The sound of shelling within the city gradually ceased. After a while, Leng Si and the others were brought back to the city gate by Lao Ying.
Huo Qiyuan was watching his subordinates clear the debris. He saw a little girl, only a few years old, with big eyes filled with glistening tears, hiding timidly in front of a destroyed stall.
In front of the little girl lay a woman dressed as a mother. Many broken tiles and wooden blocks were stuck in her back, and her entire back was stained with crimson blood. She had not moved for a long time, likely already dead.
Huo Qiyuan walked up to the little girl. Perhaps seeing his handsome appearance, his somewhat cold demeanor, and his rare silver hair, he seemed like a celestial being.
The little girl did not resist his approach and kept staring at Huo Qiyuan with a pitiable and confused expression.
Huo Qiyuan pulled her up and examined her. Besides being very dirty and having a few scuff marks on her small arms from falling, there were no obvious injuries. It was likely that at the moment of the explosion, she had been shielded by her mother, thus protecting her well.
He took out a wet wipe and cleaned the dirt from the little girl's face. Her cheeks were plump and rosy, and she looked quite adorable.
With such a good appearance and a healthy body, she must have been very loved by her parents and elders at home. Huo Qiyuan looked at the little girl in his arms and couldn't help but start fantasizing in his mind.
He wondered what their child would look like if he and Su Muqing had one. If possible, Huo Qiyuan wanted two boys and one girl! When his daughter grew up and had two older brothers to protect her, she would surely be very happy!
This uncle's embrace is so cool!
Perhaps sensing Huo Qiyuan's kindness, the little girl became bolder. She clutched Huo Qiyuan's clothes as if grabbing a lifeline, looked at the lifeless woman on the ground with her large, wet eyes, and asked timidly.
"Uncle, why isn't Mama getting up... The ground is dirty..."
Hearing the child's tender words, Huo Qiyuan felt a pang in his heart. To lose her mother's protection at such a young age, he wondered if she had any other relatives. "Your mama is just tired. Uncle will take you to rest over there so your mama can rest well!"
The little girl nodded gently, and then Huo Qiyuan carried her to the side, into a makeshift tent set up for the uninjured.
Huo Qiyuan initially intended to put her down, but the little girl seemed to have taken a liking to the coolness of his embrace, or perhaps she had found a sense of security in him. She tightly gripped the front of Huo Qiyuan's clothes with her hands, refusing to let go.
Seeing the little girl's fearful eyes, Huo Qiyuan simply held her and sat on a large rock nearby until Leng Si and the others returned to report on the situation in the city.
"Your Highness, a group of people was discovered twenty li outside the back of the city. It should be Zhao Chenggong and his men who just escaped!"
"Immediately lead your men in pursuit! Zhao Chenggong is the one who gave the order to destroy the city. He must be captured alive!" Huo Qiyuan, holding a little girl, had a slightly softer expression, but when he spoke of Zhao Chenggong, his tone was still quite cold.
This executioner who disregarded human lives, if he were allowed to die so easily, how could he atone for the innocent civilians who died, for those who were severely injured by the cannons, and for children like the little girl who lost their parental protection?
Such a person did not even deserve to go to hell; he should be crushed into ashes and disappear, never to be reborn!
Chehe City was a large city, and Zhao Chenggong was indeed cruel. Two-thirds of the city was basically destroyed, with ruins everywhere and the scattered remains of civilians.
If Huo Qiyuan and his men had acted any later, Chehe City would now be a pile of ruins.
Leng Si had witnessed such a tragedy firsthand, and his hatred for Zhao Chenggong had reached its peak. After receiving the order, he led his men at full speed to pursue them outside the city, determined to capture him alive and torture him thoroughly!
Here, after being excessively frightened, the little girl suddenly relaxed and soon fell asleep in Huo Qiyuan's arms. He carefully put her down and entrusted her to a woman nearby to look after, then went to attend to his own affairs.
Chehe City had suffered such a great blow this time, and its reconstruction would be a massive undertaking. Huo Qiyuan was not afraid of trouble, but seeing the civilians who were inadvertently affected made him feel uneasy.
He flew out of the city, drove his SUV into the city, and then brought out a lot of medicine for external wounds and inflammation. He instructed Leng Ren and the others to distribute them to the several heavy-duty settlement points in the city.
Although Su Muqing had packed a lot of medicine in her Qiankun bag for him, the situation in Chehe City was beyond their expectations. He wondered if these medicines would be enough.
While the people of Huaxia were busy in the city, Leng Si and his men, over a hundred strong, each riding a brand-new motorcycle, quickly sped out of the city in pursuit. Their peculiar and cool mode of transportation made the entire team look very distinctive and exceptionally grand!
Shortly after the cannons began to fire, Zhao Chenggong had secretly slipped out of the city with a team of his confidantes. He dared not imagine what a tragic state Chehe City had become after being bombarded by cannons!
Recalling the chaotic scene he had witnessed before leaving the city, Zhao Chenggong closed his eyes. If the king wants a minister to die, the minister must die! All of this was the emperor's command; he had no choice.
Zhao Chenggong kept making excuses for himself for acting as an executioner, constantly implying to himself that he had done so because he was a loyal minister!
At this moment, he had forgotten what true loyalty was, what blind loyalty was, and what abetting evil was!
A team of men, under the scorching sun, rode at full speed for dozens of li. Not only were the men unbearable from the heat, but even the horses began to show signs of fatigue.
They were all sweating profusely and had just found a slightly shaded spot to rest. Suddenly, they heard a rumbling sound from behind!
The sound seemed like the roar of wild beasts, or like their warning before preparing to hunt. In any case, the sound clearly indicated great danger.
Could it be that the people from Huaxia City had caught up? Zhao Chenggong's face changed greatly. He mounted his horse and shouted at his stunned subordinates, "One squad, hold the rear! The rest, quickly mount your horses and continue forward! Hurry!"
After deploying his men, Zhao Chenggong rode ahead. He then remembered that the Huaxia Dynasty reportedly had vehicles with extremely high speeds. It was fortunate that he had thought they could create distance by riding fifty li away without stopping or resting.