"Kill... Kill him!" the Huchi soldiers roared, shouting at the top of their lungs, but were drowned out by the sound of killing.
He is an ambitious soldier who understands the principle of capturing the leader first.
He Simu stood up and appeared in front of Duan Xu's horse in a flash. Duan Xu's chestnut horse seemed to sense the gloomy deathly aura, and suddenly raised its hooves and stopped, jumping half of its body up.
Duan Xu quickly reined in his horse and stepped on the stirrups steadily. The horse's hooves landed heavily in front of He Simu, kicking up a cloud of dust.
He Simu put his hands behind his back and looked up at Duan Xu on the horse. Duan Xu's eyes, which always loved to smile, showed a hint of slight doubt. He frowned slightly and looked at the normal atmosphere in front of the horse.
"Duan Xu." He Simu said this in a quiet voice, but he couldn't hear it even if it was louder.
The air seemed to freeze as they confronted each other. The dark sky brightened, and from nowhere countless bright red birds suddenly flew in, their wings depicting lifelike flame patterns, like a huge fire falling from the sky and covering the whole sky.
The Danzhi army, which was fighting fiercely, was horrified and dropped their weapons and fled backwards. For a moment, the stalemate on the battlefield was in a state of collapse. The Daliang army's drums were deafening, and the soldiers raised their weapons and hacked and killed wantonly, like a storm sweeping away.
The fleeing Huqi people looked at the red bird in the sky as they fled, fearing that the red bird would land on them, and shouted in the Huqi language.
In the morning light, Duan Xu, who was covered in blood, smiled gently. There were still bloodstains on his face, but his eyes were slightly curved, revealing his white teeth.
An innocent and relaxed smile, so perfect that it seemed fake.
In the red that covered the sky, he opened his mouth slightly and uttered a few simple syllables. Then he rode away, passing by He Simu, his cloak fluttering like a gust of swift wind.
He Simu turned around and looked at his figure rushing into the enemy. She narrowed her eyes slightly, and the jade pendant in her hand turned around and around, with blue ghost fire flickering.
Duan Xu just spoke Huqi language.
The meaning of that sentence was similar to the words shouted by the fleeing Danzhi soldiers in shock and fear, and Duan Xu said it very clearly and authentically.
Just like my mother tongue.
—The Cang God brought disaster and burned all living things.
He Simu walked towards her quasi-food. The Huchi soldier, who was crawling on the ground, looked at the overwhelming red birds in the sky with fear in his eyes. He Simu patted his shoulder and whispered in his ear: "Congratulations, good luck will still be with you in your next life."
Transaction rejected.
Perhaps it would be more interesting if Duan Xu lived in this world.
Duan Xu.
Is he really Duan Xu
Could it be that Duan Shunxi was a man who came from a family of civil officials, aspired to be a prime minister, but possessed excellent martial arts, superb riding skills, and could speak authentic Huqi language
Or perhaps the real Duan Shunxi had died with his servants at the age of fourteen on the way from Daizhou to Nandu, and was replaced by someone else.
After all, the age between seven and fourteen is when a child changes the most, so even if they are a little different from before, they won't be taken too seriously.
When He Simu returned to Liangzhou City and rejoined the body she had borrowed, it was already noon. She sat up from the bed, waving her arms and legs.
Yesterday she specifically told Chen Ying to go to Aunt Song's house for dinner in the morning and not to disturb her. Judging from the current calm situation, Chen Ying was very obedient.
Just as He Simu was thinking this, the child who couldn't help but praise slammed her door panel loudly and shouted, "Little sister! There is good news! We have captured Shuozhou City!"
The tone of voice sounded like he had won it on the battlefield himself.
He Simu put on her clothes and got out of bed. When she opened the door, Chen Ying hugged her legs and looked up excitedly: "Little sister, General Duan has captured Shuozhou City! He is still alive!"
He Simu bent down and scratched his nose, and said, "What does this have to do with you?"
Chen Ying smiled happily and pointed outside the door: "General brother sent someone to pick us up!"
"… "
He Simu raised her eyebrows in surprise. Chen Ying took her hand without saying anything and trotted to the gate of the courtyard. She pointed at the carriage outside and said, "Look, sister! Big horse! What a beautiful carriage!"
A large circle of people had already gathered on both sides of the street, standing by to watch and discuss what was going on. Captain Han, who was standing beside the carriage, clasped his fists and saluted He Simu, saying, "Miss He, the general asked me to bring you a message."
He Simu saluted and said, "Captain, please speak."
"Shuozhou City has been conquered. Miss, you have made great contributions by observing the situation and offering advice. I hereby ask you to continue to serve as Tabaizhanhou and go to Shuozhou."
"General, I know that you are a delicate girl, afraid of blood, and indifferent to worldly affairs, but I promise to save you from hard work and ensure that you are well taken care of, and I will not force you."
Han Lingqiu said these words as if he was reciting them, then bowed to He Simu and said, "Miss, are you willing?"
He Simu narrowed her eyes slightly, and she looked at the man in front of her and the tall carriage beside him with a smile. She was able to come to Liangzhou City at this moment, probably because Duan Xu asked Han Lingqiu to pick her up as soon as Shuozhou was conquered.
Has Duan Xu decided to play this game with her to the end
He Simu thought of the red birds in the sky and the bright lights, and Duan Xu's expression when he said "the God of Cang has brought disaster" with a smile. She also smiled and stretched out her hand, hanging in the air.
"General, it would be disrespectful for me to refuse your cordial invitation."
Han Lingqiu held her hand, and He Simu got on the carriage with a little effort. Chen Ying ran back to pack a few things and followed him on the carriage.
He Simu saw that the boy actually brought the veil given by Duan Xu and the suona she rented. Chen Ying held these things and said hesitantly, "Maybe they can be used in the future."
Hmm... should I hide and eavesdrop again, or see Duan Xu off to his final resting place
He Simu rubbed Shen Ying's head and said, "What a good and worry-free child."
On the other side of Liangzhou is Jicheng of Shuozhou. The line between Jicheng and Shuozhou Prefecture City has been opened up by the Tabai Army. The five cities in between have all belonged to Daliang. There is also a direct official road between Jicheng and Prefecture City, making it very fast to travel.
He Simu sat in the swaying carriage, closing his eyes to rest. Chen Ying leaned against the window and looked out, muttering, "So this is Danzhi..."
He Simu looked out the window and saw that the architectural style of Shuozhou was exactly the same as that of Liangzhou, with small black and gray tiles, blue brick walls, and brick and stone streets. The only difference was that there were more signs and shops with Huqi characters on the street. All the shops with Huqi characters looked magnificent.
There were also flame patterns painted on the shop fronts, which were somewhat similar to the patterns on the red birds she had seen last night.
That is the totem of Cang Shen, the god worshipped by the Huche people. The meaning of Danzhi in the Huche language is "the great kingdom of Cang Shen".
Chen Ying looked around for a while, then turned around and said to He Simu, "Little sister, I heard from my grandfather that my ancestral home is actually Lucheng, Shuozhou. When my great grandfather was alive, the Dasheng Dynasty was still there, and the Huqi people had not yet come. The entire Shuozhou belonged to us Han people."
"Later, the Huqi people came and destroyed the Dasheng Dynasty. My great-grandfather fled south to Liangzhou with his family. They had spent all their money and land, and later they could not even afford to eat."
"When my grandfather was still alive, he would occasionally talk to me about Shuozhou. He said that he, and I, would probably never be able to return to Shuozhou in this lifetime. But I am back! I am back to Shuozhou."
Shen Ying looked a little sad, but also a little excited. He looked out the window into the distance and whispered, "I want to go somewhere farther away."
He Simu leaned her arm on the window and looked at Chen Ying nonchalantly. She could go anywhere in the world with a thought, not to mention Shuozhou, she had also been to the seventeen states north of Guanhe and even Beiming.
She didn't care about the war, nor did she care about the distance, but for a mortal like Shen Ying, this was a gap that could not be crossed in her lifetime.
Mortals are so insignificant and pitiful. The journey they can complete in their lifetime is but a short distance, and in a moment they will turn into dry bones.
She touched Shen Ying's head, and Shen Ying sat down next to He Simu.
The carriage was halfway through its journey when suddenly there was a loud noise and the entire carriage shook violently a few times, waking Shen Ying from his sleep. He jumped up and asked, "What's going on?"
He Simu lowered the curtains, retracted his body and said calmly: "We were ambushed."
"Ambush! Hu... Huqi people?" Shen Ying couldn't speak clearly.
"That's right."
There was a ping-pong sound of weapons clashing outside the car door. There must be a fierce battle going on. Shen Ying huddled beside He Simu and didn't dare to go out. He asked in a low voice: "Where are we? Will the general brother come to save us?"
"It's still too early to reach Shuozhou City. I just saw at least a hundred people in ambush, and we only have a dozen people here. Young General, it's like distant water can't quench your immediate thirst."
He Simu smiled and thought to himself that it was not certain whether the person who ambushed him was related to Duan Xu.
Chen Ying said hurriedly: "What should we do then? Are the Huqi people going to capture you and bring you back to show them the wind?"
"Then go ahead. It doesn't matter who you help. The Huqi people asked me for help, but they will not reduce our food rations. You can still have food. Maybe it will be more comfortable than in Liangzhou." He Simu said casually, but he noticed that Chen Ying's eyes changed.
He looked at He Simu in surprise, his cheeks puffed up with anger, and said word by word: "Little sister, how can you help the Huqi people!"
"They drove my great-grandfather from Shuozhou to Liangzhou. Why did they have their own home but wanted to rob other people's homes? Why did they come to Liangzhou after we all escaped? Why did they kill my father? Our ancestors have lived here for generations, why did we have to be bullied by them! Little sister, you still want to help them! I don't want to, I would rather die than help them!" Shen Ying said with great vigor, but tears could not stop falling.
He held He Simu's hand and cried, "Little sister, please don't help them, okay?"
He Simu's eyes were as calm as water as he looked at Shen Ying's tearful face. Outside, there were still the sounds of swords and shouts, and the carriage was shaking, just like Shen Ying's restless heart.
"Oh... okay." He Simu sighed, patted Chen Ying's shoulder soothingly, and said with a smile: "Fortunately, there is a mountain next to it, and there are many wild graves on the mountain."
"What?" Shen Ying looked confused.
He Simu pinched his fingers and said seriously: "I can tell the difference. The Han ancestors in this tomb can't bear to see their children suffer this kind of humiliation. They are about to jump out of the grave and hit the Huqi people on the head. You should close your eyes and cover your ears, count to a hundred silently, and they will drive the Huqi people away!"
Shen Ying immediately closed his eyes, covered his ears, and began to count silently.
He Simu's eyes turned slightly cold, and the lamp-shaped jade pendant on her waist emitted a faint blue light, then floated up and grew larger, turning into a real hexagonal ice-crack glass lamp.
He Simu held the Ghost King Lamp that frightened all the ghosts with both hands, rested his chin on the top of the lamp, and murmured, "A hundred people, are five evil ghosts enough to eat?"
A blue flame suddenly ignited in the lamp, which was the will-o'-the-wisp.
"Is it easier to just set it on fire?" He Simu raised his hand, twirled his index finger in the air, and snapped his fingers crisply.