Chapter 70: Huchen's Death and Life

"The Marquis is back!"

Accompanied by the cheers of the "eight-foot giants," a bright red line of fire appeared in the field of vision of the soldiers.

Xiao Yu stood on the saddle, looking toward the south along the line of sight of the soldiers, and saw the Red Smoke Colt had already arrived outside Hualong Pass.

It didn't stop and continued to gallop forward.

The wooden planks on the iron chain bridge at Feixian Ferry were washed away by the flood, and the two main iron chains were pulled away by Song Zhong, but there were still four or five thin iron chains the thickness of a cup mouth connecting the two banks.

Although there were no wooden planks on the iron chains and they kept swaying, the Red Smoke Colt still walked as if on flat ground, galloping on a thin iron chain, and in the blink of an eye, it arrived at the other end of Feixian Ferry, arriving in front of the Fire Crow Army formation.

"Marquis, are you injured?"

Marquis Lieyang was still holding that zhang-long painted halberd, but the armor on his body had obvious signs of damage, and the round guard on his chest was even broken with a hideous opening.

The large red cloak was even more tattered, and his handsome and heroic face was pale and stained with blood.

"Minor injury, no big deal... cough cough!"

As soon as Marquis Lieyang opened his mouth, he coughed lightly, and traces of blood spilled from the corners of his mouth.

However, his breath was very steady, and when he jumped down from the Red Smoke Colt, his movements were also very flexible.

Xiao Yu was thoughtful; just relying on the few "Eight Immortals of the West" survivors who fled, they definitely couldn't hurt Marquis Lieyang.

There was indeed someone behind the Eight Immortals.

The Eight Immortals of the West were just assassins placed on the bright side.

I'm afraid Marquis Lieyang had long been aware of this, which is why he said earlier that he would borrow the speed of the Red Smoke Colt to save physical strength.

Now Marquis Lieyang was back, then the assassin...

——Great Qin is about beheading to record merit, why didn't he cut off the assassin's head and bring it back.

Xiao Yu was very interested in the true trump card of the "Eight Immortals of the West."

The confidence to become a human immortal must be higher than the human immortal realm.

What kind of immortal was that?

"You coordinate with the soldiers at Hualong Pass on the opposite bank, lay the wooden planks as soon as possible, and spend the night on the opposite bank tonight."

Marquis Lieyang gave an order and habitually turned around, intending to go to his commander's tent.

But when he turned his head and looked in the direction of the Yunlai Inn, it was a vast expanse of white; the flood had washed it really clean.

Not to mention the camp tents, even the foundation of the Yunlai Inn was washed away; now only uneven mountain rocks remained, and not a pinch of soil was left on the ground.

"I'll go to Hualong Pass first, you... Cai Fengnian, you make the arrangements."

The straight-line distance from Hualong Pass to Yunlai Inn was less than three hundred steps, but Hualong Pass was almost unaffected by the "Eight Immortals Shoot the Sun."

The surging flood could not cross the Hualong River.

It was only when Song Zhong pulled the iron chains that part of the mountain at Hualong Pass collapsed.

After Marquis Lieyang handed over the follow-up chores to Cai Sima, he leaped and returned to the Red Smoke Colt.

But before he had taken two steps, he caught a glimpse of a conspicuous outlier in the military formation: Xiao Yu, wearing a ru skirt, stood on Song Changqing's shoulder, looking at him with big, black-and-white eyes.

Uh, Xiao Yu didn't want to be a conspicuous person; it was really because the Great Qin giants were over a zhang six, over four meters tall, and if she didn't stand on Song Changqing's shoulder, she couldn't see the scene in front.

Marquis Lieyang's movements stalled; he jumped down from the Red Smoke Colt, patted the horse's head with lingering affection, and said indifferently: "Guan Yu, this is the Guan family's treasure horse; now that the battle is over, as agreed, you take it back."

He touched the bright red mane of the Red Smoke Colt like fire again, then turned around resolutely and walked toward the opposite bank with large strides.

Xiao Yu almost blurted out: A treasure horse matches a hero; the Marquis should keep the Red Smoke Colt!

Guan Huchen was not a loner after all; he had the Guan family if he died.

If she could really decide the disposal of the Red Smoke Colt, she shouldn't give it to Marquis Lieyang, but keep it for herself.

"Song Changqing, come with me!"

Xiao Yu leaped, flipped twice in the air, landed steadily on the ground, crossed the Great Qin giants with strange eyes in front, and walked a few steps to the Red Smoke Colt.

"Foster father said you are a divine horse and can understand human speech, so I'll be direct; foster father ordered me to come out and find you; he needs you. Perhaps he is already dead, but I still want to take you to see him."

She said a few words loudly two steps away, then tried to approach and reached out to touch the Red Smoke Colt's head.

The Red Smoke Colt turned its head and dodged.

——You beast, how did Marquis Lieyang touch you just now, why didn't you dodge?

Xiao Yu cursed the beast for being a snob in her heart, and reached out to touch the reins hanging on one side.

This time the Red Smoke Colt didn't dodge, nor did it get angry and butt her head—before, it not only kicked with its feet, butted with its head, and bit with its mouth; it would even breathe fire when angry.

Xiao Yu didn't jump onto the Red Smoke Colt's back to test its tolerance limit.

She led the Red Smoke Colt straight toward the wine cellar in the backyard, with Song Changqing and Wei Wu following behind her.

Although she only called Song Changqing, Wei Wu also consciously followed.

In fact, there weren't many people left in the Iron Cavalry Battalion, probably fifty or sixty.

Before the Eight Immortals Shoot the Sun, the Iron Cavalry Battalion had more than two hundred knights, and the Western Sand Garrison had more than five hundred; now the entire Fire Crow Army was only a little over three hundred, and after deducting nearly a hundred "Great Qin giants," the remaining western elites were less than two hundred and fifty.

The Iron Cavalry Battalion was already considered good.

Less than forty people survived in the Western Sand Garrison, one in ten.

The remaining soldiers of the western countries shared the hundred-plus survivors.

In one word, miserable!

"Fortunately, fortunately, the wine cellar gate is very thick and embedded in the mountain cave, so it wasn't washed away by the flood."

Xiao Yu turned her head back, looking fortunate, "Don't just stand there like fools; foster father and Li Zhongshu are dead, but their bodies must still be in the wine cellar; hurry up and chisel the door open and invite their remains out."

Monk Miao was above the hillside where the wine cellar was located.

The flood flowed forward, and the wine cellar behind bore less impact than other places.

At this moment, only the nearby soil and the outer house frame were washed away.

The thick wooden door was tightly embedded in the stone wall, seemingly sunken in.

"Miss Yu, is that you?"

Just as Xiao Yu finished speaking, while Song Changqing and Wei Wu were still pondering how to pry the door open, a weak call suddenly came from inside.

Xiao Yu walked a few steps quickly, opened her eyes wide at the crack of the wine cellar door, and shouted with joy: "Li Zhongshu, you are still alive? That's great, foster father, how is foster father?"

Then she turned her head and urged repeatedly, "Don't just stand there like fools; use your sabers to chop the door open."

Changqing and Wei Wu followed suit, chopping the wooden door to pieces with a few slashes, and a stream of turbid water flowed out.

"Miss Yu, I'm here." Guan Zhong's voice was a bit far and muffled.

This time, there was no need for Miss Yu to give orders.

Changqing and Wei Wu immediately walked forward, but after a few steps, Wei Wu was tripped by a corpse and staggered.

"This is... Wang Bao? Heavens, and Li Qing, Li Shangfu, they... how are they here, and..."

At first he was still shouting, but later his voice became lower and more hesitant, and his eyes flickered.

Song Changqing only froze for a moment, then said muffledly: "They were drowned."

The two of them didn't receive an invitation from Cai Sima, but they knew very well that Wang Bao and Li Qing, like them, had returned to the military camp safely.

It was just that before they could return to the team, Wang Bao and the others were whispered to by a soldier of the Tianfeng Kingdom and pulled into a nearby tent.

Wei Wu glanced at the headless corpse, nodded with a twisted expression, and said: "With such a big flood, it would be abnormal if they weren't drowned."

Guan Zhong shouted very inappropriately: "I'm here, come and save me~~~"

Song Changqing and Wei Wu's expressions stiffened; they said nothing and walked forward quickly.

Xiao Yu followed behind, arms crossed, sneering at their backs.

They walked until they reached the deepest part of the wine cellar, where they found Guan Zhong... in a wine vat on a wooden shelf.

"Li Zhongshu, you are really clever; you actually thought of hiding in a wine vat."

Xiao Yu looked back; from the wine cellar gate to here, there were two sets of stone steps, both going up, not down.

So the inside of the wine cellar was higher than the entrance.

"Didn't drown, but almost suffocated me~~~"

Guan Zhong was a bit plump, his fat face purple and red from holding his breath.

After being pulled out of the wine vat by Song Changqing like a radish, he opened his mouth and breathed heavily.

His clothes were soaked, but he didn't drown.

An empty wine vat could float on the water, but the stone cave was blocked by the flood, the air was turbid, and the oxygen was limited.

Fortunately, this assassination operation didn't turn into a protracted war... it seems Monk Miao was well-prepared and could hold out for a long time.

After recovering a bit of strength, Guan Zhong raised his head and looked left and right, then pointed to another larger wine vat and called out urgently: "Hurry up and move that jar over; the old master's body is inside."

"Is foster father really dead?" Xiao Yu squeezed hard, squeezing two crystal tears from the corners of her eyes.

It wasn't easy to squeeze out tears; she didn't let them slide down her cheeks easily, but hung them at the corners of her eyes, swaying and shining, very conspicuous.

Uh, it wasn't that she didn't feel sorry for Huchen.

After all, from the current point of view, this cheap foster father was pretty good to her.

It was just that she also understood that the two were essentially still in a relationship of mutual utilization.

The sentiment didn't reach the point of tears.

"But it doesn't matter; I have already avenged foster father."

Guan Zhong's expression was strange: "Avenged whom?"

The old master breathed his last because he said "the Human Emperor is dead, the Little Li Fei plan is completely ruined."

And the reason the old master was seriously injured and dying was because of Marquis Lieyang.

——Did you kill Marquis Lieyang?

As soon as this thought appeared, it was extinguished by Guan Zhong.

"Wasn't foster father killed by the hunting flag immortal Kong Zan?" Xiao Yu said.

"After the young lady left, the hunting flag immortal and another immortal did come over, but at that time the old master had already breathed his last..."

Seeing Song Changqing and Wei Wu had already lifted the jar from the wooden shelf, Guan Zhong immediately stopped talking and stepped forward to check carefully.

Seeing that the fire rat robe wrapping Huchen's remains was not soaked by the sewage, he spat out a breath of turbid air, his expression relaxing a lot.

"Miss Yu, you left earlier to find the Red Smoke Colt; have you found it now?"

"Li Zhongshu, I was just about to tell you..."

Xiao Yu swept a glance at Song Changqing and Wei Wu, and said: "I have something to say to Li Zhongshu alone; please wait outside, two generals."

Guan Zhong looked strange; he had wanted to say the same thing.

Song Changqing and Wei Wu said nothing, cupped their fists, and walked out silently.

"Li Zhongshu, guess what I saw after I entered the military camp?"

"What did you see?" Guan Zhong asked casually first, then said nervously: "Miss Yu, I really want to know the process and result of the Eight Immortals of the West assassinating Marquis Lieyang, but I have something important to tell you now."

Xiao Yu said: "Is it about foster father's funeral? Li Zhongshu, I was just about to talk to you about this.

After I entered the military camp, the first thing I saw was Marquis Lieyang riding on the Red Smoke Colt."

"What, Marquis Lieyang occupied the old master's treasure horse?!" Guan Zhong was shocked.

Xiao Yu sighed: "You are more knowledgeable than me and must know the significance of the Red Smoke Colt to a martial general, especially a martial general who practices fire-attribute techniques.

Marquis Lieyang was already riding the Red Smoke Colt at that time.

When I said loudly in front of all the soldiers that I came to find the Red Smoke Colt to take foster father to see a divine physician... perhaps he couldn't save face, Marquis Lieyang immediately stated that after the battle, he would return the horse to the Guan family.

After all, coming from the Central Plains, a land of etiquette, Marquis Lieyang must pay attention to public opinion and reputation.

But I think we'd better be sensible.

Taking the initiative to give the divine horse to Marquis Lieyang might exchange some benefits for the Guan family, at least not be missed by others."

"Cannot give the Red Smoke Colt to Marquis Lieyang!" Guan Zhong said urgently: "Because the old master is not dead yet and needs the Red Smoke Colt to save his life!"

Xiao Yu looked at the remains in the wine vat in surprise and doubt, "Didn't you just say foster father died—don't you worry about Song Changqing and Wei Wu, worried that they have ulterior motives? Li Zhongshu, you are too careful."

"No, the old master is indeed dead, but he can still be rescued, as long as the remains are sent to the territory of Yingxiang Prefecture in time, the ancestor will take action." ===== CHAPTER 71 =====