readytorunbook Chapter 140 No Scouts Yet
Chapter 140 No Scouts Yet
The burly man was incredibly fast; before Ning Xiaoxi could react, he had already pounced on the defensive barrier. The impact caused the barrier to flash and spiritual energy to surge. His face, which had been covering his head and face, became clear; his hair had come loose, and his blood-red eyes were fixed fiercely on Ning Xiaoxi, the demonic markings on his cheeks clearly visible.
Ning Xiaoxi's eyes widened in anger, "Demon race!" Instantly, the Spirit Crystal Heart transformed into a bow and arrow, and a spiritual energy arrow shot swiftly toward the big man's chest.
"puff!"
"boom!"
The burly man was struck in the chest by an arrow that pierced his chest. As his spiritual energy dissipated, blood gushed from the wound.
"Wow!"
Ning Xiaoxi added two more layers of defensive shields to herself, and when she looked up, she saw several white falcons circling in the sky. Then, she felt the hairs on her body stand on end, a chilling feeling of being watched by a hunter.
Ning Xiaoxi gripped the bow formed from the Spirit Crystal Heart, lowered her body slightly, and circulated spiritual energy beneath her feet, ready to flee at any moment.
Ning Xiaoxi suddenly turned around, raised her bow and drew the string, aiming the spiritual energy arrow at a white figure slowly rising from the snow ten meters behind her.
The white figure raised his hands, revealing a pair of dark eyes. "May I ask which lord's subordinate is here?"
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking others?" Ning Xiaoxi remained vigilant, her arrow fixed on the man.
"I am a scout from the border army of Youzhou, tracking an enemy who has infiltrated the border to this place." Bai Ying said, pointing to the burly man who was no longer breathing. "We had lost track of him, but then Falcon smelled blood, so we came after him."
"How can you prove your identity?" Ning Xiaoxi no longer sensed any hostility, but she still didn't lower her bow and arrow. "Bring all your people out!"
Bai Ying slightly raised her right hand, and four people stood up one after another under the white snow and ice around her. They were all dressed the same as Bai Ying, and one of them even covered his eyes with a white silk scarf.
Ning Xiaoxi glanced around, but still focused her attention on the white figure in front of her.
The white-clad figure slightly bent his right arm and pointed to his robes, "I'll show you my token, sir."
Ning Xiaoxi slightly raised the arrow tip, gesturing for him to take it out.
The white figure moved slowly, allowing Ning Xiaoxi to clearly see his actions. He reached into his robes and simply used two fingers to take out a token, holding it upright in front of Ning Xiaoxi's eyes.
Ning Xiaoxi tilted her head slightly and glanced at it. It was a wooden token with simple eagle and falcon patterns on it, and the character '斥' was engraved in the middle.
Ning Xiaoxi glanced at the token, then at the white figure. She had no idea what a token of the Youzhou border army was! Slowly, she turned sideways and took small steps out of the encirclement of the five men.
[Currently unavailable. 20 years old. A scout in the Northern Border Army. A martial artist with spiritual veins, but has not cultivated them. Aptitude unknown. Shows goodwill towards him; he can be trained.]
Ning Xiaoxi glanced at the introduction that had suddenly appeared before her, stood a little far away, then put down her bow and arrow. The spiritual arrow disappeared, and she announced her affiliation, "Ning Xiaoxi, an official under the Heavenly Secrets Bureau."
"So it's Officer Ning!" The white-clad figure suddenly became enthusiastic, pulling down his mask to reveal his handsome face. "There is no captain of the Youzhou border scouts yet. Greetings, Officer Ning!" The other four scouts also relaxed their posture, and one of them went over to the big man to examine him.
Ning Xiaoxi looked at the enthusiastic scout with a puzzled expression, wondering what had happened. The introduction given by Tuanzi was also strange; what did "having a good impression" mean? Did it mean this person didn't yet have a good impression of her? And what did "cultivating" mean? Was it to make her form a group?
"Lord Tianji sent a message to Fufang a few days ago, saying that Officer Ning is proficient in magic and repair and can help our border troops build defensive fortifications. Lord Ning and his entourage arrived a few days ago, but we haven't heard from Officer Ning since. We're all waiting for him to arrive!"
Ning Xiaoxi felt like she was struck by lightning. What kind of task had Heaven arranged for her? She was somewhat confident that she was proficient in magic, but was it a joke to ask her to build defensive fortifications?
"Ha, sir, you're exaggerating. My abilities are at most a supplement to the Ministry of Works. How could I dare to boast in front of the officials there?"
"Captain, he's dead." At that moment, the scout who was conducting the inspection shouted.
Ning Xiaoxi blinked. "When I saw him, I thought he was a human who was frozen. I wanted to save him, but he attacked me as soon as he woke up. I was too close and didn't have a good grasp of the situation, so I killed him." Just now Shang Wu said that this was an infiltrated enemy force. Killing him shouldn't be a big deal, right?
Shang Wu glanced at Ning Xiaoxi, wanting to say something, but remained silent. Looking at the corpse, he raised his hand and ordered the four men, "Take the body back." He then turned to Ning Xiaoxi and bowed, "Minister Ning, are you returning to Fufang with us, or are there other arrangements?"
Ning Xiaoxi climbed onto the reindeer's back. "The captain was chasing the enemy, and now that the enemy has been killed, I can go back and report. I haven't reported to Fu Fang yet, so it's not appropriate for me to return with the captain."
Before he could even finish wrapping the burly man's body in white linen and packing it up, he turned to bid farewell to Ning Xiaoxi. "Officer Ning is absolutely right. We need to take the body back as soon as possible. Well then, Officer Ning, see you in the county town."
Ning Xiaoxi smiled and nodded, "See you in the county town!"
As Shang Wu led the men and the corpses away into the distance, the white falcons circling in the sky also followed the scouts away.
Ning Xiaoxi lowered her head in thought. According to the current situation, this burly man had sneaked in from outside the border. Judging from his appearance, he was clearly a demon, but...
[Tuanzi, is that person a demon?]
【no. 】
[It clearly has demonic markings and demonic energy, yet it's in human form. What else could it be but a demon?]
【do not know. 】
Ning Xiaoxi felt like she was going to vomit blood. She gripped the jade cabbage tightly and rubbed it vigorously, not daring to let go.
Taking another deep breath to calm herself down, Ning Xiaoxi decided that she would try not to ask Tuanzi for information in the future, in order to live a little longer.
Having finally felt her blood and energy had calmed down, Ning Xiaoxi took out the simple map again and decided that her next stop would be Beixiao City.
He patted the reindeer's antlers on its head and said, "Once we get to Beixiao City, I'll get you a different vehicle so you can go back to your family." With that, he let the reindeer sway and continue walking.
Ning Xiaoxi pulled out a piece of dried meat from her bosom, took a bite, and wondered to herself, what was Tianji trying to do by saying she was good at defensive fortifications? Was he trying to frame her? Surely not? But for a thirteen-year-old official's daughter to be told she was good at building defensive fortifications, that was a bit too obvious! Her father was in the Ministry of Rites, not the Ministry of Works. Even if he was in the Ministry of Works, he shouldn't be good at defensive fortifications, right?
However, Tianji mentioned on Mount Kongsang that she had made a pact with the Black Dragon, but she was the one who subdued the Black Dragon later. Could it be that Tianji resented her?
Oh dear! This is so troublesome!