Chapter 346: 346 retreat

Chapter 346: 346 retreat

Chapter 346 346 Defeated

Andaman looked up at the sky in front of him with a solemn expression.

Although there is no turmoil in the Hao Kingdom for the time being, the situation is worrying. Hao Emperor Wuhaduluo has only barely suppressed the turbulent situation. It can be said that he is walking on thin ice. If there is a slight imbalance, the ice may break.

His mission in coming to Daqi was to search for the whereabouts of Wu He Jia Lou, but Wu He Jia Lou was still missing and his life and death were unknown, which also meant that he had failed on two tasks in a row.

He was a relative, and his identity was already criticized by others. Countless pairs of eyes in the court were staring at him, waiting for him to make a mistake, waiting to step on him to add insult to injury.

Fortunately, there is always a way, and he met Chu Qianhuang who he sent to his door in Daqi.

Bringing Chu Qianhuang back to the Hao Kingdom not only allowed him to get rid of his crimes and block those things, but it was also a great achievement.

Whether it is the new type of bow she provides or the extremely high-yielding potatoes, they can make the Hao Kingdom stronger and establish Uhaduluo's prestige among the people and the military.

As long as Wuhaduluo can stabilize the country and resolve internal worries, he will surely become the popular supporter of the people, and then a mere Wuhejia Tower will not be able to make waves at all.

In his thoughts, Andaman became ambitious and looked back at the carriage where Chu Qianhuang was.

When the official from the Ministry of Rites saw Andaman looking back, he thought he was looking at Prince Rui's carriage, so he added: "Since the prince has no objections, I will go back and report to Prince Rui about my emperor's crossing the river."

If everything goes well, then they will cross the river tomorrow. Before leaving the border of Daqi, Prince Rui, as the messenger, must write a note to the emperor in the capital, describing the hardships of the journey and lamenting the princess's dissatisfaction with the emperor and her motherland. Wait a minute.

Andaman responded absently again, with a very cold attitude.

Whenever he heard the name of Emperor Daqi, he felt as if a hard object had been stuffed into his heart.

The emperor of Da Qi was really cunning. He obviously had a very good relationship with King Chen, but he acted like brothers were at odds with each other, just to make himself careless.

Emperor Daqi must have known about Wuhejialou hiding in Prince Chen's Mansion, but he pretended not to know.

Also, the marriage between the two countries kept changing... He was teased like a fool by the Emperor of Qi.

Andaman felt like there were countless ants crawling in his heart. He was irritable and felt that there were still some things he couldn't figure out.

Because the attitude of the Emperor of Daqi was so strange. If it was really the Emperor of Daqi who hid Wuhagalou, then why did he hide people in Prince Chen's Mansion?

Last year, it was King Chen who escorted Wu Hejia Lou back to Hao. Now Jia Lou’s whereabouts are unknown. Anyone would suspect that King Chen was hiding Jia Lou. In this case, wouldn’t it be too easy for Jia Lou to be exposed in King Chen’s mansion? ? ! After all, the capital city is the territory of Daqi. If the Emperor of Daqi and King Chen want to hide someone, there are plenty of places to accommodate them.

Moreover, Andaman never dared to underestimate Uhagalou. Uhagalou seemed to be shining brightly, but in fact it was very scheming and full of tricks. When dreaming back at midnight, Andaman had wondered more than once whether all this was a trap by Uhagalou. Some things always seemed too logical.

He is in the middle of the game, and there are some facts that he cannot see clearly.

Andaman clamped his horse's belly and rode away.

He told himself that he would be able to return to Hao Kingdom tomorrow, and he would worry about everything after returning to Hao Kingdom.

He shook off the myriad thoughts in his mind and concentrated on getting on his way.

The whole journey was non-stop, with only a half-hour break at noon to have some hasty lunch, and then the team continued on the road.

When the sunset was halfway down, they arrived outside Changjing Town.

Changjing Town at dusk was deserted under the sunset, empty and silent, without any sound of living people.

There is an uncomfortable atmosphere in this town that has been empty for half a year, and it is lifeless.

The motorcade stopped at the entrance of the town, and the people accompanying it immediately reported the strange situation in the town to Prince Rui and the officials of the Ministry of Rites.

Prince Rui was a little surprised. He opened the curtains and looked out at the town.

Everything as far as the eye could see was in a state of depression. Houses, plaques, etc. were all covered with dust and cobwebs. Even the wine flags fluttering in the wind outside the restaurant were faded and dilapidated by the wind and rain.

Anyone can see that this is a dead city where no one lives.

Prince Rui frowned slightly. Originally, they planned to replenish some supplies in this town, but they didn't expect that the town was already a ghost town. It was estimated that all the townspeople had moved away.

It was getting late now, and Prince Rui did not intend to cross the river overnight, so he discussed with the officials of the Ministry of Rites and Andaman to camp in the town overnight, saying that finding other places to stay would delay tomorrow's trip.

Andaman agreed politely, after all, he knew very well why this town became like this.

So, at the command "Enter town", the motorcade began to move forward along the wide street.

In this empty town, the sound of horse hooves and wheels was extremely loud.

As everyone moved forward, they couldn't help but look left and right. The doors of some houses were closed, while others were open. When the old wooden doors were occasionally blown by the wind, they would make a "creeping" sound, which was a bit scary.

The sun was still setting, and the sky was half-dark. Being in this deserted town made people feel eerie.

After walking two streets, Andaman pulled the reins and stopped in front of a restaurant. He turned around and ordered his followers: "Go and tell Prince Rui that you will spend the night in this restaurant tonight and you should tidy up a little." Can stay overnight.”

The attendant immediately accepted the order, but when he turned his head, his expression changed drastically, and he blurted out: "Your Majesty, Prince Rui is missing!"

What? ! The King of Andaman County also turned around when he heard the sound, and his eyes suddenly opened wide.

Indeed, Prince Rui's carriage disappeared.

Not only Prince Rui, but also officials from the Ministry of Rites and other Daqi people were missing.

Half of the team at the rear was missing, as if they had disappeared out of thin air. Because their attention was attracted by this dead city before, they had no idea when Qi Ren disappeared.

Andaman realized something and his expression changed drastically, as if he had seen a ghost.

Oops! This is obviously an ambush that someone set up here.

Andaman felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on his head, and his heart felt extremely cold.

He pulled the reins, turned the direction of the horse's head, and ordered decisively: "Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

However, his order was already a step too late.

"Boohoo!"

A stream of feathered arrows came from the shadows on both sides of the street, forming a dense rain of arrows. The opponent occupied a high place. Those feathered arrows shot from the second floor of the house, the tree crown, and the wall, and the sharp arrows broke through the air. The sound is chilling.

The sky became darker again, dim and dim, and the sharp arrow tips shone with cold light.

In the chaos, some feather arrows hit several Hao people and several tall horses. People and horses screamed in pain one after another. Some people fell from their horses, some horses fell to the ground, and some horses lost control and went crazy...

The thick smell of blood quickly spread in the air, and spread with the cool breeze of dusk.

Andaman was caught off guard by the sudden ambush at first, but it was not his first time on the battlefield. He quickly calmed down and ordered his entourage to continue to retreat outside the town.

In this town, they will only become each other's prey.

Under the protection of several close guards, Andaman quickly dismounted and used the tall horse as his human shield.

Several guards held scimitars in their hands, guarding around Andaman, constantly retreating.

Andaman's close guards all have extraordinary martial arts skills. One of the bearded guards swung away a feathered arrow with sharp eyes and quick hands. There was a "clang" sound, and sparks flew between the arrow tip and the blade.

The bearded guard felt his wrists being numbed by the shock, and said to Andaman: "Your Majesty, these arrows are very powerful!"

At the same time, another Hao man around also blocked an arrow, but his sword was shaken out of his hand.

There were more Hao people around who were unable to escape and were injured by arrows. After a while, there were already many wounded in their ranks. There were dead bodies lying on the ground, with blood flowing like rivers.

Andaman's face turned even darker. After being reminded by the bearded guard, he also noticed that these arrows were extremely accurate, had a long range, were powerful, and had the potential to break bamboo.

These arrows are not like those shot by ordinary people, or should I say, not like those shot by ordinary bows, but more like the new type of bow that Chu Qianhuang showed him last year.

Yes, it must be this!

Andaman was in a state of confusion. At this moment, even he didn't know whether he was more afraid or more angry at being plotted against.

He can't care about this anymore. Escape is the key now. Only when a person is alive can he take revenge and plan for the future.

He absolutely cannot stay here!

At this moment, a familiar male voice came from the front right: "Andaman!"

The other party called his name in Hao language, his voice was lukewarm, but it seemed to suppress all the noisy sounds around him.

Andaman trembled, with only this sound remaining in his ears, he raised his eyes and looked over.

I saw a young monk wearing white robes appear at a second-floor window. The monk opened a strange-looking black bow. The arrow was already placed on the bow, and the tip of the arrow was aimed at himself.

Wuhajia Tower!

Andaman's pupils shrank sharply, and he had no time to react. Uhagalou had already let go and let go of the arrow. The feather arrow came out of the string and shot towards him with lightning speed...

"Prince!"

Andaman heard someone calling his name. He wanted to hide, but his body's reaction was not as fast as the arrow.

The next moment, the arrow hit his chest, and he seemed to be able to hear the sound of his ribs breaking...

Andaman's eyes almost widened to the extreme, his tall body fell straight back, and all kinds of sounds left him in an instant.

The smell of blood in the air became stronger.

Several Hao people around Andaman also saw Uhagalou, and their expressions couldn't help but show a little fear.

Wuhejialou retracted his bow and looked down.

Even though he had just been killed, his expression still contained no trace of murderous intent, no joy or sorrow, and was noble and aloof, just like the Nine Heavens Gods and Buddhas who do not eat the fireworks of the world and look down on all living beings.

Just his gaze made people feel an invisible pressure, making all the Hao people on the street have the urge to bow down to him.

The setting sun has completely set, and a faint silvery moon can be seen hanging in the night sky, vaguely stained with blood. This was definitely not a night suitable for moon-gazing.

The moonlight in the capital was also not very good. The clouds in the sky obscured the stars and the moon, making the night sky dim.

The weather in February was drizzle every now and then, with no moon at night and no sun during the day.

Chu Qianchen became even more at home. Not only did he not leave the palace, but he also stayed at home.

On February 20th, the weather rarely cleared up, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was cloudless.

Early in the morning, Chu Qianchen was dragged out of the house by Gu Jue, and the two went to the school grounds to ride horses.

Gu Jue's wound had been recovering for fifty days, and he had recovered to 70% or 80%. Chu Qianchen finally allowed him to ride a horse, and also allowed him to do Tai Chi, Wu Qin Xi, etc., but he was still not allowed to use force in a big way. , especially when fighting with others.

Jueying, who hadn't played with Gu Jue for a long time, was in a very good mood. When galloping on the racecourse, the horse's tail swung happily.

After running around for a while, it would come to Chu Qianchen to act coquettishly and beg for a piece of candy, which made some people wonder.

Everyone in the palace knows how arrogant the prince's favorite horse Jueying is. In the past, he would not give face to anyone except the prince, but he was willing to take the initiative to bow his noble horse's head to the princess.

"That's great!" Chu Yunmu sighed enviously. Jueying didn't give him any face at all, and wouldn't even eat the candy he fed.

On the other side, Chu Yunyi was fighting with Yun Zhan. Both of them were riding on horses and using long spears. However, Yun Zhan still gave way to Chu Yunyi, so he only used his right arm and his left arm behind his back, even No holding reins.

The two people and the horse seemed to be integrated into one, with strong and flexible postures. The two red-tasseled spears danced like a tiger and a tiger, combining strength and softness.

Chu Yunmu looked at Gu Jue and Jueying for a while, then looked at Yunzhan and Chu Yunyi for a while. While eating yam and jujube cake, he asserted: "Chu Yunyi will definitely lose!"

He also turned to ask Tang Yuchu and Xue Fengyan: "Brother Tang, Brother Xue, do you think so?"

Tang Yuchu: "..."

Xue Fengyan: "..."

Chu Qianchen: "..."

If it were anyone else, they might mistakenly think that Chu Yunmu has a vicious vision at a young age. In fact, everyone present knows that Chu Yunmu has just seen too much, and Chu Yunyi has never defeated Yun Zhan.

Brothers Chu Yunmu and Chu Yunyi have been living in the palace for nearly a month, and no one has left.

Chu Yunyi trains with Yun Zhan every day. As for Chu Yunmu, there are even more people to take care of him. Gu Jue arranged for him to have a reading teacher, and he has to read with him for two hours every day. Homework will also be assigned. For the rest of the time, Chu Yunmu was led by Yun Zhan for a while, and then left to Su Mubai and Xue Fengyan.

Chu Yunmu's temperament is not as awkward as Chu Yunyi's. He is sweet-tongued and does not accept life. Except for his own eldest brother, he calls everyone brother when he sees him without even a trace of exception. There are no children in the palace, and Yun Zhan and Xue Fengyan are both bachelors. They are also very good to Chu Yunmu, and they are all very familiar with each other.

Gu Jue walked around again and stopped a few steps away. Watching the duel between Chu Yunyi and Yun Zhan, he suddenly said: "The dragon comes out of the water."

The spear in Chu Yunyi's hand had already been thrust out. With a twitch of his eyebrows, he immediately changed his move from "Flame Pierced the Clouds" to "Dragon Leaping Water". The spear moved as fast as lightning and moved. Like thunder, it is unstoppable.

Yun Zhan smiled, and cleverly changed his tactics, "entangling" Chu Yunyi's spear.

Gu Jue said again: "Swallows seize the nest."

Of course, Chu Yunyi understood that Gu Jue was giving him instructions and followed his instructions again. His marksmanship was even more powerful than before.

The two spears collided and intertwined from time to time, and silver flowers danced out of the silver spear tips.

Chu Yunmu even forgot to eat the snacks, his eyes were wide open and he couldn't take his eyes away.

It was clear that just now Chu Yunyi was suppressed by Yun Zhan with even one hand, and defense was greater than offense, but now the two of them have turned around, and it was Yun Zhan who was forced to retreat by Chu Yunyi...

"The phoenix spreads its wings."

After another prompt from Gu Jue, Chu Yunyi turned around quickly on horseback, stabbing out the spear at an extremely weird angle. At the same time, his long arm shook rapidly, twisting and picking.

At this time, if Yun Zhan could use his left hand, he would still have a chance to hold the reins or bend his head to hug the horse's neck, but he could not move his left hand and fell off the horse.

Yun Zhan was used to falling on horses, so he adjusted his posture in mid-air and stabbed the gun on the ground at the same time to stabilize his body. He landed lightly on the ground, bending one knee slightly to relieve his stamina.

The unfinished piece of pastry in Chu Yunmu's hand fell out of his hand, but Tang Yuchu, who was next to him, had quick eyesight and quick hands. He immediately caught it, kindly stuffed the half piece of pastry into its open mouth, and then returned it. Use the hand that touched the pastry to touch the little kid's head: "Don't waste food."

Chu Yunyi has also stopped his horse. Until now, he still feels unbelievable that he actually won.

Obviously his brother-in-law only showed him some tricks, but he was still the same, but he was able to defeat Yun Zhan with one hand.

Chu Yunyi's eyes were burning and his blood was raging.

He knew that his body was not fully grown yet, and his strength, speed, etc. were not as good as Yunzhan's. Although he was occasionally frustrated by this, he also knew clearly that this was the limitation of his age. All he could do was to double his efforts. practise.

After Gu Jue's guidance just now, Chu Yunyi felt like he suddenly had an enlightenment.

Gu Jue pointed out a direction for him. It turns out that the same "he" can also be more powerful. If his body is filled with Gu Jue's soul, then Yun Zhan, let alone one-handed Yun Zhan, is probably Yun Zhan with all his strength. He was no match for Gu Jue either.

Gu Jue, his brother-in-law, is really awesome!

"Bah bang bang!"

Chu Yunmu clapped his hands desperately, with the half piece of pastry still stuffed in his mouth, and his cheeks were bulging.

"Awesome, brother-in-law, you are so awesome!" Chu Yunmu quickly swallowed the cake and said eagerly, "Brother-in-law, please teach me too!" A pair of phoenix eyes similar to Chu Qianchen's were almost shining.

Of course the prince is powerful! Chu Qianchen looked at Gu Jue, who was wearing a moon-white Hufu on the horse, with a smile on his face.

When Gu Jue wore slim-fitting Hu clothes, he had a different kind of demeanor, heroic and heroic, less lazy than Xianyun Yehe.

Chu Qianchen was also a little eager to give it a try. The corners of her lips curved up, and she thought to herself: After three months, she should ask the prince to teach her archery. She was good at standing up, but not at running. She had to practice hard. The prince is the best at teaching people!

Chu Qianchen didn't allow Gu Jue to work hard. When he saw that he had walked the horse three or four times, he dragged him away from the school grounds.

When he came out, he saw Jiang Yuan coming towards him not far ahead, with his usual expressionless face but hurried steps.

"Your Majesty, Princess," Jiang Yuan reported in a cryptic tone, "Chu Lingxiao is back and has just gone to Yuanqing Temple for 'interaction'."

Chu Qianchen looked calm and just nodded slightly.

She knew that there would be another good show coming next, so she would just watch it anyway.

At noon in February, the temperature was just right under the scorching sun, and there was a hint of warmth in the breeze.

At this moment, Chu Lingxiao's heart was as hot as the scorching sun in the sky.

He arrived at Yuan Qingguan an hour ago and has not left yet.

Chu Lingxiao was waiting in the open space outside the alchemy room, feeling anxious and expectant. From time to time, his eyes would look in the direction of the alchemy room, waiting for the elixir to be released.

Along with Chu Lingxiao, there was also a middle-aged man wearing the Qingzhidao of the Grand Master and a dozen or so Forbidden Army soldiers. These Forbidden Army soldiers were sent by the emperor to protect Taoist Master Xuanjing and guard the alchemy furnace.

"Master Chu, I'm so happy to have found the marrow balsam this time." The middle-aged man smiled and cupped his hands at Chu Lingxiao.

"Where is it?" Chu Lingxiao replied politely, his eyes shining brightly.

He searched for more than half a month in the towns near the capital before finally finding this medicine called Marrow Balsam. He didn't dare to stop for a moment and hurriedly brought it to Xuanjing.

Xuanjing's elixir is missing the marrow balsam. It is said that refining the Buyuan Pill originally took ninety-nine and eighty-one days, but with the marrow balsam as the medicine's guide, the speed can be accelerated.

As long as Xuanjing refines the Buyuan Dan, he will have made a great contribution and his career will be close to him.

"Master Chu has made great achievements this time, and his promotion is just around the corner." A glint of jealousy or envy flashed across the middle-aged man's eyes, and he still had some disdain for Chu Lingxiao in his heart: I have never seen anyone who likes to take credit so much. , in order to take the sole credit, he does everything himself, for fear that they will take away his credit!

Chu Lingxiao didn't care what others thought. This was his first big errand for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He had to do it well and he must not let anyone ruin his errand.

While thinking, Chu Lingxiao looked in the direction of the alchemy room again. The door of the alchemy room was still closed.

Chu Lingxiao waited and waited, and couldn't help but stop the little Taoist boy guarding the door and asked, "Has Taoist Master Xuanjing ever told you how long it will take to practice?"

The little Taoist boy, who was only about eleven or twelve years old, had a handsome appearance and a fairly pleasant temperament. He said politely: "Master said it could take as little as two hours, or as long as one day and one night."

Chu Lingxiao said "Oh", a little disappointed, walked back and forth in the open space twice, and then asked the little Taoist boy: "Little Taoist, there is no sound at all in the alchemy room, why don't you go in and see what's going on?"

The little Taoist boy replied patiently: "Master said that when you are refining elixir, you must keep your mind close to your heart and do not disturb it. Otherwise, you may go crazy and become possessed at worst, or..."

Chu Lingxiao walked away nonchalantly and continued to walk back and forth in the open space. When he walked towards the little Taoist boy for the third time, a sudden change occurred.

"Bang!"

A loud and earth-shaking sound came from the direction of the alchemy room, and a scorching hot air suddenly exploded like thunder. Even the door of the alchemy room was blown up, and the door fell heavily. Two feet in front, it fell to pieces.

The little Taoist boy guarding the door was also hit by the huge airflow and fell to the ground in embarrassment.

The entire ground of Yuanqing Temple seemed to shake with the loud noise just now. If Chu Lingxiao hadn't been here to witness it with his own eyes, he would have thought that the earth dragon had turned over just now.

This movement is really too big.

The Taoist priests, Taoist boys and pilgrims in Yuanqing Temple also felt it. Many people heard the sound and came to see what happened.

Chu Lingxiao was standing at the door of the alchemy room. Without the cover of the door, the black dust mist in the alchemy room was still floating out...

He was shocked and scared, not knowing what was going on.

Chu Lingxiao hesitated for a moment and was really anxious, so he took out a handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose. Then he gritted his teeth and rushed into the alchemy room, shouting: "Taoist Master Xuanjing! Taoist Master Xuanjing..."

The middle-aged man and the soldiers of the Forbidden Army also followed in, covering their mouth and nose with one hand and using their sleeves as a fan with the other hand.

Inside the alchemy room, it was gray and messy.

The huge alchemy furnace exploded into two halves, and pieces of coal-like things scattered on the floor.

Taoist priest Xuanjing was sitting on the ground in a state of embarrassment, with his back against a wall. He looked shabby. The green robe on his body was dirty and torn. His arms were still bleeding, and the blood fell on the ground "tick-tock-tock"...

But he didn't seem to be aware of it, looking at the alchemy furnace in front of him that was blown into two halves in despair.

(End of chapter)