Chapter 51: Suppression
Dingzhou was Bei Miao’s last stretch of green land. Beyond it was a sea of yellow sand, and after a few more days of travel, one would arrive at Fengzhou.
Nanbai rode a horse, hurrying. To reach his destination faster, he only had some light luggage on his horse. Although he was old, he had roamed the martial world for half his life. His martial arts and inner energy were strong, and he was naturally not like an ordinary elderly person. At this moment, even after traveling day and night, there was no trace of fatigue on his face.
“The best strong wine of Fengzhou! The strongest good wine! All you passersby, you’ll regret it if you don’t try it, and you’ll want more if you do! Come have a jar!”
Nanbai stopped at one of the taverns.
“Waiter, a jar.”
The waiter saw that Nanbai was an old man like a candle in the wind and seemed a little hesitant, but who would turn away business that came to their door? So, although he was doubtful, he still took a small jar from the shelf behind him and handed it to Nanbai.
Nanbai took the wine jar, spurred his horse, and continued towards the desert.
He had been rushing to Fengzhou day and night after hearing the rumors of Feng Qi’s madness. Later, he had also received a letter sent by Fu Che under Feng Qi’s instruction, and knew that the situation was urgent.
Feng Qi’s revival was just the prelude, not a smooth escape from death.
Having died once, how could he still be the same person? His body had already completely changed.
“Clang—”
In a tent in Fengzhou, Feng Qi stared blankly at the porcelain cup he had crushed in his hand, a little unable to react.
Wen Ning’an, at the side, immediately took Feng Qi’s hand to check if he had been cut by the fragments.
“It’s getting harder and harder to control.” Feng Qi sighed. “If I really lose control, you…”
Feng Qi thought to himself, How could Wen Ning’an bear to harm me? Anyway, Master is already on his way. So he changed his words, “You have to stay away from me. If anything happens to you, I will never be at peace for the rest of my life.”
“Mmm.” Wen Ning’an poured another cup of tea for Feng Qi and brought it to his lips.
Feng Qi was stunned, then happily drank from the cup.
“Yixin, I hear that a life-saving grace should be repaid with one’s body.”
Wen Ning’an pushed away Feng Qi’s approaching mouth with a straight face.
“Stop fooling around. We’ll talk about it after your wounds have healed. I’m going out for a while after discussing the route with Brother Li and Brother Gao. I plan to go with the team to find Zhaohuang myself.”
Feng Qi frowned. “It’s been two days, and you still haven’t found Zhaohuang?”
Wen Ning’an sighed and shook his head slightly. “I just hope he’s safe.”
It had been two days…
Qin Zhaohuang used the sharp tip of a stone to make another mark on the sandy wall.
Yu Qianshou was leaning against the sandy wall behind him, resting with his eyes closed. Qin Zhaohuang found him incredibly strange. That day, Yu Qianshou had been seriously injured and in a daze. He had originally wanted to lift his veil to have a look, but Yu Qianshou had suddenly opened his eyes and gripped his hand tightly, scaring him greatly.
And then, as if by magic, Yu Qianshou’s wounds had slowly healed without any medicine or treatment, and now they were almost completely recovered!
After two days without food or water, and with poor air circulation, Qin Zhaohuang felt weak all over. He leaned limply to the side, his arms wrapped around his upper body, curled up slightly.
“Uncomfortable?” Yu Qianshou frowned slightly.
Qin Zhaohuang’s voice was hoarse. “It’s alright. Maybe if you let me see your face, I won’t feel so uncomfortable.”
Yu Qianshou: “…”
So weak, and still thinking about my face?
Qin Zhaohuang muttered, “What’s there to hide? I’ve seen it before. Ugly is ugly. A ragged cloth can’t hide it.”
Yu Qianshou said, “I’ve told you, I’m not the Chen Shu you speak of.”
Qin Zhaohuang ignored him and kept rubbing his arms.
A little cold…
Yu Qianshou walked over to Qin Zhaohuang, pulled the person who was almost embedded in the sandy wall out to face him, and gently placed his hand on his forehead.
It was shockingly hot.
Yu Qianshou said, “You have a fever.”
Qin Zhaohuang coughed softly.
Seeing Qin Zhaohuang shivering with cold, Yu Qianshou shook his head, took off his coat, and draped it over him. Qin Zhaohuang immediately hugged the coat and shrank back into the sandy wall.
After an unknown amount of time, Qin Zhaohuang finally fell into a daze. Yu Qianshou watched him for a while and finally couldn’t help but pull him into his embrace. A person’s embrace and body temperature were naturally warmer than the sandy wall of the cave. Qin Zhaohuang nestled in Yu Qianshou’s arms and curled his lips in satisfaction, seeming to sleep more peacefully.
Yu Qianshou stared at Qin Zhaohuang’s pale face. A few days without food and water had made him extremely weak, and now he even had a fever. If this went on, his life would be in danger sooner or later…
“Swish—”
Yu Qianshou took out a dagger from his waist and made a long cut on his arm. Bright red blood flowed from the wound. Yu Qianshou endured the discomfort and let the blood flow for a while, and the red blood gradually turned dark black. Looking closely, one could even see a few traces of dark green in the thick liquid.
Yu Qianshou brought his hand to Qin Zhaohuang’s lips, and with his other hand, he pressed his head to make him drink the overflowing liquid.
“Cough, cough—cough—” The sudden, strong smell of blood made Qin Zhaohuang squirm and struggle, but it was just a subconscious action. At this moment, he was already in a daze, completely unaware of his surroundings. Qin Zhaohuang had originally been clinging to Yu Qianshou’s waist because of his warmth, his whole body nestled in his embrace. Now, because of the discomfort, his tight grip became even tighter, making Yu Qianshou wince in pain and frown slightly.
Qin Zhaohuang convulsed, as if he were about to vomit. Yu Qianshou immediately hit a few of his pressure points, forcing him to swallow the fishy blood.
“Ngh…”
Yu Qianshou held Qin Zhaohuang in his arms, gently stroking his back, and said softly, “I told you not to go to the rear camp, but you insisted on coming to find me.”
“Head south.”
Wen Ning’an’s long fingers slid gently across the map.
The large sheepskin scroll, marked with landmarks, mountains, and rivers, was spread out on the wooden table. Several generals and their respective adjutants and military strategists were gathered around the round table, concentrating on the map and discussing countermeasures.
Li Huaisheng frowned. “Heading south is naturally good, but we will pass through a few gobis and a large canyon on the way. It’s not safe.”
The imperial army general, Yu Jiu, interrupted, “The south road is good. I support General Wen. I believe General Wen has his eye on these two oases.” Yu Jiu pointed to the two green flags on the map. “If we are familiar with the terrain and are prepared, the canyon is not that scary. On the contrary, supplies are the most important thing for us on a long journey. Without water in the desert, it’s a dead end.”
At this moment, they were planning to launch an attack on Youzhou and go straight for the King of Youzhou’s lair.
That day, the King of Youzhou had led his troops to attack Fengzhou, but had suddenly retreated before the battle was over. Wen Ning’an and the others had only learned later that it was because Prince Feng Jun had led the Southwest Army to attack Youzhou without warning. Wen Ning’an guessed that Duo Bo must have thought of Feng Jun as an ally and had not been on his guard, not knowing that Feng Jun had already reached an agreement with Feng Qi. It was Feng Qi who had been far-sighted in his deployment of troops.
For those familiar with the desert, waiting for death and sitting on their hands was not the best strategy. Fengzhou was easy to defend but hard to attack. Rather than defending this strong city, which in reality did not need many guards, taking the initiative would give them a greater chance of victory.
“That’s right,” Wen Ning’an nodded. “What General Yu said is my concern. We are on a long expedition to attack a city. If everyone is exhausted before we even reach the enemy’s camp, with no strength to win, then it’s meaningless. We can overcome the dangers on the southern route, but if we don’t have enough supplies, we can’t do anything even if we dig three feet into the ground.”
“What about going through the canal?” Gao Lan rubbed his chin, considering another possibility. “The canal has sufficient supplies and no other potential dangers.”
Wen Ning’an frowned slightly.
Li Huaisheng said loudly, “How can that be! We are soldiers of the desert. We are familiar with the desert. The place where we cut off the enemy’s heads is also on the sand. Only a fool would take the waterway. Isn’t that just tying our own hands and feet?”
Gao Lan said, “Bei Miao is a coastal nation. We have pirates in the front and Hong Xi coveting us from behind. Sooner or later, we will have to fight a naval battle.”
“But not this time,” Wen Ning’an made the final decision. “Let’s go south.”
Li Huaisheng and Yu Jiu nodded, having no objections.
Just as they were about to start discussing supplies and formations, they saw Fu Che rush in from outside with his round belly and whisper a few words in Wen Ning’an’s ear.
Wen Ning’an frowned sharply.
Yu Jiu tactfully said, “We’ll sort out the supplies and transportation first and show it to General Wen later. If the general has something to do, you can leave for a while. It’s alright.”
Feng Qi’s condition was unstable. Everyone knew it but was unwilling to bring it up. Leaving aside whether it was appropriate, the Son of Heaven was not someone to be discussed casually, and it would also greatly affect morale.
Wen Ning’an nodded and hurried away.
“What’s wrong?”
Fu Che said with a worried expression, “His Majesty seems to be a little uncomfortable, but he won’t let this old servant call for the imperial physician. He says it’s the evil technique acting up, and the imperial physician is helpless.”
Wen Ning’an quickened his pace.
When he arrived at the largest tent in the center of the Left Army, he saw Feng Qi sitting on the edge of the bed, his head lowered, his expression unclear.
“Huaitian?” Seeing Wen Ning’an approach Feng Qi, Fu Che silently withdrew.
Feng Qi kept inhaling and exhaling, his hands clenched into fists, making a “cracking” sound. Seeing Wen Ning’an approach, he said in a low and hoarse voice, “Yixin, you should go out first.”
Wen Ning’an seemed not to have heard.
“Yixin… go out!” Feng Qi’s eyes were bloodshot.
Seeing the blood on Feng Qi’s palm from his clenched fists, Wen Ning’an felt a pain in his heart. He drew his long sword and pointed it at Feng Qi. “Don’t hold back. Have a match with me.”
Feng Qi frowned slightly.
Wen Ning’an said, “I’m not as fragile as you think. A real match with you, I won’t get hurt.”
Feng Qi felt every part of his body clamoring, a voice in his heart screaming. His hands even trembled with excitement at Wen Ning’an’s challenge, as if the fierce beast sleeping within him had awakened, hungry.
“Swish—”
A strong wind rose, and the tables and chairs flew.
