807 Broken Bows, Broken Knives, and Broken Dreams (1/2)
Ning Que held onto his walking stick and looked at Hua Shanyue. He leaned half of his weight on the walking stick. His posture made him seem earnest in his gaze toward Hua Shanyue, almost as if he would look through him.
Hua Shanyue felt a little pain between his eyebrows. He felt like Ning Que's eyes were like two sharp knives. So he leaned over to one side, holding Xiao Man's hand.
As he leaned, he opened the view of the night sky for others. But in doing so, he blocked Li Yu's sight.
Earlier when he said there were 30 Shenhou crossbows in the night, he wasn't lying. As Hua Shanyue turned his body, a shrill sound suddenly pierced the quiet courtyard.
Snowflakes were pulverized as dozens of arrows were shot from the trees next to the wall, pointing at Ning Que on the terrace.
There wasn't much snow falling in the courtyard, but now it seemed to accumulate more and more. There was a strange force on the snow, causing sharp lines to appear in it.
After crossing the snow, the sharp arrowhead from the crossbow was like a head cut in half by a sharp knife. It was broken and fell. Then the crossbow arrow broke piece by piece. It was scattered in the air.
There were dozens of arrows. They couldn't cross the snowstorm outside. They shattered into countless broken pieces. The snow scattered the pieces everywhere, like dead branches falling from a tree.
The fragments of the arrow fell on the snow and made a loud noise. The people inside and outside the terrace were shocked by this scene until they came to after hearing the sound.
There were two loud sounds. Many of the Tang Army soldiers shouted as they drew the swords. They swung their swords toward Ning Que's head.
Ning Que leaned on his walking stick. He didn't even look at the swords. He just kept looking at Hua Shanyue, quietly.
The pain between Hua Shanyue's eyebrows kept getting worse and worse. His body and soul were both cold.
Before the Tang Army's swords could reach Ning Que's side, they fell down. The swords were cut in half by a sharp noise. Then the hands holding the swords were also cut.
Two distinct cut marks appeared on their chests and abdomens. The blood slowly came out of the cuts. The cuts gradually opened wider and wider. It was a horrible sight.
Even though Ning Que didn't have a sword, he still made the two cuts on the Tang soldiers' bodies. And even though the cuts were on their front sides, they felt the pain on their backs. The capes worn by the Tang soldiers were all torn in two and fell to the ground.
The cut halves of the capes rolled up as they hit the ground. Blood streaks were visible. It looked like a river of blood. The Tang soldiers couldn't stand anymore and fell to their knees in the river of blood.
Hua Shanyue's pupils were contracted to pinpoints, yet still looked calm. He asked Ning Que, ”Is this the word?”
Ning Que looked at him, still holding onto his walking stick. He didn't say a word. Then he straightened his posture slowly and loosened the horizontal piece of wood from the bottom of his walking stick. He looked as though he was preparing to draw a sword or write something.
These two scenes showed the power gap between the two sides. Everyone could see Ning Que's actions and guess what he would do next.
Just then, Chao Xiaoshu grabbed Ning Que's shoulder.
Ning Que wanted an explanation.
Chao Xiaoshu looked at the Tang Army on the ground and asked, ”Did you just come back from the front lines?”
It was very quiet on the terrace. Nobody answered his question because nobody knew why he would ask this question.
Ning Que knew Chao Xiaoshu was talking to himself. He looked at the dew on the fallen Tang soldiers' faces, remaining silent. His right hand grabbed his walking stick again, putting his weight on it.
He looked at Hua Shanyue and said, ”Whatever you're thinking, it's wishful thinking.”
Hua Shanyue looked at his subordinates lying on the ground in their own blood. He was silent for awhile. Then he took his right hand back from covering Xiao Man's eyes. Hua Shanyue said to Ning Que, ”Thinking sometimes can be a ridiculous thing. You can kill me, but you cannot stop me from thinking.”
When he said these things, he went through a myriad of facial expressions: regret, self-deprication, unwillingness. He wanted to help Li Yu escape Chang'an, so he made a careful plan. However, who could've guessed two guests of this caliber would come in this kind of weather to disrupt the calm where the Princess lived?
The Princess' house had been quiet for a long time. But tonight, it came alive again. The Bodyguard office and Chang'an Local Government sent a lot of people to the house. The front of the house was lit by many torches. People gathered on both sides of the street. They looked and judged all movements and sounds. They all said bad things. Only gossip and judgement.
The fight was tense. The Tang people were still in the front lines, but the nobles within the city of Chang'an were still causing so many problems. Nobody would show sympathy to the losers.
Hua Shanyue and over fifty Tang soldiers from the Gushan Commandery had their weapons taken away. They were then removed from the Princess' Palace. The jail cells were waiting for them. As for what their ultimate punishment would be, nobody knew.
In hindsight, this rescue seemed to be wishful thinking. It seemed fair to say these people were out of their minds going on a mission like this. But in actuality, Hua Shanyue deserved to be called a leader of the Tang Army. He wasn't as useless as he was shown to be. The plan he had made in advance was actually perfect.
Just when he had returned to Chang'an, he started fighting thunderously. He planned every part. If he could just take Li Yu out of the Princess' Palace, no City Patrol Department or Bodyguard office could stop them from leaving Chang'an. And if he really took Li Yu back to the Gushan Commandery, who knew what would come of the Tang Empire?
Unfortunately, he had terrible luck. Nobody could have thought Chao Xiaoshu would go to see Li Yu. What's more, Ning Que went to the Princess' Palace with him.