Chapter 15: Breaking through the bloody siege, sacrificing oneself to protect
"Walk!"
Chen Ye shouted softly, grabbed Su Qinghan's hand, and rushed towards the weakest point of the encirclement. Behind him was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood; in front of him was an endless stream of enemies.
That hand was dry yet powerful, its palm covered in calluses from years of wielding a sword. The moment it grasped Su Qinghan's wrist, an undeniable force was transmitted, yanking her up from the cold ground.
Su Qinghan stumbled, her injuries and blood loss making her almost unsteady. But Chen Ye's body, like a moving wall, instantly blocked her way, shielding her from all attacks.
She was half pulled and half protected by him, and rushed forward involuntarily.
The wind whistled in his ears, mixed with the sharp sound of weapons breaking through the air, the screams before death, and his breathing that became heavy due to the severe pain and intense exercise.
Su Qinghan's mind went blank.
Like a puppet, she was pulled by the hand of fate and caught in the center of a storm that she could not understand at all.
Not long ago, she was a calm hunter, disguised as the assassin "Fei Yue", searching the darkness for clues to her father's murderer. She calculated, she planned, she completely froze her emotions, just to achieve her ultimate goal.
But now, all the plans and disguises were completely shattered by the man in front of him.
He, the assassin from Tianji Pavilion, should have been her potential enemy, someone she needed to be wary of and guard against.
But in order to save her, he took action and fought against the forces that were besieging him.
In order to protect her, he used his own flesh and blood to bear a severe blow that was enough to cause cripple her.
Now, he was dragging a bloody arm with her, his "burden", trying to fight his way out of this deadly place.
Why?
This question mark, like the heaviest hammer, struck Su Qinghan's heart again and again.
She raised her head, her gaze passing through his swaying shoulders to see his injured left arm. The sleeve was already soaked with blood, a shocking dark red. With his movements, the wound, deep enough to see the bone, seemed to roar silently, and every drop of blood that spurted out felt like a scalding iron, burning Su Qinghan's retina.
For a moment, Su Qinghan even had an absurd illusion.
What he shed was not blood, but life.
And this life that is passing away is for her.
"Stop them! Stop them at all costs!"
The scarred leader's roar echoed through the valley, filled with furious madness. He had never imagined that this stranger could unleash such terrifying fighting power. Especially after being injured, this man seemed like an Asura returned from hell, the murderous aura emanating from him was more piercing than the cold night of late autumn.
The remaining soldiers were frightened by this momentum, but the military order was as firm as a mountain. They still shouted, waved their swords, and formed human walls to try to stop Shen Ye.
However, all this was in vain.
At this moment, Shen Ye has completely abandoned "Zhuying"'s creed as an assassin.
He no longer pursued the elegance of stealth and one-hit kills. His "glimpsing" movements were no longer ghostly glimpses, but rather the most brutal and direct impact. His body was his most powerful weapon.
He rushed into the weak flock of sheep like a mad tiger.
Each shoulder strike and elbow strike contained immense force, sending soldiers screaming and shattering bones and tendons as they flew backward. His intact right hand, tightly gripping the dagger, instantly transformed into a relentless whirlwind of death.
The sword flashed so fast that it was impossible to catch its trajectory.
There were no fancy moves, no superfluous movements, only the most primitive and efficient killing. Stabbing, slashing, chopping, wiping, slicing... Every movement precisely cut the throat and pierced the heart.
He opened up a road paved with blood and corpses for Su Qinghan.
And the price he paid was equally tragic.
In order to ensure Su Qinghan's absolute safety, he completely protected her behind him, which meant that he exposed his entire back to enemies from other directions.
"puff!"
A long sword came slashing from the side. In order to block the sword that was stabbing at Su Qinghan's throat, Chen Ye was unable to move back to defend. He simply turned his body slightly and used his shoulder to take the blow.
The blade pierced the flesh, leaving behind a string of blood beads.
Chen Ye's body shook violently, and a suppressed groan escaped his lips. Without even turning back, he swung his sword back, leaving the attacker dead in his tracks forever.
Su Qinghan's heart was also tightly gripped with that muffled groan.
She could clearly feel the body pressed against her stiffen for a moment before immediately tensing up again. A new smell of blood, mixed with the scent of sweat, entered her nostrils.
He was injured again.
For her.
This realization made Su Qingtan's breathing stop.
She was no weak, boudoir-dwelling woman. As a master detective of the Six Gates, she had witnessed far more horrific scenes than this, personally sending countless vicious criminals to their doom. Her heart had long been tempered to a hardness of stone.
But at this moment, this hard heart was melted and eroded bit by bit by the warm blood that kept splashing on her cheeks, revealing the softest and most fragile part inside.
She subconsciously wanted to break free from his hand and wanted to say to him, "Leave me alone! Go away!"
She didn't want to owe anyone anything, especially not a man with an unknown identity and purpose. This feeling of passively accepting protection, of using someone else's life in exchange for her own survival, made her feel an unprecedented sense of panic and... shame.
However, as soon as she moved, the big hand holding her wrist suddenly tightened like an iron hoop, making her unable to move.
A cold and hoarse voice came from the front, simple but irresistible.
"Follow closely."
Just two words.
But it seemed to have a strange magic that instantly calmed Su Qinghan's inner restlessness.
She gave up struggling, letting him lead her onward through this bloody hell. Her gaze became incredibly complex. She looked at that broad, resolute back, the newly inflicted wounds, and the weight of his right arm growing heavier with each swing of the sword.
She suddenly remembered that many years ago, her father had done the same thing, protecting her behind his back and shielding her from all the wind and rain.
After her father passed away, there was no one to support her.
It was she herself who walked into deeper darkness, step by step.
But today, in this deepest darkness, there is a man who uses his flesh and blood to rebuild a line of defense for her.
It was absurd, ridiculous, yet...it made her unable to remain unmoved.
"Archers! Archers, get ready!"
As the two men were about to break free from the encirclement of the valley, the scarred leader finally revealed his final trump card. The dozen or so archers ambushed on either side of the mountain had already drawn their bowstrings, their arrows gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
"Shoot!"
With a command, a dense rain of arrows, like the scythe of the god of death, whistled down from the sky, covering all the routes ahead of the two men.
This is a decisive game!
Su Qinghan's pupils shrank to the extreme in an instant.
There is nowhere to hide from such a dense rain of arrows!
Just when she thought she was doomed, a huge force pushed her to the side.
It’s Shen Ye!
He pushed her into a depression in the rock, the only blind spot covered by the rain of arrows.
And he himself was completely exposed to the rain of arrows.
"No--!"
Su Qinghan screamed in shock.
She watched helplessly as Chen Ye, at that critical moment, made an incredible move. He didn't dodge, but instead pushed his internal energy to the limit. The dagger in his hand instantly danced into an impenetrable ball of light, knocking away most of the arrows aimed at his vital points.
“Ding-dang-dang!”
There was a series of clanging sounds, as dense as heavy rain hitting banana leaves.
However, there were too many arrows.
In the end, two arrows penetrated his sword defense.
One of them pierced deeply into the back of his shoulder.
The other one pierced his thigh.
"Well……"
Chen Ye's body trembled violently, and he stumbled, nearly falling to his knees. He used his sword to support himself, barely able to steady himself. Blood gushed out like a spring from the three severe wounds on his body.
His face was as pale as paper.
"Hahahaha! I don't think you'll die yet!"
Seeing this, the scarred leader let out a ferocious laugh. He rushed forward with his men, knife in hand, to reap the already shaky prey.
Su Qinghan's heart sank to the bottom.
She knew it was all over.
However, at this moment, the man who should have fallen down slowly stood up again.
He turned around and glanced at Su Qinghan who was hiding behind the rock. After confirming that she was safe and sound, a hint of relief flashed across his calm eyes.
Then he turned his head and faced the enemy rushing towards him again.
The ease in those eyes was instantly replaced by the cold murderous intent coming from Jiuyou.
He moved.
Dragging a leg that was hit by an arrow, he did not retreat, but instead took the initiative to face the scar-faced leader.
His speed is no longer as fast as before.
His movements were even a little staggering.
But everyone present felt from him a determination to die that was even more terrifying and resolute than before.
It is a kind of madness that wants to drag all enemies into hell even if it means death.
The scarred leader's laughter suddenly stopped. He was horrified to find that the opponent's sword seemed to be faster than before.
That was not a technical speed, but a kind of... the final brilliance that burst out from the burning life.
"A moment of beauty".
This sword seemed to have exhausted all of Shen Ye's vitality, and it was so fast that it exceeded the limits of time.
When the scar-faced leader realized the danger, the narrow-bladed dagger had already silently touched his neck.
A cool touch came.
He lowered his head and saw a brilliant stream of blood spurting out from his chest.
Life withers in an instant.
With the fall of their leader, the remaining soldiers finally collapsed, uttered a terrified scream, dropped their weapons, and fled in all directions.
The valley finally returned to silence.
Only Shen Ye was left, standing alone among the corpses like a blood-soaked statue.
He slowly turned around and looked at Su Qinghan, as if he wanted to say something to her.
Su Qinghan was tightly protected behind him, and all he could see was his resolute back and the constantly splattering blood. When the two finally broke through the encirclement, Shen Ye could no longer hold on. He took two steps forward, standing in front of Su Qinghan. His body swayed, and a mouthful of blood suddenly spurted out, a bright red mist covering Su Qinghan's dress.
Su Qinghan, however, was already at the end of her rope. The exhaustion of her internal energy, the blood loss from her wounds, and the bloody scene before her, a mixture of emotion, shock, and fear, had already shattered her mind. The sight of Chen Ye, wounded and bleeding for her, was the final imprint on her consciousness. When the string, stretched to its limit, finally snapped, her world was reduced to a plunging darkness, and she completely lost consciousness.
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