Chapter 1686 – South Sheng Secured, An Huan Killed (Ninety-Four)
“No, no…”
The general’s face darkened, but it was too late to make amends; Fu Wang was not going to listen to his excuses!
Fu Wang stepped forward and violently wiped the grime from the man’s face with his free hand, bringing the torch closer to inspect.
He sneered, “Ignorant child, do you not know that I have seen An Huan?”
Bitterness surged in the general’s mouth; how was he to know Fu Wang had seen An Huan when he was stripped of his disguise in just a glance?
As if that wasn’t bad enough, he made an incredibly stupid mistake—despite the ambush being the enemy’s trap, they couldn’t have possibly known about An Huan leading the charge. In other words, the general didn’t need to don An Huan’s clothing to draw the enemy away. This action not only failed to buy time but also exposed the fact that An Huan was part of the fleeing group, provoking the enemy’s pursuit.
The correct strategy should have been for An Huan to masquerade as a fleeing soldier and slip into the dense forest during the chaos, giving him a chance to escape.
But—
In the heat of the moment, he overlooked this detail, instead exposing Lord An Huan’s presence.
What’s worse, the formidable military general before him had indeed seen An Huan; should An Huan be captured, his chances of escape would be practically nil.
Thinking of this, the general felt an overwhelming urge to take his own life to atone.
Fu Wang coolly observed the captive’s expression, already figuring something out.
He told a lie—Fu Wang had never actually seen An Huan; only his portrait. The deception was merely to fool the prisoner.
“Bring someone here!”
Fu Wang suppressed the rising elation within; capturing An Huan alive would be an enormous feat!
Men are inherently ambitious, and Fu Wang was no exception.
The deputy general rushed forward to heed his command, and Fu Wang ordered him to send more men to chase after the escaping stragglers.
“You go first; I’ll be right behind.”
Military merit was tempting, but Fu Wang wouldn’t abandon the battlefield just for glory—what if he inadvertently put Xie Ze in danger?
The deputy general took his leave, and upon hearing this, An Huan’s general felt a wave of darkness wash over him, nearly fainting.
Fu Wang disdainfully glanced at the captured enemy general, who was both dim-witted and self-deceptive; it’s high time he got his head straight.
The deputy general just now was Fu Wang’s right-hand man for many years, having followed Fu Wang’s adoptive father, Fu Yang, during his youth. Now he was an experienced and methodical elder in warfare. Entrusting the pursuit of An Huan to him, Fu Wang felt assured; even if the deputy general failed to catch An Huan, he wouldn’t allow him to escape easily. Once Fu Wang secured the situation here, he would soon catch up.
Fu Wang’s plans seemed thorough, but he overlooked one thing—his own lord’s fixation on taking heads!
Meanwhile, on the other side, An Huan disguised himself as an ordinary soldier, frantically galloping for his life.
The pitch-black night offered little light, and everyone could barely make out the path ahead. Therefore, the escape route was riddled with obstacles. The warhorse, pushed by the whip, galloped for its life; the biting night wind slapped against An Huan’s face, making it sting. He was jostled to the point of nausea, but he dared not cease whipping the horse, forcing himself to soldier on through his pale visage.
“Giddy up—”
Once more, An Huan struck his horse with the whip, causing it to neigh in pain, suddenly stumbling as its front hooves lost their footing, its strong body crashing forward. He didn’t know what it hit, but he heard the sickening crack of bones. The horse fell heavily, and An Huan was thrown off, tumbling clumsily and rolling twice on the ground, his teeth clashing against his lip, a strong metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. The others, too preoccupied to tend to the nearly lifeless horse, hurriedly pulled on the reins to stop it and dismounted to help An Huan.
Luck was on An Huan’s side; despite the violent fall, he only suffered a loose tooth, a bit of dizziness, and some external wounds.
If he had been slightly less fortunate, he might have ended up with his organs rearranged under the horse.
“Lord!”
“Lord!”
The calls of “Lord” rang in his ears, and after a few deep breaths, An Huan managed to gather his senses, feeling a comforting touch of reality beneath him.
Recalling the previous terrifying moment, he felt his heart race; he nearly thought he was about to meet his end.
“I’m fine, we must leave quickly!”
An Huan raised his hand to wipe his face, inadvertently pressing on the scrape, prompting a sharp intake of breath.
“My apologies, Commander.” A military general helped An Huan onto his horse, and once he was settled, mounted his own steed, gripping the reins and cracking the whip, prompting the halted fleeing group to resume their hasty escape. Everyone’s hearts clenched, not daring to pause.
Yet even so, they caught the enemy’s notice; the sound of galloping hooves grew ever closer behind them.
It became a tight race, both sides hot on each other’s heels.
The thundering hooves echoed in An Huan’s ears, sounding more like a death knell than mere horse footsteps!
“Chase—just ahead!”
“Giddy up—”
The pounding hooves drummed against the ground, causing the very earth to tremble as though an earthquake had struck.
At that moment, the scene transported An Huan back to his desperate flight so many years ago when he had ridden a stolen horse, whipping it frantically to evade the pursuing Southern barbarian soldiers. He had gasped for breath, too consumed by fear to reflect on the horror of his parents, wives, and children brutally slain; his sole thought was to escape, survive, and avenge them!
In the end, he bore the marks of three arrows on his back and, in the haze of consciousness, plunged into the tumultuous river, barely escaping with his life.
As the cold, rushing water submerged his head, his fine clothing soaked and weighed him down; he thought his doom was sealed. After enduring a long, dark struggle, against all odds, he survived. Wounded, he did everything he could to flee Southern Sheng. In his early life, An Huan had savored the luxurious life of a noble, untouched by hardship, but those years of escape had brought him countless trials, many times dancing on the edge of life and death. Each time he felt like giving up, nightmares would rear their heads, forcing him to recall the horrific deaths of his loved ones, igniting the flames of resentment and vengeance within him… Ultimately, he fled to Dongqing.
Years passed, and An Huan thought the hardest days were behind him, yet here he was, confronted with an opportunity to relive the past. Once a lucky survivor, he ultimately rose from the ashes to obliterate the Southern barbarians for revenge. If he could escape again today, who’s to say he couldn’t create a miracle once more?
Holding onto that thought, a dull fire began to flicker in An Huan’s eyes.
Be they the traitorous Lü Zheng, the obstructive Jiang Pengji, or the duplicitous Hua Yuan…
An Huan sank deep into his emotions when suddenly, he heard a general’s voice from outside the tent, just a few words like music to his ears.
“Lord, we’ve shaken off the pursuers!”
Excellent!
Joy surged in An Huan’s heart, but before his smile could fully bloom, the cavalry guard ahead suddenly pulled back their mounts abruptly, their horses letting out sharp and pained whinnies. That harsh sound made An Huan’s smile freeze, and the atmosphere grew incredibly tense.
