Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 55: Feigned Feelings Are Almost Real

Yun Ce raised his knife and brandished it at Yu Gong's ankle. Seeing that Zhang Min didn't seem to intend to protect Yu Gong, he said to Zhang Min, "I'm really going to cut him."

Zhang Min raised her hand and gestured, "Cut it quickly."

Yun Ce said to Yu Gongdao, who was closing his eyes and bracing for the pain of his broken leg, "She doesn't care about your life or death."

Lord Yu opened his eyes and said, "This is why I would rather endure the pain of a broken leg than continue to entangle with you."

Yun Ce looked at Zhang Min, who was not far away, and asked, "What do you mean?"

Lord Yu gritted his teeth and said, "The people who climb the Star Tower have no heart."

"The Star-Climbing Tower? The tall building that was built with money obtained from selling slaves from the Ling Kingdom?"

"Yes."

After hearing what Lord Yu said, Yun Ce understood Zhang Min's background. Needless to say, Panxing Tower must be a secret service organization similar to the Eastern Depot and Western Depot of the Ming Dynasty.

Even someone like Lord Yu would rather have his leg cut off than have anything to do with Zhang Min, which shows how terrifying that organization must be.

A group of women cautiously carried in two sacks of gold beads, which puzzled Yun Ce. Could these seemingly frail women really lift something weighing over a thousand pounds? Could it be fake?
Yun Ce lifted the sack with his hand and found that the weight was just right, so he said to Yu Gongdao, "I'll start with the joints, so it will be easier for you to recover later."

Lord Yu sighed and said, "My feet have never touched the ground. Now, let's pretend that my feet never existed."

It must be said that Lord Yu was quite a figure. Yun Ce used a sharp Swiss Army knife to cut his foot around his ankle, and although his clothes were soaked with sweat, he did not utter a sound.

Yun Ce stuffed his beautiful feet into a cloth bag. Looking at Yu Gong, who looked like he had been washed, he really couldn't understand who he was trying to impress with his heroic act at this moment.

Zhang Min bowed to Lord Yu from the side and said, "Lord Yu's will is as firm as a rock, I admire you."

Yu Gong's lips trembled as he asked, "Is the envoy satisfied now?"

Zhang Min laughed and said, "From this, we can conclude that the chaos in the wilderness has nothing to do with Lord Yu."

Lord Yu seemed relieved, staring expectantly at the cloth bag in Yun Ce's hand, and asked, "Young master, how will you treat my feet?"

Yun Ce scratched the back of his head and said, "It seems that cutting off your feet was more like helping you. In any case, that girl died because of you, so your feet should naturally be buried with her."

Yu Gong gritted his teeth and endured the pain, saying, "This is just a wasteland. You can do whatever you want here with your skills. I only hope that you can do the same when you go to Chuyun Prefecture, Luoyang, or Chang'an."

Yun Ce tucked the two bags of gold beads under his arm, ignoring Yu Gong's dog's mournful howling, and said to Zhang Min, "Since you are a spy, the most important thing now is to wipe out the rebels. As you have seen, I am not with the rebels. As for the matter of recruiting you, we can talk about it when I have time."

Zhang Min chuckled and said to Yun Ce, "Your next heat won't start for another twenty-one days. I don't have that much time to wait. Besides, you are far more important than those traitors. Even if we let those traitors leave today, you won't be able to escape."

After saying that, she raised her hand and clapped twice, and countless armored soldiers surged towards Yun Ce from all directions like a torrent.

Yun Ce turned and ran away with the sack tucked under his arms. When Zhang Min saw him disappear into the metal pavilion, her expression changed drastically. She gave a soft shout and was about to rush in after him, but she was a step too slow. The metal pavilion's originally wide-open door suddenly slammed shut with a gate, closing the door tightly.

Zhang Min turned to look at Yu Gongdao and asked, "How many tunnels are there, and where is the exit?"

Yu Gong chuckled as he looked at the still-smoking metal pavilion, then shakily raised his palm-leaf-shaped fan and fanned himself a few times. He said to Zhang Min, "Recently, six pavilions have been built in front of us. The furthest one leads to the Sheyang River, eight miles outside Sheyang City. There is also a light boat on the riverbank that can travel five hundred miles downstream in a day."

Zhang Min roared and shouted to the captains who stepped forward, "Prepare the Thunder Smoke Beasts and head straight for the Sheyang River. At the same time, notify the captains of the Sheyang River Water Management Office to intercept all passing ships."

Yun Ce ran away, Zhang Min went after him, and the armored soldiers who had rushed in all retreated, leaving only Duke Yu surrounded by a dozen beautiful wives and concubines, weeping silently.

"I'm not dead yet, what are you crying for?"

Despite saying this, Lord Yu's eyes remained fixed on the door of the metal pavilion. After waiting for a long time without the door opening, Lord Yu sighed and said, "It seems they've really left. Once this matter is over, don't let the slaves at home go hungry. I only have so much flesh on my body; I can't withstand such cutting."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhang Min emerged from the shadows like a ghost and said to Lord Yu, "In this disaster, your city of Sheyang is guilty beyond redemption. You are willing to contribute fifty million coins to rebuild the city's defenses."

Duke Yu sighed again and said to his wives and concubines, "We can't afford to keep so many slaves. Those who should be dismissed should be dismissed, and those who should be released should be released. Those who cannot be dismissed or released should have their food reduced by 30%."

Zhang Min's eyes were extremely cold. She glanced at the tightly closed pavilion one last time and quickly left.

As Zhang Min left, Duke Yu's body went limp and he collapsed onto the palanquin.

The battle in the front yard was over, where corpses piled up like mountains. Servants from the Yu family were clearing away the bodies, but there were so many that the corpses stretched for two miles down the street. Yun Ce rested his head on Cai Ji's full thighs, gazing at the two peaks blocking his view. His tense body finally relaxed under Cai Ji's kneading.

"Whose husband are you, to be so bold?"

"My surname is Liu, and my name is Liu Chang'an."

"Are you here to find me?"

"Yes, I can't forget you after just one glance at you that day."

"Liu Lang, you are a good man, but this is not a place for you to stay for long. You should leave quickly."

"It's alright, Lord Yu probably doesn't have time to deal with a beauty like you right now. I'd like to stay a little longer."

"Do you really like me?"

No, it's just that I can't forget what you look like.

"I'm so lonely. Every day I wake up to the same scenery, the same people, eating the same food, wearing the same clothes, and even playing the same music..."

Do you know, I used to live at the foot of a very high mountain. In a valley there was a spiky tree. Every time the spiky balls burst open, I could collect a whole basketful. After removing the spiky outer layer, I would roast them over a fire. Sometimes they would explode, and the sweet pulp inside would burst out, covering my head and face..."

Yun Ce appeared in the woman's room by lifting a tapestry. She wasn't surprised, and neither was Yun Ce. Seeing her sitting by the window, he skillfully rested his head on her lap, and the woman didn't object.

The blood moon was already high in the sky. The woman stroked Yun Ce's hair while rambling on about the past, looking very affectionate.

The noise in the front yard finally came to an end. Yun Ce heard a horse neighing. It must be that the chestnut horse had not been hidden properly and had been discovered.

Yun Ce took out a large gold ingot from the dragon ball, placed it in the woman's hand, and then jumped out of the window.

"Liu Lang, don't forget me—" The voice was like the mournful cry of a cuckoo.

After the fierce battle, he enjoyed a moment of ultimate tenderness. Whether it was genuine or feigned, Yun Ce enjoyed the tender time, and the woman must have found some relief from her loneliness.

When Yun Ce exited the second gate, he encountered Peng Jing. The old man, who had been so composed not long ago, was now more astonished than if he had seen a ghost when he saw Yun Ce wearing a pig's face.

Without his subordinates, Peng Jing was slammed into a brick wall by Yun Ce's angry punch and couldn't be pried off. Looking back at Peng Jing's previous schemes, they seemed weak and laughable.

With a whistle, the chestnut horse came galloping over, its snort snorting. Wiping its body, he saw it was covered in sweat, indicating that it had exerted a lot of effort to escape. Fortunately, the saddle and bridle were all intact. Yun Ce then mounted the horse, carrying two meteor hammers the size of human heads, and charged straight out of the Yu Gong Mansion through the second gate.

In less than a night, half of Sheyang City had been destroyed. Smoke and fire were everywhere, and corpses were piled up everywhere. The streets in front of the wealthy families were covered with corpses. These were the military achievements and honors of the wealthy families. Yun Ce thought that the Yu family mansion was the most outstanding.

Yun Ce rode the Thunder Smoke Beast at a brisk pace down the street. Neither the soldiers nor the warriors of wealthy families dared to stop him. After all, the pair of meteor hammers wrapped around Yun Ce's waist were truly impressive.

The chestnut horse, with proud, dancing steps, carried Yun Ce away from Sheyang City.

Yun Ce looked back at the city gate tower. There were no heads of Hong Guniang and Pei Chuan hanging there. It seemed that the two of them were quite clever and ran away when they realized that something was wrong.

That's right. If you save the land but lose the people, you lose both. If you save the people but lose the land, you save both. It's normal to encounter resistance and failure when you rebel. As long as you preserve the spark and everyone perseveres, one day it will spread like wildfire.

Sheyang City was a bait to lure all the rebels to come. As expected, the rebels arrived and were left with corpses everywhere.

Once they reached the wasteland, the blood moon's light was not as bright. However, the occasional sound of sheep hooves echoing across the wasteland made Yun Ce realize that the government troops were still pursuing the rebels.

It was dark and hard to see clearly, but fortunately, with the dog searching, Yun Ce still found E Ji in a mountain valley fifty miles away from Sheyang City.

A fire was burning in front of her, illuminating her little face with a rosy glow. She bent her knees, buried her head between her legs, and only her ears were visible as she listened to the sounds outside.

The sound of chestnut horse hooves broke the silence of the night. Eji suddenly raised her head and called out loudly into the darkness, "My lord, is that you who has returned?"

Yun Ce replied with a smile, "I'm back."

Even in the darkness, Yun Ce could still see E Ji's face covered in tears. He jumped off his chestnut horse, tossed the reins to her, and said, "Our horse has two bags of gold on its back."

Eji looked up at Yun Ce with her small face and said happily, "My lord is so amazing."

(End of this chapter)