The night in the mountains seemed to fall suddenly. There was still a faint light in front of my eyes the moment before, but suddenly the world seemed to be put into a black cloth bag, and I couldn't see my hand in front of me.
The guards lit torches and walked through the forest, occasionally startling roosting birds and small animals.
Huan Xuan didn't say another word along the way. When he came here, he and Sui Sui rode side by side, but now he was riding alone in front, as if he had forgotten everything around him. The messy sound of horse hooves was like his chaotic mood.
He may no longer have any romantic feelings for Ruan Yuewei, but he will still save her without hesitation.
If the prince was using her as bait in order to harm him, he couldn't let anything happen to her.
Whether out of affection for each other as children or out of guilt, he had to go and save her.
He rode in the front, with the guards following far behind, and a man riding a small black-faced horse walked in the middle.
She has always walked alone like this and it didn't make her feel uncomfortable.
She guessed that the prince might use Ruan Yuewei to set up a trap, and she also guessed that Huan Xuan would not sit idly by, but she was still surprised that he did not hesitate.
She envied him a little. Although lovers could not be together, there was at least one person in the world who could make him run to her without hesitation. She also envied Ruan Yuewei a little. At least there was one person in the world who always treated her with sincerity.
The King of Qi and his entourage started from the open space where the eldest princess last saw Ruan Yuewei, and searched around along the mountain path.
Although the guards were highly skilled in martial arts, they soon discovered that the hunter Lu Suisui was much more adept than them at searching for people in the mountains at night.
She judged the whereabouts of the Crown Princess and her entourage from the direction of fallen grass and trees, broken branches, and the smell left by the horses - there were more than forty guards from the Eastern Palace and the Princess's Mansion, and such a large group of people passing through the mountains and forests would definitely leave many traces.
Sui Sui had followed the army to Jiannan Road to suppress rebels in her early years, and had experience in searching for the enemy in the mountains and forests, but she was not so amazing that she could determine the whereabouts of the Crown Princess and her entourage. However, because she had seen the map beforehand, she knew that the place where the Crown Princess was lost was not far from one of the two red circles she drew.
They searched and chased until they came to a fork in the road, where the horse tracks split into two.
Huan Xuan pulled the reins of his horse and divided the dozen or so guards into two teams. He asked Sui Sui, Guan Liu, Song Jiu, Ma Zhongshun and a few others to follow him, while the rest of the group took another route.
The group walked deeper into the woods. The trees became denser and denser, and it became impossible to ride horses, so they dismounted and led the horses forward.
After walking about a mile forward, they suddenly heard a woman's scream coming from the front. The place was still far away, and the scream was not very clear when it reached them, but soon after, the howling of wolves was heard, one after another, echoing in the valley.
Everyone's face changed, and Huan Xuan quickened his pace almost instantly.
…
There was endless darkness all around, and a few torches thrown into it were like weak fireflies, only illuminating the area within a short distance.
But there is another kind of light in the darkness, bits of faint green light that penetrate the inky night and freeze people's bones into ice.
Ruan Yuewei was cold, hungry, and extremely tired, and she felt like she would faint at any moment. She didn't know how she ended up in this situation.
It all seemed like a strange and bizarre nightmare, and I couldn't wake up from it.
At first she just wanted to get back to the palace as soon as possible, but the distance was not far, and they wandered around in the mountains but could not get there, and then dusk fell.
The guard realized something was wrong and pulled out a knife to put it on the guide's neck. However, before he could get any result, the guide fell to the ground with a thump. The guard sniffed his breath and found that he was dead, having taken poison before.
They were in a hurry to get out, but couldn't find the way they came. It was difficult to tell the direction in the dark. The dense forest was like a huge maze, and everything was exactly the same.
The night grew darker and darker, the torches burned out one by one, and then they encountered a pack of wolves.
The leader of this group of guards, Qi Dongrong, deputy commander of the Prince's Right Guard, remained relatively calm in the face of the situation. He told everyone to be calm, and those with torches held torches while the rest held knives as they confronted the wolves.
"Don't act rashly, retreat slowly," Qi Dongrong said, "Don't turn around and run."
There seemed to be a string in Ruan Yuewei's head. After getting lost in the mountains, the string became tighter and tighter. She didn't even have time to think about what conspiracy was going on, who the instigator might be, and what the purpose of doing this was. She only knew that the string in her head had been stretched to its limit and would break at the slightest touch.
Two faint green lights gradually approached, and the "huffing" sound seemed to be right next to her ears. A gust of night wind blew, bringing the fishy smell of the wolf's mouth.
In fact, Ruan Yuewei was protected by the guards behind her, and she was the safest place, but she still felt that danger was close at hand.
Finally, the leader wolf seemed to realize that it was not worthwhile to confront this group of people head-on, so he decided to retreat and let out a howl to his companions.
But this howl completely broke the string in Ruan Yuewei's mind.
She uttered a shrill scream, turned and ran.
As she ran, the wolves instinctively chased after her. Qi Dongrong, deputy commander of the Right Guard, cursed softly, gritted his teeth, drew his bow and arrow, and shot at the wolf closest to the Crown Princess.
An arrow pierced the wolf's belly, and the wolf let out a painful howl.
Qi Dongrong shouted: "What are you still standing there for? Kill him!"
Once the killing begins, the fight with the wolves will end to the death.
The wolves that had lost their companions were no longer afraid of the torches and pounced on the people fearlessly.
Although the guards had bows and arrows, darkness was the best friend of the beasts. The wolves' eyes flickered like will-o'-the-wisp in the dark, and the first arrow often missed. The second arrow did not have time to be put on the bowstring before the wolf pounced on them and bit their necks off.
Ruan Yuewei was so frightened that she became dumbfounded. The guards stood behind her, using their flesh and blood to build an iron wall. However, more and more guards fell down, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood. She sat on the ground, shivering constantly, and could not even make a sound.
At this moment, a pack of wolves began to howl one after another, and the howling echoed throughout the valley. Then, howls were heard from the hillside not far away, as if in response.
Qi Dongrong's heart sank. This was the wolf calling for help from its own kind.
"There's a pack of wolves nearby!" he shouted.
Ruan Yuewei's body shook violently and she almost fainted, two strings of tears falling down.
"Someone save me," she murmured, "Please someone save me..."
She thought of Huan Xuan, her husband, and even Zhao Qinghui. No matter who it was, as long as they could rescue her from this purgatory, it would be fine.
The guards had limited arrows with them, and soon they were almost all used up. They had no choice but to draw their swords and fight the wolves.
A new pack of wolves soon arrived. This pack was larger than the first one they encountered. Qi Dongrong took a quick look and estimated that there were nearly twenty wolves. There were only five or six left from the original pack.
I'm afraid I'll have to explain myself here today, he smiled bitterly, thinking of his new wife. Two days ago, before leaving, he had promised to kill two foxes for her and make her a fox fur half-sleeve to wear in winter...
Thinking of his wife's gentle smiling eyes, he couldn't help but be distracted. Because of this moment of distraction, a pair of dark green eyes flashed across his face like shooting stars.
He only felt a sweetness in his throat, and blood spurted out from his throat.
Ruan Yuewei only vaguely felt that the wall of flesh and blood in front of her was becoming thinner and thinner, and her ears were filled with the screams and roars of people and wolves, and the sound of knives piercing flesh.
Suddenly, the guard in front of her fell down, a pair of wolf eyes stared at her in the darkness, gradually retreated, and then stopped.
Ruan Yuewei's legs were completely limp. She couldn't stand up even if she wanted to run. She had lost consciousness and tears flowed down like a flood.
The wolf slowly lowered its body, and Ruan Yuewei knew that this was the beast gathering strength before attacking, just like her cat pounced on mice in this way.
It's fun to watch a cat pounce on a mouse, but it's no fun at all when you become the prey.
"Help! Someone help me!" She called for help with all her strength, her voice was hoarse.
But the guards were either injured or dead, and the few who were left were far away from her and had no bows and arrows in their hands, so no one could save her.
The wolf leaped up like lightning and knocked her down easily.
Ruan Yuewei felt the wet wolf kiss on her face, and the fishy, wet and hot breath sprayed on her face, making her almost nauseous.
She couldn't help but turn her face away, and the wolf opened its mouth wide and was about to bite her neck.
In a flash, she suddenly heard the sound of a feather arrow breaking through the air. Before she could come to her senses, a feather arrow pierced the wolf's left eye from behind her.
The wolf let her go, wailed, rolled on the ground a few times, and finally stopped moving.
After one arrow hit the target, Huan Xuan immediately drew out another one, drew the bow and shot at the other wolf. The arrow flew through the air and hit the wolf right between the eyebrows.
Sui Sui couldn't help but secretly admire his archery skills.
"Be careful," Huan Xuan turned to Sui Sui and said, "Don't be so stubborn."
Sui Sui said "hmm", drew his bow and shot an arrow, which hit a wolf's eye.
Ruan Yuewei's heart beat violently, and she almost cried for joy. It was Huan Xuan's voice. Huan Xuan really came to save her. She was close to collapse, relying only on a ray of hope to support her. When her heartstrings relaxed, she fainted instead.
Sui Sui quickly dragged Ruan Yuewei to a safe place, then bent down to feel her breath and said to Huan Xuan, "It's okay, she must have fainted from fright."
Huan Xuan heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Ruan Yuewei was not in danger, but he could not care about her for the moment, and together with the guards, he shot the remaining wolves.
At the critical moment, Sui Sui had no time to hide his weapon. With a few "swoosh", arrows flew out like meteors. Every time an arrow was shot, a wolf howled and fell to the ground.
But at this moment, a wolf pounced on her from the side and behind. Sui Sui didn't notice it at first. When she reacted, she quickly blocked it with her arm and dodged to the side, but her arm was still scratched by the wolf's claws.
The wolf dropped to the ground, turned around, and pounced on her again.
Sui Sui drew the sword from his waist with his left hand and was about to attack when he was suddenly pulled behind by someone.
"I told you not to be so stubborn!" the man said coldly.
The cursing did not stop him from drawing his knife. With a tearing sound, a long gash was cut in the wolf's belly by the blade. The wolf let out a wail and fell to the ground.
Seeing that they had no chance of winning, the leader of the remaining wolves howled, then dived into the bushes and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and looked around, only to see that of the dozens of guards who had followed Ruan Yuewei, only less than ten were left standing. The corpses of wolves and humans were lying on the ground, and the strong smell of blood penetrated into people's lungs.
Huan Xuan was just about to go check on Ruan Yuewei when he suddenly heard two soft "crackling" sounds of branches breaking in the distance, and his heart shuddered.
"Put out the torches!" he and Suisui shouted in unison.
Huan Xuan's personal guards had all fought with him on the battlefield with real swords and guns, and were well-trained. They immediately realized that there was an ambush around them and quickly extinguished the torches.
The guards of the Eastern Palace and the Princess' Mansion did not react so quickly. Before they could come to their senses, they heard two "whoosh" sounds, and two feather arrows pierced into the bodies of the two Eastern Palace guards.
Sui Sui and Huan Xuan raised their bows and arrows almost at the same time and shot an arrow each in the direction from which the arrow came. There were two "puff" sounds of arrowheads piercing the flesh, and the two men fell down.
The other guards finally reacted and extinguished the torches.
As soon as the tiny fire went out, the forest suddenly became pitch black. This time they were facing humans instead of wild beasts, and neither side had the ability to see in the dark.
Huan Xuan, Sui Sui and several guards formed a circle without hesitation, standing back to back, relying on their ears to determine each other's position in the forest.
As the enemy approached, Sui Sui estimated that there were about thirty assassins surrounding them. There should have been more, and her people should have secretly eliminated some of them.
There are more than a dozen people on their side, but the guards of the Eastern Palace and the Princess' Mansion have little experience in fighting enemies and can mostly not be relied upon.
She still had seven arrows left, and Huan Xuan should have five or six left. Guan Liu and the others were not as accurate as them, and they didn't know how many they could hit in the dark. It would not be enough anyway, and after they had used up all their arrows, they could only fight in close combat.
Fortunately, the King of Qi's personal guards are all experienced in battle and are no match for a few scoundrels.
With a reassurance in his heart, he took a deep breath, slowly drew the bow, and listened to the sound to determine the position. In the darkness, he could only hear the bowstring twanging, the arrows flying through the air, and people screaming and wailing.
Fortunately, with the cover of night, no one knew who shot which arrow, and her arrows never missed their targets and would not arouse suspicion.
All the arrows had been shot, and more than half of the people lying in ambush in the forest were gone. Several guards on their side were also injured by stray arrows from the enemy. The most seriously injured was Guan Liulang, who was hit by an arrow in the left leg and could not stand, so he had to retreat to the side.
The opponent had also run out of arrows, and finally came out of the woods with a knife in hand, and went forward to fight them for their lives.
Huan Xuan moved behind him and said, "Stay behind me."
Sui Sui wanted to help, but Huan Xuan stood in front of her and even freed one hand to hold her from behind. She was afraid that if she moved, he would notice something, and she felt a little amused and helpless.
Fortunately, the Prince of Qi and several guards were more than capable of dealing with a few assassins. Although the guards of the Eastern Palace and the Princess's Mansion were not very capable, there was still a chance of winning when two or three people besieged one.
In the end, only two or three people were left, and they were surrounded by them.
Huan Xuan said: "Leave him alive."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a few "chi" sounds, and those people actually cut their own throats with their backhands, and died in a moment.
Huan Xuan had already anticipated this result. Since they were assassins who were acting on orders, he would certainly not leave any of them alive for interrogation.
He made sure there were no other assassins around before returning his sword to its sheath and pulling Sui Sui to his side: "Are you okay?"
Sui Sui was about to answer when he heard a woman crying from behind a big tree not far away.
With the word "it's okay" stuck in his throat, Huan Xuan turned around and walked towards Ruan Yuewei.
Ruan Yuewei stood up with the help of a tree, sobbed, threw herself into Huan Xuan's arms, and cried, "Sanlang, Sanlang, I knew you would come to save me..."
The fear of being on the verge of death and the surprise of being saved had almost driven her crazy. She even forgot that there were other people around her and hugged Huan Xuan's waist tightly without caring about anything else.
Huan Xuan subconsciously pulled her arm away and broke free: "Is the Crown Princess okay?"
The word "Crown Princess" finally brought Ruan Yuewei back to her senses. She sobered up a little, sniffed, lowered her head and said, "Thank you, Third Brother, for risking your life to save me."
Huan Xuan counted the remaining people and found that the people brought by Ruan Yuewei were almost wiped out, and several of his close followers were also injured.
Huan Xuan said to everyone, "Let's leave this place first."
The smell of blood would easily attract wild beasts, and they no longer had the energy to fight them.
Ruan Yuewei dragged her feet and took two steps, then held her forehead and staggered.
There was only one woman among the people present, so Huan Xuan said to her, "Help the Crown Princess."
Sui Sui said hello and went forward to support Ruan Yuewei.
Ruan Yuewei's body stiffened, and the hand that was touched by her shrank involuntarily, as if it had touched something dirty.
But she was really frightened, her whole body was limp and she had no strength. If she were asked to walk on her own, she would probably collapse to the ground after taking a few steps.
She had no choice but to endure the discomfort and lean on Sui Sui's arm.
Her limbs were limp and weak, and her whole body was almost hanging on Sui Sui's arms.
Sui Sui's right arm was scratched by the wolf's claws, and he hadn't had time to bandage it. When she leaned on him so hard, the pain made him feel dizzy.
Fortunately, the place where they were leading the horses was not far from here, so we could just bear with it.
When they arrived at the horse-drawn area, they were dumbfounded. There were five horses when they came, but now only Sui Sui's little black face was left. Perhaps the ropes were not tied tightly in a hurry, and the horses heard the howling of wolves in the forest and were frightened and broke free from the reins and ran away.
The top priority is naturally to send Ruan Yuewei to a safe place as soon as possible. Putting aside other things, she is still the Crown Princess of the current dynasty.
But there was only one horse.
Huan Xuan looked at Sui Sui unconsciously.
Sui Sui said before he could speak: "I will stay here."
She has always been the one left behind, so she never puts herself in a situation where she is chosen.
Her voice was calm. Huan Xuan glanced at Lu Suisui, but the forest was dark and he couldn't see the expression on her face.
His heart seemed to be blocked by a ball of wet cotton. He frowned and whispered, "I will come back to find you as soon as I find the Yulin Guards."