After Hou Junji finished reading the piece of paper, which was no more than the size of a palm, he was stunned for the duration of a cup of tea with a strange expression.
After finally coming back to his senses, he immediately put the paper on the oil lamp and burned it to ashes. Then he looked at Princess Wencheng without saying a word and his eyes were burning, staring at her until her heart went numb.
"General Hou, why are you looking at me like this?" Li Xueyan was not afraid, but just surprised and curious to know the contents of the note.
"Nothing." Hou Junji rolled his eyes twice and turned away, then said in a calm tone, "It turns out that the young marshal already knew that he was poisoned, so he made many arrangements in advance."
"Ah?" Li Xueyan couldn't help but screamed, "He... is he really poisoned?"
"You stay by his side day and night, so you should know better than me." Hou Junji said calmly, but an ambiguous look flashed in his eyes.
Li Xueyan naturally heard the deep meaning of his words and blushed a little, so she said no more and said goodbye.
"Don't leave in a hurry." Hou Junji suddenly stopped her and said to her, "If I want to save the young marshal's life, I have to rely on you."
"Rely on me?" Li Xueyan blinked a few times in confusion and said, "Even Su Lianqing, a great expert in medicine and poison, is helpless, what can I do?"
"No need to ask any more questions now, you come with me." After saying that, Hou Junji took her out.
"Where to go?"
"You'll know as soon as you come."
The two of them walked straight to the back camp of the commander's tent. Zhang Tong personally guarded the camp and stopped Hou Junji with a cold face, refusing to let him in.
"General Zhang, if you want to save the young commander's life, please let me in." Hou Junji said in a low voice.
Zhang Tong was slightly startled and looked at Li Xueyan suspiciously. Li Xueyan could only nodded.
"Okay, please, General Hou, I will personally lead the way!"
"Do you know where I'm going?" Hou Junji asked.
"Aren't you going to see the young commander?"
"I want to personally interrogate the Tibetan works, Dege Dambawangje!"
"…Okay, please!"
Hou Junji entered the inconspicuous hut where Danba Wangjie was imprisoned, kicked out everyone, entered the house alone, locked the door, and put Zhang Tong on guard outside, not allowing anyone to come within ten feet of him.
After Qin Mubai's accident, Danba Wangjie became the first suspect of poisoning. Now he was tied to the pillars of the house with five-flowered ropes, his body was covered with whip marks, and he seemed to be unconscious.
Hou Junji walked up to him, but he didn't even respond.
"General Wei Ru, Dege Damba Wangjie!" Hou Junji said in his ear, "Stop pretending, I know you can hear it."
Sure enough, Damba Wangjie raised his head slightly, and his eyes covered by his messy hair were opened, and he said coldly, "Don't bother. I didn't poison him, and I don't have the antidote."
"I know it's not you, and I'm not here to ask for the antidote." Hou Junji looked at him with a half-smile and said.
In the past two days, Damba Wangjie had seen too many frowns and angry faces, and had eaten too many whips and torture instruments. It could be said that life was worse than death. But despite this, he has been through many battlefields and has seen many things in the world, and he has never felt so desperate. But now, the man in front of him neither roared nor tortured, but only had a mean sneer in the coldness, which actually made him feel a chill in his heart.
"Who are you? What do you want to do?!" Damba Wangjie asked loudly.
"Hou Junji." He still just smiled.
"It turns out you are the famous Hou Junji, I know you!" Danba Wangjie looked at him in surprise and said, "You used to be one of the best generals in the Tang Dynasty, but now, you are Qin Mubai's right-hand man! - You Come to me, what do you want?”
"I want to borrow something from you." Hou Junji said.
"I told you, I don't have an antidote! I didn't poison you!" Damba Wangjie shouted angrily, "Not only did I not poison Qin Mubai, but I killed the assassin who wanted to assassinate him! You guys! Is this how you treat your friends?”
"Friend?" Hou Junji laughed several times, "How can you hide this from me with your counterintuitive tactics? Don't think you can win our trust by killing a few insignificant pawns. Tell me. Come on, Qin Mubai is not as stupid as you think; I, Hou Junji, have not lived in vain for these decades. "
Damba Wangjie shook his head and struggled angrily, roaring like a trapped lion, "What do you want from me before you are willing to believe me? - I am Zampu's secret envoy, here to negotiate a peace alliance! Not an assassin, nor a craftsman!"
"Shut up, or I'll cut your tongue." Hou Junji's cold words made Damba Wangjie stop talking.
"Let me tell you this, it doesn't matter to us whether you are an assassin or an emissary." Hou Junji smiled a little strangely, even a little sinisterly, and said meaningfully, "Do you understand? "
"..." Danba Wangjie was speechless. He looked at Hou Junji with wide eyes and murmured, "So, Qin Mubai has no sincerity at all to make peace and stop fighting?"
"Even if he agreed because he was suffering from mental illness, his late father's spirit in heaven would not agree; and the hundred thousand brothers in Dafeichuan would not agree." Hou Junji raised the corner of his mouth and said slowly and politely, "I'm telling you this. , I just want you to lend me your things with peace of mind.”
Danba Wangjie's expression suddenly darkened. He sighed heavily and lowered his head, saying: "Isn't it just a human head? Take it! Damba Wangjie failed to complete Zampu's mission and deserves death!"
"I will definitely not kill you. You will live to see your Zanpu again." After Hou Junji said this, he suddenly pulled out a sharp dagger from his combat boots and struck it on Danba Wangjie's face. He patted it and said, "Your long ears with copper rings are pretty good. Cut them off and lend them to me."
The words fell, the hand raised the knife and fell, and blood burst out!
Damba Wangjie gritted his teeth until they made bones, and tried not to scream.
"He's a man." Hou Junji picked up the copper-ringed ear with the tip of the knife and said, "In the past, Hou would have been interested in having a drink or two with you and making friends. But you showed up at the wrong time."
After saying that, Hou Junji turned around and left.
"Wait, stop!" Damba Wangjie suddenly shouted, "What use do you want my ears for?"
Hou Junji stopped, turned around, smiled, and said, "You are such a smart person, why do you still need me to tell you?"
"Are you going to send my ears to the big tent to show to Marshal Zampu and Gar?" Damba Wangjie said.
"You guessed it right." Hou Junji grinned, "Not only are your ears, but also eleven carefully crafted human heads. Of course, it's more than just a look, I want to use them to exchange for the medical rescue young commander The antidote!”
"Despicable! Shameless!" Damba Wangjie roared angrily, "I didn't poison at all, so where can I start with the antidote! - You are sowing discord between Zampu and Marshal Gar!"
"You guessed it right again." Hou Junji was still smiling, shaking his ears with the tip of the knife, "Aren't you just trying to drive a wedge between the young marshal and the court? You're just doing the same thing in return. ! Also, there is no such thing as being mean and shameless in marching and fighting, there is only "strategy" and "war is not tired of deceit"!
"Shameless! Shameless Han Chinese!! Shameless especially!!!"
Hou Junji ignored him and strode away, leaving Danba Wangjie's roar far behind him. Later, he sent people to take the heads of the eleven Tibetans and put them in a large box, and then put the ears of Damba Wangjie in an exquisite small box. After everything was prepared, he went to see Princess Wencheng Li Xueyan in person.
The two discussed for a while, and after hearing a few words from Hou Junji, Li Xueyan was extremely surprised, "You want me to go to the Tubo camp as an envoy?"
"What, are you afraid?" Hou Junji sneered provocatively, "If you are afraid, I will choose another person."
"As long as I can get the antidote and save Mu Bai's life, I don't care if I go through fire or water." Li Xueyan said confused, "I'm just curious, why me?"
"Because... among the 100,000 people in Dafeichuan, you have the most weight." Hou Junji said, "Also, you are most concerned about Qin Mubai's life and death, and you are the one who saw his poisonous hair with your own eyes, so you are the most convincing. force."
"I understand..." Li Xueyan took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and nodded firmly, "I'll go!"
"Aren't you afraid that the Tubo people will detain you, kill you, or use some other despicable means to deal with you?" Hou Junji asked tentatively and provocatively.
"If we can't get the antidote back, Mu Bai will definitely die." Li Xueyan said calmly, "If the Tubo people do anything strange, Xueyan will be the only one who will die! On the road to hell, I will also be with Mu Bai!"
"Okay. In this way, you can go." Hou Junji turned around, cut his hands behind his back, and said, "Your trip is both public and private. One is the man you were looking forward to in your dream before, and the other is the man you are looking forward to now. The man I love so much. It would be a good idea for you to make a break between the two."
Li Xueyan was a little embarrassed at first, and then became confused, "General Hou, does this sound like what you said?"
"Why doesn't it look the same?" Hou Junji turned around and smiled slightly, and said, "Does it mean that Hou has no flesh and blood and soul, and does not eat the fireworks of the world?"
"I... didn't mean that! I actually wanted to ask, is this Mu Bai's instruction or arrangement?"
"No need to say more. Get ready and set off immediately!"
"… good!"
Not long after, Qin Mu came to Bai's room.
Li Xueyan gently sat down next to Qin Mubai's bed, carefully wiped Qin Mubai's face with a hot towel, and said, "Mubai, I am going to the Tubo camp to get the antidote for you. . Although I know that this is all your arrangement, and you must have your own reasons for arranging it, but I am very confused now. I don’t know whether this is a fake show or a real thing... Maybe these are not important, you just Lying in front of me, unconscious and in danger, this is indeed the real fact. I don’t think about anything. Regardless of whether the antidote exists, I would rather believe it or not, and I will risk my life to leave this time... "
"I think of those Buddhist stories you heard from Master Qingshan of Gokokutennoji Temple. You are right. The most precious things in the world are not those that cannot be obtained or lost, but those that are right in front of you. Happiness is something that can be grasped. But often, people have to pay a heavy price to understand this simple truth.”
"Do you know how much I want to see you standing in front of me as lively as before? Even if you don't talk serious nonsense, even if you are cold and indifferent to me, or even yell at me... Even if you , you know that I love you, but you still pretend to be dumb and ignorant, and keep me thousands of miles away!"
As he spoke, tears flowed down. But she didn't cry out, she just let the tears flow continuously, trickling down along the perfectly curved cheeks.
Leaning down, hesitating a little, she closed her eyes and kissed Qin Mubai gently on the lips.
"If you are ill, if I don't come back, take this as your faith on the road to hell!"
"See you there, don't forget, don't miss me!"
…
An hour later, in front of the Tang Army camp.
Princess Wencheng was dressed in palace attire and a veiled palace hat. She got into the four-carriage carriage with colorful carriages that was supposed to be used for her wedding, and prepared to go to the Tubo camp. There were only ten armored guards accompanying him.
"General Hou, I'm going." Li Xueyan raised the car window and said to the outside.
Hou Junji stood with his hands behind his back and nodded calmly.
"Dandan, you and Su Lianqing should take good care of the young marshal and wait for me to come back." Li Xueyan said to Tantai Dandan outside the car.
"Princess, feel free to go." Tantai Dandan said, "I should have gone with you."
"No need." Li Xueyan said with a smile, "If I can be safe and sound, it will be the same even if I am alone; if I am destined not to return, even if thousands of troops go with me, it will be the same. So, you should stay and take care of your sister and Mu Bai. Bar!"
"Hey!...Princess, take care of yourself." Tantai Dandan sighed and cupped his fists.
At this time, two eagles chirped in the sky. Everyone looked up and saw two goshawks circling in the sky.
"It's September again when the eagle flies..." Hou Junji said to himself, "It's a good time for hunting and fighting."
"September?" Li Xueyan suddenly woke up and asked, "What day is today?"
"September thirteenth."
Li Xueyan hurriedly retracted into the car, took out a small white tips bag from close to her body, and opened it to take a look.
There was still just a small note inside, and there was no text on the outside explaining who it was addressed to. So Li Xueyan opened it carefully.
Seeing the line above, Li Xueyan suddenly had the urge to burst into tears -
"Just like in the previous life, I only put a coat on your body; in this life, I will be buried beside your tomb."