It was a quiet spring afternoon, and Chen Ying was still sleeping on the side, so Duan Xu spoke in a very low voice, like a whisper in his ear, but every word was unusually clear.
I swear by everything that the name Duan Xu has in this world. This oath is serious enough.
He Simu stared into his eyes, and smiled again in a moment, reaching out to push him away: "No, then no, why are you reacting so strongly? You're actually angry. This is the first time I've seen you really angry, interesting."
He was thrown to the North Bank by Qin Shuai, questioned by Wu Shengliu, and excluded by Qin Shuai's subordinates, but he was angry because of such an ordinary question.
Duan Xu pursed his lips, looked away, then turned back. He was about to say something when he saw a figure flash in front of him, and he was immediately pinched by the neck and pressed against the wall. He Simu was wearing a white singlet, and lifted him up with just one hand. She smiled and turned her head and said, "But we haven't settled our accounts yet. What did you say? You can only live for ten days?"
It seems that His Majesty the Ghost King still remembers the grudge from the day when his sense of touch was just changed.
Duan Xu held her wrist and said with some difficulty: "Your... injury..."
"You should worry about yourself first." He Simu approached him and stared into his eyes. Duan Xu just looked back at her silently.
The sun is warm and the room is quiet.
He Simu was a little surprised. She said, "You are always eloquent, why are you silent now?"
Duan Xu smiled slightly, tightened his grip on He Simu's wrist, and said obediently: "Please... Ghost King... spare me..."
"Will you dare to do it next time?"
“…” Duan Xu blinked but did not answer.
Admit your mistakes proactively and try again next time.
He Simu narrowed his eyes. He was clearly sure that she was reluctant to kill him. It was not a good feeling to just be perfunctory with her here and be controlled by such a little fox.
But at this moment, he was looking at her sincerely, his eyes full of her.
—People who always protect others are very lonely.
He Simu suddenly remembered what Chen Ying had said, and the hand that was pinching Duan Xu's neck paused, then loosened.
When Duan Xu landed on the ground, he still had time to use his skills. He landed quietly without waking up Shen Ying. Even the cough he made after finally letting out a sigh of relief was very low. He bent over and coughed, while looking up at He Simu with a smile. He Simu looked down at him, waved his hand, walked to the bed and sat down. He snapped his fingers and the heavy ancient book fell into his hands again.
"What on earth is going on?" Duan Xu sat down beside He Simu's bed as if nothing had happened. He Simu's eyes were still on the ghost book, and he told Duan Xu roughly what happened.
Now that Taoist Mingfeng and the fake Qiao Yan were both burned to death by her, Duan Xu could make up any story he wanted, but He Simu didn't want to be on the same level as ordinary people. For her, the guy in the ghost realm who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to replace her was the one she wanted to punish.
Duan Xu smiled and said, "What's wrong with you subordinates? How could you be so disrespectful?"
"It's not surprising. They have been looking forward to my fall from the height for a long time." He Simu flipped through the ghost book and said without raising his eyelids, "Whether it's the human world or the ghost realm, it's always like this on the throne."
Duan Xu was silent for a moment, his eyes falling on the criss-crossing scars on her arms.
He Simu looked up at Duan Xu, followed his gaze to the scars on her body, she sighed, shook her sleeves and covered her arms. She had seen Duan Xu's wounds before and didn't think it was a big deal, but she felt the pain herself and realized that it was really uncomfortable. These mortals living in the world are really fragile.
So she said, "I wish you had found me when you first entered the world, so you wouldn't have to suffer so much pain and injury."
Duan Xu seemed to think seriously for a while, then with a little smile in his eyes, he said in a joking tone: "No, if you met me at that time, you would definitely not be interested in me. I think it's the best time to meet you now."
When God knew, he was the most confused and painful, and he was in a state of anxiety all day long. His heart was like a furnace, and there was no room for love at all. Fortunately, she met him now, because he had suddenly become enlightened, his faith was firm, and he did not need to be saved.
"Don't you want me to rescue you earlier?"
"do not wish."
I am willing to fall into hell, experience hardships, change my bones and muscles, alter my temperament, understand the world, and be myself.
See you again.
When Chen Ying woke up, he found himself in Duan Xu's room. He was confused for a while and then saw Duan Xu pushing the door open from outside. His general brother was wearing light armor and seemed to have just returned from the military training ground. He smiled when he saw him and said, "Were you so worried that you didn't sleep all night yesterday? You slept until the evening."
Chen Ying looked at the light armor on Duan Xu and jumped off the bed. He ran to Duan Xu and asked, "General, when can I go to the battlefield with you?"
Duan Xu squatted down and looked at him, saying, "You are too young. When you are thirteen or fourteen years old, I will definitely take you to the battlefield. How about that?"
Chen Ying lowered his head in a somewhat depressed mood, then raised his head again: "Little Sister is a ghost... Will she stay with us forever? Will she leave us?"
Duan Xu remained silent on this question.
Chen Ying was a little anxious. In his heart, He Xiaoxiao and Duan Xu were the two most omnipotent people. Duan Xu's silence at this moment seemed to indicate that there was no room for maneuver. In a hurry, he held Duan Xu's hand and said, "Sister Xiaoxiao likes you very much. She...she has fallen in love with you. Don't you like Sister Xiaoxiao? If you two like each other, Sister Xiaoxiao will stay."
Duan Xu was stunned for a moment, and his expression became a little subtle: "Lovesickness? What did she say?"
"Uh-huh!"
“Hahahahahahaha…” Duan Xu’s expression changed several times, and he finally couldn’t help laughing. He whispered, “She really can say anything.”
Chen Ying looked at him in a daze. Duan Xu stroked his shoulder, looked into his eyes, and said, "I want to tell you something. Will you keep it a secret for your brother?"
Chen Ying nodded like a chick pecking at rice and said, "I won't tell anyone."
"Okay then." Duan Xu said slowly and seriously: "He Xiaoxiao may often say that she likes me or is in love with me, but that's all fake. In fact, she doesn't like me, she just says it for fun. To her, I'm just a mortal who is a little special, special enough to make her indulge in some offenses, but not special enough to make her love me."
Shen Ying showed a confused look.
Duan Xu was silent for a moment, then he continued, "I never said I liked her. But I really like her."
Chen Ying looked at Duan Xu in surprise. Before he could comment on this, he saw Duan Xu put his index finger in front of his lips and said with a smile: "You promised me that you would keep it a secret. You must not tell He Xiaoxiao."
Chen Ying was still confused, but nodded seriously. With his eight-year-old brain, he couldn't figure out why he liked someone but didn't want the other person to know. He didn't understand why Duan Xu told him the opposite of what he knew!
Duan Xu nodded with satisfaction. He patted Chen Ying on the shoulder and said, "Don't call me General Brother anymore. Since you are my sworn brother, you should call me Third Brother like my sister."
Chen Ying's eyes sparkled, and he called out "Third Brother" hesitantly. He whispered, "Third Brother... are you really my brother from now on?"
Duan Xu nodded and said firmly: "As long as I am still in this world, as long as you call me Third Brother, I will be your relative."
In fact, what Chen Ying wanted was nothing more than a promise that he would never be abandoned. When he was guarding the bed of the unconscious He Xiaoxiao, he wondered why he kept losing people who were good to him.
Fortunately, he did not lose his little sister, but gained a brother.
Chen Ying hugged Duan Xu and felt so happy that he wanted to fly to the sky, but he held back well this time and didn't shed tears. He thought he must grow up quickly to protect all those who were kind to him.
Originally, this farce of collusion with evil spirits, General Yin accused Duan Xu of killing Taoist Mingfeng to silence him, while Duan Xu refuted that General Yin wanted to use Taoist Mingfeng to hurt Miss Seventeen, but ended up losing more than he gained. When the two sides were deadlocked, Qiao Yan woke up.
This time Qiao Yan really woke up.
When she saw her mother and brother coming, she was so frightened that she almost fainted again. Then she cried in front of everyone and said that her mother and brother wanted to sell her to the old man as a concubine, and she escaped because she could not bear the humiliation. She begged the masters not to let her fall into the fire pit again.
She also said that in order to take her away, her mother and brother colluded with Taoist Mingfeng to let her be possessed by an evil spirit so that they could frame Duan Xu and harm Shiqi. However, they failed to control the evil spirit and were eaten by it instead.
Of course, this paragraph was written by Duan Xu and instructed by Qiao Yan to say it.
General Yin naturally denied it, Taoist Mingfeng died without any evidence, and the key person Qiao Yan went back on her words. In the end, General Qin and Zheng decided that in order to stabilize the morale of the army before the war, the matter would not be pursued and the matter would be left unresolved.
This is probably a result that all parties would like to see.
But when He Simu saw Duan Xu say lightly that this matter is not over yet, he could imagine that General Yin’s future would not be good.
Here, Daliang and Danzhi officially went to war again. Duan Xu's Tabai was originally sent to feint and attack Youzhou, while the real main force attacked Luozhou unexpectedly. Duan Xu was assigned this thankless task again, but he did not complain and went with Tabai.
In Youzhou, he diligently attracted Danzhi's firepower, allowing Cheng Jie, Su Ying and Fengxi's three armies to open up a gap in Luozhou. However, the war in Luozhou soon fell into a stalemate, and General Yin was even killed in the chaos.
When He Simu heard the news, he found it hard to believe that it had nothing to do with Duan Xu.
The generals of Chengjie's army were incompetent, and the Three armies were on the verge of defeat in Luozhou, so Duan Xu was urgently transferred to Chengjie to take over the military affairs, and Tabai left Wu Shengliu and Xia Qingsheng in charge.
When Duan Xu arrived at Chengjie Army, he issued many military orders vigorously. When discussing military situation with several generals and General Qin, he was also very tough and pointed out the truth. The military situation was not good and there was an imperial decree from above to conquer Yunluo within two months. General Qin could only let Duan Xu give it a try.
Unexpectedly, the effect was so good.
Duan Xu was very familiar with the terrain of Yunzhou and Luozhou. He used the terrain to lure the enemy deep into the ambush, and divided his troops into two groups to harass the enemy in a roundabout way, making the Luozhou army overwhelmed. He also used the content of the Cangyan Sutra to play tricks and wage a psychological warfare with the Danzhi army. In short, he adhered to his usual unusual and shady style.
The land of Yunluo was being devoured, and the struggle for succession in the Danzhi royal court was still going on. The royal court did not think that Yunluo was that important, and suspected that Daliang still wanted Youzhou. The elite troops were stationed around Shangjing and Youzhou, and refused to reinforce Yunluo. With insufficient supplies and support, the Yunluo defenders could not hold on and retreated step by step.
With the right time, place and people, two months later, the Daliang army occupied the two states of Yun and Luo.
Duan Xu became the commander of Cheng Jie and Tabai's armies.
After the soldiers of Daliang had deployed their defenses in these two states, they temporarily called off the battle. The war that had lasted for nearly half a year, from defense to offense, finally came to a temporary halt. Duan Xu also had to go back to Nandu with General Qin to report on his work. It would take about a month to travel from Yunzhou to Nandu.
"It's not worth spending a month on the road." He Simu, who can travel a thousand miles a day and appear anywhere in an instant, said this. She reminded Duan Xu: "You still owe me a trade for the five senses."
Duan Xu finished writing the memorial, put down his pen and replied, "When do you want to come and get it?"
"Now." He Simu approached Duan Xu and said with a smile, "General Duan, do you want to see the ghost realm during this month?"