Xie Wuyin slapped the water surface and snapped, "Shut up!"
Hua Jing ignored him. Sitting on her horse, she looked down at him haughtily. "Why did you call me here?"
That bird was the pre - arranged signal for their meeting. Since it was extremely stubborn and hard to tame, it was the first time Xie Wuyin had resorted to such a method.
When Hua Jing saw it, she thought she was hallucinating. After all, since she entered the grassland, few people had contacted her. And since she was always by Helian Zhen's side, it was not easy to even send a message. As time passed, she couldn't help but feel forgotten.
Who would have thought that just a few days after Helian Zhen left, Xie Wuyin came to find her.
Xie Wuyin climbed onto the shore in a sorry state and simply sat on the ground. Since he had already lost all his dignity anyway, he said, "Chen Tingfeng wants you to kill Helian Zhen."
"…" Hua Jing pointed at herself in disbelief. "Me? Kill him?"
"Are you kidding? If I could, I would have done it long ago!" Hua Jing tightened the reins. The horse reared its head and let out an impatient neigh.
She patted the horse's neck soothingly, dismounted, and much of her charm faded away due to shock.
She plopped down beside Xie Wuyin. "Didn't you resist?"
The two of them had met at the border. They were both unlucky people and were both driven by Chen Tingfeng. After interacting with each other for some time, they got to know each other quite well.
Xie Wuyin let out a couple of mocking laughs, his face falling. "If I could resist, I would have done it long ago."
"Useless." Hua Jing scolded. "Helian Zhen has gone to the battlefield. Do you expect me to chase after him and kill him? That would be too suspicious!"
Xie Wuyin's face darkened. "If you scold me one more time, I'll kick you into the lake."
Hua Jing was not afraid of him at all. Seeing him lie back on the grass, she said, "That's your task. Figure it out yourself. My task is already over."
"You wish," Hua Jing kicked him and her expression turned serious. Frowning, she said, "I don't want to die just yet. If I chase after him to kill him, I'll surely be killed by others. You have to secretly stay by my side and save me if necessary."
Xie Wuyin wiggled his feet, looking quite leisurely now. "Why should I save you?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw a flash of cold light. He paused, and a dagger with a cold glint was pressed against his neck.
Hua Jing gave him a charming smile. "If you don't want to live, I can kill you right now."
"…" Xie Wuyin said, "You've taken all the benefits. What have I got after working my ass off?"
"I'll split the reward with you," Hua Jing said without hesitation. Every time they completed a mission, Chen Tingfeng would give them a large sum of money. But Xie Wuyin spent money recklessly. Often after squandering a fortune, he would have no money for food and then come to her pleadingly. "How about it?"
Xie Wuyin thought for a while and gritted his teeth in agreement.
Hua Jing put away the dagger satisfactorily. Seeing how disheveled he was today, she knew he must have had no money. Maybe he had been living like a savage for the past few months.
Chen Tingfeng was right. Using benefits to drive people really worked.
Xie Wuyin glanced at the dagger in her hand and fell silent.
Hua Jing had learned the art of assassination. He had seen it before. With this dagger, she had silently taken many people's lives. But her expression remained unchanged when she killed, and she even had the leisure to show a charming smile. Even he, who was used to seeing all kinds of people, couldn't help but feel chilled.
He wouldn't really offend her easily.
Hua Jing took the opportunity to come out while pretending to be angry. But staying out for too long would surely arouse suspicion. She mounted her horse and looked down at him. "Remember what you promised."
With that, she whipped the horse, and it galloped away.
She was a do - it - now kind of person. A few days later, she deliberately picked on the simple - minded Tamuzhina and threw several tantrums. It was not until the Great Yanyu came out and scolded her that she sneered, "The king is not here, and you all bully me. I'm going to find the king!"
At night, she directly mounted her horse and rushed out of the grassland.
Tamuzhina was shocked. "It's so chaotic outside. Are you crazy?"
Hua Jing rode away without looking back.
"Great Yanyu…" Tamuzhina looked at the Great Yanyu with a cold face beside her. She opened her mouth as if to say something but was glared back by a look from her.
The Great Yanyu watched coldly as her figure disappeared. "Let her go."
If she wanted to seek death herself, who could stop her?
It would be better if she was directly taken away by wolves. It would bring peace to the grassland.
Hua Jing was really unpopular. Seeing that the Great Yanyu didn't even intend to send someone after her, the others looked at each other and then closed their mouths.
If the king asked about it later, it had nothing to do with them.
On the battlefield.
Helian Zhen had been launching attacks on the Central Plains troops for several days. He was ruthless and often shot cold arrows. But Chen Xuan was no easy target. After one or two times, he directly stationed troops on the city wall. He deliberately led Helian Zhen closer. As soon as he saw Helian Zhen, he ordered a volley of arrows, forcing Helian Zhen to retreat.
After several rounds of this cat - and - mouse game, Helian Zhen's eyes were bloodshot and he was furious.
He originally thought that it would be easy to deal with Chen Xuan since he had injured his hand. But he didn't expect these cunning Central Plains people to play such tricky games!
After several attempts, he still couldn't cut off Chen Xuan's head. Despite his raging anger, he forced himself to calm down. He looked back at Chen Xuan fiercely and shouted, "Retreat!"
Even the Xiongnu soldiers couldn't bear such continuous battles for several days.
Chen Xuan raised his hand, signaling the troops to beat the gong and retreat back into the city.
He won this battle narrowly, but it was not an easy victory. Now his hands were as weak as noodles, there were a few more bloodstains on his face, and the wound on his shoulder, which had not healed yet, had been torn open again. It was even inflamed and suppurating.
He gritted his teeth and tore open his clothes to apply medicine. He tilted his head back, enduring the excruciating pain. The veins on his forehead bulged, and his vision went black for a while.
The adjutant frowned and said, "My lord, you can't fight with this injury anymore!"
If this continued, his hand would be useless again.
Chen Xuan, with a pale face, shouted, "Enough. I know what I'm doing. You can go."
With Helian Zhen around, how could he not go to battle?
This man was ruthless. Now that he had suddenly suffered a setback from him, he would surely come up with countermeasures and take more revenge later.
The adjutant's brows were knitted so tightly that they could crush a fly. "My lord! You are the backbone of our army. If you exhaust your body, who else can lead us to fight? Why don't you just sit on the city wall and watch us fight? Then…"
"Enough," Chen Xuan interrupted him. "I can't do the thing of watching you all charge into battle for me while I sit on a high platform. Don't mention this again. You can go."
His voice was not loud, but everyone could hear the determination in his words.
The adjutant gritted his teeth. But a military order was like a mountain. In the end, he left reluctantly.
Chen Xuan looked at the wound on his shoulder. After a long time, he let out a sigh.
His body was becoming more and more useless.
This situation always made him feel like a hero at the end of his days.
He raised his hand, rubbed his temples, and slowly closed his eyes.
Stupid boy, if you don't come quickly, you'll be fatherless.