Fire Captain

Bai Ziyang and Liu Xiyin waited for half a day, but did not see any Song army passing by, let alone Ye Zhao. Seeing that Liu Xiyin seemed to be getting more and more uneasy, Bai Ziyang simply helped Liu Xiyin onto the horse's back, and he led the horse from below, slowly walking towards the battlefield.

Seeing Bai Ziyang leading the horse below, Liu Xiyin felt a little embarrassed and couldn't help but said, "Why don't you ride with me, young master..."

Bai Ziyang raised his head and smiled, "No need, just sit still. We don't know what's going on ahead, so let's go slowly so we can keep an eye on the surroundings."

The two walked for about an hour, and Bai Ziyang suddenly stopped and listened to something.

Liu Xiyin asked in confusion: "Mr. Bai?"

Bai Ziyang looked up and said, "There seems to be a large group of people coming ahead. I don't know if they are enemies or friends. Let's hide first!" Then he led the horse into the woods beside him.

Sure enough, after a while, I saw a group of soldiers and horses coming in the distance with dust flying. Although everyone was injured and seemed to have returned from defeat with low morale, their military appearance was neat and their movements were measured. The young general riding in the front had a sad expression but was resolute and courageous, which could be regarded as heroic. The soldiers behind him were carrying a flag with a word "Ye" inscribed on it.

Bai Ziyang asked in a low voice: "Is Ye Zhao among the people coming?"

Liu Xiyin said excitedly: "Ah Zhao, I saw Ah Zhao!"

"Okay, let's go find him!" After saying that, he led the horse to the middle of the road.

The sudden appearance of two people and a horse in the middle of the road naturally attracted attention. Moreover, the Ye family army had just gone through a great battle and was still nervous. They would be extremely nervous at any slight disturbance. At this time, Ye Zhao's military advisor Hu Qing said, "General, look!"

Ye Zhao had seen off his father, mother, and brother in a day and a night, and had also led the Ye family army to break out of the encirclement. He was already exhausted. When he heard Hu Qing's voice, he looked up and shouted in surprise, "Cousin!" Then he jumped off his horse.

Liu Xiyin also jumped off her horse and ran towards Ye Zhao. The grief and anger that she had been holding back surged at the sight of her loved ones. She threw herself into Ye Zhao's arms and burst into tears: "A Zhao, A Zhao!..."

Ye Zhao also suppressed his grief and comforted Liu Xiyin in a low voice.

Hu Qing saw Bai Ziyang standing alone, and it seemed that Liu Xiyin didn't have time to introduce them to each other, so he came over and asked, "My name is Hu Qing, may I ask what is this gentleman's name?"

Bai Ziyang cupped his hands and said, "I am Bai Ziyang!"

Hu Qing asked, "I wonder how Mr. Bai got together with Miss Liu?"

Bai Ziyang said, "Last night I happened to see Liao soldiers trying to harm Miss Liu in the city, so I couldn't just sit there and watch. Later, Miss Liu said she wanted to look for her cousin Ye Zhao, so we came here to wait and try our luck."

Hu Qing smiled and said, "Then I would like to thank Mr. Bai on behalf of my general for saving Miss Liu's life!"

Bai Ziyang waved his hand and said, "No, no, Miss Liu already thanked you again yesterday!"

As the two were talking, they heard the voices of Ye Zhao and Liu Xiyin: "Cousin, I'll send someone to take you to your uncle..."

Liu Xiyin said: "What about you, A Zhao..."

Ye Zhao said: "I still need to organize the army and pursue the Liao army... Don't worry, cousin, I will avenge you! Fox..."

Hu Qing heard Ye Zhao's shout, nodded to Bai Ziyang and walked towards Ye Zhao, only to hear Ye Zhao say: "Fox, take your cousin to your uncle..."

Hu Qing said in embarrassment: "If I go, what will you do?"

Ye Zhao said: "I'm fine here, my cousin's safety is the most important!"

After hearing what they said, Bai Ziyang was embarrassed but still approached them and said, "Don't bother two masters with one thing. Since General Ye is not available, I will take Miss Liu there!"

Ye Zhao finally had time to look at Bai Ziyang and asked with a puzzled look: "Who is this young master?"

Liu Xiyin quickly introduced: "A Zhao, this is Mr. Bai Ziyang, he saved me last night!"

Ye Zhao immediately thought of the corpse of the Liao soldier he saw in his cousin's courtyard last night. He subconsciously glanced at the sword in Bai Ziyang's hand and couldn't help saying, "Mr. Bai is really good at martial arts!"

Bai Ziyang smiled politely and said, "No, no... It's just a trivial trick..."

Ye Zhao thought for a moment and said, "It would be even better if Mr. Bai could go with us!"

Bai Ziyang said: "No problem, I have nothing to do anyway, so I will go with Mr. Hu."

Ye Zhao was going to rush to meet up with the rest of the Ye family army, and led the rest of the soldiers ahead. Liu Xiyin stood behind and looked at Ye Zhao's departing back for a long time, unable to come back to her senses. Bai Ziyang frowned as he looked at the sad Liu Xiyin, and all this was seen by Hu Qing.

It was natural that Bai Ziyang rode on horseback with Liu Xiyin along the way. In order to take care of Liu Xiyin, the journey naturally slowed down. Even though Hu Qing was anxious about Ye Zhao's situation, Bai Ziyang would rather go slower.

When they dismounted to rest, except for the rough work of hunting and chopping wood that Bai Ziyang ordered them to do, all the food, clothing, housing and transportation of Liu Xiyin were taken care of by Bai Ziyang. Only Hu Qing was left with a confused look on his face, watching Bai Ziyang busying around. Sometimes he thought of Miss Liu's frail body, so she could sit here to avoid the wind; sometimes he thought of Miss Liu's love of cleanliness, so he fetched clean water for her to wash; sometimes he thought of Miss Liu's poor appetite due to sleeping in the open, so he used simple ingredients and dry food in various ways to make delicious food. In a word, apart from the fact that Miss Liu was in a bad mood... Oh, that's not right. Bai Ziyang deliberately saw that Liu Xiyin was in a bad mood, and he would make up a joke from time to time to make her happy. Miss Liu was so comfortable along the way.

Looking at myself, it's as if I don't exist. Although I'm used to being casual when marching and fighting, it shouldn't be too obvious that Bai Ziyang favors girls over boys!

In his spare time, Hu Qing was naturally curious about Bai Ziyang's background and asked him indirectly, but Bai Ziyang just pretended not to notice and spoke naturally. It was not until he heard that Bai Ziyang was a disciple of Yishan Sanren that Hu Qing was shocked and said with sudden realization: "No wonder you look so familiar to me. When I was young, I followed my father and had the honor of meeting Yishan Sanren. I think there was indeed a little disciple following Sanren at that time. It turns out that person is you!"

Bai Ziyang smiled but said nothing when he heard this... Actually, he was trying to cover up his guilty conscience...

Even if the horse rode slowly, it would only take two or three days to get there in a flash. However, Bai Ziyang discovered a problem during these two days. Hu Qing always liked to talk about the Ye Family Army, saying that Ye Zhao was a righteous man, and how the late Ye Zhong and his son had devoted themselves to guarding the border until their death. He also talked about how brave the Ye Family Army was and how difficult and arduous their current situation was. Bai Ziyang couldn't help but wonder, what does this kid mean? Is he trying to persuade me to join the Ye Family Army?

Ye Zhao's uncle is General Liu Tiantuo, who is also Liu Xiyin's uncle. Liu Tiantuo and his wife have no children, and they have loved Liu Xiyin like their own daughter since she was a child. Now that he sees his niece has suffered and lost a lot of weight, he is naturally heartbroken. Madam Liu naturally carried Liu Xiyin to the inner room, leaving General Liu to entertain the two of them.

Liu Tiantuo and Hu Qing had known each other for a long time. When he met Bai Ziyang and knew that it was Bai Ziyang who saved his niece, he naturally expressed his gratitude. As the saying goes, Bai Ziyang is a shrewd man among shrewd men. If he wants to please someone without making a sound, no one can escape his grasp. What's more, Liu Tiantuo, who is bold and unrestrained by nature, not only did not notice it, but felt that he was particularly compatible with Bai Ziyang. The more he talked, the happier he became, and he wished they could become sworn brothers. This scared Bai Ziyang and he broke into a cold sweat. Fortunately, there was Hu Qing next to him, who could vaguely sense Bai Ziyang's thoughts and made a joke to get rid of Liu Tiantuo's proposal.

Bai Ziyang didn't dare to stay any longer, so he found an opportunity to say goodbye to Liu Xiyin the next day.

"Miss Liu, I am leaving now. I hope everything will be fine for you in the future, and you will be safe and sound..."

Liu Xiyin looked at Bai Ziyang who was saying goodbye to her earnestly. After just two or three days together, she felt a little sad for some reason. She immediately said, "I wonder... where will Mr. Bai go after he leaves?"

Bai Ziyang thought about it and said, "I don't know. I'll just go wherever I want to go... Jianghu is so big that everywhere is my home!"

Liu Xiyin thought of what Hu Qing said to her yesterday, and couldn't help but say, "Now that the border is in flames, I wonder if Mr. Bai has any plans to join the army and serve his country?"

Bai Ziyang unconsciously raised his right eyebrow upon hearing this and said, "Miss Liu... do you want me to join the Ye Family Army?"

Seeing that Bai Ziyang understood what she meant, Liu Xiyin said with a little guilt: "The Ye family army was badly injured in this battle. Now Ah Zhao is leading the army to pursue the Liao people. It is in a critical moment and they must be in urgent need of the help of a man of both literary and military skills like you..."

Bai Ziyang said: "I understand what you mean. After all, he is your relative. You hope that everyone can help him. You hope that everything will be fine for him, just like I hope so for you..."

Bai Ziyang suddenly stepped forward and patted Liu Xiyin on the head, laughing heartily: "That's what I was thinking. Let me ask General Ye if he would accept me as a new soldier."

Bai Ziyang has always given Liu Xiyin the impression that he is moderate in his actions. He has never been overly intimate with her, and his words and deeds are all gentlemanly. However, his sudden intimacy did not make her feel disgusted. But hearing him say this, she felt even more guilty.

After saying goodbye to Liu Xiyin, Bai Ziyang and Hu Qing left Liu's residence. After they got on their horses, Hu Qing asked, "Where are you going next, Mr. Bai?"

Bai Ziyang rolled his eyes and said, "I want to join General Ye and become a soldier, save the country from danger, save the people from dire straits... and find myself a place to eat and sleep!" Bai Ziyang actually hadn't decided what he was going to do. Since he hadn't made up his mind, returning to the battlefield might be a good choice. Maybe this world cannot be separated from the battlefield?

Hu Qing was naturally overjoyed when he heard Bai Ziyang's words, and hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, yes! How dare I not accept him! It is a blessing for the Ye Family Army that Mr. Bai can come to help the Ye Family Army!" Hu Qing trusted Yishan Sanren, and Ye Zhao had also praised Bai Ziyang's martial arts. It was extremely rare for someone to be praised by Ye Zhao, who was so arrogant. Moreover, from his conversations with Bai Ziyang in the past few days, he could see that Bai Ziyang was not an ordinary person. Based on these three points, Hu Qing tried his best to invite Bai Ziyang to join the Ye Family Army. It is easy to get thousands of soldiers, but it is difficult to get a good general. With Bai Ziyang's joining, the Ye Family Army will be more powerful.

Bai Ziyang said: "We are all comrades from now on, so please stop being so polite when addressing each other!"

Hu Qing smiled and said, "Okay, Ziyang, you can call me Hu Qing, but that guy Ye Zhao calls me Fox..."

Bai Ziyang sneered and thought to himself: "Isn't it a fox!" Isn't it a fox that can let Liu Xiyin persuade him?