Return on snow

In the 29th year of Yunzheng, on the fourth night of the twelfth lunar month, a horn sounded, and the Liao and Wei armies fought in Xichuan.

On the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Wei army won the first battle. The scattered Liao army retreated for more than forty miles, and the Wei army gathered together.

On the nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the remnants of the Liao army suddenly turned back, and their military strength suddenly reached 30, which was twice that of the Wei army.The Wei army immediately responded to the battle, with more than half of its strength consumed, and was eventually defeated, retreating straight to the southern border of Xichuan.

On this day, Ning Ke opened his eyes and saw red and yellow flames dancing on the old wooden beams on the roof. He turned his head and saw that in the well-furnished room, the bronze stove was burning vigorously. The inside exploded, and as soon as he moved his feet, he found that Wan Tao was sitting on the small wooden stool with her hair loose, her head buried in his bed and fell asleep.

Ning Ke's suspended heart fell to the ground slightly, he let out a long breath, his brows still frowning.He looked around, and found that the interior of the house was simple and elegant, but everything was available. It might be the elegant residence of some literati.

He recalled the last scene in his mind... the bowl of soup.

"You're finally awake." The door creaked open, and a white-haired old man in fox fur walked in.

Ning Ke looked alert: "Your Excellency is..."

The white-haired old man took off the fox fur, sat down on the side of the bed silently, looked at Ning Ke quietly, after a long while, raised his hand to touch Ning Ke's head: "It's grown so big..."

Ning Ke dodged away calmly, his dissatisfaction was beyond words.

The old Taoist felt empty, but he was not annoyed.He stroked his beard, and said leisurely: "I don't remember the old man, it's really chilling. According to seniority, you still have to call me uncle..."

Ning Ke was a little impatient with his head burning: "Who the hell are you? Where is Yi Shu? What is this place?"

"Huh." Taoist Nanzhao snorted heavily from his nose: "The boy is just like your father... even reading books can't change this fiery virtue."

Ning Ke knew that he had broken the etiquette, but he was really confused: "This junior is rude, please tell me..."

"It's got it." Daoist Nan Zhao waved his hand, lowered his eyes, aimed at the ring jade on Ning Ke's waist, quickly picked it up, and shook the jade pendant: "Your father is the general of Yan Guozhen Yuan, Not bad right?"

Ning Ke was stunned, and the old things buried in his heart were revealed.

"When your father was around, Yan's army was as fierce as wolves and tigers. It's a pity that Yan's country was murdered by traitors, and it can only be scattered on the hills when it grows old." Taoist Nanzhao looked at Ning Ke's face, which turned livid little by little. , sighed: "Do you really think it was the Liao people who killed your father?"

As soon as the words fell, Ning Ke opened his eyes angrily, and suddenly grabbed Zhenren Nan Zhao's arm: "What did you say?"

Master Nan Zhao patted the back of Ning Ke's hand with an old bark-like hand: "That year after your father was defeated in the battle with Liao, the main station in the court sent your father as a shield to evade responsibility. Your father made a comeback and colluded with the border Liao army to kill your parents on the grounds of massacring the village. They knew that your father had already lost a leg on the battlefield, so killing him was easy."

"However, the fact that you and this girl survived is God's only favor to your father." Zhenren Nan Zhao glanced at the sleeping Wantao, and said, "Your father and I came from the same school. , but your father only wants to join the army... Your father is stubborn and loyal, and I would say that he will stumble on this sooner or later."

A sense of powerlessness shot up from the soles of Ning Ke's feet to the top of the sky, and he couldn't even support his body. After a long time, he spoke in a hoarse voice, his voice was haggard: "Father hoped that I could serve the country in an official position since I was a child, how could... "

"Why doesn't he understand!" Master Nan Zhao lost his composure, and a trace of sadness appeared on his wrinkled face: "Are you asked to be the second him? How can we repay the country if it doesn't exist?"

Among those high-level executives who are willing to cheat the court, which one has sympathized with the dying people of the Yan Kingdom?This is no longer a country, but a comfortable place for a group of nobles.

"Shu'er handed you over to me. Now that you're awake, the old man should go too." Zhenren Nan Zhao seemed unwilling to mention the past, so he got up: "This is a small house in Suwu, Yan Kingdom. It has been bought for you, it is very safe. You will take your sister to live here in the future, and the rest has nothing to do with you."

This is... was driven back by him?Have those jokes and jokes of drinking and drinking been wiped out in ashes?This kind of protection, such a passive farewell, made it difficult for Ning Ke to adapt, and a few thorns grew in his heart, faintly reminding Ning Ke that he and Yi Shu are not from the same world.

Ning Ke: "Where is he? How is the war going?"

"Didn't you say that the rest of the matter has nothing to do with you?" Zhenren Nan Zhao turned his back to Ning Ke: "You don't have to feel that you owe him anything, he treats you well only because your father saved him from the Liao army. Once. These days, his kindness has been repaid, you and him... it is best not to meet again, there is no banquet that lasts forever."

Ning Ke's eyes dimmed: "He has never been like this before when I was with him in the camp. This time, the final battle is guaranteed to win. He is so eager to send me back... Could it be that something is difficult?"

Master Nanzhao raised his eyebrows slightly, picked up the fox fur and put it on, strode out, and said in a long voice: "If you are poor, you will be alone, and if you are rich, you will benefit the world."

The door was closed, shutting out the wind and snow, and the room was eerily quiet.

Ning Ke turned his head, only to realize that Wan Tao had woken up at some point.

Wantao's face was flushed, her eyes twinkled, and she asked timidly, "Will we never see Brother Yi and Uncle Big Beard again?"

Ning Ke was silent. After a while, he lifted the quilt out of bed, and his eyes returned to the cold and indifferent eyes of the past, as if the emotion just now had never existed.

"I don't care if I don't see you."