The legend that cats have nine lives seems to be true, and Xiaofeng Miao, who refused to live and depended on Zheng Xiu for her life and death, suffered a heavy price as a result.
When Zheng Xiu woke up, the back of his head was resting on his wife's soft thighs. Looking up, Zheng Xiu could only see his wife's hair. He remembered the "Longmen Inn" and struggled to get up, but was pushed back by his wife.
Zheng Xiu could only arch his head upwards with his hands.
"Yeah~"
Xie Luohe gasped in anger.
Zheng Xiu finally managed to see clearly the beautiful and worried face of his wife.
The lady's face turned red, and she slapped the "Zongzi Hand" that was restlessly moving up and down on her chest, and scolded her.
"You're still hurt and you're not being honest!"
Xiaofeng meowed and let out a cute roar, jumped down from Xie Luohe's shoulder, and scratched Zheng Xiu's face with his claws without saying a word, leaving blood-red marks.
"No!"
When the lady was not paying attention, Zheng Xiu suddenly bounced up and exclaimed: "My plaque!"
"What happened to the plaque?"
Xie Luohe was puzzled at first, and then suddenly realized: "You mean the one that was damaged? It doesn't matter, just write again."
Zheng Xiu was stunned for a moment and rubbed the area between his brows that still had pain.
There seemed to be something pulsing behind the eyebrows.
Zheng Xiu looked around and found that he was in the warm home of the two of them. "I'll go out and take a look." After leaving a sentence, Zheng Xiu hurriedly ran in the direction of Mohexuan in his memory.
Xie Luohe looked slightly startled, but finally felt uneasy, and chased after Xiao Fengmiao, who was aggrieved and still angry.
When Zheng Xiu passed out due to "headache", the sun was rising. Now the sky is full of glow, but it has been changed to the west. When I woke up, it was already sunset. I came to "Mohe Xuan" in a confused mood, and the ground was broken into two sides.
I don't know who put together the plaque, but it stood upright on the side - it must have been the Xieluo River. Only she would be so concerned about her own plaque in such a chaotic time.
The moment Zheng Xiu saw the handwritten plaque, his pupils shrank slightly. The "Longmen Inn" he saw before passing out was like a dream and no longer existed. The words "Mohexuan" were still full of vigor.
It is powerful and has the charm of a scholar, and every piece of peeling gold paint on it is the same as in the memory. This is exactly the calligraphy he wrote ten years ago.
"Mohe, Mohe, Mohe. Not a word is wrong, not a word is wrong. So, who is wrong?"
Zheng Xiu was shocked and confused, and muttered to himself.
Xie Luohe hugged the cat and pressed it against her from behind, twisted her husband's body, and she took the initiative to put her forehead against it.
In the past, Zheng Xiu would have put his mouth on the pop with interest, and Xie Luohe would have slapped him with laughter and curses, and then the couple would have a fight from the end of the bed to the head of the bed, in a harmonious manner. It had always been like this.
This little habit made the two of them live a dull married life for ten years, but their relationship was still sweet and interesting. But at this time, Zheng Xiu was not in the mood, and he let Xie Luohe play around with his expression numbly.
"It's not burning."
Xie Luohe murmured in confusion.
"I..." Zheng Xiu stared at Madam, opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word. In the end, he could only shake his head vigorously: "That's it, it's okay, maybe I'm tired."
It took ten days for Sun and Earth to direct the surviving tribesmen to dig a big pit outside the town, move out the corpses one by one, and bury them carefully. The place became a mass grave.
In the past ten days, everyone in the Rieyang tribe was on tenterhooks, worried that Atulu would make a comeback. Some people said that Atulu was cut in half by Boss Mo that day and must have died. The army in the Western Regions had long been scared out of their wits and did not dare to do it again.
What makes Sun and Earth uneasy is that in the past ten days, no one has come from the Western Region, either doing business or via channels. All news outside Richan Valley has been cut off, and the whole town has been shrouded in a kind of wind and rain.
In the terrifying tranquility of the mountain full of buildings, this kind of "peace" is so quiet that it is terrifying.
Every day, the leader of the tribe, Ri Di, sends out his best men to investigate for news. It is worth mentioning that after "recovering" from his injury, the young man from Ri Di regained his life.
A miraculous feat.
His feet can grow "roots" and take root anywhere. He can easily climb over cliffs and rocks, fly over eaves and walls, and even on walls, he can use the roots on his feet to walk as fast as he flies.
Such a strange phenomenon happened to Ri Ding, and the tribesmen looked at him a little strangely. Other people in the Lie Sun tribe kept a distance from Ri Ding's family intentionally or unintentionally. It was as if this was a disease, and they were all afraid of being infected.
Already.
Ri Ding did not take this seriously, but was so excited about the new "magic arts" that he ran to Boss Mo's house and humbly asked Zheng Xiu about the secrets of "magic arts".
The "strange things" about Ri Ding made Ri Di unable to help himself. On the twentieth day after the war, he killed pigs and sheep, climbed up Sunset Mountain, and chose noon, when the sun was the strongest, to offer sacrifices in front of the murals.
Worship the "scorching sun" and pray for peace.
January after the war.
One day.
"Someone is coming! Someone is coming!"
Ri Ding, who was responsible for guarding the entrance to the east side of Richan Valley, saw a group of figures appearing in the depths of the desert from a distance. He was so startled that several of them jumped from hundreds of long peaks to quickly climbing down, their movements as nimble as monkeys.
Someone is coming from the east!
Across the desert!
The news spread throughout the tribe not long after. After being anxiously alert for a whole month, Sun and Di were as frightened as a bird when they heard it. They were so frightened that they led the tribe's experts to the entrance of the valley in the east, fully armed.
After a month of suffering, Patriarch Ridi lost a lot of his hair, his eye sockets were sunken, and he looked extremely haggard.
Sun and Earth first ordered people not to relax their vigilance in the west, and took their own people to the east to set up bow formations and wait.
Nowadays, no matter where people come from, Sun and Earth dare not take them lightly.
It didn't take long for Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe to hear about this. When Zheng Xiu heard that it was someone coming from the desert, he was puzzled. He was resting and recuperating, and patted Xie Luohe, who was holding the cat and squinting in the sun, and said
One or two, walked alone towards the east entrance of Richan Valley.
When he came to the entrance of the valley and waited, there were many archers crouching on the plank roads on both sides of the valley. Zheng Xiu stared into the distance, looking towards the desert. Sure enough, just as he heard from hearsay, there were shadows in the depths of the desert. It was unknown who had crossed the desert after so many years.
, no wonder Sun and Earth are so careful.
After a while, the carriages and horses approached, and the first thing that bore the brunt was the tattered flags. The flags were fluttering, and one of the relatively well-preserved flags had a big word "武" written on it.
"It's the imperial court!"
On the valley, Sun and Earth stared at each other and exclaimed in shock. For many years, although Richan Valley belongs to the territory of Daqian, the environment here has been harsh and has long been out of the control of the imperial court. Nowadays, people coming from the imperial court do not know whether it is a blessing or a curse.
Making the sun and the earth even more worried.
Imperial court?
Different from the reaction of the sun and the earth, Zheng Xiu vaguely saw a conspicuous bald head in the group of people. The bright reflection was particularly dazzling under the scorching sun.
"Don't be nervous! It could be one of our own!"
The men and horses flying the flag of the Shenwu Army arrived at Richan Valley.
More than a hundred people were riding camels, wearing insulating cloaks, dusty and dusty.
The leader of the group had a fine iron helmet hanging on his camel saddle bag.
"Thank you Yunliu!"
"My good brother-in-law!"
The two recognized each other from a distance and waved to each other. Xie Yunliu roared loudly, jumped off the camel, touched the yellow sand with his feet, and came to Zheng Xiu in a blink of an eye, hugging Zheng Xiu heavily.
Bang bang bang!
Xie Yunliu laughed and patted Zheng Xiu on the back, acting boldly: "Good brother-in-law! You are indeed alive!"
"Alive! Of course alive!" After a long absence, Zheng Xiu was particularly happy to see Xie Yunliu. But he quickly asked: "Monk?"
"What a bastard monk! I am a general! I have just been promoted, and now I am appointed by the emperor as 'General Pingxi'. When walking in the court, anyone who sees me must respectfully call me 'Thank you, General'! But brother-in-law, you always
It’s so unlucky to call this place ‘Monk Monk’!”
Xie Yunliu complained, but the smile on his face remained unchanged, as if he was not angry. However, he did not know the true meaning of Zheng Xiu's question. After hearing this, Zheng Xiu shook his head helplessly, secretly thinking that the monk's illness was still not cured.
"General Xie? Yunliu Temple?"
Memories from ten years ago came to mind, and Zheng Xiu subconsciously murmured these two names. At this time, a soft and cold voice came from behind the army, interrupting Zheng Xiu's thoughts.
"Haha, you have been hiding here for ten years, a whole ten years! The governor is having a hard time finding you!"
Surrounded by an army of hundreds of people, a man who was dressed luxuriously and looked calm even after crossing the desert slowly took off his exquisite bamboo hat with a veil, revealing a handsome face that looked exactly like Xie Yunliu.
"Fan Yao!"
Zheng Xiu was shocked, his face became solemn, and he touched his waist.
"My supervisor, Lou Mengkong." Fan Yao said calmly. He did not admit his real name in front of others.
Meeting Fan Yao again, the atmosphere in front of the valley became tense for a while.
Xie Yunliu scratched his head: "It's strange to say that this guy looks very similar to me, but other people always say that we are two different people. Brother-in-law, do you think it's strange or not?"
Zheng Xiu ignored Xie Yunliu. He stared at Fan Yao, wondering why Fan Yao would appear here in the desert. He remained motionless, waiting for Xie Yunliu to explain.
"Go in and say it! Go in and say it!"
Xie Yunliu excitedly waved his hands to the people in the valley as if he had returned to his own home. Many people in the Lieri tribe recognized Xie Yunliu. After the shock, the tribesmen looked at each other and put down their long bows one after another, and the atmosphere relaxed.
Zheng Xiu twirled his beard, remained silent for a moment, nodded, showed a meaningful smile, and said: "Okay. Everyone who has come from afar, please come to Mohexuan."
Zheng Xiu magnanimously made a "please" gesture to the Shenwu Army and his party.
The exhaustion and pain on the faces of every soldier in the Shenwu Army were clearly visible. Even after arriving at Richan Valley, there was no trace of joy in surviving the disaster on their faces.
"How many died?"
Walking in front, Zheng Xiu asked.
Xie Yunliu's face darkened, and he lowered his voice, a bit depressed: "Ninety percent." His previous pretense of ease was gone, and he scratched his head hard: "It's all my fault!"
Zheng Xiu sighed lightly and patted Xie Yunliu's shoulder.
A group of people followed Zheng Xiu into the valley. On the plank road, the desert residents retreated in an orderly and silent manner.
Fan Yao raised his head and stared at this scene. When Xie Yunliu and Zheng Xiu were whispering, Fan Yao suddenly said: "It seems that you have lived a good life these ten years." Fan Yao used "you", obviously he knew that Xie Luohe also
here.
"Thanks to you."
"Don't want to go back?" Fan Yao asked.
Others only thought that Fan Yao was talking about "Central Plains", but Zheng Xiu knew where Fan Yao was talking about.
Zheng Xiu didn't answer, and Fan Yao quickly said sadly: "I can't go back."
After a cup of tea.
Several people gathered together at Mohexuan.
Outside Mohe Pavilion, there was a long table for more than ten people. The soldiers held their weapons, drank enough water, leaned in the shade and fell asleep. Only then did the heaviness on their faces fade away. It can be imagined that they experienced all along the way.
What. For ordinary soldiers who have never crossed the yellow sand, crossing the desert is not an easy task, regardless of the high temperature or drought.
Zheng Xiu, Xie Yunliu, and Fan Yao stood in a tripartite form, with tea on the table and sitting quietly.
When Xie Luohe learned that his brother was coming, he came to Mohe Xuan happily. Unexpectedly, when he saw two identical faces, his joy suddenly spread out. However, the past ten years ago had long since faded away, and Xie Luohe could not find it for a while.
She had murderous intent. Now she was sitting lazily on the counter, watching the two and a half men sitting quietly, gently stroking Xiao Feng Miao's soft hair, and did not come forward to reminisce with Xie Yunliu.
"Haha." Fan Yao finally broke the silence, and he smiled sinisterly: "There is no need to be nervous, I will wait for the order to come, and I will be safe." As he said that, he pressed a rolled-up military order on the table.
, smiled at Zheng Xiu and spread his hands, indicating that Zheng Xiu could open it and watch at will.
Zheng Xiu was not polite and opened it and took a look.
It is indeed a military order stamped with the imperial seal. The few words above tell a fact. Xie Yunliu has now been promoted to the rank of "General Pingxi". His rank is only lower than the four major national generals, which can be said to be a glorious ancestor. Fan Yao, on the other hand, is
As a "supervisor", he traveled westward with the army.
After Zheng Xiu finished reading, he suddenly became angry and ruthlessly tore the general's order into pieces: "A thousand people! A thousand people! Are you going to send a mere thousand of you across the desert to Richan Valley to defend the territory?
Ridiculous! Ridiculous! Did the emperor send you to die?"
It turned out that at some point, the Northern Barbarians and the Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions had joined forces to invade the Daqian Dynasty. Rumors had spread in the Central Plains. When the new emperor took office, upon learning of the matter, he immediately appointed Xie Yunliu to take office, saying that he would guard the west of the desert.
Don't let the thirty-six-nation coalition forces of the Western Regions cross the desert.
The war in the north was intense, and these thousand men were even cobbled together from various armies or on the front line. Now after walking through the desert, only a few hundred people were left out of the thousand men. Xie Yunliu became a real leader for the first time.
The general suffered such a setback, and one can imagine his mood.
"wrong."
After being angry, Zheng Xiu suddenly calmed down and glanced at Fan Yao.
Suddenly, Xie Luohe seemed to have a mental connection with Zheng Xiu. With lightning speed, he took out a long bow from under the table, put an arrow on the bow, and silently pointed at Fan Yao.
For a moment, the silence in Mohe Pavilion was terrifying. Xie Luohe's murderous intention was as real as ever. If Zheng Xiu even moved a finger slightly at this moment, she would shoot Fan Yao here without hesitation.
"Smart." Fan Yao calmly drank the tea in the cup. His expression did not change at all when Xie Luohe pointed at him with an arrow. He sighed with emotion: "Gongsun Mo, I am really curious, who is the real you?
What kind of person he is."
Zheng Xiu stood up and said calmly: "You may not have the chance to know."
"Yeah, we don't have a chance." Fan Yao smiled and said, "I had no intention of hiding it."
Xie Yunliu didn't react, thinking that Zheng Xiu and his sister were still remembering the grudge they had ten years ago and were setting the table aside.
Under Zheng Xiu's gaze, Fan Yao reached into his arms, took out another small volume, and pressed it on the table. Xie Yunliu was stunned for a moment, then quickly picked it up and opened it in front of several people. Gradually, his expression changed.
It changed several times, and finally became green and purple.
Fan Yao explained with a smile: "It is nonsense to think that with only a thousand people, we can cross the desert and block the thirty-six countries in the Western Region in the west of the desert. Even if Xie Yunliu knows the Green River trade route, a thousand people are still compatible.
Ninety percent of the damage was lost. Without the secret passage of the Green River, no army could safely cross the desert."
"So," Xie Luohe also understood and said in a cold voice: "As the governor, you are not really supervising the army to fight against the thirty-six countries in the Western Region, but... you are doing it to ensure that the secret of the Green River Trade Road disappears completely. As long as there is no
People know the Green River Trade Route, and no matter how many armies of the Thirty-Six Kingdoms from the Western Regions come, they will all die in the desert."
"Yes," Fan Yao sighed with a smile, and the louder he laughed, "This is the secret factory. This is the ridiculous life of me, Fan Yao, in the name of Lou Mengkong!"
Fan Rumor meant that he and Xie Yunliu took the title of emperor and crossed the desert to the west regardless of all costs, not to resist the invasion of the frontier. But to kill everyone in Richan Valley here and keep the secret away!
This is the true meaning of the existence of a secret factory.
Xie Yunliu stared angrily, tore Fan Yao's secret decree into pieces, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it hard. He sat back slumped on the ground with his eyes unfocused, and sneered at himself: "General Pingxi? Hey! What a good General Pingxi! Thank you.
General! Hehehe! Thank you, General!"
"As expected." When Zheng Xiu knew that only a thousand people wanted to complete the task of guarding the border, he realized the emperor's true thoughts. There was no surprise on his face. He waved his hand to his wife, and Xie Luohe put down his long bow with a look on his face.
Calm down and continue teasing Xiao Feng Meow.
After a moment of silence, Zheng Xiu said: "It's too late."
Fan Yao was slightly startled: "Is it too late?"
Zheng Xiu nodded: "It's too late."
Fan Yao was silent and poured himself a cup of tea.
"It's too late, that's fine."
Fan Yao said expressionlessly and raised his tea cup.
Three people raised their glasses.
"Fuck the dog emperor."
The three of them said at the same time and drank all the tea in the cup.