Chapter 228 Desperate Situation

Prince Chiyan looked at the group of people who emerged disheveled from the forest and sneered, "Finally, we've got you cornered!"

Qiu Heng and the others turned around to try to find a suitable way to escape, but they saw that squads of Xi Jiang guards had appeared in the other two directions as well.

"What are you looking at? You have no way to escape, why don't you surrender?" Prince Chiyan grinned maliciously, his heart filled with excitement.

With the merit of capturing the murderer of the king alive, the father has a great advantage in the struggle for the throne.

"I never expected you to have such thoughts and abilities..."

The relentless pursuit had been quite a hardship for Prince Chiyan, but now that the light at the end of the tunnel was in sight, he became excited and talked a lot.

Qiu Heng and Xue Han exchanged a glance, said nothing, and rushed forward almost simultaneously.

Two figures shot out like arrows from a bow. Before either the guards beside Prince Chi Yan or their own troops could react, the two arrows pierced the enemy ranks.

Xue Han swept his long sword across, eliminating the guards closest to Prince Chi Yan. Qiu Heng had no eyes for anyone else but Prince Chi Yan.

She believed that with Xue Han around, the Xijiang guards wouldn't be able to harm her in this short time, just as Xue Han believed she would defeat Prince Chiyan.

The guards from Xijiang reacted and unleashed countless long swords at Xue Han.

The few remaining Great Xia guards also realized what was happening. Knowing that rushing into the ranks was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot or a moth flying into a flame, they still rushed forward without hesitation to support Xue Han.

In that instant, Qiu Heng maximized her agility, bending her body in ways unimaginable to ordinary people to dodge Prince Chi Yan's killing move. Her soft sword, like an extended arm, wrapped around Prince Chi Yan's wrist and pulled hard, while her other hand held a sharp cone, pressing it against his throat.

"Stop!"

With Qiu Heng's cold shout, everyone present witnessed the scene of Prince Chi Yan being held hostage by a girl from an enemy country.

For a moment, the guards of Xijiang were shocked, confused, and ashamed... their expressions were a colorful mix.

The Crimson Flame Prince, who won first place in this year's Warriors Tournament in the Jiang Kingdom, was captured by a little girl from the Great Xia Kingdom?

Is this a dream?

Qiu Heng pushed Prince Chi Yan forward, with Xue Han and the three remaining Great Xia guards surrounding her, guarding against a sneak attack from the Xi Jiang guards.

Even now, Prince Chiyan still couldn't believe that he had been kidnapped by a little girl.

What are you going to do?

Qiu Heng did not answer, but led him step by step away from the enemy group and walked forward.

When she saw the ranks of Xijiang guards, she knew that breaking through was impossible; her only chance of survival lay with Prince Chiyan.

This Prince Chiyan is the leader of these Xijiang guards, and he is also a prince. Only by risking his life can he intimidate these guards and escape.

Fortunately, Xue Han and she were on the same wavelength.

Only then did Qiu Heng have the energy to glance at Xue Han, and upon seeing him, her heart sank.

Xue Han is injured.

He had been injured before, but now the wound on his shoulder was gruesome, and his sleeve was soaked with blood.

This can't go on.

"Do you have any wound medicine?" Qiu Heng asked coldly, moving the sharp awl in her hand.

Prince Chiyan was furious, but under these circumstances he had no choice but to bow his head: "Yes, it's in the bag I'm wearing across my shoulder."

One of the least injured guards from the Great Xia Dynasty took out wound medicine and a roll of clean cloth from Prince Chi Yan's leather bag. He sprinkled the wound medicine on Xue Han's bleeding wound and then wrapped it with the cloth.

"You should apply the medicine too." Xue Han, pale-faced after having his wounds treated, looked around.

This area is relatively open, with sparse and dense forests, cliffs, and complex terrain.

For this reason, the Xijiang guards, led by Prince Chiyan, could only travel on foot and could not ride horses.

Therefore, exchanging Prince Chiyan for the horse to escape is no longer an option.

Having no better option at the moment, they could only order Prince Chiyan to leave first, while the Xijiang guards remained in place at Prince Chiyan's request.

"Where exactly are you taking me?" Prince Chiyan asked through gritted teeth.

Qiu Heng didn't ignore him: "Return to Great Xia."

"Return to Great Xia?" Prince Chi Yan couldn't help but laugh. "Aren't you all too naive? Do you think you can return to Great Xia by kidnapping me? Do you know how many people are chasing you? Do you know how treacherous and continuous this mountain range is, with no passage at all?"

"What are you so happy about?" Feeling tired and sore all over, Qiu Heng simply and roughly poked Prince Chi Yan with a sharp awl.

Prince Chiyan let out a miserable scream.

Qiu Heng frowned: "Now that you're in our hands, you should worry about yourself first."

Prince Chi Yan remained silent, his face ashen.

"There are pursuers," Xue Han said suddenly as he listened intently.

"Pursuers?" Qiu Heng's hand holding the sharp cone twitched, her voice icy. "Prince Chi Yan, your men seem a bit disobedient."

Prince Chi Yan's expression also changed.

There were more than just his men among the pursuers; could it be that other forces were chasing after them?

Just as the Crimson Flame Prince had guessed, the pursuers soon came into view.

Qiu Heng immediately spotted Princess Duoya, who was being protected in the middle.

Princess Duoya brought a small number of guards, but all of them were armored and carried bows and crossbows.

This was a well-prepared trip.

Qiu Heng and Xue Han exchanged glances.

With her own side composed of elite troops and the enemy reduced to a few men like stray dogs, Princess Duoya, with her overwhelming advantage, calmly declared: "Xue Han, if you surrender now, I will spare your life for the time being."

Xue Han stepped back and replied to Princess Duoya, "What if not?"

"Not surrendering?" Princess Duoya found it amusing. "Do you think you can escape the rain of arrows? Believe me, with one command, you'll be riddled with bullets."

“Prince Chi Yan is still in my hands. Don’t you care whether he lives or dies?” Qiu Heng asked.

Princess Duoya stared at the girl standing behind Prince Chiyan, her face full of hatred: "It really is you."

Even now, she still feels that her father's death was a dream.

When she heard that Princess Rongning and Princess Suiyun had stormed out of the palace with their maids, she was completely incredulous.

But she saw with her own eyes her father's burned body.

She had cried all her tears these past few days, coldly watching those people come and go, knowing what they were thinking.

They all wanted to catch the person who murdered their father, hoping to use this credit to seize the throne.

After she had cried enough, she arrived. She wanted to personally capture Princess Suiyun and Xue Han, and make them pay for their father's death.

To her surprise, Chi Yan had fallen into Xue Han's hands. How could there be such an idiot?

"You're quite the actor. From the very beginning, you weren't sincerely sending the princess to marry a foreign ruler, but rather trying to assassinate my father, weren't you?" Princess Duoya asked through gritted teeth.

Qiu Heng sneered: "We should be the ones saying that. From the very beginning, you Xi Jiang have been plotting to cheat people out of their money, treating my Great Xia like a helpless sheep!"

"Then you killed my father and still dare to dream of going back alive?" Princess Duoya's eyes were bloodshot as she gave Xue Han one last look.

Xue Han realized Princess Duoya's next move and called out softly, "Aheng!"

Princess Duoya ignored Prince Chiyan, who had been pushed to the front, and waved her hand: "Fire the arrows!"

(End of this chapter)