Volume 5, Chapter 40: Bloodbath at Yanmen (1/2)

Volume 5, Chapter 40: Bloodbath at Yanreeted him no matter where he turned The sky, the soil, and the soldiers’ ared forth like the tide,him feel as if the eneardless of how he struggled, he couldn’t shake hi like a torrential downpour Just as he was overwhelmed by helplessness, the drab andthrough the layers of red clouds and bringing with it warm desire Then amidst the sea of blood appeared that fa ed awake

Opening his eyes, he was cory yet pretty features Irate, Lin Tong declared, “Can you not cast your master to the back of your mind for now? This is already the fourteenth tiet that you are currently at Yanmen and not by your master’s side No matter how loyal your ht of our lives? If you have the energy, wouldn’t it be better if you thought of how to deal with the barbarians?”

Gazing at Lin Tong’s slightly angered and displeased expression, Chiji felt only sweetness He could detect the faint jealousy in Lin Tong’s speech Even the nearby Daizhou soldiers alked past were beaazed at the couple For five successive days and nights, the barbarians had practically assaulted the pass nonstop In the beginning, the two of theht side by side and had saved each other multiple times As ti un to take turns co the subsequent three full days, the two only spoke when they switched shi+fts However, there was not a hint of loneliness, al this period where life and death was out of their hands, the two had deliberately forgotten and set aside their previous barriers, apart fro jealous of Chiji’s extre up, Chiji bent his ear to listen Not hearing the sounds of battle, he assumed that the barbarians had yet to renew their assault Extending his ar hiuard, he was able to pull her into his eht custo soldiers did not express their discontent, instead loudly whistling Her entire face blushi+ng, Lin Tong smacked a fist into Chiji’s chest Chiji let out a yelp of pain, causing Lin Tong to immediately remember that Chiji had been injured by an arrow in his chest the day before yesterday She could not help but soften Taking advantage, Chiji tightly held Lin Tong to his boso buried her head into the chest pereneral capable of directing a large ar intent was replaced with tender feelings

At thisran over froer brother wang, His Lordshi+p invites you over”

Chiji and Lin Tong both leapt to their feet flustered Practically not having the courage to face the eneration and her fellow soldiers, Lin Tong bowed her head as she ran off It wasn’t long before she disappeared without a trace In comparison, Chiji was somewhat hesitant and worried What kind of character was the Marquis of Daizhou, Lin Yuanting? He had stood guard over Daizhou for le step south Although he was now aged and had er still re’s father Chiji was still quite apprehensive as he gazed at Lin Yuanchong, not having the courage to take a step forward

S asked, “Aiyah, why is the brave and skilled warrior so sheepish? Don’t worry, nani’er”

Chiji looked out froic scenery of the bloodsoaked wilderness Heone to see Marquis Lin In case the barbarians attack right now, it is best that I reorous large hand clapped onto Chiji’s shoulder An aged and still vigorous voice spoke, “Little fellow, do not worry With this weary old body of mine here, it won’t be a problem to defend for two to four hours”

Chiji revealed a wry s his head, he could tell that the voice belonged to the veteran General Qi Who within the pass dared to wrangle with this elderly general who had spent his entire life in the military and was scarred all over his body? However, was he truly going to see Lin Yuanting? Chiji hesitated and found it difficult to decide

Conte’s eyes as he coldly asked, “What? Do you not wish to see the Marquis? Could it be that you are toying¹ with the Princess?”

Chiji shi+vered and softly answered, “Even if the Marquis agreed, what of it? I violated the young ranted me this favor and per master summoned me back to punish th of the barbarians is forer Even if the barbarians are repelled, what can it do against the Yong arh Chiji’s voice was very low, both old General Qi and Lin Yuanchong heard his words clearly Bewilderment shone in their eyes This was a question both of the stared at Chiji Thinking of how this young man’s master was the prime culprit in the current rotten state of affairs in Daizhou, anger welled up However, seeing this haggard young ht bitterly for several continuous days, Lin Yuanchong found that he could not utter a single harsh word The warriors of Daizhou had always clearly distinguished between gratitude and grudge Sighing softly, Lin Yuanchong replied, “Go The Marquis is waiting for you It is already rare that he is clear-headed these days”

Within a quiet room in Yanmen Pass, almost as if completely isolated from the bloody battlefield, the dense odor ofThe room did not have any hint of lavishness and no different fro to the commoners of Daizhou On the spacious bed, an elderlya bitter h his appearance ithered and his hair hite, his forh It could clearly be seen that this elderlyand martial, handsome man

When he entered the roo, he kneeled and stated, “This youngster, wang Ji, pays ht flashed across the elderly man’s eyes as he carefully observed Chiji for a while He inquired, “You are the Marquis of Chu’s attendant, Divine Doctor Bo Le, wang Ji? Is that your real na as if that elderly man’s eyes were like sharp swords, Chiji believed those eyes could penetrate into his soul He could not help sighing It was no wonder that this uard over Daizhou for soof a faster was an orphan Aside fro, I did not have a naster, I was bestoith the na Ji It iss’er, has your second elder brother’s coffin been transported back?”

Lin Tong’s eyes reddened as she answered, “Yes, it has Once the barbarians have been repelled, Father has to preside over the delivery of second elder brother’s me affectionately patted Lin Tong’s shoulder To Chiji, he said, “I’ve incurred worthy nephew’s ridicule This child, Tong’er, has too soft a heart In reality, what is there to grieve about? Over the last hundred and more years, countless members of Daizhou’s Lin family have died on the battlefield Of the five brothers of eneration, I am the only one alive All of ood ends Now it is ’er has already departed Bi’er, Chengshan, and Chengyuan are all stuck at Jinyang Once the Yong army closes the encircleyi has a rough te and her experiences few This tie if the Lin family disappears

“My Lin family has an established custom that only those clansmen who perish on the battlefield are entitled to have their memorial plaques enter the ancestral hall to enjoy sacrifices enerations Over the more than hundred years, only a few individuals have failed to enter the ancestral hall Originally, this old man believed that because of the tranquility of the future I would spend my last years on my sickbed and not have the opportunity to enter the ancestral shrine Who would have expected that I would have the opportunity today? Tong’er, your father is determined to take the risks to destroy the core of the barbarian arh it is possible that this will lead to the coth of the barbarians will also be greatly da us the opportunity to drive theuish as she threw herself into her father’s e forth How could she not understand that Lin Yuanting was ements? Chiji stepped forward and wanted to reach out to console her, but was shunned by Lin Tong Pained, Chiji asked with a clear voice, “Your Lordshi+p, Princess, is there a heavy responsibility that needs to be assigned to Chiji?” There was only one thought in histhis, Lin Yuanting’s gaze towards Chiji gained a bit of praise as he answered, “Worthy nephew’s character and talent are well-’er is a descendant of the Lin fa the people of Daizhou to flee for her life Tong’er, do you bla responded, “Daddy, why do you ask such a thing? If I can die on the battlefield, daughter can also enter the ancestral shrine What kind of glory would that be? Why would daughter blame Daddy? Father, please coladly as he replied, “Good As expected, there are no cowards in ive up on living If you are fortunate enough to survive after this battle, you cannot lightly speak of sacrificing your lives Tong’er, I already ordered your eldest brother to subreat alar cried out, “Father, what did you say? Offer to surrender? Why is this? In what position are you placing Mother, third and fourth elder brothers, and elder sister?”

Raising his hand to stop his daughter, Lin Yuanting indifferently answered, “The Lin family exists for the sake of Daizhou Daizhou does not exist for the sake of the Lin fah Daizhou is co off the lines of co We can only face the barbarians alone Although I can come up with a plan to destroy the core of the barbarian are and vicious With the core of the Daizhou arainst this fiercest invasion in the last several decades The onlyEacious master How can he not know of Daizhou’s importance? The only reason he has not directly invaded is because of our Lin family Now that I have had your eldest brother offer to surrender and have used up the re force on the battlefield here at Yans and will travel day and night to co that the hundreds of thousands of Daizhou’s cohtered by the barbarians”

Tears falling like rain, Lin Tong understood that her father intended to sacrifice the Lin fa the saber at her waist, she ushed forth, itdeclared, “Daughter understands Father’s intentions Only the Lin fahter is lucky enough to survive, I will offer to surrender to the Yong Emperor and will definitely not allow Daizhou to ’s elite horseoing to die He cohter pair In the past—when he left the youngmaster had once hinted that, even if Daizhou could drive off the barbarians, it would be difficult for the Lin fa destroyed As a result, the young master hoped that Chiji would be able to break off ties in a timely fashi+on It would even be acceptable if he took Lin Tong with hi her This was so master had not spoken openly However, at this moment, Chiji understood that his beloved was truly a heroine and would not live out an ignoble existence

Chiji plopped to his knees and declared, “Your Lordshi+p, this youngster has always had feelings for the Princess I hope that Your Lordshi+p would be willing to betroth the Princess to Chiji Chiji is willing to share the fate of the Princess”

Satisfaction flashed across Lin Yuanting’s eyes However, he shook his head “Worthy nephew, by helping my Daizhou military and civilians defend Yanmen in recent days, you have already violated your ulations There is no need for you to involve yourself in this hopeless situation now The Yong Emperor is quite fond of the Marquis of Chu In the future, worthy nepheill have endless opportunities There is no need to give up everything forthe baan to play the flute The h Lin Yuanting hailed from a military family, he had taken a princess renowned for her talents as his wife and was not a stranger toclapped his hands and sang:

<blockquote class="Quote">2</sup>3</sup>The Yi River murmur still in wintry westerlies,⁴Heroic warriors sing esProbably wouldn’t cry tears but blood5</sup></blockquote>

The words of the song were fiercely brave, uard outside perk their ears up to listen Full of the heroic feeling of ht that you would understand the Iron-Blooded Metal Dagger-Axe, the feeling of putting one’s life on the line Good, good As expected, you are worthy of being with Tong’er”

At this nancy⁶ that contained an honor that per’s ent and focusedwhen the piece cas will not change for the rest ofto betroth the Princess toand indifferently asked, “Tong’er, what do you think?”

Her eyes glistening with tears, Lin Tong blushed scarlet and distress showed on her face She ell aware that they were about to charge into danger and likely wouldn’t survive In this manner, how could she reject her beloved’s affectionate willingness to acco her head away, she answered, “Everything is up to Father”

Lin Yuanting’s bladelike eyebrows rose “Good Since the two of you are willing, this Marquis is willing to fulfill your wishes wang Ji, there is no need to seek a lucky day and hour toyour respects to the Heavens and the Earth, getting married atop the walls of Yanmen Pass in my presence and the presence of the thousands of Daizhou troops?”

Delighted, Chiji koed and answered, “wang Ji paysis up to Father-in-law”