Chapter 222: Defected To The Enemy, Chen Tao's Family
A figure jumped down from the wall before the city gates were even opened. It's Yu Kuang! Bai Xiangxiu waved to greet him. As expected from a man from the wulin. He's always in the lead. She could finally breathe a sigh of relief. She was definitely safe now that he'd come to get her. However, her happiness had come a tad too early. Thump! Yu Kuang suddenly dived for the ground just when he came within ten steps from her. Crap! I forgot that I have the black devil's snare right beside me.
Bai Xiangxiu quickly yelled upon seeing the arrival of Long Heng and Song Jiaoyue, "Don't come near me!"
Long Heng frowned, "Did they apply some kind of drug on you?" Why else would Yu Kuang suddenly fall to the ground like that? Or maybe… she's in danger as well?
"No, they didn't. You don't have to worry, this is just a result of me trying to defend myself. You must not come within ten steps of me. By the way, can I sleep outside the city for tonight? I don't want people to pass out after I enter the city."
"How can there be such a potent drug?"
"I'll explain everything later. What shall we do with him?"
"Men, take good care of that man. I'll be keeping my wife company on the outskirts of the city for a night." Long Heng commanded as he pointed at Yu Kuang. He looked towards Bai Xiangxiu and said, "Walk half a mile forward. There's an abandoned farmhouse there." The entire family had already moved to the city due to the war.
"Understood," Bai Xiangxiu could not bear to part with the black devil's snare. She held the plant in her arms, walked around the horse carriage and began to walk according to Long Heng's directions.
Long Heng followed a little behind Bai Xiangxiu. They held a long distance conversation. He first noticed that the plant was a little too heavy for Bai Xiangxiu to carry, "Let me help you carry that!"
"You can't! This isn't something you can touch!"
"Why did you disappear all of a sudden? Who abducted you?"
"It's Chen Tao. He abducted me in order to obtain the formula for the fire powder."
"Did you give it to him?"
"I only gave him a fake one."
"Then why didn't he pursue you?"
"He didn't pursue probably because he's still unconscious. Or maybe it's because he knows that I've returned."
Truth was, Chen Tao's men had already caught up with her. Long Heng had sensed their presence for a while now, but he was secretly on guard. He wouldn't allow them to harm Bai Xiangxiu if they really did try to attack her. However, they left soon after they noticed Long Heng, as they were likely extremely afraid of him. Long Heng smiled coldly to himself. Chen Tao is such a base and shameless person. It seems that I'll have to pay him a visit tomorrow. But his utmost priority at the moment was Bai Xiangxiu's safety. He never thought that she would land into so much trouble just because she came to help him. However, why did he have to protect her from such a distance? He couldn't even hand over the chicken that he'd painstakingly cooked for her. He had to leave it and stay ten steps away so that Bai Xiangxiu could walk up to t and start nibbling away. "Xiu'er, that flower of yours seems really unique."
"Yes. It's a black devil's snare. It grants one wish to a person if they water it with their blood. It granted me a wish after I watered it for four days, and I wished for everyone to faint immediately when they approached me for an entire day."
"Blood? Don't you… faint at the sight of blood?"
"I don't faint anymore. I've gotten used to it."
"Xiu'er, you wouldn't have to suffer so much if it wasn't for me." He used to think that she was very weak and feeble when they were in the manor, but he now realized that she was actually very strong and resilient. She was like the black devil's snare. It seemed elegant and vacuous, but was actually incredibly useful when the time came. "The wound on your hand…" He finally noticed that there were many cuts and lacerations on her palms.
"The wounds are almost all healed."
Long Heng tossed some wound ointment right next to her, "Have a good night's rest after applying the medicine. I will watch over you through the night."
"Mm," Bai Xiangxiu was very sleepy indeed. She felt very safe even though Long Heng was only keeping watch from afar. The next day, Bai Xiangxiu realized that she was lying in Long Heng's arms when she woke up. They'd already returned to the city.
"The flower."
"I've had one of the servants to help take it back. It's being potted just outside right now."
"Thank you."
"I need to report what Chen Tao did to you to Prince Rong."
"Go on." Why does it feel like we're an old couple that's been married for a long time? When did this suddenly occur?
Chen Tao had unexpectedly decided to defect to the enemy side in order to escape punishment for his previous actions. The enemy had begun to spread the news of his defection to try and terrorize the citizens. If the city guard captain had already surrendered to the enemy, wouldn't that mean that their side was about to lose the war? Long Heng laughed scornfully. The enemy seemed to have forgotten how he'd chased them away every time. He'd only come back this time to assemble the troops so that he could muster his strength for an all out assault and take over their capital.
However, there was no way that Long Heng could've predicted this turn of events. Chen Tao had brought his closest subordinates and defected to the enemy, but had left his family behind! His mother, wife, and two children were now imprisoned. Long Heng was incredibly furious, so much so that he actually slammed his hands on the table in public to release his anger. Chen Tao is such a coward! He actually abandoned his family so that he could live? What are we supposed to do with them?
Kill them?
"Surely you jest. They're weak women and children. What good will it do if you killed them? They've done nothing wrong, right?" Bai Xiangxiu said while serving Long Heng some tea. Her brows were scrunched together.
"You're against killing them? But the rules state that everyone in a deserter's family must be executed without exceptions. Prince Rong also thinks that we should do this according to the court's laws. But…"
"But it feels wrong to murder the innocent and the weak. Am I right?"
"Yes," Long Heng discussed almost everything with Bai Xiangxiu now. While she might not be a genius, she was still someone with a wide range of knowledge. Even someone like Prince Rong sang her praises.
"Then change the children's surnames and have the woman remarry."
"……" Long Heng stared at her with surprise written all over his face. Wasn't a woman supposed to never have a second husband? However, this was a really good way for them to cut off all connections with Chen Tao.
"What's wrong? Isn't it a good idea? I understand that the woman might not agree, but is she really willing to watch her children die just so they can remain dedicated and wait for a traitor?"
"You really come up with all sorts of weird plans, but this might work well." Long Heng said as he pinched her cheeks, "Go to sleep. I'll discuss it with Prince Rong."
Prince Rong hadn't intended to let them live in the first place, but this was actually quite a good plan. Putting a massive green hat on top of Chen Tao's head would be incredibly humiliating.
Soon after, back at the enemy camp, Commander Lu was having a conversation with a furious man as they retreated back to their country. "How can you possibly put up with such a humiliating thing? They've sullied your wife by giving her to somebody else."
"Of course I can't!" Chen Tao yelled through gritted teeth. "But what I can't stand the most is that woman by his side. I would've gotten the formula for the bombs already if she wasn't such a sly fox!"
"Didn't she give you a formula? Let me have a look." A soldier beside Commander Lu thrust a hand out to Chen Tao. He looked young, and seemed very elegant and refined.
"This…" Chen Tao hesitated. It wasn't something that should be handed over to a mere soldier, even if it was a fake.
"Hand it over."
Chen Tao handed over the paper to the soldier after some hesitation. Something seemed a little off with that person, but Chen Tao just couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Chapter 223: Duel Between Two Transmigrators
The little soldier smirked when he saw the contents on the paper. "It's just someone who came from the same world as I. He seems capable enough, but there's no need for you to worry, I will help you to the best of my abilities. Just remember to fulfill your side of the deal."
"Of course I will. It's just that this formula…"
"It's fake, but also real at the same time. Some of the ingredients have been removed, but it can still explode. However, the gunpowder has become very volatile and will go off easily as a result."
"Then how can we make this into a better weapon?"
"It depends on how many people you are willing to let me borrow for research. Some sacrifice is needed to win the war."
"Take as many people as you need as long as you succeed."
"Alright. You're Chen Tao right? Since you've used this formula before, you will be in charge of the research!" The soldier crumbled the paper into a ball and threw it onto the floor. His face was filled with confidence and arrogance. Chen Tao gritted his teeth. He never thought that he'd be commanded by a low-ranked soldier when he decided to defect to their side. Unfortunately, Commander Lu seemed to trust that soldier a lot and allowed him to take Chen Tao away.
Chen Tao slowly came to realize that the low-ranked soldier was actually a woman! She wasn't very beautiful, but still atypical nonetheless. She sacrificed life after life to find the perfect ratio of ingredients to manufacture gunpowder. The gunpowder exploded prematurely if the ratio wasn't perfect, killing the workers that were manufacturing it. She would only look very disappointed and coldly say, "Go get me two more people with steady hands. We shall start again."
Chen Tao was speechless. This woman was even more manly and cruel than most other men. Worse still, she actually visited Commander Lu's tent on her own accord! She exited the camp only after the two was done with their business together. She beckoned Chen Tao over with her finger when she saw him on her way back. "Come with me. I wish to know more about that woman."
Chen Tao frowned. "I don't think that's a good idea!"
If would've been fine if she was a man, but unfortunately she wasn't. She didn't seem to mind though. She replied as though she couldn't care less. "It's not like I will eat you! Just come in!"
Chen Tao had no choice but to enter her tent. She took off her headpiece and revealed long, luscious hair with varying length. She perched jauntily on a chair, "Tell me about that woman."
Chen Tao could feel his throat constrict. Even though she wasn't a stunning beauty and was already more than twenty five years old, she exuded elegance and had truly youthful. Most skin importantly, she had a kind of alluring charm which no woman in this world possessed. But since she was the commander's woman, he had no choice but to bury his desires and tell her everything he knew about Bai Xiangxiu.
After he was done, the woman suddenly swiped her slightly curled hair and laughed. "I see. So only her soul transmigrated here. She sounds like a woman without her own opinions. Shouldn't be that difficult to deal with. So what if she has watched Water Margin before and has a bit of knowledge about gunpowder. Why would I be afraid of her?"
Commander Lu suddenly entered the tent while they were in the middle of their talk. Chen Tao immediately stood up and greeted him, "General." Commander Lu wasn't just a general, he was also a prince. Life would be difficult if Chen Tao ever so slightly offended him.
"Get out." It was quite obvious that this general was jealous. Chen Tao had no choice but to leave. He knew very well that this was a woman he couldn't afford to offend. Belittling her would be a grave mistake after Bai Xiangxiu had taught him a lesson. However, he did hear things that he shouldn't have heard. He was thoroughly shocked by her boldness.
"My dear, are you jealous? Don't be mad. I was only trying to learn about the enemy."
"He's still a man after all. How can you let him enter your tent? You should act sensibly next time."
"Fine. You're so petty. Why won't you let me sleep in your tent then?"
"Because it's an army camp and people will come in at any time. Didn't you say that you wanted some freedom? It is only fair that I get as much freedom as you, right?"
"You're a man. You will have all sorts of women throwing themselves at you if you're allowed to have freedom."
"Stop letting your imagination run wild. Ah Yun, you said that she is also someone from your world? Is everyone from your world very knowledgeable?"
"Of course. Our world is entirely different from your…"
Chen Tao could no longer hear the rest of their conversation and he wasn't too interested in eavesdropping either. The fact remains that both of these women were indeed very special and atypical.
Long Heng and his army assembled Tranquil City at dawn, calling roll and about to march off to battle. Bai Xiangxiu was a little distressed when she was sending him off. She was worried that enemy's bomb maker had something up their sleeves. It wouldn't be a problem if that person was of ordinary origins, as Long Heng would definitely be in a world of trouble if that person was very knowledgeable. Judging by how the transmigrator had immediately invented gunpowder, Bai Xiangxiu was certain that he'd read a lot of transmigration novels. There was no point in dwelling on her worries. There was no way Long Heng would allow her to go with him. Even remaining at Tranquil City was all due to Prince Rong's help.
Long Heng quickly invaded deep into enemy territory in one go, beating them back after consecutive battles. Just as mid autumn was about to arrive, the enemy came up with a new strategy as well. They took a page out of Earth's history books and besieged Wei to rescue Zhao by attacking Long Heng's weakness, Tranquil City. This tactic was one of attacking something else the enemy held dearly when they were too strong to attack directly.
Bai Xiangxiu rolled her eyes at their decision. Are they going to siege Tranquil City with less than a thousand men by causing a commotion? And is that supposed to help save their country from imminent doom? She would've been scared and would ask for assistance if there was only a few men in the city, but such was not the case as Yu Kuang was here. He left the city for a few days and came back with a group of people from the wulin that wanted to help with national matters. These people jumped high and low, showing excellent mastery of qinggong, especially the White Cloud Mountain disciples. Any one of them would likely be worth a hundred men.
The wulin men went out to scout and size the enemy up. The smoke and dust behind the enemy's ranks was nothing but a deceptive trick. They numbered only roughly a thousand. Their cavalry was using tree branches to kick up dust to make their army seem bigger than they really were.
Yu Kuang and many others had a habit of consulting Bai Xiangxiu with such matters ever since she'd helped defeat the chain horses formation. According to what Song Jiaoyue had said, it was because she had all sorts of ingenious ideas. Prince Rong thought the same as well. And so, everyone gathered inside a room to hold a meeting and discuss whether they should send Long Heng a letter to tell him about this.
"I don't think we need to send him a letter. This is just a trap. They only sent a thousand men here in hopes that His Highness will retreat to defend the city. This will greatly affect the momentum of their invasion. His Highness will surely face great turmoil if the enemy stationed some men to ambush them in the middle of their journey. In fact, they could even risk total annihilation!"
"I see your point," Prince Rong said while nodding. "Then how are we supposed to deal with them?"
While a thousand men wasn't too large of a number, they can still take down an entire city at a quick pace. It would be an enormous problem if they were not defeated quickly. Bai Xiangxiu was speechless. Was she supposed to be helping with these military matters as well?! She was just a female supporting character! And cannon fodder at that too! Why were they being all formal and serious with the meeting? "Why don't we we come up with a way to thwart their attack before thinking about anything else?"
"Men! Assemble the troops to thwart their attack!" Prince Rong issued the order while waving his hand. He was the only one that could take charge in Tranquil City. Even though Long Heng had left some of his trusted lieutenants behind, they still had to report to Prince Rong. They'd realized by now that Prince Rong was now relying entirely on his newly acquired godsister as he was clueless in military matters. He would always seek her opinion on things and was very thorough when he consulted her.