[Shadow Guardian] The Wind Rises from the Wild West

Someone approached quietly in the night.

Yun opened his eyes.Shadow's sleep was light.After the fire deed, the flaming internal breath that was originally difficult to control has been completely included in the meridians, and it flows slowly without stopping, so that people can stay alert at any time.

He was sitting in a remote corner, leaning against a dead tree, about twenty steps away from Honghan's tent.If there is a change, he can reach the master within one breath.The distance of one breath is the distance for the shadow guard to protect the master.

Judging from the breath and footsteps, the person who came was obviously an ordinary person who does not know martial arts, or a woman, and she was walking in the direction of Hong Han's tent.With Honghan's force, this woman should not pose any threat.When Yunzheng was wondering if there would be poison, the guards also noticed the person coming.

"Miss Cui is here." They greeted each other familiarly.

"Uncle took my flowers today!" the woman said proudly, and shyly walked into Hong Han's tent.

Yun remembered the voice, it was the woman on the bullock cart smiling unreservedly.Then he was surprised to see the two figures on the tent embrace each other.The general's tent was only about one person high, and it was made of crude thick oilcloth, which could not block the lights inside at all, and the shadows of the people inside were clearly projected on the tent.

There were titters from the guards all around, and they all lay down again in a familiar manner.

Moments later, gunfire and gasps came from the tent.

Yun felt that he shouldn't watch it.However, he couldn't leave his master's side.I don't know how the seniors of Yingmen did it. Although he read countless bamboo slips, none of them mentioned this kind of thing.As he struggled, he couldn't avoid seeing Honghan's moving figure, and heard the woman's panting and groaning.

In an instant, things that were previously ignorant suddenly became clear, and Yun understood.

It turned out to be like this, he thought it was part of the fire contract...

There was a sharp pain in my heart without warning.At this moment, the blazing inner breath that slowly circulates and never stops suddenly gathers towards the heart veins.Yun lowered his eyes and relaxed his body, his internal breath stopped slightly, but he still refused to relax, like a rough blunt instrument slowly cutting.The backlash came suddenly, but went slowly.

It turned out that it was not just an act of resistance, but even this kind of thought was forbidden.At the moment of resistance in the heart, the backlash came in response to the thought.

Yun forced himself not to think about it anymore, but how could his thoughts be so easy to control?

Because there are no women on the mountain, so I want to do that.

It is to confirm the authority of the master and satisfy the desire to conquer.

I don't know how long it took before Yun really relaxed, looking up at the night sky, his mind went blank.

The night wind blew past, making his body chilly, and he found himself sweating profusely.

The woman came out of the tent, wearing a skirt as she walked, looking back frequently, reluctantly, and just walked in his direction.She didn't even notice that there was a person sitting next to the tree trunk, and she almost tripped over it. "Oh, you're here to eavesdrop! You guards, huh~" She shook her hair and walked away.

Yun raised his eyes, Hong Han was raising the tent to look this way.

He couldn't see his expression in the dark, but he clearly felt the master's meaning.Yun immediately came to Hong Han and knelt down on one knee: "Master." The nose keenly smelled the smell of Hong Han's body, mixed with leather, sweat, and a strong smell that belonged to him alone.

The chin was lifted, and the force from the fingers was irresistible, Yun had no choice but to look up at Hong Han, and was surprised to find that the other's eyes were full of conquest.

Hong Han looked at the young man in front of him, the black clothes almost merged with the night, but his face was white and transparent, as if clean and spotless, but he always liked to lower his eyes, in fact he was avoiding.Just now when he was with a woman, he would think of this boy.He finally pushed Yun away, turned around and put down the curtain.

Yun seemed to be relieved, and slowly walked back to the original place, silently enduring the severe pain in his heart.That's right, just now he unconsciously wanted to resist and couldn't control himself at all.

If it was just a pain, Yun felt that he could bear it.However, backlash is not that simple. If there are too many times and the time is too long, it will cause irreparable damage to the heart.Yun couldn't help thinking, it was said that the lifespan of the shadow guard would not be too long, was it because of the injury to his body from practicing the blazing kung fu, or was it because of an unavoidable backlash?

He really wanted to ask a senior how he could never disobey his master.

He originally thought that no matter who the master is, no matter where he is going or what he wants to do, as long as he guards it.

He originally thought that no matter what he was going through, he could do it calmly, but now he found that it was not that simple at all.

Yun looked up, the night sky was far away, and the stars were lonely.Qi Mountain is not far away, and in the dark night, only a dark outline can be seen, like a crouching, squat giant beast.The bonfires in the surrounding camps gradually became sparse, and the neighing of horses could be faintly heard in the distance, as well as people's laughter, children crying, and women coaxing.Finally, it gradually became silent.

He took out the dagger, lightly chipped a piece of wood from the stump, and slowly trimmed it into a neat wooden slip.Fumbling the wooden slips, Yun slowly carved down the first sentence after going down the mountain.

***

Five days later, a city appeared on the field, and the imperial city arrived.

As the capital city before Tiandu moved to the east, Yucheng was once the most prosperous city in the Central Plains. It is said that it has the tallest and strongest city walls, and the most crowded and lively streets.However, looking at it at this moment, I can only see a few isolated broken walls, just like the incomplete teeth of an old man.After the capital was moved, it has experienced the wars of the Xirong, the looting of the Northern Qiang, and the erosion of the refugees.The current imperial city is nothing more than a settlement on the ruins.

The state shepherd of the imperial city brought a full 200 people out of the city to meet them, wearing armor and holding halberds as if facing an enemy.No wonder he was timid and cautious. Although the princes of the Central Plains were all under the emperor's jurisdiction, there were frictions from time to time.As the old capital, the emperor never confiscated the imperial city to anyone, but kept it as an area under the emperor's jurisdiction, only setting up the state shepherd.

However, after the capital was moved, the emperor gradually declined, and the king's orders were difficult to carry out. The imperial city had already become an enclave on the west side of the empire, separated from Tiandu by several vassal states such as Wei and Zheng.The prefectural herdsmen established in the early years have already become hereditary, not princes, just like princes.

Seeing the billowing smoke and dust brought up by the team of 5000 people, Zhou Mu's face was extremely ugly.There is only one city and one pass in the imperial city. In order to guard against the barbarians of the Qiang Rong, most of the soldiers will guard the Zihan Pass in the west.The walls of the imperial city are broken, and there is no danger to defend.Hearing the news a few days ago, he hastily transferred 2000 people back to the city, how could he know that there are so many people in Uncle Xiyan!

At the front of the line, Honghan sat on a horse looking at the old capital carelessly, with a straw in his mouth, and asked the Thirteenth Uncle next to him: "Say, if we get ruthless, can we swallow the imperial city?"

Uncle Thirteen knew his temper, and said frankly: "Even if you can swallow it, you can't hold it."

"That's right." Hong Han looked sideways at Uncle Thirteen, but his corner of the eye glanced at the black figure in the team.I thought what would happen if he broke the promise now and turned his back on it?He waved his hand and ordered loudly, "Camp!"

Yucheng Zhoumu was finally relieved, the princes used roads to travel, and there had always been a rule that troops should not enter the city, otherwise it would be hard to say why they came here.Although Uncle Xiyan was born as a barbarian in the western region, he still knows the rules.

After a few touches, Zhou Mu made a polite invitation and said, "Uncle Xi Yan rarely passes through the imperial city, and the city has prepared a little wine, waiting for your visit."

What he said was very hypocritical, as if it was the first time for Hong Han to pass by the imperial city.In fact, Honghan entered the customs to suppress the rebellion half a year ago, and he also took this path, but he closed the city gate tightly at that time, and strictly guarded against it.

Honghan spat out the grass in his mouth, and said with a smile: "That's right, last time I was busy suppressing the rebellion, but I couldn't get in through the door, this time I have to get drunk no matter what!"

Zhou Mu laughed in embarrassment: "Yes, you can only rest when you're drunk."

Hong Han happily entered the city with thirty personal guards.It's not that he is arrogant, he has no intention of defending the city, and the state shepherd will not be stupid enough to offend him.After all, a Bojun of the Western Realm outside the pass shocked all the barbarians outside Zihan Pass. With him, Zihan Pass was much calmer after all.

A group of people entered the city through the gap in the city wall.

It wasn't that Zhou Mu was negligent on purpose, but that the archery tower of the city gate had already collapsed and it was impossible to pass through.Turned a corner from the gap before walking onto the main road in the city.It can be seen that the originally wide bluestone slab road has been in disrepair for a long time and is uneven. Only a few bluestone roads in the middle are fairly flat and stretched in a random manner.There are many shacks along the roadside, which is very crowded and cramped.Someone looked around curiously, but was immediately frightened back by waving a whip.

They walked through the stinking Luoma Market all the way, and through the messy slave market entrance, the road became wider and smoother.

Yun Sui went to the city in the team.He had been to the imperial city, and when he was ten years old, he was taken down the mountain by the head of the gate. It was at Nushikou that he fell in love with a scrawny little girl with a muddy face. He later called her Jin.Six years passed in a flash, and the imperial city looked even more dilapidated.I don't know what it was like a hundred years ago when this was the capital city.

Turning a corner, everyone walked out of these dirty streets and came to a wide flat stone road.

"It was the lower city just now, and they were all untouchable slaves, and the upper city is the residence of the nobles." Zhou Mu said quite proudly: "This was originally the inner circle of the imperial city. Before it moved east, only the heavenly and royal family could living area."

Hong Han pointed around with his whip: "This is the imperial palace before it moved east?"

"No." Zhou Mu smiled and shook his head, secretly despising the barbarian for not seeing the world. "It's just a corner of the palace city. The Tianji Hall is at the back, and it has been destroyed, leaving only the earthen platform. If Bo Jun wants to see it, you can go there tomorrow."

Honghan said: "Did it be burned by the rebel army?"

Zhou Mu smiled wryly, "Forget it. In the early years, it was only burned for three or four cents. When it was moved eastward, all valuables were moved to the new capital. The palace was still relatively complete, but later the refugees and bandits kept stealing bricks and tiles. It took a long time. There is only an earthen platform left."

As they spoke, everyone came to a vermilion lacquer gate.At the door is a pair of ancient stone carvings of a fire phoenix, and a pair of brass knockers on the door are also in the shape of a fire phoenix tail. Cheng Liang touched the frequently used position.This should be a remnant of the old palace, and it stands to reason that the city lord should not use it beyond the rules.

A group of civil officials waited in front of the State Shepherd's Mansion, and they saluted one after another: "Uncle Xiyan has worked hard from afar, and the next official/lower position is polite!" Traveling and dusty, down and out.

Hong Han got off his horse and stepped inside after seeing the salute.The banquet had already been prepared in the hall, and the guests and hosts were seated. After a few glasses of wine, they gradually let go.Originally, Hong Han was cheerful and talkative, but when he talked about counter-insurgency, he was not good at using chopsticks, so he used a knife to cut meat at random, and tore it up and ate it with his hands.Those personal guards also talked to each other, without any respect, and it was very lively.

The state shepherd and the important official couldn't help but look at each other, slandering in their hearts.Sure enough, he was a barbarian from the western region. Even if he was awarded the title of Bojun, it would be difficult for him to enter the hall of elegance.

A group of colorful women stepped onto the hall to the sound of music.She has a voluptuous figure, only wearing a light veil, and her body is faintly visible when she walks, very seductive.Holding wine jugs, they danced and walked, scattered among the guests, either to accompany the wine, or to tease.

Feasting guests and entertaining beautiful women with singing and dancing is a very common entertainment.

Yun has been sitting on his knees behind Honghan on the left, in the shadow of the colonnade, and after confirming that there is no danger around him, he has been sitting silently.

Judging from the layout of the hall, this is the residence of the royal family.There are still painted paintings from the early years on the beams, and the big goose copper lamp should also be an old thing from the early years.He remembered that in the bamboo slips, someone said that this kind of copper lamp was a regulation available to the clan.

There was a lot of toasting in the hall, but he lost his mind here.

There was only a crisp clang, but the woman toasting Hong Han accidentally spilled it, and the copper cup fell to the ground.For a while, the city lord pretended to be angry and reprimanded, the woman begged for mercy, the generals made fun of and made noise, Hong Han laughed loudly, making a mess.Hong Han got up drunk, and said: "Mo panic, let's go change clothes! Change clothes!" Holding the woman in his arms, he went to the back of the hall.

Looking at the situation, everyone knew what they were going to do.

After a little hesitation, Yun stood up gently.Turning around the corner of the hall, he pulled up the black scarf covering his face, and his figure disappeared between the beams and pillars like light smoke.