The red half is warm, but the white half is cold.
He looked to the side and did not see Yue Jiao, but only saw Zhuo Mulan sitting up.
As if she woke up at the same time as him, Zhuo Mulan sat up in panic and shouted, "Yue Jiao, Yue Jiao..." and then tears came out.
Shi Hao was silent for a while, then slowly stood up and helped her up.
"I dreamed of Yue Jiao!" Zhuo Mulan's face was full of tears, "She was saying goodbye to me!"
"I know!" Shi Hao nodded. "She also said goodbye to me. She said she was going to do something... something that only she can do now."
He hugged the woman and said in a deep voice: "I'm sorry... I couldn't keep her!"
"When will we be able to see her again?" The woman sobbed in his arms, "What should I do?"
Shi Hao said resolutely: "She has made up her mind. That is the matter of the underworld, and we can't help. But one day, we will find her again. You have to believe that she will never leave us like this. When she finishes her business, she will come to us.
"Even if she didn't come here, I would definitely go find her! I would never let her disappear like this!"
At this point, he smiled and said, "I am a very domineering and selfish person. I will keep a good girl like her by my side no matter what. You can absolutely trust me on this point."
The woman wiped her tears and uttered a low "hmm".
Shi Hao took her by the hand and left here, looking for the way back up.
Not long after, there was a rapid sound of breaking through the air. They stopped and saw that the people flying towards them were Mingyueshu, Huan Tingting and Xu Xiaoyan.
Seeing that they were the only two, Ming Yueshu asked softly, "Where is Yue Jiao?"
Shi Hao looked back and said, "She left! Don't worry... We will meet again!"
Mingyueshu, Huan Tingting and Xu Xiaoyan looked at each other, not knowing what had happened.
Shi Hao whispered, "I have already obtained the Dual World Wonderful Lotus. Let's leave here first and talk about it after we get out of Xuanming Cave."
Together, they ran upwards, all the ghosts and monsters around them were destroyed, and the broken bones under their feet were charred.
Suddenly, a sedan chair came flying and landed on the top of the stone peak. Tang Ruomei was carried by four big men, lying sideways in the sedan chair, staring at them.
She glanced back and forth and snorted, "Where's that girl?"
Shi Hao smiled and said, "She's gone!"
Tang Ruomei frowned: "Where did you go?"
Shi Hao said: "If you want to find her, you might as well ask someone around you for a sword and cut your neck first. This way, you may be able to see her as quickly as possible."
Tang Ruomei snorted, "The underworld? She really turned into Princess Kongming and went to the underworld?"
Shi Hao said: "I've already told you, you can go ask her yourself."
Tang Ruomei stared at them with a vicious look. After a while, she sneered, "It's better not to let me meet you again! Go!"
The four big men carried the sedan chair and flew away into the distance.
Shi Hao and the others continued to fly upwards. On the way, Xu Xiaoyan turned around and said, "Princess Kongming? What is that?"
Shi Hao shook his head: "Actually, I don't know either. She is like a treasure, but also like a person, a status, and a power. Yue Jiao got the help of Princess Kong Ming and removed the evil spirit that eroded her soul, but at the same time, she herself became Princess Kong Ming."
He let out a long sigh: "I don't know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing."
Having said that, he couldn't help but look back again, feeling a little reluctant.
They went up all the way and finally succeeded in leaving Xuanming Cave.
When we reached the outside of Xuanming Cave, the hot air suddenly surged over us again.
Even so, one could feel that the heat that permeated the area surrounding Chiyan Island was dissipating for some unknown reason.
The wisps of hot air overflowed out of the island, and the sea breeze blew in and collided with the hot air, thus forming convection, and the whole island began to be gradually drawn into the wind vortex.
They didn't stop and rushed to the coast. Bai Lan floated out of the sea. Shi Hao looked up and asked, "Where is our boat?"
Bai Lan said: "There are several warships on the other side of the island. In order to avoid being discovered, they moved the ships to the back of the cliff."
Huan Tingting said: "It should be the warship brought by Hong Leichi."
They went around the cliff and saw the blessed ship parked there. They boarded the ship and the six female disciples raised the sails, and the blessed ship sailed away from Chiyan Island.
The sea breeze blew the sails, making a whirring sound. Shi Hao stood at the stern, silent, looking towards Chiyan Island.
The heat waves covering Chiyan Island radiated upwards, like a steamer with its lid opened. In the sea, the cold sea breeze dispersed the heat at a violent speed, and the chilly and murderous atmosphere of the cold winter surged over at once.
Xu Xiaoyan came to his side and looked at the Chiyan Island getting farther and farther away with him. The climate changed drastically, but the sea was still so calm. In this cold season, even this island with only warm air seemed to be dragged into the suffering of the world.
She wanted to comfort him but didn't know what to say, so she just stayed here with him quietly, watching with him the distant island, the calm sea, the rolling white waves dragged by the Fu ship at the stern, and the sea dragons rising and falling beside the ship.
They just kept looking at each other like this, as if they could see till the end of time—
(End of this volume)
Summary of this volume
The third volume is finally finished.
This book is divided into relatively few volumes. Although there are only three volumes, it actually contains more than 1.1 million words.
I don’t like writing about heroines who are too pretty. In this book, both Yue Jiao and Xiao Yan have their own main storylines, which were decided before the book was opened.
Even so, when I actually write the book, not every idea can be used. And because Yue Jiao's plot involves the underworld, I hesitated for a long time whether to really write it.
If you have buried a foreshadowing, you must finish it. From the perspective of online literature, this approach is actually inappropriate. The writing method that is truly suitable for online literature is to focus on short-term effects. As for the long-term plot, don't pay too much attention to it. If you can't finish it in time, just write the next one.
Why do many books with hundreds of thousands of words, with a lot of good data, quickly become finished? It is because this kind of writing style is actually very suitable for online articles. Not to mention Lu, even Hedgehog Cat now has a style that pays extreme attention to the beginning and short-term effects.
Just lay the foreshadowing. It doesn’t matter whether you can resolve it or not. If you can’t resolve it, just start the next book.
But I always think that no matter how long the foreshadowing is left, I have to retrieve it. So when I am laying the foreshadowing, I will think twice before and after, considering whether this foreshadowing can be retrieved after hundreds of thousands or even millions of words.
When it comes to the underworld, once the foreshadowing is laid, it will inevitably be a larger background and plot, so when laying the foreshadowing, it requires careful consideration.
I have had this experience before, where I had planned some background and plots before writing the book, but when writing, I carefully considered and quietly cut them out. Similarly, although the Xuanming Cave section was planned long ago, I also thought about whether it should be cut out for a long time.
In the end, I wrote it according to the original plan.
—A truly vivid heroine must have her own joys, sorrows, anger and happiness, but what readers want to see is just their various joys and sorrows around the hero, with a little anger and sadness.
They will feel that it is bad, that the protagonist is being abused, and they will not even allow the heroine to have her own thoughts independent of the hero.
When the whole book was finished, these people were dissatisfied again... Why do they look so one-sided? So like a vase
This is also the main reason why harem novels are becoming less and less popular nowadays... everyone has talked about the good and the bad, and no matter what, no one is satisfied.
Many authors have written so many stories that they understand why they have to make it so complicated. The heroine only needs to be by the hero's side, do everything around him, or even just shout "6666" around him and be "bullied" by him in various ways.
As for whether such a heroine is vivid or not after the story is finished, and whether she can be remembered in the end, it is not important at all, because only in this way will readers enjoy reading the story and will not give up.
From this point of view, I did something unpleasant in this book.
But never mind, I’ve already written it, so let it be!
Then, in the next volume, the plot related to Xiaoyan will also unfold, which was also thought out before the book was published. Well, there will be a little bit of that!
Chapter 369: War breaks out
In winter, Dongting Lake and the surrounding hills are all covered in white.
In the early morning, the stream at the foot of the mountain was covered with frost. Such coldness was engraved into the bone marrow. Even a mid-level warrior, unless he practiced Taoist Qi with certain self-healing ability, or special skills that could drive away the cold, would shiver while walking in such weather.
The people in Jingzhou and Yingzhou areas are generally safe in this cold season.
Under the leadership of the Dongting Army, they defeated the powerful families, divided up the fields and food, and got through the winter without too many problems.
Refugees from the north flocked to this area, but the mountains were blocked by heavy snow everywhere, and most of the refugees froze to death. There was nothing anyone could do about it.
In the Xianyue Tower on Jinghua Lake, Xuanfeng Huanzhi got up very early.
The sky outside was only dimly lit, and a white mist enveloped the entire Mirror Flower Lake.
Although Jingzhou is the military and economic center of the Dongting Army, all kinds of intelligence are always gathered here first and then sent to Jingzhou. For this reason, this place is a hidden power center unknown to outsiders.
There is a heater next to the desk with charcoal burning in it, a lantern high up, and a glass lamp with night-scented grass built into it next to the table.
Xuanfeng Huanzhi sat behind the desk, flipping through reports of all sizes.
However, a woman outside hurried in and said, "Master!" She bent down and presented a secret letter.
Generally speaking, the information sent to Jinghua Lake is gathered in the evening and then delivered to her.
It was still dawn, and this secret letter was delivered in a hurry, which showed its importance. The messenger had to deliver it overnight despite the cold weather.
There is no doubt that Long Niu has obtained new information and believes that this matter is extremely urgent.
Xuanfeng Huanzhi took it quickly, checked the seal, then opened it and looked at it carefully.
Then there was a change of color.
—A great war is about to begin at this unexpected time.
The news reached Kuaiji at almost the same speed.
Li Xiuer brought two fifth-rank masters sent by the sect to protect her, and hurriedly summoned generals including Xiao Siyu, Jing Shang, You Hong, Wei Jifang, Hu Zan, and Yan Rong in the army.
"The troops of the Barbarian Court have gathered in Guangling and Gusu, about 200,000 in number, and are about to march towards Kuaiji!" Li Xiuer stood on the steps and stepped down step by step. "The army is led by the famous generals of the Jin clan, Bo Shulu and Du Liehuhai. Both of them are fourth-rank generals. They have also gathered several generals and commanders, and are determined to annihilate our army as quickly as possible and recover Jiangsu and Zhejiang."
All the generals changed color.
This war came so suddenly. Before that, they had done enough intelligence work, but there was no news at all.
Xiao Siyu whispered, "Miss, is this true?"
Li Xiuer sighed, "I also hope that this information is false, but in fact, the barbarian army has basically assembled. A large number of ships have crossed the long river and are ready to join the local barbarian soldiers in Guangling and Gusu. They also have artillery and siege equipment provided by the Akagi family. We can no longer avoid this battle."
In fact, the Huangtian Army had been fighting with the barbarian armies of Guangling and Gusu, and over a long period of time, their territory had been expanding.
The Man Court was busy putting out fires in the north and suppressing the unrest that broke out one after another. It did not invest enough in Jiangnan, which allowed them to develop rapidly.
They also did not expect that in this cold winter, the barbarian army north of the Changhe River would suddenly move south and launch a massive attack.
The Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas are the middle and lower reaches of the Changhe River. They are originally plains, with many rivers and lakes, and are not affected by the cold winter. On the contrary, other places are difficult to support Huang Tianjun. Once the barbarian army goes all out, Huang Tianjun will find it difficult to survive this battle.
Especially since the Huangtian Army itself had just experienced a turmoil. Although Li Xiuer had received enough support in the Huangtian Army, the sudden death of Li Badao could not have no impact at all.
Moreover, before Li Xiuer took over, Li Badao had already gone through a purge of the government. The sudden death of Li Badao and Li Xiuer's taking over, no matter how "logical" it seemed, could not help but cause some rumors.
The morale of the army is generally good. After all, the people have suffered from oppression over the years. Now that they have risen up to fight against the barbarians, they will always get a lot of support from the people.
But a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and the strength of the barbarian army cannot be underestimated, not to mention that Huang Tian’s army still lacks some core masters.
Li Xiuer stood between the generals with her hands behind her back, "My father has worked so hard to build this foundation, and we will never allow it to perish in our hands. Since the barbarian army has come, we can only fight back, and we must prepare all kinds of equipment to defend the city.
"There is a lot of water in Jiangnan, and naval warfare is extremely important. This is what we are good at, especially the naval warfare around Taihu Lake, which is the top priority. As for intelligence, I will continue to send people to investigate, and everyone needs to mobilize with all their strength. Life and death depend on this one move."
All the generals stood up and agreed!
—
The barbarian army suddenly mobilized its troops and attacked Huang Tian's army with all its might. For Xuan Feng Huan Zhi, this was something he had never expected.
As more information came in like snowflakes, she finally figured out some of the inside stories behind it.
This also made her secretly sigh that when she asked Li Ximing and Gui Xiaoren to kill Suizhou's disciple Shan Hebei, they actually killed the wrong person.
In Jingzhou city, Xuanfeng Huanzhi, Qimu Laodao, Li Ximing, Gui Xiaoren and others gathered in the conference room.
Although the Xie Lian Sect is the behind-the-scenes force of the Dongting Army, on the surface, she is just a female general named "Feng Zhi" who is engaged in auxiliary work in the army.
"I underestimated the support of the Emperor of Man Ting for Prime Minister Fu Tu, and I also underestimated Yue Chongliang!" Xuan Feng Huanzhi had to admit how wrong he was in his previous judgment of the situation. "There is new information. Yue Chongliang, the son of the Yue Ketai family, married Zong Hai Jinghui, the daughter of Zong Hai Chaotian."
Taoist Qimu sighed: "This way, many things can be explained."
The others didn't quite understand this and looked at the two of them.
Xuanfeng Huanzhi said: "Yue Chongliang's reforms in the Huaishui area must have affected the interests of the wealthy families. Tushan Hebei's death will inevitably threaten the interests of the Zonghai family in the north of the Changhe River. In order to seize power in the ancestral altar, Zonghai Minghui colluded with the Demon Sect and intended to murder Yueyaer. I deliberately sent people to spread rumors everywhere, saying that Prime Minister Fu Tu was ambitious and was trying to gain power through reforms in various places in order to alienate him from the Emperor of Manting.
"Under the influence of various factors, the Barbarian Court in the north of the Changhe River will most likely be caught up in open and covert fighting, which will take time to resolve... This is my original judgment."
Gui Xiaoren's voice was shrill, like a woman's. "But now Yue Chongliang has married Zong Hai Jinghui, which means that the wealthy families in Manting must have reached a certain compromise. Yue Chongliang gave up the pursuit of Zong Hai Minghui, married Zong Hai Minghui's sister, and may have even sacrificed some other interests in exchange for the support of the Zong Hai family."
Xuanfeng Huanzhi nodded and said, "According to the information we have gathered, the barbarian army is led by the fierce generals Bo Shulu and Du Liehuhai. Du Liehuhai is the son-in-law of the Akagi family. Although he was brave and fearless in the past, he was only a Wanhu and was promoted suddenly.
"Considering his relationship with the Akagi family, it can be basically assumed that Yue Ketai, Zong Hai, Akagi, and Han He, the four great families of the Barbarian Court, have reached a certain tacit understanding of cooperation. During these days, Yue Chongliang used thunder-like means to suppress the big families, appease the people, and eliminate various potential threats, which also provided a relatively stable rear for the Barbarian Army's expedition this time.
"Without him, the Barbarian Army would have to focus on suppressing the uprisings that continued to break out in the Qinhuai area. This boy is truly a talent among the younger generation of the so-called royal family. It can be said that he is a young talent who has inherited Fu Tu's true teachings. The mutual compromise and cooperation between the four great families this time must have been due to his contribution."
He secretly felt a little regretful in his heart. If he had known this would happen, he should have tried his best to assassinate Yue Chongliang.