cave
Two horses were prepared in Yingkou. Peng Xuan'an was the first to step into the stirrups and mount his horse, looking down at the two of them.
Qin Xiangde also mounted his horse. Pang Linqiu stood there helplessly, looking at Qin Xiangde with a pitiful expression. Qin Xiangde then looked at Peng Xuan'an and smiled bitterly, "Xuan'an, why don't you take her with you?"
"No!" they both said in unison, exchanging a disgusted look.
"..." He looked at the two of them helplessly. He wanted to persuade him, but unexpectedly, Peng Xuan'an rode away. Only he and Pang Linqiu were left. Helpless, he had no choice but to let Pang Linqiu mount her horse and ride with him.
At noon, the sun shone warmly, frost and snow melted into water and thawed the ground, and the sound of galloping horses echoed through the forest. Peng Xuan'an raised his bow, drew the string, and aimed at a wild rabbit.
"Whoosh—" An arrow hit the rabbit's leg.
Qin Xiangde and Pang Linqiu were still following behind him. He smiled faintly, looking relaxed and carefree. He tightened the reins and shouted, "Whoa!" Intending to retrieve his prey, the horse was about to stop when it accidentally touched a thin line. He sensed something was wrong and looked in the direction of the whooshing sound. Suddenly, several arrows flew out of the woods to his right! He was startled, but had no time to react!
An arrow pierced his calf! A sharp pain shot through his body! Blood splattered onto the ground. The horse, startled, reared up in panic. He gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain, trying to steady the horse, unaware that a trap lay ahead.
"Bang—"
He and his horse tumbled into the pit! He aggravated his old wounds when he fell! Now, the wounds on his legs and shoulders ached all at once. He took a deep breath, feeling dizzy, his forehead bleeding from the rock he'd hit, and his right arm weak from the strain he'd sustained in the fall. His horse lay before him, convulsing, several arrows piercing its body; it was dying.
Qin Xiangde, following behind Peng Xuan'an, sensed something was wrong ahead! He yanked on the reins, trying to stop the galloping horse!
"Whoa!"
The horse stopped, just centimeters away from the giant pit.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—" Several more arrows flew towards them.
His right shoulder was pierced by an arrow, blood gushing out. He held Pang Linqiu tightly in his arms. The impact of the flying arrow was great, and the two of them fell into the pit together. Peng Xuan'an covered his forehead with his left hand, looked at the two people lying on the horse carcass, his face contorted in pain, and his breathing rapid.
Pang Linqiu quickly helped Qin Xiangde up and made him lean against the earthen wall, then hurriedly checked his injuries.
She shook Qin Xiangde, who had his eyes closed, and called out anxiously, "Brother Mohe! Brother Mohe!" Tears welled up in her worried eyes, as she feared he would not wake up.
“Miss Pang, why don’t you… take a look at me first?” He leaned against the earthen wall, looking up, and said with difficulty.
She turned around and shrank back in fright. She then went forward to check on Peng Xuan'an, looking him up and down at his injuries: "You...you're not going to die, are you?"
"Ah...hiss..." Qin Xiangde behind him opened his eyes and groaned in pain, gritting his teeth and covering his wound.
Pang Linqiu rushed forward to check on him, "Brother Mohe, are you alright!"
“…Hiss…It’s alright.” He hissed coldly, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
"There's no poison on this arrow, so you can rest assured," he said weakly.
The pit was about seven or eight meters deep; falling into it would have been quite a fall. Both of them were injured, but Pang Linqiu only suffered minor superficial wounds. Peng Xuan'an was the most seriously injured, with both old and new wounds throbbing with pain.
Qin Xiangde looked him over and asked, "Xuan'an, are you alright?"
"I won't die..." he said weakly.
He looked at Pang Linqiu and said, "Linqiu, cough... cough... check if there's any medicine in Xuan An's saddlebag."
"Great!" She quickly searched and finally found a bottle of medicine in a bag. She was overjoyed, as if she had grasped a lifeline, and she tightly clutched the bottle and handed it to Qin Xiangde.
"Brother Mohe, is this it?"
Qin Xiangde nodded, and she hurriedly said, "Let me apply the medicine for you."
He raised his hand to stop him, pointing his uninjured hand at the lifeless Peng Xuan'an, "You go first with Xuan'an, my injury... is just a minor one." He took a few breaths, his wound still aching; he had twisted his ankle.
She hesitated, clearly unwilling yet helpless, and could only obediently take the medicine bottle to apply the medicine to his leg. She looked at the arrow in his leg, her hand trembling, and looked up at him, "General...should we remove it?"
"You pull it out for me..." He could no longer open his eyes, and leaned his head against the earthen wall, enduring the pain as he spoke.
She was instantly at a loss, not knowing what to do.
Peng Xuan'an knew that she was a young woman with little experience in warfare and wouldn't know how to treat her arrow wound, so he instructed her, "Break the arrowhead, then...pull it out!"
Pang Linqiu understood what to do, but she was still nervous and scared as it was the first time she had faced an arrow piercing her leg. Afraid of worsening Xuan An's injury, she took a deep breath and placed her hand on the arrow.
"Snap—" The scissors snapped in two, and Peng Xuan'an felt the arrow tremble inside his body, the pain intensifying. He gritted his teeth and groaned, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
Pang Linqiu pulled the arrow back again! Peng Xuan'an's breathing became heavier, and he cried out in pain, "Ugh... Ah...!"
She rolled up his trouser leg again, revealing his bloodied calf, a sight that evoked a pang of sympathy. She spread the medicine on it, then tore off a clean piece of cloth and wrapped it around his calf several times.
Peng Xuan'an almost fainted and didn't utter a sound.
She tore off a clean piece of cloth and wiped Xuan An's bruised forehead, cleaning away the blood before applying medicine. After that, she helped Qin Xiangde apply medicine; the arrow was embedded deep in his flesh, and she had to pull it out with all her might.
She leaned wearily against the earthen wall, looking up at the sky outside the pit, and sighed deeply. She didn't know how to get out, especially since there were three of them, and she had no idea who had set this trap.
"Zhichun," Qin Xiangde called her by her real name.
Pang Linqiu snapped out of her daze and looked at him. "What's wrong, Brother Mohe?"
"Xuan'an and I are both injured. Could you take a rope and go up to rescue us?"
Pang Linqiu was stunned. She opened her mouth in surprise, "But..."
Qin Xiangde knew what she was worried about, and he said gently with a smile, "You don't need to worry. After you get up there, tie this rope to a tree trunk and throw it down to me. I'll carry Xuan'an out, and then you can run to find Uncle Lu and the others, okay?"
He showed her the rope he had just taken from the saddle.
Her eyes flickered, her face flushed slightly, she pursed her lips, nodded, and said softly, "Okay..."
"Thank you. After we leave, is there anything you want, Zhichun?" His smile deepened, becoming even more captivating, his voice like he was teasing a child. In Pang Linqiu's eyes, he was simply the perfect guy! She even saw him as a warm and considerate older brother—the kind of boy next door!
She shook her head, her voice becoming playful, "Chun'er doesn't want anything... it's just..." She blushed, paused, and began with difficulty, "It's just... Brother Mohe... could you spend more time with Chun'er?"
"Huh?" His lips twitched. He was glad she hadn't asked to be taken as a concubine. He nodded. "Alright, then you should rest well first. Go out when you've recovered your strength."
"Okay, sure." She nodded and leaned against the ground to rest.
Her eyes were half-closed, and she stared at Qin Xiangde's profile with a look of pure happiness, her lips curving slightly into a smile.
Qin Xiangde noticed her gaze, but said nothing. Let her look if she wants.
"Brother Mohe, why aren't there any soldiers patrolling here? It's not far from the military camp." she asked, puzzled.
“A few days ago, several groups of soldiers came to patrol here and never returned. I sent several groups of people to investigate, but we didn’t even find their remains. Xuan’an sensed something was wrong, so he withdrew the patrol and ordered that no one should step into this forest. He said that there were soldiers from the country who had left.”
Pang Linqiu panicked and couldn't help but worry, "Then... what if we...?"
He calmed her downcast emotions and said gently, "No, Zhichun. As long as we get out, we won't get hurt or die. We'll just find a secluded place and wait for reinforcements."
Pang Linqiu felt a heavy responsibility on her shoulders, and nodded, "Okay, I will..." but she was also afraid of not doing well.
Half an hour passed, and Pang Linqiu, having rested, was now wondering how to get out.
Peng Xuan'an weakly opened his eyes. All three of them were still in the pit, and he felt a sense of despair. He recalled the military report from a few days ago, and his spirits sank.
How did we end up in this forest? What if we run into that group...?
He looked up to see Pang Linqiu, but found her struggling to climb the pit wall. He asked, "Linqiu... what are you doing?"
"Climb out!" she replied, digging her fingers into the soil, struggling to lift herself up.
Peng Xuan'an looked at Qin Xiangde, "Mo He, you..." He hesitated for a moment, wanting to reprimand him for letting her go up instead of him. It turned out he was also injured, and remembering their previous battle where he too had been injured, he stopped himself.
He drew a dagger from his waist with his left hand. "Linqiu, use the dagger!" He held the dagger high, waiting for Pang Linqiu to take it.
Pang Linqiu pulled her hand out of the pit and turned to grab the dagger.
She plunged a dagger into the ground with one hand, gripped the edge of the pit with the other, and stood on the uneven ground. The soil was a bit loose, and she almost fell in several times.
Finally! She managed to climb up using all her strength!
She got up and ran deeper into the forest, but after an unknown amount of time, she returned. She was covered in sweat, but extremely happy, as if she had discovered a treasure. She waved to the people in the pit.
"Brother Mohe! Throw the rope up!" she said, panting.
Qin Xiangde grabbed the rope with his left hand and threw it upwards with force. Pang Linqiu caught it and looked around. Seeing a relatively thick tree, she tied herself to it and then threw the remaining rope into the pit.
Qin Xiangde carried Peng Xuan'an on his back, holding the rope with his left hand and securing Peng Xuan'an behind his back with his right to prevent him from falling. His wound was bleeding again. The smell of blood wafted into Peng Xuan'an's nostrils, but Qin Xiangde endured the pain without making a sound.
"Linqiu! Pull it!" he shouted.
Pang Linqiu grabbed the rope and pulled back with all her might, while Qin Xiangde gripped the rope tightly and climbed up with both feet.
After a long and exhausting process, Pang Linqiu finally managed to get Qin Xiangde up. Ignoring the numbness and pain in her hands and her fatigue, she rushed to help Qin Xiangde.
“Brother Mohe… ha… your wound… has reopened…” She looked at the wound on his shoulder with heartache.
"It's alright." He gasped for breath, shook his head, and chuckled.
She glanced at Peng Xuan'an on Qin Xiangde's body and said unhappily, "Brother Mohe, let me help him up. You should rest."
“Okay…” He half-squatted down and put Peng Xuan’an down. Pang Linqiu quickly stepped forward to put her arm around his shoulder and support him, putting her left hand on his body. Her small body carried half of Peng Xuan’an’s weight.
Peng Xuan'an walked slowly with a limp, his heart filled with bitterness, unsure of what to say.
"Go forward for about ten meters, then turn right a few steps. There's a cave there. Let's hide there first!" She carried him, but her steps became increasingly difficult, each step a struggle and her whole body aching and tired.
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