The night was as dark as ink, so thick it was impossible to see through.
Wang Xiuxiu weaved through the woods, the wind whistling in her ears.
The footsteps of the pursuers behind them were chaotic and hurried, like the whispers of death.
Just when they were almost exhausted, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in front of them.
The man wore a black brocade robe, held a long sword, and had a cold, sharp gaze.
He was also rushing towards her.
"Lu Jingze!" Wang Xiuxiu was overjoyed and quickened her pace.
Lu Jingze pulled the person into his arms. "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
His voice remained steady, yet carried a barely perceptible tremor.
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Jingze suddenly turned around and swung his sword to block the attack from the pursuers behind him.
Wang Xiuxiu gripped his sleeve tightly, and the fear in her heart was finally released at this moment.
When her feet touched the ground, Wang Xiuxiu realized that her legs were as soft as cotton and she could hardly stand up.
But at that moment, Lu Jingze gave her no chance to catch her breath.
"hidden!"
He nimbly flipped over and quickly pulled Wang Xiuxiu to lie down behind a big tree.
Seeing this, the other guards followed without hesitation and hid on the spot.
They had just concealed themselves when a sharp, piercing sound came from afar.
Immediately afterwards, a barrage of arrows, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, swept in, densely embedding themselves in the tree trunks and the ground, making a "thud" sound.
At some point, the rain of arrows stopped.
The man in the distance seemed confident of victory and was not in a hurry to launch a fatal attack. Instead, he laughed triumphantly: "Hahahaha... I never thought Lu Jingze would be such a lovelorn fool! Even in this state, you're still thinking about your little sweetheart!"
Upon hearing these words, Wang Xiuxiu couldn't help but turn to look at Lu Jingze beside her.
He had a furrowed brow and his eyes revealed an undisguised anger.
Clearly, he had recognized the person who was speaking.
Lu Jingze is a man who rarely shows his emotions, so Wang Xiuxiu knew that his treatment of her today would be a fight to the death.
"So what! Judging from your voice, you're probably just a five-foot-tall man who only knows how to hide in the shadows!" Wang Xiuxiu retorted, suppressing her fear.
"You little wench, you dare to be so stubborn even when you're about to die! After I kill Lu Jingze, if you're still alive, I'll definitely capture you to reward my brothers!" the man shouted, his tone full of arrogance and cruelty.
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiuxiu's face turned deathly pale. She racked her brains for the few words she had left, trying to buy herself some more time.
"I don't believe it! If you were really capable, why would you cower in the shadows like a coward and resort to such despicable tactics as sneak attacks?"
The man hidden in the darkness seemed to have lost his patience. He roared, "You bitch! Wait till I catch you, then we'll see if you still believe me! Brothers! Get him..."
Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, Lu Jingze had already led three or four Jingwei soldiers to quickly surround them from a distance, like ghosts.
The archers who were originally lying in ambush here were completely unprepared for this turn of events, and in an instant, the whole scene descended into chaos.
The group engaged in a fierce battle, with flashes of swords and the sounds of fighting filling the air.
Upon hearing this, the remaining guards in the woods immediately broke out of the encirclement.
Wang Xiuxiu was being led away, and before she knew it, the guard protecting her had fallen behind her.
Looking back, the person was no longer breathing.
Wang Xiuxiu dared not go any further and reluctantly ran back.
---
Even if they are not good at close combat, they still have the advantage of numbers.
During the fight, Lu Jingze was hit by several arrows.
The scarlet bloodstains spread rapidly, staining a large area and presenting a chilling color.
The burly man who had been shouting earlier was now approaching Lu Jingze menacingly, wielding a sharp longsword.
The blades clashed violently, producing a crisp, ringing sound.
Exhausted, Lu Jingze staggered back a few steps, leaned against a tree, and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Seeing this, the burly man threw his head back and laughed wildly: "You didn't expect this, did you, Lu Jingze! We've fought many times, but in the end, you're still going to die by my hand!"
Lu Jingze lost his balance, braced himself with his knife on the ground, took a deep breath, and then pulled the arrow out of his chest.
As he gasped for breath, blood instantly gushed down his clothes, staining the ground beneath his feet.
“You little traitor, you’ve already become a homeless dog… Your country has long since fallen, yet you’re still so stubbornly clinging to your delusions, not knowing what you’re so desperately trying to achieve!” Lu Jingze gasped for breath, his tone full of sarcasm.
"You ignorant brat! How dare you spout such nonsense here! I'll kill you as a sacrifice to the flag!" The burly man roared and swung his knife straight at the enemy.
Just at this critical moment, a sharp "whoosh" sound was heard.
Immediately afterwards, the once arrogant and domineering man suddenly trembled violently as if he had been electrocuted.
He looked down at his chest in disbelief—his heart had been pierced by a sharp arrow.
With a muffled thud, the burly man's eyes widened as he collapsed heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
A large, shocking patch of blood quickly seeped onto his chest, resembling a blooming crimson flower on the ground.
When Lu Jingze heard the noise and opened his eyes, Wang Xiuxiu was standing quietly not far away.
She gripped a crossbow tightly in her hand, her eyes resolute and determined.
Wang Xiuxiu approached, her hands still trembling with nervousness, but she still fired two more arrows at the big man on the ground without hesitation.
Only after confirming that the person was indeed no longer alive did she breathe a sigh of relief, turn around and walk quickly toward Lu Jingze.
"How did you end up here... Didn't I send someone to help you escape for your life?"
To avoid drawing too much attention and alerting others to their intention to encircle him, Lu Jingze brought only a small number of men with him.
Before leaving, he specifically instructed his men to take advantage of the chaos during the battle and break out in the opposite direction with Wang Xiuxiu.
“Another team is guarding the opposite side of the woods. The person who was protecting me is dead. I don’t trust anyone else,” Wang Xiuxiu explained in a low voice, her tone tinged with stubbornness.
Wang Xiuxiu originally fled with the personal guard, but she never expected that there was a group of people on the other side who were preparing to reap the benefits.
Wang Xiuxiu's bodyguards were killed, so she had to return the body.
As they fled, they heard the big man's laughter from afar, which startled them so much that they tripped over the vines and fell to the ground.
Wang Xiuxiu staggered to her feet and looked at a crossbow not far away. Although she was scared, she somehow picked it up and quietly walked towards the big man.
And that's how that thrilling scene unfolded.
It's likely that until his last breath, that arrogant big man never imagined that he would die at the hands of a frail little girl he looked down upon.
Wang Xiuxiu took out a handkerchief and placed it on Lu Jingze's chest.
Lu Jingze leaned against the tree for a moment, gritted his teeth, and used one hand to hold onto the tree trunk while the other hand helped Wang Xiuxiu stand up with difficulty.
"Those guys on the other side should be here soon, we need to hurry!" Lu Jingze said in a low voice, his tone full of urgency.
They had no idea what awaited them ahead—it might be a way out, or it might just lead to an even deeper abyss—but there was no time to think about it anymore.
The two stumbled and staggered into the depths of the dense forest, their figures gradually disappearing into the thick darkness of the night.
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