Chapter 63

Guo Jiuling felt as if he had been in a deep sleep for a hundred years. He struggled to open his heavy eyelids, and his eyes, which were somewhat sluggish, slowly focused on the scene before him, which gradually became clearer.

His breathing suddenly became heavy, and his pupils dilated, for he saw, above his head, a large Chu army flag fluttering in the air.

"Awake, awake!" A hoarse voice rang out beside him, filled with boundless joy. "The doctor's skills are truly remarkable, he has brought this old man back from the gates of hell."

Guo Jiuling turned his head and found a man wrapped in bandages lying beside him, looking like a mummy, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Where am I?" He turned his head and was startled to see several heads suddenly appear above him, looking at him with curiosity.

"This is the base of the Western Border Army's Death Corps of the Great Chu." The central head spoke up. "Old Mr. Guo, I am Zhang Xiaozheng, former commander of the Chasing Wind Corps. We have met before."

"Chu army, Western Border Army!" Guo Jiuling murmured. "Why am I here? Wasn't I in the Luoying Mountains? I'm back!"

As he finished speaking, his head tilted to one side, and he fainted again.

"Huh, so clean and neat?" The Wild Dog, lying beside Guo Jiuling, was greatly impressed. "Amazing, amazing, Doctor, it can't be that your medical skills are not up to par, and this old man has been called back by the King of Hell, right?"

"Get lost!" A pair of hands pushed through the gap between several big men, and a somewhat slender figure squeezed in, none other than the mad doctor Shu Chang. He squatted down, lifted Guo Jiuling's eyelids, and checked his pulse, then snorted. "This old man probably relaxed when he heard it was our Death Corps, so he fainted again. No worries, let him have a good sleep. When I snatch someone from the King of Hell, either I don't bring them back, or if I do, the King of Hell can't take them back."

The Wild Dog grumbled, "Doctor, you always do this, you must have offended the King of Hell. Be careful, he will get you back. I bet when you get there, you'll be climbing mountains of knives, diving into seas of fire, and boiling in oil pots. The eighteen levels of hell have already reserved a spot for you."

Slap! A plaster flew over, but the Wild Dog was prepared. As soon as he said this, he covered his mouth, and the plaster stuck to his hand. He raised his hand and giggled, "I was prepared for this, you sneak... slap... hmm..."

"I'll deal with you, no matter how much you struggle, you won't escape my hands." Shu Chang patted his hands and gave the Wild Dog a contemptuous glance.

"Doctor, when will this old man wake up? I want to ask him some questions!" Xiao Mao tugged at Shu Chang's sleeve and asked.

"This guy is relaxed now, he'll probably sleep until dawn. Ask him tomorrow!"

"Can't we wake him up now?"

"I went through a lot to save him, do you want him to go back to the King of Hell so soon?" Shu Chang spread his hands. "Besides, even if you get some information now, what can you do? The Qin army is still at the foot of the mountain. Do you want to take the Death Corps back into the Luoying Mountains?"

Xiao Mao sighed, turned around, and walked away, somewhat dejected.

The mountain gradually became quiet. Shu Chang lay not far from the two patients. No matter where he was, he always had the most comfortable setup. The soldiers had cut down trees to make him a reclining chair, and laid down cushions for absolute comfort. The Death Corps had many skilled craftsmen, so this was no big deal. Of course, only the doctor had this treatment. Even the two injured men were just lying on stone slabs, with a thick layer of fallen leaves as a luxury.

The Wild Dog sneakily glanced at Shu Chang, who seemed to be asleep, and smiled silently. He stealthily broke off a small branch from his body, slowly extending it, and poked it into Guo Jiuling's armpit, which was a sensitive spot. Each poke was quite painful.

Little brat, I don't believe you won't wake up. The Wild Dog bared his teeth in the darkness.

Guo Jiuling remained motionless like a wooden statue, ignoring the Wild Dog's mischief, and continued to sleep deeply, which made the Wild Dog gnash his teeth in frustration. He accidentally used too much force, and the branch snapped with a crack.

The Wild Dog quickly retracted his hand.

"Dead dog, if you keep doing this, I'll poke your butt with a stick!" Shu Chang said coldly without opening his eyes. The Wild Dog's hair stood on end. He was still not fully recovered and needed help to turn over. If Shu Chang poked his butt, it would definitely hit the mark. Besides, there were probably many in the Death Corps who wanted to poke his butt, especially the monk, who would be overjoyed. This pervert.

The Wild Dog cursed in his heart but dared not play any more tricks. He glanced at Guo Jiuling, "You old bastard, how can you sleep so deeply?" With a grimace, the Wild Dog also fell into a deep sleep.

Guo Jiuling felt a burning heat all over his body. He wanted to move but found himself unable to. A scorching heat seemed to be draining every drop of moisture from his body.

"Water, water!" He murmured.

A cold liquid was poured into his mouth, and he greedily drank it, the heat inside his body quickly subsiding with the coolness. Then, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

He slowly opened his eyes, but the glaring white light forced him to close them again. After a while, he squinted and opened his eyes. Yes, the flag of the Great Chu, the flag of the Death Corps, and the black-iron-armored soldiers holding iron knives, the standard equipment of the Death Corps. He had visited the Death Corps before the campaign and knew this was their standard setup.

"Old Mr. Guo, you're awake?" A man half-knelt before him, smiling. He looked familiar, probably from the tent of Zuo Lixing.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Zhang Xiaozheng, former commander of the Chasing Wind Corps, nicknamed Xiao Mao." Xiao Mao reintroduced himself. "How are you feeling now?"

"Fine." Guo Jiuling remembered that Yang Zhi had gone to the Death Corps with this man nicknamed Xiao Mao, and both had been carried back.

"We want to know what happened to the army?" Zhang Xiaozheng asked. "Sixty thousand troops, how could they be wiped out so easily?"

Guo Jiuling's body trembled violently. In that moment, he seemed to be back on the brutal battlefield, with flames, screams, countless bows and arrows, traps, and enemies surrounding them from all sides. The Chu army, compressed in a narrow valley, was so crowded that they could hardly turn around. They tried to break through, counterattack, and charge, but the officers leading the charges fell one by one, and the soldiers piled up in layers, almost forming a mountain of bodies.

Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

"A trap, the entire military plan was a huge trap. The enemy knew our route, they knew everything about us, but we knew nothing. Sixty thousand brothers, just like that, gone." Even a veteran of a hundred battles could not help but cry like a child.

"How could this happen? I remember you said that only a few people knew about this plan, but the Qin people were already prepared. We have been on the border for a long time and know the Qin people well, but why did the Thunder Corps appear here? Does this mean that the Qin people already knew about this plan before you left the capital and began secretly mobilizing their troops?" Zhang Xiaozheng asked in disbelief.

"I don't know, I don't know!" Guo Jiuling shook his head repeatedly. He had thought about this question over the past few days, but he dared not delve deeper, and he dared not think of the terrifying possibilities.

"Enough, stop crying. A man sheds blood, not tears. You're an old man, why are you crying?" The tall monk roared impatiently. "What's wrong with you? Aren't you the head of the princess's guards? Where is the princess? We went to find you, where is Qin Feng?"

"Princess, Qin Feng?" Guo Jiuling blinked, looking at everyone, and finally recalled that day.

"The Qin people wanted to capture the princess alive. We fought to the death, and then Qin Feng arrived, helping us repel the enemy's first attack. After that, Qin Feng took the princess and left first, while we stayed behind to hold off the pursuers and buy time. After that, I don't know what happened."

"Who was chasing them?" Shu Chang interjected.

"Deng Pu!" Guo Jiuling said.

At the mention of this name, Shu Chang immediately felt a toothache, holding his jaw and drawing in cold air. The officers of the Death Corps also changed their expressions.

How could they not have heard of Deng Pu, who had been their constant adversary on the border with the Qin army?