The chains that had been binding him for the past few days, despite their size and strength, were actually useless and couldn't hold him in place at all. Those responsible for monitoring him would never have imagined that he could open the chains so easily, and therefore they didn't keep a close watch on him in the secret room, which gave him the opportunity to escape.
Suddenly remembering something, You Shuyao quickly asked, "I clearly saw you were badly injured and bleeding a lot that day, but now you seem to be fine?"
Recalling the scene, she still felt lingering fear. She had thought the sword was going to pierce his chest and it would be fatal, but now it seemed that he was not seriously injured.
At this point, Huo Jingsha smiled, her gaze returning to its usual gentleness.
"Speaking of which, it's quite a coincidence. That sword did indeed pierce my chest, but I was fortunate enough to be saved by you again. Do you know how that happened?"
"What happened?" Shu Yao was completely confused. She saved him again? How could that be? She was tied to the pillar tightly back then. Even if she wanted to save him, she wouldn't have been able to.
"Silly girl, you never guessed it, did you? It was a lucky charm you gave me."
It turned out that the amulet she gave him on his birthday had always been kept close to his body in his inner pocket, which was near his heart. By sheer coincidence, the sword struck the amulet. But what escaped the fatal blow was a Buddhist amulet the size of a copper coin hidden inside the amulet.
Although these kinds of amulets usually have the incantations drawn on paper, some worshippers find them difficult to preserve and are willing to spend a lot of money to have the incantations engraved on the back of the amulet.
The amulet she obtained for Huo Jingsha was a peace charm with a metal Buddha pendant inside. It cost her several months' worth of monthly salary. She had initially thought that since he only celebrated his birthday once a year, it wouldn't be too shabby. Unexpectedly, this peace charm actually saved his life. It was as if fate had its own plan, which was truly unbelievable.
Both of them felt a pang of sympathy. Although the sword strike was fierce, the Buddhist amulet had blocked it, only damaging the surface layer of flesh and causing a little bleeding. Otherwise, the outcome would have been dire. Just as Huo Jingsha couldn't resist pressing down to kiss her again, a commotion suddenly came from outside the door, startling You Shuyao, who instinctively hugged his waist tightly.
"It looks like someone's coming?" She was terrified that he would be in danger again.
Huo Jingsha, however, remained calm and composed, a wicked smile playing on her lips, as if she had long anticipated this moment.
"Don't be afraid, our people have arrived. Great! The timing is perfect."
Huo Jingsha is, to put it bluntly, a vengeful bully. If anyone offends him, he will chase them to the ends of the earth until he gets his revenge.
During the rescue of Shu Yao, he had a backup plan: he would lead half of his men to launch the initial assault, while the other half would remain in ambush, awaiting his secret orders. After falling into the hands of the bandits, he chose to endure, allowing himself to ascertain their true strength and intentions. He was willing to become a prisoner, gritting his teeth and persevering until he had thoroughly understood their capabilities before plotting to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
His greatest strength lies in winning through strategy. He relies heavily on mental agility, and if one plan fails, he devises another, with each plan linked to the next.
When he realized he couldn't annihilate the enemy and rescue Shu Yao in one fell swoop, he decisively decided to conceal his strength and lie low. Even becoming a prisoner wouldn't matter; it would actually be more advantageous for him to penetrate deeper into enemy territory. On one hand, he could find out the enemy's background, and on the other hand, he could lower the enemy's guard. Once the time was right, he would immediately launch a merciless counterattack, sending a secret signal to the second group of Imperial Guards lying in ambush nearby, so that they could launch a coordinated attack from both inside and outside, crushing the enemy in their lair without leaving a trace.
Qi missed his chance by not eliminating Huo Jingsha immediately upon capturing him. Now that the tide has turned, it will be difficult for Qi to turn the tide once the Embroidered Uniform Guard has surrounded and wiped out their organization's branch.
Xu Chang and Yue Ping were left in the second echelon. After receiving Huo Jingsha's signal, they quickly led several hundred Imperial Guards to surround the branch headquarters under the cover of darkness. Most of the assassins were resting in their rooms, completely unsuspecting. The Imperial Guards stealthily infiltrated, entering the rooms one by one and defeating them one by one, catching them completely off guard.
Within half an hour, most of the assassins were captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Those who did not want to become prisoners chose to commit suicide by poison, while those who did not have time to poison themselves were captured alive. Only Qi and a few other assassins managed to escape the attack by virtue of their superb martial arts skills.
Perhaps it's true, as the fortune teller said, that someone like Huo Jingsha, who is born with a strong aura of malevolence, is least afraid of encountering evil. The more adverse the environment, the more dangerous the situation he is. Along the way, he drives away evil spirits and fights ghosts. When evil people encounter him, they can only slink away in shame.
The incident was thus resolved, but a trace of indignation remained in You Shuyao's heart.
The first two times she disrupted Qi's plans and almost killed him at Huo Jingsha's hands, she felt guilty towards him. She was even secretly pleased when she learned that he had successfully escaped. But this time, she felt nothing like before.
To be fair, her survival until now was largely due to Qi's help in concealing her crimes, in addition to Huo Jingsha's meticulous protection. She should be grateful to him, but this time he disregarded her wishes and forcibly kissed her in front of Huo Jingsha, saying things that Huo Jingsha misunderstood. In that instant, all her goodwill towards him vanished.
If there were any debts owed to each other before, then from this moment on... we're even. And hopefully, we'll never have the chance to meet again!
You Shuyao returned to the Huo residence, this being the second time Huo Jingsha had brought her back. Compared to the first time, Huo Jingsha mobilized more men this time and also wiped out several other branches of the assassins.
After Huo Jingsha brought her back to the manor, in addition to the four maids Chunlu, he also sent more guards to watch over Biyue Residence. This time, no matter where she went, the maids had to stay by her side and provide her with more stringent protection.
This caused You Shuyao a lot of distress. Those who knew her thought she was being protected, but those who didn't might have thought she was being held under house arrest.
The gloating concubines in the backyard, unaware of the details, thought she had done something wrong and couldn't even leave Biyue Residence.
You Shuyao didn't blame Huo Jingsha for making such an arrangement, because she understood that the organization's secret branch had been destroyed, and the assassins trained at great expense had either been killed, captured, or committed suicide. The losses were unprecedented. And by standing on Huo Jingsha's side, she was essentially betraying the organization.
As the number one assassin sect in the martial arts world, how could they easily allow someone who betrayed the organization to live? They might have already issued a kill order against her, and Huo Jingsha must have thought of this, which is why she deployed such strict guards around her and wouldn't let her leave Biyue Residence.
You Shuyao thought... since she had chosen to be with him, she should trust him unconditionally. In order to avoid causing him trouble, she stayed quietly and rarely left the house. Although she didn't go out, she could tell from the expressions and words of Chunlu and the other three that Huo Jingsha was busy.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
