Chapter 355 Karma

Yuan Xi directed his personal guards to cut down trees and build the coffin. Lu Lingqi came over wrapped in a sackcloth dress and felt even more uncomfortable when she saw this scene.

She saw Yuan Xi trying to lift Qu Yi's body and holding Qu Yi's shoulders with both hands but failed several times, so she walked forward and held Qu Yi's feet.

Yuan Xi raised his head and glanced at Lu Lingqi. The two of them worked together to lift Qu Yi's body flat and put it into the coffin.

From the time they met until now, the two have never said a word to each other.

Sun Li, who was holding the coffin board, put the coffin lid on and pushed it up. Just when the coffin lid was about to completely cover Qu Yi, Yuan Xi said, "Wait."

He bowed deeply three times, and Lu Lingqi bowed her head in the same way. The two stared at Qu Yi's pale face for a long time. Yuan Xi walked closer to take a last look and said, "Close it."

Sun Li pushed the coffin lid and it closed completely. The guards came up and nailed the coffin. Another soldier came with Yang Chou's head and hung it on the coffin.

Yuan Xi became more and more depressed. Although he helped Qu Yi to get revenge, why did he feel more depressed?

Sun Li said, "Sir, Brother Qu should be buried here, or?"

Yuan Xi pondered for a while and said, "Let's find a carriage and send two people to escort him back to Beixin City for burial."

Qu Yi's coffin was pulled away. Yuan Xi sat down on a stone, looking at the carriage going away, feeling deeply tired.

He realized that he was being a little hypocritical.

In the years to come, many people may leave before me, and I may face separation moments like I am now.

Of course, if something unexpected happens to you one day, there will always be someone to see you off.

Lu Lingqi stood not far from Yuan Xi. She had a lot of questions in her mind, but for some reason, she just didn't feel like speaking.

Suddenly her stomach growled and she realized that she had not had a meal yet, even though she had been on the run for most of the day since last night.

Yuan Xi glanced at Lu Lingqi, then said to Sun Li, "Make a fire."

"Cook."

The soldiers fetched clean water from the river and mixed it with mud to make earthen stoves. They placed copper cauldrons filled with water on the stoves, filled the stoves with dry branches and leaves, and flames rose.

A few handfuls of corn kernels were taken from the bag and thrown into the water, followed by some miscellaneous items.

Gradually, the water in the pot boiled, and the rice grains rolled in the water, emitting bursts of fragrance.

Yuan Xi calculated the time, took out a wooden bowl, scooped some water from the pot, and then handed it to Lu Lingqi.

Lu Lingqi took it and looked at the bowl. Inside was the simplest corn porridge with some minced meat, a few wild vegetables, and a little salt.

To be fair, she had eaten a lot of this kind of porridge when she was a child, but when she grew up and her life became better, she ate it much less often.

She stirred it with a wooden spoon, and heat rose from the bottom of the rice porridge. As the wooden spoon continued to stir, the hot rice porridge gradually cooled down.

Lu Lingqi was distracted. The heat in front of her eyes seemed to form a series of pictures in front of her eyes. The many life-and-death crises she had encountered in the past few days flashed before her eyes.

Yuan Xi didn't know where to look either, holding the bowl in his hand, as if he was in a trance.

Sun Li secretly glanced at Yuan Xi, then at Lu Lingqi, and also lowered his head to stir the rice porridge. The three of them had something on their minds, and the atmosphere was extremely depressing for a while.

After a while, the hunger in Lu Lingqi's stomach brought her back to reality. She scooped up a spoonful of porridge and put it into her mouth. The warm and sticky feeling went from her mouth into her stomach, and a warmth rose up.

Feeling the familiar taste from her childhood, she began to eat voraciously.

After a while, she had licked the bowl clean, but the hunger in her stomach was still there, making her subconsciously stare at the marching pot that was still emitting bursts of aroma and gurgling sounds.

Yuan Xi said, "Eat as much as you want."

Lu Lingqi was not polite either. Under Sun Li's surprised gaze, she drank three or four bowls in a row.

Sun Li thought to himself that this woman really could eat a lot, her appetite was even bigger than his own!

Sun Li lowered his head. Today's events had devastated him greatly. Facing Yang Feng, not only did he not help at all, he almost killed the young master.

On the other hand, the daughter of Marquis Wen was able to break Yang Feng's spear technique. In comparison, the performance of his guard was too poor!

Sun Li was proud of his talent in martial arts. From Zhao Yun to Taishi Ci and Tian Yu, everyone praised him, which made him feel a little proud. But today he realized that he was nothing in front of a real master!

Have I lost the will to make progress, or have I had fewer opportunities to go to the battlefield since I have been with the young master, resulting in slow progress?

If this goes on, if I encounter a master, how can I be qualified to protect the young master?

The porridge in his hand had already gone cold, but he couldn't drink a single sip.

Lu Lingqi felt that based on her usual appetite, she should have been full a long time ago, but for some reason, she still wanted to continue eating.

Because only when she eats will she not think about anything. If she stops, the unpleasant memories will occupy her mind again.

Enough had happened that day, and her mind was filled with a multitude of intertwined images.

The screams at night, the corpses lying on the streets, the chaotic army chasing behind, the arrows shot over, and the fountains of blood spurting out from the bodies caused by the tips of halberds.

The fighting has never stopped.

She felt fatigue and soreness in her body and arms. Although there were some minor injuries, there were no major wounds.

Qu Yi was tall and was always standing in front of her, protecting her very well, so this time, Lu Lingqi was injured much less seriously than the last time the Lu Mansion was attacked.

But the more this happened, the more Lu Lingqi felt guilty. She wanted to avenge Qu Yi, but her enemy was already dead. What else could she do?

So she could only eat non-stop. Only when her mouth was full of food could she temporarily forget her troubles.

Yuan Xi saw that it was getting dark, so he stood up and said to Lu Lingqi, "I have sent out spies to find out the situation in Huaicheng."

"If Marquis Wen has quelled the rebellion and the city is safe, I will send someone to send the girl back."

"But the current situation is unclear. If there are still rebels near Huaicheng, it will not be safe for us to approach."

"So please bear with it for one night, girl. Wait until the spies come back tomorrow to find out the current situation of Huaicheng."

"Let's head east now to prevent Yang Feng from bringing people back for revenge."

After hearing this, Lu Lingqi said, "Thank you, young master."

She then asked, "What should I call you?"

"Young Master? General? Hidden Tiger? Or Fierce Tiger?"

After hearing this, Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said, "I have no ill will towards Lord Wen."

"If I have a chance, I will explain it to you slowly."

After hearing this, Lu Lingqi nodded slightly.

Inside Huaicheng, Lu Bu was extremely anxious. He counted the losses in the city and found that many soldiers had died, which seriously damaged his vitality.

Damn Hao Meng!

And there is Yang Chou!

The rebellion in the city overnight almost reduced his strength by half. Not to mention sending troops to Hedong to welcome the emperor, even if Cao's army attacked again, Lu Bu had no confidence in defending Huaicheng.

Who knows if there are still spies in the city and whether the remaining generals will betray him?

What makes him even more anxious is that there is still no news of Lu Lingqi's whereabouts!

Lu Bu and other Liang soldiers have served in the army for decades and have encountered countless food shortages and low salaries.

People can't starve to death at this time, so the most direct way is to let the soldiers plunder the people.

Over time, looting became a common practice among the Bingliang generals, making them extremely difficult to control. Even Dong Zhuo, the most prestigious among the Bingliang generals, would occasionally send his men out to loot the people after entering Chang'an in order to appease the military.

Lu Bu was naturally no exception. Although he did not resort to cannibalism during the several battles with Cao Cao, he still had to plunder the people's food.

At first, he was under Yuan Shao's command. It was because he allowed his men to plunder the people of Jizhou that Yuan Shao, who wanted to spread the reputation of benevolence and righteousness, was extremely angry and wanted to kill him.

Having experienced all these things, Lu Bu naturally knew how miserable the fate of the people would be when faced with rebellious soldiers.

At that time, not to mention the food in the house, even one's life would be difficult to preserve.

But now, the retribution has come upon me!

Lu Bu couldn't imagine what would happen to Lu Lingqi if she fell into the hands of the rebel soldiers!

Even if I kill all the rebel soldiers afterwards, what's the use?

Lu Bu was extremely regretful. Was this God's retribution for his many evil deeds?

He began to feel unusually anxious. As the saying goes, one won't realize how painful something is unless it happens to him.

He suppressed his anxiety and had his men called in all his generals. Wei Xu, Zhang Liao and others walked in front, Gao Shun supported Cao Xing, who was barely able to walk, and Chen Gong, who looked exhausted, walked at the end.

Cao Xing ambushed Hao Meng and cut off his arm, but Hao Meng counterattacked and slashed Cao Xing in the side. After Gao Shun killed Hao Meng, he sent people to treat Cao Xing. Now, when he heard that Lu Bu had summoned a group of generals, he brought Cao Xing with him as well.

However, Lu Bu began to feel suspicious.

Cao Xing cut off Hao Meng's arm and the other party had lost the ability to resist. Why was Gao Shun in a hurry to kill Hao Meng?

Gao Shun and Cao Xing were not familiar with each other, so why did Gao Shun take Cao Xing back for treatment?

After everyone took their seats, Lu Bu turned to Cao Xing and said, "You have done a great job this time. If you hadn't stopped Hao Meng, who knows what would have happened to the city."

Cao Xing hurriedly replied: "I dare not."

Lu Bu asked again: "You are Hao Meng's good friend, why did you carry him on your back?"

After hearing this, Cao Xing hesitated for a moment and said, "Wen Hou is a general in heaven, and he is protected by the gods. How could he rebel?"

"On the contrary, it is unreasonable that Hao Meng went insane and rebelled against Marquis Wen."

After hearing this, everyone thought to themselves why Cao Xing was talking so confusingly. What kind of excuse was this?

Lu Bu asked again: "Who ordered Hao Meng to do this?"

Cao Xing heard this and replied, "Yuan Shu!"

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked. If this was really the case, then the last hope of Yuan Shu and Lu Bu joining forces would be shattered.

Lu Bu frowned and asked again: "Does Hao Meng have any accomplices?"

"Yes!" Cao Xing replied.

Everyone was shocked again, and Lu Bu asked hurriedly: "Who is it?"

Cao Xing raised his hand and pointed to one side, "Him!"

When everyone combed his fingers and took a look, they were all stunned.

When Chen Gong saw Cao Xing pointing at him, he felt like he was struck by lightning.