The winter sun was shining brightly, and the cold wind whistled from the far north, and the fine and dense white silk threads filled the space between heaven and earth. The old man stood between the fine and dense white silk threads, his messy hair was blown all over the place, and his sharp eyes seemed to cut through the silk threads of the wind and shot straight to the top of Shuozhou City.
He Simu heard Meng Wan whispering with someone behind him, saying that Lin Huaide, the eldest uncle of the Lin family, secretly provided the Tabai army with the time for Danzhi to transport grain, but was betrayed and exposed to the Danzhi army.
The old man said loudly: "Jun'er, have the food and grass arrived?"
“Here… here…”
"Is there enough to eat?"
Lin Jun's eyes were red. Did he purse his lips before answering
How much is enough? More than 20 days of food, in exchange for the lives of more than 20 people in Lin Huaide's family, is it enough or not
"Can you still hold on?" Lin Huaide's voice was neither sad nor happy. It blew through the biting cold wind to the top of the city, making people feel helpless about the bleak future.
The Danzhi soldier standing next to Lin Huaide laughed, as if waiting for the Daliang soldiers in the isolated city to waver.
No? After getting a response, Lin Huaide was silent for a while, then slowly said: "Jun'er, do you still remember your grandfather? When your grandfather was alive, you were the one he loved most among all his grandchildren."
"Your great grandfather was a soldier under General Wu Nan. He died in Yunzhou and never came back. At that time, your grandfather was just born. Your great grandmother was stubborn and refused to flee to the south of Guanhe River. She raised your grandfather in Shuozhou. Your grandfather earned this foundation for the Lin family, which is why we, your father's family, and the Shuozhou Lin family are what we are today. Over the years, we have flattered and fawned on the Huqi people for the sake of business and the Lin family, but you must remember how our ancestors died - they died to protect us. Your grandfather said that if one day Daliang can cross Guanhe River and drive the Huqi people out of the Central Plains, even though the Lin family is just a merchant family, we will do our best to help them and will not hesitate to die."
The Danzhi soldier noticed that Lin Huaide's words were not right, so he pulled Lin Huaide and slapped him, asking him to speak properly. However, Lin Huaide said coldly and sternly: "Jun'er, listen carefully! You have to keep holding on even if you can't hold on any longer!"
"I came to see you today to tell you that your uncle went to report to your grandfather and told him that the Lin family lived up to their trust and Jun'er lived up to their trust!"
"One day, the country will be restored and the prosperity will return to the past!"
Lin Jun stared blankly at the city. His eyes were wide open, but his eyes were red but he didn't cry. Intense emotions were surging in his eyes, as if his soul was about to be shaken out of his body. There were shrill screams and cries from the city. The blood of the Lin family dyed the frosty land red. Lin Huaide fell into the gradually expanding pool of blood with his eyes open. His neck was cut by a sharp blade, but there was a frozen smile on his face.
In those cloudy and old eyes, it seemed as if he was proud of something and mocking something at the same time.
Lin Jun began to tremble uncontrollably. He no longer rushed to the parapet, but slowly bent down, holding onto the wall. His slender fingers trembled like cicada wings, and slowly blocked his eyes.
He curled up like a cocoon, without making any sound.
Lin Huaide's family of twenty to thirteen people were all slaughtered under the city of Shuozhou.
Chen Ying clung to the battlement, staring blankly at the one-sided slaughter under the city wall. He Simu reached out to cover his eyes and pulled him back from the battlement.
Chen Ying did not struggle, but whispered: "My father was killed in the same way."
Unarmed, they were killed like animals.
Unexpectedly, Chen Ying did not cry this time.
He Simu watched the bright lights of soul fire rising from the bottom of the city, disappearing into the sky under the dazzling sunlight. She was used to life and death, and knew that it would be inappropriate to say anything at this time, so she could only squeeze Shen Ying's shoulders to comfort her.
Life is short, no more than a hundred years, and the entanglement of life and death is ultimately unbreakable.
However, there is no need to figure it out.
If a person has nothing to cling to, life will generally be meaningless.
After Lin Jun returned to the Lin family, he did not eat anything that day. He sat silently in the pavilion in the courtyard, from noon to sunset, and until late at night.
The housekeeper tried to persuade him several times, but Lin Jun refused to leave. It was not until Duan Xu visited the Lin residence at night and walked all the way to Lin Jun that he came to his senses and stood up in surprise.
Duan Xu was dressed in a casual round-necked robe. He bowed to Lin Jun and said, "Boss Lin, Shunxi feels ashamed of the Lin family."
Lin Jun immediately shook his head and helped Duan Xu up, saying: "General Duan, don't blame yourself... Everyone has their own fate. Once they die, my uncle..."
He seemed to be unable to continue. Duan Xu sighed and continued, "I heard that your father passed away early, and your uncle took good care of you, just like a father. What he said today under the city was not to make you sad. I think he couldn't bear to see you so depressed."
Lin Jun is older than Duan Xu, so Duan Xu always respectfully addresses him as "you". Lin Jun declines and says it is not necessary.
Duan Xu said, "I know that the Lin family has suffered such a disaster and you are deeply saddened. But I have something to ask for your help. This matter is of great importance, and I hope you will agree."
Lin Jun was stunned and asked in confusion: "What's the matter?"
"I have a suspicion of being a spy in the army. Please help me prove it, Boss Lin."
"who?"
"Han Lingqiu."
Lin Jun looked at Duan Xu in surprise, as if he couldn't believe that Han Lingqiu had done this: "General, what is your basis?"
"Miss He was attacked, the grain was burned, the grain was robbed and surrounded, and the Lin family was betrayed. Every incident is related to him. When the grain was robbed and surrounded, the Huqi people ordered not to hurt Han Lingqiu. Han Lingqiu originally came from Danzhi. He claimed to have lost his memory, but there were many doubts."
"Amnesia?" Lin Jun asked in surprise.
"I think he is deliberately hiding his skills, so I held a competition to test his true strength. I heard that Boss Lin is also a martial arts enthusiast and has several guests with extraordinary skills at home. When the time comes, can you ask Boss Lin to let them come and compete with Han Lingqiu?"
Lin Jun nodded solemnly, bowed to Duan Xu and said, "I will take care of this matter. I will definitely live up to the general's trust."
Duan Xu patted Lin Jun on the shoulder and said, "Boss Lin is not only the pride of the Lin family, but also the pillar of Daliang."
After leaving the Lin family, Duan Xu turned around and went to find Han Lingqiu again. He called Han Lingqiu over while he was on patrol and said to him, "No matter what suspicions you have about me, I am your general now and you must obey my orders."
Han Lingqiu lowered his eyes and said, "Yes, General, what do you want to do?"
"You have hidden your strength and have not fully demonstrated your skills, right?" Duan Xu opened the door and said to Shan.
Han Lingqiu was very surprised. Just when he was about to say something, Duan Xu waved his hand to stop him. He said directly: "In the competitions in a few days, I want you to win all the competitions, but still hide your strength and don't show it unless it is absolutely necessary."
This strange request made Han Lingqiu stunned. He took a while to react before asking, "How did the general know that I..."
"This is my order, you just have to say yes."
Han Lingqiu was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "Yes."
Duan Xu smiled softly and said, "There is one more thing I want to tell you, remember it."
When the moon was at its zenith, Duan Xu finally came out of the military camp. As usual, he walked alone with a lantern in his hand, on the cold and quiet streets under the bright moonlight. Red lanterns and red silks were hung on both sides of the street, and the couplets on the doors were replaced with new ones. The people in this city were happily preparing for the New Year.
They didn't know that the food and grass in the city was only enough for one month, they didn't know that there were endless black tents outside the city, and they didn't know that the 23 members of the Lin family were killed in the blood under the city today. This kind of peace and even happiness makes people feel surprised and weird.
And the person who concealed the truth was very calm, holding a lantern and walking on the street filled with a warm atmosphere.
"Are you there?" he asked.
There was silence for a while, and then a pair of lilac-colored cloud boots stepped on the ground beside him, silently.
The Ghost King Lamp on He Simu's waist flickered with a blue light that flickered from time to time. She said nonchalantly, "Is everything arranged?"
"Yeah. You know everything?"
"I roughly guessed it."
"See how much you can guess at the end of this round."
He Simu turned his head and looked at the young man beside him. In his clear eyes, there was a cold pond a thousand feet deep with no end in sight. A man whose life span was only a hundred years and who had only lived for twenty years, actually had such a pair of eyes.
She asked, "Little General, how old are you? Aren't you tired?"
Duan Xu's eyes flickered, he turned his head to look at He Simu, smiled and didn't speak.
The New Year's Martial Arts Competition was held as scheduled on the morning of New Year's Eve. He Simu was invited to the training ground as the Fengjiao Zhanhou of the Tabai Army. He sat on the seat next to Duan Xu. Duan Xu also invited Lin Jun, and Lin Jun sat on the other side of him.
Duan Xu did not participate in the competition, and did not allow Wu Shengliu, a martial arts enthusiast, to participate. Wu Shengliu was very angry about this, and sat at the table with his arms folded and a cold face, drinking but not talking.
After the previous rounds of draws and competitions, Han Lingqiu, as expected, made it to the finals. He was also very famous in military competitions and had only lost to Wu Shengliu.
Also coming to the finals was the martial arts expert Song Daxia, who was invited by Lin Jun. Song Daxia was of similar stature to Han Lingqiu, and was also broad-shouldered and strong. He easily defeated his opponent every time in the first few rounds, which showed that he was quite skilled.
The two of them bowed to each other in the arena, and when the drum sounded, they took up their positions and began to fight. Duan Xu narrowed his eyes slightly, and Lin Jun also leaned forward nervously. He Simu was eating melon seeds with Chen Ying while looking at the arena from time to time.
Both of them were very skilled. They fought back and forth, neither giving in. Their figures tumbled back and forth in the training ground, raising dust. After several rounds, the match was always a draw.
According to Duan Xu, if Han Lingqiu was once a death warrior of Tianzhi, his strength should be above that of Hero Song. Now he strictly abides by Duan Xu's orders and does not expose too much, but at this level, he is afraid that he has no way to defeat Hero Song.
He Simu was cracking melon seeds, thinking that Duan Xu had really given Lin and Han a difficult problem. They had to test them while hiding, and they had to win on both sides.
Seeing the situation tense, after a few rounds, it was hard to tell who would win between Han Lingqiu and Hero Song. Lin Jun frowned and watched for a long time, then said to Duan Xu: "It's hard to tell the strength of Captain Han at this rate. I heard from Hero Song that there is a blindfolded fighting method in Jianghu that can best test the strength of the opponent."
Duan Xu paused while drinking his tea. He smiled and said, "Okay? Well, we can't tell who will win anyway, so let's just compete like this."
He called Meng Wan and announced the revised rules.
Han Lingqiu on the training ground was obviously stunned. He raised his eyes and looked at Duan Xu hesitantly, while Duan Xu looked at him indifferently. The suspicious and uneasy eyes in the clear sky were stalemated for a moment. Han Lingqiu lowered his head and seemed to sigh. He took the black cloth handed by the soldier and covered his eyes with it.
This was obviously a competition that no one had ever seen before. People around the training ground were watching the two people with black cloth covering their eyes with great interest.
After Han Lingqiu covered his eyes, the atmosphere around him changed subtly. He Simu saw that the wind around him was just like the time when Duan Xu and Wu Shengliu fought. When he rushed to fight with Hero Song, his speed was more than twice as fast as before, and his accuracy was exactly the same, as if he had a third eye.
It is said that blindfolding is a rule in the martial arts world, but Hero Song is obviously not as used to this kind of competition as Han Lingqiu. His speed and accuracy are slightly lower than before, and he hesitates when he attacks. In the midst of the dust, Han Lingqiu and Hero Song feint a few moves, and then punches him accurately in the chest. When Hero Song retreats repeatedly, he takes a few steps forward, grabs his arm, turns sideways and throws him to the ground, and then accurately strangles Hero Song's neck.
Quick, precise, no tricks, just deadly.
He Simu put down the melon seeds in his hand and thought that probably several of Mr. Song's ribs were broken, and one of them almost pierced his heart.
Han Lingqiu, who was blindfolded, attacked with almost fatal force, much more brutally than before.
Without extremely cruel and meticulous training, humans would not have such keen perception and powerful attack capabilities.
The gongs and drums on the field sounded, and the soldiers shouted, "Captain Han wins."
Han Lingqiu stood up silently, tore off the black cloth from his eyes, saluted to Hero Song and said, "I'm sorry."
Everyone in the audience was shocked. The first person to jump up was Wu Shengliu. He opened his eyes wide and shouted, "Brother Han, how could he...is his martial arts so powerful? How come I never knew about this? Why is he hiding this?!"
Amidst the applause, Duan Xu put down the teacup in his hand and stood up from his seat calmly.
He walked leisurely to the edge of the training ground and said loudly: "Everyone, during the days we were stationed in Shuozhou City, first the carriage of Jiefengjiao Zhanhou was attacked, then the food and grass were burned, the Zao Danzhi ambushed us when we were robbing food, and the eldest branch of the Lin family was betrayed. All these things show that there is a spy from the Danzhi among us. Today, I can finally confirm who this spy is. I think this person is indeed related to each of the above events."
Duan Xu's gaze fell on Han Lingqiu. Han Lingqiu looked at him silently, clenched his hands and said nothing.
Duan Xu smiled leisurely, turned around and looked at Lin Jun beside him.
"Boss Lin, what do you think? Or I want to ask you, since we entered the city, where have you hidden the real Lin Jun?"