Big Moon Ballad

The dim light and the creaking sound of his mother turning over in bed are Zhao Guang's first memories of childhood.

Ever since he could remember, his mother had been lying in bed and never stood up.

The mother who never stood up will always miss a place.

There is bright sunlight and endless sky, as well as groups of galloping horses.

My mother didn't know how to read and couldn't even speak.When he was young and ignorant, Zhao Guang thought that his mother's throat was broken due to coughing every night, so he couldn't even speak well.

Apparently he could talk a lot when he was two years old.

Zhao Guang remembered that he would always lie beside the bed, protesting in a sweet voice, "Mom, you don't pronounce this word correctly!"

"Mom, please teach me what Jiligulu said! It's wrong!"

The mother is always stunned, and then she shows an expression that he doesn't understand, and repeats stumblingly, "Okay, it was my fault, and I won't teach you anymore."

He was young and ignorant at that time and had no idea how lonely his mother was and how much she hoped that at least her only son could understand the language of her hometown.

Unfortunately, everything can not be repeated.

He could never go back to the time when he was learning to speak with his mother.

When Zhao Guang finally understood the meaning of the words his mother said in her sleep, her mother was already on her deathbed.

That was the first time in his life that he understood what death was.

Death is "nothing", he has no mother.He will also take his mother's place and become a "freak" in the palace, a "beast" that is rejected by others.

"Mom, you haven't taught me yet, who am I?"

He knelt beside the bed, crying at the top of his lungs.

The thin woman who was lying on the bed managed to open her eyes, "You know?"

Zhao Guang finally understood the way his mother looked at him.

"Son, don't cry."

On her deathbed, looking at her son kneeling beside her bed, her mother waved to him.

"Guang'er, remember these sounds."

The angry woman lay on the bed, curled up her fingers and tapped on the bed board "ta da da, da da" several times.

Zhao Guang leaned over on his knees and listened attentively, "Mom, what is this sound?"

"This is the sound of horse hooves."

A smile appeared on the woman's lips, "Every child born on the grasslands and deserts can remember these sounds."

"This is the sound of your grandfather's hooves."

Da da, da da, da da.

"Listen, this is the sound of horse hooves when the king's army returns."

That night, Zhao Guang lay on the bed and heard many sounds.

The dying woman's fingers were already weak, and the sound she made was very soft, but not messy.The sounds that had been soaked in her bones and blood since she was a child, accompanied by rhythmic percussion, seeped into Zhao Guang's heart little by little.

……

In Zhao Guang's heart, these rhythms are his memories of his mother, with warmth and infinite sadness.He never imagined that he would actually hear such a rhythmic sound of horse hooves in reality.

He never expected that he would have to face this murderous voice in this capacity.

To him and Ji Ange, the loud sound of horse hooves was like the footsteps of death.

"The king's army? Are they the Xirong cavalry?"

Looking at Zhao Guang who was listening with his ears on the ground, Ji Ange asked ignorantly.

She did not realize that the danger was approaching. In her eyes, the most terrifying Xirong people in the world were the disciples of the Zen Academy, and the Xirong cavalry were even worse.Ji Ange got off the horse skillfully and prepared to hide again. Unexpectedly, Zhao Guang pushed her onto the horse and jumped up.Zhao Guang whipped his whip violently and shouted, "Run!"

"Zhao Guang? What's wrong, aren't we hiding?"

The strong wind roared past his ears. Ji Ange turned his head with difficulty and asked in confusion.

"We can't hide," Zhao Guang said bitterly, "there is a large group of people coming."

That group of cavalry would sweep through the entire grassland and trample everything hidden in the grass into a pulp.

"Then we want to escape together?" Ji Ange finally realized that something was wrong with the situation.

During the escape, it was rare for Zhao Guang to ride with her.Most of the time, Zhao Guang would choose to distract the pursuers alone, allowing her to escape on horseback.

"We can only be together," Zhao Guang hugged the girl on the horse tightly, unprecedented fear sweeping through his body, "I can't leave you alone."

Ji Ange would never be able to escape by herself.

But even if the two of them were together, they couldn't escape.

"Zhao Guang?"

Even on the bumpy horseback, Ji Ange felt Zhao Guang's trembling, "Are you scared?"

The person behind him didn't answer. Ji Ange held his breath and whispered, "Don't be afraid, the worst we can do is die together."

Zhao Guang squeezed Ji Ange's arm tightly, his chest trembling. Ji Ange still didn't know that the worst outcome would not be for them to die together.

If Ji Ange was pulled away from him, he might have to kill her himself.

If he fell into the hands of those people, Ji Ange wouldn't even be able to seek death.

"An Ge, you..."

Zhao Guang's voice trembled several times, and he wanted to ask Ji Ange if he was willing to live in an ignoble way, but before he could ask, a large plume of smoke and dust rose up behind the two of them.

Even at night, one can see the extremely huge formation.

"what is that?"

Ji Ange turned around and looked at the huge creature behind him in astonishment.

"They are King Zhai's personal guards," Zhao Guang said hurriedly, "This is Ding Ling, who should be the most elite cavalry around King Zhai."

In Xirong, such a cavalry team was called the King's Army, which was somewhat similar to the Jinwu Guards beside the king of the Central Plains.

Most of the Xirong cavalry were stragglers who fought on their own, but only the personal guards around King Zhai were specially selected according to tradition.Only descendants of the family who are loyal to the Chunyu family can serve, and they must undergo strict training.

That's why the sound of their horses' hooves is so uniform and has a special rhythm.

Legend has it that the White Wolf King, who was the first to unify Xirong, relied on his elite royal army to dominate the grasslands.This man invented a kind of "sounding arrow". Any target he shot with the sounding arrow in his hand would be followed by all the royal soldiers, otherwise they would be killed.Later, this man shot this kind of loud arrow at his beloved wife and beloved horse. Finally, he shot his father into a hedgehog and trained an iron army.

After that, every king of Xirong Zhai developed the tradition of training the king's army.

"Thorn."

Just as Zhao Guang was recalling the legend he had read in the book in his mind, with a piercing cry, a loud arrow flew past his ear.

Hot blood slid down Zhao Guang's cheek, but he seemed to feel no pain.

"Zhao Guang, you're bleeding!"

Ji Ange shouted tremblingly, but Zhao Guang turned a deaf ear. He pressed Ji Ange's head and kept changing the horse's route, while avoiding the rain of arrows behind him, and galloping.

run!run!run!
Zhao Guang only had one thought in his mind.It was impossible for such a large-scale royal army to be dispatched for them. There must be other opponents waiting for this group of people. If they ran forward desperately, he and Ji Ange might still have a chance of survival.

But God did not hear the dying man's plea.

Just in front of the two people trying to escape, a large lake appeared.

Remember this lake?Ying Baoyue also ran here before