“Save Him First.”
Chu Yuan closed his eyes in calm acceptance.
After the grave illness he suffered at ten years old, he had long since understood that human hearts were treacherous, changing in an instant.
If Lu Ronghuai wanted him dead, he had no grievances.
To him, death was something worth anticipating.
After he died, he would surely see Mother Empress again. Mother Empress would smile and pull him into her arms, then feed him sweet bean cakes.
Le Shu would be there too, laughing in secret, grinning so widely his eyes nearly disappeared, and his brows lifting with unguarded delight.
Le Shu...
Le Shu was still alive.
Le Shu was in that carriage!
Chu Yuan’s eyes snapped open.
“Does the Consort still have something to say?” The black-clothed person raised his sword, clearly startled to see him awake.
Chu Yuan steadied his mind. His originally hollow, numb eyes recovered their luster. His face was frozen pale, his lips purple black. “Brothers, how far is this place from Ye Jing’s city walls?”
“Ten li. Does the Consort think someone will come to save you?” The man in black looked at him as if he were strange.
Chu Yuan smiled. His expression was relaxed, as though he had forgotten he was currently in a perilous situation.
“No one will come to save me. I only have one request.”
The black-clothed person warned sharply, “I advise you not to play tricks. Otherwise you will die very ugly.”
“I am already in a sorry state. I have no martial skill, and I am unfamiliar with this place. How could I possibly escape? You may rest assured.” Chu Yuan lowered himself first. The self-mocking tone did what it was meant to do, easing their vigilance.
The person nodded and signaled those at his sides to release him. “What request?”
“Give me a sword. I will do it myself.”
The group fell silent for a breath. The leader seemed to doubt his own hearing. “You will do it yourself?”
Chu Yuan nodded. “Tonight is New Year’s Eve. Why must you stain your hands with blood?”
He took out a jade rabbit pendant of exceptional clarity and tossed it straight to the leader.
“This is the most valuable thing I have on me. It can be exchanged for a hundred taels of gold. I trouble you to grant me this small convenience. I only wish to die with some dignity.”
The beauty stubbornly raised his face. The corners of his eyes reddened. A single clear tear silently slid down. It was a sight that would have stirred pity in anyone.
The black-clothed people exchanged glances for a moment.
The leader weighed the jade rabbit in his hand, tucked it into his robe, and agreed. “Fine. Give him a sword.”
A sharp sword was thrown at Chu Yuan’s feet.
Chu Yuan bent to pick it up. When he rose, his body swayed, and he nearly failed to hold the weapon. “Many thanks. I also ask you all to… turn aside for a moment.”
His face was pale as a ghost. His voice trembled, thin as a mosquito’s hum, as though a gust of wind could topple him.
The black-clothed people turned their backs without concern.
They were many, and their strength was more than enough. They did not put Chu Yuan in their eyes at all.
In their view, killing Chu Yuan would be easier than crushing an ant.
The leader was already calculating how much wine he and his brothers could drink after selling the pendant when he suddenly heard the horse scream.
Everyone urgently turned back to discover Chu Yuan had actually used the sword to stab into the horse’s hindquarters. Struck with agony, the horse raised its hooves and galloped wildly.
Chu Yuan grabbed the rein and sprawled across the carriage board, dragged along as the horse charged away.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
“Not good! We have been fooled, chase him!” one man in black-clothing roared.
Chu Yuan clung to the rein with all his strength. The skin of his palm was ground open, blood soaking into the coarse rope. It was as if he could not feel the pain. He hauled himself up onto the carriage several times, nearly flung off more than once.
Hold on a little longer. He bared his teeth and forced himself on. Hold on a little longer, and he could shake them off.
The black-clothed people pursued relentlessly behind him. The horse ran forward as if crazed, running forward for two li in one breath.
“If he keeps running, we will not catch up!” After chasing for two li, seeing the horse still sprinting, they knew that if this continued, Chu Yuan would slip away.
“Use hidden arrows to stop him!”
“No.” The leader stopped them. “The distance is too far. The range will not reach.”
The leader stared at Chu Yuan’s back, his gaze venomous. He pulled the jade rabbit pendant from his robe, chose the moment, and hurled it out.
It struck the horse’s leg.
The horse’s leg broke. Driven by momentum, the massive body pitched forward and crashed down. The carriage overturned. Chu Yuan could not dodge in time. He rolled off, and the carriage shaft slammed into his head. Darkness swallowed him.
The chaos ended.
The disturbance stopped. The black-clothed people walked over, their expressions cold.
“Run! You were so good at running, were you not? Keep running!” The leader stepped closer. Snow crunched beneath his boots as he lifted his foot and kicked hard at Chu Yuan’s shoulder.
Chu Yuan lay in the snow, eyes shut, and blood seeping from the corner of his lips.
“Hurry and finish it. The sooner we are done, the sooner we return to report,” someone behind him urged.
The leader drew his sword and leveled it at Chu Yuan. “This master will send you to reincarnation right now.”
The moment the words fell, the longsword fiercely chopped down.
The edge tore through the air, carrying a ruthless killing intent.
A sharp sound rang out, flesh and bone pierced. The leader’s eyes widened. He fell straight down.
In the center of his chest, an incomparably sharp black iron feathered arrow was embedded.
Through wind and snow, the hoofbeats advanced, growing steadily louder.
Lu Ronghuai gripped a powerful bow. He appeared like Yama of the underworld, carrying a full body of murderous aura.
Three black-clad shadow guards followed behind him.
Cold wind howled. Frost and snow filled the sky.
“It is Prince Li and the Xuan Yu Guards! Run quickly!” The men in black scattered at once, surging away in every direction like a retreating tide.
Lu Ronghuai’s eyes were blades. “Execute them on the spot. Leave none alive.”
“Yes!” Xian Feng and the others spurred their horses and swept off in pursuit.
Lu Ronghuai dismounted and strode toward Chu Yuan.
The carriage lay overturned. Chu Yuan’s leg was pinned beneath it. Lu Ronghuai looked down at the person before him, barely clinging to life, and his brows drew tight.
He reached out, long fingers pressing to Chu Yuan’s neck to feel for a pulse and spoke as if to himself. “This Prince was gone for only a moment, and you made yourself into this ghostly sight.”
Lu Ronghuai withdrew his hand and dropped to one knee. One hand shielded Chu Yuan’s leg. The other grasped the carriage shaft. With a single arm, he heaved the overturned carriage up.
He used the opening to ease Chu Yuan’s leg out with care.
The left leg was fine. The right lower leg was visibly twisted, the bone displaced.
He picked up a sword and split a few planks. He tore the carriage curtain into strips and gave Chu Yuan a rough bandage and binding.
Then he bent and lifted Chu Yuan into his arms.
When his hand met Chu Yuan’s ice-cold, stiff clothing, his brows knotted even tighter.
The person in his arms carried almost no warmth.
He remembered seeing a fox-fur cloak inside the carriage when he tore the curtain. Holding Chu Yuan, he turned to retrieve it and drape it over him.
The instant he turned, his pupils contracted sharply.
The man in black he had shot was not dead yet. A concealed weapon was in his hand, its tip aimed coldly at Chu Yuan in Lu Ronghuai’s arms.
A cruel, excited smile spread across the man’s face.
With a sharp whistle, the dart flew.
Lu Ronghuai had no free hand to stop it. Almost on instinct, he spun and locked Chu Yuan tightly against his chest.
The dart pierced straight through Lu Ronghuai’s back and sank into his body.
Veins rose at his temple and his jaw clenched hard. Gritting his teeth as he walked before the black-clothed person.
He brought his foot down and snapped the man’s neck.
“Your Highness, the dart is poisoned.” Xian Feng and the others had finished off the rest and rushed back at once.
“This Prince is fine.” Lu Ronghuai had known the moment it entered. He forced his consciousness steady and set Chu Yuan onto the horse’s back. When he looked down, his hands were smeared with blood. It was from when he had supported the back of Chu Yuan’s head, his palm brushing the wound there.
“Save him first.”
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Yuan Yuan severely injured.
Inner thoughts: Where the hell did the doggy go? Hurry up and save people.
Doggy severely injured.
Inner thoughts: Time to feast! Time to feast!
(Yesterday I accidentally deleted a long comment from a darling. If you can see the reply in your backend, great. If not, leave a comment and I’ll re-send it!)
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