Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 107 She saw me kill someone.
"Wow—"

With a cry, Xintianyou flew away right under the noses of the six Dragon Guards. It took off into the sky in a sudden, explosive motion, without any sign of level flight. It kept soaring upwards, looking extremely excited.

The sound of Gaoliang Mountain breaking still echoed in the valley, and the sky was covered with dense flocks of birds, while various kinds of animal roars also rang out at the same time.

At the same time, the earth began to tremble.

The chestnut horse frolicked and neighed, seemingly overjoyed, while Eji's little puppy barked wildly, as if celebrating its newborn.

When the earthquake subsided, Yun Ce let go of E Ji's hand and looked up at Gaoliang Mountain in the distance. There, lightning and thunder still raged, and torrential rain poured down.

Old Cao wiped the rain off his face and grabbed Old Huang, saying, "Let's go now, let's go now."

Old Huang, who was also soaked by the downpour, nodded repeatedly and said, "We must leave immediately. The reason we let you into Daizhou was to search for the Shehuo festival in Yunzhou. Now that the Shehuo festival has run away, you are not so important anymore. Hurry up and leave."

Yun Ce grabbed the excited chestnut horse and it took him a while to calm it down. He then hurriedly ordered Feng An, Liang Kun, and Lao Chou to put the horse on the carriage that had been prepared in advance. Ignoring the chaotic camp, they took the lead and led the caravan out of the Royal Hunting Ground in the rain.

Old Cao, Old Zhao, and the others were also well-prepared. Before Yun Ce's convoy had even left their sight, their convoy had already set off along the tracks left by Yun Ce's convoy.

Whenever a large-scale crisis occurs, decisive people are always able to seize fleeting opportunities to escape.

A woman carrying a boy on her back and a girl tied in her arms, wielding a spear, bravely charged towards Yun Ce, who was riding a Thunder Smoke Beast.

Even in the pouring rain, Yun Ce could still see the tears in the woman's eyes. She was gambling that Yun Ce wouldn't use his spear to carry her and her two children into the ditch like garbage, and that Yun Ce would have compassion and give them a way to live.

This opportunity was fleeting; there was no time to plead or exchange, so she had no choice but to gamble with her life.

Yun Ce thrust out his lance, but it avoided the woman's body. The sharp blade pierced her shoulder, and with a flick of his wrist, he threw her onto the grain cart driven by Lao Chou.

The woman gripped the tarpaulin covering the grain tightly with both hands, bit through it with her teeth to create a large hole, and then crawled inside with her child.

Old Chou shook his head, turned around and tied up the hole with a rope, then shook the reins and urged the horse to go faster.

For some reason, the horses were in exceptionally high spirits today; they ran incredibly fast on their own, requiring almost no prompting.

The distance from the Royal Hunting Ground to Longmen Bridge is 600 li. In order to take advantage of the time difference, Lao Cao dared not stop along the way. He had to cross Longmen Bridge and enter Daizhou before Chen Lin, the governor of Daizhou, learned that the Shehuo people of Chuyun Prefecture had fled without a trace. As long as they could reach Longmen Bridge and enter Daizhou before the ban was imposed, they would be a group of legal and compliant Han Chinese.

"Liu Chang'an, Thunder Smoke Beast, hurry up, go to Longmen Bridge first to smooth things over."

In the pouring rain, Lao Cao shouted at Yun Ce at the top of his lungs, and at the same time threw a heavy bag over.

Yun Ce caught the bag with one hand. The bag was heavy and clearly contained gold. He agreed and urged Zao Hongman to speed up.

The chestnut horse was more spirited than ever before. With a long neigh, it charged off again, braving the large raindrops.

The dark clouds hung low, like a pot lid covering the earth. The rain was plentiful, and the large raindrops hit people like pebbles.

The chestnut horse continued its wild gallop between the dark clouds and the earth, braving the rain. Eji, watching Yun Ce gradually disappear into the rain, shouted, "It's hopeless! Run!"

Zhang Min, holding a little girl, said with dissatisfaction, "What if he really runs away?"

Eji sat back in the carriage, sealed the rain cover, and said fiercely to Zhang Min, "I was hoping he would run away. He's a dragon-like man. Because of us women, he doesn't fly in the sky, but crawls on the ground. Are dragon claws meant to crawl on the ground? He was born to fly."

Zhang Min avoided meeting Eji's fierce gaze and turned her head away, saying, "He won't abandon you."

Eji retorted angrily, "Do I need you to tell me?"

The chestnut horse was incredibly fast. After galloping for an hour, it emerged from the rain. At that moment, the mountains on both sides became lower. After galloping for another half hour, the mountains gradually turned into hills. After rounding a bend, four red-armored knights suddenly appeared ahead, riding Thunder Smoke Beasts. They blocked the already narrow road with their lances.

"Halt!" The red-armored knight on the far left shouted as he saw Yun Ce rushing towards him.

Yun Ce reined in his chestnut horse and brought it to a slow stop. He then bowed to the cavalrymen opposite him and said, "The first batch of people to be identified from Yunzhou are about to arrive. I would appreciate your help, brothers."

As he spoke, Yun Ce pulled out four gold ingots from his pocket and scattered them at the four people opposite him like a fairy scattering flowers.

The red-armored cavalryman seized the gold ingot and skillfully stuffed it into the leather pouch at his waist. Yun Ce cupped his hands again and said, "There was great chaos in Chuyun Prefecture. We finally had the chance to escape with our families. We ask you brothers to do us a favor. I am riding alone and do not have much gold with me. Once the caravan arrives, I will reward you handsomely."

The red-armored cavalry remained silent, only urging their Thunder Smoke Beasts to move aside. Just as Yun Ce was overjoyed, thinking that the gold-paved path had worked, a middle-aged man with a long beard, also riding a Thunder Smoke Beast, appeared through the gap created by the cavalry.

As soon as Yun Ce saw the guy's face clearly, he knew things were going to go wrong. The main problem was that the guy's brow furrow was too deep, and the nasolabial folds around his mouth were also clearly defined, as if they had been carved with a knife and axe.

This person looks like an official, and a high-ranking one at that. What's worse, leaders with this kind of appearance are usually harsh and ungrateful.

On the bright side, such people are rule-abiding and unwilling to compromise; on the other hand, they are the kind of people who want to use the smallest amount of power to the maximum extent.

"The celestial phenomena have changed drastically. The Shehuo of Chuyun Prefecture has vanished without a trace. Dai Prefecture will no longer accept you prisoners from Chuyun Prefecture. Go back and tell those who come after you that no one is allowed to enter Dai Prefecture."

Upon hearing this, Yun Ce, still unwilling to give up, cupped his hands and said, "May I ask your name, sir, and whether you have the authority to intercept the remaining people of Yunzhou and prevent us from entering Daizhou?"

The middle-aged man sneered, and the cavalryman beside him immediately spoke up: "The man before you is my Prefect of Daizhou, Lord Chen Lin."

Yun Ce looked around and, not seeing anyone else, said disdainfully, "I've heard that the governor is a regional lord, so how come there isn't a single servant here, only four rough men like you? I'm afraid no one would believe it if I told them."

“My master has never liked pomp and circumstance. The rest of us have already gone to various intersections to prevent prisoners from leaving Yunzhou from entering Daizhou. We will guard the road to Longmen Bridge.”

Yun Ce took a deep breath and looked at Chen Lin in the middle, saying, "The Shehuo people of Chuyun Prefecture have fled. The mountains, rivers, and even the heavens seem to sense it. Wild beasts are howling and birds are flying high. This is truly not a good omen. The people of Chuyun Prefecture are also of the Han lineage. Does the governor have no compassion?"

Chen Lin said coldly, "Go back. No need for further words."

Yun Ce slowly approached Chen Lin, holding up the bag, and pleaded, "We are willing to use our wealth to buy our way out. Please, Your Excellency, do us a favor."

Chen Lin sneered, "A mere few taels of gold, and you think you can persuade me? Kill him."

Yun Ce swung the money bag at the opposing cavalryman. His lance emerged from behind the money bag like a poisonous dragon, viciously piercing Chen Lin's throat. The lance swayed left and right, and the sharp blade severed Chen Lin's neck, then pierced diagonally into the chest of the cavalry leader on the left.

In the blink of an eye, Yun Ce killed two people. The remaining three, seeing Yun Ce suddenly kill, tried to retaliate, but the five Thunder Smoke Beasts blocked the road completely.

Yun Ce wanted to finish the battle quickly, so he used his horse spear as a javelin to pierce the back of the furthest cavalryman. His own body had long since left the chestnut horse. With all his might, he punched another cavalryman in the chest. With a muffled thud, the cavalryman's body went limp and collapsed onto the back of the Thunder Smoke Beast.

After the last cavalryman finally managed to free the Thunder Smoke Beast from the chaos, Yun Ce was already standing on the Thunder Smoke Beast's head, looking down at it.

With a clang, the cavalryman's lance fell to the ground. Yun Ce pounced on the cavalryman like a giant bat, grabbed his throat with one hand, and ripped him off the Thunder Smoke Beast's back.

Five minutes later, Yun Ce released the cavalryman, and his body collapsed limply to the ground.

Five Thunder Smoke Beasts also fell to the ground, having collided with each other and died without hesitation.

To prevent the chestnut horse from being traumatized, Yun Ce kindly covered its eyes with his hand. However, the chestnut horse seemed to enjoy seeing its kind lying dead and injured on the ground. It shook its head, broke free from Yun Ce's hand, snorted, and wandered between the two piles of dead Thunder Smoke Beasts.

It's easy to deal with a dead person; just throw them into the river nearby. But the Thunder Smoke Beast is a big problem. This thing weighs nearly three thousand pounds, so throwing it far away is a very troublesome thing.

Just as Yun Ce resigned himself to carrying a Thunder Smoke Beast, two people emerged from behind a hill not far away and waved to Yun Ce from a distance.

"You always show up just when I'm about to kill someone. Aren't you afraid I'll kill you to silence you?"

Hong Guniang said, "I won't betray you. You've only killed five, while we've already killed more than two hundred."

Yun Ce frowned and said softly, "Are you also going to Daizhou?"

Pei Chuan said with a gloomy face, "When the folk songs were flying everywhere, my young lord had already decided to lead his troops away from Chuyun Prefecture."

Yun Ce shook his head and said, "Impossible. Five Xintianyou and thirty Longtai Guards are not enough to make you make such a decision."

Pei Chuan said angrily, "We're just avoiding them, okay? Why are you being so nosy? It's like you know everything."

Hong Guniang pushed away Pei Chuan's hand that was supporting her, placed one hand on her lower abdomen, and said sadly, "The folk performances are not continuing, the descendants are not continuing, and the child in my womb is gone."

(End of this chapter)