Chapter 178 Footsteps
Shen Churong slid down the rope, the icicles on the cliff face scraping against his soft armor with a harsh scraping sound.
The rope swayed violently in the wind, throwing him against the rocky cliff face.
When they were still more than ten feet from the bottom of the cliff, the rope suddenly tightened.
That's the end.
He hovered in mid-air, looking down at the deep snow beneath his feet, and without hesitation drew the dagger from his waist and cut the rope.
In the instant of his fall, he drew the long sword from his back and plunged it fiercely into the crevice in the rock!
Sparks flew as the blade carved a deep gash into the boulder.
The immense impact made his arms numb, but it also managed to stabilize his downward momentum.
Taking advantage of the situation, he used the rock face to push off and then drew his knife again to stab at the crevice below.
This happened several times, until the force of the impact cracked his thumb and forefinger, and blood flowed down the hilt of the knife.
Finally, after another leap, his feet landed heavily on the thick layer of snow.
Shen Churong staggered a couple of steps before regaining his balance. Without even checking his injuries, he immediately looked up and around.
Although the sun had completely set, the white snow at the bottom of the cliff made the valley vaguely visible.
The valley was surrounded by dense forest, and the snow was still falling. As far as the eye could see, there was only white, and not a single person could be seen.
On the snow in front of him, besides his recent footprints, there were dozens of messy footprints, clearly indicating that someone had passed by not long ago.
It seems that the group of assassins had also found this place long ago.
At the same time, the lieutenant on the cliff top noticed that the rope had suddenly loosened and immediately realized that the general had reached the bottom of the valley.
He made a decisive decision: "One team, follow me down the rope to meet the general! The second team, take the small path on the east side to flank the valley floor and search for His Highness!"
As Shen Churong walked forward, his eyes warily scanned every detail, not even missing the scratches on the tree trunks or the withered grass beside the rocks.
After walking for about half an incense stick's time, he suddenly stopped in front of a small, inconspicuous tree trunk, his gaze falling on the part of the trunk near the roots.
There was a very fine scratch there, so shallow that if you didn't look closely, you would just think it was a scratch from a wild animal.
This is a directional marker created by Aunt Shen Lang herself, and only the Shen family knows about it.
It seems this was a signal His Highness had deliberately left for him.
The marks were still fresh, indicating that His Highness and his entourage had not been gone for long.
Without further hesitation, he quickly headed into the depths of the dense forest, following the direction indicated by the marker.
The light in the forest grew increasingly dim, and the path was almost completely invisible; only the outlines of the trees could be vaguely discerned.
Fortunately, Shen Churong had spent many years in the military camp, and his night vision was far superior to that of ordinary people. Every hundred steps he took, he would find new markers on rocks or tree roots to guide him.
However, there were also several obviously messy footprints in the snow from time to time, indicating that quite a few assassins had also searched this place.
Shen Churong quickened his pace, gripping his long sword tightly in his right hand, vigilantly watching the movements around him.
As he was walking through a grove of trees, he suddenly heard the sound of snow being trampled underfoot.
He slipped behind a tree and could vaguely see five or six dark figures searching the forest.
One of the men in black didn't see the road clearly, slipped, and fell heavily into the snow.
He grumbled as he leaned against a nearby tree trunk to stand up, brushing the snow off his clothes.
"This place is as dark as a tomb, you can't see anything, how are we supposed to find someone?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a very faint "whoosh" sound came from behind him.
The man in black turned around abruptly, but saw nothing.
He looked around warily, then listened carefully. There were no sounds of wild animals, and he silently breathed a sigh of relief.
He silently breathed a sigh of relief, tugged at his damp, cold clothes that clung to his body, and glanced at his companion who had already walked ahead.
"Wait for me! Why are you walking so fast?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than his companion in front heard a short, muffled groan.
When his companion turned around, he only saw the person who had been leaning against the tree fall straight forward.
He couldn't help but scoff, "I'm telling you, drink less! You can't even walk this short distance without tripping over and over again?"
But the person lay prone in the snow, offering no response.
His companion walked over impatiently and reached out to pull him.
"What? Can't you get up already? Hurry up, after we finish searching this area we still have to go to the east. If the princess escapes, none of us will be in good shape!"
Before he could finish speaking, his outstretched hand touched something warm and wet.
The assassin's heart tightened, and he quickly raised his hand. By the light of the snow, he saw that his hand was covered in bright red blood!
Only then did he realize that his companion, who was lying on the ground, had a long wound on his neck, and blood was seeping out of the wound. He was already dead.
He frantically tried to draw the sword from behind him, but before the sword was even drawn, someone slashed his neck open from behind.
As the long sword was drawn, the assassin's body fell straight down in the snow, blood still gushing from the wound on his neck.
Shen Churong sheathed his sword and jumped down from the tree without making a sound.
After searching the two corpses on the ground, no useful identification information was found.
He stripped one of the men of his clothes and face mask, put them on himself, and then covered the two bodies with snow before continuing onward.
On the other side, Li Yuanzhao opened his eyes suddenly after dozing for two hours.
Her fever had subsided, and because she had eaten, her strength had recovered considerably.
The fire inside the cave had burned to dark red embers, with only a few sparks dancing in the air.
She slowly stood up, supporting herself against the cave wall. Her gaze swept across the cave, and she saw Chen Yanqing sitting with his back against the cave entrance, his head nodding, clearly unable to stay awake any longer and dozing off.
She walked up to him and kicked his knee.
Chen Yanqing was instantly startled awake. He looked up abruptly, and only breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that it was Li Yuanzhao standing in front of him.
He opened his mouth, just as he was about to call out, "Your Highness..."
He had barely finished uttering a single word when Li Yuanzhao suddenly reached out and covered his mouth tightly with his hand.
Chen Yanqing looked up at Li Yuanzhao and saw that her other hand was already on the sword at her waist, her eyes fixed on the direction of the cave entrance.
His heart leaped into his throat, and he even held his breath.
Sure enough, the next second, clear footsteps came from outside the cave, getting closer and closer.
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