Chapter 5: Seeking Rain

money in my pocket and unable to speak the language, how will I survive And what about my hunger now Where will I sleep tonight If I had known this was what traveling here would be like, I would have...And then there's Li Ke from here.

Li Kexing, completely drunk, was helped back to Shangyuan Post Station. After entering the house, Li Kexing suddenly asked, “Where is Xuer”

Zhou Dewei hurriedly said, "Saburo should rest with Mrs. Liu in the inner room."

Li Kekong had already forgotten Zhou Dewei's feeble excuse at the banquet, he simply pushed away Zhou Dewei and Xue Tieshan who were supporting him, and staggered into the guest room.

Zhou Dewei stepped forward, pulled the door shut, and turned back to look at Shi Jingcun, saying, "Grandfather, tonight might be a little chaotic."

Shi Jingcun smiled faintly: "Mr. Shi will go to sleep first. If something happens, I'll come back and kill a few soldiers from Bian." After that, he greeted two military men and bowed to Zhou Dewei before leaving.

Xue Tieshan saw Shi Jingcun and several others leaving, and stepped forward to ask, "Zhenyuan, could Zhu Wen really make a move against us"

Zhou Dewei looked at He Huihuo, who quickly said: “At the banquet, I saw that Gui Ba's lips moved and he said 'must kill Shi Jingcun' three times. I also saw Ge Congzhou's lips move and he said 'make the prime minister execute this thief quickly.'”

Zhou Dewei said in a low voice, "It seems that all the generals of the Bian army have murderous intent. Tieshan, tonight we must be prepared!"

In the guestroom at this time, Li Ke was snoring like thunder as he battled with Zhou Gong. Beside him, under the lamplight sat his secondary wife Cao Yu'e, who was skillfully flying needles and threading a line. Looking at the beauty under the lamplight, one could see her large phoenix eyes, her skin white and delicate, smooth to the touch, like a girl from a painting. No wonder she was so favored by Li Ke that even during campaigns, he would take her along. With such favoritism, Cao also occasionally offered gentle advice in words, though she wasn't like Zhu Wen's daughter, a steadfast pillar of support. But Li Ke did listen to her, and unknowingly, his rough and reckless nature had improved quite a bit.

Perhaps because of her strong character, Cao Yuge's hair was both thick and coarse. Of course, the gentle and beautiful cloud-like hairstyles were out of reach for her. Worse still, two drooping eyebrows grew above her phoenix eyes, ruining the look and preventing her from becoming a beauty who could endanger the country. Fortunately, her third son, Li Cunxu, whom she gave birth to, was intelligent and quick-witted, deeply loved by Li Keku. Besides, Cao herself was well-educated and had good interpersonal skills. Even the legitimate wife, Liu Yiping, treated her like a sister, with a deep bond of affection, so Cao's position was quite secure.

In the courtyard outside the guest room, Zhou Dewei and Xue Tieshan both had somber expressions, anxiously waiting for something. Suddenly, He Huiguo walked over, and the two men hurriedly stood up from their stone benches, staring intently at him.

Xue Tieshan asked, "What is the situation outside Has any army from Bian arrived"

He returned to the "The Song army may have brought in troops, but what I see is that they've piled up wood all around the courtyard and brought a lot of kerosene. They seem intent on setting fire to it."

Xue Tieshan also became nervous: "Zhenyuan, we should immediately inform Sikong and withdraw from danger."

Zhou Dewei nodded. "That's right." He walked towards Li Ke's guest room. Just as he was about to knock, he thought better of it and whispered, "Madam, have you gone to bed yet"

When Cao Yu'e heard Zhou Dewei asking, she was very surprised. Zhou Dewei was a man of mature demeanor and wouldn't come to disturb her unless there was something major happening. She immediately focused her attention and answered cautiously: "Is it General Zhou outside This woman hasn't gone to sleep yet."

Zhou Dewei heard Cao Yu'e's answer and hurriedly shouted, "Please madam wake up Sikong quickly, we cannot stay here any longer."

Cao Yu'e walked to the door and asked, "Why is that"

Zhou Dewei said urgently, "The Bian army has already set up firewood around Guan Yi and poured oil on it. It will be set ablaze in a moment. The Grand Commandant must immediately lead the last general and the others to escape from this dangerous situation."

When Cao Yu'e heard this terrible news, she was so frightened that her three souls were lost and seven spirits scattered. She rushed to the bed and shouted, "My lord, wake up! It's a disaster! My lord, please wake up!"

Although Cao Yu'e almost cried out, Li Ke used was just busy fighting with Zhou Gong. He completely ignored Cao Yu'e's calls. Seeing this, Cao Yu'e burst into tears. At this time, a shout from Zhou Dewei came from outside the door: "Madam shouted loudly, the bandits have already set fire!"

Cao Yu'e turned her head and looked out the window. She was startled: "Oh no, it's terrible! The outside is already blood red. The thief has really started a fire!" In panic, she gritted her teeth and pushed Si Kong with her hand, shouting loudly, "Husband, wake up quickly! The thieves are setting fire to burn us to death!"

The master hasn't woken up yet, but Sanlang and Wu er were both roused by their mother. Wu er opened his eyes and quickly understood the situation: his mother wanted his father to get up, but his father was just being lazy! Wu er was much more clever than his mother. He sprang to his father's side in an instant, opened his mouth wide, and took a bite on his father's ear!

A sharp pain shot into his brain, jolting even the iron-willed Sikong awake. He saw that it was his son biting his ear, and he roared in anger: "You rascal! How dare you bite your father's ear!"

When Cao Yuge saw her husband finally awake, a long sigh of relief escaped her heart. She cried out in a hurry, "My lord, the bandits set fire to it!"

Li Ke at this time also saw the fire outside the window bright, and shouted: "Good thief! Where are Zhenyuan and Tieshan"

Zhou Dewei outside the door heard Sima Guang's loud voice, his heart felt relieved, and he quickly said in his mouth: "Sima Guang! The last general has been waiting inside the courtyard!"

Li Ku jumped off the high platform, took the robe Cao Yu'e offered him, and rushed out. The pitch-black night sky had already been stained red with flames. In the courtyard, Zhou Dewei and He Huoluo stood behind their leader, Xue Tieshan, while 300 personal guards stood solemnly. Despite the raging fire not far away, everyone remained silent and erect, awaiting the order from the Grand Marshal.

Suddenly, there was a commotion. Li Ke frowned, thinking to himself, "Who is so rude!" He looked up and saw that it was Chen Jingshi, the supervising military officer, with his clothes askew, running over with a group of guards. Chen Jingshi shouted loudly, "Grand Commandant Li, the water has leaked! What should we do What should we do"

Li Ke took a deep breath and shouted, "Chen Gong, you wait for me to charge!"

Xue Tieshan took the lead, holding his Ghost Head Sword and charging into the corridor. He sliced through several burning rafters blocking his way, then with all his might, he chopped down a blazing beam. But he was already engulfed in flames and had no choice but to retreat. His soldiers helped him put out the fire, but he shamefacedly bowed to Li Kuang-yu:

"General Si Kong, it is this last general's incompetence that has failed to open a path forward."

Chen Jingshi shrieked, "Oh my, how can this be good, how can this be good!"

Li Ke used burst into laughter: "Zhu San burned all this firewood. Let's see if he doesn't freeze to death this winter!"

Si Kong burst into laughter, Zhou Dewei could only laugh along, Xue Tieshan and He Huoluo also smiled reluctantly, even Chen Jingshi laughed in a daze, the cavalrymen also tried their best to smile.

At this time, Cao Yu-e and Xu'er were behind Li Ke-yong. Xu'er suddenly shouted loudly, "Father, could you allow your child to plead for a heavy rain to extinguish the fire"

This crisp child's voice caused everyone to put away their false smiles, but after seeing this five or six-year-old child, everyone shook their heads involuntarily. Only Li Ke said loudly: "Excellent! Treating a dead horse as a living one, Xu'er, you ask for a heavy downpour!"

Zhou Dewei took a step forward as if to speak, but ultimately remained silent.

Under the watchful eyes of all, only to see Xi'er stand tall with her small frame, kneel devoutly after, facing the night sky and reciting loudly: "Om vajrapani hum, na mo siva ya. Om vajrapani hum, na mo siva ya……”

Under the fiery skies, crisp children's voices echoed. Xue Tieshan was about to step forward and dissuade Xu'er when Zhou Dewi held him back. Only then did He Huoluo cry out, “The wind is rising!”

Everyone looked up at the sky. They saw that the wind was fanning the flames, making them even more ferocious. It seemed like this courtyard would soon be swallowed by the fire. Li Ke smiled wryly: "Xi, don't ask for the wind, ask for the rain!"

Chen Jingshi cried out, "Pray for rain, pray for rain!"

Before the words could finish, a dazzling bolt of lightning split the night sky and struck the earth. The thunder roared, shaking the heavens and earth. It felt as if the thunder had struck right in front of the street at their door, followed by torrential rain pouring from the sky. Everyone in the courtyard cheered: "It's raining!" "What a heavy downpour!"

No one cares if they get wet in the rain.

Compared to precious life, what does it matter to be drenched like a dog

Sīkōng is after all Sīkōng. He first let Cáo Yù'e take good care of Xù'er, and then he had the servant Zhū Shǒuyīn protect his mistress and her daughter. Only then did he order: "Take advantage of this wind and rain to break out!"

When the fire first broke out, the people of Bianzhou City rushed to Shangyuan Yishi with buckets and water basins to help put it out. Unexpectedly, a row of defensive stakes appeared on the street out of thin air. A small school officer of the Bian army riding a horse shouted loudly: "The imperial envoy orders: putting out the fire at Shangyuan Yishi is the work of the Shatuo barbarians, and it has nothing to do with you commoners! Whoever tries to take advantage of the chaos to collude with bandits will be killed without mercy!"

He kept repeating these same words, which suggests that the concept of a tape recorder was already around in Tang dynasty China.

At that time, people's hearts were still pure. Saving others in danger and helping each other was a common understanding. So when Xiao Xiao relayed the cold-blooded order, someone immediately protested strongly: "How can this be right! If there is a fire, why are we not allowed to put it out!"

The young officer keenly sensed someone challenging his authority, an authority bestowed upon him by generals and even ministers. How could he be questioned by common folk Enraged, the officer immediately roared, "You there, step forward and speak!"

That man was clearly not a man, he "clanged" the bucket to the ground and ran. As soon as he made his move, Xiao Jiao had already bent his bow and nocked an arrow, aiming with familiarity. "Whoosh!" An arrow flew, everyone looked together, the arrow was still several feet away from the man when it landed. Seeing the man flee, Xiao Jiao snorted and said, "That guy's lucky."

The commoners, upon seeing the little school master so fierce, cried out in unison and fled in terror. Just as the little school master was basking in his newfound authority, he suddenly heard a clatter of hooves approaching. He hastily looked up, and on the dark street, a white-robed general rode swiftly towards them. He clearly saw the deer fortress and the soldiers, and immediately bellowed with fury: "Anyone who stands in my way shall die! Those who yield shall live!"

The loyal school official, apparently unaware of the other party's identity, spurred his horse forward and shouted, "Where are you going, man! Don't you know this place is under martial law" With that, he brandished his broadsword, ready to kill and intimidate.

The one who came was Bai Pao General Shi Jingcun. He was in a hurry to rush to Shangyuan Yishi to save his father, so he naturally had no time to waste words with the junior officer. The plum blossom silver spear in his hand stabbed straight at the junior officer's throat from a peculiar angle. The junior officer saw the enemy's spearhead suddenly appear before his chest and was terrified. He widened his terrified eyes, but before he could even scream, his body rose into the air, being lifted off his saddle by Shi Jingcun. He then fell heavily to the ground from mid-air, unable to survive.

The soldiers of the Bian army swarmed forward to check on the life and death of the lieutenant. Amidst their shouts of "Team leader! Team leader!" a bolt of lightning split the sky, followed by a thunderclap that shook the ground. Heavy rain poured down from the heavens, and the white-robed general had vanished without a trace.

Again talking about Li Ke, everyone took advantage of the heavy rain to put out the fire and hurried to escape from Shangyuan Station. Unexpectedly, when they opened the door, it was like opening a beehive. Countless arrows suddenly surged like mountains, and several personal guards in front screamed and were immediately shot into hedgehogs. Xue Tieshan hurriedly ordered them to stop, but the swarm of people rushing towards the gate had lost their military discipline, and for a moment, the entrance of Shangyuan Station was littered with corpses, blood flowing into the rain, and the water turned red at once, a terrifying sight.

Li Ke hurriedly called to a halt, instructing Zhu Shouyin to take good care of Cao's mother and child. He turned back to look at Zhou Dewei. Zhou Dewei shook his head and said, "Seeing that the surrounding area was already ambushed by Bian soldiers, we had better leave from the back door."

Li Ke shook his head: "Zhu San is very careful, he wouldn't neglect the back door."

When both the emperor and his minister had no position to take, Chen Jingsi interjected, "My subordinate has been personally appointed by His Majesty. Please allow me to greet him first and see if he will listen." After speaking, he took a few steps forward and shouted loudly, "I am the imperial inspector of this army..."

Before the words left his mouth, several arrows flew towards Chen Jingsi. Chen Jingsi was frightened and fell to the ground. A few soldiers carried him up. Chen Jingsi was still panicked: "Good scoundrel, good traitor, good traitor..."

Suddenly, there were screams on the street. A body of a Bian army archer was even thrown into Shangyuan Inn. Chen Jingsi cried with joy: "God has shown mercy! The bandits are fighting amongst themselves, the bandits are fighting amongst themselves!"

Zhou Dewei said calmly, "Mr. Chen, it's probably not an internal power struggle among bandits, I'm afraid reinforcements have arrived."

Before his words could even finish, a white shadow flashed past the main gate. Shi Jingcun strode in, dropping a first-grade bow onto the ground with a splash of water. He shouted loudly, "Father, this is the head archer of the Bian army. Your son beheaded him! The archers have been driven back. Father, please immediately secure this perilous situation!"

Chen Jingshi, holding a torch, looked and said: “This is Wang Yanhong, the great general of the Bian Army! It’s Wang Yanhong!”

Li Ke frowned: "Is it very famous"

Zhou Dewei said, "His elder brother is Tieqiang Wang Yanzhang..."

Li Ke didn't have time to ask about the deceased's relatives. "It's good that the eleventh repelled the archers, Tie Shan went forward, and immediately rushed out!"

With no arrows to stop them, the troops from Hebei province successfully left Shangyuan Station. Everyone was relaxed and happy, but Zhou Dewei felt heavier in his heart. Was Zhu Wen only making a move at Shangyuan Station He probably has even bigger plans in store!l Zhou Dewei is being sent deep into Bianzhou, Zhu Wen's territory, to search for Xu'er. He is taking a huge risk, but there is almost no chance of success. 。This kind of transaction, the vast majorit...