Chapter 42 What are you doing? Are you out of your mind...?
Chapter 42
The torches in front of the camp crackled and popped, making the night seem even more silent.
After a moment of silence, He Hansheng stepped forward, took his luggage, and whispered, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
He hung his luggage on the horse's back, mounted, and said, "Let's go."
Shen Suining stood there for a while, watching his figure, let out a soft breath, and jumped onto her own horse. The two of them rode side by side into the night, taking advantage of the bright moonlight.
The journey was long, and both seemed to be preoccupied with their own thoughts, remaining mostly silent. Occasionally, Shen Suining would adjust her mood and make a few jokes, which He Hansheng would echo, but most of the time there seemed to be an invisible barrier between them, which neither of them touched nor actively broke down.
After traveling for almost three days without sleep, the two finally entered Cangzhou.
The sun was shining brightly that day. As the two led their horses across a stream, Shen Suining tilted her head back, took a deep breath, and looked back at He Hansheng with a smile, "Shall we rest here for a bit?"
She seemed to be in a good mood; although she looked a little tired, she was full of energy.
He Hansheng nodded, "Okay."
He tied the horse to a tree trunk nearby, and the two found a flat, open space by the stream to take out their dry rations. Shen Suining went to the stream to fetch water.
The stream water was cool and refreshing. Shen Suining bent down and splashed the water on her face. She immediately felt her fatigue and the heat dissipate. She sat on a large rock by the stream and turned to call He Hansheng, "Why don't you rest here for a while? You haven't slept much for the past few days."
The two rarely stopped on the road, usually taking turns watching over the other person as they slept. However, He Hansheng watched over the other person for longer than Shen Suining. She was worried that if this continued, He Hansheng would exhaust himself before the assassin could even appear.
He Hansheng replied with an "okay," then leaned against the tree stump and closed his eyes.
He was probably really exhausted, because his breathing quickly became steady. The sound of flowing water and the rustling of leaves in the breeze were both soothing. Surrounded by this scene, Shen Suining also felt much more relaxed and refreshed.
She took out the jade flute that He Hansheng had given her from her bundle and sat by the stream, gently playing it.
One melody after another, she played in harmony with all the sounds of nature, the flute music melodious and lingering, soothing the weariness of several days of travel.
He Hansheng slept for most of the hour, with Shen Suining's flute music playing in his ears.
He opened his eyes slightly and saw the girl sitting sideways on a rock by the stream in the warm early autumn sunlight. The light shone through the gaps in the leaves onto her moon-white dress, and she was barefoot, with half of her jade-like feet immersed in the water, gently swaying back and forth, creating ripples on the surface of the water.
A dragonfly happened to fly by and hovered low over the water in front of her. The girl smiled gently, and the music on her lips did not stop, but her feet mischievously splashed water, startling the dragonfly away.
He Hansheng watched this scene, his hands clenching slightly, his resolve growing stronger—
Her future will never be confined to those square courtyards in the capital. She was born as free as the wind and moon, and should therefore roam freely and unrestrained among all things in the world.
She belongs neither to the world nor should she be imprisoned by it.
He Hansheng closed his eyes, trying to suppress the indescribable emotions that were welling up inside him.
After playing another tune, Shen Suining seemed a little tired. She put the flute away at her waist, carefully dried the water on her feet, put on her shoes, and returned to He Hansheng's side.
His eyes were still closed. Shen Suining didn't know that he had just woken up. She just thought that it was good to let him sleep a little longer during this rare moment of rest.
Just then, birds in the forest took flight, and an unusual sound was heard.
Shen Suining instantly became alert, her eyes sharpened, and she threw out several darts hidden in her sleeve.
The next moment, He Hansheng stood up and blocked her way, and the two of them gripped their weapons at the same time.
"They've arrived." As soon as He Hansheng finished speaking, more than a dozen black-clad warriors descended from the forest, accompanied by a cloud of dust and fallen leaves, their killing intent palpable.
He Hansheng leaped into the air with his sword, instantly throwing himself into the battle. Shen Suining quickly drew her bow behind him, providing cover for his back.
As the long arrow was fired, He Hansheng slashed the throat with his sword, instantly killing the two black-clad warriors.
"Ningning, upstairs!"
Shen Suining immediately drew her bow and aimed it at the top of the forest, shooting down two Black Warriors who were preparing to launch a sneak attack. At the same time, He Hansheng's sword instantly pierced the hearts of several Black Warriors.
Just then, a disturbance came from the stream. More than a dozen black-clad assassins came waving across the water, throwing rope darts at He Hansheng. Shen Suining immediately threw down his longbow, drew his sword, and jumped between the two. With a flourish of his sword, he caught the rope darts and swiftly cut the ropes with his short dagger.
Her back was exposed to the group of assassins surrounding He Hansheng, but she didn't care. Having fought with He Hansheng so many times, the two had a high degree of tacit understanding. When He Hansheng saw her going to block the assassins in the water, he instantly turned around and jumped to a short distance behind her. The two faced away from each other, completely entrusting their backs to each other.
Facing more than a dozen assassins each, the two were gradually forced back to the center. Shen Suining, leaning against He Hansheng, couldn't help but chuckle, "Another big spender, more than thirty assassins must have cost a lot of money."
He Hansheng laughed, "He has always thought highly of me, and now that you're here too, it's really making him spend money."
The two fought again, and after several assassins fell, their positions were reversed.
“These assassins are highly skilled in martial arts, but they’re not very bright. They’re really boring,” Shen Suining said breathlessly, glancing at He Hansheng. “The road ahead is long and inevitably tedious. Since someone is willing to put in this effort, why don’t we play along with them for a while?”
"you mean?"
After each of them withstood an attack from the assassins, Shen Suining threw a smoke bomb from his chest. The thick smoke was choking and instantly blinded the assassins, who coughed incessantly. When the smoke cleared, the two of them, along with the horses tied to the trees, had long since disappeared.
...
After confirming that the enemy had sent only thirty-odd assassins to kill him, Shen Suining, in a playful mood, engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with them within Cangzhou.
She would disguise herself and He Hansheng from time to time, deceiving them right under their noses, and then deliberately revealing their whereabouts at the right time. After fighting with them for a while, she would escape using smoke and medicine.
This went on for three days, and the number of the thirty-odd Black Knights had dwindled to less than ten.
He Hansheng said with a hint of helplessness, "You're playing around again."
Shen Suining chuckled. The two of them had been "chased" to the coast. There was no one around for miles, and the surrounding area was vast and empty. It was no longer possible to escape easily by finding a forest or other cover.
"I'm done playing," Shen Suining said with a faint smile as she watched the remaining assassins chasing after her on horseback. "I didn't want this either, but your attitude towards me has been strange these past few days. If I deal with them all too soon, won't I have to endure your indifference again?"
He Hansheng was slightly taken aback.
Before he could say anything, a volley of arrows came flying. The two men instantly drew their swords to defend themselves, while simultaneously riding their horses out of range to deplete the enemy's arrows.
He Hansheng blocked from behind with his sword, while Shen Suining drew her longbow to its full extent in front. Her bow was used by the Marquis's army and had a much longer range than those of the assassins. She hit her target every time, striking three assassins and two horses.
The two sides chased each other along the coastline. The remaining five assassins knew that bows and arrows were useless, so they sped up to catch up. The two sides picked up their weapons and began close combat.
Even when they outnumbered the two, the assassins didn't have much of an advantage. Now that the numbers were roughly equal, they were even more powerless and had no choice but to fight to the death.
Seeing that He Hansheng could hold off five people all by himself, Shen Suining didn't bother to intervene. She rode her horse a few feet away to watch them fight, but found it all rather boring. So she took out her jade flute and started to add to the fun.
Upon hearing the flute music, He Hansheng gave a somewhat helpless smile, then turned his sword around and killed two more assassins.
As the song was about to end, only one person from the opposing team remained alive.
The man knelt on the ground, his eyes bloodshot, seemingly filled with resentment. He looked at Shen Suining, who was sitting on a horse not far away, playing the flute as if mocking and provoking her, and gritted his teeth, drawing his bow and aiming it at her.
The instant the arrow was released, he was also pierced through the heart by a sword and fell into a pool of blood.
Seeing the arrows hurtling towards him, Shen Suining had no choice but to stop playing. He instantly switched the jade flute to his left hand and drew his sword with his right to deflect the arrows.
Startled, the horse suddenly raised its front hooves and neighed. Shen Suining instinctively grabbed the reins, but the jade flute slipped from her hand and was about to fall to the ground. She quickly raised her foot to hook it, intending to catch it, but her horse acted uncontrollably, causing her to not only fail to catch the jade flute but also accidentally knock it off the sea cliff.
Shen Suining was startled and jumped down without hesitation. He Hansheng, who was riding over, was shocked to see this and immediately dismounted and jumped off the cliff after her.
Fortunately, the sea cliffs here were not very high, and there was water below. After the two fell into the water, they immediately floated to the surface by their swimming skills. He Hansheng carried Shen Suining, and the two were pushed to the shore by the waves, saving their lives.
Shen Suining was soaking wet, kneeling on the shore, panting heavily, her heart still pounding from what she had just done.
He Hansheng, sitting beside her, was also panting. Seeing that she was safe and sound, he felt relieved but also annoyed. The emotions that had been building up over the past few days seemed about to explode at that moment. He tried his best to control himself and only said in a deep voice, "What are you doing? Don't you want to die!"
"Why are you yelling at me? Didn't you jump down too?" Shen Suining asked calmly.
She braced herself on the sand, seawater streaming down her nose and through her hair, while her other hand tightly gripped the jade flute He Hansheng had given her.
The jade flute was intact, except that some seawater had gotten inside. She had caught it in mid-air when she leaped, otherwise, it would have been lost without even a fragment.
Shen Suining couldn't help but laugh at herself. The slap on her head by the sea had brought her back to her senses. Seemingly in a fit of pique, she threw the jade flute onto the beach, dragged her heavy body to her feet, and walked uphill without a word.
He Hansheng was stunned and speechless when he saw the jade flute that she had abandoned on the shore.
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