Sparks burned along the hem of her sleeve, and Su An belatedly felt the burning pain all over her body. She immediately let out a howl and rolled on the ground.
"Boss..." Zhang San watched the horrific scene unfold and wanted to help put out the fire, but he hesitated to act because of her status as a woman.
"It hurts, it fucking hurts!"
Su An grimaced and desperately pounded and struggled against himself, finally managing to extinguish the flames on his body before they completely spread.
When she struggled to her feet, the ends of her hair were singed, her face was blackened by smoke, and there was a faint smell of roasted meat coming from her body.
"Boss, why don't you go back to the shop first? It's not safe anywhere outside!" Zhang San stepped forward, clutching his arm tightly, and advised him with concern.
"In this situation, there's nowhere to stay, inside or outside. Where is there any real safety?" Su An gasped, his gaze sweeping across the street with a hint of despair.
The house teetered on the brink of collapse amidst the fire, with burning beams occasionally crashing down, raising clouds of dust and sparks.
Everywhere you look, there are people like them, wailing and begging for survival!
Su An clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, his whole body trembling with anger.
"What crime have the common people committed? How could the Qingzhou soldiers be so cruel, unleashing a storm of fire to massacre the city? Is there truly no justice in this world?!"
Her eyes were bloodshot as she stared intently at the sky, but the dense rain of rockets that had been falling just moments before suddenly stopped.
"This—!" Su An was stunned. What was going on?
The city gate is in the distance.
A thunderous sound of hooves approached from afar, heading straight for the rear of the Qingzhou soldiers.
When a barrage of arrows suddenly shot out from behind and struck them, the Qingzhou soldiers at the city gate were thrown into chaos. Before they could even react, they had already lost a third of their men.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Find cover!" The Qingzhou soldier leader shouted, his face turning pale.
A hundred feet away, Fu Zhun sat in a wheelchair, his eyes filled with coldness as he stared at the screaming and dodging Qingzhou soldiers. His bloodshot voice uttered a single word: "Kill!"
Behind him, a well-organized and imposing army of a thousand men roared in response, raising their hooves and charging straight toward the city gate to attack.
The Qingzhou soldiers were terrified by the scene and were completely disoriented by the sudden attack.
"Where did this army come from? The prefect's letter didn't mention it!"
"Forget everything else, saving your life is the priority!" a quick-witted soldier shouted, turning to run towards the horses, but was jostled and knocked about by the crowd.
Seeing the situation was turning bad, the soldier leader turned ashen-faced, veins bulging on his forehead as he roared, "Everyone stay put! Anyone who dares to run away again will be dealt with according to military law!"
But despite saying that, he turned around, staggered, mounted his horse, and fled at top speed.
...
Inside the city, the rocket barrage abruptly stopped, but the air was still thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder.
"The rain of arrows has stopped! Everyone, don't run around! Those who are able, come with me to save people!" Su An climbed onto a slightly elevated stone platform by the street and shouted with all his might.
She didn't know what the Qingzhou soldiers would do next, but now was the perfect time to rescue people and evacuate. If the crowd continued to cause chaos, it would only lead to more casualties!
However, the panicked people wouldn't listen to her at all. They all wanted to take advantage of this respite to escape, some moving their belongings and others committing robbery.
"You filthy woman, still pretending to be a good person! If it weren't for you, would we be suffering like this?"
"That's right! You jinx, get out of the county right now and stop getting in our way. We'd rather die than have you do anything to us!"
Even now, the people still hurl insults at her whenever they see her. Su An heard this, her lips trembled slightly, wanting to say something in her defense, but she found that something was stuck in her throat, and she couldn't utter a single word.
"you--"
Su An couldn't help but tear up. As soon as she opened her mouth, she was pushed and shoved by the surging crowd, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.
Even though everyone saw her fall to the ground, they didn't stop. They rushed away, intending to trample over her as if they were about to completely engulf her.
At that moment, several sharp whistling sounds pierced the sky, and arrows, like lightning, suddenly pierced the ground in front of the people's feet, sending wood chips flying.
"ah!"
Everyone was startled by this sudden intimidation and screamed as they backed away.
"Oh no! The army has broken in from behind! The city gates must have fallen!"
"Oh no! Where can we escape to now?!"
Just as the crowd was in a panic, a deep and majestic voice rang out: "Silence, all of you!"
Upon hearing the voice, Su An froze, looking up in astonishment.
At the end of the street, Fu Zhun pushed a wheelchair over. His eyes were as black as ink, and he coldly surveyed everyone present.
On either side of his wheelchair, a well-trained army with long spears swiftly rushed in, maintaining order and standing steadily by the street. Their armor enveloped them in a solemn and iron-blooded aura, and their sudden movement startled everyone, causing their expressions to change instantly.
"No, no, that's the Prince of Zhenbei..."
"Thank God! It was the Prince who repelled the Qingzhou soldiers and came back to save us!"
Once the people realized who it was, they knelt down in a rush, overjoyed and weeping.
“Fu Zhun…” Su An propped herself up and looked at Fu Zhun across the crowd. Her eyes instantly reddened and tears welled up in her eyes.
The anxiety and grievances of the past few days intertwined with the sudden burst of joy, causing her body to tremble slightly.
Fu Zhun also saw Su An's disheveled appearance at this moment. His clothes were torn and covered with soot and dust. His originally fair face was dirty and covered with soot. Only his eyes showed a trace of joy and grievance, but were also full of exhaustion.
In an instant, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand, causing him great pain. He exerted force with both hands, and the wheelchair sped towards Su An.
"You, you missing person, you've finally returned..." Su An murmured, her eyes stinging with tears.
But as Fu Zhun drew closer, the world before her eyes began to blur until she was plunged into darkness, and she completely relaxed and fell into a coma.
"Su An—!"
After an unknown amount of time, Su An suddenly awoke from a state of confusion, her heart pounding like a drum. Before even opening her eyes, she instinctively called out, "Fu Zhun! Fu Zhun!"
Instinctively, she gripped a hand tightly by the bedside. The palm was broad and warm, and after a moment, it slowly returned her grip.
Su An was still somewhat dazed. She hesitated for a moment before trying to sit up, but felt a gentle force press her back onto the bed without warning.
"You're awake." Fu Zhun's familiar, slightly hoarse voice came from beside you. "Don't move around. I'm applying medicine to your hands. You also have multiple burns on your body and need to rest."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
