has become a demon

Xie Taichu put his arms around Zhao Yuan and got on his horse, pulled the reins, the black horse neighed, and rushed towards the east like an arrow.

On the frozen ground, the sound of crisp bells and horseshoes came quickly.

Xie Taichu held Zhao Yuan in his arms and led the horse to go straight.

In a hurry, he bent down to sweep the ground, picked up the heavy bow and long arrow from the corpse of the dead Tatar soldier on the ground, and got up easily, as nimbly as a swallow, without delaying the pursuit process at all.

As soon as you leave the village, you can see a wide field of vision. Ten miles ahead is the embankment of the Yellow River, and the escaped Tatar soldiers are heading towards the Yellow River.Those few people yelled and spoke Tatar, fled in a panic all the way, rushed up the Yellow River embankment, and headed north again.

The big black horse was almost supernatural, and the two men were hunchbacked, and they were gradually approaching the deserters.

The naked eye can see that the deserter is wearing leather armor, a felt hat, and a few braids dangling behind his burly back.

"Your Highness, hold on." After Xie Taichu said this, he loosened the rein, Zhao Yuan quickly grabbed the saddle and rein, and leaned down.

Then I saw Xie Taichu pick up the bow and arrow from the horse's back, straighten his body and draw the huge heavy bow, he aimed forward on the bumpy horseback, and then shot an arrow, hitting an enemy's back, the Tatar was killed He fell from his horse with a cry.The rest of the people didn't dare to look back at all, and immediately speeded up.

Xie Taichu didn't hesitate anymore, he fired his long arrows in succession, each hit.

The first seven fell off their horses one by one.

When they approached the pontoon bridge, there were only two people left, they knew that they could never save their lives, they went mad, they drew their sabers and rushed back with a roar, they were killed by Xie Taichu's sword within one round.

He grabbed the reins again, and also took Zhao Yuan's hand, and reined in the horse before reaching the pontoon bridge.

The big black horse neighed, stopped, and turned back to pace.

The two looked at each other as they came and went.

The body on the ground remained motionless.

The war horses without their masters scattered in a daze.

The wilderness is filled with the meaning of cold chill.At this moment, the sound of killing came from the far side of the Yellow River, and the two turned their heads to look at the same time.

On the north side of the broad Yellow River, the smoke of the war has long since scattered into the sky.

Yet another cloud of smoke rose from the ground.

"It's firecrackers, and muskets." Xie Taichu said, "It's just that there are not too many. The military expenditure in the frontier is poor, and there have been no new guns and ammunition for many years."

Before the words were finished, a group of people appeared on the sand dam at the other end of the Yellow River.

If you look carefully, you will know that it is the adjutant of Ningxia Commander Bu Xiangming.

At this time, he was wounded on his leg, and there was an arrow feather shot on his shoulder. He looked like a bloody fighter.He led a few soldiers who were also scarred and rushed down from the dam.

Going this way, shout to the garrison on the north side of the pontoon bridge.

"The commander-in-chief has an order to burn the pontoon bridge!"

"The commander-in-chief has an order! Burn the pontoon bridge! Hurry up!"

At the same time, a group of more than a hundred Tatar cavalry behind them chased up,

The garrison at the pontoon bridge on the north side immediately picked up a burning torch when they heard it, and a few more people poured tung oil on it, and threw the two torches on it. Jumped across the pontoon bridge on the entire right bank.

Immediately, from the island in the middle of the river to the right half of the Yellow River, a fire barrier was erected.

The adjutant crossed the dug trench and rushed into the garrison crowd. After closing, there were about a hundred Daduan soldiers.

The garrison pushed the spiked fence to block them, and then ignited the sesame oil in the trench, blocking the first attack of the Tatar soldiers, but the remaining Tatar cavalry rushed past the corpses of their predecessors.

The two sides hedged and got mixed together.

Someone shouted in the chaos: "Hold the pontoon bridge! Don't let them cross the river!"

As soon as the voice fell, he was hacked.

Someone shouted: "It's dead anyway, let's fight with these barbarians!"

The horse's hooves flew horizontally, and blood spattered.

In the attrition battle where three or four men consumed one man, the Tatar cavalry was pulled off their horses.Then began hand-to-hand combat.

A Tatar soldier tried to rush up the burning pontoon bridge, but was rushed up by a big man, rolled into the flames, and burned into a ball of fire.Another Ningxia garrison stabbed a Tatar in the abdomen, but the Tatar chopped off his head.

The screams came from far away from the other side.

Like an invisible wall.

Ningxia Town on this side is quiet and peaceful.

Hundreds of people on the shore on that side were red-eyed.

There is an invisible thing that spreads on both sides of the Yellow River, consuming human life.

Zhao Yuan tightened the rein in his hand, and when he moved his hand, he found that Xie Taichu was still holding his hand.At the same time, Xie Taichu also led the big black horse to turn towards the pontoon bridge.

The unanimous tacit understanding made them glance at each other.

Something flashed in his eyes, so fast that Xie Taichu didn't dare to confirm it.

Just one look can ignite the torch in your heart.But do those friendships still exist?

In a critical moment, he is not allowed to think about it.

The big black horse started, rushed forward, galloped all the way from the wooden bridge, like a speeding meteor black fire, rushed to the island in the middle of the lake.

After several ups and downs, they were already standing on the highest rock on the island in the middle of the lake.

Thank you Taichu for reining in the horse.

"Rush over." Zhao Yuan said.

"Your Highness..."

"The crisis is extremely serious, how can we stand by and watch?" Zhao Yuan asked anxiously.

Xie Taichu looked at him, hesitated to speak.

Zhao Yuan paused, and said again: "You let me down! You go by yourself."

Xie Taichu shook his head slowly, got off his horse, picked up his quiver and longbow, and stood on the edge of the island in the middle of the lake, facing the melee crowd.

There were ten arrows left in the quiver.

He carefully observed the crowd on the opposite side, raised his bow and shot.

Going straight into the chests of several elites on the opposite side, the local scuffle was relieved for a while.The Tatars on the opposite side noticed his presence and shot arrows over.

Xie Taichu did not avoid, instead he went to look at the crowd, and said: "That man is the leader of their cavalry."

That person stayed away from the core battle area and immediately observed the situation at the sand bar. Since the distance from the island in the middle of the lake was far beyond the range of the shooting range, he naturally didn't pay attention to them.

"The best black feather arrow and the strongest longbow have a range of only 150 steps. His position is more than [-] steps away from us." Zhao Yuan said, "It's too far away."

Xie Taichu touched the quiver at his waist.

Three black feather arrows.

He pondered for a moment: "I can."

The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and the opportunity is also fleeting. After he said this, he did not hesitate anymore, pulled up his sleeves and drew the bow to the full, charged up and shot towards the sky.

The first black-feathered arrow rushed into the sky, drew an arc and flew to the opposite bank in mid-air.

At the same time, Xie Taichu shot the second arrow faster than the first arrow.

When it reached the sky above the battlefield, the second arrow caught up with the first arrow, and unexpectedly burst out with enough power to hit the tail of the first arrow.

The first arrow was already exhausted, but due to its strength, a cold light flashed across the sky, and it was directly nailed into the left chest of the Tatar leader, piercing through his chest, and part of it went out.

He was taken by Juli, fell from his horse, vomited blood, supported by a long arrow behind him, knelt on his back, and died with his eyes open.

There was a moment of silence on the battlefield.

At this moment, Xie Taichu's third arrow came again and shot through the Tatar war banner.

The banner fell to the ground.

Someone at the end of the army shouted: "The leader of the Tatars is dead! The barbarians are defeated!"

In an instant, Daduan's morale was boosted.

The situation on the battlefield changed instantly.

The Tatars lacked a leader, and they were in a panic, bumping around like headless flies. The foreigners who had just been brave and good at fighting, now lost their backbone, and the tide receded, crushing them back and forth.

Those who were beside the deep ditch of the trench were squeezed into the ditch by their own people, and countless died at the bottom of the ditch.

This wave of more than a hundred people was driven to Shaba and fled to the north, and Daduan's army took advantage of the victory to pursue them.

The crisis by the Yellow River was temporarily resolved, and Zhao Yuan heaved a long sigh of relief.

His legs couldn't maintain his balance, and he could only stabilize himself by holding the saddle tightly with both hands. At this time, he was at the end of his strength, and he fell directly from the horse.

Xie Taichu stretched out his arms, hugged him, and placed him safely on the ground.

A dozen or so black-feathered arrows that came from the opposite bank were planted on the muddy ground of the stone pillars on the bank. Zhao Yuan saw that his whole body froze.

"Your Highness?"

He pulled out the long arrow by himself, and looked carefully at the arrow feathers.

"I came to Ningxia to be imprisoned. I carefully selected ten boxes of feathers every five days. It hurt my waist and hurt my eyes. The carved tail feathers I picked out were sent out to make high-quality arrows. I can recognize such arrow feathers at a glance. And these Tatars People, with arrows."

He handed the arrow to Xie Taichu.

"It's an eagle-tailed feather arrow," he said.

"The eagle tail feathers are high-grade arrows. They are heavy arrow feathers. They can pierce armor in a hundred steps. The goose feathers are middle-grade and can hurt cavalry. The low-grade crow feathers and miscellaneous feathers are issued to ordinary soldiers. They can be used in fifty steps. If you lose your aim, you will be on the battlefield.” Zhao Yuan gritted his teeth and laughed, “All the good arrows were sold to the Tatars. The Tatars used the arrow feathers made by us to kill us.”

The black fire in my heart seemed to have added a spoonful of oil, and it burned a little more intensely.

"Is this the frontier business?" Zhao Yuan asked him, "Is this the business that Jin Wu is running? Where did he earn a huge amount of gold and silver, and who did he give it to?!"

"Jin Wu is the direct descendant of Shu Liang." Xie Taichu said, "Winning factions and raising private soldiers. All these require a huge amount of money to clear up. Your Highness knows who it is."

"The frontier defense is in decline, and the people are in dire straits. The military households have fled, and there is no one left in ten rooms. Now there are beasts that kill their tribesmen by selling their own weapons to foreigners for profit! How can such a hard life survive? How can such a border defense be defended? Can you live?"

He supported the stone pier in an attempt to stand up, but his legs were weak, and he had to be supported by Xie Taichu to stand still slowly.

Zhao Yuan looked to the other side of the Yellow River.

At this time, the battle on the north bank was over, and corpses were everywhere.

However, the sound of shouting and killing behind the sand dam still came faintly.

Zhao Yuan pointed at the other side angrily: "The way of heaven is to allow innocent people to use their flesh and blood as a wall against the barbarian powerful enemies, and turn a deaf ear to the suffering of these living beings struggling in the mud. Instead, they allow those powerful and powerful corpses to eat vegetarian meals and live by drinking human blood?!"

"The way of heaven has never allowed the people to struggle, nor has it allowed the rich and powerful to eat vegetarian food." Xie Taichu sighed, "The injustice in the world arises from the greed of the human heart, so what has it to do with the way of heaven?"

Zhao Yuan laughed angrily: "You say that injustice is caused by people's hearts, and the law of heaven is innocent. What about King Ning, and what about Zhao Ji?! Did your law of heaven choose him?! Did he become the co-lord of the world? !"

"This has always been the case in the frontiers of all dynasties, and it is not limited to Jinwu, nor to Ningxia, nor to Zhao Ji!" Xie Taichu said at the end, his voice was a little angry, he took a deep breath, and said, "How can you say that His Highness Can you see through it? Compassion to one person, to several people, to thousands of people, is of no help to the rise and fall of the common people in this world. If you can’t keep the world peaceful and stable, you will put the common people in the fire and water for all generations. Such compassion is not Compassion is softness of heart.”

People say that Xie Taichu is a cultivator who yearns for the immortal journey all his life.

But Xie Taichu held a bow in one hand and a sword in the other, killing countless enemies in a single moment, like a bloody Shura.

Those who become monks should be compassionate.

Such a creed seems to have never appeared in Xie Taichu.

No relatives than heaven.

More bloodthirsty than evil spirits.

Now that he was uttering ruthless words, Zhao Yuan looked at him incredulously, and finally laughed wistfully.

"Hahahaha..." He laughed miserably, with tears streaming down his face, "I forgot that Ningshan Daoist practiced the ruthless Dao. He didn't seek money and power, but only sought to ascend the Dao. You cut off love and treated thousands of people as fools. Dog, why should I talk to you too much?"

He wanted to push Xie Taichu away, but was caught by Xie Taichu.

Xie Taichu's wrist stiffened and his eyebrows frowned slightly, Zhao Yuan had already noticed that his palm was wet, so he spread it out to have a look.

The palm of the hand that drew the bow just now was dripping with blood, and the five fingers could be seen with red flesh and real bones.

In order to kill the Tatar leader, he almost tried his best.

At this moment, even Zhao Yuan was extremely disappointed in him, his heart trembled, his eyes were blurred, it couldn't be said that it was for righteousness or friendship.

"...I dragged the real person down." Zhao Yuan said in a low voice, "If it wasn't because you promised the crown prince to protect me, I would be able to roam around the world at this time and learn about the Dao, and I wouldn't have to do this murderous thing in the north."

Xie Taichu clenched his fists and remained silent for a long time.

"For Your Highness...willingly..." he replied.

The tragic struggle on the north bank of the Yellow River continued.

However, for the two of Zhao Yuan, what they did could only go so far.On the way back, the big black horse carried Zhao Yuan on its back, and Xie Taichu led the horse, and slowly headed towards Zhang Liangbao.

When going down the embankment of the Yellow River, Zhao Yuan took one last look at the gunpowder smoke on the north bank.

"If I can stand up and lift a knife, will I be able to do more?" He asked Xie Taichu.

The so-called doing more.

It is to save one more person.

In this case, Zhao Yuan didn't say it clearly, but Xie Taichu understood.

He said: "Yes. Your Highness can do much more than now."

What he said was much more, Zhao Yuan didn't understand at this moment.

However, Zhang Liangbao was already in front of him.

It's different from before, but something remains the same.

It is quietly located by the Yellow River, and the barren and low eaves have been inhabited by military shepherds for generations.

Behind it is the horse farm of Yuanma Temple. When summer comes, the grass is overgrown. The herdsman will carefully feed the few army horses, hoping that they will be stationed at the frontier and defend the country when the enemy comes.

On the streets of the village, the women, children, and children living in the low-rise houses had taken to the streets with brooms at some point and began to clean the mottled streets.

The enemy's corpses were piled on the sand dam at the entrance of the village, thrown on the branches and burned.

The bodies of loved ones were taken home.

Walking on the street, I could still hear a few suppressed crying.

But it seems that people here are used to it, and the numb and calm people are not flustered.

In Zhao Yuan's small courtyard, the body of the guard at the gate also disappeared. The blood stains on the ground were buried by loess, and a handful of stones were scattered, making it look much cleaner.

Di Ying's torn clothes have been sewn together with poor needlework.Half of her face was swollen, and she was struggling to carry a bucket of water back.

Xie Taichu lifted the bucket from behind, startling her.

Then he saw Zhao Yuan.

She stared blankly at Xie Taichu holding Zhao Yuan off the horse, and gently put him on the wheelchair.Only then did she suddenly regain her senses, and Di Ying rushed in, threw herself into Zhao Yuan's arms, and cried while holding him.

"elder brother."

She couldn't say anything, only this word was enough to make people feel distressed.

The heads in the water tank were thrown away.

Xie Taichu washed the water tank all over, brought water from the village entrance, chopped cabbage and stewed it with smoked mink meat.After the three of them had eaten, they sent Di Ying to an old aunt to sleep.

The sky darkened.

There was no one in the house.

Zhao Yuan sat in a daze.

Xie Taichu saw that he was covered in blood, but the place was narrow, so he went out to check.

There was no one in the nearby village, and no corpse or blood was seen. It is not known whether he died or escaped.He tidied up a bit, took the wooden barrel from the house and placed it in the main hall, then boiled a large pot of hot water and poured it in.

The family is considered rich, and they even have half a candle and a piece of soap locust.

Xie Taichu hugged Zhao Yuan and bathed him.

Zhao Yuan was a little sleepy with ups and downs, and weakly refused: "I'll do it myself... I don't want to bother the real person..."

"Your Highness is covered in blood. After washing His Highness with running water outside the house, I carried His Highness inside to take a bath." Xie Taichu said.

Maybe it was because the smell of blood was too bad, Zhao Yuan didn't refuse, took off his clothes, sat on the bench, and waited for Xie Taichu to fetch water to wash off the blood.

At this time, the moon emerged from behind the clouds.

The silver glow spread out, illuminating the courtyard.

Xie Taichu took a bucket of hot water and walked out of the kitchen.

In the steaming heat, I saw Zhao Yuan sitting on the bench with his back to him, his long hair was loose and held up in front of his chest by him, his slender neck hung forward, revealing a white and clean nape.

Make him look a little charming.

The hot water slowly poured down from his head, and the blood all over Zhao Yuan's body slowly melted away with the flow of water.

Blood-red water marks fell from his shoulders.

Her fair chest glistened in the moonlight.

He has an elegant figure and outline, even if he is in distress at this time, sitting in front of the thatched cottage, his waist is also straight.The red water meanders down from his waist, and falls into the darkness in his buttocks, his buttocks are raised...

Xie Taichu especially remembered the smooth and tender skin after holding his buttocks.

Not only that, every gasp, every trembling and every love word of Zhao Yuan during the love affair...he remembers it all.

Zhao Yuan is not alone in enjoying the joy of fish and water.

He also enjoys it.

He also ascends to bliss.

Self-love gives birth to desire, self-desire leads to love more...

He has seen this person's tactful Cheng Huan, leading this person's violin and zither to sing, and wantonly smearing ink on Zhao Yuan's open heart...

Regret?

he asked himself.

When being hugged into the warm bathtub, Zhao Yuan said to Xie Taichu: "My lord, I can wash myself this time, so I won't bother you anymore... besides, your hand is injured..."

Xie Taichu was startled, his arms were already wet under the rolled up sleeves.

He let go of the towel in his hand: "Then I will wait outside the house. If your Highness needs anything, just call."

"Thank you."

Xie Taichu walked to the door and saw Zhao Yuan sitting in the steaming water, unable to see his face clearly.

He closes the door.

The chill came.

Not even the sound of dogs barking.

What a heartless love.

What a disaster.

Now in his mind, only the naked scene of Zhao Yuan before taking a bath just now is in his mind, and he can't let go of it at all.

The moon hung high, cold and bright as if the Dao of Heaven was watching, but Dao of Heaven was replaced by Zhao Yuan's body immediately.Xie Taichu's chest was churning with blood, and he covered his mouth and coughed twice.

Spreading out his palm, the blood he coughed up fell on his bandaged hand.

Mrs. Xie stood in the cold wind for a long time, but the evil spirit surging in her body was not suppressed at all, instead it grew wildly like vines.

When he carried Zhao Yuan up from the wooden barrel, his throbbing pulse, hot and humid body temperature, and the faint fragrance from his body all became a kind of pain that could only be resisted with all his strength. lure.

Xie Taichu looked normal, dressed him well, and carried him into the tidied inner bedroom on the kang.

The Kang was burned very hot by him, and it was very warm.

A layer of soft mattress was spread out, which was left over from Jinbaozhai last time.

"Your Highness's yard smells of blood, so I will sleep here tonight." He said to Zhao Yuan.

"Where is the real person?"

"Your Highness was shocked, so I will be outside tonight. If something happens, Your Highness will tell me, and I will come in immediately." Xie Taichu said, "...If Your Highness is not willing, let the situation be relaxed, and I will return to myself at night residence."

When he walked out, Zhao Yuan suddenly said: "I... I was furious when I was on Hexin Island, and said some impulsive words. The real person forgives me."

"Your Highness, don't mind."

"Although you are ruthless, you still care about the villagers. Today you saved the women and children in the village, and you saved me. Not only that, but you have done your best to kill the Tatar leader on the North Bank of the Yellow River battlefield. What do I have? qualified to question you."

"His Royal Highness grew up in the capital... People's livelihood is like this, and it is normal for them to be unacceptable for a while. Your Highness does not need to feel guilty or even apologize for this."

"The real person misunderstood." Zhao Yuan looked up at him, "I was just thinking... How naive I was before, thinking that I would know the world after reading a few sage books. I also felt sorry for myself, thinking that I was so rich in the capital Life is counted as a hard day. Little do you know that the world is not black and white, and the suffering of the people is far beyond imagination."

He really has no guilt.

His eyes were magnanimous, his face was calm, and there was no trace of panic.

Xie Taichu was speechless for a while.

This kind of Zhao Yuan, no longer the delicate and fragile white lotus enshrined in front of the shrine, reminded him of the hosta in full bloom in Ningxia Sanjiu.

Having been deprived of his title, his relatives died tragically, and he was far away from his homeland. The King of Le'an County, who was robbed by life, no longer has any peace, but something new has sprouted from his body and broke through the ground.

Along the way, he has experienced too much and changed too much, and he is moving towards his own life avenue at a faster speed.He still doesn't understand what disasters and blessings await him in the future, but he can't wait to face everything.

It was so eye-catching, it was even brighter than any moment in the past.

Xie Taichu couldn't look away.

....................................

I deleted about a hundred words that were repeated earlier.It does not affect the subscription payment amount, so I will write a paragraph here to make up for it.

Zhao Yuan will gradually embark on a path of blackening.

When I wrote about the Yiling Rebellion, I felt that it was impossible for Zhao Yuan's character to remain the same on the first day and suddenly change the next day.

So there will be an excess.

I think there are many kinds of crazy batches.

Compared with many ruthless lunatics, I set Zhao Yuan's madness as the madness and arrogance of idealists.

I don't know if I can show the difference in this part of the details, I will try my best to write.

Thanks to everyone who is here.