novelaction Chapter 507 Marks on the Stone
Chapter 507 Marks on the Stone
"Kill them all, leave no one alive!" Pang Xingji said coldly.
He already despised mountain bandits, and having heard of their wicked deeds of burning, killing, and looting, he had no reason to forgive them for daring to attack the imperial court.
Lin Ping shook his head helplessly. He knew he couldn't stop this great battle, so he could only try to minimize his own losses.
"Give it your all and try to minimize casualties," Lin Ping added loudly.
These 10,000 men were meant to deal with the Lotus Palace; how could they suffer such heavy losses so soon after leaving the city?
Half of them were equipped with new-style spears, which would easily wipe out this thousand mountain bandits.
Pang Xingji charged ahead and quickly dealt with the second-in-command of Yinfeng Village.
Thousands of cavalrymen broke through the bandits' ranks, and sharp spears ruthlessly clashed.
The poorly equipped bandits became easy targets, and apart from screaming, they seemed to have forgotten how to fight back.
Guo Zhixi trembled with fear, clutching Lin Ping's clothes tightly as she watched the battle unfold between the two sides with trepidation.
"Close your eyes, it will be over soon," Lin Ping comforted her.
He didn't want a young woman to see such a bloody scene.
Guo Zhixi nodded obediently, then closed her eyes slightly.
As Lin Ping said, the normal battle lasted less than fifteen minutes.
The bandits in front of them were all killed, while Lin Ping's side suffered fewer than a hundred casualties, which greatly boosted morale.
Lin Ping was not satisfied with this result. If it were the city lord's private army, he was confident that he could keep the number of casualties to within ten.
"Alright, you can open your eyes now," Lin Ping said softly.
Guo Zhixi slowly opened her eyelids, trying her best to remain calm. When she saw the bloody scene in front of her, she still screamed in fright and couldn't help but burrow into Lin Ping's arms.
"Bury them," Lin Ping ordered.
Even bandits are human beings. They were killed because of their many evil deeds, and buried because Lin Ping was kind.
Moreover, so many corpses lying on the road are bound to cause panic.
Even with rumors maliciously spread by some people, Lin Ping didn't have time to respond to Tianfu and explain these things. His top priority was to find the mark left by Jiang Mo.
After the body was disposed of, Guo Zhixi felt much calmer, at least she didn't have to crawl into Lin Ping's arms anymore.
"Girl, the bandits are dead. You can go home now without worry," Lin Ping reminded her.
Upon hearing this, Guo Zhixi felt wronged and burst into tears.
"You haven't really fallen for me, have you?" Lin Ping asked helplessly, quickly explaining, "Miss, I'm a married man, I can't..."
“I have no home anymore; my father just passed away,” Guo Zhixi replied, her voice choked with emotion.
Lin Ping's face turned red as he realized that the other person wasn't crying because of him, but because they were thinking of their deceased father.
"Does the young lady have somewhere to go?" Lin Ping asked casually.
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Ping secretly regretted it. What if the other person said they had nowhere to go? Should he take them in?
"Before my father passed away, he told me to go to Huizhou to stay with my uncle." Guo Zhixi's mood calmed down a little.
"Huizhou? Your uncle is in Huizhou?" Lin Ping asked curiously.
Huizhou was under the jurisdiction of Anhui Provincial Administration Commission and was located on the border of Wu State. It was at least 500 li away from Yingtian Prefecture, and with the winding mountain roads, it was probably 700 li away. Lin Ping was very curious as to why her uncle was in Huizhou.
“My grandfather, uncle, and aunt all live in Huizhou,” Guo Zhixi explained. “The Guo family is a prominent family in Huizhou. My father was originally going to inherit the family property, but he fell in love with my mother from Yingtian Prefecture during a business trip. So, despite my grandfather’s objections, he resolutely decided to stay.”
"Later, my father's business failed, and he and my mother could only live a poor life. A few years ago, my mother's family forced her to remarry, but she refused and eventually hanged herself. Not long ago, my father became seriously ill and asked me to go to Huizhou to stay with my uncle before he died."
Guo Zhixi spoke while tears streamed down her face.
Even Lin Ping, who was standing next to him, felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this; it was truly a heart-wrenching love story.
He admired Guo Zhixi's father's persistence and appreciated her mother's courage.
Her father, for the sake of his dignity, would never set foot in Huizhou, but he couldn't bear to see his daughter suffer, so he sent her back to Huizhou to stay with her uncle.
“Huizhou is 700 li away from here. It’s a bit dangerous for a girl like you. We’re also going south anyway, so why don’t we give you a ride?”
Guo Zhixi's tragic background evoked Lin Ping's pity, and her solitary journey made him even more worried.
According to Jiang Mo's description, the Lotus Palace is probably located in the south. Even if he can't send Guo Zhixi back to Huizhou, he can at least escort her for most of the journey.
"Is Your Excellency also going to Huizhou?" Guo Zhixi asked, her big, watery eyes wide.
Although she was an ordinary woman, she knew what ten thousand soldiers meant. If they were all mobilized just to send her home, then she would be committing a grave sin.
"It's probably in that direction, but I haven't found any marks left by my friend yet." Lin Ping smiled faintly, dispelling Guo Zhixi's doubts.
“A mark? Is this the kind of mark that’s carved on a stone?” Guo Zhixi asked, pointing to a bare stone.
"Are there any marks on the stone?" Following Guo Zhixi's pointing finger, Lin Ping indeed saw a pattern.
"Jiang Mo, you son of a bitch, does having high martial arts skills mean you can leave marks on stones? Do you know how hard I searched for you?" Lin Ping cursed.
All day long, he only paid attention to the tree trunk and didn't notice the stones on the ground at all.
In other words, there are thousands upon thousands of stones on the ground, making them quite difficult to find.
"It's not hard to find. Every stone around here has a mark on it," Guo Zhixi said, puzzled.
Lin Ping felt ashamed; it was really unpleasant to be undermined.
In order to divert everyone's attention, he could only focus all his attention on the markings.
Lin Ping stared at a rock for a long time, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. He exclaimed in disbelief, "What is this? What happened to the Four Divine Beasts?"
Pang Xingji and the others also looked over, all with sorrowful expressions, and replied softly, "It seems to be a chick."
"A chicken? Is that a mythical beast too?" Lin Ping asked in confusion.
In their understanding, the four mythical beasts are: Azure Dragon, Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise; apparently, there is no chick among them.
Pang Xingji shook his head repeatedly and said his thoughts: "The sun rises when the rooster crows, which probably represents the East."
This explanation is quite reasonable, but Lin Ping still has some doubts. If he really wanted to represent the East, he could have just written the words; there was no need to go to such lengths to draw a picture.
In other words, Jiang Mo was acting on Lin Ping's wishes. He wanted to draw the Four Divine Beasts, but unfortunately his drawing skills were limited, so he could only use chicks as substitutes.
"Perhaps he wanted to draw the Vermilion Bird, which should mean facing south," Lin Ping explained in a low voice, feeling truly ashamed for Jiang Mo.
"Hehehe, as expected of Master Jiang, his actions are meticulous. Only the Prince Consort could guess it, so he certainly won't expose his whereabouts," Pang Xingji said with a forced smile.
Forced praise is the most dangerous.