The night in the west gets brighter a little later than that in the east. As the sky becomes dim, the remaining snow on the rocks falls down with a "rustle", and the sound of people's footsteps makes a slight squeaking sound and then disappears.
In the vast white Dadouba Valley, the wind and snow were howling, and there was a flickering light of lights in the innermost part of the valley. Although it looked desolate from the outside, inside there was a series of triangular colorful flags crisscrossing the mountain wall, surrounding a majestic building built against the mountain.
The spotted bonfire dispersed the drifting snowflakes, and the flickering flames illuminated the surrounding Tuyuhun soldiers holding swords. They were wearing fur coats and fur hats, with ferocious faces and silently roasting themselves by the fire to keep warm. From time to time, their eyes drifted to the snowflakes floating down from the top of the valley outside, and they listened vigilantly to the movements of the Sui people outside.
There were not many Tuyuhun people who escaped into this canyon. There were about two thousand people who gathered together, which was enough for them to settle down. As long as the Khan was still there, they would not disperse. As long as they could drag the morale of the Sui army outside down, they would naturally withdraw and leave. At that time, they could still make a comeback and take back everything they had lost.
In the palace built against the mountain, Murong Fuyun, with a big beard, was holding a silver wine cup. He had decorations similar to those in the Central Plains and sat in the first seat with a big horse and a golden sword. There were only a few Tuyuhun generals left around him.
He stared at the copper basin with a burning bonfire in the hall, laughing and chatting with two generals, while a scantily clad maid beside him cut off a piece of fat and tender lamb meat. The Tuyuhun Khan took a bite from the blade and chewed it, and oil stains overflowed from the corners of his mouth and slid onto his beard.
"I have always been friendly with the Sui Dynasty and paid tribute to them every year. But after Yang Jian died, his son was ambitious and wanted to swallow up my territory. He thought he was such a hero, but he couldn't even invade the Dadouba Valley. Hahaha!"
One of the generals below took a sip of wine, rubbed his hands, and laughed: "Khan is right. The Sui people claim to be the most powerful country in the world, and they are all good at fighting. But when they came to our Dadouba Valley, they dared not take a single step forward. I even shot a Sui general to death with one arrow, and his head is still hanging in my room!"
Sitting in the first seat, Murong Fuyun leaned against the golden chair, wiped the grease from the corners of his mouth, and wiped it on the maid's chest. The smile on his face gradually faded.
"In this battle, we only need to wear down the morale of the Sui people. When they return, the land and cities that have been taken away will be taken back sooner or later. However, I still have to thank the national master. If it weren't for the national master's training and magic, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to defend it. So don't be proud and complacent and learn from those Sui people!"
The generals below all nodded in agreement. After all, the war situation was taking a turn for the better and they could not let their guard down. Then they continued to eat big chunks of meat and drink big bowls of wine. After a while, someone came to report that the national master had finished his worship of Buddha.
Murong Fuyun put down his wine glass and said quickly, "Let the Imperial Master come in!"
After a while, the soldier guarding the door on the side of the back hall lowered his head, and an old monk wearing an apricot-yellow robe slowly came in with Buddhist beads in his hand. He faced the Khan in the first position and bowed with his only hand in the vertical seal.
"Folianzun, I pay my respects to your majesty."
"No need to be so polite, Imperial Master."
Murong Fuyun stood up and walked out of his seat, excitedly grabbed the old monk's wrist, and kindly led him to a big chair next to him, and pushed him to sit down.
"I am still alive thanks to the efforts of the Imperial Master, who caused heavy casualties to the Sui people."
As he said this, he took the full wine glass from the maid and respectfully bowed to Buddha Liansong. The latter did not drink, but just lowered his head with his seal upright and chanted the Buddha's name.
"Khan, I can only do my best, but to repel the Sui people, they will need to attack several times. Now that the Sui emperor has arrived, Khan must prepare to go all out."
Murong Fuyun frowned: "The Emperor of Sui is here?"
"This afternoon! But..." The old monk raised his face and smiled, his wrinkles wrinkled even more: "But there is another wave outside the valley!"
…
At the same time, on a hillside half a mile away from Dadoubo Valley, a team of more than 300 people, wearing cloaks made of white silk, walked through the mountain on the white snow.
There were rustling footsteps, swift and agile, climbing over the snow-covered rocks, approaching the valley entrance in a stealthy manner. Not long after, Qu Yuanfeng in front squatted on the side of a large rock, raised his hand backwards and pressed it lightly, and the rising and falling figures suddenly stopped and became quiet.
-wind!
With hand gestures and sign language, according to the previous deployment, dozens of people among the more than 300 people crouched, held their swords, and separated at incredibly fast steps. These people were extraordinary in skills. They were all subordinates trained by Qu Yuanfeng in Taiyuan. They were used to react quickly and get to the key points.
In the dim light before dawn, low-profile dark shadows quickly spread to the valley entrance through the surrounding snow and rocks. After a moment, sparks flashed three times in the darkness over there and then went out.
Qu Yuanfeng held his breath and blew a breath of hot air into his palms. In the white mist, he tilted his head towards his deputy beside him. The two of them immediately separated, each leading more than a hundred people and quickly passing along the path that the previous group had taken.
"General Qu, have they discovered us?"
Entering the edge of the valley, Qu Yuanfeng, who was squatting against a rock, heard the concerns of his subordinates. He glanced around and looked at the faint lights in the innermost part. The wind whimpered as it blew through the place, making it seem eerie.
"It's hard to say... But what if they find out? Will they stop fighting? They will be killed anyway!"
Ding-ling-ling~~~
The low voice had just stopped when a clear bell sound came from the end of the distant valley, making the more than 300 people hiding in the crevices of the rocks against the mountain wall feel uneasy. The cold wind from the valley blew on their faces, and their eyelashes were slightly touched by the snowflakes. Qu Yuanfeng kept his breath and stared at that place without blinking. The sound of monks chanting Buddhist scriptures was faintly mixed in the sound of the wind.
Even though chanting scriptures can calm people's minds, but hearing it here would make people somewhat nervous, not to mention that it was a sneak attack. Among the more than 300 people, some people couldn't keep their composure and squeezed out the smallest sound with fear.
"How come there is..."
The last word "someone is chanting" was not uttered yet, and at that moment when the snowflakes floating in the wind fell on people's faces, the sound of Buddhist chanting rose and fell from all directions, as if it was chanting in their ears non-stop.
"Get out!"
Qu Yuanfeng glared at the soldier fiercely, slammed the rock with the hand holding the hilt, and stood up with his subordinates to prepare for evacuation. In his field of vision, the flying snowflakes suddenly filled the sky and obscured the direction.
"Don't try to figure out the direction, just go back the way you came!"
Since he had alarmed the other party, Qu Yuanfeng no longer hesitated. He turned around and shouted, raised his long sword and called his subordinates to follow him. He ran wildly for a few steps. The snowflakes fluttering around him suddenly became chaotic, and then, with a "whoosh", they shot out in one direction, and there was a whistling sound of breaking through the air.
Bang!
A thick copper stick came whistling with the sound of wind and snow, instantly tearing through the surrounding snowflakes, and collided with the long knife in Qu Yuanfeng's hand. The latter's muscles swelled, and the armor plates on his body rustled.
Whoosh whoosh—
The wind blew the snow away, and a huge Buddha holding a copper stick rushed over with rumbling footsteps. Qu Yuanfeng clenched the hilt of the knife and shouted: "You get out first!"
He pushed his foot forward and the blade of the sword hit the incoming stick, sending out sparks that flashed wildly in the diffuse snow. As his soldiers retreated in panic, Qu Yuanfeng turned around and, with the force of his feet pushing the ground, the blades in his arms contracted and released, exploding fiercely on the huge Buddha.
Bang!
boom-
The sound of metal clashing rang out, and the blade broke through the body that was as hard as a rock and flew away. The sparks illuminated the Buddha. His face, as green as a rock, showed a furious look of diamond. The copper stick he swung horizontally made a sound like wind and thunder, and swept across the human body with a bang.
The armor plates burst, and a blood mist spurted out of Qu Yuanfeng's mouth. His whole body flew horizontally and crashed into the snow. The huge Buddha rushed over with dull footsteps. The figure on the ground was lifted up by several soldiers and flew away to the outside of the valley, leaving only a pool of bright red blood.
"roar!"
The Buddha held a stick, smashed it down in anger, and roared at the fleeing crowd.
…
The sky gradually brightened. To the east of the valley filled with wind and snow, thousands of miles away from Chang'an, the city was bustling with life. People who got up early to make a living began their busy day.
In the Wanshou Temple, where the autumn colors were rich, the scholar who was painting a scroll paused for a moment, the brush in his hand stopped, his cheeks puffed up, and the tip of the brush continued to fall, but faster than before.
Soon, Lu Liangsheng put down his pen, picked up the scroll, blew away the ink that had not yet dried on it, stretched out his hand to summon the Yuelong Sword, folded up the scroll and tied it on top, and wrote a note and put it inside.
"Give it to Yuan Feng and let him do it himself."
"It's another job of running away."
The Yuelong Sword trembled and rose into the air reluctantly. It flew out of the window and soared into the sky towards the west. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a flash of light and disappeared.