Chapter 16 Reunion

The road ahead was long and dark, but the sky was getting brighter.

The sun has risen from the east. In the summer wilderness of Kucha, the scorching air is blowing straight into Qiandeng, who is galloping on her horse. Her back is soaked with sweat, and she doesn't know whether it is cold sweat or hot sweat.

The horse she stole was naturally better than the majestic ones chasing her from behind, but she was not familiar with the terrain of Kucha, and the horse she stole temporarily was not easy to control. Therefore, although she had seized the initiative, the pursuers from behind were getting closer and closer.

She looked eagerly at the woods ahead, hoping to escape into them as quickly as possible and hide in the concealed terrain, perhaps there would be a chance.

Unfortunately, he was still an arrow's distance away from the woods, and the pursuers were approaching from behind.

The captain's whistle was heard sharply from afar. The horse that Qiandeng had robbed immediately slowed down upon hearing its master's call, and seemed to be ready to turn around and run back.

Qiandeng gritted his teeth, drew out his dagger, and stabbed it hard into the horse's buttocks.

The horse neighed in pain and immediately rushed forward, carrying thousands of lights straight into the dense forest.

Unexpectedly, just as she was approaching the woods, an arrow was suddenly shot out from the forest, passing by her with the sound of the wind. The target was not her, but the pursuers behind her.

Qiandeng's horse was about to charge into the woods, but at this moment, she saw the people who stood up from the grass nest under the tree to help her. They looked like ordinary Kucha people in their attire, but they were all tall and should be soldiers.

Her heart suddenly turned cold and she realized that she had fallen into a trap.

The two men in the dilapidated house deliberately led her here. In the current situation, she would either fall into the hands of these assassins, or the pursuers behind her would see that she was an accomplice of the assassins and be convicted of the crime of murdering the royal family.

There is a wolf in front and a tiger behind, and we are in a dilemma.

At this critical moment, she pushed her horse hard and rushed out diagonally, preferring to be exposed to double danger and running forward aimlessly in the vast wilderness.

The pursuers were sniped by the assassins in ambush, and several horses neighed and fell to the ground. They didn't dare to pursue any closer, leaving only a few to follow from a distance, out of range, while the others returned to the city to report.

Did Cui Fufeng and Ji Linyou return to the room? Did they find the signs she had left behind? Which route would she take to ensure they could accurately pick her up?

The pursuers behind him continued, only a new group of people came. As Qiandeng fled, he could only feel the hooves of his horses rising and falling heavier and heavier.

Although the injury was minor, it did affect the horse. In a moment, the sound of the horse's hooves seemed to be right next to her ears, so close that she could reach out and feel it.

The wind whistled in her ears, and out of the corner of her eye she saw the people behind her getting closer and closer.

She gripped the dagger tightly in her hand. Although she knew it might be useless, it was better than being unarmed.

The horses behind her were about to catch up with her when the lasso whistled and entangled her horse's head, forcing her horse to stop.

Obviously, the reason why the other party didn't shoot the arrow was that they wanted to intercept and capture her.

The rope was so thick that her dagger obviously couldn't cut it in a hurry. The horse was already exhausted and was suddenly blocked. Its four hooves kicked out and she and the horse fell to the wasteland below.

Fortunately, the horse had slowed down and she was agile. When she fell, she rolled on the ground to dissipate the momentum. Although her whole body was in pain, fortunately, no vital parts were injured.

Ignoring the severe pain in her body, she stood up with a dagger in hand, staring at the assassins in front of her, refusing to surrender.

Seeing her so stubborn and resolute despite her slender figure, the group of people found it funny. Some even laughed and asked, "How about it, brothers, who wants to go down and play with her?"

"What's the point of competing with a woman? Beiga...competing in fighting?" Someone nearby waved his hand impatiently, "Come on, business is more important. Take her back first..."

Before he could finish his words, blood suddenly spurted out from his palm. He screamed and retracted his hand, and found a feather arrow nailed on his palm.

Then, there was a loud gust of wind, and crossbows were fired from behind a sand dune not far away, shooting straight at the group of pursuers.

Amid screams, the assassins fell off their horses one after another.

This move was so sudden that Qiandeng had no time to react. The leading assassin had already leaned over his horse. He was an excellent rider and he dropped his saddle and grabbed Qiandeng by the collar.

Obviously, the other party was unwilling to escape just like that, and was determined to take her away despite the rain of arrows and ambush.

A black horse rushed out from the side like lightning, and the rider on the horse swung his sword as swift as the wind. When the two horses passed each other, he drew his sword and slashed horizontally, passing by in an instant.

Scarlet blood splattered in the dazzling blue sky of Kucha. The hand that had just touched Qiandeng's clothes was cut off and fell beside her.

Blood splattered, dripping onto Qiandeng's ears and splashing onto the face of the man lying on the ground.

Only then did he realize that his arm had been separated from his body. He felt the severe pain in the severed limb and screamed out in pain.

The black horse neighed and the rider stood up. The rising sun outlined the deep silhouette of the rider from behind. In the blood-filled air, he looked overwhelmed and terrifying. Although his face was covered with a mask, it overlapped perfectly with the moment of the palace coup four years ago and the figure that was forever imprinted in Qiandeng's heart.

The girl who was trapped in the sea of ​​fire at that time still has a scar on her eyebrow, but the raging fire of that night has turned into the glow of today.

And at that moment, the man was like a Rakshasa descended from the earth, still bathed in blood and light, invincible.

He didn't rescue her, but instead directed the ambushing soldiers to pursue the scattered assassins. His dark-colored feathered satin cloak fluttered as he galloped, the kirin pattern on it a memory she had never forgotten.

Qiandeng stared at the figure standing against the light, raised his hand to wipe the blood from his ear, and opened his eyes wide in shock.

"Prince Linhuai?"

But then, her mind seemed to be struck by a bright lightning, and the fierce and imposing aura like a black leopard was like a knife cutting into her heart, deeply penetrating into her bones.

That was the person she had once been attached to and hated, chosen and given up.

They once embraced each other in the dark night and fantasized about a future together, but in the end, he was whipped and driven away by her, and their relationship was severed.

"Ling Tianshui..."

Her voice was hoarse and trembling, and her heart was filled with unbelievable panic and doubt. She stood there in the dusty wilderness, not knowing how to face this sudden reunion in such a desperate situation.

She had always known, and even started paying attention to Ling Tianshui because he made her feel familiar, and because it was incredible, she secretly dismissed it as ridiculous.

But unexpectedly, at this moment, that sense of familiarity overlapped.

This thought brought a huge shock to her, and she stayed there. She could only watch him lead the soldiers, like a long sword piercing into the enemy, like a tiger among a flock of sheep, and the conflict was over in an instant.

The enemy who tried to flee were caught up one after another and recaptured. However, the captives thrown in front of them soon spit out black blood from their mouths, and their lives were gone. It was obvious that they had been prepared for death and would not reveal any clues.

With such a large-scale plot, it was naturally impossible for them to leave her with any clues. Fortunately, from their actions and the few words they uttered before their death, she had a vague idea of ​​their origins.

She looked up at the man on horseback, who was also reining in his horse and looking back in her direction.

They looked at each other from a distance. He paused for a moment, and finally turned his horse around without saying a word, and was about to leave.

With the blood boiling in his heart, Qian Deng raised his hand and grabbed his horse's bridle regardless of everything in the windy and sandy wilderness.

He whipped the horse to urge it on, but if he started at this moment, Qiandeng would surely fall.

This man, who was considered cold-blooded and ruthless by thousands of people in the northwest, looked down at her from his horse, and the whip in his palm was ultimately unable to fall.

Qian Deng looked up at him intently, and the scorching winds from all directions swirled around her, converging around her, as if the whole world was in unrest.

His figure was scattered and overlapped in the sunlight, and her gaze looking up at him was focused and dispersed in the illusion.

The figure pulling her out of the water by the cold pond; the way he strode towards her as he brushed aside the obstructing branches when they first entered the mansion.

When her mother died, he promised her, "Li Yingshang, I will definitely help you"; his back was as strong as a rock when she walked out of the dark forest with a wounded foot.

The whispers buried in her arms as we exchanged the deepest wounds in our hearts; the sound of her angry roars behind me as she whipped and expelled me...

As they looked at each other from a distance, in an instant, countless past events rushed before them like illusions.

Having just escaped a near-death experience, she gasped for breath and looked down at his waist.

Hidden beneath the cloak with Qilin pattern is a slightly convex round object.

She remembered the size and outline clearly, so she naturally knew what it was.

But he was obviously unwilling to stay any longer. He raised his whip and tapped her hand that was tightly holding his horse's bridle, coldly signaling her to let go.

Qiandeng let go of his horse, but then quickly lifted up his outer cloak, revealing what was hidden inside.

Hanging around his waist was the gilded silver sachet she had given to her husbands during the spring purification ceremony this year.

The blue dragon circled among the auspicious clouds, with majestic and flowing aura. The moment she saw it, she thought that this sachet was really suitable for Ling Tianshui.

But now, it appeared before her again, but on his body.

Her eyes moved up inch by inch, staring at his covered face.

The scorching wind whistled between them. Though the horse and the rider were so close, they felt a million worlds apart.

“It’s you…”

The rest of the words were lost in her throat and could no longer be uttered.

But these two words revealed everything.

Their past; his hidden identity; his miserable life experience; everything they had experienced together...

But his gaze on her changed after all.

He leaned close to her, suddenly embraced her and lifted her up.

Qiandeng felt dizzy and before he could react, he was pressed onto his horse's back.

Leaving everyone around him, he rode his horse at full speed with her, heading straight into the dense forest under the snow-capped mountains.

Qiandeng struggled to stand up on the bumpy horse's back, grabbed the green cloth covering his face, revealing the face that she could never see clearly in her dream.