"What will you do if I don't come back? Your kindness is taken for granted!" Yan Xun curled his lips, "Hold on tight!" After that, he whipped the horse's buttocks. The warhorse neighed loudly and suddenly leaped over everyone's heads as if riding on a cloud!
“Yan Xun!” Zhuge Yue was furious. He lifted his robe and shouted, “How dare you interfere in my affairs!”
The war horses of Yanbei are considered the best in the world. Who on the plains can stop them? Yan Xun held Chu Qiao in his arms, turned his head from a distance, laughed loudly, and said in a loud voice: "Thank you for your courtesy, Fourth Young Master Zhuge. Yan Xun is returning north today, and there is no need to see him off. The mountains and rivers remain unchanged, and we will meet again someday!" After that, he led the Yanbei soldiers away like a gust of wind.
“Young Master!” Zhu Cheng exclaimed, only to see the severely injured Zhuge Yue snort angrily, throw off the gauze from his neck, climb onto the horse’s back with a frown, whip it furiously, and chase after him.
"Quick! Quick, follow the young master!"
The night wind was as strong as iron, blowing up large flakes of snow on the flat ground. Yan Xun and Chu Qiao rode together, galloping across the open snowy plain.
"Little girl, come back to Yanbei with me!"
“No!”
"I have to go." The young man smiled, "Let's see where you can run this time."
The tranquility of the plain was broken by the horse's hooves, a strong wind swept across the field, and the thunderous sound of hooves rolled in behind them, like muffled thunder in the sky. Chu Qiao nervously grabbed Yan Xun's arm and shouted, "Mad man, is someone chasing you?"
Yan Xun sneered and said, "It's okay. Yanbei is a vast land with abundant resources. If the Wei clan wants to go with us, it won't be a big deal."
Chu Qiao frowned and looked back frequently. Seeing the snow wave gradually forming a surface from a line, she knew that there were quite a few people coming. She bit her lower lip, looked around at the terrain, and said angrily: "Are you crazy? You dare to come back knowing that someone wants to kill you?"
Yan Xun raised his eyebrows and asked again, "What will you do if I don't come back?"
Chu Qiao's eyes suddenly felt a little sore. She looked up at Yan Xun's smooth chin. He was really just a child. He didn't even have a beard. He was a dandy boy who fooled around all day long and had no idea of the hardships of this world.
Seeing her in a daze, Yan Xun laughed and joked, "Why, are you so moved that you want to marry me? No, you are still too young, who knows what you will look like in the future, how about this, you just follow me, and we will see slowly and then decide."
"Yanbei thief! Get off your horse and surrender!"
A loud shout suddenly rang out out of nowhere. Yan Xun was startled for a moment, then said helplessly, "Hey, it looks like we're in trouble again." As he spoke, he whipped the horse, and instead of stopping, he went even faster.
The pitch-black armor looked particularly ferocious in the night. The rapid sound of horse hooves was like the approaching roar of thunder. Thousands of snow waves rose up, like an avalanche on the top of Cangji Mountain, with astonishing power. The ground beneath his feet was shaking wildly, as if an ancient ferocious beast had awakened and was about to break through the surface and leap out like a dragon.
"Hold on tight!" The young man's face suddenly became as tough as iron, his brows were tightly knitted, he gripped the reins tightly, and shouted loudly. The warhorse instantly raised its hooves and leaped away, neighing loudly, as powerful as a gust of wind. The cold wind passed by his ears like a sharp knife, and the speed reached its peak, leaving the pursuers behind him far behind in a flash.
"Haha!" A hearty laugh rang out immediately. The soldiers of Yanbei laughed out loud together and looked back at the astonished faces of the Wei clan soldiers.
The little book boy Feng Mian laughed and said, "Sir, it's time to let these young masters of noble families see what a real Yanbei warhorse is."
Yan Xun laughed out loud and said, "Okay, let's open their eyes."
As soon as he finished speaking, the cavalry of Yanbei all pulled the reins of their horses, snapped their fingers as whistles, and clear and loud horns suddenly rang out. Just when everyone was confused, the war horses under Yan Xun and others suddenly stood up, with the manes on their necks standing straight, and they roared like lions. The sound was stirring, piercing the sky, carrying with it unparalleled power and kingly dominance, making people's blood boil and their chests feel stuffy.
The horses under the soldiers of the Zhenhuang Imperial Capital wailed when they heard the sound, and their four legs went limp and they fell to the ground. No matter how the generals who had followed the king's orders whipped them, they refused to stand up.
Chu Qiao is amazing.
The little book boy Feng Mian smiled and explained proudly, "Our Yanbei war horses are the offspring of the mare king at the foot of Tianmu Mountain and wild wolves. Not only are they extremely fast, but they can also summon wolves to help them in battle. The horses raised by the young masters of the aristocratic families in the imperial capital have never even been on the battlefield. They are scared to death just by hearing the sound. It is simply a fantasy for them to want to chase us."
The Yanbei warriors laughed in unison. Yan Xun's fur coat fluttered in the north wind. The young man sat high on his horse and said loudly, "Let's go back to Yanbei!"
The soldiers laughed and said, "Return to Yanbei!"
With the sound of horse hooves and the billowing of snow and fog, under the pitch-black sky, the warriors of Yanbei rode their horses and whipped their horses, suddenly leaving.
However, at this moment, a sense of crisis suddenly came over me. The alertness that naturally developed from years of engaging in dangerous work sounded a sharp warning like a blasting countdown machine. Before the child had time to think about this sense of tension that came from nowhere, the sharp sound of wind suddenly pierced through the darkness, whistling from a distance with the momentum of thunder.
Without waiting for any reaction, Chu Qiao punched Yan Xun in the abdomen in the blink of an eye. Yan Xun felt the pain, groaned, and bent down. Just as he was about to curse Chu Qiao for being a scoundrel, a powerful arrow suddenly pierced through his left shoulder and went out of his body from his back. Blood gushed out with such force that the young man's body instantly fell off the horse's back like a kite with a broken string, and landed on the cold snow!
"Yan Xun!" Chu Qiao screamed and pulled the reins of the horse, but the warhorse was not afraid of the pull of the reins at all while running fast, and continued to run without listening. Chu Qiao was extremely anxious. She suddenly jumped up, and her small body immediately jumped off the horse's back. She rolled forward and squatted steadily on the snowy field.
"Yan Xun!" Chu Qiao held his shoulders, "Are you okay?"
The boy's eyes were cold and his brows were furrowed. "You can't die yet."
With a whoosh, another powerful arrow shot towards her. Chu Qiao changed her position upon hearing the sound and swung her sword to chop it hard. The arrow came so fast that it struck the blade and created a streak of sparks, illuminating the dark night.
"Put down your weapons!" Low shouts rang out in unison, and countless soldiers and horses appeared out of nowhere from under the snowy plains. There were more than a thousand of them, all wearing long snow-white fur coats. They had all been lying on the snow before. No wonder the war horses passed by without noticing any clues. The cold blades were pointed at the two of them, and the swords and knives were everywhere, making it impossible for them to fly away.
Not far away, the sounds of fierce fighting rang out at the same time. Obviously, the Yanbei warriors who did not have time to dismount in time had been surrounded.
Behind the crowd, a young man in a long black fur coat rode forward on his horse. On the brocade robe underneath the fur coat was embroidered a golden auspicious dragon, with a sharp dragon claw ferociously coiled on his collar, shining brightly under the blazing torches.
Zhao Che narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly, "I knew the Wei family would not be able to accomplish anything."
The sharp blade was placed on the necks of the two men. The blade was printed with the golden crape myrtle flowers unique to Shengjin Palace, and one could tell at a glance that they were the imperial guards. The young prince Zhao Che glanced at Yan Xun, then glanced at the young Chu Qiao, and said to his attendants in a deep voice, "Take her back."
"Seventh Prince," an attendant stepped forward, glanced at the Yanbei warriors who were fighting fiercely in the distance, and asked in a low voice, "Who are the others?"
Zhao Che frowned slightly and snorted, "If you disobey the king's order and betray your country, what's the point of keeping you?"
The attendant understood what he meant and shouted loudly to the distance: "Kill without mercy!"
A resounding response suddenly rang out, and in an instant, a dense rain of arrows like locusts flew out in unison. The Yanbei warriors who had just been laughing excitedly and passionately instantly turned into corpses that had lost their lives, falling heavily on the cold snow.
Chu Qiao was furious. She listened to Xiao Fengmian's angry curses. She clenched her fists tightly and looked coldly at Zhao Che who was sitting high on his horse. At this time, the imperial guards of Shengjin Palace came forward, and the child struggled slightly, which attracted the attention of the prince who was high above him.
Zhao Che looked her up and down and frowned slightly. She looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her.
"Drag down and chop off all the irrelevant people."
“Who dares!” Yan Xun stepped forward, hugged Chu Qiao tightly in his arms, and looked at the young man from the royal family above without any fear.
Zhao Che was stunned, then laughed in anger, "You really don't know how to live or die. At this point, do you still think of yourself as the prince of Yanbei?"
Yan Xun said coldly: "Zhao Che, if you dare to do it, I promise that you will regret it."
Zhao Che frowned and sneered, "I want to see how you, a trapped beast, can make me regret it. Go ahead!"
The elite soldiers on both sides suddenly raised their swords and rushed forward together. Yan Xun pulled out the dagger and pointed it at his chest. His eyes were as sharp as ice and full of determination to move forward.
"Stop!" Zhao Che was stunned, frowning in disbelief. He looked the child carefully and finally said in a deep voice, "Yan Xun, I'll give you this face and take him back with me!"
The weapons were immediately confiscated and the two were pushed into a prepared prison van.
Chu Qiao was held tightly in the young man's arms, her pale little face pressed against his chest. Fresh red blood continued to flow out of the wound on Yan Xun's left shoulder, flowing down her neck into her clothes.
"Yan Xun," Chu Qiao called softly, "How are you?"
"Little girl, I'm sorry for getting you into trouble."
Chu Qiao's nose felt sore and she shook her head, "Don't say that, we will definitely..."
"Don't worry!" Yan Xun suddenly interrupted Chu Qiao and said firmly, "I will protect you."
Chu Qiao's body stiffened and she was stunned for a moment. Not long ago, in that dilapidated woodshed, someone had said the same thing to her so seriously.
"Yue'er, don't be afraid, I will protect you."
The wind howled fiercely, so cold that it almost froze people's blood. Yan Xun lost too much blood, his body was cold and he was trembling. Chu Qiao stretched out her slender arms and hugged his body tightly, but her head tilted to the left. Not far away from there was a low mound. The dark clouds dispersed, and the bleak moonlight sprinkled down. A young boy was sitting on a lonely warhorse, holding a bow with the arrow pointed at himself. The wound on Yan Xun's shoulder was caused by this man.
Although they were so far apart, Chu Qiao could still see the man's appearance and features. She hugged Yan Xun's increasingly cold body tightly and bit her lower lip. Behind the boy's back, the child's small hands gradually clenched into fists.