General’s Gown Chapter 19

Chapter 19 Thousand mile Jiaolu Part 4 

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He didn’t know how long he had been asleep. Yan Changqing was still trying to shake off this deep sleep when he suddenly heard a horrifying cry. It was like lightning suddenly tearing through the night sky, resounding over the Jiaolu River: 

“Not good! There are water bandits!” 

Suddenly he opened his eyes. Yan Changqing took a few steps and rushed out of the cabin. His heart beating hard and fast. 

Under the pitch-black sky like splashed ink in front of him, a weird and dazzling golden star was flying along the Jiao Lu River at an incredibly fast speed. The golden lights were getting bigger and bigger, closer and closer. 

They were flame arrows!

Whoosh whoosh! 

Hundreds of arrows dosed with kerosene came through the cold milky-white mist, and the last few cargo ships were instantly lit up. Screams erupted, and several people couldn’t dodge, falling into the river with a thump. 

Under the firelight, the deep and clear water of the Jiaolu River suddenly turned into a tragic scarlet. 

A cold light flashed into Yan Changqing’s eyes. He walked out with his sword. After not a few steps, the guard Ah Jing suddenly ran over with blood on his face and fell to his knees: “General! There are many, many boats of the water bandits! They’re just…behind us!” 

Yan Changqing cried out in a deep voice, “How many of our boats are burned?” 

“Eight…Eight!”

Yan Changqing looked back and saw that the last few boats were covered by the raging fire. Taking advantage of the night wind, the flames were spreading. The boat screamed and wailed continuously, and many people were scorched by the fire and became golden-red fire engulfed men, struggling to jump into the river. 

Obviously, such a big fire cannot be stopped. 

Yan Changqing gripped the hilt tightly. His fingers trembled. He gritted his teeth and said: “Abandon these eight ships. All the guards immediately board the remaining twelve ships, and move forward at full speed!” 

“Then…then they… “Ah Jing tremblingly pointed to the black spot at the end of the Jiao Lu River. That cargo ship had a very deep hole and was very slow. Could they escape? 

Before he could finish talking, there was a sudden scream of pain behind him. Helian Rongchuan was shot with an arrow in the back and fell to the ground. 

Yan Changqing couldn’t help but feel a “thud” in his heart, regretting it. 

How could he forget this person!

He picked him up and ordered Ah Jing: “Hurry up and take His Highness to the boat. Take good care of him!” 

Helian Rongchuan grabbed Yan Changqing’s hand with blood staining the corners of his mouth: “Why aren’t you leaving?” 

Yan Changqing didn’t even look at him. He looked at the end of Jiao Lu River from a distance, and said, “I’ll follow soon.” 

“No”, Helian Rongchuan’s eyes fixated on Yan Changqing’s eyes. He could already read his mind: 

“You want to get rid of those water bandits alone, right?” 

Yan Changqing pushed Ah Jing up angrily: “Hurry up!” 

Helian Rongchuan looked at Yan Changqing motionlessly as if rooted into the spot where he stood. 

Ah Jing was trembling and was caught between the two of them. He couldn’t stay or leave. He knelt on the ground with a plop and said, “General retreat with us! This… this many arrows, this many people, it’s sending yourself to death!” 

“Listen, even your little guard understands the truth, how could you not?” Helian Rongchuan said: “Under the sun, there are not many water bandits who don’t give us Dongyun people face. But the ones that don’t are all jackals, tigers and leopards, eating people without spitting out the bones. If you insist on sending yourself to death, I will stop you!” 

Helian Rongchuan spat out a mouthful of blood and continued: “If you refuse to go, so will I. I will be pierced by a thousand arrows, and shot to death here!” 

“You…” Yan Changqing was silent, and a different emotion instantly surged in his heart. He watched the black spot getting closer and closer from the end of the Jiaolu River. He sighed, and resigned: 

“Okay, I’ll follow you.” 

The night wind whistled in his ears, and Yan Changqing placed Helian Rongchuan’s arm over his shoulders. His feet tapped lightly on the top of the cabin that had not yet burned. When they came down, he saw it was the same boat that Helian Rongchuan took when he came.

The target of the water bandits was on a slow cargo ship. This boat was the safest place at this time. 

Helian Rongchuan felt calm in his heart and was about to say something, but his smile suddenly froze on his face. 

When did his hands get clasped together? The iron buckle was shining silver, and the other end was locked onto the ship’s side. For a moment he couldn’t figure out just what happened.

“I’m sorry.” 

Yan Changqing apologized very softly. Facing Helian Rongchuan’s surprised and disappointed face, Yan Changqing couldn’t say anything except a “sorry”. There were too many things to bear on his shoulders. 

Helian Rongchuan raised his head, almost for an instant, he could see a ripple in Yan Changqing’s black, mercury-like eyes, but after that, Yan Changqing dropped his eyes, turned his head and left without looking back. 

Helian Rongchuan slowly shook his head, with a tragic and ironic smile playing at the corners of his mouth. 

General Yan was indeed General Yan. 

A strong gust of wind blew and Yan Changqing no longer looked back. His clothes fluttered, making him resemble an eagle disappearing into the night. 

Bang!

A silver flame suddenly burst brightly in the dark night, and a huge, brilliant firework lit up the night sky. 

Everyone on the cargo ship looked. In the dazzling silver flame, dozens of commoner guards tore off their coats, revealing the hard, black armour underneath shining coldly in the night! 

Black Armored Troops! 

Ah Jing stood on the deck, dumbfounded. He didn’t expect that the brothers who casually jokers around with him usually were members of the famous Black Armored Troops. 

Helian Rongchuan slowly leaned his back against the ship’s side, bright flames reflected in his dark brown eyes. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. 

These thirty men of Black Armored Troops were the elites that Yan Changqing secretly transferred back across the border after the Battle at Hundred Cliff Stronghold. 

With an order, the Black Armored Troops quickly assembled around Yan Changqing. He whispered a few words, and the men quickly dispersed and disappeared into the dark of the night. 

Behind him, they were surrounded by flames. Even the large tracts of reeds on both sides of the river bank were burning. There was a fire on both sides of the river, screaming constantly, blood reflecting in the light of the flames, like h*ll. Yan Changqing took the cold-hardened short knife in his mouth, and without any hesitation plunged into the black Jiaolu River.

On the opposite side of the river, thirty thin wooden boats were moving fast. On the foremost assault boat, eight water bandits all dressed in black and masked, continuously urged on: “Keep on shooting arrows, be fast! Hurry!” 

Before the words fell, the longboat that had been travelling smoothly suddenly shook. 

A masked man stepped forward and stared at the black river underneath. 

The night was too dark how him to see anything. 

Everything seemed to be in order.

The masked man breathed a sigh of relief and was about to retreat when suddenly, the longboat shook violently once again. 

The blazing fire illuminated the gloomy river. The masked man’s eyes widened in horror. 

Why is there such a bright silver light in the river! 

But he had no chance to think about anything else. Yan Changqing leaped up from underneath the boat, and in a flash, a silver light penetrated the man’s throat! 

On the other black wooden boats, the elite Black Armored Troops also stood up and launched into a fierce fight. Blood sprayed across, splattering everything and everywhere and screams kept ringing in the night. 

However, these water bandits were also well-trained. After a moment of panic, they quickly bounced back. Thirty fast boats turned around and surrounded Yan Changqing and the others in an attempt to kill them. 

White lightning pierced the sky. 

Rumble! ! ! 

Big heavy raindrops fell followed by the sound of thunder. 

Yan Changqing was panting violently. His shoulders, arms, and abdomen were all slightly or severely wounded. The blood penetrated his clothes, dripping down the corners of his clothes on the deck, mixed with rain making a bloody splash. 

One after another, the Black Armored Troops fell, but he still had to fight hard with his teeth gritted. It was as if he was a beast that didn’t know pain, fighting to the death! 

He was surrounded. All around were sharp swords, but not a single masked person dared to step forward. 

In this sudden and fierce battle, their group of men in black was also badly injured. There were nearly two hundred and forty of them, while the other party had a headcount that couldn’t quite compare. But it was these thirty-odd people who killed nearly half of them in one fell swoop! 

How could they end up in such a sorry state? 

It seemed that everyone on the other side had undergone harsh long-term training. Once they started, they had unstoppable killing intent. They were not afraid of death at all!

Especially this young man who was surrounded by them. He was extremely sharp, fast and accurate. Several of their companions, often before they could see his movements, had their chest cavity penetrated by the sharp blade in this man’s hand. 

Although the Black Armored Troops brought by Yan Changqing fell one by one, the bandits clad in black were afraid and did not dare to go forward and die without authorization. They just surrounded Yan Changqing in groups, and wanted to wait for the moment when he was exhausted and relaxed before circling in and suppressing him completely!     

Yan Changqing gritted his teeth to support his body. He looked back. The cargo ship full of temper snow stones could only be seen as a small spot on the horizon. This group of water bandits was disrupted by them, and nearly half were wiped out. Even if they catch up with the cargo ship, they may not be able to succeed.     

Thinking of this, Yan Changqing had a tragic smile tug at the corners of his mouth.     

The black-clothed man surrounded heavily moved slightly. In front of him, masked people split into two showing a way out. A person in a black robe with most of his face covered by a wide hood had only a small part of his raised chin exposed. The black-robed man approached step by step and took a close look at Yan Changqing, who was hopelessly surrounded but still held his head high and refused to give in. 

Although he had suffered many injuries, the man in front of him was still like a feral proud beautiful black panther. 

The black robe man couldn’t help sighing from the bottom of his heart. 

No wonder… 

He lightly raised his chin. The masked man next to him stepped forward and shouted: “The leader has ordered, if you are willing to surrender, I will spare your life!” 

Yan Changqing lowered his head and laughed slightly, his lips moved slightly. 

The black-robed man asked: “What did you say?”

Black hair hung down to cover Yan Changqing’s eyes. The expression on his face was hidden from everyone. He knelt down and gently beckoned the man in front of him. 

The masked man next to him quickly reminded: “My lord, this is dangerous!” 

The man in the back robe hesitated. 

Yan Changqing raised his head and saw blood at the corners of his mouth. There was contempt in his eyes. His pale, bloodless lips moved again, but he still couldn’t hear what was said. 

It’s strange, this man was obviously surrounded and unable to retreat, but why is it that they seemed to be the ones at the disadvantage? 

Humph, after being chopped with so many knives, he can’t even stand up, so what’s the danger? He would actually dare to provoke him?! 

Deeply pierced by the irony and eyes full of contempt, the black-robed man snorted coldly and took a step forward. He grabbed Yan Changqing’s collar. 

Yan Changqing raised his head, and the rain ran across his cheeks. He was clearly in a sorry state, but seeing the man’s pale face with a sword against his back without fear, the black-robed man felt moved. 

No wonder… 

The black-robed man’s mind flashed. 

It turned out Yan Changqing wasn’t just beautiful. He was also very stubborn, brave and stubborn. 

What can make him yield?

Looking up in a daze, he saw Yan Changqing’s lips suddenly bloom in a smile. 

Panic flashed in the man’s heart. He suddenly realized that he was too close to this dangerous man. 

Fearing an attack, he hurriedly took a step back, but it was already too late—— 

Yan Changqing stood up. His palm flashed with silver light, as fast as lightning. The blade was swiftly approaching the heart of the man in the black robe! The masked man tried to block it in a hurry, but Yan Changqing was faster and sharper than any of them. 

“Help!”

The black-robed man screamed and staggered back in shock. Then he fell to the ground hard. 

The hood slipped off, revealing a waterfall of fine black hair, and a pale face——

A woman?! 

Yan Changqing’s eyes widened in disbelief. 

The leader of the water bandits, how could it be a woman!?

Wrong! Something’s wrong!

When Yan Changqing was slightly stagnant, the pretty girl had already taken the opportunity to roll back an inch. She seemed to focus on something behind Yan Changqing. Her eyes lit up and she shouted: 

“Brother Rongchuan, help me!” 

This sound was like a thunderbolt disrupting a clear sky. 

Yan Changqing’s heart filled with shock, and he heard the sound of air being pierced coming from behind, but he could no longer escape. A pain in his right shoulder was caused by a slender short arrow penetrating his flesh and blood. The arrow didn’t go deep, but almost instantaneously, his right shoulder was numb. 

The arrow was poisonous. 

Yan Changqing’s body felt very heavy. He turned around very slowly, and without blinking stared in the direction from where the poisonous arrow was shot. 

What was reflected in his eyes was a familiar figure. 

Helian Rongchuan slowly lowered his bow, seeming to have said something to him but Yan Changqing’s eyes went dark, those words falling on deaf ears.

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