"Climb this bridge and you'll reach the Ba River. The lifeblood of the imperial capital is Ba Bridge."
Mingkang gasped.
The atmosphere in the team was quite gloomy. After two people died, everyone felt a kind of suffocating anger and helpless sadness.
Li Zhen asked in a depressed tone: "After Baqiao, is it Chang'an?"
"Yes, as soon as you cross the Ba Bridge, drive straight into the Eight Dragon City. No. 1, there are flowers in the Eight Dragon City, and the imperial power is waiting for you. The most glorious thing in the world."
"The most glorious thing?"
Li Zhen murmured, standing on the top of the mountain with his waist and overlooking the Taotao Ba River, taking in the scenery of Balong City.
Qi Lengzi stood next to Li Zhen, overlooking the Eight Dragon City with him, and sighed: "What a prosperous imperial capital. The lifeblood of Kyushu, the center of the universal land."
Mingkang pointed everywhere and proudly introduced Li Zhen.
But Li Zhen had no intention of listening at this time, and the sound of his heart beating became more powerful and manic. That feeling of panic, as if my heart was about to jump out.
Is it someone waiting for me
Looking at this Ba Bridge, why do I feel so uneasy
Like... someone returning home
"Walk."
Li Zhen's eyes were a little straight, looking in the direction of Baqiao, and walking there mechanically.
Mingkang shouted: "Be careful, champion, it's steep."
Li Zhen turned a deaf ear at this time. He seemed to be unable to hear anything. All I can see is the turbulent Bahe River and Baqiao, the strategic point of Chang'an.
Breathing the hot air, Li Zhen seemed to smell a very familiar scent from ten thousand years ago.
His whole body was shaken, and goosebumps appeared all over his body. With his eyes dim, Li Zhen changed from walking, to trotting, to running wildly.
Mingkang was shocked: "What happened to him?"
Qi Lengzi was also shocked: "Why is he so crazy? It's not the first time he saw the Eight Dragon City, so he wasn't so excited, right?"
Mingkang looked forward and saw that the Ba Bridge was overcrowded, and the people blocked the Ba Bridge with banners. The banner read in black letters on a white background: "The fake number one scholar, get out of Balong City."
Seeing this, the faces of all the Imperial Guards accompanying the team became gloomy.
After being driven away from Zhashui County, wouldn't it be okay to go back to Balong City
They followed Li Zhen all the way and knew how amazing Li Zhen's talent was. After Li Zhen risked his life to save the Forbidden Army, they respected Li Zhen from the bottom of their hearts. Li Zhen was humiliated, just like they were humiliated.
Seeing the number one scholar running wildly towards Baqiao, the Imperial Guards did not dare to be careless and ran wildly to protect him. The faint carriage behind was originally the champion's golden carriage, but now it had become a coffin, with two corpses lying inside.
"Quick, what's wrong with him? Follow him quickly."
"There are so many unruly people blocking the road ahead. If the people are in chaos, the champion will be in danger. Protect him."
“…”
The imperial army quickly drove their horses and chased Li Zhen.
At this time, Li Zhen fell into his own world. My eyes couldn't see the crowds of people on the Baqiao in front of me, and my ears couldn't hear the horses neighing and iron hooves behind me.
He seemed to see the blooming flowers ten thousand years ago, and seemed to hear the busy traffic ten thousand years ago. It's like smelling the fragrance of an amateur ten thousand years ago. It's like touching the warmth of a beautiful woman ten thousand years ago.
'Bang, bang, bang'
As he got closer to Baqiao, his heart continued to beat rapidly.
"Zhang Zhi, is that you? Are you waiting for me, Zhang Zhi... I really want to feel your presence."
Li Zhen murmured and ran towards Baqiao like crazy!
Unknowingly, I closed my eyes and the world became dark. But in this darkness, he seemed to see a tear shining in front of him.
——
Ten thousand years ago.
The girl who was standing on Ba Bridge looking for something suddenly looked back and looked at the bridge with endless traffic.
At this moment, nothing could be seen or heard in the beautiful eyes.
She seemed to see the vicissitudes of life ten thousand years later, and heard the iron hooves coming ten thousand years later. It was as if I could smell the body odor of the familiar man ten thousand years later, as if I could touch the thin body bones of that wise man ten thousand years later.
'Bang, bang, bang'
Her heart was beating wildly, harder than ever.
He took a step forward and ran towards the bridge with eyes blank. It seemed that that place was his call to herself, and she seemed to be able to feel the call from ten thousand years later.
"Li Zhen! Are you here? Have you arrived at Balong City in Chang'an County today? Li Zhen, are you..."
Run like crazy!
In the wind, the white sun hat was blown away, and her black hair hung down like a waterfall, dancing wildly in the wind.
Amidst the chaos, a face with worries about gains and losses but excited and generous tears was looming.
Every time she blinked, in that moment of darkness, she seemed to be able to see a drop of crystal tears ahead in the darkness.
"Li Zhen!"
She cried like a madman.
Crazy because she arrived at the bridge but didn't see it...
——
"Stop! Are you the fake number one scholar?"
"Don't even think about entering the Eight Dragon City and tarnishing our thousand-year-old imperial capital."
"If you want to enter Balong City, you have to crawl in!"
There was a lot of yelling, ridicule, and scolding.
Li Zhen stopped and opened his eyes.
There are no tears in the darkness, no breath of ten thousand years ago. All he saw were the people blocking the road on the Baqiao Bridge, pointing their fingers at him and saying something.
Somewhat hard to hear. He seemed deaf.
"You guys give way."
Li Zhen's eyes were not focused at all. He pushed away the people blocking the bridge and wanted to walk into Ba Bridge. He didn't know what was attracting him on this bridge. But there is always a feeling that if you walk on this bridge, you can touch her and get closer to her.
"roll!"
A man pushed Li Zhen away.
The thin Li Zhen immediately took three or five steps back and sat down on the ground.
But he was still looking at the crowds of people on Baqiao with dull eyes, looking for something.
"Collude with the Crown Prince of the East Palace, you fake number one scholar. It's because you, the fake number one scholar, took up a quota, that's why my grandson didn't pass the exam. Give my grandson his future!"
An old woman screamed, and an egg hit Li Zhen's head.
With a 'pop' sound, the egg shattered on Li Zhen's face. The egg white and yolk keep flowing out. Li Zhen's hair was stained, making it look extremely messy.
But Li Zhen seemed oblivious and couldn't feel the sticky stuff at all. He didn't even wipe it off and let it flow onto his neck and chest.
"Get out of the way, please give way. Please give way."
Li Zhen stood up and continued walking into the crowd.
"Go away, you fake number one scholar, do you really want to enter the Eight Dragons City? You are dreaming!"
A few more people continued to push, and Li Zhen continued to take three or five steps back, and sat down on the ground again.
"Ah!"
"How presumptuous! You must not harm my number one scholar!"
"Fuck me, don't even think about hurting my number one scholar!"
More than a thousand forbidden troops came roaring wildly on war horses.
'噌噌噌' The saber kept coming out of its sheath, the cold light flashing, accompanied by the sound of iron hooves, fighting and fighting!
When the people saw the more than a thousand men rushing towards them with murderous intent, they were all frightened and screamed and retreated. After all, they are the people and they are the army.
"stop!"
Mingkang roared hysterically, his voice hoarse from being so anxious. He galloped over on horseback and said with a cry: "Don't do it, don't do it!"
The imperial army hesitated slightly, but listened to Mingkang's instructions and guarded Li Zhen, who was sitting on the ground in a daze, and stopped at the end of Baqiao Bridge, not jumping into the crowd for the time being.
Mingkang rushed over anxiously, lowering his voice and saying hurriedly: "No, don't do anything. These are the people of Balong City who have believed the rumors. These are the people. You can't touch them. You must not touch them! Otherwise, there will be a civil uprising. Everyone can’t afford to eat and walk around.”
The Forbidden Army was horrified, and then realized the seriousness of the matter, but became even more helpless. These are ordinary people, you can't move them.
A 'whoosh' sound broke through the air.
"careful!"
Someone yelled.
But it was too late. This time it was not an egg that flew towards Li Zhen, but a stone. As big as half a fist.
It hit Li Zhen on the head with a bang, causing his head to bleed.
Blood flowed down his face, and his forehead was torn. The blood was mixed into the egg white and yolk on his face, making him even more miserable.
Li Zhen fell on his back, still unconscious. He straightened up and sat up again, struggling to get up. But after kicking his legs a few times, he sat down again weakly, and then got up again.
"No. 1 pick!"
More than a thousand forbidden troops dismounted and formed a human wall to protect Li Zhen.
Many military men looked at Li Zhen's current appearance, the swollen bump on his forehead, and the open wounds on his forehead that were gushing with blood. Their eyes were red. They would rather be stabbed than see the people they respect being humiliated in front of them.
Qi Lengzi went crazy.
"ah!"
A low roar.
Qi Lengzi drew out the butcher's knife from his back, stared blankly at the people standing on the bridge, and rushed out like a wild bull.
He has no nonsense and no thoughts. He was going crazy now.
He doesn't allow anyone to hurt Li Zhen!
"Stop him, quickly, stop him!"
Mingkang's eyes were red with anxiety at this time, and there were tears in his eyes.
The Forbidden Army also knew that Qi Lengzi was mentally ill and were afraid that big problems would arise if he rushed into a crowd. More than a dozen forbidden soldiers threw down their knives and rushed forward. Some of them hugged his legs, a few grabbed their knives and hugged their hands, and viciously pressed Qi Lengzi to the ground.
"Quickly, get the rope, we can't hold it down anymore!"
A forbidden soldier riding on Qi Lengzi roared.
But they saw Qi Lengzi staring straight at the people, struggling crazily to get up and rush in to kill. His mouth kept letting out a low growl of "ho ho" unconsciously, and his appearance was ferocious.
They tied him up with a rope and dragged him behind. Only then did the scene calm down.
The people retreated for a while and then stood still.
In the crowd, a young man with a sinister look suddenly raised his fist and shouted:
"We are common people, they don't dare to do anything to us. Beat them and drive them out of Balong City!"
"We are ordinary people, don't worry, they don't dare to do anything to us. We must clean up this kind of fake number one scholar and this kind of scum from Balong City!"
“…”
The crowd was in an uproar.
"Yes, we are ordinary people, we are the people of Balong City, these lowly imperial guards dare not do anything to us."
"The law does not punish the public. There are so many of us, but if we unite, they won't dare to do anything!"
"The Forbidden Army are just low-class warriors. We, the common people who can live in Balong City, are all knowledgeable and cultured scholars. Do warriors still dare to take action against educated people like us?"
"Most of us are scholars. These warriors are just a group of dogs who are paid by the army to protect us. If our owners beat the dogs, do the dogs dare to bite their owners? Don't worry, beat them, they won't dare to do anything!"
"Hit them!"
“…”
Many people picked up stones, eggs, and vegetable leaves and threw them at everyone crazily.
"Protect the top pick!"
The leader of the Imperial Guard shouted loudly with red eyes.
As soon as he took off his saber, he suddenly turned his back to the bridge and faced Li Zhen. Lowered his head.
More than a thousand forbidden troops took off their sabers in unison, turned around, and surrounded Li Zhen.
"咻咻咻" There are stones constantly coming out, and all kinds of things are flying out.
'Ding ding ding ding ding'
Continuously hitting the backs, armors, and helmets of the Forbidden Army.
All the more than a thousand Imperial Guards bowed their heads. Closing their eyes, many people shed tears.
The armor used to resist foreign enemies and protect the people. At this time, in the wail of 'ding-dong', the people's "anger!"
Mingkang stood in the crowd gnashing his teeth and clenching his fists. He watched more than a thousand forbidden soldiers standing here in silence with their heads down, tears streaming down their faces.
"How...how could you do this?"
“…”
The swelling on Li Zhen's head was getting bigger and bigger, and his eyes were a little distracted. He still looked in the direction of Baqiao through the gap between the imperial guards, and murmured: "Zhang Zhi..."
He fell back and lay on the ground, staring blankly at the blue sky and white clouds.
A tear slipped from the corner of his eye.
That feeling...gone.
PS: In the past two days, many people have complained that I shouldn’t write about palace fights. Well, maybe I’m not good at this aspect. The plot here is just to set the stage, and there will be very little or no power struggle in the future. But it is still unrealistic to want to have none at all. The background of this world is like this, and power struggles are unavoidable.
I will try to write as little as possible in the future. This recent episode is paving the way for future development, Jiang Zi.
Because everyone has made this point very correctly, I will adopt this suggestion. One more update today. There is another chapter behind it. Thank you.
(End of chapter)