Chapter 142
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The earthquake came suddenly, spanning hundreds of miles and engulfing both the armies of Great Heng and Xixia.
Around them, cries of misery and calls for help accompanied the rolling boulders. The imperial guards, Donglingwei, and many ordinary soldiers rushed towards Gu Yuanbai.
People who had not been affected were barely able to stand, trembling with fear. “Protect the Emperor!!!”
“Your Majesty!”
Gu Yuanbai was held by Xue Yuan.
All sounds began to fade away, and the only thing he heard was the heavy, steady breathing.
Soldiers trapped in the cracks, soldiers crushed by rolling boulders, soldiers buried under the snow.
Every one of them was Gu Yuanbai’s painstaking effort.
His eyes gradually reddened, but he knew that the most important thing at this moment was to ensure that he survived.
More and more people ran towards Gu Yuanbai, shouting, “The Emperor is here!!!”
They crossed the cracks, only to be blocked by boulders. They crossed the stones, only to have another collapse. The royal guards and elite Donglingwei were fierce, eager to reach the Emperor’s side as soon as possible.
But even they found it difficult to protect themselves.
Gu Yuanbai looked into the distance and saw that the sky had turned gloomy. Granaries collapsed, and food was buried in the ruins.
Xue Yuan’s breathing grew heavier.
Fortunately, there were no snow-capped mountains here.
“You can’t die, Xue Yuan,” Gu Yuanbai muttered in a daze, repeatedly murmuring, “You and I cannot die.”
Xue Yuan’s footsteps quickened. Even as he carried Gu Yuanbai, he never slowed down. The fallen people shouted with their teeth: “Xue Jiuyao, protect the Emperor!”
Without them saying so, Xue Yuan would do so. Just like now, his arms were as hard as stones, glowing with blood-red as he exerted all his strength.
No one could pull anyone away from his embrace.
Mountains crumbled and the earth split, dust swirling in the air. In previous nightmares, Gu Yuanbai had perished in scenes like this.
But today, the dream had turned into reality.
Xue Yuan’s teeth were clenched tight. “I won’t die, and I won’t let you die.”
The city gate collapsed, the soldiers guarding it crushed beneath the rubble. Xue Yuan changed his route, but within moments, a muffled sound was heard, and the ground beneath his feet suddenly sank. Xue Yuan’s body twisted, barely dodging what seemed like an abyssal crack, but lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground.
He brought Gu Yuanbai down onto the sandy-yellow snowy ground. Gu Yuanbai’s pupils suddenly contracted.
The mud wall collapsed, falling from above!
The wall came closer and closer. Xue Yuan swiftly lunged forward, completely covering Gu Yuanbai with his body.
With a loud crash, the mud wall collapsed beside them, instantly burying both of them.
Xue Yuan groaned softly, his arms supporting on either side slackened suddenly, and he heavily pressed down on Gu Yuanbai.
Gu Yuanbai trembled as he reached up to touch Xue Yuan’s face. In the swirling darkness filled with dust, his voice trembled as he spoke, “Xue Yuan, how are you?”
Xue Yuan’s fingers moved slightly. There was a strong taste of blood. Gu Yuanbai’s breath paused, his mind almost blank. “Xue Jiuyao, you can’t die.”
“…Cough,” Xue Yuan’s voice was faint and muffled, “not yet… dead.”
A coarse voice sounded, and as soon as Gu Yuanbai opened his mouth, he smelled a strong scent of blood. Gu Yuanbai hurriedly pursed his lips, trying to stay rational as he anxiously reached out to check Xue Yuan’s nose. His heavy breathing and the sticky blood smeared his hand.
Xue Yuan was injured.
Gu Yuanbai forced himself to stay calm. He wanted to see where Xue Yuan was hurt, but the weight on his body made it impossible to move, even making it hard to breathe. Another loud crash came, and debris rained down, pinning Xue Yuan entirely on top of Gu Yuanbai.
The taste of blood filled Gu Yuanbai’s throat.
He gritted his teeth, swallowing the metallic taste, and called Xue Yuan’s name softly. The air was thin, and the Xue Yuan who had just responded now made no sound. Gu Yuanbai’s calls grew more urgent, trembling, “Xue Jiuyao—!”
Xue Yuan suddenly started coughing violently.
In that moment, those few coughs were like music to Gu Yuanbai’s ears. His eyes grew moist, and he whispered, “Don’t die.”
Xue Jiuyao couldn’t die.
Gu Yuanbai’s hand moved to his waist, slipping between their tightly pressed clothes, inching towards the pouch at his waist.
There was medicine in the pouch.
Gu Yuanbai thought he was calm, but his clothes were creased like mountain ridges. The pouch should be close, but it seemed lost among the peaks and valleys, hidden in some deep mountain.
He couldn’t find it, couldn’t touch it.
His fingers twitched, and something warm dripped onto his face, sliding down to his temple, leaving a bloody trail.
Gu Yuanbai’s heart clenched painfully, his chest heavy as if there was no more oxygen to breathe. He wanted to jokingly ask Xue Jiuyao if he was crying, but his voice tightened, “Xue Jiuyao.”
No response.
“Xue Jiuyao,” Gu Yuanbai forced out weakly, “Make a sound.”
Xue Jiuyao was the male lead.
A favored son of heaven.
He won’t die. Even if Gu Yuanbai dies, Xue Jiuyao won’t die. Xue Jiuyao wasn’t speaking because he had fainted. Gu Yuanbai should be trying to find a way out now, staying calm. There’s still hope; he must rescue him quickly.
His hands anxiously searched for the pouch within his clothes. Suddenly, he heard, “Your Majesty!”
The distant voice grew nearer, reaching the collapsed area in an instant. Xue Yuan seemed to be awakened by the sound, his lips moved, his voice weak and instinctively called, “Gu Lian.”
Gu Yuanbai’s tears washed away the blood stains on his face that belonged to Xue Jiuyao.
He replied, “Mm.”
His voice trembled, and Xue Yuan felt an overwhelming sense of pain in his heart. He lowered his voice, his broken speech mingled with weakness, bringing calm to the night, “Don’t cry.”
The guards began digging through the rubble, urgently moving the outermost stones. Soon, a sliver of light grew larger. Gu Yuanbai blinked uncomfortably as the guards knelt on the ground, peering under the stones.
Seeing Gu Yuanbai, their eyes reddened, and they dug with even more determination. Soon, the stones in front of Gu Yuanbai were cleared away.
The tremors had stopped, indicating the earthquake was over, though aftershocks were still possible. Gu Yuanbai and Xue Yuan needed to escape the ruins before the aftershocks struck.
The guards reached out desperately towards the Emperor, but Xue Yuan was still pinned under a large, immovable wall of mud, pressing down on Gu Yuanbai, rendering him unable to move.
Gu Yuanbai’s breathing grew weaker.
Xue Yuan realized there was no time left.
If they tried to remove the debris from Xue Yuan first, Gu Yuanbai, being physically weaker, might be crushed to death by the combined weight of Xue Yuan and the debris during the process.
His little emperor couldn’t bear this weight.
Xue Yuan blinked, a drop of blood from the corner of his eye fell onto Gu Yuanbai’s face, making him instinctively close his eyes. Xue Yuan exhaled a breath, his fingers digging into the thick, blood-soaked snow mixed with mud. He swallowed the blood in his mouth and told the guards, “You lift the stones, I’ll push up, and you, pull the Emperor out when you get the chance.”
The guard he looked at nodded, tears in his eyes.
Xue Yuan lowered his head, seeing Gu Yuanbai’s face already pale from the pressure.
People surrounded the mud wall, their bloody, injured hands pushing against it, ready to lift it together to save the Emperor.
Xue Yuan’s back tensed as he prepared to exert force.
Gu Yuanbai, oxygen-deprived, instinctively murmured, “No…”
No, they must.
Xue Yuan took a deep breath, his weak arms pushing up again, blood sliding down from his arms, muscles bulging.
You must stand up, Xue Yuan. You have to lift this.
Otherwise, your little emperor will be crushed to death by you.
He will suffocate and die.
Xue Yuan exerted himself, using more strength. The mud wall emitted terrifying creaks and friction as the people outside, faces red with effort, strained to lift the wall. Gradually straightening his arm, Xue Yuan bore the immense weight on his back. Inch by inch, he finally created enough space for Gu Yuanbai to catch his breath.
The nearby guards swiftly reached out and pulled the Emperor by his clothes from the opening they had dug, a cold rush of snowy air hitting their faces as the scent of blood was swept away by the wind, dust swirling. Gu Yuanbai, however, widened his eyes.
He hurriedly looked back to see Xue Yuan supporting himself with his arms. Whether it was blood or sweat, drops formed beads on the side of his face, suddenly dripping onto the muddy ground.
“Xue Yuan!!!”
Xue Yuan faltered and fell weakly. Without his support, the guards outside were caught off guard and almost crushed by the falling rocks and mud wall. In Gu Yuanbai’s wide-open eyes, it seemed like those chunks of stone and the mud wall were about to fall on Xue Yuan again.
In the blink of an eye, time seemed to slow down.
Heartbeats nearly stopped, the sound of the wind was as thunderous as a thunderstorm. Gu Yuanbai reached out his hand, and even the speed at which his arm lifted seemed extremely slow.
At this slow speed, how could he save Xue Jiuyao?
No!
Suddenly, a red shadow flashed in front of him. A bay horse with a chestnut-red coat darted over, swiftly plunging its head in and biting Xue Yuan’s clothes, instantly pulling him out from under the pile of rocks.
The next moment, with a thunderous crash, the mud wall fell to the ground.
Gu Yuanbai watched as Xue Yuan, pulled out from under the pile of rocks by Hongyun, the bay horse, heart began to beat again. They laid on the ground, guards gasping heavily, shouting loudly, “The Emperor is here! The Emperor is safe!”
Gu Yuanbai was weak and unable to get up to see how Xue Yuan was doing, but a guard had already run over, shouting loudly, “General Xue is still conscious! Someone come!”
In the corner of his eye, a doctor from the Imperial Hospital was crying and stumbling towards them under the protection of soldiers.
“Hongyun, well done,” Gu Yuanbai closed his eyes and grinned, “Well done.”
The horse neighed to the sky, walking to Gu Yuanbai’s side, and lowered its head to lick the blood and tears from Gu Yuanbai’s face.
“I thank you,” Gu Yuanbai breathed slowly, barely lifting his hand to stroke Hongyun’s head, and said earnestly, “I thank you for saving Xue Jiuyao.”
Natural disasters and man-made calamities, Gu Yuanbai was sincerely grateful that both he and Xue Jiuyao were still alive. However, the devastation everywhere, with walls and rubble, mingled this gratitude with sorrow.
Soldiers who could still move rushed towards the Emperor’s direction. Their faces were bewildered, searching for their anchor.
The Emperor was their anchor.
Gu Yuanbai knew he had to stand up immediately to stabilize morale and take absolute advantage after the earthquake.
Finally touching Hongyun’s head, the trembling Imperial doctor knelt in front of Gu Yuanbai. Gu Yuanbai said to them, “I am not injured.”
Xue Yuan had protected him very well, except for that brief moment of suffocation, he had not suffered any harm.
Gu Yuanbai silently pointed at Xue Yuan, “Go check on him.”
He then sat in place, watching the imperial physician attend to Xue Yuan.
Xue Yuan was surrounded by layers of people, and Gu Yuanbai was also encircled by people. They couldn’t see each other.
Gu Yuanbai remained silent until the imperial physician returned and reassured him, “Your Majesty, rest assured.” Only then did Gu Yuanbai look away and slowly stand up with the help of others.
As his gaze shifted, he saw dirty faces all around.
The expressions on these faces were either fearful or blank, surrounded by despair and bloodshed. Everyone was looking at Gu Yuanbai. These were the soldiers of Great Heng, people who risked their lives for him.
“Soldiers,” Gu Yuanbai coughed, suppressing the pain in his throat, “Check your waist pouches. Are the life-saving medicines still there?”
The soldiers reached for their waist pouches, responding unevenly, “Yes!”
“They’re still here!”
“I am immensely grateful that I prepared these pouches for you,” Gu Yuanbai said slowly and deliberately, “The soldiers who perished were your comrades, warriors of Great Heng. They died in this natural disaster, but we, including myself, must not fall into despair! We must carry their wishes and live on resolutely, return to the capital alive, and reunite with your families and friends!”
The soldiers clenched their fists, and some began to sob.
“Man-made disasters can be avoided, but natural disasters are hard to predict,” Gu Yuanbai pointed to the sky, his emotions making his finger tremble, “But even such a disaster cannot defeat Great Heng! We have medicine! We have food! Turn around and look. What’s under those collapsed stone blocks of the granary? It’s enough food to withstand this disaster!”
The soldiers turned around. Amid the devastation, the granary had collapsed, but the stone blocks hadn’t crushed the food. Once the rubble was cleared, the food would still be there.
Gu Yuanbai continued, “And we have more than just this.”
The soldiers turned back to their emperor, their eyes beginning to shine with hope.
“We have Great Heng, and an endless supply line sending food to the front,” Gu Yuanbai said forcefully, “I ask you, is this enough?”
A general in the crowd raised his arm, tears streaming down his face, and shouted, “It’s enough!”
The soldiers were stirred by this, raising their hands and shouting, “It’s enough! It’s enough!”
As they shouted, their bodies trembled, and tears flowed freely.
Gu Yuanbai’s eyes grew moist again. After the crowd’s emotions had calmed, he declared firmly, “Generals, step forward!”
The generals stationed at the camp stepped out.
“The uninjured soldiers will be led by you and divided into five groups,” Gu Yuanbai commanded. “First, follow the military physicians to treat and bandage the wounded. Second, clear the rubble and rescue as many people as possible. Third, dig out the food and water wells, and check on the livestock. Fourth, record the names and origins of the dead soldiers. After finding their bodies, burn and bury them. The kitchen staff must ensure that water is boiled thoroughly after the earthquake, leaving no room for carelessness. Fifth, search the ruins for anything useful, from soldiers’ pots and pans, and place them in an open area.”
The generals saluted: “We obey!”
One by one, the soldiers sprang into action. Military doctors and imperial physicians were bustling around. Makeshift disaster relief tents were erected, and the wounded were carried into them. The carts filled with medicinal herbs were quickly located and transported outside the tents.
In the midst of the busy yet orderly movement of people, inside the tents, Gu Yuanbai sent off one general and welcomed another. The guards and the Donglingwei had already been dispatched to investigate the situation at the front lines and the location of the Xixia encampment. When they returned to report, they discovered that more than twenty thousand troops of Xixia had been ambushed atop the broken walls behind them. They had intended to lure the Great Heng soldiers deeper in, but had suffered heavy casualties in the earthquake and avalanche.
In the northwestern plains, they had chosen to ambush on the broken walls and cliffs, which could be described as adding to the tragedy.
Earthquakes do not distinguish between enemies and yourselves, and merciless natural disasters will not favor any one person. However, at least the soldiers of Great Heng had an extra bag of medicine on them.
As long as they survived, they had a glimmer of hope.
Zhang Hucheng returned with his defeated army. After seeing the emperor, his heart finally settled. His legs went weak, and he knelt before the emperor, crying bitterly.
The generals who followed Zhang Hucheng also knelt down, weeping incessantly.
The soldiers in the rear also knelt down one by one, forming a dense mass. Their cries shook the heavens, mourning not only the dead but also their own fears.
Gu Yuanbai looked at the dark sky and the desolate ruins, choked back his tears, and then said, “Get up, all of you!”
“Have you forgotten everything I told you?” Gu Yuanbai said, “I want you to face all external enemies! Straighten your backs and be strong and unyielding!”
“The natural disaster has stopped. Are you willing to give up in the face of an earthquake?” The sparks in Gu Yuanbai’s eyes were enough to ignite a prairie fire. “Stand up for me. It’s not yet known who will win or lose.”
Two hours after the earthquake, the reconnaissance troops reported back: “Your Majesty, the Emperor of Xixia, Li Angyi, is missing.”
Three hours after the earthquake, the Donglingwei returned under the cover of night. They brought back a man covered in blood. He barely opened his eyes under the lamp and, upon seeing Gu Yuanbai, smiled bitterly twice. “I never thought I would see you again, especially under such circumstances.”
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Now, what about Kong Yilin?!