Chapter 1121 – In This Land, I Want 100% (20)
She bent over in pain, her smile frozen on her face.
With a slight exertion, Xu Fei pulled his sword out from her body.
Blood stained the ground, splattering onto the boxes and dyeing her skirt, stinging the eyes of the onlookers.
Xu Fei coldly said, “Let’s go—”
A woman who couldn’t recognize the situation was just a burden.
Since she was so reluctant to part with these possessions, then let her take them on her journey to the yellow springs.
Xu Fei was not a broad-minded person.
He had no intention of taking this concubine with him, but she would inevitably suffer humiliation if left in the city; it was a dead end sooner or later.
Better to die now and leave it clean.
“Whoever is still reluctant can stay and accompany her.”
Upon hearing this, those flirtatious ladies didn’t dare to act recklessly anymore.
Watching their biological mother being killed, the two bastard sons cried out loudly, wailing and clamoring for their mother.
Their hoarse screams pierced through the crowd’s eardrums.
Normally, Xu Fei would have gone to comfort them, but at this moment, he coldly watched, his brows furrowing in impatience.
To prevent Xu Fei from losing control and making some shocking move, the Qiqi timely spoke up.
“Lord, it’s getting late.”
Hearing this, Xu Fei’s face darkened as he was the first to step out of the hall.
Outside the estate, there were five plain carriages; four for transporting people and one for carrying rice, dry goods, and luggage.
Xu Fei’s wives and concubines were not too many, but not too few either; just those several children could fill one carriage.
Once everything was prepared, the sky remained pitch black, like thick ink that wouldn’t dissolve in the inkstone.
Everyone crammed into the narrow carriage compartment, all wearing unhappy expressions.
Before they could settle, hurried footsteps were heard from outside, followed by out-of-breath reports.
“Report—The enemy has launched a surprise attack, one of the city gates has been breached, please leave quickly, my lord—”
Xu Fei’s face turned pale, and the women panicked, their eyes brimming with tears.
The young boy cried out loudly, his wails filling the air with their aggravating noise.
Xu Fei’s eldest daughter huddled in her mother’s embrace, stubbornly biting her lip, her bright eyes filled with panic.
The Qiqi noticed her daughter trembling and gently comforted her.
“It’s alright—Mother is here!”
Saying this, her palms were slick with sweat, her heart pounding like a drum.
In chaotic times, a woman is, in some ways, even worse off than livestock.
The Qiqi couldn’t bear to think, if the time came, would Xu Fei abandon these womenfolk?
He probably… would, right?
She thought blankly.
The wheels of the cart rolled forward, the sky outside still dark as ink, just like everyone’s current situation, offering no glimmers of hope.
The sounds of fighting faded behind the carriage, leaving only the rumble of wheels and the clinking of armor.
Xu Fei’s eldest daughter mustered the courage to pull back the carriage curtain.
She saw a hint of orange-red light rising on the horizon behind the carriage, resembling the sun rising in the east.
Upon closer inspection, it was not the sun at all; it was clearly the flames shooting up into the sky!
The licking flames were sweeping through Shanweng City, turning the once-familiar scenery into ashes.
“Mother—”
Her throat felt parched, and her heart seemed to beat out of her control, provoking a wave of inexplicable anxiety and fear.
The caravan safely left the city under the protection of the guards.
Xu Fei did not let his guard down, knowing that danger lurked everywhere, and the enemy could catch up at any moment.
A soldier returned from searching for Xu Fei’s whereabouts and reported, “My lord, we’ve searched everywhere, but the person is not here.”
Xu Pei asked, “Did he escape?”
At this moment, someone in the tent said, “My lord, it’s likely he hasn’t run far; if we pursue now, we can catch up.”
Xu Pei’s heart wavered.
He was resistant to this decision.
He wanted to defeat Xu Fei for sure, but he hadn’t reached the point of wanting him dead.
If he were to catch him now, how to handle him later would also be a difficult issue.
The rivalry between him and Xu Fei was fierce, yet they were still brothers by blood; rounding it off, they were practically siblings.
Could anyone bear the shame of an elder brother killing a younger brother?
Not if word got out!
Before Xu Pei could finish his hesitation, someone else added,
“My lord, letting the tiger return to the mountain will lead to endless troubles; please reconsider.”
Letting the tiger return to the mountain?
Exactly!
He’d let go of Xu Fei, but Xu Fei wouldn’t be grateful.
Xu Pei’s mind heated up, and he issued the command, “Send someone to pursue—alive or dead, I want to see them!”
Before he realized what he said, those words were already out and couldn’t be taken back.
The advisers in the tent weren’t adamant about Xu Fei dying; it was simply their own cleverness that mistakenly believed this was Xu Pei’s true intention.
With Shanweng City fallen, the common people inside were in a state of panic, packing their belongings and preparing to flee the chaos.
In an instant, the situation grew even more chaotic.
With the water muddied, it naturally attracted those who would fish in troubled waters.
How exactly did these people fish in troubled waters?
Some lowly ones plundered wealth to hide away; others, even more despicable, seized women to serve as backups in brothels, and some might even drag people to isolated places for humiliation; the most atrocious directly slaughtered innocent civilians, using their heads to claim military merit.
Of course, the perpetrators of these deeds were not necessarily real soldiers.
Soldiers came in ranks, and those doing these things were mostly “flooded soldiers,” sullying the reputation of the entire military camp.
When wars broke out, all the rulers loved to boast about their numbers and blindly inflate their prowess.
Forty thousand troops sounded much better than a million.
For example—
If a certain ruler were to claim to have a million troops but subtracting the exaggeration, there would be only about forty thousand left.
That in no way meant that the ruler actually had forty thousand combat-ready soldiers!
Truly capable soldiers under a ruler might only number around ten thousand. These soldiers were registered, received military pay, and could gain promotions for achieving military contributions. The funds allocated by the ruler were spent on them, and weapons and armor were primarily provided to these soldiers.
So what about the remaining thirty thousand?
That leftover was the “flooded soldiers,” like injecting water into pork.
The water injected couldn’t be counted as meat, but it could increase the overall weight of the pork.
These “flooded soldiers” were randomly recruited to fill the ranks; many were just looking for food to survive.
In lucky situations, they rushed forward; in adverse circumstances, they turned and fled.
The military discipline had no way of restraining them.
In the influence of war, their violence was at its peak, easily leading to evil deeds in an indulgent atmosphere.
In chaotic times, they did bad things to fill their own pockets; who would report them?
What’s more, once they had taken their gains, they could run off; who would bother making a fuss to catch them?
It was precisely because of these people that the citizens of Shanweng City were so anxious, all thinking of fleeing.
Not fleeing?
Waiting to die in place?
“My lord, the pursuers are closing in—”
Unable to determine Xu Fei’s whereabouts, they could only cast a wide net, dispatching several teams to search.
This also resulted in only a few enemy troops discovering Xu Fei’s traces, but they could still fight their way out.
After a fierce battle, five carriages were scattered by the chaotic troops.
Xu Fei learned of this news, and his entire face darkened.
“My lord—”
Most of the guards were still around Xu Fei, allowing for a rough fight.
“Get back!”
Xu Fei’s breaths were rapid, his bloodshot eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
