Chapter 29

This time, it's her turn to protect him.

Xie Yutang ambushed in the bushes, clearing out the approaching waves of pursuers. She was still wearing guard clothes, which was deceptive. In addition, she acted swiftly and decisively, clearing out the soldiers efficiently and silently.

She rubbed her fingers together and gently exhaled.

What do you mean by dying for love...? Was she being harassed?

She would never commit suicide with him.

He was nothing more than a knife in her hand; what master would die for love because of a knife?

It's just that I cherish it because it's easy to use and convenient.

Xie Yutang dragged a group of soldiers' corpses into the bushes to cover up their tracks. After listening for a moment, he knew that they must have been discovered.

She walked back to the woodshed, where Su Lu was still meditating with his eyes closed. He had never been wary of her, and Xie Yutang easily struck his acupoint.

The moment the veins became blocked, Su Lu understood Xie Yutang's intention.

For the first time, she saw an emotion called "disagreement" in those eyes.

"I know what you're planning. Don't make unnecessary sacrifices."

The bowl on the table contained the poison that had been prepared earlier. Xie Yutang added some to the sword, saying, "Once you recover your strength, you will naturally be able to open your acupoints."

The sky had completely darkened, the bright moon hung high, and the shadows of the trees in the forest were pitch black, occasionally swaying, making it impossible to tell whether the shadows were those of trees or people.

Xie Yutang tore off the hairband and tied her loose hair back up. She paused slightly before stepping out the door, then turned back to look at the boy who was unable to move due to his blocked acupoint. "I don't want to die with you. I want you to live with me."

Each word was spoken clearly and distinctly.

After saying that, she didn't look at the boy's expression, closed the door behind her, and sat down under a pine tree in front of the house.

Her mind was very calm at that moment.

She could hear the subtle rustling of leaves in the wind, the rustling of military boots crushing dry branches, and even use these sounds to determine the number of pursuers and their approaching location.

She recalled her father, clad in armor, sitting atop his warhorse before she went to war, saying to her, "Everyone has the right to wield a sword, but he hoped that the reason she would wield the sword was not for killing, but because there were people in her heart she wanted to protect."

This is the scene that Cui Hu saw when he led his men to surround the area.

The woman sat under the tree, her right hand resting on the hilt of a sword, her back straight and tall, as if she were one with the pine tree behind her.

Cui Hu raised his hand to stop his subordinate who was about to step forward: "Your Highness agreed to cooperate with me. I sent someone to Your Highness's residence to retrieve the seal as Your Highness instructed. It has been three days now, and the person has not returned. I wonder if Your Highness has any explanation?"

Xie Yutang scoffed: "Lord Cui, do you have any explanation for the matter of conspiring with Commander Wei to imprison and threaten me?"

Xie Yutang clearly had no intention of joining the group from the beginning; he was merely using the pretext of obtaining the seal to delay the process.

Cui Hu's face darkened: "I'll give Your Highness one last chance. Your Highness, go and kill the person in the house now, and come back with me to sign the ferry documents. We'll pretend today's events never happened. How about that?"

Xie Yutang smiled slightly: "What if I don't agree?"

"Then His Highness may not be able to leave this mountain."

Xie Yutang seemed to have heard a funny joke, and laughed so hard that she tilted her head back. After she had finished laughing, she slowly glanced at the soldiers surrounding her: "Cui Hu, you have a lot of nerve!"

"If you dare to kill me, aren't you afraid that Father will have you torn to pieces and your entire family executed?"

"Your Highness need not trouble yourself. If His Majesty inquires, I will report to His Majesty that Your Highness adopted a kitten in Yingkou and cherished it dearly. One day, the kitten went missing, and Your Highness went to the back mountain to search for it, but it disappeared without a trace... When I found Your Highness, Your Highness had already—lost your life."

Do you think Father Emperor would believe that?

"Whether His Majesty will believe me or not, I do not know. But I do know that if Princess Ning'an walks out of this mountain today, the heads of me and the thousands of brothers in Yingkou will be—" Cui Hu raised his hand and slashed his neck, his eyes revealing a fierce ruthlessness, "and we will have to move immediately."

Stealing military equipment is a capital offense.

For example, the lives of Cui Hu and the thousands of soldiers stationed in Yingkou, as well as their relatives, could very likely be implicated.

Cui Hu knew that Xie Yutang was deliberately stalling for time. Seeing that he couldn't persuade him, he stopped talking and waved his hand, saying, "Go."

He was accompanied by ten elite soldiers, whose combined fighting power should not be underestimated.

Xie Yutang could feel her internal energy gradually recovering as time passed. Counting the few breaths she had meditated under the tree earlier, she could now use 60% of it. But there was still Cui Hu... She had to deal with these people quickly.

In a flash, she dodged a sword thrust from behind, and with a flick of her wrist, the tip of the sword and a tricky angle slashed at the forearm of the person beside her.

The wound wasn't deep, but it was extremely long and bled.

Xie Yutang spun around again and slashed another person in front of him with incredible speed.

She was extremely agile, never resorting to direct attacks, but always managing to slip through her fingers and leave wounds at unexpected moments.

At first, the attackers didn't take it seriously, but gradually, they felt their meridians blocked. One of them seized Xie Yutang's opening and was about to stab him with his sword when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his dantian. His sword faltered for a moment before Xie Yutang stabbed him through the lower abdomen and kicked him away.

The remaining people quickly realized something was wrong.

"The sword is poisoned!"

But it was too late. None of them could muster their true energy anymore, and Xie Yutang dealt with them one by one. Some lost their lives, while others were so badly injured that they couldn't even get up.

"A bunch of useless trash."

Cui Hu drew his sword and slashed straight at Xie Yutang.

Before Xie Yutang could turn around, she felt a surge of sword intent behind her. She did not take it head-on, but dodged it.

"They do know how to dodge."

Cui Hu scoffed and chased after him with his sword.

The more they fought, the more terrified they became.

She has such amazing skills!

Rumor has it that Princess Ning'an somehow changed her personality after returning from Happy Valley, completely letting herself go, insisting on going to school, and indulging in horseback riding and martial arts all day long.

He never took it to heart, thinking it was just another fleeting whim of the noble princess.

How powerful can a woman be?

His attack was parried again, and he was almost injured in the process.

Cui Hu had to admit that he had underestimated her before.

Xie Yutang wasn't having an easy time either. Cui Hu had formidable internal strength, and if this continued, she would definitely be the first to exhaust herself.

Cui Hu understood this as well, and knew that her sword was poisoned, so he was not in a hurry to attack. He focused on making his defense watertight, not allowing her any chance to get close.

After exchanging more than a dozen moves, Xie Yutang finally revealed his first weakness due to exhaustion. Cui Hu's brows furrowed, and his knife was already out.

He was prepared for Xie Yutang to return to defend, but to his surprise, the road was clear and the blade pierced straight into Xie Yutang's left waist.

Cui Hu was taken aback.

In that instant, Xie Yutang suddenly raised his left hand, which had been hanging by his side. Cui Hu's heart tightened, and almost relying on his intuition honed over many years of life-and-death battles, he managed to veer a few inches to the left.

A gust of wind narrowly brushed past my temple.

Cui Hu laughed, "Your Highness took a knife from me for such a trivial thing, it's just a pity..."

Halfway through his sentence, Cui Hu's expression suddenly changed.

His gaze moved downwards stiffly, incredulously, inch by inch.

A sleeve dart, about an inch long, pierced straight into his lower abdomen, leaving only a small tuft of the arrow's fletching. A ring of dark red blood seeped around the fabric.

These two hidden darts were always strapped to the inside of Xie Yutang's left wrist. When she was imprisoned, Wei Xianxi, mindful of her princess status, didn't dare to actually search her. Before leaving, she also poisoned these two hidden darts. She hadn't expected the first arrow aimed at Cui Hu's face to hit him anyway; the second arrow was her true trump card.

Xie Yutang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and curled his lips into a smile: "Unfortunately, I still succeeded."

"You think you can kill me like this?"

Wei Xianxi sneered, pulled out the arrow, and quickly tapped several acupoints around his body to control the spread of the poison. "Your Highness is indeed quite capable. It's been a long time since anyone has pushed me to this point."

After saying that, he took a step back and slowly drew a curved sword with a frosty sheen from behind his back with his left hand.

This knife has not been drawn for a long time, and many people are unaware of its existence.

Cui Hu held a knife in each hand and slowly assumed a starting stance.

The grass and trees were all silent, and all sounds were still.

Xie Yutang's eyes narrowed. It was coming. Cui Hu's ultimate move—"Three Soul-Severing Strikes"—was about to be unleashed.

As Cui Hu made his next move, Xie Yutang instinctively felt an overwhelming pressure sweeping in. Cui Hu crossed his twin blades and slashed straight down from the sky. Wherever the blade wind passed, tree branches and withered leaves were severed inch by inch, and a mournful cry arose between heaven and earth.

"The first strike seemed fierce, but it was actually a bluff, intended to intimidate the opponent. Once the opponent had the intention to retreat, it would give Cui Hu the opportunity to break through the defense."

Su Lu's words of advice were still ringing in his ears when Xie Yutang, facing the descending blade imbued with the force of a hurricane and thunder, abandoned his defensive style and instead met the attack head-on with his sword, neither dodging nor retreating.

Cui Hu was suddenly alarmed.

She actually made that cut right there!

Although he sealed his acupoints in time, some toxins still entered his meridians, greatly hindering his ability to muster internal strength. Moreover, this strike, though seemingly fierce, was actually flashy but ineffective. Xie Yutang's parry threw him off balance.

Having failed to gain the upper hand with his first strike, Cui Hu did not linger in the fight and withdrew his attack, taking a few steps back.

Xie Yutang suppressed the sweet, metallic taste in his throat, his face remaining impassive.

She was already somewhat exhausted from the relentless battle, and her internal energy had not fully recovered. So, the blow she received just now was not as easy as it seemed on the surface.

Cui Hu gathered his strength, suppressing his killing intent to the extreme.

Suddenly, he flipped his palm and slashed down with his right hand, wielding a long sword.

"The second cut."

This strike was completely different from the first one.

If the first strike was an overwhelming, expansive pressure that could destroy the heavens and the earth, this strike was an immense, restrained pressure that was as deep as a mountain and as vast as the sea. All the power was tightly contained within the blade, taut as a single line, with not a trace of leakage.

Wherever the blade goes, it kills gods and Buddhas alike.

At this moment, he had completely stopped testing the waters and was showing his true strength. With this second strike, he would not allow Xie Yutang any further opportunity.

Xie Yutang retreated several feet until he had nowhere left to go. His back slammed against the towering rocks, the jagged stones bringing a sharp, dull pain. With his back against the rocks, Xie Yutang gathered all the internal energy he could muster and poured it into the sword in his hand.

This sword is too ordinary. If it weren't for her internal strength, it would probably shatter into dust the moment it was touched by the sword's intent.

"Do not take the second blow head-on. First, find an opportunity to deflect his attack, pretend to be unable to withstand it, and then attack his lower body when he attacks."

With a clang, swords clashed.

Cui Hu's knife remained frozen in mid-air.

Xie Yutang parried Cui Hu's knife, using an extremely precise angle and the rocks behind him to block the blow.

The tip of the knife got stuck in the rocks and couldn't be moved for a while.

Cui Hu scoffed: "A trivial skill."

With a swift movement of his wrist, the mountain rock was cleaved in two by the blade, sending fragments of stone and grass flying everywhere. The air itself seemed to be compressed to its limit, emitting a low buzzing sound.

Xie Yutang lowered his sword lower and lower until it touched his forehead, but finally he couldn't bear it and spat out a mouthful of blood mist.

With a flick of his wrist, Cui Hu's eyes turned bloodshot, and he brought his two swords together, one on the left and one on the right, to strangle her neck.

If this strike succeeds, it will be a decapitation!

Xie Yutang suddenly moved forward, her waist bending backward at an incredible angle. The two blades barely grazed her nose, followed by a piercing shriek as the blades collided, sparks flying everywhere.

Cui Hu hadn't expected her to dodge. He forcefully stopped the blade's momentum with his wrist and was about to attack again when he suddenly sensed something was wrong and quickly retreated.

But it was too late.

Xie Yutang's sword had arrived, the blade grazing his thigh. In just a moment, blood gushed out, flesh was torn open, and the white bones were vaguely visible.

Cui Hu had never suffered such a loss before. He was both shocked and furious. He struck out with his palm, and Xie Yutang crashed into the rocks behind him. He coughed up another mouthful of blood, clutching his broken left shoulder, but his eyes were surprisingly clear.

She couldn't calculate the time and didn't know how much time was left until the two-hour period ended, but she was still holding on and hadn't let anyone step into the house.

From the Wei residence to the cruise ship and then to Yingkou, he protected her so many times; this time, it was her turn to protect him.

That's enough.

Cui Hu coughed up a mouthful of blood. He had also suffered internal injuries. The knife wound on his thigh had allowed the poison to fully penetrate, and now even gathering his inner energy was excruciatingly painful.

After another half incense stick's time, he couldn't use any internal energy at all.

What kind of poison is so evil!

When Cui Hu's third strike landed, the heavens and earth fell silent.

This was a move he made with all his might, without any superfluous movements, yet it contained his complete understanding of the way of the sword.

Xie Yutang slowly raised his sword and held it horizontally in front of him.

The three-foot-long green peak reflected her cool and aloof features. When Cui Hu met her gaze, he was momentarily uneasy at the calmness in her eyes.

The woman under the clear moonlight closed her eyes gently, a slight smile playing on her lips. When she opened her eyes again, a vast and powerful aura surged forth from her body. Instantly, the trees and plants in the forest swayed without wind, as if war drums were beating, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a battlefield.

"Lord Cui, have you ever heard of—'Beacon Fires Slay the City'?"

Cui Hu's pupils suddenly contracted.

Taking the head of a man amidst a thousand troops – General Xie Qinghe's signature move. This move did not originate from any martial arts manual, but was learned from countless life-or-death battles on the battlefield. General Xie once used this move to open up a path to survival in the midst of a chaotic and deadly situation, and took the head of the enemy general with lightning speed.

With a single sword strike, the beacon fires dimmed, and the city walls trembled.

Cui Hu's sword intent shattered inch by inch.

Xie Yutang saw a scene from a long time ago.

Her father, clad in armor, laughed heartily as he lifted her onto his horse, flashing his sword in a flourish: "Haven't you always wanted to learn my 'Beacon Fire Slash'? You've practiced your archery well today; I'll show you."

"The 'Beacon Fire Slash' is not merely about strength and speed, but also about vision and decisiveness. The swordsman must possess the composure and decisiveness of a general, keenly identifying fleeting opportunities for victory amidst the ever-changing battlefield, and deciding the outcome with a single strike."

In terms of internal strength and power, Xie Yutang is still far behind Cui Hu, but she chose to strike at the moment when his sword intent was about to be formed and his move was about to be unleashed, at the most vulnerable moment, risking everything.

She won her bet.

Cui Hu had never seen a sword like this before.

I have never felt so close to death before.

It turns out that at moments like these, everything slows down, the mind goes blank, and it seems that even the body is out of control.

They could only watch helplessly as the cold glint of the sword drew closer.

He resignedly closed his eyes.

In that instant, a pebble deflected the sword tip that was only millimeters away from his neck. Xie Yutang was struck directly on the right shoulder by a powerful internal force, and the long sword in his hand clattered to the ground. A low, hoarse male voice, trembling with suppressed emotion, crashed down on him: "Where is Su Lu? Where is he?"