Chapter Twelve

  The big Han lowered his head and said with a bitter smile: "Brothers really can't run anymore."

  Tang Yin took a closer look and saw that the several soldiers in front of him were indeed quite wretched. Everyone was injured, covered in blood from head to toe, their armor and weapons were broken and battered, their faces were pale, their eyes sunken, and their eyes were red, looking more like refugees who had not eaten or slept for several days rather than soldiers.

  Heaving a sigh, Tang Yin didn't ask any more questions. At this time, Qiu Zhen walked over quickly with a smile all over his face and said: "It turns out that you are all our own people, I was really scared by you just now." As he spoke, his eyes rolled around and he said again: "Do you want to die or live?"

  All the soldiers were stunned and didn't understand what he meant.

  Qiu Zhen said: "If you want to die, stay here. It won't take long for the Ningguo pursuers to arrive and kill you all. If you want to live, follow us..."

  Before he could finish speaking, Tang Yin's sharp eyes were already staring at him. One Qiu Zhen was enough trouble, and he didn't want several more burdens around him.

  Although they had not known each other for a long time, Qiu Zhen already had some understanding of Tang Yin's temperament. He was naturally cold and distant, so he quickly pulled him aside and said in a low voice: "Tang... Brother Tang, having more people is not a trouble, on the contrary, the more people we have, the safer our situation will be. At least with a few more helpers, it won't hurt. Moreover, if you don't take care of them, they really can't survive to get back to their hometown."

  Because of his request to Tang Yin, Qiu Zhen's way of addressing him also changed from calling him by name to 'Tang brother'.

  Qiu Zhen's dignified appearance did not impress Tang Yin, but his words still made Tang Yin furrow his brow, and he couldn't help but turn around to glance at the few Fengguo soldiers, who were also staring at him with wide eyes. If it were in the past, Tang Yin would not have cared about their lives or deaths, but after combining with Yan Lie, his nature had begun to change, becoming more passionate, and unable to be as ruthless and cold-blooded as before. This change made him feel uncomfortable even to himself.

  "Suit yourself!" Tang Yin tossed out a sentence and didn't say another word, continuing on his way.

  Qiu Zhen smiled and turned to the crowd, beckoning them: "Tang brother has already agreed to take you away, hurry up and follow!" Qiu Zhen was not a kind-hearted person at all. Whether these soldiers lived or died, he didn't care in the least. But what he said was true - the more people there were, the safer his and Tang Yin's situation would be.

  Tang Yin was aloof and difficult to get close to, while Qiu Zhen, who had a good face but a black heart, quickly became thick with those few soldiers.

  "My name is Qiu Zhen." Qiu Zhen smiled and introduced himself, then turned to Tang Yin who was walking in front of him and said, "He's called Tang Yin, his skills are quite impressive, you've all seen that already, right? The dozens of Ningguo people who surrounded you earlier were taken down by him alone!"

  "What? He... he single-handedly killed all those enemies?" The soldiers looked at Tang Yin's back in disbelief, no matter how they looked at him, he seemed very ordinary, not tall or strong, his appearance was not fierce, and he was wearing the uniform of an ordinary soldier.

  "Of course! I saw it with my own eyes."

  "Why not take off the enemy's head?" The soldiers asked in confusion again.

  Because Tang Yin didn't give himself a chance! So many Ning people, over a hundred heads, what a great achievement that is! Qiu Zhen was very regretful, of course, he could only be regretful in his heart, on the surface he still said sternly: "We are now fleeing for our lives, isn't carrying so many heads a burden? Is life important or military merit important? Besides, you weren't there at the time, otherwise..." He sighed and shook his head.

  "That's right!" The crowd nodded and said: "If we had known that Tang Yin was so powerful, we wouldn't have run away at that time!"

  Qiu Zhen furrowed his brow and said seriously, "Since you're following Tang Brother now, you must listen to his orders and can't address him directly. From now on, call him Tang Da Ge!" Having many people is naturally good, but if they are like a plate of loose sand, it's actually bad. Therefore, there must be cohesion and a core. Qiu Zhen acknowledged that he wasn't suitable for this role, so naturally, Tang Yin would be the core.

  In a chaotic world, the strong are the masters and the weak are the followers. This is especially true in Fengguo, where the idea of respecting the strong has long been deeply ingrained in people's minds. Everyone looked at each other, nodded, and thought that Qiu Zhen made sense. They quickened their pace, caught up with Tang Yan, and introduced themselves one after another: "Brother Tang, my name is Zhang Bao." The burly man who had stabbed Tang Yan with a spear in the bushes was the first to speak.

  "My name is Liu Yu."

  "My name is Zhang Yi."

  "My name is..."

  Listening to their names, Tang Yin didn't show any reaction on the surface, but silently remembered them in his heart. These people originally belonged to two different worlds and were not even connected by eight poles, but now they had come together, it could only be said that it was an arrangement of fate!

  Knowing that their physical strength had reached the end of its tether, they walked for a while before Tang Yin stopped in his tracks and said indifferently: "Let's take a rest here."

  "Good!" Upon hearing this, the soldiers all let out a sigh of relief, sat down on the ground one after another, panting heavily, including Qiu Zhen.

  After a while, he moved to Tang Yin's side and said: "Here is at least 300 miles away from Tongmen. If we have horses, we can rush there in one day, but if we walk, it will take three or four days!"

  Tang Yin responded with a sound and waited for Qiu Zhen to continue speaking.

  "So we must find the horse."

  Tang Yin asked strangely: "Can't we just walk?"

  Qiu Zhen shook his head and said: "I'm worried that we'll go on foot to Tongmen, but when we get there, we won't be able to get in!"

  Tang Yin raised an eyebrow and asked in doubt: "What does it mean?"

  Qiu Zhengyan said, "We are fleeing towards Tongmen, but aren't the Ningguo people also marching in that direction? As he spoke, he let out a light sigh and continued, "Tongmen is the western gate of our Fengguo, it can be attacked or defended, and for a long time, Ningguo has been eyeing Tongmen covetously, wanting to occupy it. However, Tongmen's terrain is treacherous and its defenses are strict, making it impossible for Ningguo to reach. This time we were defeated, our military strength was severely depleted, and Tongmen's defenses are weak. I estimate that Ningguo will not let go of this excellent opportunity and will definitely launch a large-scale attack. Now, outside Tongmen, who knows how many Ningguo people have gathered? If we drag on for another three or four days, there won't be any chance to enter."

  Tang Yin bowed his head in contemplation. After a moment, he said, "You're saying that Ning Guo will take advantage of the situation to attack Tongmen? That's just your speculation."

  Qiu Zhen smiled wryly and said, "Although it's just my guess, I'm sure that it's close to the truth, with only a slight difference of eight or nine out of ten."

  Tang Yin said: "Even if it is true, where can we find horses?"

  "Is there only one way?"

  "Go grab?"

  "Right!" Qiu Zhen said: "We ambush on both sides of the road, no matter whether it's Feng people or Ning people, as long as the other side has few people and horses, we'll rush out to rob. With your skills, plus those brothers, I think it's not a problem to deal with a team!"

  Tang Yin pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Alright."

  Just as the two men finished their conversation, a young Wind Country soldier slowly approached Tang Yin, holding a water skin in his hand and looking timid, stuttering: "T-Tang big brother, drink some water."

  Tang Yin's appearance is not scary at all, on the contrary, he looks very handsome, with a naturally upturned mouth, looking like he's smiling, but his gaze is too cold, and the glint in his eyes makes people dare not look straight at him.

  Water? Tang Yan looked at the young man, who was not very old, only sixteen or seventeen years old. In his world, at this age, he could only be considered a half-grown child, but here, the young man was already a skilled fighter wielding a sharp blade on the battlefield. He remembered that the young man's name was Sun Bao, and seeing his dry, cracked lips, he said calmly: "I'm not thirsty, you drink it yourself."

  "That... how can that be..." The young man turned his head to glance at the other companions, quickly placing a water pouch under Tang Yin's feet, then took out another oil-paper package, opened it, and inside were some dried meat and flatbread. These things, along with the water, were all contributed by them together, they themselves didn't dare to eat or drink, leaving everything for Tang Yin. Leaving food for the strongest person, letting the strongest person maintain their physical strength, this was a matter of course in their eyes.

  Tang Yin looked at the young man, then glanced around at the other soldiers. Looking at their pale and weak faces, it wasn't hard to guess that they were also thirsty and hungry. Yet in this situation, they still managed to bring food and drink for him, which suddenly gave him a strange feeling - a kind of tenderness he had never felt before.

  He stood up and walked silently into the depths of the grass thicket.

  "Brother Tang, where are you going?"

  His actions startled everyone, thinking that they had done something wrong and provoked Tang Yin, so they threw them away and ignored them.

  Tang Yin turned back and smiled, saying in a soft voice: "I'll be right back!"

  When he smiles from the heart, it's charming and infectious, without being cold, giving people around him a warm feeling.

  He went quickly and came back quickly, only when he left with empty hands, but when he returned, there were two big fat wild rabbits in his hands.

  He threw the rabbit in front of everyone and said bluntly, "Today, we're eating this."