Chapter 56: Besieged

  It was awakened by the sound of horseshoes in the morning when I woke up.

  Qing Xia stood up from behind the slope, and saw Zhong Bo's team slowly catching up from behind, their speed was very slow, as if they were taking a leisurely stroll.

  "Tang girl, met you again."

  Although Zhang Bo was old in years, his eyes were very good and he smiled and greeted him.

  "Ah, old sir, we have a great fate indeed!" Qing Xia said with a smile, rubbing her eyes and lifting her head to take big breaths of the fresh morning air. "Old sir, in just two more days, we'll be able to leave this wilderness, won't we?"

  "Yes, Miss T'ang, you are going to Ch'in now."

  Qin State? Qing Xia raised one hand, gazing afar towards the distant north, only to see the vast ancient road hidden in a patch of withered grass, stretching far into the distance. On the other side of the north was the Qin State, the strongest among the four states.

  Perhaps because they were approaching the border of Qin State, Zhong Bo kindly invited Qing Xia and his group to travel together.

  At this time, Qing Xia had some understanding. After all, someone sent such a strong force to deal with them, and Zhong Bo and others couldn't have known that they had such an opponent. In such a dangerous situation, it was natural not to invite oneself to go forward together, so as not to implicate the innocent bystanders.

  They are about to leave the Western Black Desert and approach the border of Qin State, even those usually expressionless guards show a hint of relaxation.

  The closer to the north, the colder the weather. Qing Xia wore a thick cotton-padded jacket, and her white fox fur coat wrapped her whole body inside, but she still felt her teeth chattering, and small icicles formed on her eyebrows. This kind of weather made Qing Xia think of the time when she was on a mission in the Eskimo's territory, where she had been hiding in the glacier crevices for three days without supplies, and later froze both feet, which would fester and swell even before winter arrived, and no amount of Chinese medicine could cure it.

  Qing Xia wrapped a thick layer of cotton cloth around the belly of the big yellow horse to prevent it from getting frostbite. The horse was very spirited and affectionate towards Qing Xia, unknowingly bringing her a warm feeling in the cold icy land.

  Unconsciously, she had been walking in such a harsh environment for two days. On this evening, the sky was overcast and dark, actually according to modern timekeeping methods, it should be around 3 pm at most, but the northern weather had already turned half-dark. Qing Xia rode on horseback, her huge wind hat covering her eyes, her clumsy hands, wearing gloves, pushed up the hat, and lifted her head.

  All that could be seen was a vast expanse of darkness, boundless and endless, with no edge in sight. Everywhere was covered in a thick layer of snow, the sky and earth were a uniform silver white, the north wind howled all around, fiercely blowing across the land. Qing Xia's breath formed a white misty flower in the air, she rubbed her eyes, and suddenly saw in the distance a strip of greyish-black iron, like a giant dragon, coiled at the end of the desolate wilderness, majestic and powerful, with a thick and heavy solemnity.

  "Ah! It's a mountain!"

  Qīng xià gāo xìng de dà jiào qǐ lái. Zài huāng yuán shàng zǒu le shí duō tiān, dào chù dōu shì qiān piān yī lǜ de yě cǎo, hé ǎi xiǎo huī huáng de tū pò, tū rán kàn dào le yī zuò shān, nǎ néng bù xīng xìng.

  Translation:

  Qing Xia shouted with excitement. After walking for more than ten days in the wilderness, where everywhere was filled with monotonous wild grass and short greyish-yellow breakthroughs, he suddenly saw a mountain, how could he not be excited?

  His white beard was covered with snowflakes, he smiled and looked into the distance, saying kindly: "Yes, that is Longji Mountain, below the mountain is Tie Xian River, after crossing Tie Xian River, it is the territory of my Great Qin."

  Qing Xia heard this and felt a wave of joy, no matter what, she had finally left Nan Chu, her heart seemed to have suddenly put down a huge stone, letting out a heavy sigh of relief.

  "Zhong Bo," a low voice suddenly sounded in the carriage, Qing Xia turned her head to look, and saw that the curtain was lifted slightly, Zhong Bo hurriedly got off the carriage and walked over, saying in a low voice: "Young master, what are your orders?"

  "Let's set up camp at the foot of Longji Mountain tonight and rest. Don't cross the river, let's continue tomorrow."

  Zhang Bo's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he immediately nodded hastily and said: "Good."

  "Tang young lady," Qing Xia was stunned, having joined this group for two days, she hadn't heard the man say a word, nor had she seen his face. At this moment, hearing his deep and hoarse voice suddenly calling her, she hastily followed in the footsteps of Zhong Bo and walked forward, saying: "Young master, what's the matter?"

  "We've made slow progress and kept the young lady waiting."

  Qing Xia's eyebrows rose slightly as she smiled faintly and said, "Young master is being too serious. You are my lifesaver, and I've been fortunate enough to have your care along the way."

  "It's just a small effort, no need to make a fuss."

  "It may be a mere trifle in your eyes, but it is a timely help to me, a great kindness that I shall never forget."

  "Excuse me, miss," a faint coughing sound suddenly rang out, and after a while, it slowly subsided. The person's voice was slightly weak and hoarse as he said in a low tone, "We've already reached the border of Qin State. We'll take our time and rest when needed, but we can't afford to waste any more of your time."

  Although she had already guessed what the other person meant, when she actually heard him say it out loud, Qing Xia couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. She smiled and said: "I was going to bid farewell to you anyway, thank you for taking care of me on this journey, may your future be smooth sailing, take care of yourself."

  "Thank you for your concern."

  A faint voice said coldly, with a hint of detachment that kept people at arm's length. Zhong Bo's face was slightly awkward, and he looked at Qing Xia with some reluctance. He suddenly walked into the second horse carriage, and then came down again after a while.

  "Tang Niang, Bai E's hometown is still a long way from here. You're traveling alone, so be careful with everything."

  Feeling the old man's heartfelt concern, Qing Xia's initial dissatisfaction instantly dissipated, and he sincerely said: "Old sir, if it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have died in the desolate land of Nanjiang long ago. Great kindness and virtue, I hope that one day I can repay your great favor."

  "Stupid child," Zhong Bo helped Qing Xia tighten the fox fur on her shoulder, handed a package to her hand and said: "Take these with you, meeting each other is fate, don't mention repaying kindness again. I hope you find your brother soon, the journey is long, be careful!"

  Qing Xia hugged the heavy burden, suddenly feeling a little moist in her eyes. This unfamiliar old man had unconditionally helped her from the moment they met. If it weren't for him, she might have perished long ago. Tiny icicles slowly formed on her eyelashes. She hugged the bundle and couldn't speak, only nodding heavily and pursing her lips tightly.

  "Alright, it's getting late, hurry up and get to Tieliner River. The river has already frozen over, don't worry."

  Qing Xia could only nod silently, then turned over and jumped onto his war horse, saying in a low voice: "Old sir, your great kindness, I will always remember it in my heart."

  "Good boy, hurry up! Take care on your way!"

  Qing Xia rode on the horseback, thinking of the direction of the iron-gray black line, and rushed away quickly. After running for a long time, she turned her head back, still didn't see that old figure with a slight hunchback, still standing there stupidly, looking towards her.

  A warm and fuzzy feeling suddenly filled her entire heart, an unprecedented warmth that made her feel as if she was basking in the spring sun.

  "Drive!" With a loud shout, Qing Xia rushed towards the direction of Tie Xian River.

  When we arrived at the bank of Tie Line River, the sky had completely darkened, and the bright snow reflected the light, illuminating everything in a vast expanse of white.

  The big snow in the sky is still flying, fluttering and fluttering, a desolate scene.

  The iron line river water has frozen, Qing Xia carefully tested it and knew that even if an elephant walked on it now, nothing would happen, only then did she put her mind at ease.

  He dismounted and wrapped the horse's hooves with cotton cloth. The horse was from southern Xinjiang, possibly having never been to the north before. Qing Xia carefully led it onto the frozen river surface.

  However, just as he approached the river's surface, Qing Xia suddenly stood there with his eyes wide open in shock. A cold and sinister chill rose up from his heart, and for a moment, Qing Xia felt as if he was immersed in icy waters, his eyebrows tightly furrowed, his pale face revealing blue veins, his phoenix-like eyes narrowing slightly, with sharp edges, churning and surging in the dark currents.

  The astonishment lasted for less than two seconds, Qing Xia raised an eyebrow, turned around and mounted her horse with a swift and decisive movement, galloping away in the direction she came from.

  If she guessed correctly, Zhong Bo and others' arch-nemesis has come knocking on their door again.

  On the vast river surface, there were chaotic hoof prints everywhere, and the number of people was at least over 3,000. Now with such heavy snow, it can still leave marks, which means that the time will not exceed twenty minutes. However, there is only one official road coming and going, but Qing Xia did not find any large-scale pedestrian tracks. That can only mean that the incoming person hid their tracks and detoured from behind Longji Mountain.

  Years of professional habit made Qing Xia, no matter where he was, always explore the local geographical situation and find the best escape route. Behind Longji Mountain is a strange and rugged terrain with extremely difficult roads, but there is a small path that leads directly to Xihuang Pampas, which Qing Xia saw in the imperial archives of Chulai Palace. This was because the Xiongnu people relied on this small path to directly enter the Central Plains, causing large-scale unrest among the Central Plains people at that time, and countless refugees were displaced.

  If Qing Xia's guess was correct, then the person who came must have been heading towards this secret path.

  It can also be proved that Zhong Bo and others are absolutely not ordinary medicine peddlers as they claimed. Because this small road, even in the Nan Chu imperial palace, is considered a top secret, if it weren't for Qing Xia sneaking into the Imperial Secret Court to burn the Green Camp military documents, no one would have discovered it.

  It doesn't matter what their identities are now, Qing Xia can't calm down and leave the river as soon as he thinks of Zhong Bo's old figure. Thinking of this, he rushes towards Longji Mountain. The clouds open up a new territory, and the dragon vein mountain is hidden in the mist.

  The founding monarch of the Great Qin, Qin Shi Huang, was the first emperor to complete the unification of China. Although later generations have praised and criticized him differently, no one can deny his great achievements. During Qin Shi Huang's reign, he swept away the six vassals, unified the world, and the land of Baiyue all surrendered, with the national territory almost doubling in size. He completed the first grand unification in history and made an unparalleled contribution to maintaining the legitimacy of the Han dynasty.

  Qin Huang and Han Wu have always been praised by people. However, in this strange space-time, the great Han dynasty was stillborn with the wisdom and bravery of Qin Er Shi. And Qin Er Shi is forever standing tall in the hearts of the Qin family descendants as the one who solidified the Qin family's foundation.

  In the eyes of people at that time, the achievements of Qin Er Shi were even more magnificent than those of Qin Shi Huang.

  As the mausoleum where his heroic soul rests, Longshou Mountain also represents the dignity and spirit of the Qin clan, forever standing tall like a mighty eagle on the border of Great Qin, looking down at the countless lives below.

  When Qing Xia rushed to Longjiao Mountain, large areas of torches had already illuminated the desolate wilderness. More than a thousand people and horses quietly surrounded the foot of the mountain, impenetrable as water. Inside, several fine horses and carriages were surrounded by a team of guards, including the coachmen, who stood at the center with cold expressions.

  The confrontation between the two armies continued, Qing Xia rode his horse and stood on a slightly higher earth slope, coldly watching the people and horses facing each other below.

  Under the dark night sky, there is a mournful eagle, screaming in a sharp voice.