Chapter 7: Openly saying one thing but secretly doing another

  High noon. The sun is shining brightly.

  A hundred miles south of Luo Tian Cheng, by the river's flow. Soldiers are transporting wood and stone from the mountain in an orderly manner.

  After nearly 300,000 troops worked day and night, the originally completely broken border bridge has been repaired halfway. At most in half a month, the border bridge will be reconnected.

  In the mountains surrounding Jieqiao, a burst of chopping sounds.

  Originally used for fighting, these weapons are now being temporarily used by soldiers to chop wood.

  At the entrance of the mountain forest, there were soldiers patrolling and guarding. A horseshoe sound suddenly appeared. The soldiers raised their vigilance. Only to see two people riding horses rushing towards this side from afar. The leading man was wearing a green robe, and the young man behind him seemed to be an attendant in dark red light attire.

  "Who comes?" The soldiers raised their weapons and asked.

  Two men rushed over, pulling tight the reins. The man in green clothes at the front jumped off his horse and clasped his fists together, saying: "I have an urgent matter to attend to at Lenovo, please make way for me, gentlemen."

  As he spoke, he pulled out a silver ingot from his bosom.

  The leading soldier pushed open the gate and waved his hand: "Didn't you see that the bridge is broken? Take a detour."

  The man in blue clothes stuffed silver into the soldier's hand. "I wonder if there are any other entrances around here."

  The soldier did not refuse this time, and said in a low voice: "There is only one entrance here. There are two paths to enter from here. One leads to the mountain forest, and the other leads to the boundary bridge. Now the boundary bridge has been cut off. The king ordered us to repair it. It's really impassable."

  The man in blue nodded his head in thanks. Suddenly, only the sound of "whoosh" was heard twice in the air, a sharp and piercing friction sound like a sword being unsheathed.

  The soldiers picked up their weapons and looked around, but all they saw was the man in green clothes and the little boy in red clothes in front of them. There was no one else, nor were there any swords or knives. However, the soldier in front of the man in green clothes suddenly fell to the ground, with blood flowing everywhere.

  The soldiers were stunned. The man in green rushed up. The man in green was also shocked.

  At this time, several gusts of wind flashed by, and the charging soldiers suddenly stopped. In an instant, their heads fell to the ground like shattered stones rolling down from a mountain peak, leaving only headless bodies, extremely frightening.

  Ye Hen looked at the scene in front of him with a pale face. Nalan Xianyu walked forward and started to take off the clothes of the leading soldier. Behind them, a group of black-clad men suddenly appeared from all directions.

  "Hurry up and change your clothes." Nalan Xixi ordered coldly.

  Ye Hen unconsciously followed her orders and began to undress the soldier's clothes, changed into new ones, and a group of people walked towards the mountain forest. After walking for a while, two entrances appeared. The left side was going up to the top of the mountain, and the right side was heading towards the border bridge.

  Soldiers come and go at the entrance and exit, transporting wood and stone.

  They stayed for just over a dozen people, while there were at least tens of thousands coming and going.

  He furrowed his brow and asked in a low voice, "The situation now is vastly different from what we had anticipated. In my opinion, it's better for us to head back first and gather more troops before returning."

  Nalan Xixi shook her head. "Leave now. When they change shifts, they'll discover that someone has been here. This will alarm them."

  "Night scar as if in thought. 'What can we do now? They have so many people. We are simply no match for them.'"

  Nalan Xixi's mouth corners slightly raised. "A feint to the east, a strike to the west."

  "Make a false display in the east and attack in the west." The scar of the night is hard to dispel.

  Nalan Xixi said in a low voice: "Now the troops are divided into two routes. You take two people to follow them to Jieqiao Bridge, and wait for my news."

  "No way. I promised Master that I would stay by your side and never leave."

  "We don't have much time," Nalan Xixi said coldly. "After noon, we'll be switching shifts. Most of their soldiers are at the top of the mountain logging. And the wood and rocks will also be concentrated and placed. I'll go to the top of the mountain with them first, set fire to their wood and rocks. Now it's deep autumn, the grass and trees are dry, and the fire is not easy to control. When the big fire spreads, they will definitely all come to put out the fire. At that time, you can take immediate action."

  "But..." Ye Hen still wanted to speak, but Nalan Xixiao had already nodded at a few people and followed her in the direction of the mountain top.

  All the way, everyone was busy transporting wood and stone. No one noticed them. They arrived at the top of the mountain all the way. As expected by Nalan Xinnuo, due to the suddenness of the incident, there were no corresponding tools, and most of the soldiers were cutting down trees in the mountains. Most of them were punished for cutting down a large tree with two or three people. The felled wood was concentrated and piled up, and sent to the soldiers who came to transport it.

  Everything is in order. The soldiers are well-trained. Such a huge project was completed in just over a dozen days under their concerted efforts. What a disciplined and strict army! Even she couldn't help but admire them.

  "What are you guys staring at? Hurry up and move the stuff!" At this time, the supervising soldier saw Nalan Xianyu and others, and shouted at them.

  Nalan Xixiao responded with a sound and made eye contact with several people. They dispersed and walked separately to the place where wood and stone were piled up.

  "Get back to work properly. In half a time unit, Master Wang will come to inspect the progress. Everyone must be highly spirited and focused."

  Nalan Xixi's expression changed upon hearing the words. Huangfu Ling was coming...

  "It's on fire... Hurry up and put out the fire..." Suddenly, thick smoke billowed from the wood and stone storage area.

  The soldiers saw the fire and immediately put down what they were holding to come and rescue the fire. However, the trees in late autumn are dry and easy to burn. In just a moment, the piled-up wood and rocks were completely engulfed by the flames.

  There is no water at all on the top of the mountain. The soldiers can only watch anxiously as the fire burns more and more fiercely.

  Nalan Xixi sneered inwardly and exchanged a glance with several people, who nodded and rushed down the mountain.

  On the road, a large team of soldiers were seen holding wooden buckets, with water fetched from the river inside. A few people following alongside couldn't help but chuckle, "They really think they can put out the fire."

  Nalan Xixiao didn't say a word, but in her heart she admired these soldiers.

  They knew that the autumn day's great fire would spread extremely quickly. Before long, the entire mountain would be set ablaze. Yet they were fearless. No one fled. They stood there, anxious and eager. Not until the very last moment were they willing to give up.

  The soldiers at the foot of the mountain are even more admirable. Knowing that there is fire on the mountain, they also know that there are still their own people, and they spare no effort to rescue them.

  Fortunately, this battle did not break out. If it really broke out, with such an army, even if they had a million strong soldiers, they would probably find it difficult to win.

  Just ran down the mountain. On the other side, Ye Hen also brought two people back to run again. "It's done. We cut off the bridge lock connected to the ground. Their half-month effort was all in vain. Haha."

  At this time, soldiers who were busy rescuing and putting out fires in the forest path were once again thrown into chaos.

  "The bridge has been destroyed... Come quickly..." The soldiers who were putting out the fire continued to run towards the top of the mountain. The soldiers coming down the mountain quickened their pace.

  "It's getting late. Let's hurry." Ye Hen walked out of the house quickly. But Nalan Xianyu stopped in her tracks and didn't move forward.

  "You go first."

  Yè hén tíng xià jiǎo bù. Huí tóu yí huò dào: "Zěn me le."

  Translation:

  He stopped in his tracks and turned around, puzzled, saying: "What's wrong?"

  "I'm waiting for Huangfu Ling."

  "Wait for him. Wait for what he does..."

  Nalan Xixi's expression was icy cold. During this time, Huangfu Ling had been in the camp every day, giving her no chance to get close. Today he finally came out of the camp, and she couldn't let him go.

  Seeing the killing intent in Nalan Xixi's eyes, Ye Ying couldn't help but tremble.

  This kind of gaze that makes one's breath catch is a murderous intent that can only be cultivated through experiencing the depths of human hell.

  A team of soldiers and horses guarding a carriage came galloping in at the entrance of the mountain forest.

  However, there was no sentry at the entrance. The leading soldier signaled the troops to stop. "Someone come and take a look."

  Two teams of soldiers rode horses and searched everywhere.

  In the carriage, Huangfu Lingzheng closed his eyes to meditate. Yuan Yue stood by and attended to him. "We've arrived."

  He glanced out of the window in the morning and said, "Not yet. I don't know why it stopped."

  But in an instant, a commotion broke out outside. A soldier reported at the gate of the carriage: "Your Highness, the soldiers guarding the entrance have been killed. There is a big fire on the mountain top. The boundary bridge that was just repaired has been cut off and fallen into the river..."

  "What...". Yuan Yue was shocked. This was the result of their hard work for half a month, how could it become like this in an instant? At this time, a person's face floated into her mind. Her face turned pale.

  She turned around and looked at Huangfu Ling. Huangfu Ling still had his eyes closed. In the past, no matter what happened, he could always laugh it off. Even if his life was in danger, he would be very calm.

  But this time he didn't say a word. Although he pretended to be calm, she could tell that he was angry.

  "There is an assassin. Protect the prince." Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside.

  Huang Pu suddenly opened his eyes, coldly looking outward, and drew a short sword from his waist, increasing his vigilance.

  "Ling Wangye." Suddenly, a cold voice rose from within the carriage.

  He hesitated for a moment and turned his head back to see Nalan Xiong holding a dagger against the throat of Huangfu Ling.

  Her face turned pale as she stared at Nalan Xianyu in shock. Huangfu Ling's expression was ambiguous, seemingly smiling yet not quite, and he didn't appear to be flustered at all.

  "Get out." Nalan Xixi said coldly.

  She clutched the moon tightly, but hesitated to get off the carriage. She stared fixedly at Nalan Xianyu, not daring to make a move. Nalan Xianyu sneered coldly and tightened his grip on the dagger pressed against Huangfu Ling's neck. Fresh red blood trickled down the blade and onto his white robes.

  "Go back first." Huang Fu Ling said calmly.

  Knitting her eyebrows tightly, she slowly backed out. At this time, several men in black jumped onto the carriage and drove the horse to gallop away.

  Nalan Xixi smiled slightly, put away her dagger, sat down beside him, picked up the wine jug on the table and took a hearty drink.

  "Huang Pu Ling smiled lightly. 'Your Majesty's movements are indeed swift, leaving no room for this king to catch his breath.'"

  It started from the capital chaos. She was just seeing the move and dismantling it. Just like playing chess, there was no need to think at all. He made a move, and she followed with another one, not giving him any room for maneuver.

  He had barely laid out a way back, but she burned everything down with one move.

  Captured Huangfu Ling. Nalan Xinnuo's mood was great. "You said I killed you, or did I kill you?"

  Huangfu Ling heard this and smiled lightly. "I advise Your Highness to release me as soon as possible."

  "Oh." Nalan Xixue sneered. "Why."

  Huang Pu Ling's smile was ambiguous, and he leaned in close to Nalan Xixi. Ignoring her icy gaze that seemed to be on the verge of killing him with a single glance, he spoke word by word. The air gradually solidified.

  "Because I am Shangguan Qinyue."