Chapter 288
Chapter 288
Beizhen City’s walls were exceptionally sturdy. For the time being, Yelü Qi had no way of forcing his way inside.
Many of the city’s troops had indeed been transferred elsewhere, but the foresight Ji Yan’an had shown in sending retired soldiers into the villages to train the people was now paying off.
At this moment of crisis, all the able-bodied young men among the common folk came to help.
It was their first time on a battlefield, and the young men were actually rather excited, even though they were only providing support from the rear.
But standing atop the wall, shoving ladders away and jabbing at climbers with long spears was an underhanded sort of fighting that felt incredibly satisfying.
The only drawback was having to dodge the arrows and stones launched from below. Still, they had shields for cover, and as long as they were careful, they did not have to fear for their lives.
Everyone’s weapons were excellent. The Imperial Court had not supplied them with any, but Ji Yan’an had such good fortune-and a little lucky charm by his side-that he had discovered an iron mine almost as soon as he arrived here.
All these weapons had been forged after that discovery.
Several capable veteran generals were also wearing armor made from the scales brought back from the valley where the Phoenix-Mimic Birds lived.
The scales had been densely layered together like dragon scales. Not only was the armor beautiful, but it was also light. Most importantly, the scales became remarkably tough once dried. When packed together this closely, even a sharp sword left only a faint white mark on them, and blades tended to glance right off their slick surface.
“Damn near scared me to death. I just took an arrow to the chest.”
With the battle deadlocked, Xiao Xing’s father, General Zhao, had let his guard slip and been struck. Fortunately, his armor stopped the arrow. All he felt was a dull ache before the shaft dropped to the ground.
He patted the armor, still shaken.
“Thank goodness for this thing.”
They had brought back only so many scales, enough to make ten suits in all, so naturally many more people had gone without.
Now they all looked at General Zhao with envy.
“That stuff really is incredible. It’s even better than iron-plated armor.”
General Zhao laughed heartily. “Of course it is. It’s light as anything, too-not stuffy in the slightest. Even in the middle of summer, it feels a little cool.”
“All right, quit showing off. Everyone, stay sharp.”
*
“Careful! Those are all poisons!”
Seeing how casually Jiang Yunsui was playing with the poison bottles, Shen Qingzhu could not help warning her.
“The one you’re holding contains a corrosive poison extracted from the King Serpent’s venom sac. A single drop can eat away a large patch of flesh-even bone.”
At that, Jiang Yunsui obediently cupped the bottle in both hands, terrified of spilling so much as a drop.
That would hurt terribly.
Little Mushroom bared her teeth in a grimace.
“Hah. Scared now?” Shen Qingzhu asked with a yawn.
He looked dreadful. His whole appearance was unusually slovenly: his hair was greasy from going unwashed for several days, stubble covered his chin, and his eyes were ringed like a panda’s.
He yawned several times in the span of a brief conversation with Jiang Yunsui. Clearly, he had barely slept while working on Ji Yan’an’s antidote.
There was nothing left of his formerly gentle, refined air.
With shabbier clothes, he could have passed for a beggar.
He handed several bottles to Ji Yan’an. “These are all colorless, odorless, and difficult to detect. This one causes bleeding from all seven orifices and death in a very short time. This one causes sudden cardiac arrest.
“This one’s slower. It gradually weakens the body, with symptoms resembling a chill when examined, until the victim slowly dies. And this one makes a person feel increasingly energetic by drawing out the vitality from the rest of their lifespan and concentrating it into a few short days. Then, in a state of extreme excitement, they abruptly drop dead…”
Nanshu repeatedly sucked in sharp breaths as he listened.
Jiang Yunsui imitated him and gasped along.
Shen Qingzhu glanced at the pair.
“What? Would you like to try them?”
Both shook their heads furiously.
Jiang Yunsui said, “Shen Qingzhu is a little grumpy right now.”
Nanshu whispered back, “That’s normal. The Young Master got grumpy too when he couldn’t sleep for several nights.”
They thought they were speaking quietly, but everyone heard them.
Neither Ji Yan’an nor Shen Qingzhu paid them any mind.
Ji Yan’an accepted the poisons but chose only the last two.
“These two will do.”
Then he took them away to write a letter.
Shen Qingzhu said, “I won’t give you any Gu insects. Those things are hard to control. If he slips up and suffers the backlash, there’s no saving him.”
Ji Yan’an nodded.
“Shen Qingzhu, you should get some sleep.”
The antidote would do no good if he dropped dead before finishing it.
Shen Qingzhu yawned again.
“It’s almost done. I’ll have the antidote ready very soon.”
After rattling that off, he ducked back into the room and shut himself away to continue making it.
Even Jiang Yunsui had to marvel at his dedication.
Ji Yan’an could not sit idle either.
After having Milk Tea deliver the items, he headed back to the battlefield.
Zuozuo and Youyou went with him.
Jiang Yunsui ran to the kitchen and packed a great deal of food, along with plenty of little pills for treating wounds. Laden with bags large and small, she hurried after Ji Yan’an.
He had already gone some distance when he heard Zuozuo and Youyou barking and noticed their wagging tails. He turned around and was immediately rendered speechless.
“The battlefield is dangerous. Why are you following me?”
Jiang Yunsui blinked her big eyes. “I’m coming to help.”
“What can someone so little do? Go back.”
Jiang Yunsui huffed twice and stamped one small foot. “You can’t boss me around!”
Ji Yan’an was about to say more when the stubborn Little Mushroom declared, “I can find my own way there anyway, and you won’t even notice me.”
Ji Yan’an: “…”
Fine. Keeping her where he could see her would at least be safer.
When they returned to the battlefield, Yelü Qi’s men still had not breached the city. But arrows flew in from time to time, along with massive rocks and flaming stones, causing considerable damage to the city’s people and buildings.
“Be careful, Young Master.”
Jiang Yunsui had been walking perfectly well when she suddenly stepped on a stone and twisted her ankle, pitching forward.
All the bags hanging from her went flying in every direction, many of them striking Ji Yan’an.
She dragged him down with her.
“Young Master, are you all right? Little Yunsui, are you-”
Boom!
A huge boulder plunged from the sky and struck the ground a short distance ahead of them.
It shattered on impact, sending shards flying everywhere. One fist-sized fragment whistled directly over Jiang Yunsui’s head.
Judging by that sound, it would have broken bones if it struck someone.
Jiang Yunsui swallowed.
Everyone else was equally shaken.
“Good heavens!”
Nanshu and the others stared wide-eyed, but the guards reacted quickly. They hauled everyone up and rushed to the foot of the city wall.
It was actually much safer there.
Only after they reached cover did the fear truly set in.
“If we hadn’t fallen just now, that boulder would’ve hit nearly all of us.”
Even if it had missed them directly, the spray of stone fragments would have been more than enough to do serious damage.
Everyone turned to Jiang Yunsui.
“Little Yunsui, you really are our lucky star!”
Nanshu abruptly scooped her up and rubbed his face vigorously against hers.
Little Mushroom’s cheeks were squashed out of shape.
“Go ‘way!”
The others were not quite so dramatic, but the looks they gave Jiang Yunsui had undeniably changed.
Jiang Yunsui was quietly smug.
Ji Yan’an soon became busy again, and Jiang Yunsui did not want to disturb him.
Zuozuo and Youyou had gone up onto the wall to bite the enemy.
She lowered her presence and went up to take a look as well.
But she stumbled and fell every few steps along the way.
Each fall, however, carried her clear of an attack coming over the wall.
Once, for example, an arrow whistled over her head the moment she fell.
Had she still been standing, it would have buried itself in her skull.
Jiang Yunsui scratched her head and kept walking.
The next time she tripped, she pulled someone else down with her.
A Barbarian had just climbed onto the wall and thrust his blade at them, only to stab empty air.
The soldier beside them reacted swiftly and slashed the attacker.
“Die!”
Warm blood poured out, some of it splashing onto Jiang Yunsui.
Before she could wipe it off, someone collapsed with a thud.
He had been wounded, with a long gash across his belly.
Jiang Yunsui went over, pried his mouth open, and stuffed a hemostatic pill inside.
“Hurry and get treated.”
The man stared at her in a daze. “You… you’re…”
Jiang Yunsui grabbed him by the collar and tried to drag him away for treatment.
But with her meager strength, she could not budge him an inch.
“Zuozuo! Youyou!”
She sat down and blew her whistle.
The two dogs came running the moment they heard it.
“Woof!”
“Why are you covered in so much blood?”
Zuozuo and Youyou stared at her with their big eyes. What do you think?
Jiang Yunsui said, “Hurry and help me take him for treatment.”
Zuozuo grabbed the injured man’s collar and dragged him to the medical camp.
Along the way, they spotted another wounded soldier who was close to death.
Jiang Yunsui stuffed a pill into his mouth along with a small ball of Imperial Flowing Essence, then had Youyou take him away.
“Wounded coming through! Wounded coming through!”
The doctors at the medical camp were so busy they could barely keep their feet under them.
“Bring the critically wounded over here. Good grief!”
The doctor jumped at the sight of a man being dragged in by a dog.
After dropping off the two wounded men, Jiang Yunsui took Zuozuo and Youyou to search for more.
“Heiwa, Little Yellow, Little White-over here! Come help me find the wounded.”
Jiang Yunsui felt she had found the perfect job for herself. The dogs could not contribute much to the fighting anyway, so she might as well use them to search for injured soldiers.
“This one’s still alive.”
With great effort, she rolled aside a corpse and revealed the man pinned underneath. He looked dead, but Jiang Yunsui could sense a faint spark of life within him.
Anyone else would probably have pronounced him dead.
With practiced movements, Jiang Yunsui fed him a hemostatic pill, then a blood-restoring pill, followed by a little Imperial Flowing Essence. After that, she had one of the dogs drag him to the medical camp.
“I’ll take him! I’ll do it.”
When she saw someone supporting a wounded soldier away, Jiang Yunsui ran over and took the man off their hands.
The soldier could only stare in astonishment as the tiny child and her dog carried his wounded comrade away.
The dogs were full of energy and even began searching for injured soldiers on their own.
“Woof, woof…”
There was one here.
Jiang Yunsui cried, “Oh no, I’m out of medicine.”
“I’ll go get more.”
Most of the medicinal herbs they had brought back from the south had been made into these two types of pills, with the remainder made into medicine for chills and colds.
Now the pills were being put to good use. The battle had only just begun, so they still had enough in reserve.
Whenever Jiang Yunsui ran out, she simply went back for more.
She filled two small bags this time, then continued searching for the wounded.