Chapter 67 - Danger
Meng Guanqi stared intently at the person before him, who seemed to have descended from the heavens. He was covered in mud and water, looking disheveled, with his face bruised and blue from the cold, but his eyes shone brighter than the fire in the dilapidated temple.
In such a disheveled state, she had nothing to do with worldly "beauty," but at this moment, in Meng Guanqi's eyes, the stars in the sky were not as dazzling and beautiful as the woman in front of him.
The scene of a goddess descending from the sky in the storybook suddenly came true. He suddenly felt a little short of breath, his heart was pounding like a drum, his face was burning like fire, and he didn't even dare to look into her eyes.
He didn't know what was wrong with him; this was the first time he had ever felt this way in his life.
This feeling made him feel a little scared, a little bittersweet, and also a kind of indescribable melancholy and anticipation.
Li Xiaoxiao waved her hand in front of him: "What's wrong with you? Are you scared out of your wits? Or are you frozen stiff?"
Seeing that he still didn't react, she looked him up and down and found that apart from a small scratch on his face, there were no other wounds. She breathed a sigh of relief: "He didn't get hit. Was he just too scared?"
"Young Master Meng—" Li Er's voice came from behind.
Meng Guanqi quickly snapped out of his daze, realizing that this was no time to be in a daze. His Highness the Crown Prince was seriously injured, and he didn't know how Pang Shi and Wan Quan were doing in the temple. He rushed towards the Crown Prince, shouting as he ran, "Xiaoxiao, quick! Help save him!"
Li Xiaoxiao followed behind him, confused. She didn't know why, even in this deep mountain forest, the rain was so heavy that even dogs wouldn't go out, and she had only been gone for an hour or two to look for someone, yet Meng Guanqi, whom she had left in the dilapidated temple, had somehow gotten himself into a deadly predicament.
It wasn't until Meng Guanqi helped Li Er up that she recognized him in surprise: "Isn't this the same person from the teahouse?"
Meng Guanqi's expression was solemn: "Xiaoxiao, you mustn't be rude. This is His Highness the Crown Prince..."
His Highness the Crown Prince? The Emperor's son? Li Xiaoxiao subconsciously looked at the motionless man in black lying on the ground.
So the man in black came to kill the prince. He chased him to the dilapidated temple and happened to meet Meng Guanqi, who was warming himself by the fire alone.
How could he stumble upon such a low-probability event? What incredible luck did Meng Guanqi have? They were trapped in the rain for so long without finding a farmhouse, and finally managed to find a dilapidated temple to take shelter from the rain, only to encounter the people chasing the Crown Prince?
Li Er clutched his chest, took a deep breath, and looked at the man in black: "Is he dead?"
Li smiled and said, "He's dead."
When she arrived, she saw him slashing Meng Guanqi with his knife. In his haste, he used all his strength, and his sternum must have been completely shattered.
The broken bones pierced his heart and lungs; there was no chance of saving him.
Li Er looked at Li Xiaoxiao, who had a calm expression, but couldn't hide the shock in his eyes.
She killed a black-clad assassin with a single kick; even Pang Shi might not be able to do that! Where did the Meng family find such a powerful female guard?
Li Xiaoxiao didn't think much of it. She stepped forward and pulled off the mask of the man in black. Sure enough, the man in black coughed up blood, his eyes wide open, dying with his eyes open.
Li Xiaoxiao touched him and found only a money pouch with about ten taels of silver in it; there was nothing else.
She casually snatched his bamboo hat and instinctively put it on Meng Guanqi's head. Just as she finished, she noticed that the person staring blankly at her next to him was His Highness the Crown Prince, whose status seemed even more noble. So she picked up the hat and put it on the Crown Prince's head.
Li Er was caught off guard when she suddenly put a straw hat on his head. It hit him hard with a loud "bang," making his head buzz. His lips twitched. Even Pang Shi wouldn't dare to put a hat on him like that.
But once the straw hat was on, it immediately kept out the rain, and he felt a long-lost sense of relief. Under such harsh conditions, he didn't say anything more.
He suddenly remembered something and his expression changed. "Quickly! Pang Shi and the others are still fighting with the assassins! Young lady, I beg you to return to the temple immediately to help Pang Shi and Wan Quan."
Li Xiaoxiao turned around and looked back, finally seeing Zhao Jian and Asheng's figures appear not far away. She nodded to Meng Guanqi: "You wait here for Zhao Jian and Asheng, I'll go to the temple to rescue people first."
After saying that, he ran away and disappeared from Meng Guanqi's sight in a few flashes.
Meng Guanqi and the Crown Prince did not run far. Li Xiaoxiao appeared at the back door of the dilapidated temple in a few leaps and bounds. She rushed in through the back door and found a fierce fight taking place inside. There was a person lying on the ground, the middle-aged scholar Li Wenkui, whose life or death was unknown. Pang Shi and Wan Quan were back to back, covered in blood, confronting four men in black.
Pang Shi wielded a large horizontal sword, the blade of which was wide and heavy. Coupled with his muscular physique, like a bear, each strike was incredibly powerful. If it weren't for his wide and powerful swordsmanship, capable of breaking through ten thousand blows, the four men in black would have already captured the two of them.
However, his injuries were too severe, and he could only barely manage to dodge the fatal attacks. He was unable to fight back against the four men in black. The four men in black pressed forward step by step, and two of them even targeted Wan Quan, who was slightly weaker in martial arts. Pang Shi and Wan Quan were one, and if Wan Quan was killed, he would be left to fight four against one, which would be no match for so many people.
He could only spare some attention to help Wan Quan block some attacks, but he inevitably exposed his own weaknesses. A man in black flashed his eyes and seized the opportunity to stab his neck with his sword. Pang Shi had just blocked a blow for Wan Quan and it was too late to draw his sword back to defend.
The man in black was overjoyed, thinking his attack was sure to succeed, but then he heard a whooshing sound and a heavy object appeared out of nowhere, striking him toward his head.
The man in black was furious and had no choice but to draw his sword to defend himself against the heavy object attacking him. His sword struck the object, causing it to tremble. He took a step back and looked closely; it turned out to be a piece of firewood.
The man in black was shocked and shouted, "Who goes there?"
But then a thin figure emerged from behind the half-Buddha, wearing a drab gray raincoat, his wet hair plastered tightly to his scalp, revealing a palm-sized face that was blue and bruised from the cold.
Li Xiaoxiao was still holding a piece of firewood in her hand, tapping it rhythmically against her palm: "Reinforcements."
Upon hearing the words "reinforcements," Pang Shi and Wan Quan were overjoyed. Had reinforcements really arrived? Then His Highness the Crown Prince was saved!
Upon hearing this, the men in black stopped their attack, took a few steps back, and listened carefully to the sounds outside. If reinforcements had indeed arrived, their assassination attempt would have failed, and they would have to retreat.
But after listening for a while, apart from the patter of rain, there was no noise from people or horses outside. The leader of the men in black immediately realized that the other party was trying to use the empty city strategy.
He stepped forward, pointing his sword at Li Xiaoxiao: "Don't listen to his nonsense. There are no reinforcements outside. This is our best chance to complete the mission. As long as we kill Pang Shi and the other man, the Crown Prince won't be able to escape!"
After saying that, he leaped up and swung his sword at Li Xiaoxiao.
Li Xiaoxiao raised the firewood in her hand and parried the sword, but the firewood was instantly cut in two. She clicked her tongue, dodged the attack, bent her left knee slightly, gripped the hilt of the short sword with her right hand, and blocked with a backhand strike. The long sword and the short sword made a crisp clinking sound. The man in black only saw a flash of white light before his eyes, and a tremendous force came from the point where the two weapons clashed, causing him to stagger back several steps. When he steadied himself and looked closely, he found that his enemy was holding a snow-white short blade, while his long sword had been split open.
The weapon in his hand was a Longquan sword forged from fine iron, yet it shattered under a single blow!
Before he could think any further, a white light flashed before his eyes again, and the shadow of death loomed closer. He couldn't help but raise his sword to block again, but an even greater force than before pressed down on his opponent. He knew he was in trouble and was forced to retreat step by step, but then he heard a "clang" and the long sword in his hand broke in two.
The man in black was terrified. Without his weapon, he was in danger. He was about to retreat quickly when he watched helplessly as the skinny boy in front of him swiftly reached out a hand, grabbed his collar, lifted him up, and with the other hand, grabbed his ankle. The boy spun him around twice and threw him out like a discus.
His body slammed heavily against the wall, his bones cracking and shifting in many places, before he crashed to the ground, unable to move.
After observing him for a while, Li Xiaoxiao realized that he couldn't get up, and then slowly said, "Sometimes you don't need many reinforcements. One is enough for someone like me."
The remaining three men in black were horrified. They all stopped attacking, pressed their bodies tightly together, and drew their swords, pointing them at Li Xiaoxiao.
Pang Shi and Wan Quan were immediately out of danger. Exhausted, they sat down on the ground, panting heavily. Their eyes showed not only relief at being saved, but also shock at the strength Li Xiaoxiao had displayed.
Li Xiaoxiao alone displayed an aura of unparalleled strength, like a single man holding off ten thousand.
Pang Shi stared intently at her every move, so casual yet so effortless. He couldn't help but feel a thrill at the sight of her, yet also regret that she was a woman. If she were a man, he would definitely recruit him to his ranks to protect the Crown Prince's safety.
Li Xiaoxiao reversed her grip, turning the short sword she was holding horizontally into a vertical grip, the tip pointing directly at the three men in black: "Are you coming at us all at once or one at a time?"
She smiled slightly: "This sword of mine has never seen blood before. Today it finally has a chance to be used. Let me see just how sharp it is!"
She stepped forward, while the man in black retreated step by step.
Li Xiaoxiao sighed: "Speak, who sent you? You are no match for me, so surrender."
The three men in black attacked her simultaneously, but within a few breaths, they were all kicked away and lay on the ground, unable to get up for a long time, their eyes filled with horror.
This was an overwhelming display of power. Was he even human? How could such a thin body contain such immense strength?
Seeing that all three had been kicked away, the man in black, who was lying on the ground and had lost the ability to attack, suddenly let out a whoosh. The three men on the ground looked at each other and suddenly turned their swords to slash their own necks.
Blood splattered, and the three men collapsed to the ground, lifeless. Li Xiaoxiao's expression changed drastically. She quickly turned around and ran towards the man in black who had been lying there, but she was too late. A dagger was stuck in his heart. His eyes were wide open, and there seemed to be resentment in them. In the end, he breathed his last.
Li Xiaoxiao stood there blankly, as if she had been deeply shocked.
They all committed suicide. Why?
Even though they knew that these people dared to assassinate the crown prince and were probably prepared to sacrifice themselves at any time, their deaths were too resolute, as if they were soulless machines that erased their own existence at the slightest command.
But machines can be formatted and reused, while people are living beings; once they're gone, they're gone. If they had even a shred of human selfishness, they wouldn't be so calm in the face of life and death.
What kind of terrifying force could cultivate such people who are willing to die for their cause?
For the first ten years or so, she struggled to survive in the apocalypse. Almost every day, people were dying—from attacks by pollutants, from radiation exposure caused by ruptured protective suits, from crushing defeats in battles against alien beasts, and even from fighting for resources. She had seen all sorts of ways to die, but they all died in order to live, to have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a place to shelter. They spent their entire lives fighting against their environment, just to survive better.
But these killers seem to have lost all humanity.
She felt a chill in her teeth.
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