gnovel Chapter 91 Sand dunes rise to the level of the city
Chapter 91 Sand dunes rise to the level of the city
"Young master, would you like me to take one of your men?"
Fu'an spurred his horse to catch up. The combined weight of the three children exceeded that of an average adult. Xiao Bai felt that the weight on his back was more than twice as heavy as usual, and he was quite uncomfortable. Moreover, he was riding against the strong wind, so he could not pick up the speed.
"No."
Before Gao Huaide could say anything, Da Fu sternly refused: "If just anyone can ride with my sisters, then who among my many servants cannot be commanded? Why did Mother hesitate for so long before entrusting this to Brother Gao?"
"Okay. Hold on tight, or you'll fall off the horse."
Gao Huaide was quite impatient. She was clearly the daughter of a military family, yet she acted like a proper lady from a prominent family, hoping to enter the palace as an empress in the future.
He felt the small hands around his waist tighten slightly after he drank.
Little Fu, who was sitting in front of him, turned around, let out a scream, and burst into tears: "A monster! There's a monster!"
Gao Huaide glanced in the direction he had come from and saw a wall of earthen yellow sand rising from the ground and reaching the sky, swallowing up everything in its path.
"Young master, hurry, we're almost there!"
A short distance away, the outline of Xiazhou City could be vaguely seen.
The wind howled, and Gao Huaide had to raise his voice for Fu An, who was right next to him, to hear what he was saying.
Little Fu wiped away her tears and tried to break free: "Mother, I want to go find Mother!"
"Don't move!"
Gao Huaide wrapped his arms around her, cursing the little vixen for only causing trouble, and urged his horse on: "Giddy up!"
The sand wall approached at an extremely fast speed; a moment ago it was still far away on the horizon, but a short while later it was much closer.
Thinking of the perilous situation that Madam Fu's group was in, Da Fu's rosy, apple-like face turned deathly pale, and she bit her lip, remaining silent.
"Xiaobai, faster!"
Gao Huaide wasn't sure if he could get into the city before the storm arrived, so he just kept riding.
Fu An seemed to have anticipated this outcome, and shouted, "Young Master, you must stay with me closely from now on. Our lives hang in the balance, and there's no room for error."
The two riders galloped wildly, as fast as the wind, but in the end they could not outrun a true whirlwind.
Seeing that the city was only a hundred paces away, Gao Huaide was overjoyed.
The next moment, a sandstorm swept in, obscuring the road ahead and making it impossible to see where the city gate was.
How can we enter the city if we can't find the city gate? Gao Huaide was about to try and figure it out.
"It's too late."
Fu An turned his horse's head and said, "Young master, follow me!"
Rushing to the foot of the city wall, they could vaguely see a horse-faced structure, its protruding part about five zhang long, forming an angle with the city wall. (Note 1)
Fu An dismounted and hid inside, pressing himself against the corner of the wall, indicating to Gao Huaide to do as he was told.
Gao Huaide, carrying Da Fu and Xiao Fu, found a neighboring horse-faced mound, and led Xiao Bai inside.
The three had just taken cover and had no time to speak when the sandstorm, like the palm of a giant god, slammed heavily against the city wall.
"boom--!"
The loud noises were not just one, but a continuous series.
Gao Huaide grabbed Xiaobai's reins, the horse's body shielding it from most of the splashing sand and gravel. In the face of the storm, the three children huddled in the corner looked so frail.
The sand and gravel scraped against the wall like countless files, creating a deafening roar with a dense, crackling sound, like a swarm of ants gnawing and feeding.
Xiao Fu closed her eyes and covered her ears, too afraid to listen or look, too frightened to cry out. Da Fu held her tightly, tears streaming down her face. Faced with such overwhelming power, she dared not even think about whether her mother could survive.
The wind howled relentlessly, and sand poured down, forming waterfalls of quicksand.
The sand spread to their feet, covering their insteps and burying them up to their ankles. As soon as they pulled their feet out, they immediately sank back in, the sand gradually rising until it reached their calves.
Gao Huaide lifted his foot and shook it, and the sand grains fell down in a flurry.
A higher sand dune had been built up in front of the city wall, obscuring the view of Fu'an on the other side. Gao Huaide couldn't help but think, "If this continues, won't the three of us be buried alive?"
He felt lonely and helpless, but the Fu sisters were right beside him, so he forced himself to keep up the act and refused to show the slightest fear.
The churning black and yellow waves blotted out the sky, repeatedly crashing against the city walls with no sign of stopping.
"This damn wind, I wonder how long it will keep blowing before it stops."
Gao Huaide said casually, "It'll probably be blowing for several hours, maybe even several days."
Hearing him describe how terrible it was, Xiao Fu finally managed to stop her tears, but then her lips trembled and she was about to cry again.
"Don't worry, once things calm down, Father will definitely send people to rescue us."
Da Fu suppressed his fear and gently comforted his sister.
The hiding place was cramped, with a sandstorm just two or three steps away. The three men and one horse had to huddle together. Apart from his sister, Gao Huaide had never been so close to any other girl. The space was so narrow and cramped that they would bump into each other if they stretched out their arms or legs even slightly.
What if the young lady, like her mother, adheres to the traditional notion of men and women not touching each other and insists on marrying the young master?
Lost in thought, Gao Huaide reached out to brush the dust from his beloved horse's mane: "Little White, Little White, look at you, you're almost turning into a little yellow."
Da Fu also brushed the dust off his sister, gently stroking her hair to remove the sand, and tidied himself up a bit. But in no time, his hair and body were covered in sand again, making him look dusty and dirty.
The girl, being naturally clean, could only hug her younger sister tightly, shaking her head and smiling bitterly in resignation.
The wind and sand swept in from all directions, but were blocked by the high walls. Tree branches, gravel, and sand fell down in a flurry.
Just then, Gao Huaide saw a clod of earth the size of a human head falling from the sky, about to hit Da Fu's forehead. He quickly swung his spear and struck it, shattering the clod into pieces that scattered everywhere.
Unexpectedly, at the same time, Xiao Fu also tried to shield her sister, breaking free from Da Fu's embrace. A strong whirlwind swept in, pulling her petite body halfway away!
If they were caught in the vortex, there would be no way they could survive. Da Fu was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. He hurriedly reached out to pull her back and blurted out his sister's nickname.
"Rong'er!"
"Sister Yun, help me!"
Just as Fu Rong shouted, her waist struck a hard object, immediately halting her momentum.
The object, though hard, contained a gentle strength; with a hook and a pull, it brought her body back to the corner. Only then did she realize it was Gao Huaide's silver spear!
"Rong'er, thankfully you're alright."
Fu Yun hugged her sister tightly, still shaken. It took her a while before she remembered to thank Gao Huaide.
"Thank you so much, Brother Gao, for saving me."
If Gao Huaide had been even a fraction of a second slower, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Fu Yun still felt lingering fear when she recalled that moment, her heart pounding wildly.
Gao Huaide waved his hand, indicating that it was a trivial matter and not worth mentioning.
Seeing that the sandstorm wasn't going to stop anytime soon, he simply sat down cross-legged.
Fu Yun initially tried to maintain her composure, holding her younger sister and standing for a long time. However, due to the shock, her legs were too weak and sore. She apologized and sat down. As she sat down, she tugged at her skirt to cover her embroidered shoes.
The three sat leaning against the wall, staring blankly at the sandstorm's rampage, occasionally throwing up clods of mud and gravel, and even animal carcasses to show off its power.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept something up and it fell to the ground in front of him with a thud. Xiao Fu looked closely and screamed in fright.
It was a severed arm, possibly left behind during battlefield cleanup, or perhaps it had been dug up by wild dogs and fallen here.
Gao Huaide picked it up and threw it with all his might. The severed arm rode the vortex and flew far away, spinning.
Discovering Fu Rong's timidity, he decided to play a trick on her, clearing his throat with a cough: "Do you know where this wind is coming from?"
The two sisters thought he was talking about something serious, so they listened attentively to his story.
"The wind comes from the northwest, originating from the Jade Gate Pass three thousand miles away, and from Emperor Wu of Han a thousand years ago."
Gao Huaide deliberately hummed a little tune: "Yumen Pass, Ghost Gate Pass, one step outside the pass and your blood will run dry. You enjoy wealth and luxury inside the pass, caring nothing for us who suffer and are annihilated."
The melody was eerie, and the howling wind made it sound like the wailing of ghosts.
"Countless soldiers died outside the pass, and we died with our eyes wide open in anger. Our wronged souls have gathered and taken form, coming into the pass to find our companions."
"Ah, stop talking!"
"Brother Gao, why don't you talk about something else?"
Fu Rong let out what seemed like the umpteenth scream of the day, and Fu Yun quickly stopped Gao Huaide, telling him to stop talking.
The wait for the storm to subside felt incredibly long; the darkness was so intense that it was impossible to tell how much time had passed.
Fu Rong's petite body trembled slightly: "Sister, it's so cold."
Fu Yun hugged her tightly, never expecting that she herself was also losing warmth in the wind and wouldn't be able to give her sister much warmth.
"Come over here, you can keep warm next to Little White."
After feeling smug for scaring the two sisters, Gao Huaide felt a little guilty. To make amends, he had the two sisters lean against Xiaobai.
The horse's soft, thick mane retained its body heat, and its skin radiated warmth. The two women felt the powerful muscular rhythm and couldn't help but feel much more at ease.
Gao Huaide stepped forward, and the sand dune in front of him rose higher and higher. Before his eyes, he went from looking straight ahead to looking up, as if a yellowish-brown giant was clinging to the city wall and climbing upwards.
Curious, he looked up to see where the top of the sand pile was.
This was astonishing; the sand dunes stood tall and imposing, level with the city walls and battlements! (Note 2)