Chapter 47: Surround and Intercept

  (Thanks for the rewards from "Zhao Wu Xu 2014", "Evil Wolf Star" and "Tiger Ye Not Deluded", I'm grateful!)

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  Stillness, a dead silence in the tent, a foul odor flowing through the air, the stench coming from Yan Zhi's corpse - after death, the body relaxes, and filth is discharged, how can it not be smelly?

  The three people who had narrowly escaped death inside the tent were no longer bothered by this foul odor.

  Wu Zui was bound like a bundle of firewood, lying horizontally on the ground. His fur hat had been chopped off, and a large chunk of hair on top of his head had been cut off, even scraping away a layer of skin, causing blood to ooze out. It was clear that he had been hacked at with a sharp blade, narrowly escaping death. Wu Zui indeed made a narrow escape from the Ghost Gate Pass - originally he was to be beheaded, but after Yan Zhi died and Yan Rou fled in shock, the private soldiers of the Yan family who were about to execute him lost their composure, and the knife edge cut awry, resulting in this state.

  At this moment, Wu Zui was overjoyed: "Commander, you... are fine, it's really great."

  Ma Huan smiled wryly and said to Li Ji, who was stunned beside him: "Trouble you, little lady, help me cut open Wu Zhui's rope."

  Li Ji was both shocked and puzzled: "You... are fine, why didn't you take care of it yourself?"

  "Who says I'm fine." Ma Huan slowly raised his iron arm and let out a long sigh, "I only have this one hand that can move."

  The unknown medicine used by the Yan brothers is indeed effective. As for Ma Hong's current situation, it can be said that he is in a desperate state, and even if he were the legendary number one of the Three Kingdoms, he would have no choice but to wait for death. The only thing Ma Hong has to be grateful for is that he possesses a mechanical arm that is not part of his physical body.

  Ma Huan's control over the mechanical arm was not through muscle groups or tendons, but through nerve clusters, so drugs were ineffective. Yan Zhi couldn't have imagined that such a mysterious arm existed in this world even if he had cracked his head open, so he died without being wronged, but Yan Rou's frightened escape was somewhat unjust. In fact, at this time Ma Huan was only a tiger's shell, and if Yan Rou hadn't approached him personally but instead ordered someone to shoot from a distance, Ma Huan would have been nothing more than a target.

  Liji and Wu chased after her, equally perplexed as to why only one hand could move, but time was pressing, no time to think about it, thinking wouldn't help anyway.

  Li Ji picked up Yan Zhi's fallen axe, held the handle with both hands, and pulled hard on the thick rope tied to Wu Zhui's back, cutting it off and freeing him.

  Wu Zhui broke free and immediately jumped up, taking the saber handed over by Li Ji. He then heard Ma Yuan give an order: "Time is not on our side, Yan Rou can't kill me himself, he must have gone to invite the Xianbei people to launch a surprise attack. We need to escape as soon as possible. Wu Zhui, gather all surviving brothers and quickly go ask Tian Cong to come."

  Wu followed closely behind, bowing his head in respect, then quickly turned around and left the tent.

  Ma Xun's gaze shifted to Li Ji, who was fidgeting with her two slender white hands, looking at him with a mixture of guilt and apology.

  "I really don't want to harm you..."

  "I understand." Ma Xian faintly interrupted Li Ji's words, this matter was mainly her own fault, or rather, Yan Rou's move was too vicious. As long as she didn't refuse, even if it were another woman, the outcome would have been the same.

  "What will you do now? Go back to Yan Ruo or..."

  "No, I've long wanted to get rid of Yan Rou... It's been too long since I left home, and I should return." Li Ji bowed deeply to Ma Xun, her eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief. "You're an extraordinary Han gentleman; if you can escape this time, perhaps one day, I'll be able to help you."

  Ma Xun looked at Liji with a hint of surprise and smiled, "No one can predict what will happen in the future, but for now, I really need your help."

  Li Ji was taken aback: "What..."

  "You should have left by car instead of riding a horse, right?"

  "Yes, I have a carriage, one of Yan Ruo's three golden house carriages...... Oh! I understand." Li Ji looked at Ma Hong's soft and delicate body, suddenly enlightened.

  Ma Xun supported his body with his iron arm and said slowly, "I'll borrow your car to leave, you can also get our protection, it's a win-win situation, won't Liji know?"

  Li Ji bit her lip and thought for a moment before nodding, "Alright, I have an old servant who has made preparations. Just send someone to pass on the message..."

  Just then, there were loud footsteps outside the tent, and the curtain was lifted. Tian Yu, Wu Zhui and others entered one after another. The situation was already clear, and there was no need or time to say more. They gathered their armor, led the horses, buried the bodies of the Han cavalrymen who had died in battle, and sent a message to Li Ji's old servant to drive his carriage over.

  As Ma Xian and Li Ji had just got into Yan Rou's luxurious golden carriage, they heard the sound of hooves in the distance, like thunder on a spring or summer day, rumbling continuously, making their hearts skip a beat in the darkness.

  Looking at the pale faces of Li Ji and the Han cavalry, Ma Xun only gave Wu Zhi a command: "Cross the river, destroy the bridge, and break through at full speed."

  ……

  The sky was about to dawn, the east was slightly bright, and the grassland's morning was exceptionally quiet. On the distant horizon, a black line gradually approached, hoofbeats thundered, covering the sky and earth, startling the grassland's yellow sheep, wild donkeys, and horned cattle to scatter and flee in all directions. Just a moment before, it was lush green grass, but in an instant, it was trampled by countless iron hooves, its appearance completely changed.

  Five miles ahead, a dozen or so riders were desperately galloping to protect a golden-glazed double-yoked carriage. Behind them, several thousand cavalrymen formed a scattered diagonal line, chasing after them relentlessly.

  The vast prairie is not as stable as imagined, under the seemingly thick and soft grassland there are pits, stones, shallow marshes, and tough grass roots and branches. These obstacles not only seriously affect the movement of horse-drawn carriages but also cause people inside to shake and sway, unable to sit or lie steadily.

  Li Ji was also used to sitting in this golden carriage, but she had never thought that under the galloping of two horses at full speed, she would feel so uncomfortable, her face turned pale, and she felt like vomiting. She couldn't help but glare at the person next to the window on the other side, if it weren't for him, how would she be involved in this inexplicable escape? Although walking alone on the grassland was very dangerous, it was better than being chased by thousands of soldiers. Unfortunately, now that she had boarded the pirate ship, there was no getting off.

  It's strange that he was limp all over, but why did one arm have such strength to grip the windowsill and sit steadily in the midst of such turbulence?

  He had been fleeing for a whole night, and it was already five hours since Ma Huan's poison took effect. According to Yan Rou's words, the poison would last for about ten hours. Ma Huan could feel that as time passed, the poison was slowly wearing off, at least his hands, feet, and neck were able to move again, but his muscles were still weak, feeling like he had just recovered from a serious illness, unable to exert any strength. In his current state, without Tie Bi, even an ordinary person could knock him down.

  After crossing the Rao River, they immediately burned down the pontoon bridge, forcing the Xianbei pursuing troops to change their route, thus gaining a precious time. However, the thousand cavalry pursued like flies on a bone, and were gradually closing in. Especially Ma Chan did not equip the Han Gou cavalry's war horses with new horse gear for the sake of secrecy, which increased the fatigue of the cavalrymen, severe hoof wear and tear, and five spare horses had already been abandoned due to hoof cracks.

  "Brother Jinglong, we've already exhausted five horses. If we keep running like this, I'm afraid all the horses will collapse..." Tian Yutou's hair was disheveled, his eyes were red from the strong wind, and he was urging the horse to get closer to the carriage as he shouted at Ma Hong who was looking out from under the curtain.

  "I know, just hold on a bit longer. As long as we can reach the Hundred Foot Gorge before the pursuing troops intercept us, we'll have a chance." Ma Huan spoke while his body swayed with the carriage, but his eyes were fixed straight ahead at a faint mountain shadow in the distance. There's still over ten miles to go, hopefully we can hold on until we reach our destination.

  Tian Yu was taken aback, as if he had thought of something. He slowed down the reins in his hand, and the war horse slowed down immediately, falling behind the team. Tian Yu came to his senses, hurriedly pulled out a whip, and galloped forward with all his might. He shouted loudly at Ma Xiang: "Xing Long brother, do you mean... to cut off their retreat?"

  Ma Xun nodded with difficulty, his eyes stern.

  Bai Zhang Gorge is actually a mountain valley, and the so-called "hundred feet" does not refer to the height of the mountain, but rather the length of the valley path, which is about 100 feet long. After leaving this gorge, there is another vast grassland as far as the eye can see. The entrance to Bai Zhang Gorge is narrow, only about 10 feet wide, with steep cliffs on both sides that are no more than 30 feet high. The mountains above are densely forested and lush, with only a few narrow paths leading through. This is one of three roads leading south from Ping Gang, the other two being at least 20 miles away. In other words, if one could leave a contingent of troops behind to hold off pursuers in Bai Zhang Gorge, it would indeed be possible to slow down the enemy and gain time for a victorious retreat.

  The question is, who stays behind after the break-up?

  "Please let General Bu, Tian Congshi and Li Ji lead the way first. Wu Zhui will stay behind with his brothers to cut off the pursuit." Wu Zhui patted the horse and leaned close to the carriage window, his face firm and resolute, a hint of desperation in his eyes.

  Ma Xiu gazed silently at this loyal servant for a moment, just about to speak, when suddenly Tian Yu shouted loudly: "Not good! The Xianbei people have caught up!"

  Ma Xun suddenly turned his head, but saw a team of about 100 Qidan cavalrymen, each with two horses, excellent bows and horses, charging at the front. Most of the pursuing cavalry were still dozens of miles away, only this team of cavalry had approached within 100 meters, and the person leading the charge looked familiar, and his movements seemed a bit strange... Oh, it turned out to be Luo Bang, whose palm was crushed, that brave warrior under the command of Suo Luo Hou, it seems he is eager for revenge...

  "Hurry! Liang En, don't worry about the horse not being able to take it. As long as we charge into Bai Zhang Gorge, we'll be victorious!" Ma Xian saw the speed of the Xianbei people and knew there was trouble. He urged the old servant Liang En who was driving the carriage, while shouting at Liji, "Throw everything in the carriage down! The case, the felt blanket, the incense burner, the bowls and plates - throw everything down except for yourself!"

  Li Ji also knew the situation was urgent, and while enduring physical discomfort, she hastily threw everything off the car, muttering to herself: "Throwing you off the car is for the best."

  Just then, a buzzing noise came from above, and Liji stopped moving, looking up in confusion.

  Ma Xiong's iron arm propped up, his entire body swung over horizontally, his arms wrapped around Li Ji, pinning her under him.

  Li Ji didn't even have time to scream and struggle, but heard a dense "thud thud thud" sound, countless arrows were inserted on the car cover. Two stray arrows flew in from the window, swept over the heads of the two people, and inserted into the car door.

  Li Ji was shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. If Ma Han hadn't pressed her down, those two arrows would have likely been lodged in her body. Li Ji felt grateful in her heart and was about to express her thanks when the horse suddenly let out a mournful whinny and charged forward, slipping and falling. As the horse fell, the wheel of the chariot heavily crushed its body, and the massive resistance caused the chariot to jolt to a stop, tilting the vehicle, with one side of the wheel flying high into the air. Then, under the powerful inertial force, the entire chariot sprang into the air, flipping over and flying forward in a somersault.

  "Minister of War—"

  "Brother Jing Long—"