293. Explosion

Lin Fu remained expressionless until she had fired all the cloth balls from the repeating crossbow, then she put it away, quickly retreated into the carriage, and covered her ears.

This is the plan that Xie Wenling discussed with Tiger last night after they finished talking.

This is also why Lin Fuman didn't sleep all night.

Everyone's working overtime.

...or rather, unpaid overtime.

Qu Zijin looked at her in confusion, then at Xie Wenling, his mind still reeling.

The little dumpling was also confused, but after being reminded by Lin Fuman, although she didn't know why, she obediently covered her ears.

Outside, Xie Wenling silently picked up a longbow, completely ignoring the mockery from the Prince of Zhennan's side.

He held the bow in his left hand and pulled the string with his right, his movements fluid and efficient.

The bow and arrow is a specially made arrow with oil-soaked cotton wrapped around the tip. It is lit with a tinderbox and is currently burning with a small flame.

"Again? Xie Wenling, do you really think you can defeat us with these flaming arrows?" The Prince of Zhennan looked at his actions and continued to mock him. "I advise you not to waste your energy. Even if it catches fire, it will only be a small flame. It can't possibly burn down our army, can it?"

Xie Wenling didn't speak, but slowly raised his bow and aimed at the clumps of cloth in the snow.

With a flick of his finger, the arrow, still carrying a flame, whistled and struck one of the clumps of cloth precisely.

The flames immediately licked at the cloth, quickly burning through it and revealing the gunpowder inside.

When the gunpowder came into contact with the fire, it immediately ignited into a sizable flame, emitting black smoke.

The Prince of Zhennan scoffed again: "What did I tell you? It's just a small fire, what's there to be afraid of—"

"boom!"

Before he could finish speaking, a loud bang was heard, and the cluster of flames suddenly exploded!

The enormous impact sent the surrounding soldiers flying, and a small crater instantly appeared in the snow!

Immediately afterwards, the cloth bundle next to it was also ignited by the sparks.

Explosions rang out one after another, creating a chain reaction of explosions, thick smoke billowed, and flames shot into the sky.

The mockery on the Prince of Zhennan's face froze, his eyes widened, and he swallowed back the words he was about to say, completely dumbfounded.

It wasn't until the limbs and torsos of the soldiers around him were hurled in front of him by the explosion that he came to his senses. Terrified, his face turned deathly pale, and he turned to run, shouting, "Quick! Get out of the way!"

But it was too late; the series of explosions continued.

The soldiers panicked and scattered in all directions.

The sounds of armor clashing, screams, and explosions mingled together in a chaotic mess.

Many soldiers were injured by the gunpowder and lay on the ground groaning in pain.

Others were trampled by frightened horses, and the once orderly army was instantly thrown into chaos, with heavy casualties.

"Kill!" Xie Wenling gave the order, and Qin Fengsong immediately swung his sword and stepped forward, followed closely by the guards behind him.

Amidst the clash of swords, the army of the Prince of Zhennan had already been routed.

The soldiers were only concerned with fleeing, and all traces of their previous arrogance had vanished.

Xie Wenling raised his hand to draw the sword at his waist, but the hot wind carrying the smell of gunpowder lifted his sleeve, revealing a section of fair and strong wrist with his knuckles gripping the hilt of the sword. He clearly intended to step forward and kill the Prince of Zhennan himself.

"No!" Qu Zijin rushed down from the carriage and grabbed Xie Wenling's wrist. "Xie Wenling, don't kill him! He's a prince. If you kill him in public, it will give people something to say about you killing a member of the royal family without permission. You'll be implicated yourself!"

"Explain?" Xie Wenling had neither the patience nor the time to explain to him at this moment, and rebuked him without hesitation, "Keeping him alive will only cause trouble later. Qu Zijin, don't be soft-hearted, get back to the carriage and watch the child!"

"I'm not going back!" Qu Zijin also lost his temper. "You're still recovering from your injuries, and you stayed up all night. You got angry again just now. If you want to fight again, your body can't take it! If anyone's going, it'll be me. You stay here and protect the children!"

As he spoke, he picked up his sword and actually walked step by step in the direction in which the Prince of Zhennan had fled.

Xie Wenling stood there, stunned, almost doubting that he had misheard.

Qu Zijin, this kind-hearted man, actually wants to kill someone for me?

Although he certainly harbored the intention of capturing the prisoner alive, his intention was genuine.

As he watched Qu Zijin's retreating figure, the irritation in his eyes gradually faded, and he even forgot to go forward for a moment.

"Grandpa! Grandma!" The little girl's cries came from inside the carriage. She forcefully lifted the curtain, and the little girl, wrapped in a small cloak, ran out of the carriage like a ball. Her chubby little legs ran very fast, and tears still clung to her round little face. "Yue'er wants to find Grandpa and Grandma. Has something happened to them?"

Xie Wenling immediately snapped out of his daze, strode forward, and scooped the little girl up in his arms, supporting her tiny bottom steadily. His tone softened, soothingly: "Princess, be good, don't run away. Grandpa and Grandma are alright. I'll take you to find them, okay?"

He turned to Lin Fuman inside the carriage and shouted, "Miss Lin, keep an eye on His Highness, don't let her get down, it's dangerous outside!"

Lin Fuman immediately nodded and reached out to firmly pull the little princess who was about to climb out of the car.

The little princess's face flushed red as she struggled to push Lin Fuman away: "I want to go too! I want to go with Little Moon to find people!"

"No!" Lin Fuman pressed her down hard. "There are still soldiers outside, and there was still that gunpowder. You'll get hurt if you go out."

The little princess wanted to make a fuss, but seeing Lin Fu's serious eyes and hearing the screams outside, she finally dared not struggle anymore. She could only pout pitifully, tears welling up in her eyes, and obediently stay in the carriage.

-

Xie Wenling, carrying the little dumpling, walked quickly toward where her grandparents were.

The little girl hugged his neck tightly, resting her head on his shoulder, her voice trembling with tears: "Brother Xie, are Grandpa and Grandma in pain? Those rumbling sounds were so scary, were they frightened?"

"Don't be afraid," Xie Wenling said, bowing his head to comfort her. "Grandpa and Grandma are both safe and sound. We've rescued them."

Soon, Xie Wenling brought the little dumpling to the old grandpa and grandma.

The elderly couple were still slumped in the snow, their worn-out cotton-padded coats covered in snowflakes, and the old man's arm was still bleeding.

Both of them were trembling with fear, their faces pale and their eyes unfocused. They were clearly terrified by the series of explosions and didn't even realize Xie Wenling was approaching.

"Grandpa! Grandma!" The little girl struggled to get down from Xie Wenling's arms. Xie Wenling gently put her on the ground, and she immediately rushed to their side, gently tugging at their clothes with her little hands. "Grandpa, Grandma, wake up! Yue'er is here. Don't be afraid!"

They slowly came to their senses, and when they saw the little bundle of joy in front of them, tears immediately welled up in their cloudy eyes.

The old man reached out and gently touched her little face. His palms were calloused, and the touch made the little girl's skin a little itchy, but it felt incredibly warm.

The little girl immediately threw herself into her grandfather's arms, burying her head in his tattered cotton-padded coat, her shoulders shaking with sobs. The hood of her cloak slipped down, revealing her round face streaked with tears: "Grandpa, Grandma, I'm so sorry... It's all Yue'er's fault. Yue'er has dragged you down with her. If it weren't for Yue'er, you wouldn't have been kidnapped by those bad people, and you wouldn't have suffered so much..."

The old woman quickly reached out and hugged her, gently patting her back with her thin, withered hand. Tears dripped onto the little girl's hair, and her voice was full of heartache: "Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about? It's not your fault, not at all. You're so small and so well-behaved. Blame those bad people. They're the bad ones, not you."

Whether the little dumpling comes or not, they will not be able to hand over anything and will be taken away.

The old man nodded in agreement, his hands trembling as he wiped away the little girl's tears, his rough fingers brushing away the tear tracks on her cheeks: "That's right, good girl, you did nothing wrong. Grandpa and Grandma are so happy to have saved you, how could we blame you? Don't cry anymore, or your little face will look ugly, okay?"

The little girl sniffed, raised her tear-streaked face, looked at her grandparents' pale faces, and couldn't help but shed tears again, but obediently nodded: "Yes, Yue'er, don't cry. Grandpa and Grandma, don't cry either. Brother Xie will protect us."

Xie Wenling stood aside, quietly watching the scene of the grandfather and grandson embracing each other.

The next second, his gaze swept to a spot not far away.

The villager who had previously identified them was taking advantage of the chaos to crouch down and run into the forest, his steps hurried, clearly trying to slip away.