usatvline Chapter 263 Stalemate
Chapter 263 Stalemate
"Ah Li." Gu Chang'an climbed out of the cave, helped Shen Li up with one hand, and ordered the army doctor to put down his crossbow and take her pulse.
Military doctors are skilled at treating external injuries but not so much at internal injuries. Even so, when they took her pulse, they immediately understood: "This lady has a strong pulse, but her blood and qi are weak. It seems that she has been overworked, which has damaged her blood and qi and even affected her internal organs."
Gu Chang'an frowned deeply and immediately asked, "Do you have any medicine on you?"
"This injury requires treatment, and we only have emergency medication on hand." The military doctor dared not look directly into Gu Chang'an's terrifying gaze and lowered his head, saying, "Madam has a good constitution, and as long as she gets enough rest, it's not impossible for her to heal on her own."
Although Gu Chang'an was skeptical of the result, he had no better option at the moment, so he settled Shen Li in the cave and took command of the battle.
The enemy suffered heavy casualties from being crushed by the large rocks, and their morale was also shattered.
But things weren't going well for them either; their crossbow bolts were running low, and according to the garrison's analysis, they could only hold out for half an hour.
Once their crossbow bolts are exhausted, no matter how steep the mountain, they are no match for thousands of men.
"Put away the bows and crossbows, use swords to guard the area, and cut down a few trees," Gu Chang'an ordered after a moment's thought.
The group was puzzled, but they did as instructed.
The people at the foot of the mountain climbed cautiously and slowly, and there weren't many people climbing from any direction, obviously because they were worried about being hit by someone falling down in front of them. This strategy was to deplete the crossbow bolts on the mountain.
The soldiers nearing the summit were prepared to die a heroic death, but instead of being greeted by arrows and crossbows, they bravely climbed further, only to encounter several men armed with swords, panting heavily.
With a flash of light, soldiers' heads rolled off, and their corpses followed.
With such a sparse number of men tasked with attacking the mountain, they would be at the mercy of others once they reached the top.
Then the deputy commander and the short middle-aged man below saw a glimmer of hope and exclaimed that they had run out of crossbow bolts.
"They've run out of crossbow bolts! Everyone, charge forward and take down the rebels in one fell swoop!" the deputy commander shouted.
Soldiers swarmed up the mountain, filling the narrow path with people, while the area below was deserted.
Gu Chang'an was chopping down the branches of a fallen tree on the mountain with his knife. The other two military doctors were doing the same, one branch each. The soldiers around them had already fought a round of killings, and after everyone had set off on the mountain path, they fought even more fiercely.
As expected, the soldiers who were attacking the mountain encountered rolling logs and were knocked around. Because there were people everywhere and nowhere to hide, they became live targets.
Four logs rolled down from four directions, and the deputy commander who was climbing the mountain almost got hit. He was once again doubtful about the situation on the mountain, but since he had already come up, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep going.
Gu Chang'an waved his hand, and seven crossbows fired arrows simultaneously.
At the same time, he took out his musket and aimed it at the deputy commander who had already gone up the mountain. When the deputy commander gradually came into his firing range, he pulled the trigger.
"Shhhhhh!"
"boom!"
The sound of muskets rang out amidst a hail of arrows, and a bright red mark appeared on the deputy commander's brow, his expression shifting from terror to stunned silence.
"The deputy commander is dead! Retreat! Retreat quickly!" The soldiers, unable to climb the mountain and seeing their commander dead, immediately covered their heads and ran. No one wanted to rush forward and die.
"Don't retreat!" the short, middle-aged man shouted urgently. "All of you, come back here!"
However, the soldiers did not obey. They were not willing to risk their lives in the first place, and now that their commander was dead and wounded, why would they listen to the orders of someone of unknown origin?
In a short while, the soldiers had all run away. Of course, the guards also grabbed three unlucky guys who were closest to them. After everyone had run away, they made them go and retrieve the crossbow bolts that had been fired and clean them.
The three of them desperately wanted to resist, but their weapons were taken away and their armor removed. Faced with the enemy's crossbows, they had no choice but to obediently do their work.
Of course, two military doctors were also enslaved at the same time. They went into the cave to treat Xie Yuan, who was in a coma, and also gave Shen Li the medicinal soup they had prepared.
It was already dark when the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that there was no one nearby. The reinforcements should be arriving soon.
The prisoners stood together outside the cave roasting meat, hoping that this group was indeed Lord Gu, otherwise they would surely be treated as assassins and dealt with afterward.
A dim fire burned in the cave, illuminating Shen Li's face as she lay on the deerskin. Even in her unconscious state, her brows were furrowed, and her lips were devoid of color.
Gu Chang'an's previously stable body temperature rose again. He sat beside Shen Li, holding her hand, looking extremely anxious.
Those military doctors were just coasting along; they couldn't figure out the root cause of Ah Li's injuries at all, and they couldn't even prescribe the right medicine.
And what nonsense about it being able to heal on its own! Even a doctor could tell this injury was very serious, how could it possibly heal on its own?
As he was thinking, he suddenly saw Shen Li's eyelids twitch. He thought it was his imagination, so he wiped the water off his face and looked closely. He found that her eyes had slowly opened.
"Ah Li?" he exclaimed in surprise.
When Shen Li woke up and heard this voice, she felt much more at ease, and her furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
"Why is my husband crying again?" Shen Li's voice was slightly hoarse, but the teasing tone was still very strong.
She had already seen Gu Chang'an shed tears twice that day.
Who would believe that a cruel official who endured all kinds of tortures in the imperial prison and still refused to give false testimony, a official whose name made officials turn pale, would shed tears over trivial matters?
"Ah Li, how are you feeling?" Gu Chang'an asked anxiously, "Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
"Water," Shen Li said softly.
Gu Chang'an then helped her up with one hand and used his injured arm to bring her the water that had been prepared earlier, which was in a wooden cup.
Shen Li felt much better after drinking a glass of water. She let out a long breath and said, "Husband, don't worry. I just overexerted myself. I'll be fine after some rest."
"Then lie down for a while longer," Gu Chang'an said, helping her lie down again.
Shen Li was taken aback and looked at him: "Husband, why are you taking care of me while neglecting your own injuries?"
He had suffered an external injury and then been caught in the rain all night. Thinking of this, Shen Li touched Gu Chang'an's forehead and found it was still hot.
The fever wasn't very high, but it hadn't subsided.
"I didn't do anything, and I'm recovering from my injuries," Gu Chang'an hurriedly explained. "I just took my medicine and ate something. If I act recklessly now, I'll only cause trouble for A-Li."
He naturally didn't care about his own health, but this was on the run, and if he collapsed, he wouldn't be able to protect Ah Li, and Ah Li would have to take care of him.
"It's good that my husband knows how to take care of himself." Shen Li patted the person next to her with some relief: "Husband, lie down, let's squeeze in and rest together."
She knew that if Gu Chang'an said he had eaten, he meant it; this man wouldn't lie to her.