The Long Night (13)
Chapter 13 The Long Night (13)
They were so far away that Li Qi was not sure whether they were talking. She only saw Feng Si quickly turn around and face He Mu. The latter handed him a few incense sticks, probably for him to worship the statue of Yama. He did not take them and took a step as if to leave.
If he leaves, today's plan will all be wasted. Li Qi clenched the crossbow in her hand and without hesitation, shot at Feng Siji and He Mu at the same time.
The moment the crossbow arrow was fired, Li Qi leaped up. She had been crouching for too long, and the numbness in her back and calves made her slow down for a moment, but that was nothing compared to killing He Mu and Feng Siji, the two stumbling blocks.
So she tried hard to adjust her balance, aim the crossbow, and shoot at the people below.
She and Shengxiang had been doing this kind of thing for a long time and had become tacitly acquainted. Shengxiang followed closely behind her, not dragging any mud or water with her. However, Shengxiang was good at using a dagger, so she landed lightly and approached the two men with the knife.
Li Qi's crossbow never stopped shooting. The rain of arrows was full of murderous intent, shooting straight down to the ground from the high altitude where she was. The rain of arrows seemed messy and disorganized, but when she looked down, she saw arrows scattered around He Mu's feet, and those arrows formed a circle that trapped her inside.
Because there were too many people, she was afraid that someone would run around and kill the wrong person, so she could only use this method to drive them away.
Sure enough, the people in Qingqi Temple screamed and scattered in panic. The originally bustling temple became dead silent in the blink of an eye.
Feng Siji was also trapped in the arrow, but he did not panic. He slowly raised his head and looked towards the sky where Li Qi was.
His cold and sharp eyes swept over, and Li Qi's heart skipped a beat, as if she saw again the two people who once loved and supported each other in Qianzhou, one naughty, the other introspective, who were not the same kind of people but tried to force themselves to get along, and finally ended up at the point of being at loggerheads.
"It really is you, Li Qi!" He Mu's voice drew Li Qi's attention away. She lowered her head and saw He Mu looking up at the sky, gazing at her with hatred. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Do you think I won't recognize you just because you're dressed like this? Every time I see your eyes, they remind me of my brother's legs. I can't be wrong!"
She pulled a smoke cannon from her sleeve and pulled the fuse at the end. "You have the support of His Majesty and Zhang Zhouzhu. They could take my life at any time. So do you really think I would be so stupid as to go out without any preparation?"
She gave Li Qi a sinister smile that seemed to be wild and venting her anger, then pulled the line of fire with force. With a whoosh sound, circles of brilliant fireworks rushed into the sky, ignited in front of Li Qi's eyes, and then went out in her eyes in an instant.
The smoldering debris fell before her eyes, and the air was filled with the scent of gunpowder from the fireworks. Li Qi knew what these fireworks represented. She gripped the crossbow bolt tightly, the crossbow rubbing against the flesh and bones in her palms, but she didn't care. She looked down at Shengxiang, who was holding a knife on the ground. "That's a signal for reinforcements. Move!"
Shengxiang rose up with the wind and flew towards the big tree that had sheltered them in the beginning. As nimble as ever, she disappeared in the blink of an eye.
As soon as she left, Li Qi had no more worries. She slowly landed from a high altitude, stared at He Mu with her lively eyes shaped like peach blossoms, and shot an arrow at He Mu's eyebrows.
When the arrow was only a millimeter away from He Mu's vital point, there was a sudden bang, and another arrow came from the sky and accurately cut the arrow in half.
Li Qi was in great confusion. She looked towards the place where the arrow came from and saw a familiar figure standing on the roof of Qingqi Temple. She squinted her eyes and identified it carefully. It turned out to be the Ye Shu that Feng Siji always carried with him.
Feng Siji doesn't know martial arts, but Yeshu beside him can climb walls and fly over rooftops. If they fight one-on-one, she has a chance of winning against Yeshu.
But just at this moment, the sound of cavalry approached from afar outside Qingqi Temple. It sounded like a cavalry unit of about a hundred men. With so many people, she was no match for them.
Ye Shu on the roof put down his bow and arrow and stopped attacking, but Feng Siji, who was in his peripheral vision, moved. Li Qi immediately became alert and saw him walk out of the circle of arrows and move towards her.
Li Qi felt a fear of being arrested. Her heart beat faster and blood rushed to her head. She guessed that this might be her last chance. Feng Siji had already reported the case to His Majesty last night. Once the arrest warrant came, she would never be able to turn over.
Seeing Feng Siji still approaching, she decided to fight to the death.
The thought flashed through his mind in just a moment. He Mu's reinforcements had not arrived yet, but judging from the sound, they would be here soon.
Li Qi flew into the air, stepped heavily on the shoulder of the approaching Feng Siji with her toes, used his force to turn over and face He Mu, raised her crossbow and shot at her.
The movement was so smooth and fast that no one could react. The arrow shot into He Mu's chest without any emotion.
He Mu covered the wound with her hands and fell to the ground losing strength. She looked down at her chest as if she couldn't believe it and wanted to confirm it. She raised her hands again and saw that they were covered in blood. A sticky line of blood flowed out from between her palms and leaked onto the ground, making a small bright red pit in the snow.
"Li Qi...you..." Before she could finish her words, a pool of blood spurted out of her mouth and splashed all over the ground. The warm blood burned a deep hole in the snow in front of her.
Perhaps knowing that words were useless, she did not speak again. Instead, she tightly grasped the arrow in her heart and pulled it out hard, causing blood to splatter on her face and revealing the overwhelming hatred in her eyes.
She straightened her shaky body, gripped the arrow tightly and stabbed it hard at Li Qi's calf.
Li Qi hurriedly stepped back - without any hesitation, she kicked Feng Siji hard in the chest. Feng Siji was unable to react in time and was kicked back repeatedly. With a "swish" sound of the arrow entering the flesh, He Mu's arrow, which was originally aimed at Li Qi, went straight into Feng Siji's back.
His snow-blue robe turned dark purple in the blink of an eye. He Mu was stunned and suddenly let go of his hand. He took several steps back and stepped on the hem of his skirt in a mess, and fell to the ground.
She lay on the cold snow, no longer moving.
Li Qi was worried about the consequences, so she wanted to replenish her arrows, but she heard the sound of cavalry breaking through Qingqi Temple and He Rucheng's furious roar.
She looked up and saw cavalrymen pouring in from outside the temple, charging at them with swords raised. If she didn't escape now, she would have no chance.
She took a last look at Feng Siji, and saw a bloody arrow sticking out of his shoulder socket, indicating that he had been pierced.
But he seemed to feel no pain, and did not make any sound, nor did he lose his strength and fall like He Mu. He just stood there motionless, like a towering green mountain, looking at her mysteriously.
"Li Qi, the master really trusted you wrongly!" Ye Shu raised his knife angrily and attacked. Li Qi reacted very quickly and dodged sideways. The tip of the knife just brushed past her cheek, lifting the black veil covering her face and revealing her appearance.
The moment his face was exposed, thick blood spurted out of Feng Siji's mouth and he fell to the ground suddenly.
Li Qi was startled by his movement and looked back. He was lying on the snow, shivering. He looked up at her stubbornly. His eyes were like a deep well, constantly spewing out heart-wrenching despair.
Li Qi's heartbeat almost stopped, but she thought of the withered bones of Yunzhou soldiers, the stupidity of Emperor Liang, and many other things, including the past events in Qianzhou, both sweet and sad.
She can't stop.
She landed on the eaves of the temple, putting too much distance between herself and Feng Siji. She could no longer see his suffocating eyes, but could only see his snow-blue shadow, a small ball, huddled in the snow, helpless and weak like a wounded animal.
Li Qi firmly raised the crossbow towards him, pulled the crossbow string, and the arrow flew out through the wind.
Ye Shu hurriedly protected him, chopped off the arrow with his sword, and was about to chase her, but Feng Siji grabbed the corner of Ye Shu's clothes.
Ye Shu turned around impatiently. Li Qi couldn't hear what they were saying. She only saw Feng Siji stubbornly refusing to let go. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and a large area of his shirt was stained red. Ye Shu hurriedly squatted down to help him.
Li Qi put away the crossbow, without even looking at Feng Siji, turned around and ran away.
-
He Rucheng arranged for people to take He Mu and Feng Siji away, while he took people to chase Li Qi.
However, he had chased him out of the city, but had not seen even a ghost.
I have heard that Li Qi's kung fu was taught by General Dong Linche himself. Although it is not unparalleled, it should not be underestimated.
He Rucheng was worried about his seriously injured daughter. Since he couldn't catch the person, he went back to the mansion to see his daughter first under the persuasion of his servants.
As He Rucheng stepped into He Mu's boudoir, a strong smell of blood hit his nose, making him dizzy.
He frowned and walked into the inner room. It was packed with people, but not a single one who looked like a doctor. Only his son, He Zhangjing, was holding a piece of high-quality brocade cloth to block He Mu's heart. The cloth was dyed red, and He Zhangjing's hands were covered in blood, but the blood from He Mu's heart was still oozing out, and it was obvious that he couldn't stop it.
She was seriously injured. The arrow had hit her heart accurately, and she had pulled it out forcefully, cutting the flesh around the wound.
He Rucheng looked at his daughter bleeding profusely and felt dizzy, his blood boiling, anxious, irritable and distressed, wishing he could suffer for her.
He no longer cared about the dignity of an official or an elder. He was so anxious that he was spinning around in circles, shouting, "Where's the doctor? There are so many people in the house, why didn't you go and ask for a doctor?"
With a roar, everyone in the room knelt down and banged their foreheads on the ground. No one dared to make a sound.
He Zhangjing frowned and explained, "Prime Minister Zhang said the roads are slippery due to the melting snow, so carriages and horses are not allowed to pass. He ordered Chen Hu to lead the troops to block the road, and no doctor can come. Instead of getting angry, Dad should ride to the palace as soon as possible and ask for the imperial physician."
He Rucheng was stunned when he heard this. The road had not been closed just now, so why was it blocked at this time?
He realized something and punched He Mu's bedpost hard: "He's not trying to block the road, he's trying to block my way!"
He Rucheng narrowed his eyes in hatred, and wanted to cut Zhang Zhouzhu into pieces. But now, his daughter was in danger, and he had no extra time to care about all this hatred.
He left He Zhangjing with a message, "Take good care of your sister," and then rode out of the house.
He rode his horse at full speed through the snowy streets. He wanted to get to the palace to ask for the imperial physician as quickly as possible, but halfway through, a luxurious carriage stopped in front of him.
The man sitting in the front room said, "Our Prime Minister Zhang has made it very clear. The sun has risen today, the snow in Kyoto has melted, and the roads are slippery, making it impassable for carriages and horses. Lord He, please dismount."
He Rucheng looked at Zhang Zhouzhu's carriage inlaid with gold and silver, suppressed the hatred in his heart and said, "My daughter is seriously injured. I urgently need a doctor. I beg the Prime Minister to be lenient and allow me to enter the palace!"
There was no echo in the carriage, and a faint sense of oppression could be felt behind the dense curtains.
"Prime Minister!" He Rucheng shouted again anxiously, "Please let this humble official pass!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
