Thick clouds pressed down in patches, covering the spring light of Xiaochun Terrace.
The city was already in chaos, and troops were sent from the south of the city, and the disaster spread in just two hours. The thieves scattered and ambushed everywhere, unable to catch them all, and even took the opportunity to flee and kill many people.
Boom, thunder struck, a bolt of lightning fell from the dark night sky, and rain poured down between breaths. At the end of the long street, a horse-riding team came in. There were only eleven people, and the leader was unusually tall and brave. It was Huo Linfeng with a red scarf on his arm.
Eleven fine riders came at night, their armor covered with a thick layer of mottled blood, waiting for the rain to pour it down and wash it clean. Suddenly, another flash of silver lightning pierced the sky. The horse was frightened, raised its front hooves and neighed to a stop.
"Huh!" Huo Linfeng stopped, facing the entrance of Xiaochun Terrace. The Citigroup flag embroidered with the words "Xiaochuntai" was wet, and it was crumpled and stuck to the railing, looking extremely embarrassed.
The whole building is hidden behind the rain curtain, and the windows are half-hidden. It is not known what kind of characters are hidden inside. When the wind was galloping like lightning, three feathered arrows burst out through the wind, and they shot at such a lightning speed that it was too late to blink, three after three.
No one dodged the fine riders on horseback, and there was the sound of drawing knives in unison, and then, like a string of firecrackers, the iron beak and feather arrows were all chopped off and fell to the ground. No one was injured, Huo Linfeng ordered: "Patrol the street, shoot and kill."
The rest of the people obeyed the order, led the reins and dispersed, wandering on this wet and cold long street as if they were going their separate ways.
The alleyway was full of traffic, a fine rider passed by the entrance of the alley, with only three or four hooves, he quickly retracted his knife, drew a red feather arrow from behind, stretched his bow and loosened the string, and shot it into the alley. In the dark alley, a black figure staggered for half a step, let out a hasty moan, and died.
All of a sudden the group of snakes startled, seven or eight shadows flashed on the eaves of the wall, the knight drew two more red-feathered arrows, like a full moon, and flew into the alley in an instant.
Pfft, the sound of iron arrows piercing into flesh and blood, twice and then twice, one arrow pierced the two of them, and the two arrows claimed four lives. Several other people stuck to the wall, hid in the darkness, leaped forward with lightness kung fu, to the entrance of the alley, shouted loudly and wanted to kill Jingqi.
"Uh!" The blood spattered in front of the horse, and there was a burst of hot blood.
Those people fell together, with arrows stuck in their chests, and they were shot dead by another Jingqi across the street. This group of people has always been like this, their eyes are eagle eyes, and they cooperate seamlessly. More and more thieves hiding in the whole street were shot to death.
The corpses were lying around, and at the moment when the lightning shone, the word "Huo" was engraved on the arrow on the chest. Huo Linfeng once told Rong Luoyun that Huo Jiajing had a lot of good archers among them, and he didn't even make it into the top ten.
The others ran for their lives along the street, Xiao Chuntai stood in the thunderstorm, and Huo Linfeng broke open the door alone. The two thick door panels trembled, and the cold wind poured in. The copper candlesticks hanging in the building shook and extinguished a few red candles.
Xiaochun Terrace was the first place to be investigated, and the secret guards of the Prime Minister's Mansion came here to report, indicating that the people from the rivers and lakes hiding here are the leaders of the crowd. Huo Linfeng looked around the building, all the doors were closed, and it was so quiet that there was no sound.
With a calm face, he took off his armor and walked around a lacquer pillar with ease. A woman was leaning behind the pillar, her clothes were loose, and a dark red palm was printed on her white chest, her body was already cold. This is the prostitute in the building, there are so many women who have no strength to restrain the chickens in Fengyuechang, at this moment, there are officers and soldiers coming, they should have fled long ago, screaming.
Unless the thieves are thrown away, there is no other living in the building.
Huo Linfeng took off the Bu Yao from the opponent's hair. There were dozens of beads the size of red beans in the silver thread. Looking up to the upstairs, with a flick of a finger, dozens of small beads flew out, hitting every door with precision and power.
The people in the room waited for the opportunity, caught the trick, broke through the door and rushed out. Seeing this, Huo Linfeng leaped up to the second floor with his sword in hand, and fought with the two thieves who were close to him. The ones here are much more powerful than the thugs outside, and their moves are extremely fierce.
The railing was painted with twigs of golden lotus, blood splashed up, and fell down the stairs in a tick-tock manner. Huo Linfeng pierced through a person, so deep that the hilt of his sword was rubbed with a fishy heat. Make a hole.
After killing three or two people, Huo Linfeng's cheeks were stained with blood, and his eyes were also red. He pursed his thin lips tightly and became angry, like a mad wolf.
This posture belonged exclusively to the battlefield, and he focused on killing people. After a while, there were sharp screams in the building.
The besieging crowd couldn't help backing away, panicked in horror, and avoided Huo Linfeng's approach with trembling pupils. Huo Linfeng held the sword in one hand and the freshly severed head in the other, his blood gushed out like a small spring flowing all over the ground.
"Didn't Chen Ruoyin tell you when he sent you here?" He said, "This general likes cutting off people's heads the most."
The other party was stunned, and had already retreated to the end of the corridor, Huo Linfeng said: "Go out and shoot ten thousand arrows through your heart, it's better to catch it here with nothing."
A few people who knew the current affairs crowded together, dropped their weapons and knelt down one after another. Once the hearts of the people were shaken, they could not be stopped, and more and more people surrendered. Huo Linfeng threw the head in his hand, strode over, and swung his sword to kill one person.
Everyone panicked, and Huo Linfeng took advantage of the panic to make a quick move. In a blink of an eye, there were only a circle of dead bodies left. He pressed the last one, clasped his throat with iron claws, and asked in a low voice: "Where is your leader?"
The other party was pinched too hard to scream, and answered with difficulty: "Among the green sparrows..."
Huo Linfeng broke the other party's neck, swept to the third floor, took off the gauze lamp from the porch and smashed open the door, a puff of white smoke came out, slightly cool, and immediately spread.
A Taoist priest came out from the door, wearing a dark gray robe, holding a fine white-tailed whisk in his right hand. Huo Linfeng frowned and looked at each other, feeling that this person looked familiar, and recalled carefully, at that time, the extraordinary palace was recruiting people for martial arts competitions, and he and the opponent had met each other once on the competition stage.
If I remember correctly... It is known as Tangshan Xiaoyuan Zun.
Was he sent by Chen Ruoyin at that time, or did he join his sect later? In the martial arts competition, he lost within ten strokes. It seems that he was hiding his skills, and he didn't know what his martial arts were.
The white smoke gradually faded away, Huo Linfeng stared at the opponent angrily, raised his sword and wanted to charge, but his footsteps fell softly and heavily, he half-kneeled on the ground, shaking his head, with uncontrollable pain in his dizziness.
Tangshan Xiao Yuanzun walked towards him, his fly whisk was swinging, and a palm with inner strength was hidden in his wide sleeve.
Approaching him, Huo Linfeng's eyes suddenly turned cold: "Smelly Taoist priest!" Standing up to catch him off guard, he breathed a sigh of relief, "Seeing how powerful your poison is, it's still more powerful than my breath lock formula!"
Tangshan Xiao Yuanzun was startled suddenly, took a step back and dodged lightly, threw two projectiles between his sleeves, and exploded on the ground, releasing a sweet and choking gas.
Huo Linfeng said: "I'm still a person who knows how to make poison, so why pretend to be a fairy?"
Tangshan Xiao Yuanzun smiled and said: "General Huo, a loyal man, didn't you just play tricks and cheat?"
Huo Linfeng said: "That's called soldiers never tire of deceit."
After finishing speaking, he held his breath and rushed over, forcing the other party to jump off the third floor. They fought and landed on the Qinse platform, their long swords against Fuchen, gradually exchanging more than forty strokes.
Tangshan Xiao Yuanzun's moves are different from other people's moves, the moves are soft and gentle, but the ending moves are very violent, and the difference between retracting and releasing is huge. In an instant, Huo Linfeng let out a "hiss", and his arm was thrown by the dust whisk, and the material of the clothes was torn and hurt his flesh.
The two stood still, three or five steps apart, Tangshan Xiao Yuanzun smiled.
"ah… "
Soon, his smile froze, and when he lowered his head, he realized that his abdomen was twitching, and a stream of blood spurted out. Huo Linfeng's sword was too fast, he didn't know when he stabbed it, and the sheath was retracted, with the blade full of wet red.
Tangshan Xiao Yuanzun's footsteps softened, and he fell to his knees, sealing his meridians to stop the bleeding. This sword didn't kill him. He looked up at Huo Linfeng and asked, "Why didn't you kill me..."
Huo Linfeng approached: "People in the Jianghu don't understand, the government has to keep alive."
Approaching in front of him, Tangshan Xiao Yuanzun stabbed fiercely with his fly whisk, and there was a section of poisoned knife hidden between the threads. Huo Linfeng's eyes were quick and his legs were quick, he kicked the person to the ground, the fly whisk fell, and a few pills rolled out of his Taoist robe.
At this time, the subordinate came in from the door and reported: "General, a total of 139 people were shot and killed."
Huo Linfeng said: "Put him in prison and try again at another day." He leaned over to pick up the pills, and looked around, "The fragrance in the building is exhausted, after the body is disposed of, Xiaochun Terrace should be sealed first."
A group of people left the long street and walked through the dark alleys, each wearing cold rain.
Not long after, there was the sound of fighting not far away, and the Dingbei army was still strangling the rebels. Huo Linfeng led the Excalibur team to raise their whips and speed up, and once again plunged into the fierce battle.
The wind and rain matched the current situation, and it was as dark as a pan, and it didn't stop all night.
When the sky was slightly bright, Rong Luoyun got up with his clothes together, opened the door and walked out of the wing. The courtyard has been washed clean, no blood stains can be seen, and the strong wind overnight has blown away the stench.
Sitting under the eaves, he took out the eagle bone flute from his jacket and kept it in his pocket all the time, it was so warm. "Aww!" The wolf cub jumped to his side, leaning against him, stretching and retracting its claws very sharply.
"I don't know what happened to your father." Rong Luoyun said, "It's been noisy outside all night, can you take a rest now?"
The heavy rain in Lindong hit him, it was so cold, he really wanted to rush to the street to take a look at Huo Linfeng. Just as he was thinking, a person stepped into the courtyard gate, wearing a cape cape and a hat, and when he got closer, he saw that it was Zhang Weiren.
This is a report, Rong Luoyun asked: "Quickly tell me, how is the situation outside?"
Zhang Weiren said: "After fighting all night, the general will be the most slack in the morning, and the general is now leading a fierce attack."
Rong Luoyun asked again: "How is he?"
Zhang Weiren replied: "Fortunately, there was no injury." Regarding the situation of the bandits, "Because in the city, the houses are convenient to hide, many households were killed by the thieves who broke into their homes. Besides, these Jianghu people are Han Chinese, from the folk, It’s very easy to pretend to be ordinary people.”
This is more complicated than a battle with sharp swords and sharp spears. Chen Ruoyin's move can not only hold back the troops, but also make the people in Saibei panic. Rong Luoyun sighed, and asked, "From your point of view, how long will it take to suppress it?"
Zhang Weiren thought: "It's about the common people, the general must be strict, and I'm afraid he won't relax within half a month."
Rong Luoyun nodded: "What about Moshang?"
Zhang Weiren said: "At the end of the Fourth Watch, the two armies officially started fighting."
That's the real battlefield, Rong Luoyun's heart suddenly tightened, and he wanted to ask many questions, but he thought it was useless. He picked up the wolf cub, coldly, and said a little vainly: "Tell General Huo that everything is fine in the mansion, and let him rest assured."
"Yes." Zhang Weiren replied, turning around to leave, but Rong Luoyun called to stop him just as he took a step. "That..." Rong Luoyun's expression was sluggish, "Has Marquis Dingbei met Qin Xun?"
Zhang Weiren didn't say anything, just shook his head, not sure if he didn't meet him or he didn't know. Rong Luoyun had nothing to ask, and when the other party left, he raised his face and looked at the raindrops dripping from the eaves alone.
He couldn't help thinking, father and mother, are they watching all this from the sky
If yes, how would you think about it? What kind of result do you want
Rong Luoyun was a little stunned, the cold wind poured into the skirt of his clothes, and the hem of the robe was soaked by the heavy rain, but he ignored it. After a while, his shoulders suddenly warmed up, and someone put a cloak on him.
"Madam?" He turned his face away, and saw Mrs. Bai standing calmly behind him, smiling... as if she liked him very much. He tightened his cloak, knocked the wolf cub unconscious and covered it, for fear of scaring him.
Sitting next to Bai Shi, she heard what Zhang Weiren said, and she was so bored that she simply blown the wind and looked at the rain. It's just that the silence became more depressed, she asked: "All these years, have you been outside by yourself?"
Rong Luoyun replied: "I was with some brothers I made friends with." The three siblings of the Tang family must have known each other, "My brother died on the way to escape, and my sister and I depended on each other for life."
Bai's handcuffs tightened tightly: "You must have suffered a lot. Your sister is now in Xiganling? Is she a family?"
Rong Luoyun lowered his eyes: "No, in order to spy on the news, my sister stayed in the brothel." He looked gloomy, thinking of Rong Duanyu, and inevitably thinking of Shen Zhou, "If your reputation is bad, it will be difficult to marry in this life .”
The wife of Marquis Dingbei is dignified and prudent, how could she think that her good daughter would fall into the dust, Bai Shi was shocked for a moment, and after recovering, she showed a deep heartache. She looked at Rong Luoyun, the prince's son, who had been a companion to the prince since he was a child, and his sister should be a famous lady in Chang'an City, but it's a pity that luck made people fool him.
Bai Shi secretly regretted it, but she didn't expect Rong Luoyun to look at her with a sense of sadness in her eyes. "Ma'am," Rong Luoyun thought of what Huo Zhao said to him before leaving, "Are you... worried about Marquis Dingbei?"
He asked nonsense, but Bai laughed: "I understand what you mean, I am worried about any of the three men of the Huo family, but I have already gotten used to it over the years."
It is said that it is difficult to be a man in the emperor's family, and it is even more dangerous to be a general, and even the Taifu may have unreasonable disasters. After all the calculations, ordinary people are still happy.
Rong Luoyun stared at the pattering rain, wishing that there would be peace in the end, that his revenge would be avenged, and that he and Huo Linfeng would be disarmed and returned to the fields.
The situation in the city was as Zhang Weiren said, there was no slack for several days in a row, and a murderous aura permeated the prosperous city in the past. On the Moshang, the Dingbei Army and the Turkic Army fought, and Huo Zhao killed all directions along the way, boosting the morale of the army like a rainbow.
However, the so-called Chi Na Army never showed up.
That old man Qin Xun also never showed up.
Nearly half a month later, in the Blue Lake barracks, seven or eight Qiji came out of the commander's tent and went to send orders to the soldiers. In the tent, Huo Zhao and Huo Jinghai stood behind the sand map, both father and son were staring at a spot on the map.
"Father," Huo Jinghai pointed at that place, "We are too close to the Turkic tribe to attack Luoye Mountain, so we should think about it again?"
Huo Zhao said: "I have sent an order to prepare, what are you thinking about?" He glanced at Huo Jinghai, and said unceremoniously, "You are just too prudent, and your bravery is not as strong as your brother."
Huo Jinghai was not annoyed: "However, the terrain of Luoye Mountain is complicated, and it is very likely that it will be besieged by barbarians and cannot break through. Moreover, if the battle line is stretched, the soldiers will be weak, so there is really no chance of winning."
Huo Zhao retorted: "You are wrong, you will definitely win."
He stood with his hands behind his back, and his tone turned cold in an instant: "It's been nearly half a month, and Chi Na's army can't avoid it, it's dragging and consuming my energy. The longer the time, the more tired I will be from fighting, and Qin Xun will wait for work at leisure. It will be more difficult to deal with.”
In addition, if this party delays time, waiting for the riots in the city to subside and Huo Linfeng returns, wouldn't it be Chen Ruoyin's trick. Huo Zhao said: "We must attack Luoye Mountain and force Chi's army to show up to fight."
Huo Jinghai worried: "But—"
Huo Zhao interrupted: "If I win, I will eradicate the great danger. If I lose, I will definitely hurt the core Turkic troops. Afterwards, the Dingbei Army will take advantage of the momentum to pursue, and the odds of winning will increase a lot."
He didn't seem to care about his own life or death, and he considered it entirely from the perspective of the overall situation: "So I said, I will definitely win."
Huo Jinghai wanted to argue without saying a word, the battle started for half a month, and sometimes he kept fighting day and night, his energy was already lacking. He swallowed everything, turned to face Huo Zhao, he was a subordinate to the general, and a son to his father, and he clasped his fists as a military salute.
There is no longer a word of dispute between father and son.
Two days later, Huo Zhao set off towards Mount Luoye with three thousand cavalry.