Tearing off the mask
Amidst gasps of surprise from the Xingfeng Hall members, Gongyi Xiu, carrying A Qiu on his back, calmly slipped out of the mountain gate.
Zhu Zuosi realized he had fallen into a trap and roared like thunder: "Chase!"
Upon receiving his order, the Xingfeng Hall knights, who had been poised to attack on both sides of the mountain gate, stood like a dark cloud pressing down, and spurred their horses to chase after him.
Zhu Zuosi swiftly leaped onto a red horse and chased after Gongyi Xiu's retreating figure.
No matter how fast a person's legs are, they can't outrun a horse's speed over a long period of time. Xingfeng Hall prides itself on its cavalry, as evidenced by the fact that its eight chief guards are called the "Eight Steeds." Now, the hall's elite cavalry has been deployed in full force, determined to capture Gongyi Xiu and A Qiu.
Hearing the approaching sound of hooves behind her, even the usually composed A Qiu couldn't help but panic. No matter how skilled Gongyi Xiu was in light-footed movements, carrying her with an extra person on his back, he would never be able to outrun the magnificent warhorses of Xingfeng Hall.
These warhorses were all "heavenly horses" and "precious horses" that Mo Yimingyue purchased from the people of Gaochang in the West Market. It took a lot of effort just to train them. Each horse was trained and cared for by a specific knight, and they fought in perfect harmony, using specific combat tactics. They were carefully crafted by Mo Yimingyue and were used specifically to hunt down wanted elite warriors.
A Qiu's back was covered in cold sweat, and he couldn't help but say again, "Senior brother, you might as well put me down. If I'm not a burden, no matter how good these warhorses are, they can't catch up with your unparalleled lightness skill, 'Floating Cloud Step'."
Gongyi Xiu heard the hoofbeats getting closer and closer, but he laughed without any concern, "Junior sister, didn't you always mock my 'Floating Cloud Step' for only being good for sneaking into brothels and stealing kisses and jade? So you admire my lightness skill so much. Well, at least you should admit defeat in the art of lightness skill, right?"
A Qiu hadn't expected that Gongyi Xiu, who came to rescue her today, would constantly compare her to himself, whether to provoke him or her, the former number one on the Lanling List. Despite her miserable situation, she was so angry she almost laughed, and said fiercely, "Senior brother seems to have come specifically to kick a dog when it's down. Although a tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs, senior brother should remember an old saying: 'A lady's revenge is never too late,'"
To everyone's surprise, Gongyi Xiu said without turning his head, "You don't need to wait ten years. You have the chance to prove whether you are still the 'lady' who shocked the world with her dagger back then."
While A-Qiu was still in shock, he heard him say leisurely:
“I have a ‘star crossbow’ at my waist. Pick it up and shoot an arrow behind you. If you knock the leader’s horse down, I’ll consider you still a ‘lady’.”
A Qiu immediately reached out and, sure enough, felt a very small and exquisite crossbow at his waist. She knew that this was a hidden weapon used only by the emperor, and that Gongyi Xiu would only carry it on specific occasions, and would never carry it on his person when he was an official in court.
Although small, this crossbow was extremely precise in its mechanism and incredibly powerful. That's why Gongyi Xiu said that hitting a horse with it could bring it to its knees. A Qiu had never used one before, but as the "Master of Divine Weapons," she could roughly guess its usage, power, and accuracy after just a brief handling and assessment, and felt reassured.
She realized why Gongyi Xiu wasn't worried about the approaching pursuers. The crossbow contained at least six stone projectiles; if it could shoot down six warhorses, the pressure would be greatly reduced.
She lay on Gongyi Xiu's back, but turned her head away. At this moment, the first knight had closed the distance to within five zhang, which was the best distance to fire the star crossbow.
The opportunity was fleeting, and without saying a word, A Qiu, relying on his sense of the weapon, smoothly and steadily held the crossbow, located the head of the approaching man, and unleashed a powerful shot.
However, since it was the first test shot and the crossbow's performance was unfamiliar, the prediction was wrong, and the shot was slightly off-target, whizzing past the horse's ear, but it did not cause much damage to the horse. The horse seemed unaware and continued to charge forward.
Although Gongyi Xiu was moving swiftly, he was still listening to the sounds. Knowing that A Qiu's first shot had failed, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "I think your 'lady' title is in jeopardy."
A Qiu was furious and said angrily, "I've just not used a weapon for a long time, so I'm a bit rusty!" Then he shouted, "Take this!"
As the crossbow bolts fired, the light flashed like shooting stars chasing the moon. Five stone projectiles flew out in succession, each hitting a horse in the neck, forehead, or behind the ear. Instantly, the horses neighed in pain, and the riders at the forefront were caught off guard and fell to the ground with a thud, a scene of men and horses falling over.
Ah Qiu laughed and said, "How is it?"
Gongyi Xiu listened to the sound and knew that the enemy situation had eased, so he smiled and said, "Not bad, not bad. Judging from this, I feel that your fighting spirit and skill have recovered at least forty or fifty percent, which is why you were able to shoot the horse so hard that it fell to the ground."
Ah Qiu, still holding his crossbow, was taken aback upon hearing this.
No wonder the eldest brother carried her all the way, constantly provoking her with his words, which was quite different from his usual charming, eloquent, and caring elder brother demeanor.
At least half of the reason for this was to expose her to the stimulation of real danger, so that she could outwit and outmaneuver her will to survive.
Gongyi Xiu said, "Moreover, I've noticed that since you entered the palace, you've become much kinder and gentler." He clicked his tongue and said, "That's good. A girl should still act like a girl."
A-Qiu asked in surprise, "How did you figure that out?"
Gongyi Xiu continued to advance, saying leisurely, "If it were you in the past, in such a life-or-death situation of fleeing for your life, with a crossbow in hand, you would have surely killed all the enemy's horses to achieve the effect of annihilation. But this time, you hit the mark every time, only injuring their vital points and rendering them unable to get up, without taking their lives."
Ah Qiu, realizing that he had hit the nail on the head, stammered, "These horses were all bought by Second Senior Brother at great expense and painstakingly trained. If we ruin them all like this, Second Senior Brother will definitely be angry."
Gongyi Xiu chuckled and said, "Young Miss, you're running for your life. Is human life more important than a horse's life? This is an emergency, and even I wouldn't blame you!"
A Qiu thought to herself, "That makes sense." But when she fired the Star Crossbow, why was she only thinking about Mo Yimingyue's hard work, and how she absolutely couldn't let it be destroyed?
As Gongyi Xiu walked, he continued, "Furthermore, if you had attacked a person instead of a horse, you could have killed them instantly and more cleanly. What use would a horde of horses be if the person on horseback died? But you only knocked down the horses without harming the person, which shows that you still value your fellow disciples."
A Qiu was silent for a moment, then said, "Lanling Hall ultimately owes me nothing. My master has done a good job in educating me, and my fellow disciples have cultivated me. I... cannot turn around and harm my fellow disciples before leaving home."
Gongyi Xiu sighed and said, "These principles are easy to say, but difficult to uphold when facing life and death. Moreover, this is indeed not the guiding principle of our Lanling Hall. This shows the influence Gu Yi has had on you these past few days."
A Qiu thought to herself in a daze: Gu Yi's influence on her was not limited to these past few days.
It turns out that Gu Yi had saved her and raised her since she was a child. All the effort he had put into her was just ordinary to him.
Later, when she saw Gu Yi again after entering the palace, he never revealed the truth. He continued to do the same thing as before, silently taking care of her, teaching her, trusting her, and supporting her.
Because of this relationship, she could no longer view other people and things in the world solely based on her own life, death, and interests, as she had before.
Gongyi Xiu sighed again and said, "But the consequences of your kindness will soon be borne by your senior brother!"
Before A Qiu could react, he heard a whooshing sound behind his head—a powerful arrow was shooting towards him.
She instinctively reached out to catch the arrow, while simultaneously deflecting another arrow into the ground.
The sound of horses' hooves continued to approach from behind, and someone shouted, "Master Yiyan, please leave the prisoner here and let him go. I can guarantee that nothing will have happened. Don't force us to break off relations."
Judging from the voice, it was Zhu Zuosi who had arrived.
A Qiu suddenly remembered something: when the Xingfeng Hall knights went on patrol to carry out pursuit missions, they would always be accompanied by four or five empty horses for replacement. Just now, she had only wounded the warhorse, and it wouldn't take these people much time to change horses, but it was a complete waste of the Star Crossbow she had obtained from Gongyi Xiu.
Gongyi Xiu suddenly stopped and turned to face the Xingfeng Hall law enforcement knights who had caught up with him.
Caught off guard, these people instinctively sensed danger and immediately reined in their horses, retreating to clear an open space.
Seeing that Gongyi Xiu had stopped running, A Qiu wondered what he was up to when she heard him whisper in her ear, "Now can you act on your own?"
A Qiu was puzzled, but took the opportunity to get off his back, tried to put her feet on the ground, and after a moment of sensing, nodded and said, "I can walk."
Gongyi Xiu let out a deep breath, still with his back to her, and said, "Then run away! Run as far as you can! I'll take care of the rest for you!"
In his entire life, A Qiu had never seen Gongyi Xiu speak so solemnly.
In that instant, she understood that Gongyi Xiu's words, "I'll take care of the rest for you," referred not only to the group of law enforcement envoys who had come to hunt her down today, but also to the wrath and punishment of her master, Wanqiqing, after she escaped from Lanling Hall.
She and Gongyi Xiu had known each other since childhood; Gongyi Xiu was the first senior brother she met after entering the Lanling Hall.
When they first met, she had not yet recovered from the blow and was in a daze. He tried his best to speak well of her in front of his master.
Later, she felt that it was the duty of the senior disciple of Lanling Hall, and also the nature of Gongyi Xiu, a socialite: to offend no one, to maneuver between any possibilities, and to make everyone like him and willing to obey his orders.
She once believed that Gongyi Xiu was the ideal successor in her master's eyes, that is, the next master of Lanling Hall.
She never imagined that Gongyi Xiu, who had always been obedient, would one day pay such a high price to protect her and offend his master.
If she had the time, she really wanted to ask Gongyi Xiu why he did that.
To paraphrase Gongyi Xiu: It's not difficult to help someone, but to put yourself in the shoes of someone is something many people cannot do.
Moreover, he was the elegant and charismatic Lord of the Hall, whose words could topple a nation.
The most important consequence of his actions was that his master, Wanqiqing, would no longer trust him and might even take back all the glory and power he had once given him.
That would be fatal for Gongyi Xiu, who was striving for an official career.
A Qiu took a deep breath, exerted his strength, and firmly planted himself on the ground, causing the "Assassination of Qin" to slide out from his forearm and into his right palm.
During her days of imprisonment, no one had expected to take away her "assassination attempt on Qin." Neither her master nor Mo Yimingyue had anticipated it.
And now, she is deeply grateful for this.
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