A beautiful girl lifted the curtain and broke in like a lively spirit, rushing into Shi Junhe’s arms.
She called in a sweet voice, “Father, I miss you so much!”
Shi Junhe suddenly came to his senses after quite a while and found the soft body in his arms. Joy flashed in his chest and soon it was replaced with worry and fear. He blurted out angrily, “Why did you come here?”
Shi Qingxue acted like a spoilt child and moved in his arms, saying reasonably, “I naturally came to see you.”
“Who told you to come?” Shi Junhe pushed her away slightly.
Shi Qingxue was forced back and staggered. She almost bumped into the desk, looking at him in disbelief. “Father, what are you doing?”
Shi Junhe didn’t answer but got hard-hearted, pointing to the door. “You go back now. Go!”
“Father.”
Qingxue opened her eyes wide, which were full of tears. She controlled herself and prevented them from falling. In this way, she looked at Shi Junhe, which almost made him soft-hearted.
But at the thought of the current situation, Shi Junhe got tough and remained silent. His little daughter could never stay here.
“Father!” Shi Qingxue called again in a low and pleading voice.
Her bright eyes blinked with tears and looked pitiful, as if saying, “I am obedient. Don’t drive me away.”
Shi Junhe was about to tell her to go away, but he couldn’t.
He just turned away and asked coldly, “How did you come?”
Shi Junhe didn’t see that the little poor girl smiled secretly, but she answered in a sad voice, “I heard that somebody wanted to harm you, so I came out alone. Later I met His Excellency on the way, so I came here with him.”
Shi Junhe was attracted by her words and didn’t have time to wonder why she was with Mo Junyang again. He asked, “Somebody wanted to harm me? Who told you?”
Of course she guessed from the signs in the previous life and later Mo Junhao had confirmed it.
She couldn’t say what had happened in the previous life, and the next was the gratitude and enmity between her and Mo Junhao, which she had to deal with by herself and she didn’t want to talk about.
So, the lady blinked and said casually, “I guessed.”
Shi Junhe was unable to respond.
Before he spoke, Shi Qingxue swiftly held her father again and behaved in a spoiled manner. “Father, you don’t know how much I missed you. I haven’t slept well for several days and just wanted to see you earlier. Don’t drive me away, okay?”
Shi Junhe’s last toughness was defeated by her grievance.
She was his loved child and he would never want her to suffer. They hadn’t seen each other for only a few days, but Qingxue’s beautiful face got thinner with obvious dark circles beneath her eyes. He looked at her and felt sad for her.
He answered automatically, “Okay. I won’t drive you away. I won’t. Stop crying.”
“That’s what you said. If you change your mind, I will report to Grandpa.”
She even mentioned the late Elder Duke Shi. Even if Shi Junhe thought it was inappropriate, he had to reply, “I won’t back out.”
The grievance on Shi Qingxue’s face was like being painted and disappeared soon. If it weren’t for fear that she made her complacency too obvious, she could laugh out.
Somebody coughed from behind. The two raised their heads at the same time and found Mo Junyang and Wenren Chi who were standing at the door and looking at them.
Qingxue’s face turned red and she hurriedly came out of Shi Junhe’s arms. She stood up and explained, “I just missed my father too much.”
Wenren Chi couldn’t help laughing. “Didn’t you use to run into Father’s arms for comfort? Why are you feeling shy now?”
While speaking, he glanced at the cold man next to him from time to time.
“Brother!” Shi Qingxue stomped with shyness and blamed Wenren Chi for making fun of her.
“Well, it is not time to joke now. Father has arranged everything. You and His Excellency retreat with General Fu as soon as possible.” Wenren Chi concealed his smile.
Shi Qingxue had gone through all kinds of hardships and almost lost her life before reaching here, and even Shi Junhe was convinced by her. How could she go away because of Wenren Chi’s cold face?
She laughed complacently. “I am not going. I will stay and kill the bandits with Father and then return with victory.”
“Stop.” Wenren Chi sighed helplessly. This was almost the harshest word he had said to Qingxue.
Shi Qingxue seemed not to notice his difficulty but ran to him and grabbed his arm.
She didn’t find the man’s stiffness under his armor and said with morale, “Chi, don’t worry. None of us will die here. We can go back alive. Believe me!
I will protect you all.”
She said the last words in a low voice and seemed to lack confidence.
Anybody else would probably laugh out loud at Qingxue’s brag after hearing that, but the three men present were stunned and heard the devotion and determination from her words.
Wenren Chi was most affected and almost believed Shi Qingxue and that they could return in safety.
However, how could they have the safety?
It was a dead end of him and Shi Junhe. They wouldn’t or couldn’t stay alive.
Wenren Chi bit his lower lip and shook off Qingxue’s hand decisively, repeating, “Stop. Go away with His Excellency now, or it would be too late.”
Shi Junhe kept looking at Wenren Chi and his eyes darkened, but he approved, “Chi is right. You go back now!”
“Father, you break your promise. You said you wouldn’t drive me away!”
Shi Qingxue glared at Shi Junhe like complaining, but the latter avoided meeting her eyes and remained silent.
“You!” Shi Qingxue was furious and couldn’t understand what were in the two dull heads.
She sensitively found that the two didn’t want to resist the bandits simply, but she couldn’t persuade them.
She turned to Mo Junyang involuntarily to ask for help. He was quiet since he came in, as if he were not existent. The man seemed to be telepathic and looked at her, too, with the emotionless face, but it could comfort her unexpectedly.
Shi Qingxue suddenly calmed down.
Mo Junyang finally said, “If I say that I have a way to make you two generals go back, wouldn’t you consider it?”
The other two men looked at him in surprise.
Shi Junhe glanced at Wenren Chi, who looked hesitant but didn’t speak a word at last.
So Shi Junhe said, “Your Excellency, thanks for your kindness, but I have my decision to arrange the array.”
He refused without mercy and then couldn’t help but state, “I have an unreasonable request. Qingxue is innocent and came here. Please send her back home safely, Your Excellency. I am really appreciated.”
“Father!”
Shi Qingxue thought she had misheard. Her father could always tell who was right and accept the good advice and would never give up a way to go back but insist on facing death.
Shi Junhe ignored her and looked at Mo Junyang, waiting for his promise.
But King Rui’s heir, Mo Junyang never took anybody else seriously, including Shi Junhe. He just stared at Qingxue and said expressionlessly, “Go out and bring the other generals here. We will discuss the tactics again.”
He said to discuss, but there was no difference from ordering, even if he was just King Rui’s heir without real power.
Shi Qingxue was mad at the two stupid men inside and snorted. Then she ran out quickly, leaving them no chance to stop her.
Wenren Chi howled angrily at once, “Your Excellency, this is the Shi Army. You have no right to order us!”
Mo Junyang seemed not to have noticed his anger and looked at the two, saying indifferently, “I just tell you, Qingxue wouldn’t let you die, even at the risk of her own life. So no matter what gratitude or enmity you two have or how you are planning to face death, you can’t die here.”
His statement was not to discuss with them but to give orders more toughly.
Wenren Chi wanted to reply subconsciously, “What does our plan have to do with you?”
But he knew the answer before asking. Mo Junyang didn’t care about their life or death. He wanted Shi Qingxue to stay alive, so they would be alive.
“Or, as long as you can persuade her to give you up and go with me, it’s okay with me, even if you are turning traitors now,” Mo Junyang added with a faint smile before the other young man spoke, as if he had seen through Wenren Chi’s mind.
Wenren Chi was speechless.
He was struggling in his heart. One was the deep enmity, and the other was Shi Qingxue’s life.
He seemed to have fallen into a swamp. He didn’t want to show his head, so that he wouldn’t have to make a choice.
“Chi…” Shi Junhe stared at Wenren Chi worriedly and was afraid that the young man would enter a dead end.
At the same time, a gentle voice, which came from his mother’s tenderness, appeared in Wenren Chi’s heart.
“Chi, you need to remember forever. The dead are gone but the living people should live on!”
Wenren Chi was shocked. The words were always deep in his brain, and even when Shi Lei passed away, he comforted others with this sentence. Now it happened to him, but he was once confused.
His attitude changed and his eyes became brighter.
Although he was still unhappy at Mo Junyang’s arrogance, he asked respectfully, “How would you resist the bandits’ attack and keep the Shi Army?”
“The best defense is to attack.”
Wenren Chi sneered and seemed to express how foolish King Rui’s spoilt heir was. “If we are capable to break the array, we wouldn’t have been in such a dilemma. How could we attack unless we break the array with five elements?”
Mo Junyang was emotionless. “I can break the array.”
Shi Junhe was surprised. “Your Excellency, do you know something about the strange defense and armor?”
“No.”
They finally had some hope, but it was destroyed soon. Wenren Chi couldn’t help but say with sarcasm, “Your Excellency, do you think it is a children’s game to break the array with five elements which has harmed hundreds of soldiers? Can you break it as you like? And now we are already in the array. You are daydreaming if you want to break it.
I won’t let the Shi Army go crazy with you!”
Shi Junhe didn’t say anything, but he showed that he agreed with Wenren Chi.
“Who said we can’t break it unless we know the array with five elements?”
Mo Junyang retorted casually and uplifted his brows. “How do you think I took Qingxue inside?”
Wenren Chi was petrified.
Right!
If Mo Junyang could do nothing to the array with five elements, he couldn’t have taken Qingxue into the Shi Army’s camp in the array.