"Sonic resonance." The other man said, pulling out a piece of wood to protect his eyes. " Commandant Zhen said that the sound bounced back and forth in the narrow valley, making the snow slope unable to hold on. He told us to just run up the slope after we finished blowing it up, and then lie down."
I also have to wear this thing that the prince ordered to be made, otherwise it's easy to not see."
Daylight broke.
White mist rose from the valley after the avalanche, and the sun peeked out from the gap in the snow-capped peaks to the east, its first rays falling on the newly leveled snow surface.
The snow surface was pressed so firmly by the snow waves that the light shining on it did not disperse but instead reflected upwards.
About two thousand men remained in the rear of the column that the snowstorm hadn't buried, scattered in the latter half of the valley.
Some people were searching for horses in the snow, while others were digging out their companions who had been trapped under the snow.
As soon as the sun came up, they looked up and gazed at the white expanse ahead.
A centurion was the first to shout.
The knife in his hand fell into the snow, and he covered his eyes with both hands and squatted down on the ground, water dripping from between his fingers.
"My eyes! My eyes are burning!"
One after another.
They all know.
"Looking at snowy ground for too long on a sunny day will hurt your eyes."
However, their experience is limited to their daily nomadic lifestyle and crossing mountain passes, and they have no opportunity to experience the extreme reflective environment after an avalanche.
Most people have only heard rumors and are unaware that the damage can be so swift.
Many people carry black felt strips with them, but that's in advance to gradually shield themselves from the sun;
The avalanche struck suddenly, the team scattered, there was no time to retrieve the cloth strips, and all experience was useless.
My eyes first felt sore, then a sharp, needle-like pain. I couldn't open them, and it hurt even when I closed them. Tears streamed uncontrollably, freezing on my face and forming two bright streaks.
Damu was dragged out of the snow by two guards. He could still move one leg, but his eyes were still hurting.
He buried his face in the leather of the saddle and rubbed it until it turned red.
"Don't look at the snow! Don't look at the snow! Keep your heads down!"
He had just finished shouting.
Shouts of battle echoed from above.
First came a long horn sound, pressing down from the ridge on the side of North Post Pass, followed by figures emerging from the tops of the slopes on both sides.
The Song Prefecture garrison commander's troops were on the left, Zhen Daijin's troops were on the right, both positioned above the snow line, giving them a commanding view.
Damu could barely make out the faces of those people through his tears, and the more he looked, the more something seemed off.
Each person had a thin piece of wood strapped horizontally over their eyes, with a narrow slit in the middle, leaving only a sliver of light. To see someone, you had to turn your head completely.
The leading captain pointed his sword downwards.
"Archers, shoot the horses first!"
The arrows are falling.
Damu heard the sound of arrows piercing through the snow mist; it was very dense.
He wanted to draw his sword and order his men to form a battle formation, but half of his two thousand men were covering their eyes, and the other half were panting.
They had just run through snowy roads all night and been swept away by snow waves; now, many of them felt a tightness in their chests and their legs felt unsteady.
These Tubo soldiers have lived on the plateau for generations, and their red blood cell levels have remained at a high level for a long time, adapting to the thin air.
A normal and safe march involves descending a mountain in steps, gradually adjusting one's body.
Nowadays, when diving more than a thousand meters at high speed in a single day, the blood oxygen concentration changes suddenly, and the heart and lungs cannot adjust in time.
After a volley of arrows, Tubo soldiers and their horses were thrown into chaos.
Zhen Daijin's team came straight down the right slope, their boots leaving a trail of dents in the snow, and they were still cursing halfway down the slope.
"The prince said to tie them up first, so they can't escape!"
An arrow pierced Damu's thigh, pinning him and his leg to the snow slope.
He fell down, his face pressed against the snow, unable to open his eyes, only hearing shouts and neighing of horses overhead.
Someone came over, stepped on his wrist, and pulled off the leather strap from his wrist.
"This is the leader," the voice said from above him. "Don't kill him, the prince wants him alive."
Damu was turned over, and as his hands were tied, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence in Tubo.
"You... what are your eyes?"
The man who tied him up was an old soldier from Song Prefecture who could barely understand Tubo. He slapped the end of the rope across the face and then turned to shout towards Zhen Daijin.
"Captain! This guy is still muttering to himself, asking what we're wearing on our eyes!"
Zhen Daijin stood on the slope, leaning on his knife, and pushed the piece of wood above his eye upwards.
Don't waste your breath on him.
The former royal palace of Yi Prefecture City.
The morning sun was lovely.
The door to Lin Qingdai's courtyard was tightly shut.
Gu Moran stopped in the corridor, stretched out his arms, and when he reached his shoulders, he made a "crack" sound before exhaling.
He's been acting differently these past few days.
Ever since the system gave me that thing called " Vigorous Primal Yang ", I never feel tired when I wake up in the morning. My blood flows quickly through my body, my palms are warm, and even my feet feel steady on the blue bricks.
His face was flushed, and his eyes were almost too bright. He stood there for a long time, staring at the snow on the courtyard wall, and even turned back to smile at the tightly closed door.
A muffled sound came from inside the room.
Lin Qingdai sat on the edge of the couch, one hand massaging her lower back, frowning every two rubs.
The soft whip that Gu Moran used last night is still on the ground, its tip curled up in a ball, and no one has picked it up.
The maid brought in hot water, only to be glared at by her.
"Pulle the door bolt."
"His Highness has already left."
"Tie him up even when he goes out," Lin Qingdai gritted her teeth. "If he comes again tonight, just say I'm dead."
The maid dared not say a word, turned around and locked the door, pressing it down firmly.
There was another lump inside the blanket.
Murong Xue lay face down, eyes closed, her breathing even.
She usually gets up at dawn and walks around the outer wall of the Prince's mansion. Today, she tried to lift her breath, but her knees buckled and she lay back down listlessly.
Lin Qingdai turned her head to look at the quilt.
" Guard Murong."
The blankets remained untouched.
" Guard Murong, your patrol time is over."
A muffled voice came from under the covers. "Today... I'll take a day off."
Lin Qingdai clicked her tongue and threw the pillow towards the bed.
"You've got some nerve, coming all this way with a whip. Now you know what it's like?"
The blanket completely covered his head.
" Gu Moran is a bastard!"
Gu Moran walked along the corridor with a rather smug air.
He kept calculating: the eight Green City assassins hanging upside down would have to stay up for another two days; Pu Yunshan looked like it was about to collapse; the scouts from the North Post should have a report today; and he had to keep an eye on the test results of Shen Ling'er's twenty pills.
Thinking of Shen Ling'er, her steps slowed by a fraction.
Just as I turned the corner of the long corridor, I came across a bowl of medicine.
The person carrying the bowl wore a plain white jacket with the cuffs rolled up half an inch.
Gu Moran's smile froze halfway through.
" Ling'er, so early."
"It's not early." Shen Ling'er held the bowl in her hands. "I got up at dawn. I was awake around midnight too."
Gu Moran coughed.
"Oh, it's past midnight. I'm awake too... cough... I'm watching Murong Xue practice her whip at Lin Qingdai's place."
"Hmm, that's quite a whip-wielding exercise." Shen Ling'er nodded. "She even managed to knock the window frame out of shape."
"Sigh, the window frames are too old."
"The chair at Murong Xue's place was fine before, but when I went to check this morning, I found two legs were cracked."
"The chairs are also old."
Shen Ling'er moved the medicine bowl forward half an inch.
"Stop talking nonsense, drink."
"No, Ling'er, you don't think I'm still weak, do you? Why don't we go back inside and rest..."