Qin Huailian almost rushed out of the door.
She directly dashed to the front of the military camp. Looking at the Loulan army slowly approaching her in the distance, her heart was filled with extreme anxiety, uneasiness and nervousness.
Yazebu saw Qin Huailian's figure from afar. The corner of his mouth hooked up. He deliberately slowed down a bit more. His eyes fixed on Qin Huailian's face, observing her playfully.
The distance was originally only half a li, but Yazebu managed to take as long as it took to drink a cup of tea. It was not until he rode his horse and stood in front of Qin Huailian that a satisfied expression finally appeared on his face.
"... Where is he?" Qin Huailian's face was gloomy as she said in a low voice.
Yazebu curled his lips and tilted his head towards the back, saying, "He's on the prisoner cart behind."
Qin Huailian's face turned cold. "If you dare to..."
"Don't worry, Holy Lady." Yazebu directly interrupted Qin Huailian and raised his eyebrows. "He's not injured. He's in good condition."
Qin Huailian gave him a glare, said nothing, and walked straight towards the back of him.
"You've already 'killed' so many of his subordinates. Now you still come to care about his people?" Yazebu said in a voice that Qin Huailian could hear. "What kind of a show of false sympathy is this?"
Qin Huailian paused in her steps. She stood still for a moment, her body trembling slightly. In the end, she said nothing and walked backwards again.
Qin Feng's prisoner cart was at the very end of the entire team.
In the iron cage made of cold iron, a tall and haggard figure was leaning against the iron railing obliquely. He looked desolate, with his eyes closed. He had been in a coma for a long time.
Qin Huailian stopped in her tracks. Her throat tightened. She stood beside the prisoner cart, staring blankly at the person inside.
"Dad..."
With a trembling voice, she finally stretched out her hand, reached over the iron cage, and grabbed the corner of Qin Feng's clothes.
That "SOS letter" was indeed written by Qin Huailian herself. At that time, she really did it to lure Qin Feng into blindly sending out troops. Moreover, she also expected that Qin Feng would definitely send out troops after seeing her letter. But when Qin Feng really sent out troops, she suddenly felt a complex mix of emotions in her heart. She couldn't quite describe the feeling.
Until now, looking at the unconscious Qin Feng in front of her, her eyes still kept flickering. She felt that her emotions were getting a bit out of control. She quickly asked someone to help carry Qin Feng out of the prisoner cart and send him to the dungeon.
There was a cell in the dungeon that Qin Huailian had already asked someone to clean up. Except for the small window on the ceiling and the iron railing in front of the door, it was almost arranged like an ordinary bedroom.
Several Loulan soldiers carefully carried Qin Feng in and laid him on the bed.
Qin Feng didn't wake up during the bumpy journey all the way, which showed how strong the sleeping drug Yazebu had used was. After everything was properly arranged, Qin Huailian waved everyone away and sat alone beside the bed. By the light of the fire in the cell, she quietly looked at Qin Feng's haggard face. In the warm firelight, she found that Qin Feng had aged a lot compared to half a year ago. She couldn't help but feel a pang in her nose. She reached out and gently held Qin Feng's hand.
She lowered her head and softly called out, "Dad?"
Qin Feng was still in a coma, breathing evenly and showing no sign of movement.
Qin Huailian naturally guessed that Qin Feng wouldn't wake up for the time being. She pursed her lips and said softly, "Dad, you've aged so much. Didn't brother tell you not to go to the battlefield anymore? Why are you so stubborn?"
"......"
"Dad, there are some things I dare not say in front of you because I know you'll definitely blame me." Qin Huailian paused for a moment and continued, "When I entered the palace half a year ago, some people from Loulan told me that Mom's death back then was not because of the war, but because of Sikong Ting."
"Dad, do you know? Mom went on the expedition to save Sikong Ting, not because she 'discovered the traces of the Loulan people' as they said. Mom went on the expedition because Sikong Ting was secretly attacked and was about to die. In order to save him, the former emperor sent Mom to Kunlun to look for snow lotuses. If it weren't for saving him, Mom would never have gone to Kunlun, and she would never have fallen off the cliff and disappeared without a trace! It was already mid - October at that time. Kunlun had already been blocked by heavy snow. They couldn't have not known the risk of rashly entering the Kunlun Snow Mountains. They did it on purpose - to save that little emperor who should have died long ago!"
"Dad, you've been deceived by that dog emperor of the Sikong family for a lifetime!"
Qin Huailian gritted her teeth. Looking at the unconscious Qin Feng with red - rimmed eyes, hatred filled her eyebrows and eyes. "Dad, you said that back then, as the founding general, the Qin family was the first to break into the previous dynasty's imperial palace. But the ancestors of the Qin family were willing to support the Sikong family as the emperor. You said it was because the Sikong family was more suitable to be the emperor."
"But is this what they do as emperors? Making their subjects risk their lives to save them? And even knowing it was extremely dangerous! Until now, they still refuse to tell the truth!" Qin Huailian lowered her head and said in a voice choked with sobs, "Mom was loyal to the country all her life, brave and upright. She didn't die under the guns of the enemy, but on the way to save that dog emperor!"
"What kind of emperors are the Sikong family! They stole their throne! I'm going to take it back!"
Qin Huailian tightly squeezed Qin Feng's hand and said firmly, "Dad, don't worry. I'll avenge Mom and then take back this vast land. Dad, if you knew the truth, you would definitely support me, right?"
"Dad, you have a good sleep. Daughter will take care of everything." Qin Huailian took a deep look at Qin Feng, reluctantly stood up, took off Qin Feng's armor, and then covered him with a quilt.
She quietly looked at him beside the bed for a while, then turned around and left, locking the cell door again.
As Qin Huailian's footsteps faded away, in the flickering candlelight, the old man lying on the bed slowly opened his eyes a slit. There was no daze of just waking up in his eyes, but calmness and composure.
After the massacre, Gengnan City had already become a dead city.
Qin Huaiqiu and the soldiers stood under the city wall of Gengnan City. Looking at the countless simple earthen mounds in front of the city, they were all speechless.
The north wind was howling. Qin Huaiqiu picked up a stone and slowly walked to a very small earthen mound. He slowly squatted down.
It was the simple grave of Qian Shuyu.
He couldn't find Qian Shuyu's body anymore. He could only choke back his tears and ask someone to take Qian Shuyu's head down from the city wall, and then solemnly bury him in the soil.
Qin Huaiqiu placed the stone on the earthen mound. He squatted there and looked at the low grave for a long time. He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again. His lips were pursed into a straight line. He reached out and grabbed a handful of loess from the side, slowly sprinkling it on Qian Shuyu's grave.
"... Don't worry."
After saying that, he slowly stood up, and his gaze drifted to the distant horizon.
There, the noise of horseshoes gradually came.
Sikong Ting was in a golden armor, riding his horse slowly emerging from the horizon. The golden armor was shining brightly in the sun. After not seeing him for many months, Sikong Ting, like a god, once again descended into Qin Huaiqiu's heart.