Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 230 The Wandering Swordsman

Xiaoman is not bad at directions; on the contrary, she has a very good memory. She can walk a road once before without feeling awkward or uncomfortable when she walks it again.

This surprised even Zhao Qi, who was good at keeping track of routes.

Sitting on the Thunder Smoke Beast's rear, Xiaoman couldn't find an opportunity to ambush the man in white. Just as she was feeling down, she heard Zhao Qi say, "It's not far away."

Xiaoman looked at the black hill on the horizon and said, "It's not that way. It's on the left. We should head towards the desert."

"

Zhao Qi said softly, "How can you remember so clearly?"

Xiaoman said tearfully, "I originally planned to come back alone to collect Brother Liu's body after you were all safe. But now it seems I was wrong. There probably isn't much left of Brother Liu's body."

Following Xiaoman's pointing finger, everyone looked and saw countless carrion birds circling in the sky above the edge of the desert. These birds had large and powerful beaks, and could swallow half a pound of carrion in one gulp.

"I should have hidden myself and waited until the Mad Bull cavalry left before coming out to collect Brother Liu's body."

Xiaoman was very sad and kept shedding tears. The other two women among the seven also began to sob, while the four men remained silent.

The white-clad man's hands trembled violently. Such a large number of carrion birds could not have been attracted by just one corpse, unless there were a lot of corpses here.

Liu Chang'an died in battle. At most, he only had one man and one horse, which was not enough to feed so many carrion birds. The only reason there are so many carrion birds here is that the side with more people died.

When they reached the battlefield, the man in white took off the axe he was carrying and casually threw it. The giant axe cleaved a bloody path through the dense swarm of carrion birds, and the remaining carrion birds flew up in panic. The tragic battlefield finally came into view.

The first thing that catches the eye is the three massive, hill-like corpses of mad bulls. The once glossy and smooth-coated bulls have now been riddled with bloody holes by carrion birds, and they no longer possess the ferocity they once had. The corpses, scattered over a hundred feet, are now a gruesome sight, devoured by the carrion birds.

However, more corpses of the Guifang people appeared around the corpse of the three mad bulls. The corpses even formed a mountain of corpses, and the blood flowing from the mountain of corpses formed a black blood lake in the low-lying area.

The ignorant and fearless Xiaoman even forgot the terror of the man in white and took the initiative to run around to help him calculate how many Guifang people had died here.

To ensure the accuracy of the numbers, she didn't even care about the mess, and personally pulled the corpses down from the mountain of corpses, determined to count the number of dead ghosts clearly.

Zhao Qi and the others were also helping. Unlike Xiao Man, who had great confidence in Yun Ce, the six of them, while checking the bodies, actually wanted to verify whether Liu Chang'an was also inside.

"Three hundred and two people, all from the Guifang people. We've already stacked them up for you. Shall we light the fire now?"

Xiaoman happily counted the numbers to the man in white.

The man in white had vacant eyes and it took him a long time to finally utter a single sentence.

"It should be 303 people. That's three complete hundred-man teams, plus three Mad Bull Knights. You've missed one person."

Xiaoman laughed and said, "Won't Brother Liu scare you away?"

The man in white shook his head and said, "The Guifang have no soldiers who desert in the face of battle."

"That means Brother Liu took them away."

The man in white continued to shake his head, saying, "With the battle at this point, there won't be any survivors. You didn't count carefully enough. Keep looking; perhaps you can piece together a person from among those severed limbs."

"After we've disposed of the bodies for you, are you going to kill the seven of us?" Xiaoman asked the man in white cautiously as she fiddled with the severed limbs.

The man in white nodded and said, "That's right. They died tragically, and without offerings, their souls would not be at peace."

Xiaoman glanced at Zhao Qi and Sheng Rong, who were laughing and embracing each other, and then said to the man in white, "Can you just kill me? I am still a virgin, and not only am I fair-skinned, but I also smell sweet. I would be the best sacrifice."

"If six of them don't work, using them as sacrifices will displease you fallen soldiers."

The man in white looked thoughtfully into Xiaoman's clear black and white eyes and said, "You are a very good woman. You are willing to sacrifice yourself to protect your companions. That is rare."

A girl as pure as you is worthy of being offered as a sacrifice to our ancestors. Unfortunately, I'm in a bad mood today and can't appreciate your beauty, so you will all die today.

"When I touch you, I'll be very gentle; you'll feel no pain, as if you're asleep."

Xiaoman blinked and smiled, "I'm actually not afraid of pain. When I was in Luoyang, I often thought about how to kill the Guifang people before I went to sleep, and I also thought about how to be killed by them. Even in my most beautiful dreams, I never imagined that when I died, three hundred and three Guifang people would be buried with me, let alone that three of them would be Mad Bull Knights, whom the Guifang people treasured."

I think my death was worthwhile.

The man in white sighed and said, "You see, this is the ugliness of war. Its only purpose is to destroy beauty and leave behind ugliness everywhere. And the first to die in a war are often the best people."

War is like a sieve, filtering out the good people and letting them die, while allowing the bad people to live on, and then making the world we live in just like theirs, getting worse and worse.

I do not approve of war, but unfortunately, I am a Guifang person. I exist in my tribe and am one of them. Even if I am wise, I cannot escape the fate of being dragged into the tribe and doing things that I am unwilling to do or even deeply hate.

Very well, I will play a Requiem for you to comfort your helpless souls, and I hope your souls can fly over these endless mountains and rivers and return to the dreams of those who love you…”

Just as the man in white took out a flute, a cold glint flashed from Xiaoman's sleeve, and a silver spike shot straight toward the man in white's back. At the same time, Zhao Qi, Sheng Rong, and the others also launched an attack on the man in white. This time, no one held back, and no one thought they could survive.

Xiaoman's silver dagger broke as soon as it appeared, and Zhao Qi's longsword broke as soon as it touched the white-clad man. The broken blades hit the others with a series of thuds, but Zhao Qi was kicked backward by the white-clad man and, like his companions, fell to the ground again.

The man in white didn't take their surprise attack and siege seriously. He found a relatively clean patch of sand, sat down, and, facing the setting sun and the red glow on the horizon, began to play a mournful tune.

As the flute began to play, the carrion birds, still hoping to get a scrap, flapped their wings and took flight. After circling once in the sky, which was dyed red by the setting sun, they flew off towards the direction of the sun.

The flute music was melodious and gentle, but more than anything, it contained sorrow and a deep sense of reluctance.

Xiaoman cried out for the first time. She felt that she should have gotten married before coming out. That way, Xuecheng would truly belong to her. Even if she died, Xuecheng would never remarry, and she would be remembered by a handsome man for the rest of her life... Now everything was ruined. There were too many women in Luoyang who coveted Xuecheng's good looks. His mother would definitely force him to remarry.

Xiaoman was wailing. Zhao Qi struggled to crawl to Sheng Rong's side, grabbed Sheng Rong's outstretched hand, spat out the blood from his mouth, and said to Sheng Rong, "It's my fault that you're in trouble."

Sheng Rong, spitting out blood, laughed and said, "If you don't betray me, then you haven't harmed me."

Zhao Qi glanced at his four companions huddled together and said, "See you in the next life."

Although they were unwilling, they exchanged smiles and thought, "So be it, we're dead..."

The flute music gradually faded from its high notes until it was completely inaudible.

The man in white took out a palm-sized jade bottle from his robes, tossed it onto the mountain of corpses, and then blew on a fire seed, throwing it onto the mountain as well. Immediately, a bright yellow flame rose from the mountain of corpses. This flame was extremely dazzling and spread down from it like flowing water, instantly covering the entire mountain of corpses.

As flames engulfed the mountain of corpses, the man in white leaned forward slightly, patted his chest, and spoke a few words into the fire in a language the others couldn't understand. Then he turned to Xiaoman and said, "You are the first."

Xiaoman wiped her snot and tears and said, "Brother Liu will help us get revenge."

The man in white gritted his teeth and said, "I desperately hope he can appear here. Compared to others, he is the best sacrifice."

No sooner had the words been spoken than a horse neighed from the bushes not far away. Then, the heavy sound of hooves came from the bushes. The sound of hooves was still far away at first, but in an instant, it was as loud as thunder. The carrion beast that had been hiding in the bushes could no longer hide and hurriedly fled from the bushes.

A magnificent, crimson thunderbeast ignored the thorns in the bushes and appeared before everyone, stepping over the carcass of a scavenger.

Sitting on his horse, Yun Ce looked at the man in white and smiled, "Old Shen, we meet again. I overheard you reciting your 'Requiem' earlier, and I also composed a poem. After we finish listening, how about we settle our old scores?"

Shen Tingyu bowed and said, "I am all ears."

Yun Ce recited aloud: "A white horse adorned with golden bridle gallops swiftly to the northwest. May I ask whose son he is? A chivalrous young man from You and Bing. He left his hometown in his youth, and his fame spreads across the desert."

"In the past, I wielded a fine bow, its arrows of varying thickness. I drew the string and pierced the left target, then shot the right arrow and destroyed the moon-shaped target. I caught a flying monkey with my hand raised, and scattered a horse's hooves with my body bent down. I was more cunning and agile than a monkey, and as brave and fierce as a leopard."

"The border town is in constant danger, and the enemy cavalry are frequently moving. Urgent messages arrive from the north, and we spur our horses to climb the high embankment."

"I throw myself to the edge of the blade, how can I care about my life? I don't even care about my parents, how can I care about my children and wife! My name is inscribed in the register of brave warriors, I cannot be swayed by personal considerations. I will sacrifice myself for the country in times of crisis, I regard death as returning home."

"Shen Tingyu, what do you think?"

Shen Tingyu's bitter face brightened up after seeing Yun Ce, and he laughed heartily, "What a fine poem! What a fine poem! This is the only way I have come all this way for you."

(End of this chapter)