Chapter 182
Hearing the howling wind and the shouts echoing from the depths of the valley, she closed her eyes and recalled her childhood… her grandfather holding her and teaching her to play chess, saying,
“For a general, if he dares to lead by example, he can inspire his soldiers’ courage. Battle must be won! Attack must succeed!”
Now, she was no longer as skilled as she once was, but if she was to hoist the Bai family’s banner, she had to sacrifice herself. She needed to stand at the forefront, lead the Bai family army, and bravely kill the enemy!
Only by standing in this position, leading the charge, could she inspire the Bai family soldiers to be fearless.
The roaring sounds of the Xiliang army approached from the deep valley. She opened her eyes, notched an arrow, drew her bow fully, and aimed at the dark, stormy gorge.
Her father had said, “If the country goes to war, and the people face hardship, the children of the Bai family are duty-bound to lead by example, sacrificing themselves to protect the people. This is the spirit and integrity of the Bai family.”
From today on, she would inherit the spirit and integrity of her grandfather and father!
No death in battle, no shedding of armor!
The sound of killing gradually approached. She spotted the first Xiliang soldier rounding the bend in the deep valley. Clenching her teeth, she pulled the bow to the fullest and released the arrow.
The arrow flew against the wind, piercing straight through the throat of the Xiliang soldier. Instantly, the morale of the Bai family army surged!
The passionate Bai family warriors heard Bai Qingyan shout, “Capture Yun Poxing alive! Kill!”
“Kill!”
Drawing their swords and brandishing their spears, the Bai family army charged into the valley, meeting the enemy head-on with unstoppable force.
In the charge, she continuously drew arrows and notched her bow, aiming directly at the Xiliang generals, shrouded in cloaks, in the retreating Xiliang troops. Her aim was flawless; the arrows hit their marks every time.
The surviving Xiliang soldiers, seeing Bai Qingyan draw her bow and kill a Xiliang general without fail, became terrified. Seeing the Bai family army charging like wolves, their hearts filled with fear, making them want to retreat.
Despite Cheng Yuanshan protecting Bai Qingyan, a knife still struck her shoulder.
Running out of arrows, she pulled them from the corpses around her and fired them once more!
Seeing Yun Poxing being guarded by three shields from a distance, she stepped on the corpse of a nearby Xiliang general, forcefully drew an arrow, and aimed it dripping with fresh blood at Yun Poxing. The arrow flew with a tiger’s roar, so fast it couldn’t be intercepted, piercing through Yun Poxing’s thick armor, and knocked him to the ground.
“Marshal!”
“Marshal!”
The Xiliang army panicked, shouting.
Upon hearing this, the remaining Xiliang soldiers’ morale collapsed. Within moments, they were utterly defeated by the burning-seized spirit Bai family soldiers, with Yun Poxing surrounded by the Bai family army.
At this point, Yun Poxing had fewer than ten men left protecting him.
Clutching the arrow near his heart, blood gushing out, Yun Poxing gritted his teeth and stood up with the help of Xiliang soldiers. As he surveyed the murderous Bai family warriors surrounding him, he felt defeated. Was Heaven truly determined for him to die here today?
Yun Poxing did not fear death, but he did not want to die at the hands of the Bai family army! Not at the hands of Bai Weiting’s granddaughter! He lived for nothing but to leave his mark on history. Even if he had to die back in Xiliang, it would be acceptable! He had struggled hard to destroy Bai Weiting’s descendants, to shed the reputation of “fearing the Bai family like a child fears his father.” Why was Heaven so cruel to him?!
“Make way!”
Cheng Yuanzhi’s deep voice came from behind. The Bai family soldiers, ready to tear Yun Poxing apart, gave way.
Yun Poxing raised his bloodshot eyes and looked at the silver-armored daughter coming from the Bai family army’s midst.
In the dark gorge, with the howling wind, the girl in armor had wounds on her face, bloodstained clothing, and held a bow. Her eyes were calm but sharp, reminiscent of Bai Weiting… and Bai Qishan, exuding a terrifying aura of slaughter. She walked powerfully against the wind, the blood-soaked red cape fluttering, her braided hair flying, her presence like a God of Slaughter making one’s spine chill.
Yun Poxing had heard of Bai Weiting’s eldest granddaughter. Although it was rumored that during the campaign to destroy Shu, she had personally beheaded the mighty Marshal Pang Pingguo, Yun Poxing had thought it was just a story Bai Weiting spread to mythologize the Bai family’s bloodline, making it known that their offspring, regardless of gender, were unbeatable.
Later, Yun Poxing heard that Bai Weiting’s eldest granddaughter was heavily injured and had lost all her martial arts. This convinced him even more that it was Bai Weiting’s ploy to hide his granddaughter’s uselessness.
But who would’ve thought, just when he had killed off all the Bai family’s males, believing Jin had no more fierce generals, Bai Weiting’s eldest granddaughter had silently emerged.
Having been a soldier for many years, he could tell from her fierce aura and the cold sharpness in her eyes that she was even more ruthless than Bai Weiting. Like a new wolf king in a pack, she was more agile and savage than the old king.
Heaven wanted him dead!
Surrounded by Xiliang soldiers, the disheveled Yun Poxing felt sorrowful. He pushed away the protecting Xiliang warriors and stepped forward, gritting his teeth, pretending to be calm as he looked at Bai Qingyan, who stood only two yards away, and sneered coldly, “Unexpectedly, Bai Weiting has such a beautiful granddaughter. Weren’t you said to have lost all your martial arts skills? Why come to this man’s battlefield, to entertain our Xiliang warriors?!”
This was the first time Bai Qingyan had seen Yun Poxing, a man in his prime at forty-nine, with a rugged Xiliang voice and tall stature. His eyes were full of killing intent and experience, making him very seasoned.
“You!” Cheng Yuanzhi wanted to draw his sword but was stopped by Bai Qingyan.
Suppressing her burning hatred, the stench of burning and blood in the wind kept her mind clear, preventing it from being overwhelmed by rage.
She hated! She wanted to devour Yun Poxing’s flesh and blood. He had beheaded and gutted her seventeenth brother in humiliation. He had severed her father’s head and hung it at the Xiliang camp to taunt the Bai family army. How could she not hate him?!
Originally, one arrow could have taken Yun Poxing’s life, could have made his death clean and swift, could have beheaded him and dissected his heart! Throw his head into the Xiliang camp!
However… she deliberately missed.
Because reason told her, Yun Poxing could not die. If Yun Poxing died, the Emperor and those courtiers might not tolerate the Bai family and the Bai family army anymore.
When the cunning hare dies, the hounds are cooked; when the birds are gone, the bow is hidden.
The South needed a formidable enemy general that neither Jin nor the Bai family could defeat, to keep the treacherous Emperor of Jin in check. Only then would the Emperor be wary.
She looked into Yun Poxing’s bloodshot eyes, forcing herself to remain calm.