The years I was in the human world

"I can't sit still, my dear, who do you think can sit still? Chu Zhaoli?" Xiao Ling remained calm even with a knife on his neck. He looked at Xie Huaiyu's face with interest, "My dear, you have really changed a lot since you came back from Jingkou, and you are more aggressive in doing things."

Xiao Ling and Xie Huaiyu were indeed political enemies, and they could tell at a glance that he was different from before. Lu Zhouxue, who was standing quietly beside him, suddenly shook. He subconsciously wanted to hold on to something, and the moment he raised his hand, it seemed to pass through Ah Xuan's body, but in the blink of an eye, it seemed to be just an illusion.

"If I don't show my strength, am I waiting for you to kill me?" Xiao Fengzhuo said lazily, "Xiao Ling, let's be frank. If you tell the Wuxiang barbarians guarding outside the city to withdraw their troops, I will let you go."

"What if you don't retreat?" Xiao Ling asked with a smile. He was not afraid of Xiao Fengzhuo's threat, nor did he bother to cover up his behavior of embezzlement. He always looked down at Xiao Fengzhuo and everyone else with a condescending and pitying look, which made people angry.

The other old ministers were shocked after hearing Xiao Ling's words. Everyone knew that he was a disloyal person, but who could have thought that he had spent so much effort to plan for the throne just to make it easier for the Wuxiang people to gain entry?

"If you don't retreat, Your Majesty will have to go to the city wall and have a fight. The Wuxiang people must still care about Your Majesty's life or death." Xiao Ling refused to withdraw his troops, and Xiao Fengzhuo was not worried. He had even anticipated this matter.

He slowly retracted his dagger, looked at Xiao Ling with a smile on his face, and said loudly: "Come here, escort His Majesty to the outer city wall for inspection!"

What a good inspection!

When Xiao Fengzhuo left Xuanzheng Hall with Xiao Ling, he said to his father Xie: "Father, the Wuxiang army is probably outside the city. This time it will be a tough battle. You should go back and evacuate your family members to their own places to protect your relatives. When the situation is settled, we can resume family harmony."

After talking to Xie's father, Xiao Fengzhuo turned to look at Lu Zhouxue and said in a gentler tone: "Mianmian, you go with my father."

Lu Zhouxue wanted to refuse, but then Xiao Fengzhuo hinted, "It will be over soon. We all have things we need to complete."

The "we" here naturally refers to Xiao Fengzhuo and Xie Huaiyu, so Lu Zhouxue stopped talking. He heard Xiao Fengzhuo add, "Be careful."

The vanguard of the Wuxiang people has already camped outside the outer city wall. The autumn wind has already brought a little chill. The gray-haired Xiao Ling is being held hostage by the strong and sturdy Xie Huaiyu and standing on the city wall. At first glance, it seems that the latter is the real traitor.

"Your Majesty, since you have a way to get them here, you should also have a way to get them to leave, right?" Xiao Fengzhuo pulled the old traitor's collar, smiling and speaking in a gentle tone, not threatening but caring for the elder. "If the city is unfortunately breached, I will have no choice but to throw you down."

"No matter what you conspired with the Wuxian people for, you won't be able to bear anything after the person dies, don't you think?"

Xiao Ling looked at Xiao Fengzhuo, who was smiling, and then he also smiled. The mockery and contempt in his cloudy eyes were obvious: "Xie Huaiyu, the Xie family will perish, and the Southern Dynasty will die. What are you struggling for?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Xie Huaiyu's eyes changed immediately. He had already made up his mind to hand over all matters to Xiao Fengzhuo, but when he heard Xiao Ling's prophecy at this moment, he couldn't help but refute it out loud.

Half of his face was filled with anger and resignation, while the other half was calm and composed. He looked embarrassed and distorted. Xiao Fengzhuo suppressed Xie Huaiyu's consciousness, and a smile reappeared on his face. He said with a fake smile, "Then your majesty will be buried with Xie."

After Xiao Fengzhuo finished speaking, he threw Xiao Ling off the city wall. Prime Minister Xiao, who had held great power throughout his life, was only emperor for a few days when he was thrown off the city wall by the rebels below and smashed into a pulp. The records of this episode in the history books compiled by later dynasties were quite interesting.

However, Xie Huaiyu, who threw the emperor to death with his own hands, was far from being as glorious and open-minded as the records say. He questioned Xiao Fengzhuo in disbelief: "Are you crazy? Now that Xiao Ling is dead, the Wuxiang people will definitely not withdraw their troops."

The Northern Army failed to hold Jingkou, Lin Shuyang's life or death was unknown, Prince Ding'an was far away in the north, and Lin'an City had no soldiers or generals. It was truly unavoidable and undefendable. Even Xie Huaiyu was helpless in the face of such a dilemma.

Forcing Xiao Ling to find a way to make the Wuxiang people withdraw was a desperate measure, but in such a predicament, Xiao Fengzhuo threw Xiao Ling to death with his own hands. The Southern Dynasty now had no choice but to defend the capital, and then the city would be destroyed and the country would be destroyed, which was no different from the outcome of the year.

"The Wuxian people listen to Xiao Ling very much, but it's useless to hold him hostage." Xiao Fengzhuo explained calmly. He pointed to the Wuxian soldiers stationed under the city tower and motioned Xie Huaiyu to look, "Look at that man, does he look familiar?"

In the military camp where the Wuxiang people were stationed, a man in a cloak rode out slowly on a horse. The man had a bow in his hand. He put a feather arrow tied with a cloth strip on the bowstring, and then pulled the longbow, forming a full moon.

With a sound of breaking through the air, the feather arrow flew up from below, brushed past Xiao Fengzhuo's face, and sank deeply into the wooden beam behind him. The cloth strips on the feather arrow scattered and spread out, revealing the word "Xiao" written in iron and silver strokes.

That longbow was no ordinary object, and the archer was no ordinary person either. The man put down the longbow and raised his head. Xie Huaiyu was able to see the face of the archer clearly - the Ghost King.

"The one who controls the Wuxiang people is not the traitor Xiao Ling, but the ghost king named Xiao Ling." Xiao Fengzhuo said indifferently, obviously he had guessed it long ago, "He is actually not wrong. The Southern Dynasty has lost its national destiny and the country will perish."

There was no room for maneuver after that. The Wuxiang people attacked the city, and Xiao Fengzhuo led the imperial guards in the city and the cavalry left by Chu Zhaoli to fight to the death. Some of the noble families evacuated their relatives and fled in all directions; some were unwilling to give up the assets they had managed for generations and were hesitant.

The soldiers fought desperately on the city walls, but were then brutally slaughtered by the repairers, leaving them without any power to resist; the officials in the inner court were still arguing over whether to surrender or resist, and those who were not involved in state affairs were unaware that a disaster was imminent, and were still drinking and having fun.

In half an hour, Lin'an City was breached. Mortal bodies could not stop the Wuxiang people who were determined to fight to the death, nor could they resist the thundering methods of the cultivators. The Wuxiang people climbed up the city wall using ladders, killed all the guards, and then opened the city gates and marched straight in.

The Wuxiang people regarded the people of the Southern Dynasty as livestock. After entering the city, they did not rush to attack the capital. Instead, they slaughtered people wantonly in the city. The elderly and young children were trampled into mud under the hooves of horses; the heads of women and men were cut off and impaled on halberds; the cries and the sound of horses' hooves mixed together, creating a mournful scene.

"The royal family of the Southern Dynasty has immortal blood. Eating it can make one live forever. The royal family is declining. Xie's ancestors married princesses many times. The blood blended and also had miraculous effects. All troops listen to my order, arrest Xie and chase away the immortals." Xiao Ling held the reins with one hand and rode leisurely on the streets of the city. The Wuxiang people's infantry entered from both sides of him with heavy weapons, their faces full of greed and cruelty.

The adjutant was half covered in blood, and his true appearance could no longer be seen. While fighting with the enemy, he said to Xiao Fengzhuo: "Sir, we can't hold on any longer, retreat!"

Xiao Fengzhuo looked at the imperial guards fighting hard and heard the screams of the people. Was this really the situation in the capital when he went to war?

Xiao Fengzhuo quickly retreated to the inner city while fighting. His clothes were covered with dust and blood, and his hair was messy. Even though he tried to act calm and composed, he still couldn't maintain his composure.

Lu Zhouxue followed the Xie family out of the city in a hurry, but the Wuxiang people broke into the city too quickly, and the Xie family's master was confident that the Wuxiang people would not be able to attack in a short time. When packing up, he was greedy for wealth and was slow in his actions.

When the Wuxiang people started slaughtering on the streets, the Xie family got on the carriage. As they were carrying too many valuables, the horses could not move. The Wuxiang barbarians, who were bloodthirsty, had noticed the movement here and gradually came over to kill them. The Xie family then realized the seriousness of the problem and panickedly asked the coachman to go faster.

"Madam, there are too many things. The horse can't pull the carriage." The coachman was also very depressed. These nobles were very different. They even wanted to take some gold and silver with them when they were escaping. They really valued money more than their lives.

"Can't pull it?" The Third Madam's eyes widened, and she was obviously reluctant to part with her property. After all, the things she couldn't take away from the mansion were enough to make her feel painful. She made some plans in her mind and drove away the personal maid beside her.

"Third Madam, Third Madam, please don't leave me, Third Madam." The girl was so scared that she was at a loss. If the Xie family could not get on their carriage when they escaped, they would be killed by the Wuxiang people.

"A lowly servant also wants a carriage? It's a beautiful thought!" The Third Madam said in a light voice of annoyance. She looked at it with dissatisfaction, and finally stared at Lu Zhouxue, pointed her finger painted with bright red nail polish at the latter's nose and said, "You get off too!"

"Madam, he is a young master..." A guard who was familiar with Xie Huaiyu tried to dissuade him, but was stopped by Madam: "In this situation, he is just a prostitute in a brothel. My uncle doesn't need to bother with me!"

"Why don't you drive him away!" A Wuxiang man in the distance chopped off an old man's head with a knife, and blood splattered everywhere. The third lady was frightened and screamed. The guards had no choice but to pull Lu Zhouxue away.

Lu Zhouxue got off the carriage without waiting for anyone to catch him. The Xie family didn't want to take him with them, so he just wanted to go look for Xiao Fengzhuo. When he left, he took a deep look at the Third Madam's carriage full of gold, silver and jewelry, and shook his head in his heart.

The Xie family had already left early with a small entourage. Since the Third Madam was so greedy for money, it would be difficult for her to leave.

As expected, the Third Madam's carriage, which had not yet moved, attracted the attention of a small group of Wuxiang people. They spoke something in a strange accent, and then came towards the Third Madam with happy faces.

The third lady was frightened and hurriedly pulled the coachman: "Hurry up, hurry up!"

The groom was complaining in his heart. The Third Madam was carrying too many things, and even without Lu Zhouxue, he would not be able to pull the horse. The groom looked at the Wuxiang infantry who were slowly approaching, gritted his teeth, snatched a pearl from the Third Madam's head, and cut the ropes on the horse.

He left the third wife and her carriage and rode away on his horse. Faced with the sudden change, the third wife widened her eyes in shock and started cursing. However, at this time, the Wuxiang people had already arrived in front of her, holding the big knife high in his hand, and she was about to be beheaded.

The third wife closed her eyes in fear, but the expected death did not come. Instead, a stream of warm blood sprayed on her face. She was stunned and opened her eyes carefully, only to see Lu Zhouxue who had left come back with a knife picked up from the dead body in his hand. He quickly killed the Wuxiang people who had come over.

Lu Zhouxue shook off the blood on his knife and said to the Third Madam, "Come down and run. Gold, silver and jewels are not as important as life."

Lu Zhouxue was about to leave when the Third Madam suddenly grabbed his sleeve and said, "Don't leave! You are so capable. Protect me out of the city, and you can choose any gold, silver, jewelry, high position or generous salary you want!"

"Madam, the Southern Dynasty is about to fall, what's the use of me having all these? The Wuxiang people have already broken into the city. Instead of wasting time arguing with me, you might as well save time and run faster." Lu Zhouxue said, slowly prying open the Third Madam's hand that was holding his sleeve, and rushed towards the outer city with a knife in hand.

Lu Zhouxue was very lucky. When he rushed over, he just happened to run into Xiao Fengzhuo who was retreating to the inner city palace. Seeing that the latter was fighting with the Wuxiang people and was no match for them with his two fists, he casually used his Qi Guan Shanhe to knock down a group of people.

"Mianmian? Why haven't you left yet?" Xiao Fengzhuo was a little surprised to see him, but the current situation did not allow for much discussion. He stretched out his hand to Lu Zhouxue on his horse, "Come on up, I'll take you into the inner city."

"Okay." Lu Zhouxue responded and was about to join hands, but his movement paused for a moment. He suddenly could not control this body. He only had time to raise his eyes to meet Xiao Fengzhuo's equally astonished eyes. The elegant young man fell off his horse.

A few days ago, Jingkou.

The sky in autumn is always very high, without a single cloud. The scorching sun shines brightly on the earth. There are corpses everywhere, with new corpses pressing down on old bones, piling up layer by layer to form a mountain. The smell of blood and corpses fills the sky. The smoke from the battlefield is still drifting stubbornly towards the sky, as if the heroic spirits who died tragically were unwilling to accept defeat.

The jackdaw stood on a leafless branch, gazing at the blood-stained battlefield with a grim gaze. Suddenly, a bloody hand stretched out from the pile of dead bodies, and then the corpse on top was pushed away, and the general, whose face was already unrecognizable, crawled out from the pile of corpses.

He wiped his face, revealing a pair of relatively bright eyes. But when he saw the endless corpses, he was suddenly at a loss. All the Northern Army was dead. The monks' casual attacks caused the generals who had been full of meritorious services in the first half of their lives to suffer defeats one after another.

The day before the battle, the report sent back to the capital indicated that everything was fine. However, within a day of the battle, the Northern Army was completely wiped out. The cultivators were very skilled at slaughtering people, and the Northern Army, with their mortal bodies, were unable to resist. They didn't even have time to report the defeat.

He failed to defend Jingkou. Lin Shuyang struggled to stand up. The huge wound from the knife wound had already festered and infected. He was lucky to wake up alive. Once Jingkou was breached, Lin'an City would be exposed to the swords of the Wuxiang people.

Xie Huaiyu is still in the capital, he has to go back to save him, Lin Shuyang thought in a daze, even though he didn't even know if he could return to the capital alive.