23. Canceled out in one stroke

◎Sima Hong, don't die!◎

Before the pain of falling to the ground, came the warmth of the chest, the tangled fabric of clothing, and... the back of my head being protected by a hand.

As she fell, Qi Gu was held in someone's arms. The surrounding branches brushed past her ears, and a hand pressed tightly against the back of her head, her face pressed against the man's chest.

She couldn't see anything, only hear the whistling wind around her, and the sound of her own breathing mixed with the man's heartbeat.

In the darkness, two intertwined bodies rolled uncontrollably down a steep hillside.

After the intense spinning stopped, they came to a halt.

Qi Gu was pinned down by the person on top of her, and she made a muffled sound, "Lord Sima? Sima Hong? Are you alright?"

The person on her body remained motionless and did not answer. She pushed Sima Hong away with both hands, got up from the ground, sat down, and looked around. It was pitch black, with nothing but trees.

She then looked at Sima Hong lying beside her, propping herself up on the ground, "Hey! Wake up!"

The person lying down still didn't react. She tugged at Sima Hong's clothes on his shoulder, "Are you alright?" Still no response.

Qi Gu became frightened. "Sima Hong! Sima Hong!" She knelt on the ground and pounded on him. She hated him, but he had just saved her, and she didn't want him to die.

"Sima Hong, don't die!" Qi Gu pushed Sima Hong.

The person lying on the ground showed no signs of waking up. Qi Gu got up and shouted towards the hillside, "Help! Waaah! Help! Is anyone up there? Please help me!" She cried and shouted.

Worried that the person behind her might have truly stopped breathing, she went back and squatted down next to Sima Hong. She saw that his eyes were tightly closed, but he still looked dignified.

She placed her finger under Sima Hong's straight nose. His breathing was weak. Qi Gu anxiously examined his head. There were no external injuries. She checked his whole body. There were no external injuries. Why was he unconscious?

Looking up at the direction they fell, Ah Feng and the others were up there, why hadn't they come to rescue them yet?

Qi Gu didn't know what to do. It was pitch black all around, and she couldn't see the way. She also didn't have the strength to move Sima Hong.

Just as she was at her wits' end, Sima Hong frowned. Qi Gu was overjoyed, thinking he was about to wake up, and hurriedly shook his shoulders: "Sima Hong, you're awake, wake up!"

But the person lying on the ground had his eyes tightly closed and his brows deeply furrowed, as if he were lost in a deep dream, and no matter what he was experiencing in his dream, no matter how she called out to him, his eyes, which had once made her heart tremble with fear, simply would not open.

After calming down, Qi Gu realized that the best solution was to wait for A Feng and the others to come to their rescue.

Ah Feng and the others will definitely come looking for them. If they haven't come, it must be because of some other unexpected situation.

There is no other way now but to conserve their strength. As long as Sima Hong is alive, they will be rescued soon.

Qi Gu hugged her knees and stayed by the unconscious Sima Hong's side, staring at him without blinking. Every now and then, she would place her hand on his forehead to check if he had a fever or to check his breathing.

Fortunately, his breathing was weak but still going, and his forehead was cool, showing no signs of fever.

Qi Gu felt slightly relieved and sat down to the side, quietly watching the unconscious person.

Even when he was unconscious, he was still handsome. Qi Gu stared at his face in a daze.

In the silent, desolate wilderness, with only her and him, she whispered, "Sima Hong, live on. You owe me a life, and today you saved mine. From now on, we owe each other nothing. The things from our past lives are wiped clean after today."

I will no longer investigate why you didn't save me in my past life, nor will I consider you the person from my past life.

You are Sima Hong, only Sima Hong.

When you wake up, you will become a wise minister and a famous general, your name will be recorded in history and last for eternity.

As for me, the daughter of a minor official recommended by you, our greatest connection is tonight. You saved my life, and I am eternally grateful to you. My father will dedicate all his efforts to cultivating high-yielding millet to repay you.

You will be highly valued and praised by the emperor and empress, promoted and ennobled, loved by the people, and will obtain all the power you desire. You will be remembered for generations, and your family will become the most prominent clan in the Great Jin Dynasty.

And I will be one of the people you have benefited from, and I will always be grateful to you. When we meet again, I will respond to you with a sincere smile, "Sima Langjun, are you well?"

You would nod slightly, and then we would pass each other by. You would climb the ladder to the clouds, while I would return to my father's little courtyard in the capital, filled with pear blossoms. We would never cross paths again.

Perhaps this is the best ending for us, don't you think?

Qi Gu was starting to feel the strain; her eyelids began to droop, and she rested her head on her knees, about to doze off.

The night grew deeper, and the mountain wind swept in, making a howling sound, like the cry of a wild beast, mournful and sharp.

Qi Gu instantly snapped awake, her heavy eyelids widening as she warily looked around. She hugged herself tightly, hoping, "Please, please don't let it be a wild beast."

But what you fear most is what comes to pass; a faint sound came from the darkness ahead.

Startled, Qi Gu picked up a tree branch as thick as her arm, stood up, and stood in front of Sima Hong.

He gripped the tree branch tightly with both hands, staring intently at the source of the sound!

Fortunately, the faint sound quickly disappeared, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to look at Sima Hong, who still showed no signs of waking up.

Strange, this slope isn't very high, and there don't seem to be any external injuries, so why isn't he awake? Could it be internal injuries?

Qi Gu was preparing to check Sima Hong's breathing and examine his body again.

The sound came from behind again, but it was different from the previous sound. This time it sounded more like footsteps, but the footsteps seemed to drag on the ground, sounding somewhat heavy.

Could it be Ah Feng and the others? Qi Gu turned around happily, but the moment she turned around, her face turned pale!

"You, you, you're still alive!" His voice trembled slightly.

It wasn't Ah Feng who came; it was the masked man who had kidnapped him!

The black cloth covering his face was still intact, but his black night clothes were covered in dust, and there was a large black shadow where he had been shot in the chest. His pants were torn, and blood could be seen flowing out. He was seriously injured.

Qi Gu gripped the branch in her hand, stood up, and couldn't help but clench her teeth. The masked man was dragging his leg and limping towards her.

Qi Gu knew in her heart that even if he was injured now, it would be an easy thing for him to kill her and the unconscious Sima Hong.

"Don't come any closer!" Qi Gu tried to shoo the person away.

But the masked man couldn't hear her at all. He walked straight toward her, his eyes fixed on her back with excitement.

His target is Sima Hong behind him!

"I advise you to leave quickly. Our people are coming soon, and then you won't have a chance to escape!"

"Hmph! To die alongside such a renowned minister and the most brilliant scholar would be an honor for me. Perhaps in the future, we will even be recorded in history together. I have not lost out."

"Hahaha!" Once he had this thought, it was as if he had taken some kind of secret medicine; even Qi Gu noticed that he seemed to walk more lightly.

Alas, sometimes people fear fame, just as pigs fear growing fat. In this world, whether man or woman, everyone wants to die with Sima Hong.

"Wait a minute." Qi Gu forced herself to remain calm and looked up, saying, "Since you're so eager to die with Sima Hong, what's with the mask on?"

The masked man ignored Qi Gu. Qi Gu prayed in her heart, "Ah Feng, you must come quickly, or your master will die with someone else."

Seeing that the masked man wasn't fooled, Qi Gu went on to provoke him: "I know, you must be very ugly, right? You felt inferior in front of Sima Hong! Even when he was unconscious, you didn't dare to face him with your true face. You even wanted to be recorded in history books with him, you coward, you're nothing but a rat! You don't deserve to be recorded in history books with him!!"

The masked man ripped off the black cloth covering his face. By the moonlight, Qi Gu could see that he was about forty or fifty years old, with a thin face, a sparse beard, and very bright eyes.

He doesn't look like a bad person at all; on the contrary, he has a somewhat otherworldly and ethereal air about him.

Qi Gu chuckled inwardly, thankfully, her provocation had worked.

Qi Gu continued, “You don’t look like a bad person, so why are you so determined to kill Sima Hong? Since you know his name, you must respect him, so why are you so persistent in pursuing him?”

"Sima Hong is indeed a worthy opponent, but unfortunately, the Sima family chose the wrong master..."

"You used to be a person of the Yan Kingdom, but no, you just said you weren't Brother Zhan's person. So who are you?"

"Little girl, sometimes knowing too much can lead to a quicker death."

"Tch, do you think you'll let me go after killing Sima Hong? I just want to find out who my enemies are before I die. Who knows, I might come after you for revenge after I'm reincarnated."

"Then you probably won't find it..."

The masked man understood that the woman before him was cunning. He didn't intend to waste any more words with her. He raised his knife and pointed it at the person behind Qi Gu.

Qi Gu mustered her courage and stood in front of the masked man. "Don't be impulsive. Look, it's dark and windy today, perfect for a chat. Shall we talk some more?"

"I know what you're thinking, but today, Sima Hong will die..."

The masked man walked towards Qi Gu step by step. Qi Gu's legs went weak. She turned around and glanced at Sima Hong, then forced herself to say, "I know who you are. You are one of the Prince of Yi's men, aren't you?"

The masked man never expected that this woman, who appeared out of nowhere, could guess his identity so easily.

"Little girl, I've told you before, knowing too much will only hasten your death!"

The masked man originally intended to deal with Sima Hong first, but now that he was going to die anyway, he decided to deal with this noisy woman first.

As the blade came slashing down, Qi Gu blocked it with the tree branch in her hand. She was glad that the masked man had already been hit by an arrow and his leg was injured, so he was not as strong as he was on the mountain. Otherwise, she would not have been able to withstand this attack at all.

Having failed in his first attack, the masked man's eyes flickered. He couldn't delay any longer, or he would fall into the woman's trap.

He ignored Qi Gu and headed towards Sima Hong. Qi Gu raised a tree branch and struck the masked man hard in the face!

The masked man dodged to the side, but Qi Gu leaned forward due to the force of her movement, which gave the masked man an opening.

The masked man approached Sima Hong. The most handsome man in the world, with a face as white as jade, lay peacefully on the ground, like the bright moon in the water, still bright, but no longer unattainable as when he was high in the sky. Now, he was a man you could kill with a touch!

The masked man was filled with the excitement of completing his mission. He raised his knife, blade down, and aimed it at the heart of the jade that was emitting a ghostly glow.

"Bang!" The pain from the heavy blow to the back of his head caused the knife to veer off course.