"General, shall we let them into the city?"
Feng Zuo pressed his lips tightly into a thin line but remained calm on the surface. However, the tense curve of his jaw betrayed his inner struggle.
"How pitiful..."
"She's so young. She shouldn't be a spy, right?"
The soldiers began to sigh with pity.
Below the city wall, the girl saw that her younger brother remained motionless. Looking up and seeing that Gengnan City's gates were still tightly shut, despair welled up in her eyes. She burst into tears and crawled forward on her knees a few steps. Then she started kowtowing to the soldiers on the city wall.
The girl kowtowed again and again. Her forehead was cut open by the hard gravel, and several winding streaks of blood added to the dirt on her face.
The little girl's face was smeared with tears and snot. Seeing that the people on the city wall remained unmoved, she seemed to be completely overwhelmed by despair. Her small body trembled slightly, but she could only continue kowtowing.
She didn't know what else she could do.
"Tsk..." Feng Zuo gritted his teeth. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he said in a deep voice, "Go and bring those two kids in."
"Yes!"
The city gates slowly opened. A soldier slipped out through the crack in the gate. He ran to the moat and slowly lowered the bridge.
The little girl was overjoyed. She quickly picked up her younger brother beside her and with difficulty carried him on her back again. Then she continued to stagger onto the bridge.
Her thin and frail body trembled. Seeing this, the young soldier quickly took the younger brother from her hands.
The little brother seemed to be completely unconscious. His body was very thin, and the young soldier easily carried him on his back. Seeing this, Feng Zuo quickly walked down the city wall to meet them.
After they entered the city, the little brother was sent to the medical clinic. The little girl watched helplessly as her brother was taken away, but she didn't move a step, as if she still wanted to do something.
Then the little girl began to look around. Her timid eyes swept over the soldiers around her and finally fixed on Feng Zuo.
Feng Zuo was taken aback.
The little girl swallowed nervously and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito, "Excuse me, are you the general here?"
Feng Zuo looked at her and nodded. "Yes, I am."
The little girl lowered her head, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"I... I want you to save my father!" The little girl suddenly looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. With tears and sobs, she knelt down in front of Feng Zuo again. "Our family of three has always lived in the Kunlun Mountains. We made a living by hunting. But some people suddenly entered the mountains a day ago... They burned our vegetable garden... and took my father away. If my father hadn't hidden my brother and me before he was taken away, we would have..."
At this point, the girl couldn't help crying bitterly.
But Feng Zuo's mind immediately rang an alarm. He quickly stepped forward, squatted down, helped the girl up, and put his hands on her shoulders. "What did you say? You said some people entered the mountains? Who were they?"
The girl was startled. Her body trembled, and she wiped away some of her tears with her hand. She said tremblingly, "I don't know, but they were bad people. They dressed strangely. As soon as they saw our house, they came in shouting and killing... and took my father away directly."
Feng Zuo's heart sank. "Little girl, think carefully. Did they have any clothing features? For example, any paintings on their bodies?"
The little girl stared with her eyes wide open and tilted her head, thinking for a long time. Then she nodded. "Um... yes! They had a lot of strange paintings on their necks and right arms."
All the soldiers gasped in unison.
They were the people of Loulan!
The people of Loulan had entered the Kunlun Mountains?!
Feng Zuo's eyes suddenly darkened. Although he had been mentally prepared since he received the imperial edict, he had never expected the people of Loulan to come so quickly.
"Little girl, where does your family live? Tell me." Feng Zuo patted her on the shoulder.
The little girl sniffled and asked softly, "General, are you going to lead people to save my father?"
Looking at the blood and dirt all over the little girl's body, Feng Zuo felt a pang in his heart. He rubbed her little head and comforted her, "Yes, I will send people to save your father."
The little girl said "um" and nodded vigorously at Feng Zuo. "Then, General, I'll show you the way."
"It's just..." The little girl turned around, but behind her was the closed city wall gate.
"Um..." The little girl was stunned, and a look of panic flashed in her eyes.
"Shall I take you up on the city wall? Then you can see it." Feng Zuo rubbed her head, stood up, and said to the soldier beside him, "Hurry up and report this to the Protectorate General's Office and General Qin."
"Yes!"
Feng Zuo took the little girl's hand and led her up the city wall. Then he picked her up and stood at the gap behind the thick city wall. Pointing into the distance, he said, "Look, this direction is the east side of the Kunlun Mountains. There's a natural long lake in the back mountain. Over there is the west side of the Kunlun Mountains. There's less vegetation on the west side. It's short of water, and there are only shrubs. Think quickly. Where do you live?"
"Um." The little girl wrinkled her whole face, as if she was thinking carefully.
The little girl's hand slowly lifted. "My family lives..."
In an instant.
The howling north wind seemed to suddenly stop.
Feng Zuo looked ahead. In his eyes, his bright black pupils suddenly dilated after a flash of surprise!
A sharp pain came from his chest. Before he could look down, a young soldier beside him roared "General!" Then he took a big step forward and pushed the little girl in Feng Zuo's arms away.
"Puff!"
The blade was suddenly pulled out from Feng Zuo's chest, bringing out hot blood. The little girl was holding the handle of the dagger. The innocent and pitiful look on her face disappeared completely, replaced by a mocking expression and the determination to die.
Feng Zuo stared in disbelief.
In the splashing blood, he only met those mocking eyes for a moment. Then the little girl's thin body swayed on the high city wall and fell straight down.
"General!"
Feng Zuo's chest ached sharply. The dagger had hit a vital part of his chest, and the arterial blood spurted out, instantly staining his white clothes red.
Yes, there was no battle yet. Feng Zuo had just come up on the city wall on a whim. His silver-white armor was still in the temporary house under the city wall.
The blood gushed out, taking away Feng Zuo's life. He felt a sweet taste in his throat, and a mouthful of blood spurted out. His body fell straight down and was caught by the young soldier.
"Doctor! Where's the doctor!" The young soldier quickly pressed on the wound on Feng Zuo's chest and shouted hoarsely, "Hurry up and call someone!"
"Cough..." The blood flowed more violently.
There was a hole in Feng Zuo's chest. He gasped for breath and tightly grabbed the young soldier's sleeve with his hand.
The young soldier cried bitterly and shook his head in a panic. "General! Hold on. The doctor is coming soon! General!"
"Go... report... to... Commander Wan... General Qin..."
Feng Zuo could clearly feel his strength disappearing bit by bit. The hand that grabbed the young soldier's sleeve tightened so hard that his knuckles turned white.
"Someone has already been sent to report! General, don't talk..."
"Lou... Lan..." The people of Loulan were about to attack.
The young soldier's eyes were filled with tears. It seemed that he had used all his strength. He desperately pressed on Feng Zuo's wound, and tears fell drop by drop on his body.
The colors in front of Feng Zuo's eyes quickly faded. He had never thought that he would die like this. He only felt his lungs contracting rapidly, and his exhaled breath became weaker and weaker.
Just before he fell into a coma, he heard Wan Chengyan's exclamation and the attack horn of the Loulan army not far away.