Lord of the Desert

Chapter 385 Different
On the same day, at midnight (11pm).

Duanli City was shrouded in darkness, with only a few lights left except on the city walls.

Warriors don't need much sleep.

Hong Fan meditated on the bed as usual, his heart was filled with a sense of unreality and he could not calm down for a long time.

Since the capture of Duanli City, the situation of the rebel army has gradually improved. For example, the flow of the Jing River has become calmer, and the bay that opens up when it enters the sea can be seen.

But all these are illusions.

Only one piece of news came that there was no more ocean or shallows ahead, only the whirlpools of the deep gorge and the desperate struggle on the reefs.

After another two quarters of an hour, Hong Fan was unable to concentrate and completely lost his patience, so he had to go out to catch his breath.

The breeze is hard to find tonight.

The pale crescent moon stood against the iron-blue night sky like the skylight of a prison cell.

The clouds were broken into pieces, scattered within the field of vision framed by the courtyard wall, showing faint stretch marks under the silver light, as if something horrible was gestating.

Hong Fanyun jumped onto the roof of the wing room and saw a figure sitting on the ridge of the north city gate, leaning against a stone sculpture of a lion.

He was puzzled, and he leaped over a few miles before he saw clearly that it was Duan Tiannan drinking on the rooftop. He then condensed his sand wings and climbed closer.

"Why are you drinking alone in the middle of the night?"

Hong Fan sat down on the roof and asked with a smile.

"The heat is so hot, maybe there is something on his mind."

Duan Tiannan held the wine gourd in his hand and spoke frankly.

"what's up?"

Hong Fan asked.

"I have been practicing martial arts for a long time, and my progress is very rapid. Unfortunately, I have not yet made it to the top three. I feel a little unhappy tonight."

Duan Tiannan replied casually.

"Brother has reached the fifth level of Yuanci, and getting on the Earth Ranking is just a matter of two years!"

Hong Fan joined in the fun.

Duan Tiannan nodded when he heard this, but did not reply immediately.

After a while, he realized that the atmosphere was forced, and added: "The moon tonight is narrow and bright, as if it were made of silver, very much like the Wenshi Village of my childhood."

The wine in the gourd shook and made crisp sounds.

The big man looked at the crescent moon and smiled, but Hong Fan felt sad.

He has practiced martial arts for many years and is already experienced in life and death. How could he not know when a free and easy person will miss his hometown?
"Brother Duan, tell me the truth, are you sure you can defeat Feng Mubai?"

Hong Fan lowered his eyes, not looking at the moon, but staring at the white column of wind in the southeast sky, and suddenly asked a question.

“Not really.”

Duan Tiannan tried hard to divert his gaze from the crescent moon and replied with a blink.

At this moment, he no longer needed to convince anyone when facing Hong Fan alone, and his words were not as bold and confident as in the previous meeting. It was as if all the heat in his body was frozen by the frosty moonlight.

"Feng Mubai has dragon blood, a strong physique, and has practiced the Ten Classics. He can beat two second-grade martial artists of the same realm. Before, when I was at the fourth level of Yuanci, I was chased by him and was no match for him at all."

"But he is one hundred and thirty-three years old after all, and his strength gets worse every year. Now I have trained myself to have an iron arm and a golden body, so at least I can fight him."

Duan Tiannan muttered a few words and took a sip of wine.

When Hong Fan heard this, he no longer suppressed the worry in his eyes.

The future of Huaiyang State is naturally very important, but Duan Tiannan must not be lost in his heart.

"Isn't tonight's decision too hasty?"

Hong Fan speaks frankly.

"Maybe you can wait a little longer? You don't have to be so stubborn. You can wait for Brother Gu, or you can wait for me."

When he said this, he seemed to see the true face - if he asked himself honestly, life, relatives, friends, and acquaintances seemed to be more important than the vague people of Huaiyang.

But Duan Tiannan shook his head without hesitation.

"Brother can't wait!"

The word "ah" he uttered was particularly long, as if he had squeezed out all the air in his lungs.

"I was born a reckless person." "When I see a crooked ridge, I want to straighten it; when I see a villager who died unjustly, I want to avenge him!"

"If Feng Jianke succeeds, the past twenty years, the history of Huaiyang State, and the people who died will become wandering ghosts, without graves, plaques, or temples. I'm afraid they won't even be remembered by a generation."

Duan Tiannan unconsciously wrapped the red silk around his waist around his palm.

His eyes were reflected in the brazier under the city wall, as if there were two pieces of hot coals embedded in his eye sockets.

"But what if it can't be done?"

Hong Fan felt empty inside and said discouraging words that he would never say in normal times.

"That won't work!"

Duan Tiannan laughed and went back immediately.

"Since I started practicing martial arts, I have wanted to do too many things, and I will never be able to finish them all in my lifetime. But my dear brother, I have a saying: if something in this world has to be accomplished to be meaningful, then it is not worth doing at all."

He stared at Hong Fan's young face and spoke quickly, as if he was afraid that he might not be able to explain himself clearly.

"You and I both have extraordinary talents in martial arts, and after seeing your method of forging steel with wind, I know that your talents in other areas are ten or a hundred times greater than mine."

"Brother Hong, I have to admit that people like us often have lofty egos, choose to travel far and wide, are incompetent, and think we are responsible for the world..."

“But when the road is long, people often forget it. It turns out that ‘walking’ and ‘reaching’ are never the same thing. It turns out that if a person wants to accomplish something no matter what, then he has lost his original intention!”

Duan Tiannan finished his words in one breath, raised the gourd, filled it up, and handed it to Hong Fan.

The two of them shared the wine, and both of them got their collars wet.

"You see, I am here, Feng Jianke is there, and we both chose our own paths."

Duan Tiannan stretched out his hand and pointed, gazing at Stormy Mountain.

"But we are different."

The words were full of contempt.

"Because I'm never afraid of not being able to reach the end of the road!"

Yunlan was like lightning at this moment, illuminating Duan Tiannan's domineering smile.

Hong Fan witnessed this scene, looked at this person, and heard these words, and he almost couldn't breathe.

······
The next day was June 8th.

The Baisheng Army held a meeting of middle-level and above officers in Duanli City and decided on a strategy of heading south immediately.

From then on, the entire army began to operate like a machine with gears meshing and rumbling.

Another day, the ninth day of June.

Dozens of waves of messengers were sent out, radiating to the three counties and all directions.

June fifteenth.

The top leaders of more than a dozen rebel armies gathered at the front-line camp of the Baisheng Army. Among them, the Huaiyang Rebel Army had a total of six innate people (excluding the Baisheng Army), and four of them.

"Qingyu Sword" Ling Zhiyun, with the innate five combinations, uses a stabbing sword and is specialized in single-point destruction and killing.

"Xia Man Tian" Lan Hai, a congenital four-in-one, wields a red tassel spear. His family-inherited spear technique focuses on dexterity, and the spear flowers are full of red clouds.

Chao Zheng, known as the "Blood Slaughterer Hand", possesses the innate three-in-one skills. He uses brass knuckles and uses a secret method to strengthen his joints. He can dislocate and twist them at will and is fierce in close combat.

"Shadow in the Clouds" Luo Shangming, a man of innate ability, wields an iron fan and practices water-walking techniques. He can rely on the clouds to change direction lightly, combining both hardness and softness.

On this day, Hong Fan also saw a two-meter-tall brute who, as soon as he met him, shouted "Great Hero Chisha" and wanted to kowtow to him.

But he is the eighth in command of Niutou Mountain.

Behind Niu Laoba, pushing aside the crowd was Gan Deshou.

This time, the inscription "Rather break than bend" on his sword had been polished to a razor-sharp shine.

On June 17, the main force of the rebel army pushed southward;
On June 20th, the troops arrived at the city of Yunlan.

PS: After that is the final battle of volume 3.

The four rebels were originally the extras that book lovers wanted.

Normally I find it quite difficult to come up with names and nicknames, so I have opened a forum for extras in the comment section. Anyone who wants an extra can give a name, nickname, weapon, simple background, etc. (for example, a poor family, or a young master from a wealthy family), and I will use them when the opportunity arises.

But the fate of the extras is uncertain, they may live or die quickly.

(End of this chapter)