Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 35
The summer breeze rolled out of the door, bringing with it flying dust. The smell of sawdust mixed with the overturned oil lamp created an indescribable fragrance.

The moonlight and candlelight tried to meet at the gate through the smoke and dust, but were blocked by the tall figure walking in slowly.

The man was about twenty years old, with a face as handsome as a crown, eyes as bright as stars, a nose as sharp as a gall bladder, and lips as white as painted fat. He was handsome and tall, wearing a blue brocade robe and a black futou on his head. If it weren't for the two-handed heavy sword in his hand and the light chain mail armor on his body, he really looked like a young man going on an outing.

Although his appearance is extremely outstanding, what is even more striking than his appearance is his temperament as cold as winter. Even in summer, he exudes bursts of coolness, which is intimidating.

Monk Yiduan originally wanted to kill Li Tieqiang first, and then deal with the people outside the door with his companions. However, he did not expect that the seemingly sturdy wooden door could not withstand it for even a moment and was kicked away.

However, when he saw out of the corner of his eye a fragment of door panel that was an inch thick and rolled to his feet, he suddenly realized that it was not that the wooden door was not strong, but that the person outside the door was too strong.

He was too strong.

Monk Yiduan trembled violently all over and suddenly recalled the man's nickname from his memory.

'Big Blue Rhinoceros'!
It was not until then that Monk Yiduan realized that there are only wrong names in the world, but there are no wrong nicknames.

"For so long I have thought of him as gentle and refined, but have I forgotten that he is also an angry rhinoceros?" Monk Yiduan felt regretful for the first time.

The visitor ignored Monk Yiduan's thoughts and simply glanced at him. He then took out a piece of silver from his waist pocket and gently placed it on the counter. He said to the shopkeeper and waiter behind him in a gentle voice, "Shopkeepers, this is compensation for you. Now go hide outside for a while. This matter will be resolved soon."

The shopkeeper and the waiter nodded hurriedly, but they didn't even dare to take the silver and ran out of the door in a hurry.

The young man leaned slightly to the side, one hand resting on his two-handed heavy sword, the other on the counter, nodding to everyone in the room: "Da Tieqiang, Wenyuan. And... Yiduan. How did you get together?"

"Xin...Xin Qiji!"

Monk Yiduan took half a step back, gritted his teeth and suppressed the trembling caused by fear, so that the sound of calling the other person's name seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"This fellow is just one man, let's kill him together!"

The two swordsmen didn't know whether they were excited or afraid. They waved their swords at the same time and attacked from both sides, trying to strike first.

Xin Qiji leaned on his two-handed heavy sword and did not move, as if he was frightened silly. It was not until the two swordsmen approached within two steps that he suddenly raised his two-handed heavy sword, stirring up dust and making a strange whistling sound, and slammed it hard on the two long swords.

The two swordsmen were just ordinary bandits, and had never seen the methods of a true general. They couldn't hold the long sword at all, and it flew out of their hands.

The tip of the two-handed heavy sword paused in the air for a moment, then returned along an upward arc.

The heavy sword was like a straw in Xin Qiji's hand, and the blade was like cutting tofu, cutting off the head and half of the shoulder of the swordsman on the right, and the remaining force cut open the chest of the swordsman on the left.

Accompanied by the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground and blood spurting out, a scream suddenly rang out, then suddenly became smaller and finally disappeared.

Monk Yiduan had just taken a step forward dragging his iron staff, intending to launch a pincer attack, but he stopped immediately when he saw the swordsman he had recruited die so easily.

Beads of sweat the size of beans ran across his bald head and flowed into his eyes, making him wonder for a moment whether what was about to flow out of his eyes was the sweat that had just flowed in, or tears of regret.

Xin Qiji shook the blood off his heavy sword, hammered it into the ground again, and said casually, "Yiduan, tell me. You can't stand the hardships of the army. Whether you run away, become a bandit, or surrender, I understand. But why did you steal the seal?"

Monk Yiduan wiped the sweat from his bald head with his big sleeves, and a smile uglier than crying appeared at the corner of his mouth: "There must be a step for promotion, otherwise when I go to the Jin people, not even a dog will look me in the eye." Li Tieqiang was inexplicably surprised, and there was complete disgust in his eyes when he looked at Monk Yiduan.

Monk Yiduan had only a few skills with a spear and a club, but was completely utterly useless otherwise. He was a thief and a drunkard. He hadn't been expelled from the army by Geng Jing until now, thanks to Xin Qiji's protection.

Xin Qiji was the secretary of the army, responsible for the seal of the Tianping Army. Monk Yiduan stole the seal, which was simply putting his benefactor to death!
As the saying goes, "When a tiger or rhinoceros escapes from its cage, or a tortoise or jade is destroyed in its casket, whose fault is it?"

This is the guard's fault!
For a green forest hero like Li Tieqiang, breaking the military law is the least of his worries; losing his sense of loyalty is the biggest problem!
Xin Qiji's eyes flashed with disappointment and pity. His lips moved for a moment, but he was too lazy to talk nonsense with the other party anymore. He just stretched out his hand and said, "Give it to me!"

Monk Yiduan pulled out a fist-sized copper seal from his bosom and raised it to signal, "Can you buy my life?"

After saying this, without waiting for Xin Qiji's answer, he threw the bronze seal forward like a hidden weapon.

Xin Qiji raised his left hand and caught it steadily.

Monk Yiduan did not take the opportunity to launch an attack, but instead ran towards the back door dragging his iron rod.

Li Tieqiang was about to chase him, but Xin Qiji stopped him: "Brother Li, please protect my brothers."

After saying this, Xin Qiji grasped the bronze seal in his left hand and the heavy sword in his right hand and rushed towards Monk Yiduan.

Monk Yiduan didn't want to escape at all. Exposing his back to the enemy at this time would be seeking death. He had also been in the martial arts world before, so he understood this simple truth.

Seeing Xin Qiji chasing him with a heavy sword in one hand, he suddenly ran away, roared like a tiger, leaped up, twisted his body, swung the iron rod, and used all his strength to smash it down on Xin Qiji's head.

Xin Qiji encountered an unexpected incident but did not stop. He gently pushed the head of the iron rod away with his heavy sword.

The iron rod slammed heavily on the ground, smashing the blue bricks into pieces.

The two men passed each other, and Monk Yiduan cried out in his heart that something was wrong. When he was about to bend over and roll over, he felt a sharp pain on his back, and all the strength in his body disappeared. He could not hold the iron staff in his hand steadily, and it fell to the ground with a clang.

Monk Yiduan turned around with difficulty, only to see that Xin Qiji was using a two-handed heavy sword to perform a light and agile one-handed sword technique. He held the sword in his backhand and stabbed it backwards without looking back, piercing his back without a scratch.

"You...you!" Monk Yiduan felt that all the strength in his body was flowing out through the wound on his back. He could not stand and collapsed to the ground. Blood gushed out of his mouth, leaving him unable to utter a word.

Xin Qiji drew his heavy sword and formed a lotus seal to bid farewell to his former friend, now his enemy: "Good man, you will become a Buddha in your next life."

Monk Yiduan collapsed on the ground, put his hands together with great effort, exhaled a long breath, and then lowered his head and died.

After a long while, Xin Qiji sighed deeply, picked up a pair of intact tables and chairs, sat down, and asked Li Tieqiang, "Aren't you going to the south to pay homage to the emperor? Why are you here?"

After these words were spoken, Li Tieqiang and Xin Wenyuan both smiled bitterly.

"It's a long story..."

(End of this chapter)