Lao Jianhua followed the Kunli Mingtai Blood Guard Cavalry and left the Iron Pigeon Army's camp, galloping non-stop eastwards. After about five or six days of effort, everyone saw the Shengtang Zijin Pass standing in the desert from a distance.
Silk paper is expensive from the desert west, and homesickness is heavy at Zijin Pass.
This lonely and desolate pass seems to connect two completely different worlds.
To the west is the vast Gobi Desert, while to the east is the prosperous Holy Kingdom.
In a special sense, no matter who comes to this place, his or her past identity, experience and various emotions may originate from the transition between the two worlds, and the changes will be eliminated unknowingly. Nothing left.
For seven years, Lao Jianhua returned here again and once again saw the world he once knew and cherished.
Holy Tang. Shengtang should have been in a different situation.
Kunli Mingtai called out to stop the advancing cavalry, and then communicated in a low voice with a person who looked like a messenger beside him. The man pointed around, looking and talking, as if he was confirming the direction of a certain place to Kunli Mingtai.
At this time, the sky was gradually getting dark, and the surrounding area was becoming difficult to see.
At this time, a forest in the distance suddenly flashed with fire, and it flashed out three times in a row very regularly. Obviously, this was a signal sent to Kunli Mingtai and his party by covering the torches.
Seeing this, the messenger-looking man quickly took the torch from the Blood Guard's hand and held it in the air three times.
Soon, many lights suddenly flashed in the woods, and then dozens of horses galloped out.
"It's them, be on guard." Kunli Mingtai ordered his subordinates.
In a moment, dozens of knights came closer under the blazing flames. The leader shouted: "Are you the Turkic envoys?"
"I am Kunli Mingtai, General of the Blood Guard of the Turkic Empire. I am here to welcome Princess Hesijia on the orders of the Great Khan."
"Hello, general. This is He Qian, the flag-bearer of the Nilin Division of the Holy Tang Dynasty. Please wait a moment. My lord is accompanying the princess here. Excuse me, have you brought the person we want?"
Kunli Mingtai pointed at Lao Jianhua: "Here, it's right here."
He Qian took advantage of the firelight and looked at it carefully.
Lao Jianhua smiled: "Xiao He, you were promoted very quickly. When you become the flag bearer, don't you recognize Lao?"
He Qian was stunned and did not dare to answer the other party's words. He turned his head and whispered a few words to his men. The Nilin Division spy agreed and hurriedly rode away.
For the next period of time, the two sides quietly faced each other in place, no one said a word, and the atmosphere was strange.
The silent suffering is the most difficult. Time seemed to have passed for a long time, but no one had arrived. Kunli Mingtai felt impatient and was about to scold him when he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance.
"My lord is here!" He Qian whispered, then turned his horse's head to greet him.
At this time, Shen Lie was seen taking the lead, throwing away the team behind him, rushing straight to the Turks, and struggling to hold on to the reins.
He looked around and immediately locked his target, his sharp eyes fixed on Lao Jianhua in the crowd.
"My dear brother, you are well." Lao Jianhua took the initiative to say hello in a calm tone.
Shen Lie's face was gloomy, and he waited for a long time before squeezing out a sentence from between his teeth: "God has eyes, you are not dead yet."
Lao Jianhua did not feel dissatisfied, and smiled and shook his head: "Brother, do you still remember what Lao taught you back then? Don't get angry in everything. Only by staying calm can you make the most correct judgment..."
Shen Lie shouted angrily and cut off the other person's words: "Lao, don't do this to me again. I will make you regret your life later!"
Kunli Mingtai obviously felt that there was a deep hatred between the two people, but at the moment he was concerned about the safety of the princess and did not want to get involved in the exchange of hostages, so he quickly urged: "Stop gossiping, you will have plenty of time to be intimate later. We Where is the princess?"
After hearing this, Shen Lie regained his usual calm expression, nodded slightly towards Kunli Mingtai, and then waved: "Invite the princess over and start the handover."
Following his words, a snow-white horse walked slowly toward the crowd. Immediately sitting there was a beautiful Turkic woman, with her hands tied behind her back, and she could only control the horse with her legs.
"Uncle Kunli Mingtai, you are here!"
Kunli Mingtai's eyes widened and he said in surprise: "Yinas? How could it be you? Where is Her Highness Hesijia?"
"His Royal Highness is in the woods behind and is being held captive by the Shengtang people!"
Since the two of them communicated in Turkic language, most of the people in the Nilin Division could not understand them at all. But just from Kunli Mingtai's surprised expression, we could tell that something was wrong.
Shen Lie had been listening carefully to the translation by the attendant beside him, and he felt something bad before he finished hearing the words. He was about to speak when he heard Lao Jianhua looking up to the sky and laughing: "Hahaha, Shen Lie, Shen Lie, I was right about you at the beginning. You appear to be smart and capable, but in reality you are a fool!"
As he spoke, he shook out a few projectiles from his sleeves and exploded when they hit the ground. The surrounding area was immediately covered in thick smoke. At the same time, the smoke was filled with a pungent and unpleasant smell.
"Steal people!"
Shen Lie and Kunli Mingtai shouted loudly almost at the same time, and jumped off the saddle in perfect agreement. One pounced on Lao Jianhua, who was disappearing into the smoke, and the other pounced on Yinas.
As soon as Shen Liecai rushed into the thick smoke, there were dozens of slaps and fists, and then he was forcefully forced back and flew out, falling back on the horse again. Lao Jianhua galloped out from the other side of the smoke, passed through the already chaotic Blood Guards cavalry, and ran straight to the west.
Shen Lie didn't care about commanding his men and immediately chased out single-handedly.
The counter-scale spies who stayed on the spot were already fighting with the Golden Blood Guards. There was a loud sound of hooves in the woods in the distance, and the hundreds of counter-scale flying riders who had been ambushing there came to reinforce them.
For a moment, no one noticed that their Lord Changshi rushed into the dark night and disappeared without a trace.
-
On the vast snowfield, Lao Jianhua was desperately mobilizing his internal energy and speeding up, but he also clearly felt that his internal energy was being exhausted. Not far behind him, Shen Lie was like a hanged man. Chasing after him relentlessly.
Two days ago, in the Gobi area near Mutu City, Lao Jianhua's horse died suddenly on the way due to exhaustion. He himself was bitten by Shen Lie who came up from behind and fought fiercely for a while. field.
Even though Lao Jianhua was always dressed as a scholar on weekdays, his kung fu was very powerful. In terms of martial arts alone, he was on par with Shen Lie. It's a pity that he is not young, and in terms of spirit and strength, he can't compare with Shen Lie who is in his prime. Therefore, after a fierce fight, Lao Jianhua gradually falls into the disadvantage.
At the critical moment, he was quick to act wisely, and managed to receive a heavy slap from Shen Lie, which also seriously injured the opponent's left arm. Only then he managed to escape without any danger, and continued to run towards Metasequoia City.
According to the predetermined plan, in the next few days, the Turkic Iron Pigeon Army and the Ghost Alliance Horse Bandits will attack Metasequoia City in a large scale. Therefore, Lao Jianhua determined that as long as he fled in this direction, he might encounter people who could rescue him at any time.
Even if there were only seven or eight Turks or horse bandits with reasonably good martial arts skills, he would be truly out of danger.
However, things didn't go as planned. Until now, Lao Jianhua still hadn't met the reinforcements he imagined. To make matters worse, he found that his injuries were getting worse and he might soon be unable to sustain himself.
Shen Lie's palm was very cruel. Even though Lao Jianhua activated his internal energy in advance and protected the vital parts, Shen Lie still severely damaged his meridians. If he could sit down and adjust his breath and heal his injuries immediately, it might not be a big deal, but Shen Lie, who had a strong murderous intention, would not give him such a chance at all.
Ni Lin Changshi, who injured an arm, could still take his life.
Therefore, Lao Jianhua's only choice at that time was to forcefully suppress his injuries and escape at all costs.
After two days of hard running, the only result was more injuries. At this moment, Lao Jianhua could only feel the qi and blood surging in his body, and his chest seemed to be on fire, making him extremely uncomfortable.
Suddenly, Lao Jianhua's steps were uncontrollable and he staggered and almost fell. He tried his best to stabilize his body, but he didn't expect that his throat would heat up and a stream of blood would immediately spurt out.
The bright red blood sprayed on the white snow, which was shocking.
Lao Jianhua let out a long sigh, wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and then turned to face Shen Lie, who was approaching quickly.
Shen Lie's situation at this time is not much better than that of Lao Jianhua. His left arm was hanging low by his side, and his face was slightly pale. If it weren't for the anger in his heart, he might have given up on this desperate pursuit long ago.
He stared hard at Lao Jianhua in front of him: "Old thief, you are cornered now, prepare to die!"
Lao Jianhua secretly adjusted his breathing and said with a calm smile: "Shen Lie, why are you doing this? Are you willing to give up only if we both die together?"
"You ask me? If you are willing to give up, you should ask my master and wife who hate Jiuquan, ask my wife and daughter!"
"Well, in the final analysis, you are still motivated by hatred. Shen Lie, hatred will only make you lose your mind, and nothing else will do anything else." Lao Jianhua's face remained as usual: "I taught you this principle when I was in Nilin Division. Have you forgotten?"
Shen Lie shouted angrily, "Shut up!" Then he slowly raised his right hand and advanced towards Lao Jianhua step by step.
He was disgusted by Lao Jianhua's condescending preaching, and he also saw that the other party was just delaying time.
Lao Jianhua's heart gradually sank. He knew very well that Shen Lie was stimulating the strongest internal force to elevate his unique skill of Wind and Thunder Palm to its peak state.
Victory or defeat, only in a moment.
Seeing that Shen Lie was still a few steps away from striking out, cold sweat broke out on Lao Jianhua's forehead. At this time, his internal energy was stagnated in Qihai Dantian. A little exercise would cause excruciating pain in the meridians throughout his body, making him unable to resist the power of Wind and Thunder Palm.
It would be nice if he could be given just a moment and a half longer, even if it was just a few dozen breaths. As long as the internal injuries were slightly relieved, he could at least be able to strike before his death.
However, now he is no different from a weak and weak scholar who has no strength. The only thing he can do is to watch Shen Lie kill him.
Shen Lie slowly came closer and stared at Lao Jianhua with a sneer, as if he was admiring the look of despair in the other person's eyes.
The murderer who has been hunting for seven years was finally caught today. The great hatred of the master's family, the great hatred of his wife and children, will be brought to light!
Shen Lie smiled, but his smile was full of sadness.
But at this moment, he was about to take action and suddenly stopped and looked around cautiously.
Behind the snow hills not far away, a dozen figures suddenly appeared, slowly surrounding them, watching them silently.
At this time, Lao Jianhua also discovered those uninvited guests, and at the same time he couldn't help but cheer in his heart: God bless, finally the Turks are here.
However, in an instant, he was stunned on the spot again. Because those people's costumes are not Iron Grid Army! On the contrary, they all wore the armor of the Zhenjiang Protectorate. Each of them had a calm demeanor and sharp eyes. At first glance, they looked like elite veterans who had been on the battlefield.
Lao Jianhua felt a mixture of joy and sorrow at the moment, not knowing whether the next step would be a blessing or a curse.
Shen Lie, who was very close to him, also fell into hesitation.
He originally planned to temporarily ignore this group of Zhenjiang troops who appeared out of thin air, and first try his best to capture Lao Jianhua. After all, since it was a Shengtang soldier who came, with his own identity, he could explain the matter clearly later.
But in the next second, he gave up the idea.
Just because of the appearance of one person.
A young officer wearing light black leather armor and a snow-white cloak walked out from behind the group of soldiers.
He didn't speak, just looked at the two people confronting each other quietly.
Even though they were nearly ten feet apart, Shen Lie could still clearly feel that the terrifying murderous intent emanating from that young man was firmly targeting him. As long as Shen Lie dares to take even half a step forward, he will definitely rush towards this side without hesitation.
It is unclear whether Lao Jianhua can block Shen Lie's attack, but Shen Lie will definitely not be able to block the suppression of this black-clad officer.
There is no reason for this judgment, it is simply an intuition among experts.
Therefore, Shen Lie immediately made the wisest choice. He slowly put down his right hand and asked loudly: "Is this person a brother from the Zhenjiang Protectorate?"
