The wind is raging and the Milky Way is pouring out.
Black clouds gathered in the sky, lightning bolts of ten feet thick fell vertically, and towering ancient trees split apart, instantly igniting fire.
The flames flickered briefly, then turned into black smoke in the torrential rain, entangled in gray rain and mist, filling the space between heaven and earth.
Thunder roared, mixed with the rumble of horse hooves, from far to near, like gravel rolling down.
On the official road, two knights in armor were guarding a carriage, riding their horses and whipping their whips, and driving quickly in the rain.
As the team passed by, the hard hoofs of the horses sank into the black mud, leaving water-logged hoof prints and splashing mud. The knights on horseback all have their hair braided in left buns, carrying two spears on their backs, with two pieces of leather armor on their chests and waistcoats, and a wolf head inlaid with copper, which is extremely ferocious and terrifying.
The horse has no saddle or stirrups. The rider leans forward and controls the horse with only his legs. Hold the reins tightly with one hand and wave the whip with the other hand.
The knight galloped all the way, and the bag hanging on the horse's back bounced up and down. Dark red blood stains overflowed from the bottom of the bag, forming a long and thin line of blood, which was washed away by the wind and rain before it hit the ground.
The rain continued to increase, and there was lightning falling ahead.
The flash of light frightened the war horses, and several of them stood up and neighed violently. They were quickly controlled by the knight and continued to accelerate forward.
In the center of the procession, a black carriage passed through the official road. The solid wheels are carved from hardwood, and the axle compartments are engraved with patterns and embedded with dark red paint to form a magnificent pattern symbolizing the clan. It becomes more vivid when washed by the rain, like flowing blood.
A strong horse slave sat in front of the car, with his shoulders bare and the muscles on his arms bulging. As he waved the reins, veins bulged on the back of his hands and forearms.
The black totem covers Manu's left shoulder, goes down along the shoulder blade, and extends to the spine, symbolizing his identity.
The four corners of the carriage were hung with copper lamps, which were actually in the shape of a terrifying giant python coiling around a pillar.
The body of the golden python is lifelike with distinct scales. The huge mouth opened, holding a fist-sized luminous pearl, which swayed with moist white light.
The carriage is extremely spacious, the floor is paved with colorful brocade worth hundreds of gold, and the incense burner inlaid with colorful treasures and tortoise shells is filled with white smoke and exudes wisps of aroma.
A square table is embedded in the car, with pots, cups and plates on it, in exquisite style.
The steam is steaming and the fragrance of tea is lingering.
The exquisite pastries and preserved fruits stacked on the plate make people salivate.
Manu's skill in driving the carriage was extremely high. Despite the strong wind and rain, the carriage was always stable, the dishes on the table did not move, and the tea in the cup did not spill out.
The rain hits the car wall, making a continuous and annoying sound.
The two maids looked at each other, one stood at the table, and the other moved to the window, pulling the short rope wrapped with gold thread, and lowered the curtain embroidered with gold thread.
The sound of rain suddenly weakened, becoming hazy and isolated from the car.
The maid at the table picked up the copper pot, poured tea into the cup, scooped in the preserved fruit and ginger powder with a silver spoon, raised her hands and raised her head in respect.
"Sir, please use it."
Opposite the maid, a young man in a brocade robe put down the bamboo slips.
The long, jet-black hair was not tied up and spread casually behind her shoulders. Covered by his wide robe, his figure looks slightly thin. The facial features are exquisite, but there is an air of morbidity. The lips are bloodless, and the eyes are like paint. They appear to be warm, but in fact they are cold and indifferent, without any warmth at all.
"Poria, I don't like ginger."
Lin Heng sat up straight and frowned at the tea soup.
An accident occurred when he was young, and he frequently fell into hallucinations. In one weird dream after another, he experienced different lives. From childhood to adolescence, from adolescence to youth, human relationships are warm and cold, joys and sorrows come to an end, and one day they all come to an abrupt end.
Zhuang Zhou's dream about butterflies may be real or illusory.
No one knew he had this memory.
He learned a lot in his dream, but it also brought some inconvenience. For example, the tea soup in front of him was really hard to swallow.
"Sir, you caught a cold a few days ago. Good doctors have warned you to take more ginger." The maid next to the car window came forward on her knees, took the tea cup from another maid's hand, and brought it to Lin Heng with a smile.
"Talk too much." Lin Heng frowned, thinking of his own situation, and finally took the tea soup and drank it in one gulp like medicine.
Poria and Zisu lowered their heads and smiled after taking in his appearance.
The two of them did not dare to make too many mistakes and quickly adjusted their expressions. One person put a cloak on Lin Heng, and the other person picked up the wooden tray and handed the sweet candy to Lin Heng.
"Sir, use some to lighten the taste."
"let it go."
Lin Heng leaned against the soft pillow with the caramel in his mouth, and was about to pick up the bamboo slips when the carriage in progress suddenly stopped, and a sharp whistle sounded from outside the carriage, comparable to a night owl chirping in the darkness.
"Again?" Lin Heng coughed lightly, and his pale fingertips brushed against the bamboo slips. They felt smooth and slightly cold, "Who is it this time?"
Poria and Zisu looked at each other, rolled up the car curtains at Lin Heng's instruction, and looked out through the car window.
In a flash of lightning, a sharp arrow rushed into the car. The tip grazed Zi Su's temple, and its force remained unabated before being nailed into the other end of the car.
"Be careful!" Fu Ling exclaimed.
The sound of breaking wind came again, but Zi Su didn't panic. He leaned back to avoid the sharp arrow. He passed his right hand forward and held the arrow body firmly. The tail of the arrow trembled continuously, which showed the strength of the arrow.
"It's the arrow from the Marquis of Jin." Seeing the pattern on the arrow tail clearly, Zisu and Poria looked ugly, biting their red lips tightly, and their eyes ignited with anger, "Your Majesty, in order to establish the eldest son, is so cruel!"
"This is the fifth time since I left for Beijing." Lin Heng sneered, not worried about the assassination outside the car. He took the arrow from Zi Su's hand and looked at the arrow body carefully, "Father, you really worked hard."
"Young master, you are the daughter of the royal wife and should have been the heir apparent. The young master's delusional wish to be canonized by the emperor is really a wishful thinking. Your Majesty is really stupid!" Fuling said angrily.
In the past, Zi Su would have stopped her. However, the Marquis of Jin sent people to assassinate Lin Heng one after another. Even if he did not personally order it, he would still push it behind the scenes and allow the eldest son, mother and son to mobilize national troops.
Ignoring the law and not distinguishing between superior and inferior is not only stupid, but even more absurd!
"I came to Beijing as a hostage when I was eight years old, and it has been nine years now. My father expected that I was weak and would not miss the year, but things didn't go as expected." Compared with the indignation of Poria and Zisu, Lin Heng behaved too calmly, " My mother passed away many years ago, two of my three uncles died and one was injured. My eldest father is old and the family is in danger. For my father, this is an excellent opportunity."
"Chance?"
"Kill me to completely eliminate the Zhi family's influence in the military, to truly take over the power, and to clear the way for the mother and son he loves." Lin Heng looked at the car window, and a splash of blood covered the glass inlaid with the window sash.
"Sure enough, Young Master, you can't go back to Suzhou." Zi Su said worriedly.
"No, I have to go back." Lin Heng shook his head, holding the arrow with both hands, and bending it downwards with force, "The emperor let me return to the country, so that father and son can kill each other, and brothers can fight against each other."
When he was young, he lost the protection of his mother, and his maternal uncle got into trouble one after another; when he was still young, he was forced to leave the country and let others take advantage of him. He tried his best to seek asylum from the emperor in Beijing, and he survived to this day.
Even so, the Marquis of Jin and the Young Master were unwilling to let him go.
"The emperor released me back to the country and released several other young masters, but he was afraid of the power of the princes and wanted to use us as chess pieces to disrupt the chess game of the princes." Lin Heng lowered his eyes and watched the arrow bend into an arch shape little by little, " If I want to live, I must return to the capital to fight for power with my father as the emperor wishes."
The princes and the country are strong, and the emperor is tossing and turning.
When the princes and kingdoms are in chaos, the emperor can rest in peace.
Lin Heng held the arrow tightly, his eyes bright.
Whether he is a chess piece or a puppet, if the emperor orders him to be a chess player, he must work conscientiously and show his due value. Once you have real power and have the ability to jump out of the chess game, no one else can control what your next move will be.
With a thud, the arrow fell to the ground and rolled into the brocade.
At the same time, the fight outside the car also came to an end.
The assassin's body fell to the ground in a mess, and his blood formed a stream, which was quickly washed away by the rain.
The knights dismounted one after another, grabbed the assassin's hair bun with one hand, pulled out the short sword on the horse, and cut it across the assassin's neck. As blood spurted out, more than thirty heads were put into bags and became the knight's. spoils of war.
"Sir, the road ahead is clear, you can continue moving forward." Commander Jia approached on horseback and reported inward through the window. He was originally a private soldier of the Zhi family, but was later given to Lin Heng and guarded Lin Heng for nearly ten years.
The car window opened, revealing half a hibiscus face, which was Zisu who had captured the flying arrow.
"Young master, you have your fate and we will set off immediately."
Commander Jia rode back, and the team continued to move forward, quickly disappearing into the rain.
The ruts and hoof prints left on the ground were filled with rainwater, and the headless corpse rolled in the mud. The blood from the broken neck had no time to solidify, and was quickly washed away, forming a large pale red water network.
Wild dogs and wolves were attracted by the carcasses and gathered in large groups.
In order to compete for flesh and blood, conflicts broke out between ethnic groups.
The barking of dogs and the howling of wolves are endless.
When the fierce battle was in full swing, the sound of breaking wind suddenly struck, and arrows rained down from the sky, pinning the dogs and wolves to the ground together.
The smell of blood suddenly became thicker.
Another troop of cavalry appeared in the heavy rain.
The knights on the horses are all dressed in red, and even their armors are painted with red stripes.
There is a carriage in the middle of the team. From the perspective of regulations, it is the same as Lin Heng's carriage. Only the clan totems on the carriages are different, more complicated and gorgeous, almost eerie.
The knight shoots the herd and quickly clears the way.
The heavy wheels rolled over the hunting ground, and the sound of cracking bones could be heard clearly.
"Xiong Zhen." A voice came from inside the car, and then the front door opened, revealing a young man from Eguan Bodai. The young man has a smile on his face, and his appearance is extremely gorgeous, but it does not make people feel weak, but is as sharp as a sword.
"Sir, what are your orders?" The knight beside the car took the reins and slowed down.
"Do you know the source of the body?" the young man asked.
"It's a Jin soldier." The knight ordered someone to fetch a broken arrow, and the mark on the arrow tail was clearly visible.
"Jin soldiers?" The young man pondered for a moment and said in surprise, "If I remember correctly, is this the way to Suzhou City?"
"Young masters are returning to the country, and Young Master Heng left earlier than you. If I am not mistaken, the one who was attacked should be Young Master Heng." The knight frowned and analyzed, "I heard that the Marquis of Jin was ignorant and wanted to replace his legitimate son with a commoner, so Young Master Heng returned to the country on the order of the emperor. , it will be uneven along the way.”
"It seems that I am quite lucky. My father only has one son." The young man leaned against the carriage rail with a lazy posture, living up to his reputation as a romantic young man from Beijing.
"But you have two uncles, and Mrs. Kuotai prefers the younger son." the knight reminded.
The young man was choked and had no words to retort. He could only wave his hands and order the team to speed up: "Return to the capital as soon as possible. Even if we have to fight with swords, we should be in the cross-country territory."
The knight clasped his fists to accept the order, galloped forward on his horse, and conveyed the master's order: "Young master, please hurry up!"
"promise!"
Everyone agreed with a roar.
The team immediately turned around and flew towards the capital of Yue State with the roar of thunder.
