Chapter 291 I took this arrow by the nose!
A rider emerged from the snowstorm with lightning speed.
The night was as dark as ink, and the firelight emanating from the entire city of Luoyang cast a large curtain of light behind the rider. Although the rider's features were not clearly visible, Shang Ruyi recognized him almost immediately from the outline drawn by the light.
That is Yuwen Ye!
At that moment, her heart was in her throat. She stared wide-eyed ahead in disbelief. In the firelight, the man slowly raised his head, and his bright yet cold eyes met hers in the darkness.
When their eyes met, Shang Ruyi held her breath.
At this moment, the people around quickly recognized the person in front of them and shouted loudly, "Second Young Master, that's the Second Young Master!"
"Go quickly and meet the Second Young Master!"
"Second Young Master, we've arrived!"
Just as they were about to spur their horses forward, several figures suddenly emerged from the deep night behind Yuwen Ye. They were also riding horses and galloping like lightning through the wind and snow. They looked like hunters who were holding onto their prey tightly.
Shang Ruyi immediately recognized that the rider who was following the closest and was almost half a hundred paces away from Yuwen Ye was none other than Hua Ziying, the archer from Wanggang Village who was known as "Little Li Guang"!
At that moment, he looked up and saw the men and horses charging straight towards them. He immediately realized that someone must be there to meet Yuwen Ye. His gaze darkened, and he released the reins with both hands. He then took out a longbow from behind him and drew an arrow from the quiver on his back. He nimbly drew the bowstring, and the arrowhead, gleaming with cold light, was aimed at Yuwen Ye, who was galloping ahead.
He's about to make his move!
Everyone around panicked. They didn't have time to draw their weapons, and even if they did, they wouldn't have time to rescue Yuwen Ye under these circumstances. Shang Ruyi felt her heart pounding and her eyes were bloodshot as she shouted at Yuwen Ye, who was still galloping away on his horse, "Feng Chen, be careful!"
The man, however, did not make a move.
At that moment, Shang Ruyi's heart sank.
She clearly remembered that back in Yanmen County, even when she was alone amidst thousands of troops, facing off against Ashina Shali, who wielded a whistling arrow and whose might shook the grasslands, Yuwen Ye, with his divine crossbow, was still not at a disadvantage and could even win a great victory in a sniper duel from a hundred paces away.
At this moment, if he were to take out the Divine Arm Bow—or even an ordinary bow and arrow—he might not necessarily lose to Hua Ziying!
Why is he completely still?
Wouldn't this leave us completely at their mercy?!
Seeing that Hua Ziying's arrow was becoming increasingly steady, and although his horse was galloping and the wind and snow were raging, the cold light on the arrowhead had stopped flashing and was already aimed at his target, Shang Ruyi's eyes widened in fury, and he shouted with all his might: "Yuwen Ye!"
The person on horseback remained motionless.
Almost simultaneously with her shout, a sharp sound pierced the air.
A bolt of lightning shot out from Hua Ziying's hand so fast that even the eyes couldn't catch the trace of the cold light in the wind and snow before a muffled sound came from the wind.
Yuwen Ye, on horseback, did not dodge at all; his tall body suddenly shuddered.
He was hit by an arrow!
No, he wasn't hit by an arrow; he was literally struck by it!
At that moment, Shang Ruyi's heart almost broke. She desperately whipped her horse and led the people behind her to charge forward. Finally, just before she was about to collapse from exhaustion, she rushed to Yuwen Ye's side.
But she didn't stop.
This was not the time for them to stop and show concern for him. Shang Ruyi shouted in a hoarse voice, "Protect him!"
In fact, without waiting for her instructions, Mu Xian and the others had already stopped and turned their horses around when they were still some distance away from Yuwen Ye. As he galloped past them, they immediately and skillfully spurred their horses, forming an arc around him. Although Shang Ruyi was not as quick as them, she also rushed to Yuwen Ye's side after them.
Just as the two brushed past each other, she suddenly froze.
Because at that moment, she clearly saw that Yuwen Ye was not alone on his horse.
There was another person, whom he held tightly in his arms. Because he protected him so thoroughly and so tightly that they hadn't even noticed him, and Hua Ziying's arrows couldn't harm the person in his arms at all.
Shang Ruyi opened her eyes wide and looked at that pale yet beautiful face.
That is, Empress Jiang!
At this moment, another pair of eyes, cold and sharp, looked at her. But at this moment, Shang Ruyi had no strength to meet his gaze. She took a deep breath, turned her horse around, and followed behind him. The snow spray whipped up by the gale lashed her face like crazy, but she did not feel cold or pain at all. She just kept riding at full gallop, relying on her instinct.
Even so, the sound of horses' hooves behind her grew ever closer.
Hua Ziying hasn't given up yet!
At this moment, although her mind was in complete chaos, even more chaotic than the figures and snowflakes swaying before her eyes, Shang Ruyi miraculously calmed down. She knew that to get an answer, she had to get out of this mess as soon as possible, and to get out of this mess, she had to deal with Hua Ziying!
Thinking of this, she spurred her horse forward and glanced back at the same time.
That one glance met Hua Ziying's eyes, which were also looking at her with obvious surprise. He clearly hadn't expected to encounter Shang Ruyi here.
The moment their eyes met, Shang Ruyi shouted, "Hua Ziying, have you forgotten your agreement with Liang Shide?!"
"..."
"If you hurt us today, not only will Liang Shide's men not forgive you, but how will you explain it to Xiao Yuansui when you go back?"
Upon hearing this, Hua Ziying's body trembled.
Shang Ruyi's heart was pounding.
Actually, she was just guessing. It was Xiao Yuansui who asked Wang Gangzhai not to alarm the Yuwen family and not to harm them, but she couldn't be sure. As for Liang Shide, it wasn't Liang Shide himself who made the request, but the Lei family father and daughter. Now that she thought about it, Liang Shide might not really be targeting Wang Gangzhai for this reason, but saying it now would at least be a deterrent to Hua Ziying.
Sure enough, after hearing her words, Hua Ziying's horse slowed down.
As he slowed down, all those following him slowed down as well, and soon they were far ahead of him.
Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, but she didn't dare to relax at this moment. She rode her horse wildly with the people around her and soon left the people behind far behind. When she turned around, she could no longer find the group of people in the dark night.
She was covered in cold sweat and slowly turned her head around.
Then, with some difficulty, she looked up at Yuwen Ye in front of her, and only then did she see clearly that there were three arrows in his familiar broad and straight back!
Blood flowed down the wound, staining the horse's back red.
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