Chapter 11

Purple qi came from the east, pressing down on myriad mountains,

Laozi stuck out his tongue and laughed, his face breaking into a smile.

Outside the green ox cart, the heavenly wind was vast,

It swayed the Hangu Pass of that year.

Niu Dingtian didn't know what it felt like for others to ride in an ox cart; he only knew it was very stable, very stable.

He didn't know how long had passed; when he woke again, he found himself lying on an ox cart, with a thick pile of straw beneath him, and he found the familiar feeling again.

At this moment, he suddenly thought of Old Master Niu Wu, the old man who had driven an ox cart his whole life, and of his childhood, just like now, lying on the ox cart watching the sky, the clouds, the flying birds, and the distant sunset.

Only while on that ox cart would he cast away his worries, just as now, lying on this ox cart, he cast away the worries of his frantic escape.

Of course, if the person driving the ox cart ahead would sing another of Niu Wu Ye's favorite Cinnabar Prefecture little tunes, he thought, his wounds might heal a bit faster.

Although his whole body ached so much he didn't want to move an inch, the occasional waft of tempting fresh fragrance from ahead kept entering his nose and throat, stimulating his brain, so he didn't mind imagining something even better.

If one were to say the scent on Chen Jin'er's body was like the beauty wine brewed from late-autumn osmanthus in the river of years, rich and elegant, irresistible.

Then the person before him must be the clear lotus of River South, pure and elegant with a light fragrance, soothing wounds, making one feel as if bathed in spring breeze.

Niu Dingtian lay on the ox cart, closed his eyes again, and thought vaguely, enjoying it.

"Awake?"

After a moment, perhaps hearing a slight movement behind him, the person in front reined in the ox cart and murmured softly.

"Mm."

"Drink some wine? Your cold qi is heavy; it will dispel the cold."

"Mm."

He must have known the person behind him was badly injured; the person in front, accurately speaking a woman, didn't pay much mind.

He then opened the wineskin, turned around, and began to pour the wine into this person's mouth.

Niu Dingtian felt a hot current suddenly rush into his throat, then flow into his viscera, and his whole body instantly warmed considerably.

Only then did he open his eyes and glance at the woman leaning over him above.

She was about twenty-five or twenty-six, wearing a white robe and pink shirt, with big eyes, long lashes, skin like snow, and a head of hair like dark clouds; her natural bearing was that of a River South water village lady.

Seeing him stare at her without blinking, her face flushed slightly for a moment, not quite natural, but she then composed herself, gave Niu Dingtian a faint smile, and turned back to continue driving the cart.

It seemed,

that she was a bold and forthright rivers and lakes person.

Niu Dingtian then closed his eyes again.

That old eunuch's martial arts were truly fierce; he had put on an act, achieved his goal, but he himself had almost not escaped.

If it weren't for having used the North Darkness Divine Skill to strike him secretly, and then borrowing the name of Xi Du to deceive him, this life would likely have been lost out there.

Thinking thus, he fell into a deep sleep again.

Withered vines, old trees, dusky crows,

the sunset sinking westward

The ox cart, pulled by the lingering sun, slowly headed north; not long after, a solitary village on the distant wilderness appeared in view, drawing nearer.

Gradually, waves of cries for help and wails of anguish grew louder from that side.

Niu Dingtian woke up

He looked up and saw a band of Jin State soldiers and a group of Central Plains-styled rivers and lakes folk, joined together, burning, killing, and looting in the village ahead, committing rape and plunder.

Shattered doors and windows, bloody, stinking corpses, women stripped naked, goods scattered across the ground, and houses ablaze.

Wails, cries, groans, and shouts for help mingled together; before his eyes lay a scene like a hell on earth.

Having lived two lives, he had never claimed to be a good person, nor did he consider himself one.

Because in this chaotic world of rivers and lakes, being a good person is a responsibility, even a burden, and usually does not end well.

But he considered himself still a person, so the fate of those few ahead was sealed from the moment he saw them, even though he himself still bore serious wounds.

Coincidentally, at this moment the few Jin soldiers who were slaughtering also noticed the man and woman on this ox cart.

Seeing the prone Niu Dingtian, they ignored him outright; seeing the woman's appearance, their eyes lit up, and while tossing blood-stained loot onto the ground, they shouted fiercely, 'Kill them all quickly! There are two more here!'

Saying that, they charged over.

Seeing this, Niu Dingtian was about to act when the woman's hand pressed down on him, signaling him not to move.

Then she swiftly drew an iron sword with her right hand.

The blade left the sheath with a ringing like chimes, its light like a rainbow; it flashed across the ox cart in an instant, her body like a swallow skimming water, and with a wave of her hand a cold light flashed— the leading Jin soldier's blood spurted, his head severed.

At the same time, two more rushed in to surround and attack.

Seeing this, the woman leapt up, kicked aside the long blade slashing at one of them, a flash of sword light followed, and again blood spattered— she felled him with a single strike.

As for the other, before his blade could reach her, she thrust backward, and the iron sword pierced straight into his heart.

To make such a kind, gentle woman act this way, this sword bears hatred.

The remaining few, seeing this, hesitated for a moment and dared not advance.

Suddenly a sturdy-clad person drew a blade and stepped forward, speaking in a deep voice: "Who are you? Iron Palm Gang business—those who know their place, scram!"

The woman, hearing this, with a 'swish', pulled out the iron sword still lodged in her chest, turned around, her beautiful eyes flashing like lightning, her brows furrowed in a cold rebuke:

"Yue Maiden Sword, Han Xiao Ying!"

(End of chapter)