Li Xi Slays the Wolf

There are wolves in the back mountains.

There are wolves in the back mountain!

What's the difference between a girl who can't even kill a chicken stepping into the back mountain and going to her death?

Wu Qi sneered, "Lord Zhao truly lives up to his reputation as a local official."

Zhao Lang said, "I had no choice in the matter."

"Since Miss Pianpian was forced to enter the back mountain and encounter wild wolves, then I hope that Lord Zhao will one day also be able to taste the bitterness of being forced into this situation."

After saying that, Wu Qi pulled Yi Shen away.

The guards outside the pavilion, dressed in light armor, surrounded the two men as they stepped out, drawing their swords and displaying solemn expressions.

Yi Shen shielded Wu Qi behind him, staring at the person closest to Wu Qi, whose sword nearly slashed Wu Qi's face.

He said coldly, "Step back."

The man was so frightened that he stood frozen in place for a moment, and only retreated half a step after receiving Zhao Lang's permission.

Light armor and swords trapped the two men.

Wu Qi turned around and looked at Zhao Lang through the swords and light armor, showing no fear, and said, "What does Lord Zhao mean? Do you want me and Yi Shen to die here today?"

"I wouldn't dare," Zhao Lang said. "One hour. You two only need to wait one hour. After one hour, you can go wherever you want."

One hour...

Wu Qi suddenly understood why Zhao Lang had told them to wait an hour.

Fearing that the two of them would venture deep into the back mountains to rescue Pianpian, Zhao Lang ordered everyone to surround them and wait there. An hour later, Pianpian was torn to pieces by the wolves of the back mountains.

cannot.

Pianpian cannot die.

Firstly, because she had promised Pianpian that she would do her best to protect her.

Secondly, because Pianpian is a key witness in this matter, if she dies, there will be no way to verify the facts, and the matter of Chief Zhou's tragic death will be left unclear.

Thinking of this, Wu Qi tugged at Yi Shen's sleeve.

Yi Shen understood and took her hand.

As their hands clasped together, the two simultaneously unleashed their light-footed skills, leaping into the air and using their toes to propel themselves onto a nearby tree. The guards, caught off guard by their unexpected light-footed abilities, quickly raised their swords, pointing them at the two in the tree.

The two of them did not stop, but crossed the encirclement and headed straight for the back mountain, leaving everyone behind.

Upon seeing this, the guards immediately wanted to give chase, but Zhao Lang stopped them, saying, "Alright, let those wolves play with them for a while."

"yes!"

There are ten wolves in the back mountain; tearing two or three people apart shouldn't be a problem. Zhao Lang said, "Surround the back mountain and guard it strictly. Don't allow anyone to approach."

"yes!"

Seeing everyone leave, Zhao Lang sat in the pavilion, picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and said, "You two went into the back mountain on your own. If you accidentally die in the back mountain, then it has nothing to do with me."

The relationship between the aristocratic families and the emperor is too delicate. Moreover, the two of them were sent by the emperor. If something really goes wrong in Pingwu City and they lose their lives, he will have no way to explain himself. In addition, the matter of Liuge being adulterated with oil will probably make his crime even more serious, and his life will be in danger.

However, if the two of them were to die at the hands of wolves in the back mountains, things would be different.

He not only told the two men that there were wolves in the back mountain, but also sent men to surround them. Unexpectedly, the two men escaped easily and insisted on going to the back mountain.

They couldn't stop them.

In this way, even if the two of them die, it won't have much to do with Zhao Lang.

He has done his best to maintain appearances; he has done everything he could to be kind and righteous.

As for Pianpian, let her die.

She knows too much. If she doesn't die today, she'll die tomorrow. Even if he doesn't want to kill her, that person in the court will.

Zhao Lang turned his head to look at his shoulder, where the bloodstains were gradually spreading and widening. He sighed and said, "What a pity, she was really a very good woman."

If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have let Pianpian write the letter back then.

Zhao Lang looked up at the distant back mountain.

The back mountain was a desolate mountain where Zhao Lang had nearly died at the hands of wolves. After escaping death, he had the mountain fenced off and designated it as the back mountain of the Zhao family mansion. In order not to curb the wolves' wildness, he did not have anyone manage the back mountain, but would occasionally go there to check on it.

The wolves were unaware that they had been domesticated without their knowledge. Their bloodlust had not diminished, and upon suddenly seeing strangers enter the back mountain, they were likely to devour them.

Wu Qi and Yi Shen understood this principle as well, and they knew that Zhao Lang's actions were aimed at killing them and then escaping successfully.

The links are interconnected, making it impossible to guard against.

The back mountain was heavily guarded, and Wu Qi didn't want to waste any more time. Every extra moment wasted here would increase the chances of Pianpian dying tragically.

Wu Qi pressed a dagger against a guard's chest and said, "Where did that young lady come from to get into the back mountain? If you dare lie, I'll kill you!"

Upon seeing this, the surrounding guards immediately drew their swords and surrounded Wu Qi and Yi Shen. Yi Shen also drew his soft sword and protected Wu Qi behind him.

Seeing the man stammering and remaining silent, Wu Qi stopped wasting words, plunged the dagger an inch into the man's heart, and impatiently demanded, "Tell me, where did she go in from?!"

The man pointed to a spot and shouted, "There! There! That's where Miss Pianpian went in!"

Wu Qi and Yi Shen exchanged a glance. One of them took the guard hostage, while the other drew his sword to guard against any sneak attacks from the others.

The two stepped back, and seeing that their positions were roughly the same, Wu Qi whispered to the man, "I'm sorry I hurt you. I've already slipped the money for the medicine into your sleeve. Also, Zhao Lang is not a good person, so don't follow him. The money I gave you is enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life. Live well from now on!"

The man was still thinking about what Wu Qi had said when Wu Qi kicked him.

Just as the person staggered forward and fell, Yi Shen grabbed Wu Qi's waist and flew into the mountain with her.

Before anyone could react, they looked up and saw that the two had already stepped into the back mountain.

The wind blows through the wild grass, the mountains are desolate, birds fly by with long cries, unrestrained trees shoot straight up into the sky, scorpions are everywhere, wild grass occasionally trips you up, or insects crawl into your shoes and socks, and exposed skin is often bitten by unknown poisonous insects.

Because there were wolves in the mountains, Wu Qi dared not make a loud noise for fear of attracting the wolves. He could only lower his eyes to examine the footprints on the ground and carefully identify whether they were a woman's footprints.

She wanted to follow the footprints and find the beautiful girl in these desolate mountains.

If this had happened to Wu Qi, she would have definitely sought a safe place to hide in the back mountains, then found an opportunity to escape, seek revenge on Zhao Lang, and then wander the world freely and unrestrained.

But she is not Pianpian.

She didn't know what Pianpian had gone through, and had no right to compare herself to her.

Perhaps what you take for granted is someone else's desperate gamble.

It hadn't rained for the past two days, and the mountains were covered with withered leaves and wild grass, making footprints hard to spot. Wu Qi squatted down, picked up a leaf, and stared at the muddy imprint left on the leaf.

"Yi Shen, look, doesn't this look like Pian Pian...?"

Before Wu Qi could finish speaking, he looked up at Yi Shen and saw that Yi Shen had gripped his sword tightly.

She didn't move, she closed her eyes.

The severed snake on the tree fell to the ground.

Yi Shen swung his sword and severed a venomous snake behind her.

This scene feels very familiar.

Wu Qi had once severed a poisonous snake behind Yi Shen, and just now, Yi Shen swung his sword and severed another poisonous snake behind her.

Wu Qi glanced at the severed snake behind him and said with a smile, "Young Master Yi, isn't it said that you should strike a snake at its seven-inch mark? But this severed snake doesn't look like it was cut off at its seven-inch mark."

It's definitely not the seven-inch spot.

It's off by more than a little bit.

Yi Shen pulled her up and instructed her, "Don't squat on the ground in the mountains."

Wu Qi stood up and continued, "I was exactly seven inches back then, what's wrong with Young Master Yi? Why wasn't it seven inches?"

Yi Shen knew she was asking a question she already knew the answer to, so he calmly replied, "I'm afraid of hurting you."

No matter how small the snake is hit, it will die. But Wu Qi cannot be injured at all, and ideally, he should not bleed a single drop.

Wu Qi's expression was different from before, now more solemn. "Yi Shen, you saved my life, thank you."

Yi Shen replied, "You're welcome."

They've been like this since they were little. They often joke and laugh together, but Wu Qi rarely says thank you to Yi Shen during these ordinary times. However, when faced with a situation like the one just now, or when he has truly received help from Yi Shen, Wu Qi will always say "Thank you" sincerely.

Yi Shen was never one to mince words, and he replied, "You're welcome."

A wolf howl came from not far away.

Wu Qi put away his smile and listened carefully to a few wolf howls, among which was a loud "Run!"

Judging from the voice, it's a woman's, but not Pianpian's.

The situation was urgent, and Wu Qi was only thinking about saving people. He didn't have time to think too much and just said to Yi Shen, "Yi Shen, it's in the northwest!"

The two headed northwest.

Beyond the forest, light suddenly shone upon them. Ahead lay a plain, where Wu Qi saw a wolf and two women.

The woman slumped on the spot, her eyes vacant, was Pianpian.

The woman holding a broken sword, dressed in tattered clothes, yet still exuding heroic spirit, is Lord Li Xi.

She had been through something, and a wound on her face had not yet healed. Blood from her arm soaked through her clothes, making her look shocking from a distance. She seemed to have been taken to the underworld by the King of Hell, but her expression was resolute, and she stared unblinkingly at the wolf not far from her.

Yama, the King of Hell, took her to the underworld.

She wants to slay the wolves and return to the human world.

The wolf remained still, and so did Li Xi.

Seeing this scene, Wu Qi felt for no reason that the plain in front of him was constantly spreading, extending to encompass the entire world, and on this plain, there was only a wolf and Li Xi who was about to kill that wolf.

A surge of emotion welled up within him, and he felt as if flowers were blooming everywhere in the barren land. Suddenly, Wu Qi dispelled the fog and understood something.

If, if—

In this plain, there is another woman, and many more women, millions upon millions of women. Does that mean that even a wild and untamed wolf is doomed to die?

Suddenly, the wolf pounced on Li Xi.

Wu Qi's eyes widened. Gripping the dagger in her hand, she leaped swiftly to Li Xi's side. However, there was indeed some distance between them. Before she could reach Li Xi, the wolf pinned her down.

Without blinking, Wu Qi plunged the dagger in his hand into the wolf's back, and the wolf, baring its fangs, collapsed onto Li Xi.

Li Xi kicked him away.

A broken sword was stuck in the wolf's belly, and the wolf died because of the broken sword.

It wasn't Wu Qi who killed the wolf; it was Li Xi who killed it.