Cunning General Si Ning
Chapter 280: The Chase

Chapter 280: The Chase

General Si Ning and his Commander Ji Ran had been in a case of mouse and cat. It had been seven days since it had started. Si Ning never thought Ji Ran was going to chase him and keep at it, it was after being on the road for two days and they were resting did Si Ning heard the distance sounds of a large number of horses coming their way, first, he thought perhaps the enemy was on to them but Xiao Pei that announced they should be on the move with a calm expression confirmed his suspicion that Ji Ran was on their tail.

It was so admirable how Ji Ran was persistent and how he managed to be moving a large army without them getting much rest because each time Si Ning had to stop with the three men accompanying him next thing he would hear was the horses, the amount of sleep he had been getting had also gotten shorter and shorter yet Ji Ran didn’t give them a break. To be sleep deprived was getting to Si Ning’s nerve so on the last stop they made, he made sure he got a good amount of sleep and it was until he saw Ji Ran appeared in the distance do they start moving again and since then they had been on the run, it almost seemed like they were criminals being pursued.

Damn Ji Ran!

"Let us stop here." Si Ning announced when he spotted a fresh field of green grass, he dismounted from his horse, removed his bag of arrows and bow which was strapped behind him and dropped them on the grass and laid down while Xiao Pei came over to take his horse away, the grass reminded him of his dream, the dream he never found out what it means and maybe after the war, he might look for a Priest to look into it.

It had been like a day since Si Ning laid down to rest, all they had been doing was racing with the wind to get as far away as possible from Ji Ran and the army. Si Ning never imagined the Imperial camp to be so far away and luckily they were able to catch one of the messenger birds of Xiu and in it was written that the Imperial army had moved over to war and this made him so anxious since it wasn’t part of his plan, now the conclusion was either they get to their destination and find out the war was already over or to meet the war halfway, Si Ning hoped it was the later, Qiu Bai head was his to take.

"Si Ning take water." Song Feng that came to sit beside Si Ning extended a flask of water to Si Ning.

"Leave it for now." Si Ning replied as he closed his eyes, feeling fresh air hitting his face, it was peaceful and at that moment he was able to calm his nerves, they should have left Ji Ran behind by now, it wasn’t easy moving a large army, they would need to take care of the horses and their meals which would take a large amount of time.

"I should put ointment on your wound so that it won’t leave a scar." Song Feng said.

Si Ning knew Song Feng would probably not leave him alone until he applied the ointment, it had been long since he doesn’t wear the bandage around his forehead anymore, and the wound he sustained surprisingly healed fast under Song Feng’s close watch, it was a small cut made by a rock so a small scar was protruding like a fine thin line and Song Feng was disturbed by it and dedicated a lot of time to create an oil to heal it, Si Ning didn’t mind the scar, it was like a trophy to show that he almost died and it was a scar he would love to show Xiu Junjie and Xiu Yuan when telling his story of how brave he was when he fought in the war.

"Stench of blood." Xiao Pei said as he sniffed then he paused. "General, can you hear it?" He asked.

Uh?

Si Ning almost rolled his eyes because he thought Ji Ran had caught up again so he listened but he didn’t hear anything so he shook his head once when Song Feng was done applying the oil, he laid down back on the grass to rest. He flared his nose trying to perceive the smell of blood but he didn’t perceive anything and seeing that Xiao Pei was now feeding the horse and seemed to have dismissed what he just said made Si Ning be at rest, he closed his eyes and seemed to take a short nap but flung his eyes open when he heard it because he was closer to the earth, he heard the horses coming.

Oh not again.

Si Ning used his hand to hit the grass in annoyance as he snorted, after the war, he would make sure to hand over Ji Ran punishment personally, Ji Ran had been a nemesis in his life for the past days and worst he was unable to think of a plan when they get to war because he was always concerned about when Ji Ran would show up. It was time again to be on the move so he wore his bag of arrows and picked up his bow.

"Ge..neral Si Ning... We are coming.." It was quite funny that Shang Jin decided to use his horn instrument to make an announcement that sounded like he was warning them off instead of his saying to make them stay.

"We should be close to the battlefield." Yi Chen said, he was holding a map, his eyes glued to it.

"General Si Ning we... are coming... Oh, stop! What are you..u doing! Ah... do you mean? This is my masterpiece of art!.. Yah... You this Command.."

It seemed Shang Jin was currently arguing with someone probably Ji Ran and he was even using the horn to talk back until it got cut off probably by Ji Ran. Si Ning saw that Xiao Pei was bent checking his horse’s hindleg while Yi Chen was checking the hooves of his horse, Song Feng’s horse was in a sitting position and it was only Xiao Pei’s horse that was still standing. When Si Ning got closer he could see that his horse’s hindleg was bent and it seemed the horse was having a hard time, it never occurred to Si Ning that his horse might be strained but now he could see that none of the horses would be able to carry on so what they had to do now was to run on foot.

It wasn’t long when Ji Ran and the rest appeared in the far distance racing towards them and Song Feng took over to treat the horse’s leg, he seemed confused and Si Ning knew he should be since Song Feng wasn’t a veterinary doctor.

The Si army led by Ji Ran would get to them soon, it wasn’t the first time they had ever caught on and each time Si Ning always ran off with Xiao Pei, Yi Chen and even Song Feng was able to catch up and now a pro in riding a horse with the wind right behind them. Si Ning watched the far distance and he could see that the numbers coming were small and it seemed Ji Ran had to cut the army.

"The horses are tired but this can still run." Xiao Pei said as he led his horse to Si Ning. "General should go, I and the green wild tiger will stop Commander Ji Ran!" He declared, his face so serious anyone would think he could stop the army coming.

To stop Ji Ran was quite impossible but Si Ning nodded once and climbed the horse while Yi Chen handed him the map. He glanced over the map and rolled it up, he grabbed the reigns and kicked the horse into motion at once and started to speed away.

"Si Ning!"

Si Ning heard Song Feng call him once but he didn’t slow down nor did he look back, he would have covered a couple of acres of land when he heard it, swords clashing, yelling, wailing, strong smell of blood, the cry of war and he rode in that direction till he slowed down when he finally got closer, from where he appeared which the ground was much higher, he could see the war clearly and it was nothing like he imagined, this was more than a large scale war.