Chapter 40
"Who's lurking around like that?!" The voice came from Wei Zhibai, who had been closely watching the opposite bank. His sharp gaze instantly locked onto Xi Yu, then swept over Qingfeng Yunwu, who was throwing dirt and stones. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, his killing intent palpable. He didn't even bother to look up to see the whole scene; the blood-stained longsword in his hand, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, whistled through the air, and aimed straight for Qingfeng's vital chest with astonishing speed.
Seeing the sword light approaching, Qingfeng did not dodge at all, as if he could not see the deadly cold light. He still gritted his teeth and threw the last stone in his hand with all his might toward the predetermined place to pave the way for Xi Yu. He was completely in a posture of exchanging his life for time!
Just as the tip of the sword was about to touch Qingfeng's clothes!
"sulfuric acid--!"
A sharp blade of light slashed diagonally, precisely parrying Wei Zhibai's fatal blow—it was Yunwu!
The days of running around and exhaustion had made her once round face thinner, and her lines became hard and sharp. At this moment, what burst out in her eyes was the determination and ruthlessness of a mother beast protecting her cubs. She parried the long sword with one hand without stopping, and with the other hand, she pulled out a small coarse cloth bag from her bosom. Without even looking at it, she swung it fiercely at Wei Zhibai's face.
That was the itching powder that Xi Xiao made during her practice sessions; it was quite potent.
Wei Zhibai, a veteran of countless battles, had never witnessed such a thuggish and unscrupulous sneak attack. He was immediately struck head-on by the pungent powder that came flying at him.
Caught off guard, he stumbled back two steps, instinctively rubbing his face. In the blink of an eye, an unnatural blush spread across his fairly handsome face, and tiny rashes appeared at a visible speed, unbearably itchy.
"Pfft, hahaha! Hahahaha!" The Third Prince, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, was taken aback at first, but then couldn't help burst into a deafening laugh. Seeing Wei Zhibai so humiliated by a woman, he laughed until tears streamed down his face: "Brother Zhibai, why bother with these ants? Look at their pathetic, desperate appearance, they're probably just trying to get some Ice Jade Powder to exchange for money. Look at that kid..." He pointed to Xi Yu, who was covered in blood and struggling to leap across the swamp with the help of rocks and soil, "He was clearly beaten to it by our people, and he's been beaten to a pulp. Let's be merciful!"
Wei Zhibai's face was itchy and painful, and hearing his mockery only fueled his rage, turning his face a deep liver color. Ignoring the discomfort on his face, he swung his sword again, ready to strike at Yunwu.
"Eh~" The Third Prince drawled out his words, lazily stopping them, his tone full of condescending contempt. "It would be beneath our dignity to fight with such insignificant people. The important matter is right now. Once we obtain the Ice Jade Powder, we can easily send a few quick-witted men to clean up the mess. Why dirty our hands?" As he spoke, he elegantly dusted off the non-existent dust from his luxurious robes, his face filled with extreme disdain for the lives of the people before him.
Wei Zhibai didn't bother with the Third Prince's hypocritical words. He instinctively felt that these three people who had suddenly appeared were no ordinary individuals, especially the man who, despite being seriously injured, still exuded a resolute aura. His adoptive father, Wei Xiao, often warned him that any potential threat must be completely eliminated before it becomes too powerful, to prevent future troubles.
Thinking of this, the murderous intent in his eyes intensified. He no longer lingered on the nearby breeze and mist, but suddenly picked up a hard bow, nocked an arrow, drew the bow to its fullest extent, and aimed the cold arrowhead precisely at Xi Yu, who was struggling to gain leverage in the swamp!
"Young master, be careful!" Qingfeng caught sight of this scene and was immediately terrified. Without thinking, he rushed forward from behind, intending to use his own body to block the fatal arrow!
"Whoosh—hiss!"
The arrow left the bowstring with a sharp whistling sound as it tore through the air, leaving only a blur in its wake. It did not shoot at Qingfeng, but instead bypassed the brief obstruction at an extremely tricky angle, piercing Xi Yu's chest with deadly precision in an instant.
Xi Yu's body shuddered violently, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. All the light in his eyes quickly dimmed. He swayed, and his body, which had been barely holding on, completely lost its balance, falling straight backward and crashing heavily into the viscous swamp!
"Young Master—!!" Qingfeng let out a shrill, distorted scream as he watched Xi Yu's figure fall into the mud.
Xi Yu seemed to have fallen into a complete coma, completely silent, her body slowly sinking at a heartbreaking speed under the terrible suction of the swamp.
"I'll fight you to the death!" Seeing this, Yunwu's eyes turned bloodshot, tears and anger mingling. She pulled out a dagger from her bosom and rushed towards Wei Zhibai without regard for anything else, wanting to die with him.
Wei Zhibai sneered, just about to swing his sword to retaliate against this moth-to-a-flame attack, when suddenly an unusual noise came from beneath his feet.
"Boom..."
A terrifying roar erupted from the depths of the earth, and the entire swamp area seemed to come alive, emitting a sickening groan and a swallowing sound.
All four of them were unsteady on their feet and looked on in horror.
Where Xi Yu had just fallen, and in the wider area, there was no solid ground left. As far as the eye could see, the edges that were originally covered by shrubs were collapsing in large sections, quickly turning into a churning swamp of death. The shrubs that had been growing there were being swallowed up at a speed visible to the naked eye!
In just a few breaths, what lay before them was a vast, endless swamp hell. What was even more chilling was that the swamp was teeming with the soldiers from both countries who had rushed in to seize the Ice Jade Powder. Like mosquitoes trapped in amber, they struggled desperately, screamed, and cried for help in the mud, waving their arms in vain, but they could not stop their bodies from sinking rapidly.
The sounds of cursing, wailing, and weeping mingled together, but soon, these sounds, along with their owners, disappeared silently and completely beneath the quagmire, leaving no trace.
This apocalyptic scene completely stunned the four people on the shore. Even the usually talkative Third Prince was speechless, his mouth agape, frozen in place.
Qingfeng was the first to recover from the shock. His anxious gaze was fixed on the spot where Xiyu had sunk. The mud had already reached his neck. Qingfeng was terrified. He picked up the largest piece of soil and rock that was left at his feet and threw it with all his might in front of Xiyu!
"Bang!" A clod of earth crashed into the mud, sending up a mud wave ten feet high.
He turned his head sharply and said to Yunwu in a very fast voice, "I'm going to save the young master. You watch where I'm going. I'll pull him out, and then you throw the rest of the clods of dirt over here to step on!"
Before the words were finished, and before the clouds could respond, a gentle breeze shot out like an arrow, landing precisely on the rock that had just been thrown into the swamp.
Amidst the desperate screams and agonizing sounds, an unusually sharp, crazed voice pierced the air: "General, save me! I've got the Ice Jade Powder!" A Weiguo soldier, half-buried in the mud, grasped at the last straw, raising a tightly clenched hand high. The eerie green plant in his hand stood out starkly and mockingly against the gray sky and earth.
Wei Zhibai's eyes narrowed instantly. He subconsciously took a step closer to Yunwu, his eyes flashing with a fierce light. He clearly wanted to use her as a stepping stone to get the Ice Jade Powder.
However, a quick glance out of the corner of his eye revealed that the Third Prince of Wu was staring at them with wide eyes, his face devoid of its previous arrogance, now displaying only naked wariness and a calculating look of waiting to take advantage, like a fisherman waiting for the snipe and the clam to fight.
Wei Zhibai abruptly stopped, and in a flash, he made a decision. He suddenly turned around and pounced on the unsuspecting Third Prince.
"Insolence! Wei Zhibai! I am the Crown Prince of Wu! What do you intend to do?!" The Third Prince, his face pale with fright, retreated in panic while screaming, "Do you intend to ignite a war between Wu and Wei?! Can you bear the consequences?! You are merely an adopted son. Do you really think Wei Xiao would fight Wu to the death for you? In the end, you will only be used as a pawn. Why not pledge allegiance to Wu? I will protect you..."
His threats quickly turned into pleas, and finally into desperate insults. But Wei Zhibai remained calm and unmoved, grabbing his collar and lifting him up effortlessly. Amidst his pig-like screams and curses, he slammed him headfirst into the churning swamp.
With a "plop," the cursing stopped abruptly. The mud churned a few times before quickly returning to calm, as if nothing had happened.
Having resolved the potential trouble, Wei Zhibai immediately turned around and set his sights on the clouds and mist once again.
However, in that brief moment of delay, the soldier holding the Ice Jade Powder had already sunk to his chin, and was about to disappear completely. Wei Zhibai could no longer care about the clouds and mist; his eyes were only on that "hope for immortality" that was so close yet so far away.
He took a deep breath, aimed at the spot where the Third Prince had been thrown, and leaped towards the soldier.
Seeing this, Yunwu breathed a sigh of relief, her back almost soaked with cold sweat. She immediately turned around and focused intently on the direction of Qingfeng.
All that could be seen was Qingfeng desperately dragging the unconscious Xi Yu, struggling to lift him onto the sinking boulder, whose footing was rapidly disappearing.
"Catch!" Without hesitation, Yunwu immediately threw a slightly larger piece of earth and stone next to him towards Qingfeng.
Qingfeng used his lightness skill, his toes pushing off the old support point that was about to sink, and he and Xi Yu landed precariously on the newly thrown clods of earth. The two of them were able to catch their breath for a moment.
A genuine smile of relief appeared on Yunwu's face, but the next second, her smile froze completely. She reached behind her and groped for nothing; the place where the last few spare stones had been placed was now empty.
Just now, when they were confronting Wei Zhibai, the Third Prince of Wu actually took the opportunity to secretly throw all their last soil and stones into the depths of the swamp.
Despair gripped Yunwu's heart in an instant. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the "isolated island" at Qingfeng's feet, which was also sinking rapidly. Helpless tears streamed down her face.
Qingfeng held Xiyu in his arms, looking down at the rapidly submerging earth and rocks, a deep despair and sorrow flashing in his eyes. But he did not give up. In the last moment before the rocks were completely submerged, he used the last bit of rebound force to leap again towards the shore with Xiyu in his arms.
This leap brought him a little closer to the shore, but he also completely lost his footing, his feet sinking into the sticky mud where he could not find any support, and his sinking speed suddenly increased.
"Brother!" Yunwu knelt on the shore, reaching out in vain towards Qingfeng, weeping and shaking her head, her heart breaking.
"Don't cry!" Qingfeng's eyes were red. He knew time was running out, and he spoke as fast as he could, his voice hoarse from the effort: "Throw me the rope, get the young master ashore first!"
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