Chapter 1: The Sun Rises for the First Time Section 29

  Murong Feng smiled: "Xue'er, don't be reckless. Taobao Feng's mother may not necessarily kill them either. I'll go and talk to Taobao Feng about it later, and try my best to save their lives. You go back to your uncle's house first."

  "No. I want Uncle to think of a way, I want them to stay in Huodu." Fengxue knelt on the ground stubbornly and refused to get up.

  Li Hong gazed at the delicate, almost translucent face, and those bright, sparkling eyes, feeling as if he were admiring a painting of a beauty. He was enchanted. Suddenly, he was struck by the realization that this girl was unlike any other Xianbei person he had ever seen. She had blue eyes and golden hair that cascaded down like a waterfall. A long-forgotten sense of familiarity suddenly flooded his mind. His heart began to pound violently once more, as he strained to extend his thoughts deep into his brain, searching for the remnants of his past. He tried with all his might, wishing he could sharpen his thoughts into a knife and pry open his memories. Suddenly, all sounds around Li Hong's ears ceased, leaving only his own consciousness wandering freely in his mind. It was as if he saw a ball of fire, a massive, rolling flame.

  "Leopard..." Mu Rongfeng's voice suddenly startled Li Hong out of his daze. Li Hong felt a chill in his heart, and it seemed like the shadow that had just appeared was still lingering in his mind. What shadow was it? Li Hong couldn't remember anymore.

  Li Hong read the articles he and Murong Yu wrote according to Murong Feng's instructions. He read aloud with rapt attention, having forgotten the wind and snow, forgotten Murong Feng, his mind only occasionally flashing back to the residual memories that had just appeared. Fire. He remembered, it was a huge fire.

  "Have you finished?" Murong Feng's voice sounded in his ear again. Li Hong was startled, and his mind went blank for a moment, losing the memory he had almost grasped again. Li Hong felt extremely disheartened, it seemed that recovering his memories would take a very, very long time.

  "Leopard, you seem a bit out of it, what's wrong?"

  "Just now I seemed to recall something, but it just slipped away from me. Forget it, let it go."

  Murong Feng knew about his strange illness and didn't think much of it. The two of them started another heated discussion. Sometimes Murong Feng spoke, while Li Hong took note. At other times, Li Hong refuted him, and Murong Feng fell into deep thought. It wasn't until the sky was almost dark that they finally stopped.

  "Write according to your article. Murong Chui has been in the Great Han State for too long, and his brain is a bit dull. Writing according to his method, only a few Xianbei people can understand it. The Xianbei people have no written language and no academic institutions, which directly hinders the development of the Xianbei ethnic group. I must change this situation."

  Li Hong did not hear what Murong Feng was saying, his gaze was attracted by the map in front of him. He saw that Murong Feng had drawn many arrows on the map, all pointing to a large red circle, which stood out particularly on the black cowhide. He saw that inside the circle were written three ancient Chinese characters: Lulong Pass. That was the famous pass of Lulong Pass within the borders of Youzhou in the Great Han State.

  Murong Feng was very familiar with the Great Han State. He not only knew how to write in Chinese characters, but also spoke the language fluently and was well-versed in the surrounding counties of the Han state. Li Hong knew that Murong Feng had always had a wish - he wanted to inherit the legacy of Emperor Shi Huai and continue to lead the Xianbei army to conquer more territories for the Xianbei state, especially the four wealthy northern counties of the Han state, which were places that Murong Feng had long been infatuated with.

  Li Hong did not expect that Murong Feng would start his ambitious plan of aggression as soon as he had just stabilized the Xianbei country. The Xianbei country was eyeing the Great Han country, and it seemed like war was about to break out at any moment.

  Murong Feng immediately noticed Li Hong's loss of composure. He picked up another cowhide map, pretending to be very casual, and carelessly covered it with his hand.

  Li Hong withdrew his gaze. He didn't look directly at Murong Feng, but instead kept his head down, responding with a murmur, gathering up the scattered cowhide scrolls in front of him, and with a heavy heart, he bowed and quickly rushed out of the large tent, as if he had already forgotten that there was still an enchanting beauty inside.

  Li Hong's mind was filled with that big red circle. Murong Feng had already begun to plan an attack on the Great Han State. With the current strength of the Xianbei State, plus Murong Feng's wisdom, taking a pass was not a difficult task.

  Murong Feng gazed at Li Hong's tall figure hastily walking out of the large tent, slowly withdrawing his gaze. He moved away from the covered map, silently staring at the large red circle, silent for a long time. Even an idiot who had forgotten the past couldn't accept others attacking their own home, a home that had already been forgotten. He suddenly felt that Li Hong could no longer be kept here. With his strong personality, he was bound to go back. He would have to leave him now.

  Murong Feng's heart suddenly hurt.

  Li Hong returned to his own small tent and began the final revision and transcription work. He worked day and night, continuously copying.

  Three days later, Li Hong finally walked out of his tent. He stood on the vast grassland, looking up at the sky. The moon in the sky was big and round, hanging in the dark night sky. Countless stars surrounded it silently, accompanying it quietly, just like children accompanying their mother, making it look especially peaceful and warm.

  Li Hong could no longer control his emotions, and tears suddenly flowed out. He thought of his loved ones, he thought of his mother. Although he couldn't remember everything, even the faces of his parents, he believed that he would definitely recover his memory and find everything that belonged to him.

  Li Hong suddenly rushed towards Murong Feng's large tent like a madman.

  Murong Feng did not rest. He was still in the big tent, sitting alone at the center of the map, staring at the red circle and thinking. He stared as Li Hong rushed straight in, kneeling before him with tears still in his eyes.

  Murong Feng's heart ached. He slowly put down the candle holder in his hand, gently wiping away the tears from the corners of his eyes, just like a kind father.

  Li Hong didn't know how to speak, he just stared foolishly at Murong Feng, tears flowing down uncontrollably.

  "Keep walking towards where the sun sets and you will reach your hometown."

  Li Hong's nose turned sour and he burst into tears. Since the death of Lao Lang, Mu Rongfeng had been his closest person, but now he was going to leave this loved one too.

  Murong Feng's eyes reddened, and tears were about to flow out. For more than a month, they had been through thick and thin together, sharing joys and sorrows, and unknowingly built a deep bond. Now that they were about to part ways, Li Hong suddenly felt that he was having a hard time letting go of Murong Feng.

  Murong Feng stretched out his hand and pulled Li Hong into his arms, patting his shoulder forcefully as tears finally fell.

  In the morning, Li Hong neatly arranged his manuscript on a small table, rode out of the account on a black leopard, with the old wolf's bow and arrow on his back, and finally looked at Murong Feng's large account before leaving in a cloud of dust.

  The distant village is already in sight. He wants to go and bid farewell to the old wolf. Without the old wolf, there would be no Li Hong today. If it weren't for the old wolf, he'd still be feeding horses in Tiger City. Who would have thought that he could return to the Great Han State?

  Then he saw a Xianbei warrior lying dead on the grassland. Originally, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Killing each other on the grasslands was as frequent as eating meals, and there was nothing to make a fuss about. But after walking over, he suddenly remembered that this Xianbei warrior was actually one of Fengxue's followers. When they had met at Murong Feng's large tent, this person had unconsciously placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. In Li Hong's mind, Fengxue's face suddenly appeared - her national beauty and heavenly fragrance, her blue eyes, golden long hair, and white clothes as snowy.

  Li Hong hastily turned his horse around, dismounted and examined the surroundings. He touched the dead Xianbei soldier, whose body was not yet completely stiff, indicating that he had been killed not long ago.

  He stood still for a moment, hesitating whether to chase or not. Thinking of the scene where Murong Feng held Feng Lie's hand and cried bitterly, Li Hong could no longer hold back, mounted his horse swiftly and chased northward like an arrow. Feng Xue was Feng Lie's daughter, also a close relative of Murong Feng. He must not let her come to any harm again and hurt Murong Feng once more.

  About a mile later, he found that two more Xianbei soldiers were beheaded on the ground. Li Hong didn't stop his horse and galloped past. Along the way, he continuously discovered eight people being beheaded, which means that Fengxue had no guards left around him. He was getting anxious.

  The black leopard's speed had reached its limit, and the thunder-like sound of hooves echoed far, far away across the vast open plain.

  Li Hong finally saw the crowd in the distance, faintly visible. He let out a loud roar, kicked his horse's belly fiercely, and the black leopard neighed in pain, accelerating again, with one man and one horse charging forward at an almost frantic speed.

  That group of people seemed to have sensed it and slowed down their pace gradually.

  Li Hong got closer and closer to them, and he saw that there was a large crowd of people in front of him, including adults and children, many women, twenty or thirty robust men, and four big horse-drawn carriages. But Li Hong recognized the sweat-blooded horse at a glance. The sweat-blooded horse was being ridden by a young man who was turning his head to look in this direction. Li Hong's heart suddenly tightened. Could it be that Feng Xue had already encountered trouble?

  The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer. But the other side obviously didn't care, thinking that one person couldn't pose any danger. Several of the burly men on the outermost periphery remained vigilant, drawing their bows and aiming at Li Hong who was getting closer and closer.

  Li Hong slowed down gradually and quickly approached this fleet of cars.

  A tall man shouted loudly: "Who comes?" Another tall man swung his hand and shot an arrow, which flew over Li Hong's head with a whistling sound, showing extraordinary archery skills. This was clearly a warning. Li Hong ignored it and continued to rush forward. The other three men did not hesitate and shot three arrows at the same time. Just as the arrows were about to approach, Li Hong suddenly flipped his body like an eagle and disappeared from the horseback. The three arrows whizzed past.

  Li Hong flashed out from under the horse's belly again, sat upright in the saddle, and continued to urge the horse to gallop wildly.

  Several Han men were shocked and immediately wanted to shoot again, but were stopped by a young man behind them. "He didn't counterattack, so he shouldn't have any malicious intentions. This person's riding skills are very good, let him come closer and then we'll talk."

  "Xiao Shuai, he is a Han Chinese. Nine out of ten are bandits on horseback."

  "Never mind. I think his horse is quite good, wait a moment, while I'm talking to him, kill it."

  Li Hong rushed over and pulled the reins to stop the black leopard. The black leopard raised its front legs high, let out a long hiss, and finally came to a stop.

  That young man drove his horse forward and said loudly, "Brother's riding skills are very good. A big Han man galloping on the land of Xianbei like this, is he looking for death?"

  Li Hong ignored him, his eyes scanning everywhere, searching for wind and snow.

  "Which horse gang is your brother from? Anything wrong?" The little marshal spoke while making a hand gesture behind his back.

  A little boy standing on a cart suddenly shouted: "Look out..."

  At the same time, the big man who shot the first arrow at Li Hong hid behind Xiao Shuai and quietly shot another arrow. Li Hong had been on guard long ago. He felt that he was born with a premonition for this kind of thing. With just a casual glance, he saw that the big man hiding behind the young man opposite him might launch a surprise attack on him.

  Li Hong let out a loud roar, turned sideways and stretched out his hand, holding a small axe to chop at the space where the arrow was flying towards. With a loud sound, the long arrow that was flying towards him with a whistling sound was chopped off by Li Hong using some unknown object.

  The people opposite were stunned. How could someone dodge at such a close distance?

  Li Hongchao smiled slightly at the little boy and then said loudly: "Is the young lady of the Ox Head Tribe, Feng Lie's daughter, here?"

  The person opposite him immediately tensed up, but then coldly smiled and said: "Han dog, don't make trouble, if you don't want to die, get out of here quickly."

  Li Hong's eyes turned to the little boy standing on the carriage. The little boy immediately turned his head towards the big cart in front of him, and then blinked his eyes. Li Hong's heart that had been hanging in suspense immediately fell back down.

  Li Hong shouted again: "Is Feng Lie's little girl, Feng Xue, here?"

  The little guy opposite didn't expect Li Hong's voice to be so loud and was startled, subconsciously preparing to retreat.

  Li Hong waited for this moment. He used all his strength to aim at the young general and swung out a small axe. In an instant, the cold light flashed, and the two-zhang distance was covered in a flash. The young general only heard a "huh" sound, felt a severe pain, and then saw a sharp small axe stuck in his chest. He let out a heart-wrenching scream and fell off his horse.

  Li Hong took advantage of the enemy's momentary confusion and kicked his horse's belly, drawing his sword and charging into the enemy formation.