Eleven

At dusk, Bai Jingxuan climbed the main tower of the north city wall of Suzhou City. Where the boundless desert meets the sky, it is like a bloody remnant sun slowly sinking westward. The north wind swept away the sand and dust, and the bursts of killing intent overflowed the chest, making people feel endless emotion in their lives.

In the past ten years, the northern Turks have repeatedly invaded southward, and the city of Suzhou, which bears the brunt of the attack, has repeatedly interacted with the Turks under the city walls.

Relying on the topography of the city wall, the Suzhou army resisted Turkic attacks many times and protected the border territory of the Tang Dynasty from being invaded.

Bai Jingxuan brushed the city wall with both hands, and the mottled knife marks on the bluestone were soaked with dried up dark red bloodstains, witnessing countless soldiers fighting here again and again.

Suddenly, in the bleak north wind, a unique fragrance came.

Bai Jingxuan was overjoyed, and hurriedly turned around, and on the main platform of the city wall, a table of fluttering white clothes arrived as scheduled.

Behind me, a slender woman in white stood tall. Under such a biting north wind, he only wore a thin tulle shirt, but he did not see the slightest coldness.

"Yuki!" Bai Jingxuan ran with him, opening his arms to embrace the woman in white.

The woman turned around when she heard the voice, her beautiful eyes were cold, and her resistance was self-evident.

A gauze robe fluttered in the wind, the figure is thin but concave and convex, like a waterfall and green silk floating at will, although the thin cheeks are slightly pale, but it adds a bit of pity and beauty. There is a small tear mole under the corner of the left eye, which gives people a strange feeling of wanting to cry.

With such a thin body, it seems that it will fall into the wind at any time, and her lower abdomen is slightly bulging, obviously pregnant, but it does not affect the admiration in Bai Jingxuan's eyes for her stunning appearance.

Bai Jingxuan stopped, put away his outstretched hands, and barely put on a smile to hide his embarrassment.

"Xixue, I won't see you in January, are you and the fetus okay?"

"Okay." is still a cold response like frost, as if saying one more word is reluctant to give alms.

"That's fine, that's fine." Bai Jingxuan rubbed his hands together and nodded and smiled, completely lacking the majestic demeanor of a general on weekdays.

"Those barbarians are insulting under Suzhou City every day, you can even close the city gate and hang it high to avoid war, the 'Pingyi God General' is really good-tempered!" As soon as the words changed, the woman in white looked at Bai Jingxuan's gaze suddenly sharp, but her melodious voice was like a knife, and every word was full of sarcasm.

"I ...... Yuki, you give me some more time. The Holy Lord has already sent General Li Jing to lead troops to support Suzhou, and in less than half a month, the troops can be divided into six routes to clear the Turks. Bai Jingxuan was speechless for a while, so he could only come up with that procrastination rhetoric again.

"Wait?! It's been five years! I didn't give you enough time? If I knew you were such a wimp, I shouldn't have risked saving you back then! How can I be so blind and put my hope in you? The woman in white still spoke mercilessly, completely ignoring the man in front of her, who was the father of the fetus in her womb.

"This time, I just came to inform you that the Gu poison in my body is getting more and more serious, and it attacks almost every day. If you don't send troops to attack the Turks to retrieve the antidote, just wait to collect the corpses of me and your unborn flesh and blood!" ”

"Sunset ......"

As if an ultimatum was given to Bai Jingxuan, after the woman in white finished speaking, she didn't look at Bai Jingxuan anymore, her thin body rose into the air and turned to leave, and her figure disappeared in the boundless desert in the north in an instant, leaving Bai Jingxuan alone on the city wall, standing in the whistling north wind for a long time.

The woman in white is not a human, she is a demon, but she is also the only woman in Bai Jingxuan's heart who "leveled the gods".

The woman in white left mercilessly, Bai Jingxuan retracted her reluctant gaze, and her heart seemed to be cut by a thousand knives. A punch slammed into the city walls, splashing a blinding scarlet.

"Bell~~~Bell~~~Bell~~~"

The night gradually rises in the twilight of the West Mountain, outside the north of Suzhou City, the lonely mountain that pierces the clouds stands majestically, and a leisurely evening bell comes from the clouds above the faint sound, adding a bit of poignancy to this barren desert......

twelve

"How should I deal with the ......" meeting once a month, it is still expected to be unhappy. Bai Jingxuan muttered to himself, and there was nowhere to vent the bitterness in his heart.

He never wanted to break the Turks on the battlefield and revive the majesty of the year, but the scene in front of him is still vivid in his eyes when he was eager to work hard and single-mindedly led to the defeat of the army, and all the 3,000 elite guards he cultivated single-handedly died tragically.

Five years have passed, Bai Jingxuan, the only survivor who escaped back to Suzhou City, has not slept a day, and endless guilt and regret are deeply ingrained in his heart, and he is still tormented.

The desperate wails of the three thousand guards when they were dying, and the pathos and helplessness of the widows of their families on the corpses of the soldiers, such scenes repeatedly reappeared in the dream, making them uneasy and becoming a nightmare that Bai Jingxuan could not break free.

Afraid? Bai Jingxuan admitted that he was indeed afraid, and he was afraid to the core. But he is not afraid of death, but afraid that the tragic scene of the year will reappear.

What he experienced back then was so unbelievable that Bai Jingxuan still can't explain what happened after he led 3,000 elite guards and entered the Turkic camp overnight.

He was just extremely convinced that it was not a measurable defeat by common sense, and that the terrifying and strange power was not something that a mortal body could fight against.

Even if the facts are told, how many people can believe them? I'm afraid it will only be ridiculous that he made up a ridiculous excuse to justify the reckless defeat of the army.

Even so, he could not escape the blame for the tragic death of the three thousand guards. I knew that I was in a situation where I was ridiculed now, so it was better to die with my relatives and guards at the beginning, and I could still get a reputation for protecting the country and dying in the line of duty.

As for the woman in white, she has made an agreement with herself, and she has also had the joy of fish and water. Now the woman in white is pregnant with her own flesh and blood in her womb, and it has become Bai Jingxuan's only concern, supporting his only thought of continuing to endure humiliation.

"Let's go up the mountain again, and return to the place where I met and met Xixue again."

Having made up his mind, Bai Jingxuan turned around and walked down the main building of the city wall, took advantage of the night to go out of the north gate, and walked alone against the biting cold wind, looking at the steep lonely mountain outside the north gate.

......

Ten miles north of Suzhou City, since ancient times, there is a steep nameless lonely mountain standing proudly. The strange rocks on the lonely mountain are extremely steep, like a sharp sword piercing through the sky.

For thousands of years, the dynasties have risen and fallen, but the lonely mountain is still unchanged, as if it is a god descending from the sky, looking at the world's deception and deception, full of indifference and compassion.

There is a lonely mountain in the north of Suzhou city, the top of the lonely mountain is Hanshan Temple, there is a monk living in the mountain temple, the monk's law name is "Gui Xuan", the lonely mountain does not fall and the monk does not perish, and thousands of people are merciful to the world.

This is a limerick poem that has been circulated in Suzhou since ancient times, and the people in the city can sing it regardless of men, women and children.

When the Turkic turmoil did not arise, the people in Suzhou would spontaneously organize to pray and worship at the foot of the lonely mountain during the New Year's holidays.

Later, the Turks wantonly attacked the army, and no one in the city dared to risk their lives to worship, and the lonely mountain, which was already extremely lonely, has now become even more lifeless.

The top of the lonely mountain is far above the clouds, and the mountain is steep and no one dares to climb it. As for whether there is really a Hanshan Temple on the lonely mountain, and whether there are really monks in the Hanshan Temple, no one knows. In the past, prayer and worship were just the sustenance of the people's faith in good wishes.

However, except for Bai Jingxuan. Although the limerick poems are extremely absurd, they are all truly true.

Bai Jingxuan is the only person who knows this, and he is extremely sure that there is indeed a Hanshan Temple on the top of the lonely mountain, and there is indeed a monk with the Dharma name "Gui Xuan" in the Hanshan Temple.

It's just because Hanshan Temple was what he saw with his own eyes five years ago. When he was defeated in the night attack and was chased by the Turks and his life was in danger, it was the abbot of Hanshan Temple, Master "Guixuan", who helped him and took him in.

In the past five years, whenever he was suffering from nightmares and could not be relieved, Bai Jingxuan would go up the mountain alone to visit, and kneel down with devotion to ask the monks for guidance and doubts.

Time flies, Bai Jingxuan's originally handsome face has become old, but the abbot of Hanshan Temple, "Gui Xuan", has not seen half of the age, still white-haired robe, still indifferent. It seems to be true as the limerick poem says, "The lonely mountain does not fall, and the monk does not perish".

This made Bai Jingxuan even more convinced that Master "Gui Xuan" was the true god who had descended into the human world.

Walking numbly for a long time, when Bai Jingxuan finally walked to the foot of the lonely mountain, it was already the third watch.

The night was thick, the cold wind was howling more and more fierce, looking up at the clouds, the steep mountain top was daunting, but Bai Jingxuan did not retreat, but stepped towards the top of the mountain with great determination.

When passing by a stone stele, Bai Jingxuan stopped, stretched out his hand to remove the ice and snow covered by the stele, and knelt down to worship.

"Three thousand soldiers and heroes are on top, and the sinner Bai Jingxuan has come to pay homage."

The wind and snow eroded day and night, and the handwriting engraved on the stele has long been polished to a blur, and the words on the stele can still be faintly distinguished.

"The curtain of the three thousand heroic souls of the Suzhou Army".

Behind the stele is a simple empty tomb made of rubble, covered with thick snow and ice.

After kneeling and confessing for a long time, Bai Jingxuan slowly got up and continued to the top of the lonely mountain, staggering.

What I saw in front of me was just like when I was defeated and fled, and the unbearable past reappeared one by one in front of my eyes.

......

A baker's dozen

Dating back to five years ago, Bai Jingxuan at that time was in the limelight, and the 3,000 personal guards he cultivated single-handedly were even under his leadership to crisscross the battlefield and repel the Turkic attacks several times.

At that time, the Turkic soldiers and horses heard the name of Jing Xuan, and they were all frightened.

Up and down the city of Suzhou, the generals and the people all embraced each other, and sent them to be called "Pingyi God General", and they responded to every call. There are even more good deeds, compiling the arrogant slogan of "leveling the gods descending one day, and thousands of barbarians are vain", which has been praised for thousands of miles.

At that time, Bai Jingxuan was majestic and heroic when he became famous, and he had a bit of the heroic momentum of Zhou Gongjin talking and laughing and destroying the captivity of the world.

And this kind of fanatical support, after Bai Jingxuan married Zhang Yazhi, the general's daughter, and took over the position of the lord of Suzhou City, it reached the peak. And Jing Xuan marrying Yazhi, a hero with a beauty, has also become a good story that has been sung for a while.

Soon after taking over as the lord of Suzhou City, Bai Jingxuan entered the general's mansion.

"Report!"

One day, Bai Jingxuan was sitting in the study of the General's Mansion, crouching in front of the case to approve documents and deal with military affairs. The messenger suddenly ran to the front of the case in a panic, saying that there was an urgent matter in the army to report.

"Say." Bai Jingxuan didn't raise his head, and his hand to correct the documents was still calmly and straight.

"Report to the general, yesterday the Suzhou Army sent a team of 100 people to inspect the enemy's situation near Suzhou City, but suddenly lost news. At the end of the day, a Turkic cavalryman rode up, threw a sack under the city gate, and rode away, saying that it was a gift to the general. ”

"The soldier who was on duty today dragged the sack into the city and opened it, and the thing contained in it was...... It's ......"

"What is it! Say it! Realizing that something was wrong, Bai Jingxuan stopped the ink pen in his hand, raised his eyes to look at the herald pawn, and his fierce gaze scared the pawn.

"Yes...... It was the head of the patrol soldier who went out of the city yesterday, and after statistical counting, the head of the hundred-person squad was not bad. ”

"That'...... There was also a note left on the sack full of heads......"

"What was written on that note!" Bai Jingxuan's figure leaned forward, and the anger in his eyes rose, almost condensed into substance.

"The note said: Little Jingxuan, vainly claiming to be a god general, but shrinking within the high wall, is just a rat, not enough to worry about." The herald cringed the pawn and read the contents of the note, for fear of being implicated in anger.

"Bastard! How can such an important matter not be reported in time! A bunch of rice buckets! Hearing this, Bai Jingxuan shot the case, and his fierce anger seemed to turn into a man-eating beast, and he was about to make the pawn frightened to fall to the ground with incontinence. The thick paulownia book case is also cut in two under his palm.

"Get out!"

"The little Turks are too deceitful! What a deception! ”

The herald pawn stepped back, and Bai Jingxuan paced back and forth before the case was resolved. finally made up his mind, turned his head to look out the door and shouted an order:

"Pass my orders! Prepare the three armies, go out of the city with me, and crusade against the Turks! ”

......