Chapter 373 If it's not aimed at her, then it must be—
"careful!"
Nie Chong's exclamation echoed throughout the valley, but it was too late.
A huge rock fell from the sky, about to smash into the carriage.
The boulder was about half the size of a carriage, and with its momentum as it rolled down, it was incredibly powerful. If it were to crash down like that, not only would the carriage be crushed, but the people inside would likely be turned into mincemeat.
The people around immediately screamed in terror—
"Oh no!"
"Get out of the way!"
A cacophony of gasps and cries filled the valley, but the people inside the vehicle seemed completely unresponsive, while the boulder was about to tumble down.
Just then, a roar suddenly rang out from the crowd!
Suddenly, Shan Tong'er leaped off his horse and slammed the huge bronze hammer he held high down heavily onto the carriage shaft. The coachman, who had been sitting in front, was so frightened by this that he covered his head and rolled off the carriage.
With a loud crash, the carriage shaft was smashed in two by the hammer, sending wood chips flying. The horses pulling the carriage were startled and neighed loudly as they galloped away.
The carriage jolted, lost its pull, and stood frozen in the distance.
With lightning speed, Shan Tong'er swung the copper hammer in his other hand with great force, delivering another heavy blow to the carriage!
The huge carriage was pushed backward several feet by his hammer!
The moment the carriage was pushed aside, the boulder crashed down.
It landed squarely in front of the kind boy!
The boy was so shocked that he fell backward to the ground. The horses around him were so frightened that they reared up and neighed, which echoed through the valley. The others were also so frightened that their legs went weak and some even fell to the ground!
That was close!
Shan Tong sat on the ground, watching as the boulder was only a hand's width away from his two feet. If he had pulled back even a second later, or taken one more step forward, he would probably be a pile of minced meat by now!
Thinking about this, his legs went weak.
At this moment, a hand reached out from behind and pressed down on his shoulder. Shan Tong'er turned around with lingering fear and saw Shen Wuzheng with a solemn expression.
He dismounted at some point and walked over, asking Shan Tong'er, "Are you alright?"
"I--"
Shan Tong'er wanted to say something, but her voice trembled so much that she couldn't utter a word.
This was the first time he had ever been so close to death.
After struggling for a while, he finally managed to squeeze out the words, "It's nothing."
After saying that, he took a deep breath to calm himself down, and then immediately said, "Brother Shen, hurry over and see if Sister Ruyi and Second Brother Yuwen are alright?"
Shen Wuzheng looked up and frowned slightly.
The carriage was hit hard and slid several feet before crashing into the mountainside. Although most of the carriage door was smashed, it had at least avoided the boulder and should be unharmed.
But why is there no sound at all inside?
Just then, a figure rushed over quickly—it was none other than Tushe'er. Terrified by what she had just witnessed, she reached the carriage, her voice trembling with tears, and cried out urgently, "Miss! Miss, are you alright?!"
But there was still no movement inside the carriage.
Immediately, everyone's faces showed unease.
Shen Wuzheng frowned, his face still expressionless, but at this moment, his heart seemed to be in his throat as he walked step by step to the carriage.
Just as he was about to reach out and push open the remaining half of the broken carriage door, a familiar voice came from behind the carriage—
"elder brother."
"...!"
Shen Wuzheng's eyes widened suddenly.
Everyone's eyes immediately turned to the back of the carriage, where a rider slowly emerged. It was none other than Shang Ruyi, whom everyone had assumed was inside the carriage and had likely met with misfortune!
She still looked a little shaken, but she was unharmed!
Following closely behind her was Yuwen Ye, who rode his black cloud-treading snow horse and walked forward with a solemn expression. His cold eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of frost.
They were both unharmed!
Everyone was both surprised and delighted, and for a moment they couldn't react. It was Tushe'er who suddenly burst into laughter through her tears, her face a mixture of tears and laughter, and happily said, "Miss, you're alright!"
"..."
Shang Ruyi remained silent and gently shook her head.
She was still shaken, especially when she saw the boulder right in front of her, which had smashed a deep crater in the ground and caused the carriage to crash into the mountainside, leaving it mostly wrecked. She felt cold sweat running down her back, almost soaking her clothes.
At this moment, Shen Wuzheng was completely relieved.
He breathed a sigh of relief without making a sound, while Shan Tong'er, standing to the side, widened her eyes and said in disbelief, "Sister Ruyi, you, you and Second Brother aren't in the car?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head again and said softly, "After the rain stopped, I didn't want to ride in the carriage anymore, so when we entered the valley, I got off the carriage and rode in with him on horseback."
"..."
"I just didn't want you to worry about me, so I walked behind—"
As she spoke the last few words, her voice trembled slightly. Yuwen Ye, who had been standing beside her with a blank expression, continued, "Unexpectedly, we not only escaped one calamity, but also a hammer blow."
Upon hearing this, Shan Tong scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.
However, although Yuwen Ye's words were somewhat lighthearted, neither the speaker nor the others who heard them felt any relief. On the contrary, when they looked at the boulder again, their mood became even heavier.
If they hadn't gotten off the car at that exact moment, if Nie Chong hadn't had his exceptional hearing and given a timely warning, and if Shan Tong'er hadn't been so naturally strong and intervened in time, the two of them probably wouldn't be able to be standing in front of everyone like this, laughing and joking.
This boulder was enough to kill the two men on the spot!
It was only at this point that everyone finally came to their senses, and someone couldn't help but wonder, "How did such a large rock suddenly fall down?"
"Yes, that's strange."
"Could it be—"
Yuwen Ye suddenly turned to Nie Chong and asked, "Did you just hear something?"
Nie Chong nodded, then immediately pointed upwards and said, "I heard someone talking over there."
Everyone looked up in the direction he was pointing, and saw the direction from which the boulder had fallen. The mountainside was covered with a trail of tracks left by the rolling boulders. And looking further up, they saw the mountaintop, which was so high that it was impossible to see anything from it, at least several dozen feet away from them.
At this moment, all that can be seen are lush shrubs and jagged rocks, and no human figure.
The kind boy said, "There's no one here."
Nie Chong said calmly, "I couldn't have misheard."
Yuwen Ye's expression darkened, and he said, "Mu Xian, immediately take men up to investigate!"
"yes!"
Mu Xian accepted the order and hurriedly led several of his men around to the mountain. Yuwen Ye then looked at the unusable carriage and said, "It's still not safe here. Let's get out of this valley first."
Everyone was indeed quite frightened by the large rock they had just encountered. Whether it fell accidentally or for some other reason, no one could guarantee that another one wouldn't land on their heads if it happened again. This place was indeed too dangerous, so no one dared to complain anymore and quickened their pace to move forward.
Finally, as the sun was setting, we emerged from the valley.
Because they were traveling along a narrow path and couldn't find an inn or any villages nearby, they found a water source and set up camp. Although it was already mid-August, the ground was still damp and cool in the wild, especially after such a long period of rain. Yuwen Ye immediately had a fire lit and sat down with Shang Ruyi around the fire.
Shang Ruyi sat on the felt mat, staring blankly at the flickering flames in front of her.
Looking at her pale face illuminated by the firelight, Yuwen Ye said, "You'll have to make do tonight."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi glanced at him before gently shaking her head: "I don't mind this."
After all, he had just escaped with his life.
Just thinking that if the two of them were in the carriage, even if they weren't crushed to death by that boulder, they would be scared half to death by Shan Tong'er's hammer, Shang Ruyi felt there was nothing to complain about.
God has been very kind to her.
It always seems that at the most critical and life-or-death moments, they always give her an unexpected way out.
At this moment, Shen Wuzheng walked over and sat down opposite them. As soon as she saw him, Shang Ruyi immediately smiled and said softly, "Brother, that was close."
Shen Wuzheng knew she was trying to comfort him, so he paused for a moment before saying, "It's good that you're alright."
Shang Ruyi nodded.
Shen Wuzheng then looked at Yuwen Ye: "Mu Xian and the others haven't returned yet?"
Yuwen Ye glanced back. In fact, it was already dark by then, and they had gone far enough away that they could no longer see the mountain wall. He turned back and said in a deep voice, "Not yet."
Shen Wuzheng said, "Judging from Nie Chong's tone, he must have heard correctly."
"..."
Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi exchanged a glance but neither spoke.
Although they had only spent two or three days together, they had already witnessed the power of Nie Chong's "all-hearing" ability. It was indeed unlikely that he had misheard. But if he really heard someone talking on the mountain, then that boulder was deliberately pushed down by someone with the intention of killing them.
The question is—whose life is it to take?
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "If it's aimed at me, it should be for the same reason as Fan Chengen. But if it's for the same reason as him, then the person who made the move shouldn't have used this method."
Those who are single-mindedly seeking revenge for the emperor must be loyal ministers in the court. And such people, when taking action to avenge the emperor, would certainly do so openly and honestly, and would not resort to such underhanded methods.
Therefore, the boulder was probably not aimed at her.
If it wasn't for her, then it was—
Shang Ruyi turned her head and looked at Yuwen Ye, who had a solemn expression beside her, and said softly, "Didn't you say that once we crossed the Yi River, Liang Shide's troops shouldn't be able to catch up?"
Yuwen Ye glanced at her.
Before he could speak, Shen Wuzheng on the other side said, "Perhaps, it may not be Liang Shide."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi frowned.
At that moment, a cold glint flashed in Yuwen Ye's eyes.
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