The legend that cats have nine lives seems to be true. Xiaofeng Miao, who refused to live and depended on Zheng Xiu, suffered a heavy price as a result.
When Zheng Xiu woke up, the back of his head was resting on his wife's soft thighs. Looking up, Zheng Xiu could only see his wife's hair. He remembered the "Longmen Inn" and struggled to get up, but was pushed back by his wife.
Zheng Xiu could only push upward with his hands.
"Yeah~"
Xie Luohe gasped in anger.
Zheng Xiu finally managed to see clearly the beautiful and worried face of his wife.
The madam blushed, slapped the "Zongzi Hand" that was restlessly moving up and down her chest, and scolded her.
"You're still hurt and you're not being honest!"
Xiaofeng meowed and let out a cute roar, jumped down from Xie Luohe's shoulder, and scratched Zheng Xiu's face with his claws without saying a word, leaving blood-red marks.
"No!"
When Madam wasn't paying attention, Zheng Xiu suddenly jumped up and exclaimed: "My plaque!"
"What happened to the plaque?"
Xie Luohe was puzzled at first, and then suddenly realized: "You mean the one that was damaged? It doesn't matter, just write again."
Zheng Xiu was stunned for a moment and rubbed the area between his brows that still had pain.
There seemed to be something pulsing behind the eyebrows.
Zheng Xiu looked around and found that he was in the warm home of the two of them. "I'll go out and take a look." After leaving a sentence, Zheng Xiu hurriedly ran in the direction of Mo Hexuan in his memory.
Xie Luohe looked slightly startled, but finally felt uneasy, and chased after Xiao Fengmiao, who was still aggrieved and angry.
When Zheng Xiu passed out due to a "headache", the sun was rising. Now the sky is full of glow, but it has been changed to the west. When I woke up it was already sunset. I came to "Mohe Xuan" in a confused mood. I don't know who put the two-sided plaque on the ground together, and it stood upright on the side - it must be Xie Luohe. Only she would treat her family in such a chaotic time. The plaque is so thoughtful.
The moment Zheng Xiu saw the handwritten plaque, he shrank slightly. The "Dragon Gate Inn" he saw before passing out was like a dream and it no longer existed. The three characters "Mohexuan" are still vigorous and powerful, with a literati charm, and every piece of peeling gold paint on it is still the same as in memory. This is exactly what he wrote in his own hand ten years ago.
"Mohe, Mohe, Mohe. Not a single word is wrong, not wrong. So, who is wrong?"
Zheng Xiu was shocked and confused, talking to himself.
Xie Luohe hugged the cat and pressed it against her from behind. She twisted her husband's body and she took the initiative to put her forehead against her.
In the past, Zheng Xiu would have put his mouth on the wave with interest, and Xie Luohe would have slapped him with laughter and curses, and then the couple would have a fight from the end of the bed to the head of the bed, in a harmonious manner. It had always been like this. This little habit made the two of them still have a sweet and unique relationship after ten years of dull married life. However, Zheng Xiu was not in the mood at this time and let Xie Luohe manipulate him with a dull expression.
"It's not burning."
Xie Luohe murmured in confusion.
"I..." Zheng Xiu stared at Madam, opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word. In the end, he could only shake his head vigorously: "That's all, it's okay, maybe I'm tired."
It took a full ten days for Sun and Earth to instruct the surviving tribesmen to dig a big pit outside the town, remove the corpses in the town one by one, and bury them carefully. It became a mass grave.
In the past ten days, everyone in the Lieyang tribe was on tenterhooks, worried that Atulu would make a comeback. Some people said that Atulu must have been dead since he was cut in half by Boss Mo that day. The army in the Western Regions had long been frightened and did not dare to do it again.
What makes the sun and the earth uneasy is that in the past ten days, no one has come from the Western Region either for business or via channels. All news outside Richan Valley was cut off, and the whole town was shrouded in a terrifying tranquility as if a storm was about to come. This kind of "peace" was so quiet that it was frightening.
Every day, the patriarch, Sun and Earth, sends out his best men to find out the news. It is worth mentioning that after "recovering" from his injury, the young man from Riding felt like he was reborn. He gradually mastered the miraculous skills he discovered when he accidentally peeked into a doorway in the desert.
His feet can produce "roots"
”, stuck anywhere. He can easily climb over cliffs and rocks, fly over eaves and walls, and even on walls, he can walk as fast as he can with the help of the roots on his feet.
Such a strange phenomenon happened to Ri Ding, and the tribesmen looked at him a little strangely. The rest of the Lie Sun tribe kept a distance from the Ri Ding family, consciously or unconsciously. It was as if this was a disease and they were all afraid of being infected.
Ri Ding did not take this seriously. Instead, he happily ran to Boss Mo's house because of the new "magic arts" and humbly asked Zheng Xiu about the secrets of "magic arts".
The "strange things" about Ri Ding made Ri Di unable to resist. On the twentieth day after the war, he killed pigs and sheep, climbed up Sunset Mountain, and chose noon, when the sun was the strongest, in front of the murals. Worship the "scorching sun" and pray for peace.
January after the war.
Someday.
"Someone is coming! Someone is coming!"
Ri Ding, who was responsible for guarding the entrance of the valley east of Richan Valley, saw a group of figures appearing deep in the desert from a distance. They were so startled that several of them jumped down from hundreds of long peaks and quickly climbed down. Their movements were as nimble as monkeys.
Someone is coming from the east!
Across the desert!
It didn't take long for the news to spread throughout the tribe. Sun and Di, who had been on anxious alert for a whole month, were frightened when they heard this. They were so frightened that they led the clan's experts to the east valley entrance, fully armed.
After a month of suffering, Patriarch Ridi lost a lot of his hair, his eye sockets were sunken, and he looked extremely haggard.
Sun and Earth first ordered people not to relax their vigilance in the west, and took their own people to the east to set up their bow array and wait.
Nowadays, no matter where the person comes from, Sun and Earth dare not take it lightly.
It didn't take long for Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe to hear about this. Zheng Xiu was puzzled when he heard that it was someone coming from the direction of the desert. While he was resting and recuperating, he patted Xie Luohe who was holding the cat and squinting in the sun a few times, said a few words, and walked alone towards the east entrance of Richan Valley.
When we came to the valley entrance and waited, there were many archers crouching on the plank roads on both sides of the valley. Zheng Xiu stared into the distance, looking towards the desert. Sure enough, just as the hearsay said, there are shadows in the depths of the desert. I don't know who is crossing the desert after many years of absence. No wonder Sun and Earth are so careful.
After a while. As the carriages and horses approached, the first thing that bore the brunt was the tattered flags. Flags were flying, and one of the relatively well-preserved flags had a large Chinese character "武" written on it.
"It's the imperial court!"
On the valley, Sun and Earth stared at each other and said in shock. For many years, although Richan Valley belongs to the territory of Daqian, the environment here is harsh and it has long been out of the control of the imperial court. Nowadays, people coming from the imperial court, whether it is a blessing or a curse, make Sun and Earth even more worried.
The imperial court?
Different from the reaction of Sun and Earth, Zheng Xiu vaguely saw a conspicuous bald head in the group of people. The bright reflection was particularly dazzling under the scorching sun.
"Don't be nervous! It could be one of our own!"
The men and horses flying the flag of the Shenwu Army arrived at Richan Valley.
More than a hundred people rode camels, wearing insulating cloaks, covered in dust.
The leader of the group had a fine iron helmet hanging on his camel saddlebag.
"Thank you Yunliu!"
"My good brother-in-law!"
The two recognized each other from a distance and waved to each other. Xie Yunliu roared loudly, jumped off the camel, touched the yellow sand with his feet, and came to Zheng Xiu in a blink of an eye, hugging Zheng Xiu heavily.
Bang bang bang!
Xie Yunliu laughed and patted Zheng Xiu on the back, acting boldly: "Good brother-in-law! You are indeed still alive!"
"Alive! Of course alive!" Zheng Xiu was particularly happy to see Xie Yunliu after seeing him again after a long absence. But he quickly asked: "Monk?"
"What a bastard monk! I am a general! I have just been promoted, and now I am appointed as "General Pingxi" by the emperor. When walking in the court, anyone who sees me must respectfully call me "Thank you, General"! But brother-in-law, you always call me "monk, monk". What a bad luck! "
Xie Yunliu complained, but the smile on his face did not diminish, as if he was not angry. However, he did not know the true meaning of Zheng Xiu's question. Hearing this, Zheng Xiu shook his head helplessly, secretly saying that the monk's illness was still not cured.
"General Xie? Yunliu Temple?"
Memories from ten years ago came to mind, and Zheng Xiu subconsciously murmured these two names. At this time
, a soft and cold voice came from behind the army, interrupting Zheng Xiu's thoughts.
"Haha, you have been hiding here for ten years, a whole ten years! The governor is having a hard time finding you!"
Surrounded by an army of a hundred people, a man who was dressed luxuriously and looked calm even after crossing the desert slowly took off his exquisite bamboo hat with a veil, revealing a handsome face that looked exactly like Xie Yunliu.
"Fan Yao!"
Zheng Xiu was shocked, his face turned solemn, and he touched his waist.
"My supervisor, Lou Mengkong." Fan Yao said calmly. He did not admit his real name in front of others.
Meeting Fan Yao again, the atmosphere in front of the valley became tense for a while.
Xie Yunliu scratched his head: "It's strange to say that this guy looks very similar to me, but other people always say that we are two different people. Brother-in-law, do you think it's strange or not?"
Zheng Xiu ignored Xie Yunliu. He stared at Fan Yao and couldn't figure out why Fan Yao would appear here in the desert. He remained motionless, waiting for Xie Yunliu to explain.
"Go in and talk! Go in and talk!"
Xie Yunliu excitedly waved his hands to everyone in the valley as if he had returned to his own home. Many people in the Lieri tribe recognized Xie Yunliu. After the shock, the tribesmen looked at each other and lowered their longbows one after another, and the atmosphere relaxed.
Zheng Xiu twirled his beard, remained silent for a moment, nodded, showed a meaningful smile, and said: "Okay. Everyone who has come from afar, please come to Mohexuan."
Zheng Xiu magnanimously made a "please" gesture towards the Shenwu Army and his party.
The exhaustion and pain on the faces of every soldier in the Shenwu Army were clearly visible. Even after arriving at Richan Valley, there was no trace of joy in surviving the disaster on their faces.
"How many died?"
Zheng Xiu asked, walking in front.
Xie Yunliu's face darkened, and he lowered his voice, a bit low: "Ninety percent." His previous pretense of ease was gone, and he scratched his head hard: "It's all my fault!"
Zheng Xiu sighed lightly and patted Xie Yunliu on the shoulder.
A group of people followed Zheng Xiu into the valley. On the plank road, the desert residents retreated in an orderly and silent manner.
Fan Yao raised his head and stared at this scene. When Xie Yunliu and Zheng Xiu were whispering, Fan Yao suddenly said: "It seems that you have lived a good life these ten years." Fan Yao used "you", obviously he knew that Xie Luohe also here.
"Thanks to you."
"Don't want to go back?" Fan Yao asked.
Others only thought that Fan Yao was talking about "Central Plains", but Zheng Xiu knew where Fan Yao was talking about.
Zheng Xiu didn't answer, and Fan Yao quickly said sadly: "I can't go back."
After a cup of tea.
Several people gathered at Mohexuan.
Outside Mohe Pavilion, there was a long table for more than ten people. The soldiers held their weapons, drank enough water, and fell asleep leaning in the shade. It was only then that the heaviness on their faces faded away. It can be imagined that they experienced all along the way. Something. For ordinary soldiers who have never crossed the yellow sand, crossing the desert is not an easy task, regardless of the high temperature or drought.
Zheng Xiu, Xie Yunliu, and Fan Yao stood in a tripartite form, with tea on the table and sitting quietly.
When Xie Luohe learned that his brother was coming, he came to Mohexuan happily. Unexpectedly, when he saw two identical faces, his joy suddenly stretched out most of his hips. It's just that the past ten years ago has long since faded away, and for a while Xie Luohe couldn't even feel the intention to kill. Now she was sitting lazily on the counter, watching the two and a half men sitting quietly, gently stroking Xiao Feng Miao's soft hair, and did not come forward to reminisce with Xie Yunliu.
"Haha." Fan Yao finally broke the silence and smiled sinisterly: "There is no need to be nervous. I will come here when I receive the order. I am safe." As he said that, he pressed a rolled-up military order on the table. , smiled at Zheng Xiu and spread his hands, indicating that Zheng Xiu could open it and watch at will.
Zheng Xiu was not polite, so he opened it and took a look.
It is indeed a military order stamped with the imperial seal. The few words above tell a fact. Xie Yunliu was now promoted to the rank of "General Pingxi". His rank was only lower than that of the four great generals who controlled the country. He could be said to have a glorious ancestor. Fan Yao, on the other hand, followed the army westward as a "supervisor".
After Zheng Xiu finished reading, he suddenly became angry and showed no mercy.
The general's order was torn into pieces: "A thousand men! A thousand men! Just send a thousand of you across the desert to Richan Valley to defend the territory? Ridiculous! Ridiculous! Did the emperor send you to die?" "
It turned out that at some point, the news had spread in the Central Plains that the Northern Barbarians and the Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions had joined forces to invade the Daqian Dynasty. When the new emperor took office, he learned about this and immediately appointed Xie Yunliu to take office, saying that he wanted to guard the west of the desert and not let the coalition forces of the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions cross the desert.
The war in the north was intense, and these thousand people were even cobbled together from various armies or from the front line. Now after walking through the desert, there are only a hundred people left out of a thousand people. Xie Yunliu suffered this setback when he became a real general for the first time. You can imagine his mood.
"wrong."
After being angry, Zheng Xiu suddenly calmed down and glanced at Fan Yao.
Suddenly, Xie Luohe seemed to have a mental connection with Zheng Xiu. With lightning speed, he took out a long bow from under the table, nocked an arrow on the bow, and silently pointed at Fan Yao.
For a moment, Mohe Pavilion was eerily silent. Xie Luohe's murderous intention was as real as ever. At this moment, even if Zheng Xiu moved his fingers slightly, she would shoot Fan Yao here without hesitation.
"Smart." Fan Yaodan drank the tea in the cup calmly. His expression did not change at all after being pointed at by Xie Luohe's arrow. He sighed with emotion: "Gongsun Mo, I am really curious about who you really are."
[In view of the general environment,
Zheng Xiu stood up and said calmly: "You may not have the chance to know."
"Yeah, we don't have a chance." Fan Yao said with a smile, "I didn't intend to hide it."
Xie Yunliu didn't react, thinking that Zheng Xiu and his sister were still remembering the grudge they had ten years ago, so they turned over the table here.
Under Zheng Xiu's gaze, Fan Yao reached into his arms, took out another small volume, and pressed it on the table. Xie Yunliu was stunned for a moment, then quickly picked it up and opened it in front of several people. Gradually his face changed several times, and finally turned blue and purple.
Fan Yao explained with a smile: "It is nonsense to think that with a mere thousand men, we can cross the desert and block the thirty-six countries of the Western Regions in the west of the desert. Even if Xie Yunliu knows the Green River trade route, a thousand men are still enough." Ninety percent loss. Without the Green River secret passage, no army can safely cross the desert."
"So," Xie Luohe also understood and said in a cold voice: "As a warlord, you are not really supervising the army to fight against the thirty-six countries in the Western Region, but... you are doing it to ensure that the secret of the Green River Trade Road disappears completely. As long as there is no People know the Green River Trade Route, and no matter how many armies from the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions come, they will all die in the desert."
"Yes," Fan Yao sighed with a smile, and the louder he laughed, "This is the secret factory. This is my, Fan Yao, living a ridiculous life in this world in the name of Lou Mengkong!"
According to Fan Rumors, he and Xie Yunliu took the title of emperor and crossed the desert to the west at all costs, not to resist the invasion from the frontier. But to kill everyone in Richan Valley here and keep the secret away!
This is the true meaning of the existence of the secret factory.
Xie Yunliu stared angrily, tore Fan Yao's secret edict into pieces, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it hard. He sat back slumped on the ground with his eyes unfocused, and sneered at himself: "General Pingxi? Hey! What a good General Pingxi! Thank you. General! Hehehe! Thank you, General!"
"As expected." When Zheng Xiu knew that only a thousand people wanted to complete the task of guarding the border, he realized the emperor's true thoughts. There was no trace of surprise on his face. He waved his hand to his wife, and Xie Luohe put down his long bow, with a calm expression on his face, and continued to tease Xiao Fengmiao.
After a moment of silence, Zheng Xiu said, "It's too late."
Fan Yao was slightly startled: "Is it too late?"
Zheng Xiu nodded: "It's too late."
Fan Yao was silent and poured himself a cup of tea.
"It's too late, that's fine."
Fan Yao said expressionlessly, raising his tea cup.
The three raised their glasses.
"Fuck the Dog Emperor."
The three of them said at the same time and drank all the tea in the cup.
