After Avolzi's death, the war situation suddenly changed. He got involved in the dispute over the succession of Danzhi, and the thirteenth prince, who had been supported by him, suddenly lost his backer. For a moment, he took a risk and even wanted to force the emperor to abdicate.
The Danzhi royal court was in chaos, and the Sixth Prince urgently summoned his supporter Feng Lai back to Danzhi, ostensibly to rescue the emperor but in reality to seize the right of succession. Feng Lai was in a state of panic on the battlefield of Yuzhou, with no progress, and his supplies and reinforcements cut off by Duan Xu, so he immediately concentrated his forces to open a gap in Liangzhou, crossed the river and withdrew his troops.
Although the reinforcements from Daliang were already stationed in Liangzhou, neither Xia Qingsheng, who led the remaining 30,000 Tabai troops, nor the troops that followed, held out to the death. As the saying goes, a siege will always involve a shortage of troops, so at least don't force the enemy into a desperate situation and perish together.
However, harassment along the way was inevitable. When the Huqi people withdrew and crossed the river, Xia Qingsheng ambushed countless enemy troops and buried them in the turbulent Guanhe River. When the enemy arrived in Shuozhou, they were intercepted by Duan Xu's garrison again. The losses were not small, but they had no time to take care of other things. For a while, they gave up the entire Shuozhou.
This time the reinforcements arrived just in time. At General Qin's command, Su Ying and other three armies crossed the river and marched into Shuozhou, taking over the entire Shuozhou.
As the saying goes, a single move can affect the entire body. What Duan Xu did on the New Year's Eve of the 10th year of Tianyuan became the key to turning the tide of the war. Duan Xu, who was originally the greatest contributor, lived a very peaceful life during this period. He was no longer playing Thousand-Handed Guanyin whack-a-mole every day, because he was seriously injured and would die if he continued to work hard.
Duan Xu, who was recovering from his injuries, handed over the defense of Shuozhou Prefecture to Wu Shengliu. He wrote letters everywhere on weekdays, sometimes telling Xia Qingsheng of Liangzhou about the precautions for the naval battle, sometimes writing war reports to General Qin, sometimes writing memorials to the court, and sometimes writing family letters, as if he had suddenly changed from a military general to a civil official. He Simu was able to see Duan Xu's beautiful articles in the style of the Spring and Autumn Annals, and he had completely cleared away all the suspicious points about himself, and suddenly came back with a few metaphors, quietly showing off his literary talent.
In the ghost world, if a ghost handed this kind of memorial to He Simu, he would probably be beaten. He would be told to straighten his tongue and speak properly when he got back - stop talking nonsense.
The real boss Lin was also recovering from his injuries. In order to learn his words and deeds, Shi Wu did not kill him, but imprisoned him. Duan Xu ordered Wu Shengliu to search the whole city before he found Lin Jun. He was only hanging on with one breath left. After a long rescue, his life was at least safe. When he woke up, He Simu shuddered as soon as he opened his mouth. He was exactly the same as Lin Jun, who was pretended by Shi Wu before, a passionate patriotic young man who hated evil. Shi Wu was pretending too much.
During this period of recuperation, as a reward for He Simu's help in taking the wind, Duan Xu happily accepted Chen Ying as his brother and promised to take Chen Ying back to Duan Mansion to raise and take care of him. Chen Ying was reluctant to leave for a long time, and He Simu tactfully said that she had not planned to leave yet, and Chen Ying could still see her often during this period, so it was a bit too early for him to be reluctant to leave.
Duan Xu was covered in wounds this time, and he couldn't change the bandages by himself. Originally, this job would fall to the military doctor or Meng Wan, but now it fell to He Simu - Duan Xu grabbed the corner of "He Xiaoxiao's" clothes and winked at her before he fainted. She thought of Duan Xu's old wounds and the scars on his waist, and thought that this young general was very troublesome. But she still cried in grief at the right time to show her feelings, and cooperated with Duan Xu's acting to take over the bandage job.
He Simu thought that this was also her cursed person, and considering his miserable state of losing half his life, she did not take away her senses from him for the time being.
This requires him to recover quickly and fulfill his contract.
"Hiss..." Duan Xu made a slight sound of pain. He frowned and looked at He Simu. After a moment, he couldn't help laughing: "Your hands are really heavy. You really have no sense of touch."
He Simu raised his eyebrows and looked at the guy who was laughing the more pain he felt. He loosened the gauze in his hand and said, "How about I ask Captain Meng to come in and replace me, and you can explain to her what happened to your old injuries?"
"It is my honor to bandage my wounds, Your Highness."
Duan Xu answered very quickly and fluently, with a smile on his face.
In the dim morning light, his upper body was naked, revealing his fair skin and crisscross wounds. Fortunately, except for the wound on his ribs, the other wounds were not too deep. He let He Simu pull the gauze to bandage his arms, waist and back.
He Simu tied a knot to her masterpiece, then patted Duan Xu on the shoulder and said, "Take off your pants."
"..." Duan Xu turned his head and looked at her, rarely showing such a surprised expression, as if he was not sure what he heard.
She said very naturally: "I remember you also have a wound on your thigh root."
Duan Xu held down He Simu's hand on his waist and clothes and said seriously, "The wound is not deep. I think this is unnecessary."
"Why not?" He Simu raised his eyebrows and said, "I have followed my father and Doctor Fu to dissect corpses since I was a child. I have seen all kinds of naked bodies. Anyway, I am a ghost, and it's not like I haven't possessed a man before. Why are you shy?"
Duan Xu smiled and declined, "This is not appropriate. After all, I still want to be innocent."
He Simu narrowed his eyes slightly, and Duan Xu's hands were instantly bound behind his back by something invisible, and he fell straight onto the bed with a muffled sound. Duan Xu blinked and said, "It hurts, Your Highness, I am still a patient."
He Simu bent down and stroked his cheek. Because she appeared as "He Xiaoxiao", her fingers were warm now. She used a little more strength when stroking the wound on his face: "You want me to bandage you, but you are so picky. Do you think I can be ordered around by you, little general?"
Duan Xu smiled, his eyes shining, and said calmly: "I am not being picky, I am begging you. Your Highness, please give me some face, you can't treat me like this."
When He Simu smiled dangerously, the door was suddenly pushed open and a familiar male voice sounded.
"General, Marshal Qin..." Han Lingqiu looked at Duan Xu, who was lying on the bed with his hair scattered all over the pillow, and He Xiaoxiao, who was lying on him and touching his face. For a moment, he forgot what he was going to say next. He just wondered if he should pretend that he hadn't seen anything, turn around and leave and close the door.
Before he could put it into practice, he saw Duan Xu's eyes light up as if he had been pardoned. He stood up from the bed and said, "Captain Han, please tell me."
He Xiaoxiao calmly moved away from Duan Xu, sat on the head of the bed with her legs crossed, picked up the tea beside her and started drinking.
Han Lingqiu finally gritted his teeth and continued: "General, the news just received is that Marshal Qin will arrive in the city in two days."
Duan Xu smiled lightly and said leisurely, "General Qin is here in person... It seems that Shuozhou alone is not enough, and this war is still to be fought. I am not feeling well, so you ask General Wu Lang to entertain General Qin well - you should ask Meng Wan about the etiquette."
Han Lingqiu agreed and was about to leave, but was stopped by Duan Xu. Duan Xu's face was pale due to blood loss from his injury, but his eyes were focused: "Captain Han, is there anything else you want to ask me?"
Han Lingqiu was silent for a while, then clasped his fists and said, "Not anymore."
On the night when Duan Xu told him about the martial arts competition on New Year's Eve, Duan Xu said that he knew he had many questions about him, and he would give him a chance to ask questions after Shuozhou was relieved.
He promised that he would answer all the questions raised by Han Lingqiu.
Han Lingqiu had prepared for this question a long time ago, but when the fake Lin Jun said "You are my seventeenth junior brother" on the arena that day, Han Lingqiu vaguely recalled the outline of the past. He suddenly felt afraid, as those past events might very well overturn his current life.
He was not originally obsessed with the past, but the appearance of Duan Xu made him curious. That curiosity was more about Duan Xu as a person than about his own past.
But on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Han Lingqiu looked up at Duan Xu, who was covered in wounds and on the verge of collapse but still smiling happily, under the city wall. Suddenly, he felt that who Duan Xu was didn't seem to be that important.
Although there are many mysteries about Duan Xu, what can be confirmed is that he is a good general of Daliang, and perhaps this is enough.
And Han Lingqiu is the captain of Daliang's Tabai Army. It is enough for him to be clear about this point.
Watching Han Lingqiu walk out and considerately close the door, He Simu smiled softly and her eyes turned leisurely to Duan Xu.
Before she could ask, Duan Xu answered with understanding: "Han Lingqiu, he was my classmate."
With injuries all over his body, he couldn't lean on anywhere. He could only support himself on the bed with his hands and lean back slightly to make a comfortable posture for telling the story.
"God knows that there are 100 disciples in each period, and the assessment is a fight. After seven years, 99 will die and only one will remain. He will be given a number and become a master."
—He made me start killing people when I was seven, and when I was fourteen I killed all my peers.
He Simu recalled what Duan Xu had said to her when they were killing people in Danzhi Camp. At that time, his eyes were burning with excitement and pain, with a bit of madness. But at this moment, the madness in Duan Xu's eyes gradually ended, and he was so calm that it seemed as if he was discussing an ordinary memory. He was silent for a while and then laughed.
"Han Lingqiu was very quiet at that time. In fact, most of us were like him. I was the only one who was different. I didn't talk to him much. The most contact we had was during the life-and-death duel in the Night Trial. I think he must have been very desperate. Ninety-eight people died and only the two of us were left. But Master favored me and I was very strong. He would eventually die in my hands. It was only a matter of time before he and the other ninety-eight died."
Duan Xu tapped his forehead and said, "I was the one who cut the long scar on his face."
"When you were killing him?" He Simu asked.
"No, when I was rescuing him."
This answer is somewhat unexpected.
Duan Xu smiled, and he turned his head and said, "I should have killed him in the night trial, but I used some tricks to make him look like he was dead but still alive. Then I gave him a soup to erase his memory, cut his face, and exchanged him with a corpse with the same wound on his face and carried him out."
He Simu smiled lightly: "Aren't you unfamiliar with him? How can you be so kind?"
"Why can't I be so kind? Your Highness the Ghost King, do you understand me?"
Duan Xu was joking as usual, but his eyes suddenly became a little confused, as if he was stumped by his own question.
Does anyone in the world really understand him
How much sincerity is there in his thousand-layer mask? No one can believe it.
"Do you want to hear my story?" Duan Xu suddenly said this lightly, his eyes were serious: "Since Han Lingqiu doesn't ask me, I will give you this opportunity. From now on, I will answer all your questions truthfully."
He Simu put down the teacup and said, "Last time when I pinched your neck and wanted to kill you, you refused to say a word. Why are you willing to say it now?"
"You were strangling me to death, so I naturally wouldn't tell you. But when I reached out my hand to you, you held me back, so I could tell you."
Duan Xu's tone seemed to be joking, and his eyes were full of ease.
He Simu remembered the young man who was sitting on the ground with blood in his eyes. When he stretched out his hand to her, it was as if he was a crabapple flower that was about to be broken by the wind, and would fall if she didn't grab him.
He didn't ask her for help even in the most dangerous situation, but he agreed to the deal as long as she stretched out her hand.
She just grabbed him, palm to palm.
What exactly does this young man want
He Simu said: "You have done so many things in Liangzhou and here, do you want to take revenge on Tian Zhixiao?"