Chapter 1363: Chapter 1358: Her Bones, Thoroughly Shattered
Chapter 1363: Chapter 1358: Her Bones, Thoroughly Shattered
There was also his Jinling.
Jinling must have really missed her.
She had received a letter from Jinling before, where he said that he was dutifully helping the imperial uncle govern the country, discovering that he too had the potential to be an emperor, but being an Emperor was too tiring. He was looking forward to the imperial uncle returning to the court early, just as he was looking forward to her coming back soon, so they could get married.
He said he wanted to have two children.
A boy to study literature with him, whom he would teach to write books, to become a great literary figure of the Great Cheng Dynasty.
The girl would learn martial arts from her and be nurtured to become the next generation of female generals, passing on the brave and resolute bloodline of the Lin family women from generation to generation.
When they grew old and the children had established their own families, they could go on to travel around and enjoy the pleasures of the world.
Such a life would be truly wonderful.
“Sorry, Jinling…”
He won’t be able to wait for her to return anymore.
The battlefield was shrouded in smoke from gunfire, the yellow sand filled the sky, and the scent of blood from bodies strewn all over was drifting throughout the mountains—the setting sun was also tainted with a layer of blood.
The setting sun wept blood, mournfully heart-wrenching.
When Ye Qingru rushed to Chu Yihan, Chu Yihan’s face turned ashen as he scolded, “Who allowed you to leave her alone there!”
Ye Qingru fell to his knees with a thud, his eyes brimming with hot tears, “General Lin… General Lin said he wanted to buy time for the Emperor and refused to let us die in vain. Chen Ruobai wanted her, not us… not for all of us to sacrifice ourselves! General Lin ordered me to lead the troops to leave, and I…”
“Even at the cost of your own life you are to protect her! How dare you defy a military order!” Chu Yihan’s Qingfeng Sword pointed directly at Ye Qingru, who didn’t try to evade at all, and the blade’s edge shaved off half a strand of his hair.
He was trembling on the ground, not because he feared Chu Yihan’s punishment, but because he felt guilty towards Lin Sisi.
They were not victorious, and he couldn’t disobey Lin Sisi’s orders!
But by their leaving, how much more dangerous it became for Lin Sisi!
“Continue the siege, protect the civilians, and eliminate the remnants!”
Chu Yihan glanced behind at Chu Yifeng and gave the cold command.
Chu Yifeng grabbed his arm, “Where are you going? There are swarms of Gu corpses by Lin Sisi; it’s not safe!”
It was probably too late to salvage the situation on that end. Ye Qingru’s few thousand men may have survived, but how could Chen Ruobai let the remaining Lin Sisi and the hundred or so generals of the Lin family off the hook.
“Let go!”
Chu Yihan forcefully shook off Chu Yifeng’s hand and led his men in the opposite direction of the city gates.
Chen Ruobai and Xin Yi took a detour and did not encounter them. By the time Chu Yihan arrived at their battlefield, only a few Gu corpses, like headless flies, were still ripping and mindlessly nibbling on the flesh and blood of bodies.
Mo Qi saw one of the Gu corpses gnawing on a body, and his eyes widened, “Emperor, that’s Lin Ergou!”
Lin Sisi’s lieutenant!
Chu Yihan’s heart tightened, as if a great hand had grasped it.
He dismounted and drew his sword, beheading the Gu corpse from behind and watched his body fall to the ground with a ‘thud’.
He was trembling as he squatted down, afraid that if he turned over Lin Ergou’s half-destroyed body, underneath it would be Lin Sisi!
“Emperor, it’s not General Lin…” Mo Qi panted heavily beside Chu Yihan.
He was just as anxious as Chu Yihan, fearing for what might have happened to Lin Sisi…
“Find her,” Chu Yihan’s lips turned white, trembling, his voice also starting to quiver.
The area was littered with corpses, and the stench of decay mixed with the smell of blood made it difficult to breathe, so much so that the soldiers behind Chu Yihan dared not come any closer.
Originally, both Mo Qi and the Black Cloud Cavalry were to help Chu Yihan search for bodies, but Chu Yihan harshly ordered, “Don’t touch anything, fall back!”
Mo Qi, having been yelled at, retreated with his men.
The soldiers behind him, some confused, asked Mo Qi a question, “Commander Mo, why did the emperor not let us help search? Wouldn’t we find General Lin faster?”
Mo Qi’s heart was filled with deep sorrow, “It’s different, General Lin is a woman, she is… different from the rest.”
Chu Yihan cherished her, just as he would his own younger family members.
Besides, she was the woman most beloved by his nephew, Chu Jinling.
Chu Yihan had turned over more than thirty corpses, each time hoping that the person he found would be Lin Sisi.
Yet, with each one he turned, he feared it would be Lin Sisi that he saw.
Every person here had died a terrible death.
Lin Ergou was left with only half a body, and the others were either missing an arm or leg, or had half their heads gnawed off, their deaths were tragic.
Chu Yihan’s heart had never trembled, gone numb, or felt as complicated as it did now.
As he turned over the corpses, he became filthy, his body reeking of blood. Without finding Lin Sisi, he refused to stop. As he turned to walk away, he tripped over something. Looking down, he saw a leg. When he had stumbled, the leg had bent as if the knee had shattered.
Chu Yihan’s attention was drawn to the leg, which was hidden beneath a corpse. Half a hand peeked out, covered in blood, but clearly smaller than a man’s.
Chu Yihan’s heart skipped a beat. He slowly crouched down, lifting the hand, and beneath it, he saw a knife pressed down.
The knife handle was bronze-colored, exquisitely crafted; at a glance, he could tell it was a famed blade!
The Youming Knife.
When Chu Jinling had found this knife, he had brought it before him and boasted, “Sisi loves swordplay the most, imperial uncle, look at this knife, so fierce, it must suit her temperament.”
“You mean to say she’s fierce?”
“Cough! On the battlefield, facing the enemy, one must be fierce!”
Chu Yihan couldn’t quite articulate his feelings, feeling only numbness and a stabbing pain. For a moment, as he opened his eyes, he felt them sting and his eyelids weighed down heavily.
He pushed the corpse off, and as he touched the body beneath, he was exceedingly careful, but no matter how gentle he tried to be, the body couldn’t be easily turned over.
Her bones were shattered.
Shattered thoroughly.
From the spine to leg bones to the ankle bones, not a single bone was left intact.
Even the neck had been bitten into a large hole.
At the wound, there remained dark traces of blood.
Chu Yihan held Lin Sisi’s face in his hands, a thick layer of yellow sand covering her eyes.
Before she died, she probably didn’t see anything.
“Lin…”
Chu Yihan choked up.
He could no longer say her name.
Chu Yihan knelt on the ground, and at the moment he lifted Lin Sisi’s body, Mo Qi and the soldiers knelt down in unison.
Among them, only a military flag fluttered in the evening breeze.
Su Yingxue waited at Ruo Shui Pass. Although she was uneasy, at least she saw Rong Sheng, who returned safely.
Seeing a thick layer of powder on her face, Rong Sheng approached and asked her, “What have you been doing recently? Why does your complexion look so poor?”
“I haven’t done anything,” Su Yingxue shook her head.
As she shook her head, she already felt somewhat dizzy.
Continuously giving blood transfusions to Yu Wenrui and busying herself with Saint Ruan, her physical strength was indeed not at its best.
Rong Sheng held her shoulder and felt her pulse, “You’ve lost too much blood? What have you done?”