22. Same scene
She completely distrusts him!
Qi Gu lay in a sunken pit beside the bushes. She didn't go anywhere; she just lay quietly in a pit under the ground behind the bushes.
If it were daytime, Song Shi could walk two steps forward and find her lying straight on the pit, filling it completely.
But at night, the trees obstructed the view, making visibility poor. There was no moon tonight, and when she heard the sound of horses' hooves, she realized that Song Shi must be anxious to protect Chen Zhan.
Their attention would be entirely focused on the people appearing on the road below, so she decided to take a risk and gamble.
Therefore, when Song discovered that she was not there, she was actually lying in the same spot, creating the illusion that she had run away.
She made the right bet. In Song Shi's eyes, Chen Zhan's safety was certainly more important than hers.
Once the people were all drawn away by the sound of horses' hooves, she climbed out of the pit and continued crawling forward.
There was no moon tonight, and the mountain was covered by many plants. She crawled on the ground, as if she had returned to the year when she was six years old. After her mother carried her younger brother away, she crawled in the grass that was taller than her. She didn't know how long she crawled, but then she fainted at the bottom of a field ridge. Thinking back, the first person she saw was her father.
Qi Gu crawled with all her might; she had to live to go back and see her father. She had to live.
Behind her, the sound of arrows being fired through the air, whooshing through the air, startled her.
In her past life, she hoped that Sima Hong hadn't fallen into an ambush like he had in his past life. If, unfortunately, it was he who came, and he was the one who fell into the trap because he was useless, it had nothing to do with her. She had to live, no matter what.
Finally, when she could no longer hear the arrows and voices behind her, she stood up from her half-squat.
She wanted to escape back to Peng County while she had the chance; her father was surely still waiting for her there.
"Don't move!" This voice was undoubtedly a ghostly whisper to Qi Gu.
Then came a sharp, silver-white broadsword, which landed on her shoulder.
The shadows of the trees swayed gently, and there was no one around. A vast expanse of sky rose above, and the shadow of a knife connected the two figures on the ground.
Qi Gu dared not move. "No, no, kill me! I'll go back with you, take me to see Brother Zhan! I... I'll never run away again..."
"I am not a subordinate of that remnant of the Great Yan dynasty."
Qi Gu tried to turn around, but the knife was already pressed into her neck. "Don't move!"
With her back to the person behind her, Qi Gu didn't know what he looked like and dared not try to turn around. She believed that if she made any rash move, this person would immediately separate her head from her body with a swift stroke of his knife. "Have mercy, sir, I won't move."
She sighed inwardly, "Oh no!" This person wasn't one of Chen Zhan's men. Qi Gu's lips turned pale. Who exactly were these people? Were they cooperating with Chen Zhan? Why did their tone sound so disdainful towards him?
She was led by the men behind her to another hilltop. She looked around as she went; she couldn't just sit and wait to die.
A rough voice came from behind, "I advise you not to look around."
They came to a high slope and stood there, where they could see what was happening below. Some people were carrying torches and had already walked to the middle of the road. They were inspecting the bodies that had just been shot dead.
As the torches moved, they got closer and closer to the person who had fallen in the middle of the road. Qi Gu also looked over. Could it be Sima Hong?
In the sky, the moon finally broke through the clouds and showed a corner of itself.
As everyone's attention was focused on the road below, someone on the mountain shouted, "Someone's here!"
Qi Gu noticed that the people holding her hostage were also becoming wary.
Just then, the torches from the foot of the mountain moved to the side of the man who had fallen after being shot by an arrow. "Oh no, it's a dummy!"
The men holding Qi Gu pulled her along as they retreated, shouting to their comrades behind them, "Retreat!" But no one responded.
He turned around, and a strong man emerged from the shadows, holding a torch. In the torchlight, he gradually made out the man's face—a very rugged face with sharp eyes.
Behind him lay the corpses of his fallen comrades; they had all been wiped out by this man without his knowledge.
Qi Gu felt a movement on her neck, and the person panicked.
She looked at the person opposite her. She recognized him. He was one of Sima Hong's subordinates, named A Feng. He worked for Sima Hong in secret. She had only seen him twice in her previous life.
She breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Sima Hong had not fallen for the trap; someone else had.
"Let me go, or I'll kill her right now." The knife was pressed tightly against Qi Gu's neck again.
Sima Hong, dressed in white, walked out from behind A Feng, and A Feng respectfully stepped aside to stand beside him.
In this tense atmosphere, he walked slowly, his tall and graceful figure exuding an aura of complete control. His cold gaze was enough to terrify the masked man with just one glance.
Sima Hong appears refined and easygoing, but his methods of dealing with people are notorious in the capital. Everyone in the capital knows that this Lord Sima, despite his scholarly appearance, is actually a ruthless and deadly ruler.
The masked man glanced down at the person in front of him. He still had a protective charm, so he might be able to escape.
Looking at the familiar scene before her, Qi Gu felt a strong connection to the scene of her death in her past life.
Qi Gu's eyes were cold. In her past life, she thought Sima Hong would save her, but he didn't. He didn't even say a word to her before ordering the arrows to be fired!
Sima Hong is unreliable! She can't wait for him to save her like she did in her previous life; she has to save herself.
Qi Gu tried to struggle, but the person behind her coldly said, "Don't move!"
The masked man pulled Qi Gu back two steps. Behind them was a cliff. She and Chen Zhan had just been standing on the opposite hillside, so she knew that the terrain here was not high.
She thought that if Sima Hong, in order to avoid being threatened by those behind him, decided to disregard her life as he had done in her previous life and directly ordered the arrows to be fired and killed, then she and the people behind her would probably have a chance to survive if they jumped down the steep slope together.
Qi Gu considered the feasibility of this plan, then fell down the steep slope behind her. If she was lucky, she would at most be injured or crippled, which was better than dying from arrows again.
"Release her, and I'll let you go," Sima Hong's voice rang out in the darkness.
Qi Gu looked at Sima Hong with disbelief and doubt in her eyes, but Sima Hong gestured for her to rest assured. How could she possibly rest assured?
"Lord Sima's plans are flawless. We men like him dare not be presumptuous in front of Young Master Sima. Prepare a horse for me. I will abandon her on the horse after twenty miles."
Qi Gu laughed, "Brother, you might as well just kill me. If I commit suicide now, do you think Sima Hong will still be coerced by you?"
"what you up to."
"I mean you want too much!"
Being mocked by a woman, especially by the person he was holding hostage, the masked man expressed his thoughts through his actions: "Shut up!" He slashed Qi Gu's neck with the knife in his hand.
"Ouch, that hurts!" The feeling of both itching and pain... these people who put their hands on my neck, they're all the same, they want too much!
The masked man reiterated to Sima Hong, "If you want her to live, do as I say."
"good."
Sima Hong looked at Qi Gu and said, "Qi Gu, don't move, you'll be alright." His tone was reassuring.
The woman before him had a look of complete distrust in her eyes. His handsome face was furrowed with worry. Why was she so wary of him that she even dared to say she wanted to commit suicide? Was he really that untrustworthy?
Qi Gu looked back at the steep slope behind her again, silently leaning all her weight on the person behind her. The person behind her unknowingly kept backing away.
Sima Hong noticed Qi Gu's movements. What was she planning to do? He said in a deep voice, "Don't move!" He was unusually angry.
The masked man and the lacquer maiden didn't immediately know who these words were directed at.
“Alright, I agree to your request. The horse is on the road below you. Bring Qi Gu here, and I will give you the horse,” Sima Hong said.
Qi Gu was not grateful. If he wanted to save her, he could have done so. In other words, he wasn't completely unable to save her in his previous life, but he chose not to!
The masked man behind him hesitated. The man before him was too clever. Today, the inescapable trap they had set had been seen through. What was supposed to be a carefully prepared snare had instead led them into it. Not only had they failed to kill Sima Hong, but they had also been surrounded and annihilated by him. He could not take the risk, otherwise, if he fell into Sima Hong's hands, his lord might...
"Bring the horse here!" the masked man thought. He couldn't go down the road; who knew if Sima Hong's men were already lying in ambush nearby?
"Hurry up, or I'll kill her first. It's not like I'm losing anything!" They had to do as he said, or the woman would die.
Qi Gu gasped. Before, it had only cut her skin, but this time she felt the knife pierce her flesh.
"Go and fetch a horse," Sima Hong said, his gaze still fixed ahead. Immediately, someone behind him obeyed and went to fetch a horse.
Qi Gu couldn't understand Sima Hong. Why did she save her? She hadn't saved her in her past life, and she wasn't a princess in this life, so why did she still save her?
To win over her father? That must be it, after all, she's dead, how could her father be at her beck and call?
Thinking of this, Qi Gu thought that she would never place all her hopes on others again in this life. She glanced at the slope behind her again in secret.
"Why isn't he here yet!" Half an hour had passed since the person who went to fetch the horse went down, and the masked man felt as if that half an hour was as long as three days and three nights!
He lost his patience. "Lord Sima, are you trying something? Don't you want her dead?!"
"It seems there are no horses tonight," Sima Hong suddenly said.
The masked man, upon seeing the handsome and refined person opposite him, raised his hand slightly and was so startled that he took several steps back: "You, what do you mean!" The masked man was completely flustered.
"It's nothing." Sima Hong waved his hand lightly forward. "Release the arrows!"
The man behind him was horrified. He turned around and saw an arrow flying straight at him, piercing his shoulder!
His shoulder was throbbing with pain, but he knew he couldn't let go of the woman in front of him; letting her go would mean certain death. So he gripped Qi Gu's hand even tighter.
When Qi Gu heard those two words, it was as if she had returned to the day of her previous life when her womb was transformed, and when arrows flew in from all directions, her blood froze.
My head felt like it was about to explode; all I could see were Sima Hong's lips uttering those two cold words.
"No!" she cried out, her eyes filled with anguish as she stared at Sima Hong.
Sima Hong was unsettled by that glance. He, who was usually calm and composed, was momentarily disturbed by Qi Gu's gaze.
The masked man, already in pain from the arrow wound, slammed backward after Qi Gu screamed. He lost his footing, and the knife sliced across Qi Gu's neck, causing him to fall backward.
Qi Gu stretched out her hand with all her might. She couldn't die. Her eyes were full of the desire to live. "I don't want to die," she said, reaching her hand forward towards Sima Hong. Sima Hong leaped forward and pulled Qi Gu up.
Qi Gu watched as her fingertips were about to touch Sima Hong, but a tremendous force from behind pulled her backward.
The two hands, which were about to touch, parted ways, and Qi Gu fell backward. There was no ground beneath her feet, and she lost her footing!
As she plummeted downwards, Qi Gu closed her eyes, awaiting the final outcome.
Just when she was almost in despair, a dark figure suddenly pounced on her from the front!
A-Feng saw his master lunge forward, but before he could react, his master was dragged down the steep slope by the woman and the masked man behind her.
Behind them, the sounds of fighting erupted...
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