Chapter 86: Besieging the City (4)

  Deep in the night, the outskirts of Luotian City are brightly lit with lanterns. The enemy army has set up camp and is drinking and singing loudly.

  Above the city gate of Luo Tian, the silver armor soldiers were changing shifts. They didn't dare to relax for a moment. The enemy army in the distance seemed to be deliberately making a show for them.

  They don't care at all. At this moment, good wine and meat can't tempt them in the slightest. In the city, there are their parents, wives and children.

  What they have to do is defend their homes and country, fight to the last minute.

  Perhaps the enemy will break open their city gates, kill them all and leave no one alive, trample over their corpses, but this faith of theirs, no one can defeat.

  A loud rumble... The city gate opened and several swift horses galloped out quickly.

  The moon is just right, illuminating the outskirts of the city as if it were daytime. Rushing out a few miles, they are almost at the enemy's camp.

  "Whoa..." Nalan Xixi pulled back on the reins. Came to a stop.

  He Xian and Huo Zhe followed closely behind, holding the reins tight. Nalan Xiong gazed out at the enemy camp in the distance. Although the lights inside shone brightly, as if they were drinking and making merry, in reality their defenses were strict, not relaxing in the slightest.

  This Huangfu Ling is always playing with his mind tricks. One careless move and you'll fall into his trap.

  "What's wrong? Master, I think you'd better not go. It might be a trap."

  Nalan Xixi gazed calmly at the situation in the camp. "Do we have a choice?"

  "What's wrong with you? You want to say something but hesitate. 'Are we just going to go die like this...'"

  "What's wrong." Huo Zhi said with some blame: "Why make such a big fuss if he wants to kill the master, it's not necessary."

  He furrowed his brow. "Anyway, it's impossible to escape no matter what. Why lose dignity at the last moment?"

  Suddenly, Nalan Xianuo's expression solidified. A figure burst into her line of sight. Indeed, Huangfu Ling had tied up Nan Gongyan at the entrance of the camp. It was all to make her see it, and then she would have no choice but to go.

  What he said is right. It's inevitable to die sooner or later. Why lose dignity? However, at the last moment, she didn't want to leave any regrets for him. Nangong Yan was the person he protected with his life all his life.

  She can't just sit back and let them humiliate her like this. She can't let the cruelty that once happened to her happen again.

  "You all go back." Nalan Xinnuo picked up the reins and prepared to leave.

  "Master, I'll go with you." He was about to follow when Hao Zhi pulled him back.

  Nalan Xixi did not speak, and drove his horse forward in a rush. He Xian thought of chasing after him several times, but was blocked by Huo Zhe each time.

  "Huo Zhi..." He Xian rarely called him by his name. Once he did, it was bound to be an emergency. Huangfu Ling's methods he had seen before. Nalan Xinnuo going this time was simply throwing himself into the net.

  His eyebrows were tightly locked. He knew it all along. However, the initiative is no longer in their hands. They can only take one step at a time. After all, there's no turning back now.

  They soon arrived at the entrance of the camp. The sentry raised his long gun and aimed it at the figure in the distance, shouting "Who comes?"

  Nalan Xixi did not answer, and directly rushed to the door, jumped off his horse, and walked towards the camp. The sentry saw this and wanted to stop him, but Nalan Xixi lightly jumped up and agilely stepped on their shoulders, jumping into the watchtower of the camp.

  "Huangpu Ling is where." A cold voice sounded.

  The sentinel on duty suddenly found an extra person behind him, while under the watchtower was a scene of chaos.

  "You... who are you." The sentinel wanted to raise his weapon, but somehow was struck by a vital point and couldn't move.

  Hearing the commotion outside, a man walked out of the commander's tent in the middle. Under the moonlight, his white clothes looked elegant and refined. His delicate features were illuminated by the firelight around the camp, and he had a smile on his face. However, his voice was calm and authoritative.

  "Don't panic. My noble guest has arrived."

  The words had barely fallen when the sentry, who had been thrown into confusion just before, immediately regained his composure.

  Nalan Xixi jumped down from the watchtower and calmly looked at Huangfu Ling who was walking towards her.

  "Sister is really mischievous, not walking through the main door, but instead sneaking in secretly." Huang Fu Ling smiled with a pure and innocent face, but his tone was filled with an unmistakable slyness.

  Nalan Xixi gazed at him coldly. "Can you let them go now?"

  On today's scroll, he wrote: As long as she is willing to come, Nan Gongyan can be released. In other words, use her to exchange for Nan Gongyan.

  Huang Pu Ling smiled slightly. "Don't be impatient. Come, I still have something to say to you."

  As he walked over, he intended to put his arm around her shoulder. "The moment I saw you, I felt like we met too late."

  His hand was about to touch Nalan Xianyu's shoulder, and Nalan Xianyu subconsciously reached back with her hand. At this moment, a figure flew in from afar and shot out a dark arrow. Nalan Xianyu dodged it nimbly.

  He raised his eyes again. A woman in red stood before Huangfu Ling. It was precisely Yuan Yue.

  A layer of chilliness shrouded Nalan Xixi's face. Ou Ye's subconscious mind trembled slightly under the moonlight.

  It's them, the two in front of her eyes. It was they who framed her into such a predicament. Nalan Xinnuo clenched his fists tightly, and the dense killing intent in his eyes made Huangfu Ling tremble with fear.

  This evil aura, how many people have been killed, how much blood has been drunk to accumulate and form.

  Huang Pu Ling seemed to smile but not quite. He glanced at a place not far behind him. There, Nan Gong Yan was tied up to a pillar. She had not drunk water for three days and kept crying non-stop, already exhausted.

  "Princess, you shouldn't be here today to bet on how she'll die, should you?" Huangfu Ling warned with a smile.

  Nalan Xixi's eyes trembled slightly, her expression growing even colder. "What exactly do you want?"

  Hearing this, Huangfu Ling smiled and said, "I think the princess won't know about it. Princess, please follow me."

  He turned around and walked towards the camp. Nalan Xianyu hesitated for a second, then followed him. She walked to Yuan Yue's side and stopped. He turned his head, looking at her coldly. Yuan Yue subconsciously lowered his head.

  "You'd better kill me. As long as I don't die, one day I will surely return what I suffered today."

  Rong Yue's body trembled slightly. In her heart, Nalan Xinnuo had always been a god-like existence. If she wasn't his person, if she was really that little palace maid from the state of Lingyun, she would have worshipped her without a doubt, believed in her.

  What she says will eventually become a reality. This is something she is more clear about than anyone else.

  Inside the camp, Huangfu Ling had set up a stove and was personally brewing wine. Next to the stove was a tea table with a chessboard on it, half of the pieces already placed. Huangfu Ling sat down and gestured for her to sit across from him.

  Nalan Xixi did not hesitate, walked over and sat down across from him.

  Huang Pu Ling took the hot wine from the stove and poured a full cup for her. "This is the king's exclusive private brew."

  Nalan Xixiao took the wine cup, without a hint of fear or hesitation, and drank it all in one gulp. Huangfu Ling was somewhat surprised, this woman didn't even fear that he had poisoned the cup.

  He sank in his heart, she was not afraid, because she had reached the end of her tether, either way it was death, and she also believed that he would not use such a clumsy method as poisoned wine to end this war.

  This woman. She actually dares to believe her enemy. And yet she knows that the other side is full of tricks, but still dares to trust them.

  Whether she is naive and innocent or arrogant and self-conceited.

  "I don't know what Princess is visiting today." Huangfu Ling drank up the wine in his cup and continued to sell the suspense.

  Nalan Xixi's expression was extremely cold. "You're courting death."

  Huang Pu Ling's movements slightly paused. He smiled lightly and said, "Your Highness is being too serious."

  Nalan Xixi sneered inwardly. Obviously, he was the one who had blackmailed Nangong Yan first, and now he's acting as if nothing happened. He must be plotting something again. However, whatever scheme it is will ultimately lead to his demise. His current behavior is like a cat that has caught a mouse, playing with its food before swallowing it whole.

  Huang Pu raised his cup and sighed lightly: "This king has also seen countless people in this world, but there are two people that this king looks down on the most - one is Dugu Han, and the other is Nan Gong Jin."

  Nalan Xixi looked at him coldly, not responding. He didn't think so and lightly laughed: "One is self-righteously proud, bearing the shame of his family and country, with an army of a million but hesitating to take action due to moral principles and etiquette rules. The other is kind-hearted and soft-handed, dominating the world but unable to bear eliminating all the vassals under heaven, thus resulting in today's chaos."

  As he spoke, he poured a full cup of wine for Nalan Xiong. He continued: "But the two people I respect the most are them. One bears the hatred of his family and country, yet can endure humiliation and bear the weight until now. In a few years, they have been able to recover and grow strong, from the initial 100,000 remaining soldiers to the current rich and powerful nation. The other has traveled alone through mountains and rivers, from being a small crown prince to becoming the overlord of the world, the Emperor Luo Tian. He has killed countless people, yet values relationships and loyalty the most. If we're talking about heroes, it's none other than these two."

  Nalan Xixi's eyes narrowed slightly as she gazed at the man before her. He didn't have the suffocating elegance and beauty of Du Guhan, nor did he possess the awe-inspiring majesty and charm of Nan Gongjin. The handsome features on his boyish face seemed pure and innocent, like the warm sunlight of dawn, full of vitality.

  His face always wore a smile that seemed to say nothing was his concern, but beneath this face and this smile lay hidden a multitude of sinister intentions. His seemingly careless smile represented dozens of life-and-death decisions.

  He is cunning, every move of his chess piece has a hidden trick, making people careless and irretrievable. He is sincere, can talk with you like an old friend about the heroes of the world.

  He himself knew he was no hero, yet overnight, all the heroes of the land looked up to him as their leader.

  But that's exactly where the danger lies. Every move he makes, every word he says, every smile he gives, leaves Nalan Xiong on his guard. This person carries an aura of constant danger, and must be kept at a distance.

  "But I still can't understand." Huang Fu Ling's tone changed, he raised his eyes and looked at Nalan Xianuo, under his clear gaze, a pair of sharp eyes like a wolf seemed to see through her.

  "Who are you, anyway?" Where did this woman suddenly appear from? She's got those heroes head over heels for her. Proud like a goddess. And nearly ruined years of his preparation in an instant.

  He seemed a bit drunk, staring intently at Nalan Xianyu, as if he really wanted to see some reason from this ordinary face.

  "Nalan Xino." She replied coldly, her tone firm and unyielding.