. "

Xiang Hong didn't say much, took out a scroll from the bamboo grid on his back, and slowly rolled it out. With a piece of tough cowhide as the lining, on the white mulberry paper, extremely thin ink lines outline the landscape of mountains and rivers, but the annotations use words that no one can understand.

"Isn't this..." A businessman next to him pointed his head over and glanced at it, pointing to a crooked blue line on the map, "Isn't this the Wutou River?"

"Wutou River?" Xiang Hong nodded, "Although I have never heard of this name, I think it is. The first time I saw this river was a mountain stream at the western foot of the Leiyan Mountains. Converging into a river, it runs through this land, zigzagging, and sinks westward into the Xingling River, where it meets the waters of the Imperial Capital Plain."

"Yes, yes, what Mr. Xiang said is not bad at all. If we take this trade route, we can rely on this river for water."

"Then we will name it Wutou River as Mr. said," Xiang Hong smiled, took out a pen and ink cartridge from the bamboo grid, breathed slightly on the tip of the pen, and wrote "Wutou River".

"Hey, with this map, wouldn't it be much more convenient to go this way?" The merchant admired, "Is Mr. Xiang also a merchant?"

Xiang Hong shook his head: "No, it's just that someone asked me to draw this picture with 1,500 gold baht."

"1,500 gold baht?" The merchants looked at each other in blank dismay. Spend such a big price.

"Yes. Wanzhou Tianranju has offered a reward for this map for six or seven years, and no one has dared to pick it. I am the first."

Xiyue Thirteen interjected: "This mountain has no production and no population. I heard that it used to be the territory of Lou Kingdom and Chen Kingdom. No one is willing to occupy it now. What's the point of drawing a map here? ? Are you going to open up wasteland here?"

"Hehehehe," Xiang Hong clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "From here, if one person and two horses gallop quickly, it only takes three days to reach the imperial capital. Those who really want this picture, I'm afraid they don't want to be here. To open up wasteland here, but to open up wasteland in the imperial capital?"

The merchants looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Don't talk about it, don't talk about it, I'm just a person who draws pictures," Xiang Hong still laughed, "Unless someone among you is willing to pay a higher price for this map, what's the point of talking about it ?”

"One thousand five hundred gold baht?" Xiyue Thirteen laughed dryly, "I thought we were all liars in business, and now I know that Mr. Xiang is the real liar."

"Don't lie, don't lie," Xiang Hong's smile narrowed, and it was hard to see through, "One day, this map may be worth 15 million gold baht, it just depends on who owns it!"

The shrill whistle sounded from far to near like lightning, and there was a "bang" in the bonfire surrounded by everyone, and sparks rose one after another.

"Ah!" Xiyue Shisan's eyes were sharpest, and he screamed first.

Put in the middle of the fire is a long arrow with carved feathers, the arrow feathers are peeling off and burning.

The road guards were really shocked this time. This wouldn't be self-disturbing, the arrow was coming close to Xiyue Shisan's forehead, as long as it was slightly off, Xiyue Shisan's skull would have been pierced. The road guards drew their swords together, and the old man rushed up like a jackal and kicked up the fire, trying to kick the fire out. The enemy is in the dark, they are in the light, and there is only one dead end when exposed to the arrows.

"No one is allowed to move!" A low shout came from the darkness.

The old man retracted his legs obediently. He was not afraid of the order, but following the order, the second arrow flew towards his boots, and the sharp wind from the arrow seemed to have cut his leg. The figures of all the people beside the fire froze. Some had their knives half out of their sheaths, some held their heads and looked around, and some jumped to the side of the cart to hide, but they all turned into puppets in an instant. Xiyue Thirteen's actions were not as heroic as those of his companions. When he felt that the first arrow almost killed him, he immediately knelt on his knees and raised his hands above his head. Before he had time to bow down and shout for mercy, he had to stop up.

In the dead silence, Xiang Hong quietly took a sip of tea, and suddenly let out a low laugh. Xiyue Shisan was facing him, knelt down on his knees and raised his hands to the sky, as if worshiping God, only two eyes rolled around nervously.

In the downwind direction, the torches were lit one by one, and after a while they found themselves completely surrounded. It is undoubtedly a wise move not to resist at first. The number of opponents is at least fifty, and all of them ride horses. The road guards were thinking about it in their hearts, but they couldn't think of any way. The opponent was an expert, and the wind approached, and the smell and sound were taken away by the wind. It must be that the horse's hooves were bound and dismounted to walk, so there was no sound at all. . In front of such an expert, no one dared to risk their lives to make a joke.

A blue flag emerged from the darkness. On the flag was a dragon hanging upside down in the sky. The opponent scattered and forced to come up. There were more than a hundred riders, and everyone was wearing leather armor. Their armor styles were different, and their weapons were scattered, but most of them were thin and strong, and there was a look of beasts in their eyes. The leading samurai rode a maroon horse, the horse's head was more than one foot higher than that of the Dong Lu horse, and it was an authentic Bei Liu breed. He kept chewing, the lines on his face twisted, and he held a horned bow in his hand. He was the one who shot the two odd arrows just now.

"The adults from the Dragon Banner Army?"

It's much easier if it's not a bandit. The blue dragon flag is the symbol of the "Dragon Banner Army". Around here, this dragon flag is quite prestigious. The Dragon Banner Army is not an army of princes, but a wild army. Since the war, in order to protect themselves, local tyrants often gather warrior formations to practice. Gradually, the princes deliberately gathered them together, stationed a piece of land, and could collect taxes and fees themselves, but it was not counted as the establishment of the princes' army, but a wild army loyal to a certain country. There were also some gangs of thieves who were recruited, and the Dragon Banner Army was the largest of them, with a total of no less than a thousand people. They are loyal to Chun State, a powerful country in the north, and have been frequently active on this mountain plain in recent years. Nian Wei also had dealings with the leader of the Dragon Banner Army he met before.

"Stand in a row! Everyone take out the ultimatum! Anyone who violates the order will be executed on the spot!"

Nianwei felt a chill in his heart, and he didn't dare to try to please him anymore. It seems that this time he met a cold and ruthless person, and Nian Wei also knew that this kind of wild army didn't care about any military regulations, and sometimes his behavior was not much different from that of a murderous bandit. Merchants and road guards lined up cautiously, and warriors gathered together to check the business cards one by one. Xiyue Shisan was at the end of the line, frightenedly touching a hard object in his waist. Xiang Hong was right next to him, holding the pottery cup in his hand, and there was still half a cup of hot tea in it.

The warriors checked extremely carefully, not only the ultimatum, but also the weapons and utensils they carried with them. Xiyue Shisan felt his legs trembling and he couldn't stand still.

"They are all issued by Wanzhou, why is yours issued by the imperial capital?" The samurai pressed Xiang Hong's face firmly.

"Because I was born in the imperial capital, it was naturally issued by the imperial capital." Xiang Hong smiled.

"Look at your outfit? You don't look like a merchant. What else is hidden, take it out!" The warrior reached out and grabbed Xiang Hong's lapel.

"Slow down!" Xiang Hong's hand grabbed the warrior's wrist suddenly, "If you want to search, I can take it out by myself, and you don't need to pull it with your hands."

"Pull? I'm afraid there is something invisible?" The samurai snorted coldly, licked his lips and laughed.

Xiyue Shisan watched from the sidelines, feeling horrified in his heart. It's not that the samurai looked fierce with his fleshy face, but that he actually saw a bit of **** in the samurai's eyes. The samurai leaned closer to Xiang Hong's face while talking, with half of his tongue sticking out, indescribably obscene, the hand holding Xiang Hong's skirt changed to pressing on his chest at some point.

"You look like a businessman? You look like a rabbit in the city."

Xiyue Shisan felt a chill in his heart. But after thinking about it for myself, this Xiang Hong's white dress, that delicate face that is almost soft, and those hands, those white and snow-clean hands, except that they are slender, delicate and delicate like a wealthy lady. It seems a bit wasteful not to be a rabbit husband with this appearance.

"Oh?" Xiang Hong raised his eyebrows slightly, and suddenly looked up at the warrior.

There was no change in the expression on his face, but the warrior's heart sank, and he couldn't help but let go. When he raised his head and frowned, his eyes were like knives and guns, approaching his eyes.

"Still frightened by this Mr. Rabbit?" He resisted and refused to let go, gritted his teeth, and pulled Xiang Hong's skirt halfway from the inner jacket with a forceful voice.

"Ah!" He let out a low cry, and stumbled back a step.

Xiyue Thirteen peeped over. It turned out that Xiang Hong's chest under the white clothes was not what the warrior thought, it was white and delicate as if it were fat, the chest exposed to the fire was covered with knife marks, the whole chest was torn apart by years of old scabs, the dark red scars matched the fair complexion Ying, people can't imagine how terrible pain was inflicted on this noble son when he was injured, and how he endured it to this day.

The samurai's collar was startled, and he rode over. First, he saw the knife mark on Xiang Hong's chest, and then Xiang Hong's eyes that could not see any emotion. The two looked at each other for a moment, and the warrior leader dismounted himself, picked up the ultimatum that fell to the ground, and read it silently. His eyes stayed on the ultimatum for a long time, and finally he glanced at Xiang Hong, and handed the ultimatum back to him.

"Mr. Xiang." The leader nodded in salute, turned and left.

Xiang Hong just nodded, bowed his head and took a sip of tea, then turned around and sat back by the fire, never looking at the warrior again.

The samurai didn't dare to search for Xiang Hong anymore, and grabbed Xiyue Shisan fiercely with anger. Before Xiyue Shisan could react, the other party felt the hard object around his waist and snatched it away. There was really no way to hide such a big object. The samurai's eyes were shining brightly, and he couldn't wait to tear off the green cloth wrapped outside. Xiyue Shisan's eyes went dark, and he couldn't hear anything in his ears for a while.

I don't know how long it took before he felt that the iron box was stuffed back into his waist again. An ultimatum was also thrown on his chest. The samurai glanced at him, twisted his mouth, turned and left.

As if amnesty to run for his life, Xiyue Shisan sat down tremblingly, sweating coldly for a long time, shouting luck in his heart.

"What are you hiding in there?" Xiang Hong asked with a low smile as he was beside him.

"They're all here to make money, why do you care so much about me?" Xiyue Shisan was afraid that people would hear him, so he gave Xiang Hong a vicious look, "I'm afraid you won't live long if you know about the beheading! I'm really scared Half of my life is gone!"

"Hehe, these are just wild troops. You just brought some prohibited things, as long as you give the money, it's not difficult to pass the customs. You wrapped two flying money outside the box, isn't it for this?"

Xiyue Shisan was stunned, only to realize that Xiang Hong had seen through everything at that moment. Outside his iron box were two pieces of flying money issued by the Wanzhou Chamber of Commerce, which added up to twenty gold baht and bought back a peace.

"Young Master Xiang, don't tell others about these things..."

Xiyue Thirteen was nagging, when Xiang Hong suddenly lost his mind.

He followed Xiang Hong's gaze and saw the black armored warrior.

When you see this samurai for the first time, you will feel that he is different.

Xiyue Shisan also couldn't describe that feeling. In a wild army like the Dragon Banner Army, this warrior had a kind of tranquility that was different from ordinary people. Everyone in this group is like a beast, so the warrior in black armor is a quiet beast. He was about ten years old, wearing a black dace armor that hadn't been oiled for a long time, and his sparse beard made him look older than he actually was, with a look of decadence, and his face was as white as a lack of blood. He sat on the opposite side of the bonfire, and slowly lifted the armor on his chest, and the civilian clothes under it were soaked in blood. His face twitched slightly, and he pulled off the cloth stuck to the wound.

Xiyue Shisan saw two horses not far from him, and several other warriors were busy unloading the horses. He probably understood why the young warrior in black armor was injured. The cargo on the two horses was a big bear that was cut off by Lanyao. A weapon with a handle was stuck in the white fur on the upper half of the bear's chest. The injury on the black-armored warrior was like being hit by a bear's thick palm as a chest. The dace armor itself was not broken, but the skin was cracked.

There are forests near the mountains, and there are bears in them. Merchants are more afraid of bears than of thieves. Xiyue Shisan looked at the two parts of the bear's body, half of the horse's body was stained red with blood, and trembled in his heart. I don't know how these wild soldiers can cut open such a thick wild bear.

"Down the sliced ​​meat and wash it, take out the bear bile, ask these people for wine, soak it in wine!" This voice was stronger than the roar of a wild bear.

The person who makes the sound also has the body of a wild bear. His copper scale armor of unknown weight vibrated and rattled as he walked, and the muscles on his face were tangled together, making him frighteningly ferocious.

He seems to have an unusual status in this wild army. The warriors did not dare to disobey his words, and they nodded and promised to drag the bear. The warrior in the bronze armor suddenly saw the handle of the knife on the bear's chest. On the handle was delicate light blue shark skin. It could be imagined that it was a rare sharp blade. He waved his hand up and grasped the handle of the knife and was about to pull it out, but one hand suddenly pressed on the handle of the knife.

The bronze armored warrior suddenly raised his head and was about to get angry, but his anger stopped when he met the opponent's gaze. The black-armored warrior had come to him at some point, silently pushing his hand on the hilt of the knife, with such force that he couldn't pull it out easily. The two sides stalemate for a moment.

"This is my sword!" The black-armored warrior's voice was too low for his age.

The ferocious eyes of the bronze armored warrior gradually disappeared. Finally, he let out a low snort and walked away.

I don't know if it was out of fear or what, the warriors who were cutting the bear meat just looked back at the black-armored warrior without making a sound, and no one paid attention to his injuries. The black-armored warrior silently gripped the handle of the knife, and slowly pulled it out. He held a soft blue light in his palm, it was a long dagger, especially under the light of the fire, it was cold and cold, it turned out to be a rare famous blade, not like this kind of wild soldier should have s things.

The blood spots on his chest expanded and fell drop by drop on the dry ground. In the silent wrestling with the bronze armored warrior, the freshly scabbed wound on his chest opened. He seemed to cherish that weapon very much. Regardless of the blood dripping from his chest, he gently stroked the blade with his fingers, so quietly that one felt a chill. In this Dragon Banner Army, he was undoubtedly a loner.

He slowly sat back by the fire, seemingly oblivious to Xiang Hong and Xiyue Shisan, who were silently roasting their long daggers in the fire. Facing the flame, Xiyue Shisan noticed that his pupils were so black that there was no trace of color, like a bottomless emptiness.

"He..." Xiyue Thirteen couldn't help but let out a low voice.

Xiang Hong pressed his shoulder abruptly, suppressing his exclamation back. The black-armored warrior didn't seem to hear anything. He quietly put the long dagger on his chest by the campfire, paused for a while, and cut along the deepest bloodstain. Although bead-sized beads of sweat kept rolling down his forehead, he cut very slowly and steadily. The blood soon wetted the belt that was wrapped around his body. He opened the cut wound with his fingertips, carefully reached in with the other hand, and pulled something out without looking at it. Toss in the bonfire. The thing knocked on the wood with a muffled low sound.

"It's the armor ring of the close-fitting soft armor," Xiang Hong said in a low voice, "It seems that the wild bear slapped him, and the close-fitting soft armor broke, and the armor ring embedded itself in the wound."

"Slapped by a bear? Are you still alive?" Xiyue Shisan stuck out his tongue.

"A samurai with extraordinary agility, as long as he retreats immediately when he strikes hard, he can lose most of his strength. I think he was attacked by a wild bear, and he first rushed into the heart of the wild bear with a dagger. At this time A seasoned hunter will bow down, but if he wants to retreat, he will inevitably be hit by the bear's dying palm. It seems that this blow is not far from killing him."

"This is... brave!"

Actually, Xiyue Shisan originally wanted to say the word "barbaric", but he changed it temporarily because he was afraid that the black-armored warrior's ears could hear him sensitively.

"When a person has a wish, he will always be able to achieve what others cannot," Xiang Hong said in a low voice, with a faint smile on his lips.

The black-armored warrior who whispered here didn't seem to notice it. After he pulled out the fourth iron ring, his face was already pale and lifeless. Everyone could see that he was already trying his best to hold on, but none of the warriors of the Dragon Banner Army came to see him, and occasionally handed him a cold look. The Hei family warrior put the dagger into the bonfire again. This time he burned the dagger for a long time, and gradually the color of the dagger changed.

"You may not be able to restrain the septicemia like this," Xiang Hong suddenly raised his voice and said, "Even if you burn the dagger into a branding iron, you can't iron the whole wound. But if there is a little wound that cannot be treated, the septicemia will be cured." It's possible. Besides, it's spring now."

The black-armored warrior suddenly paused. He looked up and looked this way, it was incredible that under such pain, his black eyes were still quiet. The two looked at each other for a while, and the black-armored warrior lowered his head again, gripping the handle of the dagger tightly.

"So what? I don't want to die here yet," he whispered.

"It's not easy to live, but sometimes it's not that easy to die," Xiang Hong said, standing up suddenly.

He walked slowly to the side of the black-armored warrior, knelt down and looked at his injuries. The black-armored warrior also stopped and let him watch. There seemed to be a tacit understanding between the two. After a while, Xiang Hong nodded: "The injury is not serious, I'm just afraid of septicemia. There are few medicinal materials in this place, so it's a little difficult to deal with. Did you kill the bear?"

The black armored warrior nodded.

"How courageous," Xiang Hong stood up and shouted, "Who brought the dried wormwood?"

The leader of the Dragon Banner Army came over after hearing the sound, and was obviously taken aback when he saw the wound of the black-armored warrior.

"It hurt so badly?" He whispered.

"The wound needs to be treated with wormwood, otherwise it may fester within a few days, and it will be even worse if it rains." Xiang Hong said.

"Who brought dried wormwood!" The leader shouted, "Take them all out!"

There was an immediate response this time, and after a while Nianwei personally presented several boxes of commonly used herbs. Xiang Hong opened it, took the dry powder of wormwood, mixed some musk into it, heated it slightly on an iron plate, and kept the long dagger in the fire. The leader didn't leave, and stood quietly watching. Among the group of people, he seemed to be the only one who cared about this black-armored warrior.

"Maybe the commander helped hold his shoulder?"

Ling Yiyan, secretly using strength with both hands, pressed the shoulders of the black-armored warrior.

"Maybe it hurts a bit, but adding musk may not be able to calm it down." Xiang Hong glanced at the black-armored warrior.

The black-armored warrior was silent for a moment, then nodded.

The moment he nodded, Xiang Hong's movements suddenly became unbelievably fast. He pulled out the dagger abruptly, and stuck the hot back of the knife to the wound of the black armored warrior. Unlike the black armored warrior who handled the wound by himself, Xiang Hong used so much force that he looked a little barbaric. In an instant, the blood around the wound was steamed, and there was a pungent burnt smell, and the flesh rolled up. Xiyue Shisan almost fainted when he saw it, he didn't dare to think that a nobleman like Xiang Hong would be so vicious. The leader was also shocked, but seeing Xiang Hong's serious face, he still pressed the black armored warrior's shoulders hard.

The instant pain made the veins on the forehead of the black-armored warrior twitch, and at that moment, his face was completely distorted.

Xiang Hong scalded the wound with a knife, and immediately applied the mixed powder. Then he wiped off the blood on the side, and wrapped the wound with a cloth tape. His technique was quick and quick, and it took only a moment to finish the treatment. There was no new blood oozing from the cloth belt, and the wound had been completely scalded and scorched.

The black-armored warrior lost his strength and fell to the ground. Xiang Hong got up and patted the powder on his hands.

"For some things, you still need to ask others for help. It will not work if you try to be brave." Xiang Hong smiled.

"Is that all right?" asked the leader.

"There may be scars in the future, but if you can survive, what are the scars? It will recover after a few days of rest."

"Is this method able to restrain all wounds and septic blood?"

"Yes," Xiang Hong glanced around, and smiled lightly, "but first you need a body like his, and in fact, you need a technique like mine. This method has long been available, but it was injured during the battle. I still don’t know how many people died of poisonous copper and poisonous blood. Many people died just like this.”

He looked down at the black-armored warrior on the ground: "I forgot to give you something to hold. Many people will bite off their tongues when struggling. But if it's you, you should be able to hold back."

He turned around and walked back to Xiyue Shisan to sit down, stared at the bonfire and said something incomprehensible: "Whether a person can live depends on how much you want to live."

Everyone remained silent for a moment, then turned and left without returning the medicine box to Nianwei. And the black armored warrior just looked up at the sky, only the low panting, telling people that he was still alive. Xiyue Shisan noticed that the pattern on the iron mirror of his vest had been chipped off, and it was rough and uneven. Looking at the once elegant black iron dace armor, he thought that this black armored warrior was once a soldier of a certain country.

I don't know why he became a desperate wild soldier, and I don't know why a person of his age has such a look in his eyes.

Not far away, the old man withdrew his gaze and walked out of the crowd sideways.

Outside the crowd, Nian Wei was sitting around with a few businessmen, discussing in low voices, the old man squeezed in quietly, lowering his voice: "Mr. Nian, Mr. Xiang, I'm afraid it's a bit strange."

Nian Wei also saw the scene where Xiang Hong was dealing with the wound, but shook his head: "Master, everyone, it's fine if we don't rob him. With our few goods, what are we worried about?"

The old man scratched his head: "Others are trivial matters, but he walked so far in such a deep night alone, why didn't he bring a torch?"

The Dragon Banner Army and the caravan camped together, and passed the night safely.

When Xiyue Shisan got out of the tent, the Dragon Banner Army had already packed all their gear and was about to set off. Although it is a wild army, it is worthy of the prestige of this dragon flag. The combat effectiveness of the dragon flag army is probably no worse than that of the regular princes' army. What surprised him the most was that the black-armored warrior had only spent one night before he was also in uniform. His mount was a pitch-black steed with a heavy war spear hanging from one side of the saddle. When the others formed a team, he reined in his neighing steed and looked coldly into the distance, each of them feeling extremely uneasy.

There is a thin layer of mist covering the wasteland, and the distance is hidden in a piece of white.

Xiang Hong's white clothes fluttered in the wind, and his figure became unreal. He looked at the back of this wild army, and no one knew what he was thinking.

With a move of the blue battle flag, someone blew the bronze horn. The black-armored warrior glanced back, lifted the reins abruptly, and followed the team. When passing by Xiang Hong, the two seemed to be strangers at all, and they didn't even look at each other.

The figures in the distance disappeared, and Xiyue Shisan slipped to Xiang Hong's side: "Mr. Xiang, these military masters, will we never meet again on the road?"

"No, if I'm not mistaken, we will meet more and more wild troops," Xiang Hong said in a low voice, "Didn't you see the hooves of those horses are all covered?"

Before Xiyue Shisan had time to ask why the horses would meet again when their hooves were wrapped, the figure riding the horse in the white mist ahead had already come like the wind.

The black-armored warrior reined in the reins abruptly, exchanged a glance with Xiang Hong, endured the pain in his chest and bent slightly: "I also want to ask the name of the master."

"Xiang Hong, a native of Wuyuan, has no fixed residence," Xiang Hong smiled, "but the name is not important, we will meet again."

The black-armored samurai also nodded: "My name is Ji Ye, but as Mr. said, the name is not important."

"There is a reminder, sir, whether you listen to it or not. If you want to survive, don't go any further." After finishing this sentence, Ji Ye turned his horse's head and left.

Xiyue Shisan touched the iron box at his waist and felt that the morning wind was extremely cold.