Chitose words

When Peng Xiao set off for Zhaoge City on his horse, it happened to be a snowy day.

It is also the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month in the fourth year of Jingan. In a few days, it will be the fifth year of Jingan.

The day before, he had already handed over the general affairs and military affairs of the army during this period, and also went to the mansion of the general of Langya Pass and the governor of the patrol county, Yuan Qinghong, to say goodbye to him.

So early the next morning, Peng Xiao did not deliberately inform the entire army of his itinerary with any fanfare, not even his trusted officers.

Just like a most ordinary morning, he took his beloved maroon horse and quietly left Langya Pass and headed south.

The wedding date of Peng Xiao and Princess An Ning is set for seven days.

On that day, his father, mother, township chiefs, and the elders of the Peng clan in Chongzhou will all be in Zhaoge City to watch his wedding to Princess An Ning.

If nothing unexpected happens, three days after the wedding, he will accompany Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess back to the palace to pay homage to the king, and then he can start heading north back to the frontier.

Calculated by this calculation, this separation will last only half a month to a month before we can return to Langya Pass. In this way, we don't have to be sad and pretend to say goodbye to our children.

There is a [-]-mile road between Langya Pass and Xunyang County. Although the frontier fortress is not very populated, once you enter the territory of Xunyang County, the largest county in the north of Tianchen in the south, the population will increase. At this point, he That’s when we completely left the border.

Peng Xiao planned to run an extra mile in the morning, so that he could reach Xunyang County before noon to replenish water and dry food, and then continue to catch up with Yongzhou City, the next state capital, for another two to three hundred miles in the afternoon.

The north wind is howling, the cold weather at the end of the twelfth lunar month.

You can imagine the sour feeling of riding a horse galloping on an empty mountain road.

Fortunately, Peng Xiao has now entered the Mahayana realm, and his internal strength is strong and pure. The external climate such as severe cold and heat has almost no impact on him.

However, after running against the cold wind for a long time, the horses will still be unable to bear it. After all, such heavy snow was rarely seen before the Southern Dynasties.

I don’t know why, but Nanchao Tianchen, which rarely snows, has experienced several heavy snowfalls almost every winter since two years ago.

However, as the saying goes, auspicious snow heralds a good year. The snowfall in the previous year is more conducive to the growth of crops in the following year. This is not a bad thing in terms of people's livelihood, but it is a hardship for the soldiers at the border.

Fortunately, not far ahead, there was a densely forested mountain col. Once they entered the mountain col, the surrounding dense jungle could withstand most of the cold wind, and the bay horse would not feel so cold.

Then after running for a day, the further south you go, the warmer it will be. So as long as you endure some hardships in the wind and snow on the first day, once you get through the first morning, the road ahead will be smooth.

Peng Xiao said "drive" and patted the horse's neck soothingly, wanting to speed up the progress and enter the col surrounded by mountains in front of him as soon as possible.

But after half a cup of tea, just as he rode his horse into the mountain col surrounded by mountains ahead, he suddenly felt a very strange illusion in his heart.

It seemed like someone was watching him.
  This feeling is hard to describe.

It is a kind of sixth sense that comes from the warriors on the battlefield. This sixth sense has no reason or basis, and it is all based on feeling.

Peng Xiao subconsciously tightened the reins on his wrists and reined in the horse with a "hush" sound.

Most of the snowflakes on the ground in the south are untenable, so the road surface is very slippery after the snow melts, especially the dirt roads in the mountains.

The rapidly galloping horse received the owner's instructions and was hurriedly reined in. It immediately stood up with a neighing sound, and after a few steps, it raised its front hooves high and then reluctantly stopped. present.

The big maroon horse shook its ears after stopping. Peng Xiao also frowned calmly and listened carefully to the movements in the surrounding mountains.

Just now, others were galloping on their horses, and the sound was actually very noisy to my ears.

There are the sounds of wind and snow whizzing by, the crisp sound of hooves as horses gallop, the sounds of trees and grass leaves swaying in the wind, and the endless chirping of birds in the wilderness of the forest.
  It was not until this moment that Peng Xiao's whole body became static and completely silent, and his inner energy circulated around his ears. Only then did he finally hear the faint sound of breathing in the mountain col.

He frowned.

Someone.     and more than one person.

Even from the breathing sounds of different shades and thicknesses, it was not difficult for Peng Xiao to tell that some of those people seemed to be nervous.
  It was the keenness and vigilance derived from countless life and death wanderings on the battlefield that allowed him to immediately discover that something was not right and stop moving forward in time!
  Otherwise, once you enter the depths of the mountain col, you will be attacked from both sides and you will be in danger!

Peng Xiao didn't know who was ambushing him in the mountain col, but since the attacker could set up an ambush here, there are a few things that are clearly identifiable -

First, if it is a foreign enemy, then if it can break through the Langya Pass border fortress, it must naturally be climbed through the dangerous peaks at the junction of the north and the south.

There are not many soldiers left guarding the sentry tower on the peak, and they are afraid that they have been killed at this time.

Second, if it is an internal enemy of the Southern Dynasty, then it is most likely an old enemy of the Peng family in Chongzhou, or a political enemy of his father, Peng Tingyi, the military governor of Chongzhou. Perhaps they do not want him to be the master, so they intercept and kill him here?
  But he is just the youngest son in the family, and his sect is the world-famous Xie family of Xunyang. His father's political opponents were frightened by the reputation of the Xie family in Xunyang for many years, and he rarely left Langya Pass, a frontier fortress. , so it was never targeted at him. Why would you attack him this time?
  After all, he is the future consort, the fiancé of Princess An Ning. Although he has not yet been married, he is also a definite future relative of the emperor. If his father's political opponents intercept and kill him, they will be committing a serious crime against the Yi clan who despise the emperor's favor. !

This is also unreasonable.

Could it be that His Majesty appointed him as the Prince Consort because his family background and age matched Princess An Ning's for any other purpose, so that he is now blocking the way of others?

In this short moment, many things came to Peng Xiao's mind.

But one thing is extremely clear, that is, this road must be blocked.

After all, he is a guard general. Even if he is not afraid of Xiao Xiao Xie Sui, he can never act alone.

It is not impossible to forcefully take this road at this time, but there is no need to take such risks and act bravely. The only choice is to exit the mountain col!
  Peng Xiao made up his mind in an instant and turned his horse's head as if to turn around and exit the col.

——Unexpectedly, it turns out that the other party seems to have been prepared in advance!

Peng Xiao only heard a rustling sound behind him. When he turned around, he realized that at some point behind him, a machine expansion net had been pulled up with a wire lock!
  The person who set up the ambush actually deployed manpower on his way!
  When they saw Peng Xiao stop and hesitate, they immediately pulled up the wire mesh behind them and sealed the narrow mountain road!
  If Peng Xiao wanted to retreat at this time, he would have no choice but to abandon his horse and use Qinggong to climb over the five-meter-high wire lock net!
  But once he abandons his horse and moves forward, even if he climbs over the wire lock net behind him and exits the col, he will not be able to avoid the opponent's arrows on the flat wasteland before just relying on his feet!

At this time, countless layers of figures appeared one after another on the mountain tops in front of Peng Xiao and in the wilderness haystacks behind him!
  At a quick glance, there were at least hundreds of people!
  All of them were dressed in the black shorts worn by warriors from the Southern Dynasties, and they all held green-edged swords. It was impossible to identify their identities or their masters.

So many people were setting up an ambush here just for him, and they were actually here to take his life!

Who would have expected that such a nameless, narrow mountain pass between Langya Pass and Xunyang County would actually be a Huangquan Road carefully designed by someone else for Peng Xiao!
  Peng Xiao's eyes shrank!
  He knew that he was the only one today, and the other party was obviously prepared, so he was afraid that he would be in danger.

However, as the guard general of Langya Pass and a disciple of Xie Huanchen, the famous Xunyang Xie family, when fighting to the death is unavoidable, he will never be greedy for life and fear death!
  Since we are going to die anyway, let's fight to the fullest!
  Don’t waste your master’s earnest teachings during his lifetime, and live up to the three-foot green blade in your palm!

Peng Xiao smiled coldly, and slowly pulled out the natal sword "Wu Ye Ting" hanging beside the horse's neck.

——This sword is exactly the sword that General Xie carried with him in the past!
  Since Xie Huanchen had no wife or children, after his death and martyrdom for his country, the "Thousand-year-old Sword Immortal" at that time proposed that Grand Master Xie of Shangzhu Kingdom should not take the sword back to the Xie family, but instead pass it on to Peng Xiao, Xie Huanchen's only direct disciple, to inherit it. .

This sword has now accompanied Peng Xiao, its new owner, and has experienced countless bloody battles on the battlefield.

Peng Xiao tightly held the sword that his deceased master had held before he was alive, and a hint of sarcasm suddenly flashed across his handsome face, which was always known as the "Jade-faced General" in the army.

Want his life?

Then show some real skills, and ask him if he agrees with the "Hetu Swordsmanship"!
  A silent fight was taking place in the mountain col.

I don’t know how much time has passed.

For a long time, the "Wu Ye Cry" in Peng Xiao's palm was soaked with the enemy's blood. For a long time, he finally began to lose strength and internal strength. For a long time, his body gradually began to be covered with bruises and blood marks. For a long time, even his human-like horse In order to protect his master from disaster, the big bay-red horse was slashed in the neck with a sword and shed all its blood.
  For a long time, there was too much blood on "Wu Ye Tiao" and the scabbard was stained, and Peng Xiao began to lose strength and his consciousness gradually became blurred.
  One person, one sword, a bloody end with no end in sight.

He really tried his best.

The most terrifying thing is not that there are more than [-] people in the Observation Realm ambushing him, but that he clearly feels that the masters on the other side have not even taken action yet!
  The person in charge of the ambush seemed to be enjoying himself. He was enjoying the killing process that was making him despair and exhaustion, so he was not in a hurry to give him a fatal blow.

This is clearly a vendetta.