Big Moon Ballad

Chapter 2688 Return
After resting for three days in Yanggao County, the vanguard of the Northern Expeditionary Army officially broke camp and advanced towards the Northern Wei section of the Yongye Great Wall.

At midnight on the very day the vanguard set off, it was the time that Ying Baoyue and Li Ji had agreed upon to release the White Dog God and the Lord of Clouds.

Ji Jiashu was on tenterhooks the whole way, but nothing happened until after midnight.

There were no unusual celestial phenomena, and the Western Rong army made no unusual moves; everything was as calm as if nothing had happened.

In order to make the journey, the army marched through the night and did not set up camp until midnight in the wilderness less than 20 miles away from the Great Wall of Eternal Night.

The outline of the towering walls of the Eternal Night Great Wall could already be seen in the distance, and the eyesight of high-level cultivators could even see the torches burning on the walls.

However, the people who lit the torches at this time were not from the Northern Wei army, but from the Western Rong people.

Ji Jiashu stood on a small earthen mound, gazing at the huge shadow in the distance.

The Great Wall of Eternal Night—this place carries too many memories of blood and fire.

Tomorrow, they will finally begin to retake this place.

The army only had four hours to rest. Ying Baoyue ensured that the vanguard had sufficient fighting strength before ordering them to rest before reaching the city wall.

The grain supplies sent by the Tang Dynasty had been mostly consumed, so Ying Baoyue ordered that the remaining half be used to reward the soldiers, ensuring that every cavalryman had enough dry rations and that all the warhorses were well fed.

After a simple but as lavish pre-battle banquet, it was already late at night. Ying Baoyue ordered all the generals to get a good night's sleep before dawn.

She followed her own orders and took the initiative to go to sleep.

For the first time, the lights in the commander's tent, which had always been on all night, were turned off.

After inspecting the situation in the military camp, Ji Jiashu gently pushed open the curtain of the commander's tent.

Ying Baoyue's sleeping quarters were located deep within the city, guarded only by a few personal bodyguards, each wearing thick silver armor. These bodyguards were personally arranged by Li Meiniang, and all of them were women.

These bodyguards only allow a very small number of people to pass through; even Gui Chen had to be notified in advance before he could enter.

Ji Jiashu nodded to his personal guards, and the female officer in charge came up to search him.

Ji Jiashu did not resist and took off the Spring Thunder Sword from his waist and gave it to her.

The masked guard shook his head, did not take it, and pointed towards the depths of the curtain.

Ji Jiashu quietly pushed open the curtain and went inside. It was very dark inside the tent. Ying Baoyue was not used to being served and never had anyone by her side when she slept.

However, just as he was about to push aside the last curtain, Ji Jiashu's hand suddenly froze.

A dark figure was sitting at the head of Ying Baoyue's bed.

The bodyguard did not tell him that there were other people present, indicating that this person bypassed the layers of guards and came directly to Ying Baoyue's side.

However, upon seeing the dark figure, Ji Jiashu did not draw his sword.

Because there is only one person in this world who can make Ying Baoyue fall asleep beside him without any suspicion.

Ji Jiashu took a stiff step forward, and the curtain closed behind him.

The person sitting in front of Ying Baoyue's bed turned around, and the two looked at each other in the dim tent.

"You're back."

“Hmm,” Li Ji glanced at Ying Baoyue, who was fast asleep on the bed, “We just escaped not long ago, and it took us a while to get here.”

Ji Jiashu's gaze also fell on Ying Baoyue on the bed. She hadn't slept so soundly in a long time and had completely let down her guard.

Was it because she sensed Li Ji's presence?
Ji Jiashu clenched his fists under his sleeves.

Was it because Li Ji's presence was beside her that she was able to sleep peacefully?
“You were gone for more than just a little while,” Ji Jiashu’s gaze returned to Li Ji, his eyes deep and serious. “What exactly are you thinking?”

Li Ji remained silent for a moment, then stood up and looked Ji Jiashu in the eye.

"I originally planned to be away for a longer period of time."

"How long?" Ji Jiashu stared into his eyes and asked, enunciating each word clearly, "A hundred years?"

He still remembered Chunyu Ye's roar at Ying Baoyue, "So what if we imprison the White Dog God for a hundred years?"

Ji Jiashu suspected that Li Ji really did think that way originally.

Since they couldn't kill them, they sacrificed themselves to permanently seal Yun Zhongjun and Bai Quanshen beneath the frozen lake.

Faced with Ji Jiashu's questioning, Li Ji fell silent again. "So you really thought that way."

Ji Jiashu pressed on, "So what about Baoyue? What are you going to do?"

Did he just disappear forever, without a word, without a care in the world?

Li Ji raised his head, his eyes almost blending into the darkness. "I thought you understood."

"Can't you take good care of her?"

Ji Jiashu heard the sound of his teeth clenching. "Clench your teeth."

After saying that, he threw a punch.

Li Ji took the punch without moving.

The moment the punch landed on his chin, Ji Jiashu realized that his opponent had released all his strength, had not used his true energy to protect himself, and had actually taken the punch with his own body.

Although Ji Jiashu did not use his full true energy, this punch was still imbued with real fire.

Li Ji stumbled and let out a muffled groan.

Ji Jiashu shook his aching hand and said calmly, "Won't I be punished by heaven?"

He was probably the first person in the world to personally beat up a god.

"Shouldn't you have asked this question before taking action?"

Li Ji smiled. "Even if you were, would you be afraid?"

“No,” Ji Jiashu said expressionlessly, “I’m beating up a god, not killing one.”

“The one here isn’t a god, just a person,” Li Ji smiled. “You’ll be fine, and I deserve it.”

"I thought you were going to stab me in the back."

“If I really draw my sword,” Ji Jiashu glanced at the bed, “she should wake up by then.”

Li Ji smiled wryly and sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry."

"Come on," Ji Jiashu clapped his hands. "I have no right to hit you. You are magnanimous for not taking my rudeness to heart."

Li Ji chose to sacrifice himself to seal the White Dog God out of a sense of national duty, not out of personal feelings. His act of taking the opportunity to vent his anger shows that he lacked a broad perspective.

"I think you're not so arrogant as to want to give Baoyue to me."

Li Ji smiled wryly, "How could I dare?"

This was a fatal insult to both Ying Baoyue and Ji Jiashu.

"I just... have no other choice."

“I know,” Ji Jiashu glanced at him and sighed.

So he just threw a punch instead of drawing his sword.

“I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Li Ji glanced at Baoyue sleeping soundly behind him, “but I still made the wrong choice.”

He was not powerful enough to destroy the white dog, so he thought of sacrificing himself to seal the white dog away for a long time.

As for Ying Baoyue...

She was surrounded by many people who loved and helped her wholeheartedly. Li Ji's eyes dimmed; he was not irreplaceable.

He used to think that way, but now he doesn't dare to think that way anymore.

“No one can replace you,” Ji Jiashu took a deep breath. “She hasn’t been sleeping well these past few days.”

"She's waiting for you to come back."

“I know,” Li Ji said, touching the bruise on his chin. “You should have hit me harder just now.”

His self-righteous decision brought Ying Baoyue too much pain.

"Well, that'll give you a good time," Ji Jiashu snorted coldly. He wanted to say something more, but suddenly froze.

The person on the bed stirred and opened their eyes.