The next day.
A sudden heavy rain in the morning brought a chill to the people of Tiandu Prefecture.
Since April, the entire Tiandu Prefecture has been like a big furnace. The temperature has risen sharply. There has been no decent rain for thirty days in a month, and the ground is almost smoky.
God finally seemed to remember, so it rained heavily on Tiandu Mansion.
After lasting for more than an hour, the heavy rain finally subsided, and pedestrians began to appear on the street one after another.
East Main Street.
A man in black was walking on the street leading a tall black horse. He didn't hold an umbrella or wear a raincoat. He just walked in the rain, letting the rain pour down on him.
Behind him were twelve flatbed trucks, each pulled by a horse. They were not pulling any cargo, but coffins.
A whole twelve bites!
Behind these twelve flatbed trucks were two teams of city defenders with solemn expressions.
"Another death!"
Pedestrians on the street all pointed at these coffins. Too many people had died in Tiandu Mansion recently.
After walking through East Street and turning into North Street, the flatbed truck finally stopped in front of Ninghou Mansion.
At this time, the soldiers behind them all shouted: "Your Majesty the Captain is back!"
Lord Commander-in-Chief is back!
This sound caused the originally calm Ninghou Mansion to explode instantly!
Because Wang Cheng was already on the death list of this operation, it was almost time to announce it to the outside world.
Soon, a group of people gathered in front of the gate.
The three guardian envoys Qinglong, Zhuque, and Xuanwu, as well as the captains Pan Meng and Tang Cheng, all came suddenly.
Looking at Wang Cheng, who had disheveled hair and was soaked by the rain, everyone's eyes turned red.
Qinglong stepped forward and patted Wang Cheng on the shoulder, saying: "It'll be good to come back! It'll be good to come back!"
Xuanwu also stepped forward and punched him, saying: "You kid! Do you know that we have been worried about you these days? I even shed two drops of cat urine for you!"
Wang Cheng didn't speak, his head turned mechanically behind him, looking at the twelve coffins.
Only then did everyone notice the coffins, and they couldn't help but feel a complex emotion in their hearts.
yes!
Some of them survived, but many never came back.
Pan Meng came over and said, "Don't worry! The Ninghou Mansion will never mistreat meritorious ministers. Their families will be supported by the Hou Mansion, and they will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of their lives!"
Wang Cheng looked at her and said, "Can I go in?"
Pan Meng was stunned when she was asked. She thought that Wang Cheng might accuse or complain, but she never thought that he would be so calm. She nodded and said, "Yes!"
Wang Cheng walked into Ninghou Mansion without saying a word, followed by twelve coffins, which were very conspicuous.
It's still raining.
The patter is like human tears, falling on people's bodies and making them feel cold in their hearts.
Qinglong and others followed behind, moved by the scene, with more or less sadness on their faces.
When the soldiers on patrol in the mansion saw these coffins, they all lowered their heads silently.
All this fell in the eyes of Ninghou Zhou Zhaoguang.
Wearing regular clothes, he stood on the second floor of a building in the mansion, looking at these people.
The scene in front of him made his mind go back to many years ago. At that time, he was not the "murderer" and "butcher" who frightened the enemy. He had just joined the army.
In a battle with the State of Lu, half of his thousand brothers died. They were all good brothers who ate and trained with him. In one battle, about 500 men were missing.
He didn't sleep for several days and nights, and his eyes were swollen from crying. Like Wang Cheng today, he prepared coffins for the brothers who died in the battle and saw them off.
Later, he became a world-famous hussar general, with a hundred thousand troops at his disposal. The number of enemies who died in his hands was too numerous to count, and the number of brothers who died in battle was also too numerous to remember.
That is, when he first entered the army, he would pay homage to his brothers who died in battle. Later, he never held this ceremony again, and he did not even shed a single tear.
got used to?
Numb?
Maybe both!
He looked at the black figure that was getting further and further away, and said to himself: "I hope you will not change your original intention!"
At this moment, a man in gray clothes appeared out of thin air next to him, with a mask on his face and gray hair.
It was the powerful King Wu from Ninghou Mansion.
The man in gray glanced at the team and then looked away, saying: "Everything is ready!"
"good!"
Zhou Zhaoguang's eyes suddenly brightened up, and he changed his previous melancholy and said, "Is this day finally here? I once said that I will get back the things I lost sooner or later!"
Murderous intent surged around him, and the powerful aura blew his clothes and hair up and down.
"Walk!"
…
Guanghu Beiyuan.
This is the place where Wang Cheng's first captain usually holds meetings, trains, and rests. There are fourteen coffins neatly placed in the spacious courtyard.
The reason why there are two more mouths is that one belongs to Wei Hao who was buried in the body of the monster fish in the Death Swamp, and the other belongs to Chen Zheng who was bitten into pieces by the monster of Bai Beast Mountain.
The bodies of both of them could not be found, so the coffins were filled with their clothes and some belongings.
Wang Cheng put on plain clothes. Behind him, Xu Chao, Yang Si, Long Taotao and other sixteen survivors also wore plain clothes.
"Brothers, there is an old saying in our hometown, heroes are those who sacrifice themselves, and those of us who are alive are not counted. May your souls ascend to heaven and live forever!"
Wang Cheng made a casual move, and Yang Si came over from behind with a jar of wine and poured him a bowl of wine.
He picked up the wine bowl, asked Yang Si to fill it for everyone else, and then said to the fourteen coffins: "Brothers, as your captain, I can only hold a simple ceremony for you here. I can’t see you buried with my own eyes. This bowl of wine is for you, and I hope you will be safe on the road.”
"Respectfully!"
He suddenly raised his voice, and Xu Chao and others standing behind him poured the wine on the ground with him.
After toasting, he led everyone to pay homage to the fourteen coffins.
He looked back at the sixteen people who were lucky enough to survive, and said with red eyes: "I am not a competent captain. I failed to fight side by side with you when you were most in danger. I deserve the position of captain. I I will personally ask the Marquis to resign from the post of Captain."
Xu Chao said: "Sir, if you didn't lead us into the Valley of the Dead this time, how could we arrive at the Black Dragon Pond safely?"
He wanted to continue speaking, but was interrupted by Wang Cheng's hand: "This matter is not discussed with you again, you don't have to persuade me, I have made up my mind!"
"I disagree!"
"I don't agree either!"
"I don't agree with it either!"
…
At this moment, Pan Meng, Xuanwu, Qinglong, and Zhuque stepped forward one after another.
Pan Meng stared at Wang Cheng with her big eyes and said: "How important is the position of Captain Xuanwei? You can do it if you want to do it, and if you don't want to do it, you can't do it? Do you think this is shopping for groceries?"
"Boy, it is a good thing to value love and justice, but to value love and justice too much is a woman's kindness! This time we go deep into the Valley of the Dead, your captain will suffer the least loss. If even you take the blame and resign, you can let the other few What do you do, Captain?" Qinglong asked.
Wang Cheng opened his mouth. He was a mute eating Coptis chinensis, so he couldn't express his sufferings!
Naturally, he had a purpose for voluntarily resigning. When he broke with Ning Hou in the future, he was afraid that Xu Chao and others would be implicated, but now he was in trouble.
"talk later!"
Wang Cheng could only put the matter aside for the time being, and then ordered Xu Chao and others to deliver these coffins to various families.
After giving these instructions, he took the wine jar from Yang Si's hand and poured it into his mouth. Pan Meng and others were frightened by the sight.
After taking a few steps, he saw that Pan Meng and the others were still motionless. He turned around and said, "How about we come together?"
Several people were stunned for a while, and Xuanwu spoke first: "Boy, this is what you said. Don't cry when you fall down after drinking!"
Qinglong smiled and said: "I haven't had a drink for a long time, so I'll just have a drink with you today!"
Everyone could see that Wang Cheng felt uncomfortable, and they all spoke with a relaxed tone.
There is no need to buy wine outside. Guanghu Beiyuan already has wine, but it is not ordinary liquor, but medicinal wine that can enhance people's qi and blood.
At the beginning and middle of each month, Ninghou Mansion distributes cultivation resources to all Xuanwei on time, and medicinal wine is an indispensable one.
With such a large investment, the rewards are naturally huge, often at the cost of life!
There is never a free lunch in the world. If there is, it must be because the lunch itself is not of high value.
Back in the room, Qinglong, Zhuque, and Xuanwu each carried a jar of wine, and even Pan Meng carried a jar of wine.
A few people sat together, and there was no food to go with the wine, so they drank it very refreshingly.
People like Xu Chao and Yang Si were naturally not qualified to sit with them, and they also had things to do. They needed to return the fourteen coffins to each family.
This banquet without food came and went quickly. Suzaku, Xuanwu, and Qinglong got drunk one after another and lay on the ground unconscious.
Only Wang Cheng and Pan Meng were left sitting. One was not drunk at all, and the other drank very little.
Although she drank very little, Pan Meng's eyes were still drunk, and two red clouds appeared on her fragrant cheeks.
She sat next to Wang Cheng, put her jade hand on his shoulder, and said, "You haven't told me yet, who was the person you saw at Jianxintan that night?"
Wang Cheng didn't expect that Pan Meng was still struggling with this matter. He thought Pan Meng would ask about Bai Hu's whereabouts. After all, Bai Hu was an important minister under Ning Hou.
This time, he didn't want to hide it anymore, looked into her eyes and said, "What if I told you that I actually didn't see anything?"
"impossible!"
Pan Meng immediately shook his head and said: "Unless you are a heartless and righteous person, you will definitely see the person deep in your heart in Jianxintan!"
Wang Cheng's expression changed and he murmured to himself: "Is it ruthless and righteous?"
Is he such a person?
But he clearly saw nothingness that night, not even Xu Ya's figure.
"You...you are dishonest! You just don't dare to tell me! You don't dare to tell me!"
Pan Meng shook his head, then fell into Wang Cheng's arms, still mumbling.
"I... saw you! Saw you!"
Wang Cheng was shocked. This result was exactly the same as what he saw in Bai Jiuniang's mind-bewitching technique.
It's a pity... He let out a long sigh.
