Chapter 114 The Ending (Second Update) The Ending (Second Update...)

Ji An watched as Xiao Zhuo carved something on the wall with a dagger. The night was getting late, and he couldn't stay awake any longer. He closed his eyes and fell asleep against the wall.

The morning light filtered through the cracks in the cave ceiling, and Ji An was awakened by the sound of horses' hooves. Hearing the voice above, he immediately became alert.

"Your Majesty, it is we, your subjects."

The visitors were not Helan Yi, but Xiao Zhuo's confidants. They also brought a message that they had seen Helan Yi's troops patrolling in the vicinity when they arrived.

Xiao Zhuo stood before the table and carefully put on his swords.

Ji An finally managed to make out a line of newly carved text on the wall by the dim light of day.

He had never seen the Buddha before, but now that he has seen this cave, he feels the myriad rays of Buddha's light shining upon him.

After reading just one glance at the text, Ji An could sense a certain...

Passionate and tender.

While Ji An was lost in thought, Xiao Zhuo had already reached the stone steps. He followed, saying, "I've been hiding in Rongbei, and I often come here. I always feel that my elder sister and father are with me here."

Xiao Zhuo said, "It was your elder sister who personally built the Buddhist cave; she shouldn't have stayed in another country for so long."

Before leaving, Xiao Zhuo took one last look around the place.

Ji An was stunned by these words. Seeing that he had already looked away, he quickly walked to the exit.

After leaving the underground cave, the group set off, but Xiao Zhuo gave them an order that caught them all off guard.

Their target wasn't the rendezvous point to the south, but rather—

Helan Yi.

**

It did not snow overnight.

The north wind howled all night, and the world was shrouded in a hazy, white gloom.

When Xiao Zhuo set off, Yuan Chaolu and his group also planned to set off. Last night, they rode their horses all the way until late at night before finding a sheltered rocky hollow to rest.

As soon as the sky began to lighten this morning, she mounted her horse again and hurried toward the rendezvous point.

Not long after setting off, she seemed to sense something and looked back again. The eagle that had disappeared the night before, after they found their hiding place, reappeared behind her.

It's like a ghostly shadow, impossible to shake off or get rid of.

Who is driving it from behind? Is it Helan Yi, or one of his subordinates?

Han Peng and the other man had also noticed the eagle earlier and tried several times to draw their bows and shoot arrows, but the eagle always kept a distance of not too far and not too close, circling under the dome.

Their arrows were fired several times, but they just missed the eagle's wings, which was intentional, as if it was toying with the people below.

Yuan Chaolu gazed at the eagle, seemingly meeting its sharp eyes from a height of several dozen feet. She raised her hand, tucking the wind-blown strands of hair behind her ear, and at the same time touched the whistle bone in the crook of its neck, waiting for it to approach.

"Your Majesty, be careful!"

Just then, Han Peng reached out and grabbed Yuan Chaolu's reins, and a long arrow grazed past her side.

Yuan Chaolu turned around and saw three riders appear on the plain behind them. They were riding at high speed and arrived behind them in the blink of an eye.

Han Peng raised his sword and, with a clang, deflected an incoming arrow.

The two sides quickly clashed.

Yuan Chao reached into the quiver, took out a crossbow, and swiftly aimed it at one of the pursuers.

They thought the pursuers would not give up easily, but to their surprise, only three people have come, and they all look like Han Chinese.

For some reason, the people from Rongbei stopped following, or perhaps they gave up.

Since their numbers are the same as those on the other side, there is no need for them to be timid or hesitant.

Yuan Chaolu shot an arrow through the air, striking one of the cavalrymen in the shoulder.

The man screamed and fell from his horse. The other man beside him locked eyes with Yuan Chaolu and pulled on the reins. "Empress?"

Yuan Chaolu recognized the newcomer and, with intense hatred in her eyes, immediately nocked another arrow.

The visitor was Jiang Zhao, a valiant deputy general who had followed Helan Yi for many years.

However, before Yuan Chaolu could release the arrow, the situation suddenly changed.

The eagle that had been circling in the sky let out a sharp cry and swooped down like lightning, heading straight for Yuan Chaolu's face.

At the same time, Jiang Zhao cleaved Han Peng in two, and Chao Yuanchaolu swung her sword at him.

"Your Majesty, let's go first!" Han Peng blasted Jiang Zhao away with a single sword strike.

Yuan Chaolu pulled on the reins, bent down, and the eagle's sharp talons brushed against the top of her head.

It spread its arms and cast down a huge, umbrella-shaped shadow. Seeing that its first attack had missed, it suddenly rose higher and pounced on Yuan Chaolu again.

When eagles pounce on their prey, once they lock onto and hold their ground, their sharp talons can easily tear flesh apart.

Yuan Chaolu galloped forward on his horse, the wind whistling in his ears, his clothes fluttering in the wind, and he could even feel the cold, strong winds stirred up by the giant creature behind him with each flap of its wings.

She turned her head, her eyes flashing coldly.

For a predator like an eagle, its ingrained nature and instincts allow it to clearly sense when authority is challenged. Its dark eyes reflect her face, and enraged by her gaze, it swoops down like an arrow released from a bow!

The shriek pierced the wind, sending chills down the spines of those behind it.

Han Peng looked up and saw an extremely horrifying scene, as if a sharp arrow had pierced his heart.

In the vast snowy wilderness, a woman and a horse galloped ahead, while an eagle flapped its wings and chased after her, its iron-hook-like talons gleaming coldly as it pounced on the woman.

She dodged to the side, veerging the horse to the left, her back taut like a fully drawn bow.

Meanwhile, the eagle behind him spread its wings and soared into the sky, gathering its strength once more.

Snow began to fall from the sky, blinding Yuan Chaolu. A bone-chilling cold swept through her body. She forced herself to sit up and this time raised her crossbow, aiming it behind her.

It pounced faster than expected. Yuan Chaolu felt a sharp pain in her neck, followed by a tidal wave of agony, and was tumbled off her horse by it.

She threw the crossbow in her hand, rolled over, and looked up to see an eagle spreading its wings and swooping down on her, its shadow covering the sky.

Yuan Chaolu raised her arm to block in front of her, but her shoulder sank as the eagle's claw stepped on her shoulder, its sharp teeth instantly piercing through her robes and digging into her flesh. At the same time, it scratched at Yuan Chaolu's arm, causing her to groan in pain.

The heavy snow obscured people's vision, and when Han Peng saw this scene from afar, his blood almost turned to jelly.

The eagle spread its wings and completely enveloped her, turning her into a lamb to the slaughter.

The snow kept falling, and Yuan Chaolu tried to block it with her wrist, but the eagle's hard, iron-like beak pecked at her fiercely. Its hawk-like eyes were close at hand, staring at her with a gloomy gaze.

Blood gushed down her shoulder, staining the white snow red.

They look so alike...

Those eyes are so like Helan Yi's. He really is the beast he raised.

How long did she travel from Longxi to Luoyang and then to Rongbei?

I can't remember Yuan Chaolu's details.

How can we yield? By what right should we yield?

She shielded herself with one arm, freeing up the other hand to reach into the snow and search for the bone whistle.

It saw through his movements, stretched out its neck, and thrust its sharp beak straight at her wrist.

Yuan Chaolu put the bone whistle to her lips, and a weak but rhythmic whistle rang out, carried by the whistling wind.

At this moment, Ying Meng seemed to be bound by invisible ropes, and his ferocity suddenly faded away.

That's the sound of a falconer's whistle.

A metallic taste rose in Yuan Chaolu's throat, his fingertips trembled as he gripped the whistle tightly, and he blew an even more urgent tune.

It was in that instant when the eagle froze, revealing a weakness, that the situation suddenly changed, and Yuan Chaolu flipped over and pinned the eagle to the ground.

It gathered its ferocity once more and lunged at Yuan Chaolu. Yuan Chaolu drew her dagger from her waist without hesitation and slashed forward.

Hot blood gushed out and splattered onto Yuan Chaolu's pale face.

Crimson blood beads slid down her cheeks, but she still pressed the eagle down with her body. Her long eyelashes were covered in blood, and she lowered her eyes without any pity, looking at the wide-open amber eyes of the eagle.

The crisp sound of bones breaking echoed, accompanied by a agonizing scream. The eagle flapped its body twice on the ground, scattering snowflakes, and soon fell completely silent.

After Han Peng dealt with the pursuers, he and one of his companions rushed over, only to witness a chilling scene—

Yuan Chaolu knelt in the snow-covered ground, surrounded by falling snowflakes.

Her thick fleece dress was half soaked by snow and half stained with blood. The eagle in front of her was lifeless, its body and head separated, its entire right wing cut off by a blade, and the wound on its neck was so deep that the white bone was visible.

Blood slowly flowed from the eagle's body, trickling down and forming a bright red river on the snow, so intense it seemed impossible to dissolve.

Yuan Chaolu turned her head, her eyes were deep and unfathomable, her body was trembling, her eyelids were fluttering, her pale face was stained with blood, and her long hair was whipped up by the north wind, making her breathtakingly beautiful.

The ruthlessness surging in her eyes was like that of a leopard eyeing them menacingly.

The two gasped when they saw this.

Yuan Chaolu raised his eyes, looked at the corpse behind him, and staggered to his feet.

Han Peng said, "This is He Lanyi's subordinate. Keep him here for questioning."

Jiang Zhao, with one leg and one arm severed, sat cross-legged beside the horse's legs. When Yuan Chaolu came before him, he looked up and exclaimed, "Your Majesty!"

As the wind and snow swept across the fields, the girl's long, dark hair flew in the wind, and her eyes looked down at him.

In Jiang Zhao's memory, this female slave was like livestock, driven by the Helan family to do those lowly jobs. She was also captured by his troops after she escaped. At that time, she knelt at his feet and begged him not to take her back.

Jiang Zhao, writhing in pain, had beads of sweat on his forehead. Disregarding his dignity, he knelt at her feet like a lowly dog, pleading, "Helan Yi is leading troops to search for Your Majesty's brother! I can take Your Majesty to see him!"

A slight smile appeared on her lips. "Okay."

The next moment, she suddenly drew her knife.

With a "crash," the head fell off and tumbled to the ground.

-----------------------

The author's note: The morning dew is intense from beginning to end.

One more chapter until the grand finale! See you tomorrow! There's a red envelope giveaway in this chapter!

(There will be many side stories, so don't worry.)