56. Having just escaped the wolf's den, they entered the tiger's mouth.
The besieged man in black, hearing the unmistakably familiar voice, turned around with a mixture of uncertainty and hope, looking towards the source. Upon seeing it, his heart leaped with excitement, his eyes widening, and he called out with deep emotion:
"Ruo'er!"
It turned out that the man in black was none other than the disguised Prince Xiaoyao. After seeing who it was, Liu Hanruo turned to leave, but when she heard the name Ruo'er, she couldn't bring herself to leave. After all, she had loved him, and how could she stand idly by while he was in danger? Besides, he had suffered from heart palpitations after saving her.
Liu Hanruo gently put her foot down again, seemingly reluctant and hesitant. She wanted to save him, but the scene at Shuiyue Pavilion that morning kept replaying in her mind. She remembered him telling her last night that he would be very busy recently, and she had foolishly believed him. She never expected that he would give her such a big 'surprise' this morning.
When Liu Hanruo realized that the "busy" the carefree king was referring to was actually his lovemaking with Liu Hanxue, she was filled with resentment. Consequently, her heart hardened again. She glanced meaningfully at the black-clad men trapped in the middle and said calmly:
"You seem to have a thick skin; it shouldn't be easy to pierce through. Looks like I don't need to meddle. Come on, you guys continue. I'm just passing by... just passing by... I'll be leaving soon."
As soon as Liu Hanruo finished speaking, she vanished in an instant, leaving only the whistling sound of the wind rushing past.
When the carefree prince saw Liu Hanruo leave, he panicked and wanted to chase after her, but he was blocked by the group of masked men in front of him. He was anxious about Liu Hanruo and wanted to resolve the situation quickly so that he could catch up with her. He had finally found her and could not let go of this rare opportunity.
In stark contrast to the anxious King of Leisure, the leader of the masked men in black was completely baffled by this person who had appeared out of nowhere, said a few meaningless words, and then inexplicably left. However, for them, the process was unimportant; they only cared about the result. Since the troublemaker had left, their battle should continue. So, with a single glance, the masked men in black understood and immediately took up their positions.
Thirty masked men in black stood in their positions, with their leader at the center, surrounded by other masked men in black, their wings spread wide like a crane's. This formation was called the Crane Wing Formation, a versatile formation that combined offense and defense.
The Crane Wing Formation requires the masked black-clad leader to possess high tactical command capabilities, with the ability to open and close both wings freely, launching attacks from both sides to launch a pincer movement and directly strike the target. The two wings must be highly mobile and coordinated, and their attacks must be fierce; otherwise, the objective will not be achieved, and there is even a high possibility that the target will strike directly at the masked black-clad leader.
The besieged Prince Xiaoyao was once a renowned warrior, so how could he be unfamiliar with military formations? Upon seeing the formation before him, he immediately recognized it as the Crane Wing Formation, which was effective in both offense and defense.
Looking at the group of masked men in black standing in front of him, orderly and methodical, clearly very familiar with the formation, the Carefree King understood. He figured that these masked men in black were all from the military, and it seemed that someone was getting impatient and would be restless if he wasn't eliminated.
The carefree king smiled and began to ponder how to break the formation. The only way to break through this formation was to flank it from both sides. However, he was alone now, making it even more difficult to break through. But no matter how difficult it was, even if he had to risk his life, he had to try, because he still had many unfinished things to do.
Whether you go horizontally or vertically, you'll die; you have to try to know the result.
At the command of the leader of the masked men in black, the masked men on both flanks began to move, directly encircling the Prince of Leisure from both sides. The Prince of Leisure could only guard the left side, not the right. Several times, he narrowly escaped danger at the last second. If it weren't for his extraordinary martial arts skills, the Prince of Leisure would probably be beheaded by now.
While the Carefree King was fighting with all his might, Liu Hanruo was torn between her own emotions, sometimes taking a step forward, sometimes retreating, hesitating and pausing. Then, she murmured softly:
"To save him or not to save him? If I save him, where will my conscience be? If I don't save him, with so many people attacking him, even if he is highly skilled in martial arts, he can't fight against so many people. If he really dies, then it will be too late to regret it."
After much deliberation and hesitation, Liu Hanruo suddenly thought of a compromise. She secretly told herself:
"Yes, she only saved the man in black whom she had met twice, not the Prince of Xiaoyao."
Having figured this out, Liu Hanruo quickened her pace and returned to the fighting arena. When she arrived, she saw dozens of people attacking Xiaoyao Wang from both sides. Xiaoyao Wang was struggling to cope and had been injured in various ways. A sword was heading towards Xiaoyao Wang's abdomen, but Xiaoyao Wang had no time to spare. Just as the sword was about to miss Xiaoyao Wang, Liu Hanruo casually picked up a small stone and kicked it at the wrist of the masked man.
The masked man, having been trained in the military, possessed an extraordinary sensitivity to danger. Sensing the unknown peril lurking in the air, he instinctively dodged and turned to look. Seeing his ambush fail, the masked leader ordered his men to return.
Just then, Liu Hanruo lightly leaped to the side of the Carefree King. She took out a pill, gave it to him, and muttered:
"Take this quickly to replenish your energy, so you don't hold me back later!"
When the carefree prince saw Liu Hanruo return, he smiled, feeling as sweet as honey. Even if Liu Hanruo had given him poison, he would probably have swallowed it willingly.
"Heh, so many people bullying one person, a typical case of ganging up on the weak, and they even have the guts to resort to sneak attacks. No wonder you'll always be a bunch of trash and never climb to the leader's position!" Liu Hanruo looked at the group of men in black and spoke with a faint sarcasm.
These men in black had enough dignity in the military, and they had never been insulted like this before, let alone called trash by a woman. This made them, all grown men, very unhappy.
"I'm telling you, what are you doing out here causing trouble instead of staying home with your child? Didn't you hear your child calling you home to breastfeed?! Haha!"
As soon as one of the masked men in black finished speaking, a burst of laughter erupted.
Liu Hanruo's eyes turned cold, and killing intent flashed. She grabbed a small pebble from the ground and used all her strength to rush towards the man's crotch. The man in black was engrossed in laughter and didn't notice in time. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. The pebble hit its target squarely and, due to the speed and momentum, passed right through the masked man's crotch. The masked man immediately clutched his groin and rolled on the ground in pain.
Seeing this, Liu Hanruo spoke with a hint of sarcasm, a slight curl of her lips, and said indifferently:
"Some people seem only suited to be eunuchs; it's better for them to be pure and detached from worldly desires."
The sudden accident stunned the masked men in black for a moment. They never expected a woman to strike so quickly, ruthlessly, and accurately. In just a moment, she had destroyed a man's pride. Looking at the figure rolling on the ground, they felt sorry for him from the bottom of their hearts. Without his manhood, how would he live? They felt sorry for him, but that didn't change anything.
The fact that a single pebble could pierce through his groin demonstrates extraordinary strength, and such skillful technique suggests a high level of martial arts prowess. Upon realizing this, the masked men in black all wore solemn expressions.
Seeing that things had come to this point, the leader of the men in black knew he could not delay and had to finish the fight quickly. With a command, he returned to his formation, and the men in black on both flanks moved with lightning speed, closing in step by step. The carefree king and Liu Hanruo worked in perfect harmony, one on the left and one on the right, each fulfilling their duties and showing no mercy. They killed one by one, and two by two. In the blink of an eye, more than ten men in black had perished, and the formation collapsed without a fight.
With a bloodthirsty smile, Liu Hanruo spoke to the masked man in black:
"You. It's you. It's still you... If anyone else is still not convinced, come forward. My sword hasn't drunk such fresh blood in a long time, it's very thirsty."
Under the command of the masked leader, several people took turns surrounding Liu Hanruo and Xiaoyao Wang, presumably intending to exhaust them by standing in a wheel formation.
Seeing that both of them would die if things continued this way, the Carefree King used ventriloquism to transmit his thoughts:
"Ruo'er, I'll find a chance to slow them down later. You take this opportunity to leave quickly."
"What a joke! I'm already here, how can I leave you behind and run away! Stop talking nonsense, save your energy, let's fight our way out together." Liu Hanruo glanced coldly at the Carefree King and said.
Liu Hanruo was ruthless, killing everyone who stood in her way with a single sword strike, without even blinking.
Looking at the masked man in front of her, Liu Hanruo suddenly focused her gaze on his crotch, gave a sly smile, and the masked man hurriedly covered his groin with his hands, looking at her warily. Seeing this, Liu Hanruo used a feint to break through the encirclement, with Xiaoyao Wang following closely behind. The two of them used all their lightness skills to escape.
Then, a man and a woman were seen running ahead, followed closely by dozens of masked men. They had hoped to outrun the masked men by running fast, but unexpectedly, three people appeared not far ahead.
The first was the refined scholar who had been crippled by Liu Hanruo. The second was a middle-aged man with a blank expression, a full beard, a hideous scar over his right eye, and a large knife on his back. The third was a pale, thin old man who held a huge calligraphy brush in his hand and smiled lewdly.
Judging from their appearances, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the one in front carrying a large sword should be Nangong Bai, the fourth leader of the Bloodthirsty Pavilion, known as the Ghost-Slaying One, while the one behind holding a writing brush as a weapon should be Zheng Weisuo, the fifth leader of the Bloodthirsty Pavilion, known as the Deadly Judge.
From afar, the disgraced, refined scholar spotted Liu Hanruo not far ahead. He pointed in her direction and shouted loudly:
"That's her! Quick, kill her!"
It has to be said that Liu Hanruo and Xiaoyao Wang were really unlucky. They were surrounded by wolves in front and tigers behind. They were already struggling to deal with the group of tigers behind them, let alone the two ferocious wolves in front of them.
Left with no other choice, the two fled to the left, hoping that God would have mercy on them and allow them to escape safely. However, God seemed not to hear their prayers and instead gave them a path of no return.
As the pursuers drew closer, Liu Hanruo and her companions strayed further and further off course, eventually arriving at the edge of a frigid pool. The pool stretched as far as the eye could see, its depth and distance unknown, and a chilling aura emanated from its surface, sending shivers down their spines.
With no way forward and pursuers behind, in this situation where there was no way to retreat, Liu Hanruo and the Carefree King exchanged a smile, and then the Carefree King asked softly:
"Ruo'er, are you scared?"
The only response from Xiaoyao Wang was a 'plop'. Liu Hanruo jumped into the icy pool first, followed closely by Xiaoyao Wang. The two of them sank into the pool one after the other. Even though their limbs were already numb from the cold, they still gritted their teeth and endured it.
When the pursuers arrived, they only caught a glimpse of the two figures' backs. Looking at the icy pool emanating a chilling aura, everyone hesitated. Just looking at the cold air rising from the pool made them shiver, let alone jumping into it. The bone-chilling cold was unimaginable. In their eyes, the carefree prince and Liu Hanruo's actions were undoubtedly courting death, with no chance of survival.
Seeing that their target had disappeared, the masked men in black withdrew, leaving only the refined scholar, Nangong Bai, and Zheng Weisuo to wait and see. They simply did not believe that Liu Hanruo would insist on swimming across the entire cold pool.
"Liu Hanruo, you bitch, let's see how long you can last, hahaha!" The refined scholar roared towards the cold pool and laughed wildly.
Originally, Liu Hanruo and the Carefree Prince planned to stay submerged in the cold pool until everyone left, then quietly slip back to shore. However, after hearing the refined scholar's words, they felt helpless, as if their only way out was...
Gazing at the seemingly endless icy pool, Xiaoyao Wang and Liu Hanruo kept encouraging themselves. Although their lips had already turned purple from the cold, they struggled and swam slowly forward in the pool, their limbs stiff from the cold.
To ward off the chill, the two went from wandering around separately to holding hands and encouraging each other.
And so, gritting their teeth, they swam forward with all their might. They didn't know how much time had passed, but hunger and cold constantly assaulted their minds. After a day and a night of this ordeal, they were ravenously hungry and had no strength left to move their arms. Liu Hanruo was the first to lose consciousness. With sheer willpower, Xiaoyao Wang half-carried, half-pulled Liu Hanruo forward with great difficulty. Soon, he too reached his limit. Just when he thought all hope was lost, he unexpectedly saw the edge of the river.
The Carefree King gazed deeply at Liu Hanruo, having long forgotten Ouyang's advice. He forcefully channeled his depleted inner strength and swam desperately toward the shore. After a few leaps, the two finally touched the ground and reached the shore. With his last ounce of consciousness, the Carefree King gently laid Liu Hanruo down before his vision went black. He clutched his chest and collapsed.
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