However, the next moment, Gu Yuzhi's eyes widened in horror.
He saw a long arrow pierce the air, aimed directly at Marshal Huo's chest.
At the same time, three thieves attacked the legs and head of Marshal Huo's horse, while another man leaped up and entangled with Marshal Huo.
Marshal Huo was attacked from several sides. Just as the arrow was about to pierce his chest, Marshal Huo lightly touched the ground with his toes on his horse's back, and his whole body flew into the air. In the blink of an eye, Marshal Huo flipped over and caught the arrow with his bare hands, preventing it from continuing forward.
Then Marshal Huo grabbed an arrow and threw it at the man who was trying to cut off the horse's head. He grabbed the saddle with one hand, flipped over, and kicked the man who was trying to cut off the horse's leg straight away. The man crashed into a barren tree, coughed up blood, and fell down clutching his chest.
The person who had taken flight was kicked away by Marshal Huo's warhorse, knocking down many people!
Gu Yuzhi's hands were completely wrapped up, leaving not a single fingertip. He tried desperately to grab something, but couldn't grasp anything. He could only stare intently, not daring to blink.
Marshal Huo truly lived up to his name. When surrounded by enemies, he not only reacted quickly but also managed to protect the carriage behind him.
Gu Yuzhi found it all incredibly exciting!
At this moment, Gu Yuzhi's admiration for Huo Qiyuan reached its peak!
But this turnaround was only temporary, as they quickly found themselves on the defensive again due to the numerical disadvantage.
Chief Secretary Xie picked up the soft sword again, lowered his eyes to look at Gu Yuzhi: "Your Highness, I must go out to help. Please lock the carriage doors and windows from inside."
Gu Yuzhi stared blankly at him, wanting to say that he was afraid and asked if he could not go, but he swallowed the words before they reached his throat.
He could vaguely guess that these people were after him. Xie Changshi and the others were all desperately protecting him, and he couldn't let them down!
Gu Yuzhi unconsciously swallowed, his eyes red and swollen as he nodded blankly, his voice hoarse and strained: "Chief Secretary Xie, you must be careful, you all must be careful!"
Xie Changshi felt a strange sadness rising from the bottom of his heart, his throat tightened, and his eyes reddened. After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh, smiled slightly, and did something he had never dared to do before.
His hand landed on Gu Yuzhi's head, gently rubbing it, and pointed to the area under the soft couch: "Your Highness, there is a small secret passage under the soft couch. You can hide inside."
He peeked through the crack in the door and said, "The weather outside is getting worse. It'll probably snow heavily soon. Once it gets dark and the snow covers the area, you can take the opportunity to escape the encirclement."
Xie Changshi spoke as if he were giving his last instructions, his voice barely audible, his tone filled with relief: "Your Highness just learned from Mr. Huo how to train in the field and encountered such heavy snow. Moreover, it will only take a day at most. Your Highness will definitely be able to do it."
Gu Yuzhi stared blankly at him, his mouth slightly open, unable to utter a single word.
"Your Highness, do not go any further. The people in the inn are somewhat skilled, but not skilled enough. Go back to Xinliang. Before Qi Chenglang and the others return, return to Changzhou from Xinliang! Tell Chen Dianyi that he will investigate this matter."
Gu Yuzhi suddenly realized something and shook his head violently. He tried to grab Xie Changshi's hand, but couldn't. He was so anxious that tears streamed down his face, his throat tightened, and he could only utter "ah ah" for a while without being able to say anything.
Xie Changshi let out a long sigh, picked up his sword, stood up, and strode out. The moment the carriage door opened, heavy snow began to fall, and a cold wind carrying large flakes of snow rushed in, blowing Gu Yuzhi's face.
Xie Changshi turned around and closed the carriage door, using his body to block the carriage. There were only about ten of them left, while the other side had at least fifty people!
Inside the carriage, only his breathing could be heard; outside, the sounds of brutal fighting could be heard.
After Manager Wen and Teacher Shu mysteriously disappeared and haven't shown up since, at this moment, Gu Yuzhi felt as if he could hear his own heartbeat, thump, thump, thump...
He bit his lip hard, stood up abruptly, and whispered, "I can't escape! I can't escape!"
Marshal Huo and the others were all implicated because of him, so how could he escape!
His mind was a jumble of thoughts, sometimes he was thinking about what Marshal Huo had said about the battlefield, and sometimes he was thinking about what Chief Secretary Xie and the others had said about the Northern Desert Army.
He knew that because he was young, no one would blame him if he fled back to Xinliang as Xie Changshi had suggested, but if he did that, he would be a deserter!
He will live in the shadow of this incident for the rest of his life, just like Marshal Huo.
Even though he had pacified the Northern Barbarians and prevented them from invading Quanzhou for nearly twenty years, he still lived in the shadow of his deputy general being implicated and killed because of him, a memory he could never forget.
Gu Yuzhi didn't want to have any regrets in the future.
He was not unaware of the consequences of disobeying and staying here; in fact, the thought of possibly dying made him tremble with fear!
Gu Yuzhi raised his hand and looked at his well-wounded hand. Without thinking, he bit off the bandage with his teeth, and tears streamed down his face.
He knew he might die here today, but it didn't matter. He wasn't a deserter, and even if his mother knew, she would still be proud of him.
And also my royal brother, and all my sisters-in-law!
The people of his fiefdom, the retinue of his mansion...
These people flashed through Gu Yuzhi's mind one by one.
Gu Yuzhi kept comforting herself as tears streamed down her face, "It's okay, it's okay!"
He's a brave child!
Gu Yuzhi touched the dagger tucked in his waistband, then turned to fumble for his small bow and arrows.
As Qi Shiwei said, his small bows and arrows are made of special steel. Although they don't require much force, they are extremely lethal.
He licked his lips, recalling the spring hunt when he rode on horseback but failed to shoot a single rabbit, and a smirk crept onto his face.
He slung the arrows behind his back and suddenly flung open the car window.
Outside the carriage, snow was falling heavily, so thick it was almost blinding. All you could hear were heavy breathing sounds, and occasionally you could see sparks from clashing swords.
He quickly peeked out and saw that there were only four or five people left who could be vaguely seen.
Gu Yuzhi gritted his teeth and retreated, drawing an arrow and nocking it into his bow...
He looked at the masked man in front of him, his hands trembling slightly. He seemed to hear Marshal Huo's words echoing in his ears: "When drawing a bow and shooting an arrow, one must be calm and focused..."
He puffed out his cheeks, and a tear quickly fell from his eye.
Gu Yuzhi struggled to keep his balance and prevent himself from trembling, constantly telling himself, "It's just a rabbit, just a rabbit..."
The next instant, he released his hand from the bow, and the small arrow flew through the air, piercing the man's forehead.
The man, knife still held aloft and the murderous glint in his eyes, fell straight down...
In the desolate mountains of Xinliang, Xueye suddenly got up, anxiously and panicked, pacing around in circles. Then, with a howl, he ran wildly towards Changzhou...
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