Chapter 0151 Waiting for Him

Chapter 0151 Waiting for Him

Qu Yunmie and Han Qing were only a few dozen feet apart. At such a close distance, he naturally had to chase after them. However, these few dozen feet were not flat ground but a steep slope. By the time Qu Yunmie rode his horse up the hill, Han Qing and his men had already become tiny black dots in the distance.

In his life, Qu Yunmie had chased many enemies. He could run for two thousand miles without stopping to catch an enemy. With Han Qing, he had been quite restrained, chasing no more than a mile or two before realizing that the surrounding vegetation was becoming increasingly unfamiliar. He then pulled on the reins.

Watching his enemy escape was like being stabbed by needles for Qu Yunmie, but he felt he couldn't continue the pursuit. If he pursued further, who knew what dangers lay ahead.

He kept his promise and did not act impulsively again. If he could return safely to the main army, Xiao Rong would surely praise him. Unfortunately, while he could control himself, he couldn't control his enemies.

Turning his horse around, Qu Yunmie was trying to determine the direction from which he had come when a thick rope suddenly emerged from the deep snow and decaying layer beneath his feet. The horse stumbled, and Qu Yunmie was about to fall, but he jumped off skillfully and simultaneously drew the Snow-Drinking Revenge Spear from his back.

Han Qing had brought over a thousand men with him, with a thousand lying in ambush near the official road, and the remaining few hundred hidden here.

This was the maximum force Han Qing could mobilize. He was picky and could not trust ordinary people; only those he deemed completely loyal counted as his troops. Because of this, he constantly sought patrons and puppets, but it also ensured his survival, as his men were all fearless elites.

The terrain on the mountain changed dramatically every ten feet. Despite the large number of people present, the surroundings were eerily quiet, with not even a bird's call to be heard.

Qu Yunmie was surrounded, with enemies closing in from all directions, each intent on taking his life.

Looking into the identical, calm yet frenzied eyes of his foes, Qu Yunmie sneered and circled his spear once, its tip gleaming coldly under the moonlight.

Qu Yunmie had no habit of wasting words with his enemies. Even at this moment, he merely glanced provocatively around and said calmly, "You go first."

These men obeyed, and the next instant, enraged human roars echoed through the forest, followed by screams, the sound of flesh being torn, and the rustling of animals fleeing in terror.

Three hundred and eighty-eight people were involved in the attack on Qu Yunmie. When the last person was impaled through the chest, Qu Yunmie was drenched in blood and sweat.

His state today was average, without the adrenaline rush that fueled his frenzy in Zitong City. It took nearly an hour for him to kill all these men.

Standing amidst the carnage, he looked like a demon emerging from hell or a god ruling over the land.

Despite his towering stance, only he knew that his strength was waning, and his limbs were growing weak.

Tightening his fists, Qu Yunmie paused, scanning his surroundings with eyes filled with malice. Confirming there were no survivors, he slowly knelt down.

Removing his leg armor and tearing open his bloodstained clothes, he revealed a slightly blackened wound on his calf.

Qu Yunmie: "…………"

True to form, they couldn't beat him, so they resorted to poison.

Staring at the wound for a moment, Qu Yunmie hesitated not at all. Drawing his dagger, he cut out a piece of flesh, revealing white bone beneath. Unfazed, he sat down and looked around, finding a relatively clean body, tearing off its clothes, and tying strips tightly above the wound.

Then he stood up, using the Snow-Drinking Revenge Spear as a crutch, struggling to discern his direction.

Stars... North Star... He had to return... He couldn't break his promise...

As Qu Yunmie moved forward, his vision grew blurrier. What he didn't know was that the wound appeared black because it was night, and the blood had clotted, making it look darker. While the blades of these men were indeed coated with medicine, lethal poisons were hard to come by. The kind used by the Xianbei, which rendered one helpless upon contact, was extremely valuable. Han Qing lacked both the time and resources to poison the blades of three hundred men.

Only a few carried weapons capable of instantly killing him; the rest were merely coated with anesthetic.

Their plan was to incapacitate Qu Yunmie with minor wounds and then finish him off. However, Qu Yunmie was too formidable, and none could get close enough to harm him. Sometimes, he would even forego killing others to avoid injury. Such a general who cherished his life was rare indeed.

Thus, only one person managed to wound Qu Yunmie, but given his size and strength, the anesthetic had little effect. By the time it kicked in, it would be too late.

Misunderstandings arose, but everyone who could have explained the truth was now dead. Qu Yunmie staggered forward, fighting against the anesthetic, driven by a strong will to live. Despite the struggle, he never lost consciousness, determined to walk out of the forest, even if it meant crippling his legs.

This was perhaps the time in Qu Yunmie's life when he least wanted to die. His spirit moved the heavens, and in the next moment, he tripped and tumbled down the slope, hitting an old tree stump, which knocked him unconscious. When he finally stopped, he found himself in a small clearing within the dense forest. A deer was drinking from a puddle nearby and fled at the sound, only to return later to investigate.

The young deer had never seen a human before, nor had its ancestors for a long time. It curiously licked Qu Yunmie's face, finding it distasteful, and ran away again.

Meanwhile, in Chenliu, Xiao Rong stayed awake until midnight before finally falling asleep.

His sleep was restless. In his dream, he found himself in a white light, with nothing around him except a voice that spoke incessantly, though illogically. He sensed that someone was speaking, but he couldn't understand a word. The voice seemed angry and resentful.

As the dream faded, he drifted into deeper sleep, but a strange sensation in his throat abruptly woke him up.

Without any warning, he leaned over the bed and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Xiao Rong stared blankly at the vivid red on the floor. Ah Shu rushed in, alarmed, but before either master or servant could react, hurried footsteps approached from outside.

Xiao Rong paused for a second, then quickly got out of bed, barely wearing an outer robe and without shoes. Ah Shu, despite his panic, did not stop Xiao Rong. Instead, he picked up the shoes and grabbed Xiao Rong's thickest cloak, following him out.

Dong Fang Jin and Gao Xunzhi arrived. Before they could enter, the door opened, and Xiao Rong greeted them personally. Gao Xunzhi immediately noticed the blood on Xiao Rong's lips, feeling a mix of concern, resentment, and worry. Seeing Gao Xunzhi's expression, Xiao Rong casually wiped his mouth clean. Sensing Gao Xunzhi's lack of composure, he turned to Dong Fang Jin and asked, "What happened?"

Dong Fang Jin had also seen the blood but was momentarily surprised, unaware of Xiao Rong's condition. Hearing Xiao Rong's question, he replied succinctly, "Someone came to the government office seeking help, claiming to be palace guards sent by the Southern Yong emperor to deliver a letter to His Highness the Northern Pacification King."

Sending two identical letters raised suspicions.

Xiao Rong, however, did not think much about it. His actions felt as if controlled by someone else.

"Where is the letter?" Xiao Rong asked, extending his hand.

The letter was not with Dong Fang Jin; he had given it to Gao Xunzhi. Gao Xunzhi glanced at Xiao Rong and, without hesitation, handed over the letter.

The letter called for the Northern Pacification King to aid the emperor, but the reasons and wording were entirely different. It stated that the letter was dictated by the young emperor and written by others, to prevent suspicion and reassure General Sun of future rewards.

Upon receiving the letter, Xiao Rong understood the situation. Although he did not know about General Sun's involvement, he realized that the Breeze Sect and the young emperor had aligned their goals, inadvertently making the young emperor an ally of the sect.

Considering his recent bout of coughing blood, Xiao Rong's expression remained unchanged, but his grip tightened, crumpling the letter and tearing it slightly. His breathing quickened, and the others held their breath.

Suddenly, Xiao Rong lowered his hand and ordered Di Fazeng, "Go fetch Jian Qiao and have him gather all the cavalry from the four armies. Also, tell Yu Shaocheng to set out at dawn and march swiftly! No delays!"

At this moment, if Dong Fang Jin had hesitated, Xiao Rong's authority would have been undermined. After all, Xiao Rong did not hold military power, and dispatching the four armies in Qu Yunmie's absence would be an overreach.

But in that split second, Dong Fang Jin already knew what he should do, and with a voice like thunder, he shouted, "Yes, sir!"

He led the charge out, and the others immediately followed. By the time Jian Qiao and Yu Shaocheng were awakened, neither of them raised any objections. Within just one hour, the troops were fully prepared, and in the process, Xiao Rong had consolidated his control over the military.

He had previously assigned military duties, but many people harbored resentment at the time, such as Yuan Baifu and some unnamed generals. Moreover, Qu Yunmie was still present in the camp, and his tacit approval was seen by some as a way to curry favor with Xiao Rong. Currying favor with scholars is much like courting a woman; today they might like you, but tomorrow they might despise you.

This time, however, with Qu Yunmie in peril, Xiao Rong firmly grasped the reins of military power, and no one from top to bottom dared oppose him, all because Dong Fang Jin set a good example.

Those who were close to Xiao Rong would genuinely follow his orders, while those who were merely acquaintances would also choose to go along with the majority due to others' actions. The master-subordinate relationship in feudal times was not formed by habit but by a single act of life or death. Once someone has followed and submitted once, they can never again regard Xiao Rong as a mere colleague.

Just like Gao Xunzhi in the past, a scholar who could oversee the entire army. ...

In Lujiang, it was a clear night, but here in Chenliu, dark clouds gathered, hinting at another snowfall. Gao Xunzhi did not interfere with Xiao Rong's orders from start to finish, nor did he object when Xiao Rong decided to go alone without him.

Xiao Rong took ten thousand men with him, and whether he brought one more old man along made no difference.

Standing at the city gate, Gao Xunzhi watched as Xiao Rong and Jian Qiao led the cavalry out of sight. He wiped his eyes before turning back around.

However, upon turning, he realized there were so many people behind him: Danran, Ah Yan, Agusega, Xiao Yi, Old Lady Xiao, Ah Shu, the Buddhist monk, Yu Shaoxie, and Song Shuo, who had hurried over from the Song residence without even tying up his hair.

Everyone looked at him, yet no one spoke. For some reason, Gao Xunzhi felt even more like crying.

These were all Ah Rong and the King's loved ones. Unbeknownst to them, they had gathered so many people around them like family. The Northern Pacification Army was no longer impoverished, and the Northern Pacification King was no longer alone.

Qu Yunmie, can you see? This is the most important thing Ah Rong has brought you—the good life you never dared to dream of is right in front of you. Do not close your eyes—wait for Ah Rong. Wait for him.

Author's note: