Wild animals in the mountains
The mountain breeze, carrying the scent of earth and leaves, caressed Sui Zhixu's face.
The wind was still, and her gaze was fixed on Fan Lingzhang's profile. His nose was covered in dust, and the tip of his nose was dusty. The corners of her mouth were slightly upturned.
"Brothers in misfortune."
Fan Lingzhang's eyes widened, revealing his grievance, "We are a couple who have been through thick and thin together."
She chuckled softly, noticing even the smallest details. She hugged his neck tighter, "Then you can't drop me."
"rest assured!"
Fan Lingzhang smiled broadly, intending to take advantage of her, but considering her legs, he could only think about it and suppressed his thoughts.
What are you thinking about now?
Sui Zhixu caught a glimpse of his expression from the side, then lowered her head and met his eyes from the side.
"Huh?!" Fan Lingzhang was startled, swallowed hard, and shook his head. "No."
There's nothing there!
Sui Zhixu said calmly, "Wrong thoughts."
"Hehe." He chuckled faintly and continued walking with her on his back.
The river flowed gently, its water crystal clear, with occasional fish swimming on the surface. The air gradually became damp, and skin felt sticky when it touched.
Suddenly, she felt a cool sensation on her face. She paused for a moment, then looked up and said, "It's raining."
The autumn rain continued, and the mountain air was chilly. After a rain, the chill was even more penetrating. Her gaze was fixed on their thin clothes. Even though she had internal energy to protect her, she was injured and might not be able to protect the two of them.
"If we keep walking and still can't find it even if the rain gets heavier, we'll turn back."
"good."
The sky was shrouded in a gray fog, like dove feathers covering everything, creating a restless atmosphere.
The rain fell even more heavily, like countless threads connecting heaven and earth.
The winding river stretched to the horizon, and no trace of the gyrfalcon could be seen in the misty sky. Apart from the sound of raindrops falling on the branches, all was silent.
Sui Zhixu felt as if her heart was being suppressed, and every breath she took was filled with damp rain and mist.
The person beneath him stopped. "Let's go back first. Don't worry, the gyrfalcon will bring them back to us."
"Um."
As he turned away, she turned back to look into the distance. The winding river seemed endless, merging with the horizon.
On their way back, they collected some dry branches. She felt uneasy; the continuous rain was hindering her plans, and the longer she stayed in the mountains, the worse the situation would become.
The falling heart was confirmed when it saw the unidentified footprints imprinted on the medicinal powder at the cave entrance.
The powder had become damp, making the footprints even more visible.
"It might be a wolf."
Fan Lingzhang took a step back, looked up at the dark cave entrance, his gaze shifting back and forth between the unknown and dangerous cave and the continuous rain outside, caught in a dilemma.
"Put me down first."
Seeing that he didn't move, she carefully jumped off Fan Lingzhang's back. Her calf stung from the sudden impact, but she gritted her teeth and didn't make a sound.
Fan Lingzhang quickly reached out to support her swaying body, his voice filled with concern, "Be careful with your legs."
"It's nothing." Sui Zhixu shook her head, forcing herself to stand firm. She pointed to the other side of the cave entrance, "Look, there are footprints over there too."
Fan Lingzhang looked in the direction she was pointing and saw several sets of claw marks indeed extending out of the cave. The wolf pack had already left the cave.
Actually, Xu mainly relied on listening, as there were no other breathing sounds inside the cave.
"What a pity."
Sui Zhixu squatted down and reached out to pick up the damp powder from the ground. The damp powder was useless, and it was the last bit they had left.
She scanned the area inside and outside the cave entrance with her gaze, and said in a deep voice, "It knows our presence and may reappear."
With her calf and shoulder injured, and him, who had no martial arts skills, knowingly closed his eyes; they were now truly a couple who had gone through thick and thin together.
However, she didn't want to be a doomed couple.
How many arrows do you have left?
Fan Lingzhang lowered his eyebrows and looked serious. "There are still five or six left, but three of them are not in good condition. I'll go and fix them."
Sui Zhixu nodded, then limped into the depths of the cave, took out a tinderbox from her bosom, and carefully blew it to light.
Light the partially burned hay and twigs, then carefully add more twigs.
Instantly, the cave brightened up. They hadn't left much in the cave to begin with, just a rack for roasting rabbit and fish, which the wolves had overturned. The hay that Fan Lingzhang had collected was also in disarray.
After a moment's thought, she caught a glimpse of the tattered sachet at her waist and immediately took it off. "Zirong, give me your sachet!"
"Here you go." Upon hearing this, Fan Lingzhang stopped what he was doing, took the sachet off, and tossed it to her.
Sui Zhixu took out the spices from inside, crushed them with a stone, and sprinkled them around the perimeter, with the excess sprinkled at the outside entrance of the cave.
Wolves have an exceptionally keen sense of smell and are wary of unfamiliar odors. However, the scent of the sachet is not particularly stimulating, so its effect would likely be limited.
She frowned, hoping it would be of some use; they didn't have much on them, and were just two small fry.
Sui Zhixu sat inside the cave, broke the wood he had just collected into small pieces, then sprinkled it with dry grass, piling it into a small haystack near the cave entrance.
The flames burning inside the cave flickered in the wind, and the firelight in Xu Zhixu's eyes shone brightly. Fan Lingzhang sat beside her, the barbs on the arrows snapped back into place. There were several small wounds on his fingers, from which blood occasionally seeped.
"It's still early. If we set fire to the haystacks in front tonight, we should be able to buy some time."
Sui Zhixu's voice was very soft, as soothing to his heart as a feather. He carefully wiped the blood away with his hands behind his back and took her hand in his.
"I will stay by your side."
She didn't speak, but smiled faintly. In a life-or-death situation, words were too insignificant. She simply held his hand tightly to express her meaning.
After a long while, he said regretfully, "I should have brought back some more food."
"Ah Ling, I'm going out to get some food. You wait for me in the cave."
"I'll go with you."
As Xu tried to get up, Fan Lingzhang pressed him down.
"Do you want to keep your leg? Stay put, I'll be back in a bit."
With a flicker in her dark eyes, unable to resist his insistence, Xu had no choice but to wait in the cave.
Before leaving, Sui Zhixu handed him the dagger, saying, "I have enough with my sword."
The sky was foggy and the sun was not visible, so even if we knew the time, we could only guess it based on our feelings.
While Sui Zhixu continued adding hay to the pile, Fan Lingzhang had not yet returned.
Something's not right!
She had almost lost half of the branches she had left, and Little Hibiscus had not yet returned. As she finished tidying up the haystacks in front of her, she estimated that there would be enough branches left for the day.
She slowly stood up, leaning against the wall, and limped towards the cave entrance, sword in hand, the sword acting as her crutch to help her move forward.
Did he encounter a wild animal? But why is there no sound? If it were a wolf, there should be a howl. Could it be that group of people has returned?
Xu was in a state of confusion. He walked a little faster, lost his footing, leaned forward, and almost fell to the ground.
Fortunately, she managed to keep her balance by plunging her head hard into the ground.
As Xu tried to breathe steadily, it was extremely difficult for her to get up, because she had accidentally used her injured shoulder.
She slowly lowered her body and fell to the ground. The pebbles on the riverbank hurt her chest. She turned over to face the sky, where the rain falling from the sky was like a broken thread, thin and wispy.
With a dull ache in his shoulder and calf, Xu gritted his teeth and used his other intact arm to get up, then used his sword to stand up again.
Where exactly is Fan Lingzhang?
Sui Zhixu casually wiped the dust off his face and looked at the winding, endless river.
Her injuries were severe; if she circulated her internal energy, her blood would flow backward. Sui Zhixu's eyes concealed anger and worry as she continued to move forward step by step.
The valley was vast and misty, with the sky and earth connected by fog. Fan Lingzhang rolled into the grass to evade the enemy's search.
"Boss, we're losing more and more men. Those two guards are no joke; they're really skilled. All the men we sent there are gone. Fan Lingzhang and his men also injured a lot of our men. Plus, there are wild animals in the mountains. Now we only have five or six men left."
Fan Lingzhang's eyes darted around, and he crouched down, hiding among the lush foliage, listening intently.
"Damn it! That bastard Fan Lingzhang is so lucky. Having a father who's good at business isn't enough, he's also making a fortune on his own. A couple of years ago, he got involved with the Prince of Chang'an and became even more arrogant and domineering. Chang'an isn't enough for him, and he's stolen so much of our business in the martial arts world!"
Fan Lingzhang: "..."
The leader gritted his teeth, looking as if he wanted to kill him on the spot, unaware that Fan Lingzhang had taken his life.
That's utter nonsense!
When did he become arrogant and domineering after climbing up to Sima Xian?
He has always been arrogant.
They're doing business in the martial arts world just to take over the business from their wife and Ye Taoyao. They're a bunch of worthless people who can't take away his business, so they're thinking of taking him down.
He even dragged his wife into it.
Fan Lingzhang counted their heads, and they matched perfectly with the five arrows in the basket.
He rubbed his fingertips together; he hadn't done anything so exciting in a long time.
He nocked an arrow and fired three at once, aiming at the incessantly chattering leaders, each arrow piercing straight through the back of their head.
His eyes were wide open, almost popping out of their sockets, filled with disbelief and terror. He made a "hoarse" sound, his throat sounding like a bellows being pumped in a furnace.
"head!"
"who--"
As soon as the arrow left the bowstring, he immediately took out the remaining arrows from behind him, aimed, and shot the remaining men, killing them instantly.
He stood up and appeared, stepping on the leader's shoulders. The white mist on the cliff was thick, and he couldn't see who had hurt his wife, but it didn't matter. He could hold him responsible for everything.
Fan Lingzhang picked up the sword from the ground and stabbed it into the leader's shoulder, calf, and finally heart, then did the same to the rest.
Finally, he took their arrows and food, returning home laden with spoils.
A misty, continuous autumn rain fell from the sky. Without the sun, Fan Lingzhang couldn't tell the time and felt that he was much late today, all because of that group of people.
Will his wife worry about him?
Fan Lingzhang grabbed his belongings and ran back as fast as he could.
Knowing that things weren't going well for Xu, she stepped back and covered her bleeding shoulder.
In the end, he used internal force.
"Ah Ling!"
He first noticed Sui Zhixu, whose shoulder was bleeding, and Lone Wolf, who was pinned to the ground with a sword wound to his waist not far away.
"Ah Ling".
Fan Lingzhang hurriedly pulled the person gently into his arms, saying, "I'll help you apply the medicine!"
"It's my fault for coming home so late and making you worry."
A cool voice rang out, "It's nothing, just a minor accident."
The rain dampened her hair, which clung to her cheeks. Fan Lingzhang swept her up in his arms and pulled her close.
The crackling sounds accompanied the fragrant aroma of roasted meat as Fan Lingzhang carefully changed her dressing, muttering to himself.
"It finally started to grow back a bit, and now it's all split open. Do you still want your arm?"
"Not even for me." Fan Lingzhang saw what she wanted to say and replied sternly.
Sui Zhixu awkwardly shut her mouth and quietly let him change her dressing. Actually, he was quite efficient and repeated his words several times. If he kept going, her ears would grow calluses.
But when she met Fan Lingzhang's worried gaze, her beautiful phoenix eyes became misty.
Fine, let him say what he wants to say.
As dusk settled, the dim firelight created a warm and inviting atmosphere inside the cave, when suddenly the cries of birds echoed from outside.
Su Zhixu perked up, "It's a gyrfalcon!"
"I'll go check it out, it might be Alu and the others."
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