wolf pack
Even after Xiao Xian escaped on horseback, the assassins still refused to give up.
A large group of assassins mounted their horses and chased after Xiao Xian, while the rest were dragged and killed by Liang Huan and his guards.
Li Wan had fallen quite hard and was dizzy for a few moments before regaining consciousness. Looking at the bloody and brutal battle before her, she gritted her teeth, enduring the pain and the icy cold of the snow water, and crawled behind a guard's corpse, holding her breath and pretending to be dead, praying in her heart that she would not be discovered.
However, when Xiao Xian tried to pull her away, many assassins saw it, and soon after, the sound of scouting footsteps came towards her.
Li Wan suppressed her fear and her mind raced.
They must already believe she's in cahoots with Xiao Xian, and even if she jumps up and reveals her identity, they won't believe her.
As for Xiao Xian's people, given Liang Huan's dismissive attitude towards her earlier, the others certainly wouldn't care about her either.
At this moment, only self-preservation is possible.
Li Wan opened her trembling eyelashes and looked around. Behind her was a small courtyard; if she ran in, she would be trapped like a turtle in a jar. In front of her was a chaotic battle, with assassins everywhere.
Only the endless snow-covered forest to my right...
The footsteps grew closer, and the blood-stained tip of the knife came into view out of the corner of my eye.
Li Wan took a deep breath, and the next moment, she sprang up from the ground at the fastest speed she had ever been, without the slightest hesitation, and ran straight towards the snow forest.
"Kill her!" came the assassin's cold voice from behind.
Li Wan didn't even dare to look back, and ran desperately against the cold wind.
Her embroidered shoes sank haphazardly into the mud and snow, each step feeling like walking on ice skating.
The assassin caught up in no time, and the blade was already upon them.
"clang!"
Suddenly, a long sword flashed with cold light, and the masked assassin spat out a drop of blood from his throat and collapsed into the snow.
Li Wan looked up and met a pair of dark eyes.
It was Xie Qi.
But his face was much paler than usual. Upon closer inspection, Li Wan noticed that his silver cloak on his left shoulder was soaked with blood.
He's injured? Where was he injured?
"Just stand there and wait to die?"
Xie Qi's voice was hoarse. He glanced at her coldly and reached out to pull her behind him.
"Your ex-lover left you? Ha, how heartless."
"you……"
Just as Li Wan was about to speak, dozens of assassins surrounded her.
"Xie Qi?"
One of the masked men, who seemed to be a leader, exclaimed in surprise, "To survive an assassination attempt by nearly two hundred people, he must be quite a character."
Two hundred people attempted assassination! Li Wan immediately realized that Xie Qi had also just experienced an assassination attempt, which explained why he was injured.
"But since you're here, killing you won't make a difference. I wonder if you alone can kill as many of us as we are..."
Before the masked man could finish speaking, Xie Qi suddenly drew his sword. With a flash of light, the sword instantly slit the throats of the three people, including the masked man.
"Walk!"
While the others were still in shock, Xie Qi suddenly turned around, grabbed her waist, and pulled her into the snow forest.
*
As night fell, heavy snow began to fall again.
Snowflakes covered the deep and shallow footprints. After several rounds of fighting, they finally escaped the pursuit, but were also completely lost in this vast dense forest.
Li Wan's skirt got caught on a dry branch, and the tearing sound was particularly jarring in the silent snow forest.
She stumbled forward, only to be steadied by a long, slender, and scorching hand.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
Xie Qi gave her a disdainful look and continued striding forward.
Li Wan pouted and followed him with difficulty, her gaze involuntarily falling on his back.
With his hair tied up in a jade crown, and a silver fur coat and silver cloak making his figure appear even taller and more imposing.
However... the glaring bright red bloodstain on his left shoulder was getting bigger and bigger.
After all, they saved her.
Li Wan felt a pang of guilt and quickly took a few steps to walk alongside him.
"Your injury..."
"Shut up!"
Xie Qi said impatiently, "Skin wounds won't kill you. You should save your energy and see if you can get out of this snow forest alive."
Li Wan then realized that the forest was unusually large, and all the trees looked the same, making it impossible to tell which way was which.
The moonlight was obscured by thick clouds, leaving only a faint glimmer. The shadows of the withered trees were cast obliquely on the snow, like countless stiff, lifeless arms.
The snow fell heavier and heavier, and the dense snowflakes stung my face like icy needles. In the distance, I could faintly hear the howling of wolves, long and mournful.
Li Wan's shoes were already soaked, and her feet were stiff and cold. She wrapped her dirty, wet cloak tighter around herself and moved closer to Xie Qi.
Unlike usual, his breathing was heavy and particularly clear in the quiet snowy night.
Her heart skipped a beat. Li Wan carefully raised her hand, her cool fingertips brushing against the back of his hand hanging by his side, and immediately felt an unusual heat.
Sure enough, he had a fever.
Xie Qi glanced at her sideways and immediately saw through her thoughts. "What, are you afraid that if I die, no one will be there to protect you when the wolf comes?"
Li Wan rolled her eyes at him. What kind of time is this to be so sarcastic?
The two walked forward in silence.
The snow quickly rose above Li Wan's calves, and her soaked shoes and skirt froze into ice, scraping her skin painfully.
"I can't take it anymore..."
She stopped, panting heavily; her legs had lost all feeling.
Xie Qi turned to look at her; her silver cloak was covered with a thick layer of snow.
He walked back silently, raising his hand to brush the frost from her eyelashes: "Hang in there a little longer."
Just as Li Wan was about to grit her teeth and lift her foot, her knees buckled and she knelt down in the snow. Her lips were frozen purple, and she didn't even have the strength to get up.
Xie Qi squatted down and hugged her tightly.
"grown ups."
The man's hot body enveloped her like a warm sun, making her let out a soft moan of comfort, and she couldn't help but snuggle closer into his arms, wanting to get more warmth.
"Jiang Feiwan, don't close your eyes, don't sleep."
Xie Qi placed her on a protruding tree root, chopped off a few dead branches with his sword, and built a shed-like support behind two sturdy trees sheltered from the wind. Then he took off his cloak and covered it with the support.
His movements were quick and efficient, but Li Wan still noticed that his left and right hands were much slower than his right.
In less than 15 minutes, a simple shelter that could protect against the wind and snow was ready.
Xie Qi returned, picked her up with one hand, and sat her down inside.
Snowflakes landed on the cape above my head, making a rustling, dry sound.
With Xie Qi's body heat enveloping her, the exhausted Li Wan began to droop her eyelids and drift off to sleep.
"Jiang Feiwan, you can't sleep here." Xie Qi's voice muffled into my ears.
In the dead of night, the desolate snow-covered forest can not only freeze a person to death in their sleep, but also harbor hungry wild beasts lurking in the shadows, so one must not be careless.
Li Wan shook her head forcefully, forcing herself to wake up.
"Please talk to me."
As Li Wan spoke, she pressed herself against Xie Qi again. Since there was no one else around, and he was as warm as a heater, she figured she might as well use him.
"What did you say?" Xie Qi curled up his long legs, looking at the woman who was curled up in his arms like a little rabbit, his tone helpless.
Li Wan thought for a moment and asked, "I heard from the assassin that you were also assassinated. What happened? And how did you end up here again?"
"Shen Jie and I were ambushed by assassins while on our way to do something. I ordered the injured Shen Jie to leave first, and after I got rid of the assassins, I happened to run into someone from my grandmother's side who told me that you had been captured."
Xie Qi reached out and pinched Li Wan's chin. The two looked into each other's eyes. Because of the fever, Xie Qi's lips were much redder than usual, and his breath hit Li Wan's brow.
"Or are you saying you weren't captured, but rather went with Xiao Xian's men voluntarily?"
Here we go again! Li Wan wanted to roll her eyes, but she didn't dare to provoke him at this moment, so she said "Of course not" and quickly changed the subject.
"My lord, who do you think wants to kill both you and Xiao Xian at the same time?"
Xie Qi scoffed, "Of course it's Her Majesty the Empress."
The Empress? Li Wan was shocked. "Isn't the Empress your aunt?"
“Aunt!” Xie Qi’s tone suddenly turned fierce. “She doesn’t deserve it.”
Li Wan paused, which meant that the Empress also had a grudge against him, in addition to Lin Youke, who was colluding with Xiao Cheng.
Good heavens, not a single good person is around Xie Qi.
"Why would the Empress so blatantly kill you and Xiao Xian?"
Li Wancai realized what was going on as soon as she asked the question.
With Xiao Fan dead, the Empress has lost her son and all hope; how could she remain inactive?
She must have concluded that Xiao Fan's death was a conspiracy between Xie Qi and Xiao Xian, which is why she sent so many assassins to take Xiao and Xie by surprise and avenge her son.
but……
Li Wan glanced at Xie Qi secretly, feigning confusion, "Tell me, how exactly did Xiao Fan die?"
Xie Qi smirked, "Wasn't it you who killed him with a rock?"
"How come I didn't know I had that much strength? And he was still breathing when he was carried away."
Li Wan tugged at his sleeve, "Could it be that you, sir..."
"Shh~"
Xie Qi pressed his index finger to his lips to stop her from speaking, his eyes closed wearily. "Let me have some peace and quiet..."
"How are you?"
Li Wan's heart tightened suddenly. Although he had a fever, she thought his injuries were not serious because he was able to fight and move around.
When I raised my hand to cover his forehead, it was burning hot.
Li Wan climbed onto his shoulder to look down, and in the light of the snow, she saw that beneath Yuan Na's cloak, the glaring blood had soaked most of his back.
"Xie Qi, let's find a way out quickly, or you will bleed to death."
Li Wan bent down and stood up from his embrace, grasping his strong arms with both hands, trying to pull him up.
Xie Qi opened his eyes. The terrain of this snow forest was complicated, and it would take his subordinates some time to find them. He also knew that sitting here and waiting was not the best option.
But... it was freezing cold and snowy outside, how could this frail woman endure walking all night?
"Xie Qi".
Li Wan couldn't pull him away, so she called out to him anxiously again.
He can't die! Two years from now, he will lead the Jinlin Army to resist foreign enemies. Without him, the border of Jin will be flattened by the enemy in less than a month.
"Don't move!"
Xie Qi's eyes suddenly sharpened, and his voice carried a tension she had never heard before.
Although Li Wan didn't know what had happened, she instinctively obeyed and quieted down.
Xie Qi raised his hand and lifted a corner of his cloak.
Li Wan followed his gaze and looked outside. Instantly, even her breath caught in her throat.
In the pitch-black snow forest, pairs of eerie green eyes silently approached them, like floating will-o'-the-wisps.
"Stay inside."
He whispered, then drew his sword and went out.
Li Wan broke out in a cold sweat, but she dared not and could not go out. With her strength, going out would be suicide, and she would only be a burden to Xie Qi.
She could only huddle in the shed, clenching her fists tightly, praying through the narrow gaps that Xie Qi could defeat the wolves.
When the first wolf pounced, Xie Qi swung his sword, and a spray of hot blood splattered onto the snow, the red and white colors dazzling.
Enraged by the scent of their companions' blood, the hungry wolves pounced on Xie Qi one after another, one after another.
Xie Qi's figure weaved through the wolf pack, his sword flashing and kicking up clouds of blood.
Li Wan covered her mouth tightly, silencing the scream that was about to burst from her throat.
Xie Qi's thigh was ripped open by the wolf's claws, and blood instantly soaked through his clothes, but he didn't even flinch. He turned sideways and stabbed the wolf in the throat with his sword.
A man, a pack of hungry wolves, a fierce and bloody life-or-death struggle, finally ended with the fall of the last wolf.
But the man finally couldn't hold on any longer and lay on his back on the vast snowfield, bright red blood meandering from beneath him...
"Xie Qi!"
Tears of terror blurred her vision as Li Wan stumbled and ran toward him.
She tried to help him up, but he grabbed her hand.
"Walk......"
His voice was hoarse, “The smell of blood will soon attract more wild animals.”
"Then what will you do?"
Li Wan didn't know if she was speaking or crying; her voice seemed to be drowned out by a torrent of tears.
Xie Qi looked up at the night sky filled with falling snow, his voice calm and collected, "They're just beasts, they can't do anything to me. You go first, I'll rest for a while and then leave later."
Li Wan knew he was lying to her. Even though he was strong in both physical strength and martial arts, he could kill a pack of wolves while he was seriously injured. What if another pack came?
But he will be the commander-in-chief of the Jinlin Army in two years. Even if he dies, he will die on the battlefield, not here.
She couldn't bear to watch him die.
She is Li Wan, not the pampered eldest daughter of the Jiang family; she has to find a way to save him.
Li Wan wiped away the tears on her face with her sleeve and looked up at the small shed made of a cloak.
*
Xie Qi woke up amidst the turbulence.
The icy air filled his lungs. He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the pitch-black sky. Fine snowflakes fell from the night sky, and snowflakes landed on his eyelashes, quickly melting into water droplets.
The sound of fabric rubbing against the snow came from beneath me, a slow, heavy rustling.
He turned his head with difficulty and saw two tree branches intertwined and tied together to form a makeshift trolley, with his cloak spread out on the ground, and he was lying in it.
Ahead, a slender, thin figure was bending over and pulling on a rope made of fabric.
The woman's silhouette appeared particularly frail in the snowy night.
Her hair was already disheveled, and her black hair was covered with frost. With each step she took, she stirred up a fine mist of snow.
The fabric sank deep into her shoulders, leaving indentations in her thin clothes. The white breath she exhaled escaped from her lips, quickly torn apart by the cold wind.
Xie Qi's throat tightened; he wanted to speak, but only coughed up a mouthful of bloody odor.
She turned around. "You're awake?"
Her once fair face was now red from the cold, and ice crystals clung to her eyelashes, but her black pupils shone like stars when she looked at him.
"I found a hunter's trap; there must be a way out in this direction."
Her voice was hoarse beyond recognition, yet her tone was filled with hope.
Xie Qi gazed at her, the snow casting a silvery outline on her body; she was so petite, yet she occupied all of his vision.
Xie Qi closed his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed, feeling a sudden soreness rising in his chest.
As the snow was about to stop, Li Wan saw the light of torches in the distance.
"Xie Qi".
She glanced one last time in Xie Qi's direction, then let herself fall.
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