GBP Chapter 87 A glimmer of hope
Chapter 87 A glimmer of hope
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Enraged by his injury, Commander Liu retreated to the outside, wincing in pain, and shouted, "Bring archers over and hold this place. Fire as soon as they show their faces. You," he pointed to the rebels who had fought the White Lotus, "set this staircase on fire. I want to see if they come down and surrender, or be burned alive!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Ye felt a chill run down his spine. With fire and archers involved, he was truly doomed.
Several archers filed into the main hall, nocked their arrows, and aimed at the upper floor. Liu Ye pulled Bai Lian away from the entrance and said, "Fairy, don't be reckless. The arrows are here; let's avoid the fray for now."
Bai Lian said, "Are we just going to let them set fire to the place? They'll either burn to death or be suffocated by the smoke."
Liu Ye said dejectedly, "What can we do? We're at their mercy." He looked at the other window and said to Bai Lian, "If all else fails, you can take Miss Ling and jump out of this window. You have light-footed skills, so you might be able to escape these rebels."
Ling Xi'er became anxious: "And what about you?"
“I’m not as skilled as you, you’d be a burden to me. This city is full of rebels, running away with me would be certain death. You’re all so skilled, you might be able to escape. One by one, we can make it. Are we all going to die here?” Liu Ye had already prepared for the worst. He turned to the landlady and said, “I’m sorry, I can’t take you with me, and I can’t leave either.”
The landlady shook her head blankly: "My mother-in-law is dead. Where can I, a mere woman, go? It's better to die than not to have anything to do with my reputation..."
Ling Xi'er said, "I won't abandon you to escape alone. If we die, we die together!"
Bai Lian also said, "I won't abandon you; I can't do such a thing."
Liu Ye gave a bitter smile and did not answer. The rebels downstairs had already set fire to the building under the cover of archers, and the wooden staircase began to crackle and burn.
Could it be that he didn't die by that scoundrel Master Tang's knife, nor by that fellow Lin San's iron rod and arrows, but instead had to die at the hands of a group of rebels? Liu Ye thought of Liang Xiaoming, Tang Yu, and Su Wen, feeling utterly unwilling.
Farewell, my brothers! Farewell, my woman! Farewell, my grand ambitions!
Just as all hope seemed lost, another voice rang out from outside the door: "What are you all doing gathered around here? Li Jiucheng only gave us one day, so hurry up and eat your fill!"
The voice reached Liu Ye's ears. As if on cue, he leaped to his feet, approached the stairs, but didn't show his face, and shouted, "General Geng! General Geng! Quickly save me! It's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!" It was true that Geng Zhongming had tried to silence him, but he had overheard the conversation, learned of Geng Zhongming's intentions, and fled. The two sides hadn't completely broken off relations. Now that the rebels had captured Dengzhou City, there was no need to worry about leaks. Talking to Geng Zhongming was much easier than talking to these rabble soldiers; perhaps he could escape alive.
It was Geng Zhongming who arrived. He had been assigned to the area around the East Gate and had unleashed all his troops to plunder, including the Liaodong soldiers who had surrendered to him. He led his elite battalion, specifically targeting wealthy households. As he passed by, he noticed a group of people standing there, led by one of his own men, so he stopped and urged them on. Unexpectedly, cries for help came from inside a house. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, so he was immediately intrigued and went inside to see what was going on.
When the people inside saw that the people upstairs actually knew their general, they hurriedly put out the fire.
Liu Ye slowly peeked out from behind the balcony railing, letting Geng Zhongming see his face clearly, and said, "General Geng, tell your men not to fire arrows. It's me, Liu Ye, the one who delivered the letter to you the day before yesterday. You haven't forgotten me, have you?"
Geng Zhongming narrowed his eyes, a half-smile playing on his lips, and said, "So it was you. Why did you leave without saying goodbye the night before last?"
"Ahem, well, it's a long story. This fairy has some matters to attend to in the sect, and it's the middle of the night, so it's not good to disturb the general... Today, we had a conflict with your subordinates, it's all a misunderstanding!" In his haste, Liu Ye couldn't find a suitable reason, so he could only make something up.
"Oh?" Geng Zhongming naturally didn't believe such nonsense. He glanced at the corpses on the ground; they were all Liaodong soldiers who had defected to him. Although they weren't his own standard battalion's main force, they had defected to him and were therefore his subordinates. If they died like this without explanation, it wouldn't be fair to the troops.
These three members of the White Lotus Sect were originally intended to be killed to silence them, but now that Dengzhou has been successfully captured, there is no need to kill them. However, since they have come to us, we can't blame ourselves for being unrighteous.
Seeing that Geng Zhongming still hesitated after revealing his identity, Liu Ye sensed something was wrong. He worried that Geng Zhongming might think the three of them were insignificant and kill the subordinate he had used to appease him. Before Geng Zhongming could make up his mind to break off relations, Liu Ye quickly said, "I congratulate General Geng on your great success. From now on, in Dengzhou City, my White Lotus Sect and Generals Li and Kong will be supporting each other, and we will need General Geng's help."
"Oh? Is that so?" Geng Zhongming looked up in surprise. His eyes were no longer hesitant, but filled with astonishment.
Liu Ye breathed a sigh of relief. As long as things calmed down, and as long as things didn't break down on the spot, the longer it dragged on, the less likely Geng Zhongming would kill him. He simply stood up, and sure enough, the archers lowered their bows and stopped aiming at him.
Bai Lian and Ling Xi'er were both extremely nervous for Liu Ye when they saw his bold move. The archers lowered their bows as they watched him stand up, all holding their breath in suspense.
"Before entering the city to contact the generals, I discussed with Generals Li and Kong that after the city fell, I should freely spread the faith among the believers, so that the army and the people could support each other with their military and civil skills. The two generals personally agreed to this."
After weighing the options, Geng Zhongming decided that if this were true, it would be inconvenient for him to kill these people. It wouldn't be worth offending Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde for no reason. Even when beating a dog, one should consider its owner! At present, Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde were clearly in charge in Dengzhou City, while he and Chen Guangfu were at a disadvantage.
He smiled and said to Liu Ye, "Since it was a misunderstanding, let's just let it go. Those bastards deserved to die for scaring Brother Liu and his companions. I wonder if Brother Liu would like to continue resting here, or..."
How could Liu Ye dare to stay here any longer? If he sent this group away, another group would come, and he wouldn't be so lucky to meet his savior again. He quickly replied, "Please send a few soldiers from the standard battalion to escort us to see General Li and General Kong."
"Alright, alright, I'll send someone to take you there right away. They're on their way to the governor's office right now, you can go directly there to find them." Geng Zhongming instructed two of his personal guards to stay behind, then led the rest of the group out, leaving behind only a pile of corpses.