Chapter 64 Return
"Shut up!!"
Ling Xuan seemed to have all her pretenses stripped away, and she screamed hysterically, causing the red fox phantom to sway wildly due to her intense emotional fluctuations.
Just then, a muffled groan came from the side.
A guard was stomping hard on Yi Shao's hand as he tried to crawl forward in the mud. Yi Shao's forehead veins bulged in pain, but he gritted his teeth and didn't scream.
He raised his head and looked at Ling Xuan, who seemed to be going crazy: "Sixth Prince is absolutely right!"
The Third Prince's actions today may seem impressive, but in reality, he's merely being used as a pawn to clear obstacles.
He coughed up a mouthful of muddy water, his eyes filled with pity: "Are you really the biggest beneficiary?"
Or are they those who are lurking behind you, holding the evidence of your mistakes, waiting to seize control of you one day?
Yi Shao knew that he was probably doomed today, but even if he died, he would never let these people use him to hinder His Highness. If they showed any sign of using dirty tricks, he would immediately bite his tongue and commit suicide.
But before that—
Yi Shao burst into laughter: "Even if I were to sit on that throne, the feeling of constant anxiety and unease I'll experience day and night, Your Highness..."
"Sit still!"
Even in death, he wanted these people to distrust each other and fall apart!
“Good, very good.” Ling Xuan suddenly chuckled softly, the laughter sounding somewhat mournful amidst the rain. “One is playing dumb, the other is quick-witted.”
She originally only wanted to drag Ling Xi into the mess and muddy the waters, but now she's changed her mind.
"Guards!" Ling Xuan's eyes hardened. "Take them away..."
The snow eagle, struggling in the red fox's mouth, let out a mournful cry, and its figure rapidly dimmed.
The cold rain lashed against Yi Shao's face. He closed his eyes. "Your Highness, if you are safe and sound, that would be all the better."
If something unexpected happens to you, don't be afraid.
The road to the underworld is long, but Ah Shao will accompany you wherever you go.
He pressed his teeth against the root of his tongue, about to exert force, when he faintly heard a wolf howl.
A silver lightning bolt suddenly shot out from the forest to the side, its front paws slamming down, crushing the fox that had been so arrogant just moments before under its feet with absolute dominance.
Ling Xuan felt as if he had been struck in the chest by an invisible hammer; his body swayed, and the color drained from his face instantly.
Ling Xi looked up in a daze, and through the blurry rain and her tear-filled eyes, she saw the majestic silver wolf.
Her eyes slowly widened, her pupils reflecting an unbelievable, ecstatic joy; her lips trembled, her voice trembling with tears.
"five......"
"Fifth Sister!!!"
In the rain, he rode ahead.
The man on horseback had his clothes soaked through and clung to his body. His head was wrapped in thick bandages with dark red stains at the edges, and his face was covered in abrasions. Yet, his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, like unsheathed blades, coldly sweeping across the entire scene.
Without pausing for a moment, the instant she rushed into the arena, she reached behind her horse, took the longbow from the saddle, nocked an arrow, and drew the string.
The bow was drawn to its fullest extent, the arrows flew like shooting stars, and the three arrows flew in quick succession, almost one after the other, tearing through the rain and hitting the people next to Ling Xi and Yi Shao with precision.
The men hurriedly raised their knives to parry, but only heard a few crisp sounds. The first arrow was barely deflected, the second arrow arrived, making their arms numb, and the third arrow mercilessly pierced their shoulder blades.
A scream rang out.
At the same time, another figure cut into the battle from the flank. Xuan Ying's left arm was slinged to his chest with a cloth strip, and his face was pale, obviously seriously injured. However, the curved knife he gripped tightly in his right hand was as steady as a rock. The blade flashed and brought up a spray of blood.
Immediately afterwards, more figures appeared from the woods and from the rain.
There were only a few people, and almost all of them were injured.
But their eyes were fierce, their movements were valiant, and their teamwork was impeccable. Like a sharp knife, they stabbed into the pampered guards under Ling Xuan's command.
The sounds of hacking, clashing metal, muffled groans, and screams instantly replaced the previous standoff.
The situation was reversed almost in the blink of an eye.
Although Ling Xuan brought many guards, they were caught off guard and attacked by Ling Wei's wounded but fierce team. In addition, Ling Xuan's mental strength was damaged and suffered a backlash, so his team was thrown into chaos and collapsed.
Ling Wei spurred her horse straight toward the core.
She deftly dismounted, stepped through the mud, and pulled Ling Xi, who was slumped on the ground, to her feet: "Are you alright?"
"Fifth Sister! I knew you were alright! See how amazing I am? I rescued Yi Shao! And Third Sister, she..." Ling Xi seemed to come alive instantly, speaking incoherently, wanting to cry and laugh at the same time, grabbing Ling Wei's sleeve and refusing to let go.
Ling Wei patted her head, then her gaze fell on the person in the muddy water.
Yi Shao remained frozen in the position where he was about to bite his tongue, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
It wasn't until Ling Wei knelt down and gently brushed away the mud-covered mess of his hair that he trembled violently. He tried to say something, but could only manage a choked sob.
Ling Wei gently wiped the mud off his face with her thumb, her voice low and slow: "Cat."
Yi Shao abruptly closed his eyes, his shoulders trembling slightly. When he opened them again, he had suppressed his surging emotions and said in a hoarse voice, "If Your Highness had arrived any later, you would have only seen a dead cat."
Ling Wei didn't say anything, but squeezed his cold hand tightly and carefully helped him up.
Only then did she finally turn around, her gaze fixed on Ling Xuan, who was being barely supported by her guards.
Ling Xuan clutched his chest, blood still trickling from the corner of his mouth, and suddenly smiled as he looked at Ling Wei: "You're not dead."
Ling Wei replied with only one word: "Mm".
It was calm and uneventful, yet like the last boulder, it crushed Ling Xuan's strong spine.
"vomit--"
A sudden retching sound broke the silence.
Only then did everyone notice that Ling Wei was carrying a person on her horse.
The man seemed to be severely dizzy. He was scrambling down from the horse, staggering to a tree nearby, where he leaned against the trunk and vomited violently.
She was a woman dressed in coarse cloth, her hair haphazardly tied up with a wooden hairpin. She was thin and looked quite young from behind, but she was vomiting in a very disheveled state.
Ling Xuan's gaze fell on the woman. He was puzzled at first, but then seemed to remember something, and his breathing became a little rapid.
She stared intently at the woman's profile, her voice hoarse: "So, you've run into Lin Sanqi."
Ling Wei's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Where did you run into them?
Before Ling Wei could answer, Lin Sanqi, who had finished vomiting, straightened up, wiped her mouth haphazardly with her sleeve, and turned around.
Her face was also a little pale, but her eyes were clear. She replied irritably, "Where did she run into her? At the bottom of a cliff. She was lucky. She was being chased and fell down, which happened to smash through the thatched roof of my house. She almost killed me."
Ling Xuan murmured, "So you lived in the mountains..."
"Who's a good person living in the mountains? I'm being hunted down! I've been hiding in the mountains like a wild man for three years, and then some damned bastard hanged me in the Underworld... The bounty is terrifyingly high!"
Upon hearing this, Ling Xuan froze at first, then her shoulders began to tremble violently.
She seemed to have heard the most absurd joke in the world. Low laughter squeezed out of her throat, growing louder and more shrill, until it almost turned into hysterical laughter, with tears mingling with the rain as she laughed.
"Hahaha... Hahahaha! Lin Sanqi... Bounty... Hiding in the mountains... Hahahaha!"
She laughed until she was breathless, pointing at Ling Wei, then at the gloomy sky, "God! Can you see that? You're helping her too! You're blessing her too! How can she win? Huh? Tell me, how can she win?!"
She laughed so hard that tears streamed down her face, appearing almost manic.
She meticulously planned, schemed against her sisters, colluded with powerful forces, and even offered a bounty to hunt down the miracle doctor who might be able to cure Ling Wei... But what was the result?
The person she was desperately trying to kill fell off a cliff and happened to run into the very person she had a bounty on. This coincidence was like fate's cruelest mockery of her.
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