Xie Ming

The post horse neighs uncertainly, while the brocade-clad traveler hurryes through the night.

Little did I know that the sweat on the saddle would turn into rain on the steps.

The story goes that the young novice monk Huineng, taking advantage of the time before dawn, escaped Hangzhou by scaling the wall with the help of Yao Luwen.

A swift horse leaped outside the city, its four hooves spurring as it galloped northward.

However, to everyone's dismay, by sheer bad luck, he bumped into a scout outside the city, and the city's night patrol squad discovered his trail.

Truly, Heaven does not favor the Han, but rather you lot.

With no other option and his whereabouts exposed, the novice monk Huineng was also greatly alarmed. He quickly tightened the reins and had no choice but to speed up and run as fast as he could, hoping to escape the danger under the cover of darkness.

However, it was clear that the Imperial Guard patrol team chasing them was no ordinary force, and they were relentless in their pursuit.

Needless to say, they were skilled in riding and archery, and most of them came from respectable families and were good at martial arts.

So they chased for more than ten miles, and then, with bows drawn and arrows frequently following, they launched a relentless attack.

As for Huineng's side, no matter how hard he tried to run, he was ultimately unable to escape in a short time since he was not a match for him.

As he dodged left and right, he was caught off guard and struck by two arrows from behind.

One of the bullets struck him just half an inch from his heart, nearly killing him on the spot.

Fortunately, at this critical juncture, a sudden whirlwind blowing from the north arose.

In the desolate atom, the precursor mound was stirred up by this evil wind, and a huge cloud of dust rose into the sky.

Huineng gritted his teeth, not even wiping the blood and foam from the corner of his mouth. It seemed that Heaven had finally opened its eyes, and Simin had acted quickly.

With a flick of the whip, he hurried inside.

Soon, the guards and patrols caught up. Seeing the rising dust, they suspected that the bandits might have some kind of ambush, so they all reined in their horses and stopped, not daring to advance rashly.

"Uu——"

"Uu——"

"Stop, stop, stop now."

The leader of the group, who appeared to be the captain, rode ahead first. Fear gripped the leader, and the riders stopped in their tracks.

From behind, a soldier on horseback caught up quickly. Among him was a burly, stocky man with wide, round eyes, who did not understand the order.

"what?"

"Captain, I shot him! I was about to catch up! Why did you stop your horse for no reason?" the chubby soldier retorted.

Looking at it, the middle-aged man at the head of the group didn't seem particularly anxious, as if he was used to being contradicted.

"Pah! Spit!"

In a short while, dust billowed up in front of them, carried by the wind and a lot of sand and gravel.

The captain was about to speak when his mouth was stuffed full. He quickly spat twice and wiped his mouth.

"Hey, didn't you see the smoke barrier up ahead?"

"This dust storm is very strange. There's no shelter or obstruction around us, so how did this strong wind suddenly appear out of nowhere?"

"If there are enemy cavalry lying in ambush ahead, we only have five or six riders, and we're sure to die without a burial place," the captain suddenly said in a rambling tone.

Upon hearing this, the chubby soldier threw a tantrum.

"Oh dear, this, this... sigh!"

Immediately, a whip was lashed out, with nowhere to vent his frustration.

"We were just about to let the duck that was practically in our mouths fly away?" There were also dissenting comments.

However, before the captain could reprimand him, another soldier chimed in.

"Second brother, the captain is right."

Why take such a risky step?

"Now that we've discovered those who have fled the city, we should hurry back and report to our superiors. That would be the proper course of action."

"We don't seek merit, we just want to avoid mistakes," said a soldier with a tall, thin head.

Upon hearing this, the captain took a deep breath and simply gathered the riders in front of him together.

"Ugh"

"Come on, you lot, come over here and discuss this."

As everyone approached, in the cold morning air of the desolate wilderness, amidst the gusts of wind, the captain explained his plan.

"Well, what I mean is, we should not only not pursue this matter, but we absolutely must not report it."

After hearing this, the stout soldier quickly changed the subject.

"Huh? Captain, what do you mean by this?"

“The order was just issued the night before, sealing off the four gates, with no one allowed to leave or enter.” “It must be that something big has happened in the city.”

"Why isn't it being reported that people are fleeing the city?"

"We're just patrolling outside the city at night. What business is it of ours if someone escapes?"

"If this gets reported to the higher-ups, we might even get a reward. Why not report it?!"

Hearing that he had only uttered one sentence, and this brat was already threatening to retaliate with ten more, the captain rolled his eyes at him speechlessly, then followed.

"Hmph, you even give me a reward."

"I'm afraid I might have the life to take it, but not the life to spend it."

"With all your cunning schemes, why don't you think more carefully before locking down the city and preventing anyone from entering or leaving?"

"Right now, the ten thousand or so Jurchens who have crossed the river and rushed down to the south of the Yangtze River have been almost completely wiped out by the Duke of Jingguo's army."

"Why not lock down the city earlier or later, but now they're suddenly thinking of locking down the city out of the blue?"

"If you ask me, the so-called 'sealing' is simply a way of blocking information."

"No matter what it is, who do you think it will be targeting?"

The captain is, after all, the captain. Although his military rank is not high, he is clearly aware of the current situation and has the ability to make his own judgments and analyses.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers froze and tensed up.

Yuna Dun, the fat man, dared to speak, and said it out loud.

"Uh, Captain, do you mean there's someone in the court who wants to deal with the Xiao family army?"

Well, to my surprise, this person was right.

However, these soldiers are of low rank and position. They are capable of thinking and reasoning, and while they may guess what is being said, they are not inclined to delve into it or let it run rampant.

The captain, being experienced and steady-thinking, gave a vague reply.

"Well, that's hard to say."

"So, for this kind of thing, you can't tell without weighing it."

"Once it's on the scale..."

"Whether you report it to your superiors and get the reward money or get into trouble is anyone's guess."

"Furthermore, what if someone uses this against us in the future?"

"Da Chun'er, you've just gotten married and had a baby."

"These are turbulent times; things are already chaotic enough, from top to bottom."

"In my opinion, it's better to avoid trouble."

"Anyway, this time, only a few of us know the situation."

"If you don't say anything, and I don't say anything, then we can both live in peace."

"What do you think?" the captain asked, looking thoughtful and considerate.

Seeing the situation, he changed course, and the tall, thin man standing nearby, holding up this conversation, immediately joined in the flattery.

"Uh, yes, I think the captain makes sense."

"Don't go looking for trouble if there's nothing wrong with it."

"Furthermore, which of your eyes saw that this person escaped from the city?"

"If you ask me, it's also possible that he was someone's spy from outside."

"Our team has the duty of night patrol."

"But, just kick them out, why insist on getting involved?"

"Let's go, let's go."

"It's almost twenty miles from the city."

"If we get back late and miss the shift, we'll be in even more trouble."

Without saying much, this insignificant night patrol team, in such a self-serving manner, hastily pursued the enemy and then hastily ceased their pursuit, keeping the intelligence checkpoint silent.

Before long, the five or six riders turned their horses around and headed south.

The middle-aged captain, however, lingered on the northward gaze for a long time before leaving.

"Hey, Captain, let's go! Let's go!"

It was suggested by the tall, thin soldier in the team that the team leader had a penchant for tilting his head.

After looking back three times, he finally led his team south.

The young novice monk Huineng narrowly escaped, suffering severe injuries. Without pausing to catch his breath, he continued his journey at breakneck speed towards Huzhou. (End of Chapter)