Chapter 165: Capture Wei Wanlan Alive
The soldier spoke, his eyes scrutinizing Hebo’s face.
The soldiers at the Sunit outpost were all experts. Their gazes met. Although Hebo forced himself to remain calm, he still felt pins and needles on his back. Hebo blinked rapidly where no one could see.
He deliberately exaggerated the situation at the Royal Court:
“King Shunyi… Lord Antang, was assassinated.”
The soldier’s eyes widened slightly: “What?”
“Don’t worry, he’s not dead yet.”
Hebo quickly added, weaving his escape from the Royal Court into a different narrative. Even if the Wei army sent a falcon to verify with the Royal Court, the answer would be largely similar.
“King Shunyi found Ashina Shali’s family. He hated them, so he didn’t kill them immediately. Instead, he locked them in a tent to torture and kill each other. This scene served as entertainment with his wine; he was very happy.”
“Get to the point!” The Wei soldier interrupted.
Nonsense was Hebo seeking wiggle room.
Hebo stammered: “He was stabbed in the tent by Ashina’s family, and then those people escaped.”
“Who escaped?”
“Ashina Shali’s sons. Each of them has undergone Ashina Shali’s rigorous training. That’s why the Royal Court has searched for a long time but hasn’t found them. This is an unstable factor in the rear. King Shunyi must inform the Emperor of Great Wei!”
“Then why not send a falcon message?” the soldier raised an eyebrow in question.
Ashina Hebo paused slightly. But Heaven helped him. Just as he was at a loss for words, a black eagle flew across the sky above Sunit, a letter tied to its leg. Hebo recognized this batch of eagles; they were from the Yilifa tribe, from the Royal Court!
This solidified Hebo’s hypothesis even more: the Great Wei Little Emperor was being helped here.
Ashina Hebo pointed to the sky:
“Falcons must be sent, and people must also deliver messages. King Shunyi’s loyalty is evident to Heaven and Earth. He absolutely cannot let His Majesty fall into danger!”
Hebo performed a pious Turkic salute as he spoke, his eyes seemingly oozing sincerity. He performed vigorously, trying to appear honest and comical. When the other party took him for a fool, he was more than halfway to success.
Sure enough, the Wei soldier opposite laughed: “It’s just the Royal Court carelessly letting a few ants go. We know. Don’t make a fuss.”
Ashina Hebo nodded pretentiously.
The Wei soldier added: “It’s late today. The outpost has horses and food. You leave tomorrow morning.”
Ashina Hebo bowed again.
Thick clouds gathered over the Sunit outpost. With the falcon’s speed, it should have crossed the mountains and reached the battlefield by now. Once his Father Khan received the letter, he would definitely act immediately.
Who would have thought the decisive battle would be at Sunit?
After daybreak, the outpost would face total destruction!
Hebo slept for a while first.
Of course, he didn’t sleep soundly. He dreamed of Turkic cavalry with scimitars pressing straight towards the Sunit outpost, charging straight at Wei Wanlan. Their blades were polished to a shine, charging forward, invincible, taking the head of the Great Wei Emperor.
Hebo excitedly clenched his fist in his sleep.
But he also dreamed of the cannon.
The Red Coat Cannon, from high above, erupted with a sound that shook the mountains. The cavalry were hit by cannonballs, men and horses flipping, armor flying.
Ashina Hebo opened his eyes hurriedly—
He sat up straight from the bed, cold sweat trickling down his forehead, gasping for breath!
Not enough…
He couldn’t just wait here. He couldn’t leave at dawn.
He had to stay at the outpost. He must get close to that Red Coat Cannon again and disable it, or kick it off the cliff. Without it, the dozens of people at this outpost would definitely not be a match.
He still had a way, only this time, it required a bit of cruelty.
Hebo convinced himself in the shortest time. As long as the decisive battle turned the tables, he would regain the status and honor of his Ashina family. All physical pain was temporary. His will was firm.
The snowy night wind blew all night. Dawn broke.
Military drills, daily inspections, tents cooking… The outpost burst into life for the new day.
A sentry brought a horse for Hebo. The saddlebags were full of dry food. He was ordered to send Hebo away because the Sunit outpost couldn’t keep an outsider forever.
“Barbarian, there’s enough food for you to eat your fill back to the Royal Court. Stay inside once you’re home. With your brain, you might get sold somewhere if you wander around.” He handed over the reins.
Hebo expressed gratitude profusely.
He took the reins, walked two steps, and deliberately pretended to lose his footing on a slope.
“Ahhhhhhh—” Hebo screamed loudly.
The scream was real because he really fell, smashing his head until it bled. His dark red face was now covered in gruesome bloody streaks.
Ashina Hebo clutched his leg, sprained. The scream turned into wailing: “Help, help, save me…”
“Hey, you stupid barbarian, how can you trip on flat ground?” Seeing him crying so miserably, the outpost soldier went over to help him up and settled him on a rock in the clearing. “Wait here, I’ll get you some medicine.”
The north wind blew hard.
The soldier left, leaving Hebo alone. He looked up at the cloudy sky, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The Red Coat Cannon was mounted on a slightly protruding rock slab at the edge of the outpost.
Hebo’s gaze locked onto the red silk on the cannon, his pupils contracting. That’s it.
He limped, dragging himself towards the rock slab.
Closer, closer…
His hand touched the cannon barrel. It was made of refined iron, very heavy.
With Hebo’s current physical condition, he couldn’t lift the cannon to throw it down the mountain. He tried to exert force again, only to feel waves of weakness, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
What to do?
So he prepared to throw the cannonballs.
The cannonballs hung under the cannon carriage. There were a dozen of them, all solid iron balls. Without cannonballs, the cannon was effectively disabled.
Just as his hand touched the iron cannonball, a voice appeared behind him.
“Don’t move.”
Hebo’s heart tightened, thinking the soldier fetching medicine had returned so quickly to catch him red-handed. Just as he wanted to say he was curious…
The voice behind him was young and pleasant, the quality as clean as the sound of trickling water when snow melts in early spring:
“I don’t like the smell of smoke. Don’t touch that cannon.”
…
—Wei Wanlan!!!
He saw a small face as white as snow, with big eyes. The person had an overly striking appearance, a style completely different from all the soldiers here.
Hebo was certain he had never seen Wei Wanlan.
But he was equally certain that this person must be Wei Wanlan, the Emperor of Great Wei.
Hebo’s palm uncontrollably throbbed wildly.
Compared to the Great Wei Little Emperor behind him, the Red Coat Cannon in front was insignificant. Wei Wanlan’s neck was thin. He brought no attendants, seemingly out for a breather in the outpost, thinking it was safe.
If he could capture the Little Emperor alive and rendezvous with his Father Khan’s army…
They could use Wei Wanlan as a stepping stone to knock open countless Wei camps.
The other side couldn’t possibly abandon the Emperor. Wei Wanlan held immeasurable political significance!
—This is more profitable than killing Wei Wanlan directly.
Ashina Hebo’s palms sweated, his throat went dry. Feeling that the situation was completely in his hands, he felt a strong sense of urgency and honor.
Ashina Hebo bowed, speaking to deceive: “I didn’t know Master was behind me.” Hebo added, “I’ve never seen this kind of cannon in the Royal Court. I wanted to take a closer look.”
He observed Wei Wanlan’s reaction after speaking.
He tentatively stood up, knee-walking closer to Wei Wanlan. The closer he got, the more he noticed an indescribable fatigue on the Little Emperor’s face. He seemed very tired and would definitely not be his opponent.
“Don’t kneel. Get up and talk.” Wei Wanlan stepped back, moving further away from the cannon on the rock slab.
Hebo followed Wei Wanlan, closing the distance again.
Wei Wanlan walked and said: “I happen to have a few ginseng roots. They are too bitter to eat, and the falcons can’t carry them. If I don’t eat them, someone will be upset with me again. You take them to Antang and his mother.”
“Yes. This lowly one obeys.”
Closer!
He could see the fine hairs on the Little Emperor’s nape.
This was a perfect opportunity. One hit to succeed. Taking Wei Wanlan hostage was now—
Hebo immediately lunged forward:
“End it here, Emperor of Great Wei!!!”
Wei Wanlan paused and coughed, sensing something wrong behind him. He turned around, his doe eyes blinking rapidly. A tall man was lunging at him with a ferocious face.
Wei Wanlan’s pupils flashed. He skipped backward a step, his finger dragging something over.
Crystal Barrier.
Since moving to Sunit, as long as the Regent King wasn’t around, he kept the system open, and the item was active.
Bang!
At this moment, there seemed to be an invisible barrier between the two.
Hebo felt a dull pain all over. He focused his eyes again—there was clearly nothing in front of him, but he felt like he had hit transparent glass. Hebo’s mind went blank for a moment…
What’s happening?
Hebo was almost knocked silly by his own impact.
When he came back to his senses, the Sunit outpost was already surrounded by guards from all directions. All guard sabers were drawn. Hebo felt a pain in his abdomen, punched heavily by a burly man. He lowered his head and spat out a mouthful of blood:
“Generals, please forgive me… this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! I didn’t mean to offend this Master. Just now I saw movement at the foot of the mountain near the cliff edge. I just wanted to report to this Master…”
Blood dripped onto the snow.
Blood seeped from Hebo’s teeth. He looked pleading, still pretending. Only then did he realize he was too far from the Red Coat Cannon.
An absurd but realistic thought suddenly crashed into Hebo’s mind—Could it be that Wei Wanlan approached him on purpose?
Maybe Wei Wanlan didn’t know who he was at all.
Just to protect that Red Coat Cannon!
Wei Wanlan wouldn’t allow outsiders to touch that weapon of mass destruction. He brought no attendants and happened to encounter this, so he didn’t hesitate to use himself as bait to lure him down…
Fear and despair seized Hebo again. He discovered that because of his momentary greed for credit, he had been played by the Great Wei Little Emperor!
At this time, Wei Wanlan shook his head, not believing Hebo’s words.
The soldiers of the Sunit outpost were even more horrified, having almost caused a catastrophic mistake. Waves of lingering fear made their fists rain down on Hebo:
“Damn it! Almost got tricked by this kid!”
“I even got him medicine! Should’ve pushed him off the snow mountain! Good intentions fed to a dog, and the dog tries to kill people!”
“An assassin managed to sneak in at this critical moment…”
“Slaughter him! Beat him to death—”
The chaotic punches left Hebo bleeding from all seven orifices. His vision had turned a dark, rich red. He lay on his back, looking at the gloomy sky and the continuous snow mountains.
He felt a faint tremor on the ground. It was the sound of horses’ hooves. Many horses’ hooves. They were raiding the Sunit outpost!
It was cavalry.
Hebo was dizzy with joy, his mouth grinning exaggeratedly, his expression as ferocious as an evil ghost climbing out of hell:
“The Wei commander is meeting with Tuyuhun. My great Father Khan has brought all his elites to take your Emperor’s life.”
“Let me go, Wei people. Little Emperor, you are all going to die. Ha, haha, hahahaha…”
Hebo’s voice echoed in the Sunit outpost.
The dark clouds grew denser, suffocating the outpost surrounded by mountains.
The thunderous hoofbeats became distinct, then crystal clear, as if a storm of hooves was raining just outside the mountains. All soldiers took deep breaths in unison, their gazes locked on the Great Wei Emperor.
“Master?” Retreating was impossible; they couldn’t go far. “What should we do?”
No matter how slow Wei Wanlan was, he knew that this person in front of him had exposed his presence and attracted Ashina Shali’s attack.
“Zhen promised the Regent King.”
Absolutely no holding back.
Wei Wanlan suppressed the nausea caused by the strong smell of smoke and fire he remembered. He ordered: “Load the cannonballs. Prepare for battle.”
The outpost soldiers: “Yes, Your Majesty!”
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