El paisaje es como una pintura - Capítulo 94
"Alright! Now that we've had enough sleep, it's time to play some games and have some fun!" Rongyue roared, slamming her drumsticks down on the tiger-skin drum beside her. "First squad of Xuanjia soldiers, start beating the drums and gongs! Let the brothers on the hill have some fun too! Second and third squads of Xuanjia soldiers, start harassing Qishan! All troops, listen to my command, move out!"
The sounds of gongs and drums, along with shouts, startled the bandits on the hilltop. They pushed stones and fired poisoned arrows, keeping themselves busy for half the night. In contrast, Rongyue's army merely shouted and beat drums at the foot of the mountain, while the second and third squads only symbolically climbed a few steps up before hastily retreating to safety before the bandits could retaliate.
For three consecutive days, the harassment work continued unabated. The Nancha army could catch up on sleep during the day and take action at night, causing the bandits on the mountain to be restless and exhausted.
Taking a sip of the steaming tea, Rongyue listened to Shangguan Ping's report and nodded frequently.
After Shangguan Ping finished his report, Rongyue gestured for him to return to his seat, put down her teacup, and looked at the three guards: "Do the three of you have anything else to say?"
"General, I, Fan Luo, have a question. I'll feel uneasy if I don't get it answered!" Fan Luo stood up casually, rubbing his hands as he looked at Rong Yue on the seat.
He turned his gaze to Fan Luo: "If Fan Wuwei doesn't understand anything, just ask."
“General, I don’t understand. Three days ago, you ordered me, Fan Luo, to cut off the retreat of those devils. Since they had no way to retreat, why didn’t we take advantage of the situation and attack the mountaintop in one fell swoop to wipe out those devils? Instead, we just made a fuss over them for three nights without really hurting them?”
After she finished speaking, the other two guards, along with Tuoba Chen who was 'listening' to her, all turned their questioning gazes to Rongyue.
Rising from her armchair, Rongyue strolled through the tent with her hands behind her back, and began to speak slowly: "A long, long time ago, there was a shepherd boy who often led his flock of sheep to graze on the mountain..."
The guards exchanged bewildered glances. What kind of time was this, that their general had the leisure to tell stories? Though puzzled, they patiently listened to Rongyue recount the tale of herding sheep.
In stark contrast to the puzzled expressions of the guards, Tuoba Chen smiled calmly, completely at ease. He knew that Xiao San was a woman of few words, unlikely to utter anything useless, and she always liked to tell a highly persuasive little story before explaining anything. What kind of environment could have nurtured such a gifted and extraordinary woman like Xiao San…?
"...Later, when the wolf actually came, the child cried out in panic again, but the people down the mountain thought it was just another prank. No one paid any attention to the child on the mountaintop, and he could only watch helplessly as the wolf killed sheep after sheep..." At this point, Rongyue paused slightly, glanced at the thoughtful guards, and continued, "Although Qishan is not high, it is steep and treacherous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. A direct assault would likely result in heavy losses. As the saying goes, truth and falsehood are intertwined..."
"So, General, you plan to play a prank on those little devils like the boy who cried wolf, teasing them repeatedly until they're exhausted and fed up with your tricks. Then, once they stop paying attention to your pranks, we can easily catch them off guard! General, am I right?"
Seeing Fan Luo's sudden realization, Rong Yue nodded slightly: "Yes, but not entirely. As the saying goes, things don't happen more than three times. They must be quite annoyed to have been deceived so many times, so even if we attack again, that's only one aspect. We need to consider everything comprehensively, and sometimes we need to put ourselves in their shoes. Imagine if you were in the shoes of the bandits, facing the army below the mountain that is staying up all day and harassing us at night, what strategy would you adopt?"
Rongyue glanced at the guards whose expressions had suddenly turned serious, and chuckled: "I'm sure you've guessed it. Since they're taking a nap during the day, instead of being trapped on the mountain, we might as well go all out, rush down the mountain while they're napping, and sweep across the land while they're off guard, washing the earth in blood!"
Slapping his forehead, Fan Luo suddenly realized: "So that's why the general had us pretend to rest during the day, but in reality, the whole army was on high alert, just in case! Thank goodness, thank goodness... General, I, Fan Luo, am completely convinced! The general is truly brilliant!"
The two guards looked on with admiration and rose to bow repeatedly, saying, "General, you are wise!"
With a light laugh, Rongyue instructed them to return to their posts and check the plans, emphasizing that there should be no carelessness whatsoever. Relieved, Rongyue returned to her armchair, picked up the teacup on the table, and brought it to her lips…
"This teacup..."
After taking a sip of tea, Rongyue shifted her gaze from the tea to Tuoba Chen: "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." His eyes flickered, and Tuoba Chen smiled strangely. He casually picked up another teacup from the table, glanced at Rong Yue, and licked the rim of the cup with an ambiguous expression…
Subconsciously looking down at the teacup in her hand, Rongyue immediately realized something, and a thin blush appeared on her fair face.
Uncomfortably, Rongyue placed the teacup on the table, stood up, and wanted to escape the awkward atmosphere, but the pulling force on her arm forced her to retract her left foot that had just stepped out.
"Mistress, are you angry?"
"Second Prince, you are overthinking it..."
"Still saying you're not angry! You've even changed how you address me, and you still say you're not angry?" With his chin resting on Rongyue's shoulder, Tuoba Chen breathed hot air into her ear as he accused her with dissatisfaction.
Pushing away Kaiba Chen's head, Rong Yue used a cold face to hide her embarrassment: "What kind of talk is this, a grown man acting like he has no backbone!"
He turned Rongyue around so she could face him: "Xiao San, I really hope to walk the rest of my life hand in hand with you. Don't be so cruel, give me this chance, and give yourself a chance too, okay?"
Tuoba Chen's sincere and burning emotions made her instinctively want to escape. But before she could take a step, she was trapped in Tuoba Chen's strong and powerful arms: "Why do you keep running away? Mistress, why can't you face this problem honestly and think about your own future? Mistress, why can't you be a little selfish? Why do you always think about others instead of yourself?"
The warmth of his embrace brought her a moment of peace. Composing herself, Rongyue looked up at him: "Everything I've done was ultimately for my own benefit..."
"Who are you kidding, mistress? If it weren't for your Yu Yan, why would you want to become an official in the court, and why would you volunteer to come to this battlefield where swords don't discriminate? Mistress, if you were a man, perhaps I could understand this, but you are clearly... a mistress. I really don't understand, I really don't understand, what makes you treat her like this..."
“When you meet someone who has shared hardships and life-and-death experiences with you, you will understand that for that person, even if it means climbing a mountain of knives barefoot, you would do it without hesitation, kicking off your shoes, rolling up your sleeves, and going barefoot and shirtless!” Pushing Tuoba Chen aside forcefully, Rongyue said solemnly, “Everyone has their own way of living. This is the path I chose myself, and even if it's incredibly difficult, I won't complain or blame others, nor will I give up halfway because of anyone's obstruction. Therefore, I hope that you, Second Prince, will not waste your energy on others pointlessly, and will not try to persuade me to give up. I have said all this, and I hope you will consider it carefully.” With that, Rongyue turned and left the military tent.
Having shared life and death... Mistress, what kind of ordeal have you endured...? His heart ached slightly; he seemed to understand somewhat why she always kept everyone at arm's length...
Volume Two: The Resolute Heroines, Chapter Twenty-Seven: Tuoba Chen Injured
Clashing swords and clashing armor, at midday, the Rong bandits on the mountaintop, brandishing long spears and iron swords, surged down the mountain like a tidal wave. A torrential downpour of gongs sounded, and the 60,000 Xuanjia soldiers, already prepared in their tents, grabbed their weapons and charged out, engaging the invading Rong bandits in a desperate battle. In an instant, the foot of Qishan was shrouded in smoke, the sun and moon lost their light, the sounds of battle shook the heavens, and rivers of blood flowed.
Unexpectedly, the Nancha army had made prior preparations, turning the tables on them and catching them completely off guard! Watching his brothers fall one by one into pools of blood, and seeing his three thousand warriors about to perish at the foot of Qishan Mountain, the bandit leader Huha'er's eyes widened in fury. With a roar, he swung his halberd, hurling one of the Xuanjia soldiers attacking him into the air. The Xuanjia soldier flailed wildly in the air, howling in pain, and in the blink of an eye, he was like a soaked cloth thrown to the ground, spitting out blood and foam, his head lolling to one side. Shouting, Huha'er thrust his halberd at the Xuanjia soldier beside his horse. Before he could even utter a cry of pain, the unfortunate soldier who was struck collapsed to the ground.
Riding a scraggly, sturdy horse, Rongyue led the charge, wielding an iron whip and unleashing flying needles from her sleeves. She was invincible, killing nearly a hundred enemy soldiers in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, striking fear into the hearts of the enemy.
The two armies clashed, separating Tuoba Chen, who had been following Rongyue, from a great distance. Watching Rongyue disappear into the distance, Tuoba Chen was frantic with worry. He forcefully withdrew the iron sword that had pierced the heart of the enemy, and spurred his horse forward, rushing through the surging army to catch up with Rongyue, who was gradually disappearing into the crowd…
"You are the Southern General who cut off my retreat and killed thousands of my warriors?!" Huha'er's vicious gaze pierced towards Rongyue, who was wielding an iron whip, like a venomous snake.
"Exactly!" Withdrawing her iron whip, Rongyue raised her head and met Huha'er's sinister eyes without fear.
"Aha!" Huha shouted, his face contorted with grotesque trembling. "Shameless brat, prepare to die!" With that, he swung his halberd with tremendous force, thrusting it fiercely at Rongyue.
He sidestepped Rongyue's iron whip, which shot out like a silver ribbon, and with a whoosh, wrapped around his halberd. A piercing clang of metal clashing against metal rang out. Huha'er snorted coldly, and with a shout, forcefully pulled the halberd from the iron whip. The next moment, it lashed out at Rongyue again like a fierce wave.
Her hands were slightly numb from the impact, but before Rongyue could recover, the halberd that followed forced her to wield her iron whip again...
After several rounds, Rongyue gradually felt her strength waning. The difference in physical strength between men and women was already at Rongyue's disadvantage, not to mention that on horseback she could only unleash 70% of her killing skills, and the iron whip was only her auxiliary weapon...
Finally, with a fleeting moment of respite, Rongyue swiftly reached into her sleeve, pinched three flying needles, and flicked them out with a flick of her fingertips. The needles, gleaming with a chilling light, shot towards Huha'er like three silver streaks! But the instant Rongyue reached into her sleeve, Huha'er's halberd had already struck. When the three flying needles pierced his body, Rongyue was only inches away from the halberd!
With a mournful cry, Huha'er, pierced by the needle, did not fall from her horse as Rongyue had expected. Instead, she stared wide-eyed, gripping her halberd tightly and thrusting forward with undiminished force! The close proximity left Rongyue no time to retaliate or dodge; she could only watch helplessly as the coldly gleaming halberd drew ever closer to her left chest…
Upon catching up with Rongyue, Tuoba Chen witnessed a scene that terrified him, and all the blood in his body seemed to drain away in an instant! Without thinking, he immediately leaped onto his horse and pressed himself tightly against Rongyue's body...
Staring blankly at Tuoba Chen, whose face was ashen but who forced a smile, trying desperately to appear relaxed, Rongyue trembled all over, her hands quivering as she reached out to catch the red liquid that kept sliding down his lips. The blood was clearly warm, but when it dripped into her palms, it felt like it was burning at a thousand degrees Celsius, a searing pain spreading throughout her entire body…
"Little San... I'm so glad to see you're alright..." With a pale smile, Tuoba Chen's breath was weak. Looking at Rong Yue's bloodless face, his heart ached. He really wanted to reach out and touch her face, which was so close to his, and gently tell her that he was alright...