The blazing flames soared in the darkness with scorching heat, and sparks flew around in the flames like fireflies.
Yan Liqiang, like the other guards, stood outside the piles of rising flames, watching the flames being ignited, the flying sparks, and the bodies gradually being obliterated in the flames.
Like the people around him, Yan Liqiang's face was illuminated by the red light of the flames. The piles of flames were burning not only on the hillside behind Huijiaji, but also in Yan Liqiang's heart.
The twenty-six rising flames were the last heat left in this world by the twenty-six guards who died in battle around Sun Bingchen.
The scene was silent and a little depressing. Everyone, including Sun Bingchen and Liang Yiji, stood solemnly around the fire, but Yan Liqiang could faintly hear the sound of uncontrollable sobbing in his ears.
The one who was crying was a young guard in his early 20s, only a few years younger than Yan Liqiang. The reason he was crying was that among the twenty-six burning flames, one of the people was his own brother.
The young guard was called Hu Haihe. He and his brother were both from the Imperial Capital. Because his family had an uncle who worked in the Imperial Mabu Division, when it was time to recruit soldiers, his uncle used his connections to get his brother to the Imperial Mabu Division because the treatment there was better than that of other soldiers stationed in the Imperial Capital. Later, when Hu Haihe joined the army, he also used his uncle's connections to join the Imperial Mabu Division, and was assigned to the same place as his brother so that the two brothers could take care of each other.
This time, Sun Bingchen was the inspector, and the small flag where he and his brother were located was drawn out and came to the northwest with Sun Bingchen.
Just two days ago, in the battle, his brother was shot in the neck by the Black Wind Bandits while fighting against them in order to protect him. He died on the spot.
Yan Liqiang had not known before that there was a pair of brothers among Sun Bingchen's guards. It was not until yesterday that he heard about it from other guards.
The farewell of brothers on the battlefield is also a tragedy in the world...
The dancing flames flickered in Yan Liqiang's eyes, and the corpse in the flames was also undergoing a series of changes in the high temperature that were not pleasant to watch.
Looking at everything in front of him, Yan Liqiang didn't know why, but he suddenly remembered the sky burial scene he and a good friend saw in Tibet in his previous life. That time, he didn't have the courage to watch the whole process of the sky burial. When the person to be sky-buried appeared on the sky burial platform and a large number of vultures appeared in the sky, Yan Liqiang, who knew what was going to happen next, couldn't help but flee. At this moment, looking at the corpses that were expanding, fissioning, decomposing, and burning in front of him at this close distance, Yan Liqiang was calm, because in his heart, there was a voice surging and telling - if it was you who died in the battle two days ago, then your body would also become ugly in this fire at this moment, and eventually turn into a piece of charred dust and nothingness, making your relatives sad and your enemies happy. So, no matter what, never let yourself become a rotten carbohydrate burning on firewood...
All dangers are unpredictable, and death always comes suddenly. The people you trust and rely on may lead you into a death trap. Therefore, if you want to survive, there is only one way, which is to become stronger, stronger, and stronger.
Yan Liqiang's face was calm, but one of his hands was clenched tightly into a fist within his sleeve.
…
The fires burned for two hours before they were finally extinguished, leaving only wisps of smoke. Yan Liqiang and other guards collected the remaining ashes from the fire into pottery jars with names on them that they had collected from Huijiaji. They dug a pit on the spot to bury the remaining bones that had not been burned, without building a grave or erecting a tombstone.
The twenty-six guards who were riding on rhinoceros horses full of energy a few days ago, finally turned into a pile of ashes in a pottery jar, held in the hands of their brothers.
“After returning to the imperial capital, I will report to His Majesty that the guards who died in this battle will all be counted as martyrs who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield for their country and will receive double compensation. If they have sons or brothers, they will be given preferential treatment when they join the army or perform government duties in the future!” Looking at the silent faces, Sun Bingchen spoke, which brought some comfort to the surviving guards.
"Thank you, sir!" Everyone bowed to Sun Bingchen to express their gratitude.
"Everyone should have a good rest tonight, and cheer up and continue on our journey tomorrow..." Liang Yiji added.
"yes!"
…
After completing the ceremony, Yan Liqiang and his companions returned to the inn.
No one was in the mood. Except for a few people on night duty, almost everyone went back to their own rooms after returning to the inn, including Yan Liqiang.
Seeing Yan Liqiang return to the room, Huangmao wagged his tail and walked towards him step by step.
Yan Liqiang touched Huangmao's head, checked the injury on Huangmao's leg again, and let Huangmao lie down aside.
The imperially prepared Earth Dragon Herb Ointment that Sun Bingchen gave him was indeed very effective. In just one day, Yan Liqiang felt that Huangmao had recovered a lot. The leg that was originally completely unable to move could now try to walk. Although it still looked a little lame, it was moving in the right direction and it might not take much time for him to recover.
After experiencing this life-and-death test, Yan Liqiang discovered that having a dog like Huangmao by his side is sometimes more useful than a person. Taking care of Huangmao became Yan Liqiang's unshirkable responsibility.
Yan Liqiang returned to the room and sat quietly for a while to calm his fluctuating mood. He then closed the doors and windows of the room, pulled the windproof curtains on the doors and windows, took a stick of incense, lit it on the oil lamp in the room, then inserted the incense into an incense burner in the room, put the incense burner on the ground, and blew out the oil lamp.
After extinguishing the oil lamp, Yan Liqiang's entire room was suddenly plunged into pitch darkness. In the entire room, the only thing that was visible was the incense stick that Yan Liqiang had just lit, which revealed a red burning spot on the dark ground.
Yan Liqiang seemed to be lying on the ground, with his head raised, staring at the red incense head in the darkness three meters away.
Yan Liqiang's posture while lying on the ground was very special, just like a tiger, and a bit like the plank he had done in his previous life. His toes touched the ground at the back, and his whole body was stretched into a straight line like a bridge. In front, the strength of his entire upper limbs was supported only by the thumb and index finger of each hand. Not only that, Yan Liqiang's eyes were wide open, staring at the red incense head a few meters away without blinking, his whole attention was on the only light in the darkness.
It is human instinct to blink in order to relieve eye fatigue, but Yan Liqiang deliberately controlled his eyes, and when he wanted to blink, he held back and just stared at the red light.
After a while, Yan Liqiang's eyes began to ache, but Yan Liqiang still endured it without blinking, still staring at the red light, and then the fingers that bore the weight of Yan Liqiang's upper body began to tremble with pain, but Yan Liqiang gritted his teeth and held on...
In just a moment, because Yan Liqiang didn't blink, his eyes were full of tears, and drops of sweat kept rolling down his forehead...
This is a method Yan Liqiang came up with in the past two days to make his body and eyes enter the extreme overdraft state at the fastest speed, especially the eyes. In this state, it is definitely a test for the vision of the eyes.
The incense stick burned for almost an hour. When it finished burning, Yan Liqiang's eyes had turned red, burning, and even slightly swollen. During the entire hour, under Yan Liqiang's control, he could only blink four times. His two fingers seemed to be broken. They trembled and his whole body was covered in sweat.
Yan Liqiang got up from the ground, closed his eyes, slowed down his breathing, and after resting for a while, he began to practice the Yi Jin Xi Sui Jing.
As expected, it was the same as yesterday. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth that entered his body began to flow into his eyes, making them instantly cold and transparent. Another stream of spiritual energy flowed through his two hands and began to nourish and strengthen the two fingers that had just endured the great test...
(End of this chapter)