Hongjun left the Phoenix feather to Li Jinglong while he walked around the periphery. He saw a few large pots in Tong Pass and the aroma assailed his nostrils. He thought that the Tang Army was temporarily giving out food to the people so that they would not starve to death. He hurried over to ask for some food for his companions.
He squeezed his way to the front and saw many people holding broken bowls to drink soup. The person cooking the meat was a strong and sturdy man.
"Give me a bite to eat." Hongjun said, "Can I buy it?"
"Money?" The strong man said, "Can money be compared to a bit of food in this cold weather? Can it redeem my sins? "
Hongjun stared blankly and did not know how to answer for a moment. The strong man said again, "The Tang Dynasty is dead! Dead! "
The surrounding people were numb and did not speak again. The strong man said, "Do you want to eat? Give me a bowl! Come! Bowl! "
Hongjun looked around and did not know what he meant. He picked up a bowl and the strong man scooped some food from the pot for him. There were several pieces of meat floating in the bowl. When Hongjun saw the food in the bowl, he immediately understood what was going on. He immediately threw the bowl and the food away and turned to leave.
The strong man behind him was still shouting for him to come back, come back, followed by a burst of mocking laughter.
However, Hongjun could no longer hear. His mind was filled with the image of the baby he and Lu Xu rescued from the sea of fire in Luoyang, as well as the talisman mark that Lu Xu branded on the baby's chest.
He felt dizzy and could only walk blindly in the crowd. The evil aura between heaven and earth surged and rushed towards him. The nightmare of nearly a hundred thousand people escaping from death, the pain of losing their loved ones, the majestic corpses of millions of people on the official road, lingering in this world. The resentment and hatred that lingered for a long time all poured into his chest.
Hongjun's heart suddenly crazily throbbed in pain, as if he could not breathe. He staggered as he walked.
"Hongjun …"
Lu Xu discovered him and rushed over like a gust of wind. He saw Hongjun's body emitting black aura, and the surrounding people shouted in fear.
"What happened to him?!"
A light horn suddenly appeared on Lu Xu's forehead. He quickly pressed his hand on Hongjun's forehead. Black Qi continuously spread up his arm. Lu Xu shouted, "Hongjun!"
In an instant, Hongjun's eyes regained a moment of clarity. His heart throbbed with pain again. He knelt on the ground and hugged Lu Xu's leg. Lu Xu hurriedly helped him up and led him to the side, ignoring the fearful gazes of the people around them.
"Hongjun, can you hear me?" Lu Xu said, "Wake up! Hongjun! "
Hongjun tried his best to calm down and looked up at Lu Xu.
"Hold on, hold on." Lu Xu's voice was sometimes distant and sometimes close. Hongjun's mind gradually stopped spinning. He tried his best to regulate his breathing and finally suppressed the pain and sorrow in his heart.
"I …" Hongjun said with a trembling voice.
"The living are passersby, the dead are returnees." Lu Xu said in a low voice, "Heaven and Earth are one journey backwards, grieving for eternity. When death comes, suffering also ends. "
When Hongjun heard this, he felt slightly better. Lu Xu continued, "Obsession, in the end, is nothing more than the persistence of the desire to live and the fear of death."
"Who told you this?" Hongjun said dizzily.
"You said it." Lu Xu answered.
He heard Hongjun say that Qing Xiong used this technique to seal the memory of the demonic seed in his body. At this moment, it seemed to have a miraculous effect.
Hongjun rested for a while and said, "Much better."
Lu Xu then took him back to the snowmobile. Everyone saw that Hongjun's complexion was not too good. Li Jinglong asked, "What's wrong?"
Hongjun shook his head and said, "I'm hungry."
"Just now, there were people who came to steal food." Mo Rigen said, "They were all chased away by Chao Yun."
Many old, young, women, and children had already frozen to death or starved to death on the road. At this moment, the people fleeing in front of Tong Pass were all young and strong. This group of people had long been so hungry that their eyes were green. If another two snowstorms came, they might not be able to last until they entered the pass. Just now, they had actually tried to steal their food. Fortunately, Chao Yun fought back and beat them all up.
Everyone waited for a while, only to see that the sky was gradually darkening. It seemed that they would not be able to enter the pass today.
"How long do we have to wait?" Mo Rigen frowned and said.
The citizens were interrogated one by one, and it took a lot of time. The main doors were closed, and only the small doors on both sides were opened. Everyone had to say a few words, and only 700 people could enter in two hours. Every day, the interrogators took turns, and less than 10,000 people were allowed in.
Outside the pass, there were more than ten thousand people gathered. The speed at which they were allowed in was simply like a tortoise.
"Can't the main gate be opened?" Hongjun frowned and said.
"Impossible." Lu Xu said, "Once the main gate is opened, the people will rush in. What if there are spies mixed in?"
In the past, when Lu Xu was stationed in Liangzhou, he encountered such a situation at Jiayu Pass. The Hu tribe outside the Great Wall sent out five hundred young and strong soldiers to disguise themselves and mix in with the people entering the pass. After entering the pass, they cooperated with the outside at night and slit the throats of all the city guards. That was how Jiayu Pass suffered a bloodbath.
There were more than ten thousand people in front of them, and they were all strong young and strong men. If five thousand spies mixed in, it would be impossible to discover them.
"Let's wait patiently." Li Jinglong replied.
After being beaten up by Chao Yun, the surrounding people consciously moved aside and kept a suitable distance from them. Although this carriage was full of young people, they were not to be trifled with.
There were even people who privately speculated about their origins. Hongjun rested for a while. After calming down, he asked Chao Yun, "What's the situation?"
Li Jinglong replied, "They went to the patrolling guards to complain. Let's wait."
Lu Xu said, "They won't arrest us, right?"
"We lost all our tokens." Mo Rigen said, "Is there an imperial edict?"
Everyone searched for a long time, but there was no document to prove their identity. They could only act according to the situation.
The guards at Tong Pass were not completely inactive. Many people were sent to patrol around to prevent chaos. They saw the beaten up middle-aged man with a swollen nose and swollen face come over with two Tong Pass guards.
"Hey!" The guard came over and said, "We just received … Master Hou?"
The guard was actually the Luoyang Guard who had followed Li Jinglong into battle! The two guards hurriedly went forward to salute and said in surprise, "How did Master Hou become like this?"
"It's a long story." Li Jinglong smiled bitterly.
"Quick, quick! Let Master Hou in! " The guard hurriedly led the way in front. Everyone thanked the heavens and earth. They could finally bid farewell to this life that was worse than death. It turned out that when Luoyang City was breached, the remaining dozens of Luoyang Cavalry brought the commoners and escaped the city in the middle of the night. They were the first to arrive and smoothly brought the commoners into the pass.
The pass had long been turned upside down. Along the way, large and small counties were all conscripted. Gao Xianzhi took over Tong Pass. Everyone discussed and decided to temporarily stay in Tong Pass to prepare for battle at any time to avenge their fallen comrades. Originally, they were deserters. According to military law, they should be beheaded. However, Gao Xianzhi remembered that Luoyang City's guards had either died in battle or defected to the enemy. This group of soldiers had fought to the end and protected the commoners as they evacuated. Thus, he gave them a way out and allowed them to bear the crime and perform meritorious service.
"Sir Feng Changqing put us into the city defense team …"
The guard led them into Tong Pass and explained.
"That's great!" Li Jinglong's heart finally relaxed. He said, "Immediately bring me to see him."
Feng Changqing was currently in a meeting with Gao Xianzhi and the others. When he heard that Li Jinglong had arrived, he did not summon them. He only ordered them to rest in Tong County as soon as possible. He switched out a group of guards and brought them to their resting place. However, they saw Ashina Chong sitting outside the courtyard playing with throwing knives.
"Boss!" Ashina Chong exclaimed when he saw everyone.
"Hey!" Carp Demon was extremely excited.
"I didn't call you!" Ashina Chong said to Li Jinglong, "You guys escaped!"
Atay heard the noise and quickly rushed out. Everyone was reunited after such a long time and their eyes were instantly filled with tears. When Hongjun saw them, he finally calmed down. He only said, "That's great … everyone is still alive."
Light snow was falling from the sky in Tong County. This small county under the pass was bustling with noise and excitement. Refugees, troops transporting supplies, blacksmiths, peddlers and soldiers, and laborers conscripted to build fortifications. Nearly four hundred thousand people had all gathered here, making the roads extremely muddy.
Previously, when Atay, Ashina Chong, and Trandol came, they found Feng Changqing who was guarding the pass. Feng Changqing specially allocated a large house for the Exorcism Division to use temporarily and let them wait for Li Jinglong. After all, when they heard that An Lushan had come from the west, the rich families had already fled.
Everyone was depressed and excited. It took a while for them to calm down.
"Where's sister-in-law?" Hongjun asked again.
"Her fetus was disturbed." Atay said, "She's recovering. Quickly come and take a look at her."
When Luoyang's array collapsed that day, the energy of the earth veins raged. Trandol felt that something was wrong and immediately retreated. However, when he was hit by the energy, his fetus was disturbed. Fortunately, nothing happened along the way. After escaping to Tong Pass, Atay didn't dare to go anywhere and could only accompany him every day. Ashina Chong went out to look for Li Jinglong several times. He asked the people along the way, but they didn't know where he went.
When Yuren was outside the courtyard, Hongjun entered the room. Trandol had just woken up and said with a smile, "You're all fine! I was about to send Tegra and Brother Qiong to find you. They finally came. That's great! "
Hongjun didn't know much about gynecology and could only take her pulse. Fortunately, it was stable and there weren't any major problems. He replied, "Everyone can protect themselves … that's the most important thing. It's my fault. I'm sorry …"
Trandol said with a smile, "How can you say that! You don't owe this world anything in the first place. On the contrary, it's the world that owes you. Why are you apologizing to us? "
Hongjun thought about it and sighed. Trandol was already showing some signs of pregnancy. Hongjun looked at the doctor's prescription and felt that there weren't any major problems. He said, "Don't worry, it's fine."
Trandol patted his belly and said, "This little guy just doesn't know his place."
Hongjun was in close contact with a pregnant woman for the first time. He asked curiously, "Can he hear us?"
Trandol said, "I don't know. Why don't you come over and try?"
Hongjun said to Trandol's belly, "Hey." He leaned over and listened. There wasn't any movement. The two looked at each other and laughed again.
"It's a pity that we won't have children." Hongjun replied. He quite liked children. He suddenly thought of the future he saw a long time ago. Li Jinglong was talking in the child's ear and picking him up again. They would be separated in the end. Just like Li Jinglong once said, the days of losing each other might be very painful, but that would only last for a few years or a few decades. In the end, they would still walk into a new life.
Thinking of this, Hongjun couldn't help but feel a sense of despair. He even felt that the heavy demonic energy in his heart was about to overflow uncontrollably. But there was also an even stranger power that was fiercely fighting against it. It wasn't the Mind's Lamp, nor was it the golden light of the Immovable Wisdom King. These two powers were pulling at each other. The demonic energy caused him to feel resentment. It was like a voice by his ear saying, "Why do I have to accept this fate? What did I do wrong? "
Another power was telling him that for Li Jinglong, for everyone, it was worth it.
"Jun?" Trandol looked at him worriedly.
Hongjun woke up with a start. Trandol asked suspiciously, "Are you okay?"
Hongjun composed himself and hurriedly said, "Do you think the baby is a boy or a girl?"
"I want a boy who looks like Tegra." Trandol laughed. "But he wants a little princess."
If they were born, it would really be a prince or a princess. After all, it was the child of the heir of the Sassanid dynasty. Hongjun said, "I'm guessing it's a boy. Uh, I don't know why, but I just think."
Trandol said, "That's great. It's a pity that sister-in-law can't help you fight in the future."
Hongjun hurriedly said that the body was more important and let Trandol have a good rest. There were still many thoughts in his mind that he couldn't get rid of.
When they returned to the main hall, two servants had set up a banquet. Everyone was waiting for Hongjun to come before they started eating. For a moment, everyone in the hall forgot about their previous miserable escape and how they suffered a crushing defeat in Luoyang. There was only the joy of reunion and laughter.
"They are the people we saved in Luoyang." Atay said. "They wanted to come over to repay our kindness to the Chief Scribe. I said there's no need."
Hongjun's eyes had long turned green when he saw the food. He resisted the urge to pounce on them and hurriedly said, "Everyone, let's eat!"
Everyone cheered and began to eat. Hongjun took a bowl and sat beside Li Jinglong to feed him. Li Jinglong said, "You eat first. I can do it myself."
Li Jinglong's chopsticks were trembling. Hongjun said, "I'm not hungry yet."
The hungriest was Mo Rigen. He wished that he could cook a whole group of roasted lambs. After he apologized, he began to wolf down the food. He didn't forget to put food in Hongjun's bowl. This group of fugitives were like hungry ghosts. Hongjun used a spoon and held a bowl to feed Li Jinglong.
Halfway through the meal, Li Jinglong suddenly sighed. When he looked at Hongjun, his eyes were filled with guilt.
"Your movements are so practiced." Lu Xu said.
Lu Xu's unexpected words almost made everyone burst out laughing. The heavy atmosphere became much more relaxed.
"When I was young, Chong Ming would occasionally chase after me to feed me." Hongjun replied. "Zhao Zilong hadn't come yet."
Everyone couldn't help but recall the scene of Hongjun running around the mountains when he was young. Chong Ming chased after him with a bowl for him to eat. They finally burst out laughing.
"Isn't your adoptive father Phoenix?" Lu Xu asked.
"That's right." Hongjun said. "Actually, the food at home is really too bad."
After feeding Li Jinglong, Hongjun pulled the dishes together and began to wolf down the food. Everyone was full. When they looked at Hongjun, their eyes couldn't help but redden. Their hearts ached.
Li Jinglong was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Next, I have to discuss with General Feng first before deciding whether to return to Chang 'an. Does everyone want to go home?"
"The war is already like this." Ashina Chong said, "What can we do if we return to Chang 'an?"
Atay said, "I just want to find a safe place for Trandol to stay."
As soon as he said this, Trandol came over with a smile and said, "I'll take it. You brothers can chat."
As soon as Hongjun finished eating, everyone hurriedly got up and started eating. They let Trandol rest first. Trandol also couldn't rest. Mo Rigen called in the servants outside to clean up the table and spread out a map of the Tang Dynasty.
"How about we camp at Tongguan for the time being?" Mo Rigen said. "We've been running all the way here for more than a year. We don't want to run anymore."
Lu Xu said, "This is the closest place to An Lushan. It's better to guard the pass and look after each other."
Li Jinglong nodded happily. Everyone didn't want to run around anymore. In fact, since the day they arrived in Hangzhou, they hadn't really been happy for a moment.
"We've sent a letter to Yongsi." Ashina Chong said, "Ask him to come over as soon as possible."
Only now did everyone have a real hope of being together again. This was the first time Hongjun felt so strongly that only when the exorcists were together would they have the courage to fight against the enemy. They couldn't afford to have one less person.