Thousand Miles of Bright Moonlight

Chapter 72: Attack

Liangzhou.

A majestic pass perched high on the east side of the river led to the main city. With walls stretching nearly a thousand meters and several feet high, it guarded the main road to the Central Plains.

It was twilight, and smoke rose in spirals from within the city. The guards on the mountain pass yawned as they changed shifts. All of the sudden, they suddenly glimpsed dust flying up from the plains to the west and a dozen fast horses galloping in the dissipating twilight. They immediately dropped down in front of the watchtower and blew their bugle horns.

At the sound of the horn, the outer city gate opened and Chief Commandant Qin Fei, who had arrived in Liangzhou not long ago, stepped forward to welcome. Seeing the dying Li Xuanzhen on horseback, he shouted, "What's going on?"

The Crown Prince's personal soldiers rolled off their horses: "We were ambushed on our way back to the city!"

Qin Fei, torn with anxiety, picked up the pale Li Xuanzhen on his back and rushed into the hall: "Who were the people who ambushed you?"

A personal soldier shook his head: "We could not tell their background. They may have been the remnants of He clan's army."

The remnants of Liangzhou had not yet been eliminated. Although Yelu Khan had killed the chief of the He clan, the He clansmen were still lurking in the dark, waiting for the right moment.

The military doctor soon arrived. Several arrows had hit Li Xuanzhen and coupled with the galloping all night, the wound was a tragic sight. However, it was fortunate that the weather was cold so the wound had not yet festered, and the poison on the arrow was very common, not difficult to treat.

Qin Fei paused and said, "What was His Highness doing at the Yelu tribe for no reason?"

The Crown Prince was usually careful, but when he went mad, he lost his reason. For example, taking only a few of his personal soldiers with Yelu Khan to go to the Yelu tribe.

The soldier wiped his sweat and replied, "Yelu Khan's adopted son, Bemutai, invited him, requesting that His Highness go to the Yelu tribe to observe the marriage ceremony. He also said he wanted to get drunk with His Highness, and His Highness could not refuse to go."

Li Xuanzhen and Yelu Khan collaborated in combat, and during that period, Bemutai mentioned several times that the Khan would soon marry Princess Wenzhao. At first, Li Xuanzhen did not pay attention, but when Yelu Khan departed to return to his tribe, he suddenly changed his mind and agreed with Bemutai's invitation to go.

Qin Fei's eyebrows knitted: Could it be that because the Crown Prince had not witnessed Princess Wenzhao getting married, he deliberately went to observe the ceremony?

Didn't the Crown Prince always hate Princess Wenzhao...

The military doctor had applied medicine to Li Xuanzhen's injuries. Qin Fei was afraid an accident would occur during the night, and he kept watch by Li Xuanzhen's bed, not daring to close his eyes.

In the middle of the night, Li Xuanzhen developed a high fever and spouted lots of nonsense.

Qin Fei wrung a handkerchief to wipe Li Xuanzhen's face and heard his mouth shouting something over and over again. He froze for a moment, shock coloring his face. The handkerchief fell into the copper basin, water splashing all around.

Li Xuanzhen abruptly straightened up on the couch and sat up. His hair was hanging down, eyes bloodshot, bare back muscles riddled with scars, seeming exactly like a malicious spirit.

Qin Fei was startled.

Li Xuanzhen tumbled off the couch barefoot and stumbled out of the house.