Chapter 57: Prophecy (Edited) Zhao Huaixu's calmness began to crack, and inside...
The mother parasite in Aruo's heart suddenly became restless. She frowned and quickly pushed open the wooden door. The night wind blew in her face with a faint fishy smell. Torches in the distant valley were flickering like stars.
"Saint!" The tribesmen's shouts came from behind.
"I'll go down the mountain to see what's going on and will be back soon." Aruo hurriedly told the tribesmen behind him, then set foot on the bluestone path alone.
When turning a bend halfway up the mountain, the smell of blood suddenly became strong.
Aruo stopped in his tracks. Thousands of corpses lay piled up into small hills in the valley ahead.
"vomit--"
A torch in the hand of a young soldier rolled to Aruo's feet, reflecting a pale and blue face.
The soldier just turned out the head of a corpse, but found that the head was bent backwards at a strange angle. He couldn't help but bend down and vomit.
On the pile of corpses with intertwined limbs, there was a man kneeling, his green tights stained dark red at the waist. He heard the sound, dropped the severed head in his hand, and turned around to look.
Zhao Huaixu's hands were covered in blood, his eyes were so dark that no light could penetrate them, and his originally handsome features now looked eerie and terrifying.
He just glanced at the person who came and continued to search among the corpses.
Ah Ruo's heart tightened, and she asked, "Did something happen to Ah Lan?"
A hidden weapon shot down from above, grazed Aruo's earlobe, and pierced into the green tree behind her, leaving a long bloody mark on the side of her ear.
"roll."
Zhao Huaixu's calmness began to crack, and the madness hidden inside was about to burst out. Why did someone always curse Fang Yilan?
Nothing must happen to her.
"Aruo is different from you. The most urgent thing is to save Alan!" Aruo put her hands on her hips angrily and pointed at the people above her and said anxiously: "How long will you keep searching like this? You won't find her even if you look through thousands of corpses!"
"I'm asking you, do you have any of A Lan's things on you?" Aruo asked as he took out the poisonous insects from the bamboo basket around his waist.
Zhao Huaixu finally moved, staggering down from the top of the mountain, grabbing the water bag handed to him by Wan Xi, pouring clean water on his palm to break up the solidified blood scabs, until all the blood stains were washed away, then he took off the purple jade pendant on his left ear.
"She gave this to me."
Aruo took the earrings, and the insect crawled on the jade and sniffed around, then suddenly flew to a pile of corpses and drilled in through the gap.
"There!" Aruo pointed in the direction of the flying poisonous insect and jumped up. However, Zhao Huaixu was faster than her and moved the pile of corpses away bit by bit.
The high-hanging waning moon was swallowed by dark clouds, and Zhao Huaixu put one hand down to clasp a pale wrist.
Zhao Huaixu suddenly froze, his chest heaving like a dying fish, his Adam's apple rolling up and down, and he whimpered like a trapped beast. The crazy murderous intent that had just appeared in his mind suddenly dissipated, and finally turned into a flash of scarlet in the corner of his eye.
With his other hand, he pushed aside several corpses beside him, knelt on one knee, pulled out a blood-soaked person from the gap, and held him in his arms.
Zhao Huaixu didn't even see her face clearly, but he would never make a mistake. He hugged Fang Yilan in his arms, and subconsciously wanted to tighten his arms, but was afraid of hurting her more seriously, so he stopped the action.
But even he himself seemed to have forgotten to confirm whether the person in his arms was still alive.
Or maybe he simply didn't dare to confirm it.
"Alan is still alive."
Aruo's words were like a divine oracle. The man who had been trapped on the mountain of corpses finally found freedom, no longer needing to suffer in the cage of self-imprisonment.
Only then did Zhao Huaixu dare to put his ear to Fang Yilan's chest. When he heard a faint "dong dong" sound, he realized that he had bitten the tip of his tongue.
Zhuang Gu, who was slumped on the ground, suddenly whimpered at a corpse, and Xun Yun also staggered over.
"Xiao Yue, you bastard..." Zhuang Gu punched the mud.
The Qishan compatriots who had enlisted with Xiao Yue pulled out the arrows stuck in the corpse's heart one by one with trembling hands. Then they knelt in front of Xiao Yue and burst into tears.
The surviving Fang family warriors took off their helmets and mourned for their dead soldiers.
Aruo knelt beside Fang Yilan, his finger on her pulse. The purple-black blood from the arrow wound had already coagulated, and the area around the wound was an ominous blue-black. His brows were furrowed. "Alan has been poisoned. We must take her back to the village quickly."
Zhao Huaixu took off his cloak, held her in his arms and picked her up. The person in his arms was as light as a fallen leaf, which made Zhao Huaixu's hands move lighter and slower.
He turned to Xunyun and ordered, "Go and get Miss Qingyun. We can't stay here for long."
Xunyun nodded, jumped on the horse, and his figure quickly disappeared into the night.
Zhao Huaixu took Fang Yilan all the way back to Yanyue Village.
On the bamboo couch, the firelight was dim. Aruo pinched Fang Yilan's jaw and stuffed a pill into it, then used a burned knife to cut open the arrow wound on Fang Yilan's shoulder.
The poisonous insect crawled out from her sleeve and, under her control, slowly crawled to the arrow wound, then sucked out the poison bit by bit.
The dark purple color of Fang Yilan's lips faded a little, but she was still unconscious, and her breathing was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.
Suddenly, a night owl was startled in the distant woods, and a noisy sound of footsteps and shouts of killing was heard outside. He Shou and the man in black brought a large number of soldiers and horses and surrounded Yanyue Village.
Zhao Huaixu stood up suddenly, his eyes sharp: "Everyone, protect General Fang and Miss Aruo at all costs!"
"Yes!" The surrounding soldiers responded in unison and quickly formed several circles around Aruo's yard, ready for battle.
In the light of the fire, He Shou's face was somewhat stern: "Hand over Fang Yilan."
The man in black hid his face under his hood, revealing only his sharp white canine teeth. "General Fang is truly unforgiving. So many people haven't been able to kill her."
Zhao Huaixu clenched his sword tightly, his eyes sinister. "He Shou, what hatred or grudge does A Lan have against you? Why are you so determined to harm her?"
"You think I have a choice?" He Shou's face was gloomy and almost ferocious, his voice low but suppressed anger: "If the Fang family doesn't die, our He family will have no choice but to die!"
"What have we, the He family, ever done wrong? Just because we are the late Crown Prince's maternal family, do we deserve to be trampled underfoot by everyone and forced into a desperate situation? We asked for money and food, but there was none; we asked for reinforcements, but there was none either! We cried to the heavens and the earth, but no one answered us!"
His voice rose higher and higher, and he clenched his fists tightly, as if he wanted to pour out all the resentment he had accumulated over the years. "Where was her father Fang Canghong when we were in trouble in the southwest? My brother has become what he is today because of his brother Fang Yicen!"
Five years ago, his father died in the Nanzhao battlefield, but Fang Canghong avoided the war and ignored the He family's request for help. He only sent Fang Yicen's team, but he obstructed the He family's attack on Nanzhao at every turn.
Two years ago, his He brothers chose to support the Northwest, but Fang Yicen chose to take a risky move, which led to his brother's fate.
The sarcasm in Zhao Huaixu's eyes was undisguised, and every word was as sharp as a knife: "What you call having no choice means betraying your comrades and killing loyal people? Who is the real cause of all this? You can't even tell who your real enemy is. How pathetic!"
He Shou's expression changed slightly, but he quickly returned to normal. "I'm responsible for guarding the southwest city gate, and my soldiers need my protection. The He family will serve whoever sits on the dragon throne wholeheartedly. This is the mission passed down from generation to generation in the He family. As for you, have you forgotten His Majesty's orders?"
The man in black sneered sinisterly and suddenly raised his arm to interrupt the conversation between the two: "Alright, it's already this late, and you're still talking nonsense!"
He made a gesture with his left hand, and the men in black who had been sitting still gathered in a fan shape and rushed towards the village gate.
"Kill them all, leaving no one behind."
The swords of the two sides clashed.
Zhao Huaixu's sword flashed like snow and rolled towards the enemy soldiers who were charging at him, piercing through a man in black and pinning him to the bamboo fence. He then used his backhand sword to force back another black shadow.
Arrows flew towards him, Zhao Huaixu spun around to dodge, and three feather arrows pierced the door panel of the courtyard.
Suddenly, there was a sound of metal clashing outside the bamboo curtain. Aruo looked through the window and saw a dense crowd of people in black fighting outside.
Among the screams, there was a familiar one. Her heart suddenly tightened and she rushed out.
Aruo stared blankly at the corpses scattered all over the ground. The maid was crawling in a pool of blood. The old, young, women and children in the village were crying and shouting, and a scimitar was pierced through the chest.
The prophecy came true.
He Shou suddenly jumped up and grabbed the black-clad man by the front of his collar, "You promised not to touch her!" Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
"General He, have you forgotten?" The man in black let him carry him, looking him in the eye without fear. "Now everyone in their village has seen it. When the news of the Southwestern Army's massacre of loyal officials spreads, your He family..."
He leaned close to He Shou's ear, his words spitting out poisonous venom, "What's more, if we kill the entire village, your woman won't have to marry a broken stone, and Fang Yilan can be charged with colluding with the rebels. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"
He Shou's face instantly turned pale, his fists clenched, his knuckles turning white from the force: "What bullshit are you talking about!?"
The man in black looked at him coldly, his tone carrying a hint of warning: "General He, what are you talking about? Are you going to switch sides at this time?"
"you!"
"A Shou..." The girl's bloodshot sobs made He Shou tremble all over.
"Why..." Aruo staggered forward half a step, the flames illuminating her tear-stained face.
Her voice trembled, tears blurring her vision: "You killed A Lan? Now you want to kill A Ruo again?"
He Shou's muscles suddenly tensed, his gaze meeting those eyes filled with grief and indignation. He Shou gripped his sword tightly, his knuckles clenched until they turned white.
The blade reflected Aruo's desperate face, but he couldn't say a word.
The man in black suddenly attacked: "Why don't you do it!" The blade cut through the night wind and rushed straight towards Aruo.
A large number of men in black and southwestern soldiers attacked like a flock of crows with a fierce attack. In contrast, Zhao Huaixu's side had few people and was immediately caught in a tough battle. Although they fought hard, they gradually lost the upper hand.
Zhao Huaixu's sword barely blocked the fatal blow that was aimed at A'ruo. He grabbed A'ruo's shoulder with his palm and pulled her back. With a bloody smell in his throat, he shouted, "Go back to the house!"
The burning bamboo houses collapsed before her eyes, but Aruo stood stubbornly, staring at He Shou.
Fang Yilan choked on a mouthful of blood in the house and coughed a few times.
Zhao Huaixu twisted the neck of a man in black with his left hand, and with his right hand, he placed the blade of his sword against the side of Aruo's neck. His voice was as cold as if it had been tempered by a cold spring: "Go in and save her! If she dies, I guarantee that everyone will be buried with her."
He Shou saw the murderous intent surging in Zhao Huaixu's eyes and shouted, "Put down the sword!"
Aruo suddenly grabbed the blood-stained dagger, pointed the tip at her throat, and reflected the hatred in her eyes: "Let us go! You know, if Aruo dies, you will die too."
He Shou finally moved.
He rushed forward, and the feather knife collided with Zhao Huaixu's sword, sparks flying. However, He Shou said in a breathless voice at the moment they passed each other: "Hurry up and leave."
Zhao Huaixu's pupils shrank, and the tip of his sword smoothly slashed across He Shou's waist, knocking him back with a palm. He dragged Aruo back to the house, picked up Fang Yilan, and ran towards the path behind the village.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried horse hooves was heard outside. Xun Yun's silver armor broke through the night, and he broke through the encirclement with dozens of light cavalry.
Zhao Huaixu left Aruo to Zhuang Gu and got on the horse with Fang Yilan.
"Escape to Nanzhao!"
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