Harue Kagetsu - Chapter 159

Xiao Yongjia’s eyes fell on the eyes of the man who was hugging him, and looking at him, the real familiarity suddenly hit her like a tide, but her hands and feet were still unable to move. He stared at the thin, bearded, weathered face in front of him.

It was this person, she took the child and waited for his arrival. After waiting for so long, at this moment, when she was almost desperate, he finally came.

“A Ling, you don’t recognize me?”

Gao Qiao anxiously repeated his words.

Tears slowly welled up in Xiao Yongjia’s eyes, he suddenly lowered his head, opened his mouth, and bit on his shoulder.

This mouthful seemed to have exhausted all the strength of her body, her teeth were deeply embedded in the flesh, and a faint salty taste swept across her lips and tongue in an instant.

But she still didn’t let go. It seems that only in this way can all the grievances, resentments and sufferings accumulated in the past few years be vented out.

Gao Qiao’s hand stopped, he lowered his head and looked at the motionless figure lying on his shoulders, the anxious expression on his face disappeared, and the corners of his eyes flushed red.

He resisted the pain of his shoulder being bitten by the sharp teeth, and hugged her body even more tightly, hoarsely, and said to his wife in his arms: “A-Ling, I’m late, I’ve caused you to suffer, I This will take you away…”

Xiao Yongjia burst into tears. She closed her eyes, loosened her teeth, pushed Gao Qiao away, raised her sleeves and quickly wiped away the surging tears on her face, looked at Xiao Qi who was standing aside, looking up at herself and Gao Qiao, He took his hand and choked, “Let’s go.”

Gao Qiao turned to look at Xiao Qi, and the moment his eyes fell on his little face, he could no longer move away.

“Auntie, is he my Aye?”

Xiao Qi looked at the man in front of him, hesitated, and asked his mother softly.

Xiao Yongjia nodded: “Yes, he is your Aye.”

Xiao Qi suddenly widened his pure and bright eyes, with a surprised and happy expression on his face, looking at Gao Qiao without blinking.

Gao Qiao couldn’t bear it any longer, his eyes became extremely moist at this moment.

He bent over and picked up his son from the ground. Before he could take a few more glances at him, he raised his hand and rubbed his little head, pressing his face before his chest, and bowed to his wife. Said: “The guards outside have all been killed, and the way back has been arranged, let’s leave quickly.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Murong Zhe on the ground, hesitated for a moment, and finally a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

Xiao Yongjia sighed: “Forget it, there’s no need to kill her, let’s go.”

Gao Qiao glanced at her, hugged Xiao Qi tightly with one arm, and held his wife’s hand with the other. He led her through the bodies of several Xiongnu soldiers who had fallen on the ground, and hurried out.

The night was dark, but the fire in the direction of Chengguan did not have the slightest momentum to diminish. Not far away, the fire stick was lit, and troops were constantly being dispatched to the city gate in the barracks.

“What about people? Are you dead? You haven’t brought people out yet!”

A roar came with the wind.

When a few Hun soldiers with fire sticks hurried in this direction under the leadership of the leader, just behind them, in the far distance of the barracks, in the dark northeast corner, a fire suddenly appeared.

That direction is the grain depot.

The soldiers who stayed in the camp shouted loudly, and when they rushed over, it seemed that they had made an appointment. Almost at the same moment, the opposite northwest corner, in the direction of the stables, suddenly burst into flames.

The weather was dry and dry, and it had not seen rain for many days. The stored grain and grass were all dry, and the wind was supporting the combustion. When the soldiers arrived, the fire was already contiguous, and there was no convenient water source nearby. How could the fire be extinguished? He could only watch the blazing flames, running beside him, shouting in vain.

The fire was getting bigger and bigger, and it seemed that it was about to spread to the nearby barracks. To make matters worse, the thousands of warhorses locked in the stables were forced by the raging fire around them, hoofs neighing, struggling to break free from the reins. Sow.

A large fence was dragged to the ground by the horses, and the roof of the stable collapsed one after another. In the firelight, countless frightened horses rushed out of the stable and fled in all directions. The Xiongnu soldiers couldn’t dodge in time and were knocked to the ground by the oncoming horses. Horses’ hooves are like raindrops, trampling over their bodies and heads and faces, their heads are broken and blood is a minor injury, broken and broken legs are everywhere, and screams are heard one after another.

When many horses broke free from the reins and rushed out, their tails were already on fire, and the tents were set ablaze as they fled. With the help of the wind, the entire barracks was plunged into a sea of ​​flames in no time.

Even if the King of Heaven came to command the city gate in person, it would be of no avail.

Under the fierce attack launched by the army led by Li Mu, the city gate was already in danger, and the misfortune here is not singly. By the light of the fire, I saw the corpses of several guards lying on the ground outside, his face changed greatly, and he rushed in.

“No, people ran away—”

The sound of the wind, the sound of horses, and the exhausted roar of the Huns, followed by the firelight, rushed into the night sky and lingered for a long time.

…

Gao Qiao had already imprinted the distribution of roads and sentries in the barracks in his heart. He carried Xiao Qi on his shoulders and took Xiao Yongjia to the pre-chosen road. Taking advantage of the chaos of the barracks, he went out. On the road, he killed several Xiongnu soldiers who had come unintentionally in order to avoid the stampede of the horses. According to the plan, they successfully dived out.

Under the moonlight, between the two peaks, there is a small intestine path winding forward.

After Gao Qi and the rest of his subordinates finished setting fire, they met with Gao Qiao at the end of the trail. There, the horses are ready.

The sea of ​​fire and the cry of the Huns have been left behind. Gao Qiao took his wife and children and walked quickly on the sheep intestines in the mountains. The shadows of the trees and the strange rocks were jagged. He felt the small hands of Xiao Qi around his neck in his arms. , also got closer and closer to himself, and finally pressed tightly against his chin, motionless.

It was the silent intimacy and support from the child in his arms.

He came to the world in the midst of war, and because of his own negligence as a father, he had been imprisoned with his mother from the first day he came into this world.

Just before tonight, when Gao Qiao looked at his mother and son from afar in the dark, in the depths of his heart, in addition to joy, it was not that he had never felt timidity mixed with guilt.

He was once the Prime Minister of Dayu and the head of the Gao clan.

But as a husband and father of a child, he owes a lot.

He had secretly prayed to God countless times, begging for mercy to give him another chance so that he could make up for the debt he had owed to his wife in the past. But when the dream moment came, he became timid again. He didn’t know how to deal with his wife and children. He was afraid that he would not get his wife’s forgiveness, and that in that child’s mind, his father was an unbearable existence.

However, God still favored him after all. How fortunate he was to have a wife like this, Jiao Er like this.

All previous worries, at this moment, completely disappeared.

There was a warm current in his chest.

He quietly adjusted the posture of holding Xiao Qi so that he could be more comfortable in his arms.

“Can you still walk?”

he asked his wife in a low voice.

Xiao Yongjia gasped slightly and shook his head: “I can walk.”

“It’s coming soon.”

Xiao Yongjia nodded towards her husband and smiled slightly.

Mottled moonlight shone from the shadows of the trees and reflected on her face.

Her face was as bright as ever, but she looked much thinner than before.

Gao Qiao silently clenched her hand and was about to carry her forward when suddenly, his footsteps stopped.

In the front of a pass, in the middle of the overgrown path, a burly figure stood like an abrupt rock pillar.

The moonlight fell, and the man covered his face with a black cloth, with no face, only a pair of eyes, which shone with unpredictable light in the night. The shadows that looked like a dozen followers were silently flashing out from behind the trees and rocks on both sides of the road, standing behind the man to the left and right, completely blocking the path.

Xiao Qi suddenly turned his head. Gao Qiao felt his nervousness, and immediately patted his back lightly, said in a low voice not to be afraid, and then gently put him on the ground, protecting the mother and son behind him.

There is not much way to go from here to the place of connection. Seeing that he was about to arrive, there was another person who stood in the way.

Gao Qiaozhi should not be in the same group as the Huns. He couldn’t figure out what the other party was coming from for a while.

But it is certain that the other party seems to have been waiting here for a long time, and it is an enemy rather than a friend.

He stared closely at the masked man opposite, and pressed one hand on the hilt of the sword.

The man also didn’t say a word, and he looked at Gao Qiao for a while, two glittering eyes turned to Xiao Yongjia behind him, and after a while, he said, “Leave her, and I will let you and your son go. Leave.” His voice was hoarse and unpleasant.

Gao Qiao said solemnly, “Who are you?”

The man should not answer, but said: “Gao Qiao, command the troops and horses, you may be able to deal with me, but in terms of martial arts, you are definitely not my opponent. I don’t want to make it difficult, you do as I say, I will never break my word.”

There was a trace of anger in Gao Qiao’s eyes, and he glanced at the other party. In just a short moment, countless thoughts flashed in his heart.

This masked man, I don’t know the origin, and I don’t know why he is trying to hold Xiao Yongjia hostage, but obviously, this is a strong enemy, not to mention there are more than ten men who are not weak.

If you are alone, you will fight for your life with the opponent. Looking back half my life, what kind of wind and waves have never been seen before, how can I be afraid of the dozen or so enemies in front of me?

But at this moment, behind him, there are Xiao Yongjia’s mother and son.

Without being completely confident in a single blow, his first consideration was to ensure the safety of her mother and son.

This is not far from the meeting point arranged ahead. As long as they can hold back these people, Gao Qi and the others will naturally find them when they see that they cannot arrive at the agreed time.

Gao Qiao turned his head and whispered to Xiao Yongjia to bring Xiao Qi against the mountain wall, his hand slowly squeezed the hilt of the sword, and said coldly: “A rat who doesn’t even dare to show his head and face, hides his head and hides his tail, also Dare to say it like that. Whether it is an opponent or not, you will know after trying it.”

Xiao Yongjia, who was behind him, suddenly bent over, leaned into Xiao Qi’s ear, told him to stand still, took a step forward, stood side by side with Gao Qiao, and said, “My husband just asked who you are, why shouldn’t you? “

The masked man said nothing.

“If you don’t say it, then let me guess.”

She said slowly: “When there was civil strife in the Southern Dynasty, the Murong brothers and sisters took advantage of my husband’s busyness in helping the people and defending Jiankang, and kidnapped me to the place of the Xianbei people in the north. In the past few years, many things have happened, and my husband has been there. I was looking for my mother and son, and now I have finally found it. My family was reunited, but you suddenly appeared here. You and the Huns are not a group, but it is not a temporary intention, but has been secretly spying for a long time, otherwise, you will not It may be so coincidental that at the moment, it happens to be here to get in the way.”

“You covered your face with a towel and refused to reveal your identity, which means that you and my husband and I are old, at least we know each other.”

“You threatened to detain me because of the large number of people. Is it the same as Liu Jian, the emperor of Xiliang, to threaten Li Mu with me?”

“A dignified man, how can you rely on a woman to control the battle? You treat me as…”

The masked man paused.

“Do you think that I would do such a rude thing as Murong did for Liu Jian’s shameless people?” His tone contained a hint of pride.

Xiao Yongjia nodded slightly: “I respect your backbone. But what is your purpose? I listened to your tone, but it was a bit sincere, as if as long as I stayed, you would really let his father and son go. People. I don’t understand this. Of course I am the eldest princess of the Southern Dynasty, but now the Queen Mother Gao is in power in the Southern Dynasty. My identity, which has changed a long time ago, is not of much use value. You have spent so much effort all the way. Stalking and ambushing, just to detain me? I’ve thought about it, maybe you and I had a grudge in the past, and you want to take revenge on me…”

“No no, you misunderstood, I never meant to—”

With Xiao Yongjia’s narration, the masked man’s emotions were no longer as seamless as they were at the beginning, and gradually seemed to become excited. Hearing her words, he immediately took a step forward and denied it out loud.

“It’s not like Liu Jian is using me to control the war, nor is there any hatred, then you want to detain me, what exactly are you trying to do?”

The masked man seemed to be at a loss for words.

Xiao Yongjia stared at him, his eyes seemed to penetrate the mask on the other’s face, peeling off the true face that was hidden behind it layer by layer.

“Although you’ve covered your face and your voice has changed, it always reminds me of a person I knew before. That person I thought should have died, so I didn’t dare to rashly identify him. But after thinking about it, except for that person , I really can’t think of anyone else who would do such a thing!”

When she was talking to the masked man on the other side, Gao Qiao looked at him suspiciously, his eyes turned between the two of them.

“Murong Xi! You didn’t die then, did you?”

She suddenly raised her voice and said the sentence word by word.

Gao Qiao turned his head suddenly, stared at the man opposite, and shouted, “Are you really Murong Xi?”

The masked man froze for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand and pulled the mask off his face.

The moonlight illuminated a face with disheveled beard and hair and a slightly pale face. It wasn’t Murong Xi, but who was it?

Gao Qiao was surprised.

He never imagined that when Beiyan was reinstated and proclaimed emperor with one hand, he died of a sudden illness not long after he attacked Gaoliang in the south, and Murong Xi, who was succeeded by Murong Zhe, was still alive and appeared here at this moment!

He was at a loss for a moment, looking at the opponent who was not only his opponent in the Northern Expedition in the first half of his life, but also a Xianbei man who had coveted his wife. Now, he even tried to take her away from him.

Suddenly, he seemed to wake up. New hatred and old hatred surged up in my heart, and could no longer maintain the previous calm.

The long sword’s cold light flashed, and it was already half out of its scabbard. Gao Qiao gritted his teeth and said, “You came just right! If you want to detain her, you have to pass me first!”

Murong Xi snorted in his nostrils: “Gao Qiao, I’m still afraid that you won’t succeed in Murong Xi?” When he spoke, the arrogance in his expression remained undiminished.

Gao Qiao was furious, and suddenly felt a soft hand pressing on the back of his hand.

Xiao Yongjia held down the hand he was about to draw his sword, looked at him, and shook his head slightly.

“Murong Xi, you were able to survive like that back then, and it is considered that God has favored you. You don’t think about repentance, and now you are still embarrassing my husband and wife. What’s the reason? You haven’t answered a word just now. Tell me, forcibly detain me, what do you want?”

Murong Xi was silent again, his eyes flickering.

No matter how sluggish Gao Qiao is, how can there be no reason for it? He was so angry that he wanted to pull his wife behind him, but Xiao Yongjia said again: “You can do it, but why can’t you say it? It can be seen that you know your own faults and can’t speak, right?”

Murong Xi hesitated.

Xiao Yongjia’s expression suddenly became indifferent, and he said, “Murongxi, when you asked for a kiss, if I wanted to be with you, even if the royal father disagreed, I would try to get him to nod. I would have looked down on him then. You. Do you think I will change after so many years?”

“Listen. You took me away today because of the crowd. I, Xiao Yongjia, would rather die than submit.”

Even if the moonlight was dim, he couldn’t hide the embarrassed expression on Murong Xi’s face.

He waved his hand and signaled all his followers to step back. He stepped forward, his expression had recovered, and he said indifferently, “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have been easily killed by that fellow Murong. , only now can there be revenge, and there is a wish to repay!”

“But since you talk like this, I, Murongxi, are not shameless people. We Xianbei people have always had a rule. When a hunter comes out hunting, it doesn’t matter if he can’t hunt, but there is no way that the arrow cannot be unwound or the knife is unsheathed. The reason for this is unknown. Since I’m here tonight, you can’t think of sending me so easily…”

He pulled out his waist knife, and his eyes stopped on Gao Qiao’s face.

“I and this man from the Southern Dynasty were enemies on the battlefield in the past. For your sake, I will give him a chance tonight. Didn’t you just say that I rely on a lot of people? I will fight him alone. As long as he If you can beat me, I will leave immediately, and from now on, I will never appear in front of your husband and wife again!”

When Gao Qiao was young, he cultivated both civil and martial arts. With his background, the martial arts and swordsmanship he learned was also passed down from famous masters. Xiao Yongjia knew that her husband was not weak. But compared to Murong Xi, who has the number one general in the north, it is almost impossible for her to beat him by fighting. What’s more, he has worked hard for the government for many years, and his body has been overworked for a while. In order to find his mother and son these years, he must have gone through all the hardships, how could he have won Murongxi?

Before she could speak, her hands warmed and Gao Qiao held her.

He turned to Murong Xi: “Murong Xi, it was you who had an unrighteous heart and was used to harm by the villain. It was because of your fault that my wife was plotted by the Murong brothers and sisters, and suffered from this pool of fish! She never blamed you, you actually What’s the point of putting guilt on her head?”

Murong Xi’s face was gloomy, staring at Gao Qiao, and said coldly: “Gao Qiao, if you are afraid, just say it.”

Gao Qiao drew his sword out of the sheath.

With a “puff”, he let go, and the tip of the sword was deeply inserted into the ground.

The sword body reflected the moonlight, trembling back and forth constantly, like running water on it, the light shining brightly.

He turned his head and looked at the child who had been obediently standing behind him, motionless, but his eyes widened, staring at this scene, and said with a smile, “Qilang, Aye is going to teach this Xianbei man who is disrespectful to your mother a lesson. Are you afraid?”

Xiao Qi shook his head: “Don’t be afraid!”

Gao Qiao laughed, took a step up, stroked his head, and asked his worried wife to hold Xiao Qi, then pulled out the long sword that was inserted into the ground, and strode towards Murong Xi who was on the opposite side.

“Murong Xi, you have been a living dead for several years, hiding in the dark, watching the so-called throne that originally belonged to you was taken over by your nephew, your life must be no better than me! As long as we want to fight, we will fight! Between you and me, the old hatred and the new hatred just happened together!”