Chapter 87 I just want you to be alive.
The arrow in the hooded man's hand flew through the air. Ning Wujie moved sideways like lightning, and the arrow whizzed past his shoulder, barely scratching his clothes.
The huge inertia caused his feet to leave the crevice, and he only relied on one arm to hang on the branch, barely avoiding falling off the cliff.
The gravel rolled down and fell into the bottomless darkness.
The hooded man's eyes turned cold, and he pressed the crossbow trigger with his fingertips again. When he was about to press it again, he saw Ning Wujie's gaze from bottom to top, staring at him without fear, and the corners of his lips rose silently.
The hooded man was startled, and then he heard a "BOOM---!!!"
The earth shook violently again, even more violently than before.
The hooded man's face suddenly changed, and he almost lost his balance. He looked back suddenly, and saw rocks collapsing and sliding, rushing towards him like waves, almost drowning him.
"Sir! Go!" the guards exclaimed, covering his escape to a safe area.
The archers who were a little slower were instantly swallowed up by the rolling huge rocks, and their screams were instantly crushed by the deafening roar.
Ning Wujie and the shadow guards clinging to the cliff wall held their breath, feeling the terrifying tremors of the mountain. The debris fell like a rainstorm, almost brushing their backs as they fell into the abyss.
There were endless screams on the cliff.
The area below the cliff was not safe either. Landslides carried mud, sand and huge rocks, which continuously hit and crushed the trees and protruding rocks along the way, and broken wood, branches and cracked rocks flew everywhere.
The Shadow Guards hid under rocks or strong branches.
At this moment, a huge rock rolled down. Jupiter rolled over to dodge, but the rock under his feet shattered during the movement, and he fell down unexpectedly.
"Jupiter!"
Ning Wujie stretched out his arms to pull him, and when he grabbed Suixing, he lost his balance and fell.
At the critical moment, Ning Wujie pulled out the dagger from his waist and stabbed it into the crevice. With a sharp "clang" sound, the blade was wedged into the crevice, slowing down the speed of his fall and making a teeth-grinding sound of metal friction.
"Master!" Seeing the two men falling down at a very fast speed, the shadow guards tried to intercept them.
A shadow guard threw out a dart rope at lightning speed and wrapped it around Ning Wujie's upper arm. Then he gritted his teeth and exerted force, barely stopping his fall.
But the strength of one arm was not enough to hold up two grown men.
Ning Wujie looked around and saw a rock extending from below, so he shouted to the shadow guard: "Drop the rope and let us land on that rock!"
The shadow guard lowered the rope, and just as Ning Wujie landed, another huge rock fell. Seeing this, Suixing flew towards Ning Wujie, and they both fell to the ground at the same time.
The shadow guards on the cliff used their lightness skills to quickly retreat and rushed towards the two of them.
*
In the canyon.
The shaking had stopped, but the entire valley was filled with smoke and dust that had not yet completely dissipated.
The sound of galloping horses came from afar. A white horse was galloping on the gravel road. The young man held the reins tightly and kept whipping the horse.
The person behind him hugged the boy tightly and urged him, "Faster!"
When they reached the canyon, Zhen Xing hurriedly said, "Sir, wait! Be careful of ambushes!"
Xinghe quickly pulled the reins and stopped just in front of the canyon.
Only after a shadow guard who went to scout the way reported that there was no one ahead did Xinghe get off the horse and help Wen Xing down.
Wen Xing stepped into the canyon, but the scene before him made him stand there in a daze for a moment.
The smoke and dust had not yet completely dissipated, and the air was filled with a strong smell of earth and a faint smell of blood.
As far as the eye could see, countless corpses were half-buried under the loess and rubble in various twisted postures.
Broken arms and limbs were scattered everywhere, and some soldiers were buried completely, with only a stiff hand or a disfigured head exposed.
What's more, the lower half of his body had been crushed by the boulder, but his upper body was still twitching unconsciously. The scene was bizarre and terrifying.
The shadow guards quickly dismounted, drew their swords, and formed a circle in a well-trained manner, protecting Wen Xing in the center and vigilantly scanning the dangerous ruins.
Xinghe was the first to step forward to investigate, and heard a rustling sound of gravel being crushed under his feet.
He had just taken a few steps when his feet suddenly went soft and he didn't know what he had stepped on.
Hearing a muffled groan coming from under his feet, he jumped back in shock and saw that it was a person half-buried by loose soil.
It was covered in mud and sand, almost blending into the ground, and could not be seen without careful observation.
Seeing that there was still a survivor, Wen Xing quickly stepped forward and removed the dirt around the man's face with his bare hands. He asked, "What happened here? Where is Ning Wujie?"
The man's face was covered in blood and flesh, and it was impossible to tell from his appearance and clothes whether he was a friend or an enemy.
His lips moved, and he uttered intermittent, vague words: "It collapsed again... It collapsed again... It was caught off guard... It's all... It's all buried..."
All...buried?
Wen Xing's heart sank suddenly.
"Impossible." He whispered, as if trying to convince himself: "I warned Ning Wujie that it would collapse twice. He must have been prepared and there's no way he would be buried!"
The man grinned, revealing his blood-stained teeth, and let out a hoarse and intermittent sneer: "... Ning Wujie... was ambushed by our masters... How can he escape? He can't escape... Hahaha..." He laughed so hard that he trembled, and suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood. Then his head tilted and he was completely silent.
Wen Xing felt a chill running down his spine, and his whole body seemed to be frozen, standing there in a daze.
Seeing his appearance, Xinghe couldn't help but call out worriedly: "Master..."
Wen Xing suddenly regained consciousness. He forced himself to remain calm and said, "Impossible."
"Go find him!" His voice was trembling, but he gave the order firmly: "I want him alive or dead!"
The shadow guards scattered.
Wen Xing took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Ning Wujie will definitely be fine. He always has a plan for everything and won't fall into any trap.
Zhen Xing, who was standing by, asked in confusion, "The man just said 'Your Excellency', not 'Your Highness'."
"Isn't it the King of Xiang's men who are coming here?"
Wen Xing's eyebrows twitched violently.
At this moment, a shadow guard shouted, "This seems to be Prince Xiang!"
Wen Xing went to follow the sound and saw that King Xiang's body had almost been buried in the ground, with only a golden crown sticking out, indicating his identity.
The fact that King Xiang is here means that Ning Wujie’s plan was successful, so who is the “sir”?
The more Wen Xing thought about it, the colder his body became.
Could it be that the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?
He didn't dare to think about it anymore, and his feet were almost nailed to the spot.
Until the shadow guards came back from searching in all directions, "Sir, we have searched everywhere, but there is no sign of anyone alive, nor any trace of the master and his men."
Wen Xing's feet softened slightly when he heard that, but he was forced to stand still again. He closed his eyes to calm his mind, then lowered his voice and ordered, "Look again."
"On the top of the cliff, and on the cliff over there, dig three feet into the ground and turn it over several times!"
"Yes!" The shadow guards scattered.
He stood blankly in the middle of the canyon, watching the busy figures of the shadow guards. He felt his heart beating fast and chaotically, and a sharp pain came over him. He quickly became alert, tremblingly retrieved the pill from the edge of his sleeve, and swallowed it quickly.
He hasn't found anyone yet, so he can't faint.
Only after the piercing pain subsided a little did he force himself to calm down.
At this moment, a shadow guard came running over, holding something in his hand: "Sir! Found this!"
It was a broken jade belt plate, and one had to look closely to see the very faint dragon pattern engraved on it.
It not only preserves your identity but also makes it convenient to move around outside.
This is Ning Wujie's thing.
He snatched the jade belt plate.
It looked like it was hit by some rubble, with several cracks on it, and it would break at the slightest touch.
"Where did you find this?"
His voice was tense and trembling slightly, and the heartache he had just suppressed was faintly rising again.
The shadow guard pointed to a huge rock not far away.
Wen Xing stepped forward quickly and saw a corner of black cloth exposed under the rock. His pupils trembled and he suppressed his suddenly chaotic heartbeat. He then pushed the rock hard and the shadow guards came forward to help.
Everyone worked together to push the rock down.
Under the rock, a section of an arm, crushed to a bloody mess, was exposed on the ground.
The original appearance of the fabric could no longer be identified, and it was even more impossible to tell who the person was, but Wen Xing's heart suddenly stopped beating for a moment, and then started beating wildly again.
His knees went weak and he knelt on the ground, then frantically dug the earth and rocks with his bare hands.
The gravel was hard and its edges were sharp as blades, cutting through his fingertips inch by inch. In a short while, his hands were covered in blood, and blood dripped down his fingertips, staining the gray-white rock red.
Seeing this, Xinghe knelt down and grabbed him: "Master! Stop digging! Even if you dig it out, it won't survive!"
Wen Xing paused when he heard this, and his pupils suddenly shrank. He pushed Xinghe away with all his strength, "Either help me or get out!"
Xinghe whimpered, and tears as big as beans fell down, "Master, your hand..."
Wen Xing looked at the lifeless corpse, closed his eyes tightly, and suppressed his voice, "Whether it is him or not, we have to dig it out and see for ourselves."
Upon hearing this, the shadow guards came forward to help.
Wen Xing did not stop his movements and could not even feel the pain in his fingertips, because the heartache at this moment had overwhelmed all his senses.
He muttered to himself in a low voice, "...I was wrong. I shouldn't have given you this plan. It's all my fault..."
"...I'll go back to the palace with you...I'll never run away again..."
“…I don’t want anything…”
I just want you to be alive.
Seeing his distraught look, Xinghe sobbed and said, "Master..."
Fortunately, I turned a deaf ear to it.
Until the corpse was exposed, revealing half of its back and a blurry back of its head with a bun standing up. The hair was mixed with dust and blood, making it impossible to distinguish its appearance.
Wen Xing's movements completely stopped, his fingertips trembled, and he didn't dare to open it to confirm.
His intuition told him that this person was not it.
But the words of the man who had just died were like a demonic sound, constantly echoing in his mind -
"Ning Wujie was ambushed by our masters and can't escape."
He didn't notice that the shadow guards around him who were helping him had stopped and stood up. Xinghe also stopped crying and stared blankly in the same direction.
Wen Xing closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then mustered up the courage to reach out and try to turn over the body.
However, his outstretched wrist was held down by someone.
Wen Xing was startled and turned his head stiffly.
What caught my eye were Ning Wujie's dark, deep eyes. His gaze lacked his usual calmness, but was filled with a heartache that threatened to overflow.
Wen Xing stared blankly at the person who came. His heart seemed to be gripped by something for a moment. After a moment of silence, it began to beat violently again.
Ning Wujie lowered his eyelashes and carefully held his hand in his palm.
These hands were white and slender, with well-proportioned joints, like the finest white jade. In the past, just a snap of these fingers would make Ning Wujie willingly submit.
However, at this moment, these hands were covered with crisscrossing wounds, with the skin and flesh turned inside out and bleeding, and their original appearance could no longer be seen.
Ning Wujie lowered his eyes, and Wen Xing could not see his expression. Only drop after drop of wet tears fell on the wound on Wen Xing's fingertips. The fingertips that had almost lost consciousness suddenly felt a sharp pain.
"How can you be so careless?" The voice was a little hoarse.
"Does it hurt?"
When Ning Wujie spoke, he raised his eyes, revealing moist and crimson eyes. Wen Xing subconsciously reached out to wipe the tears condensed at the corners of his eyes, but the bloodstains on his fingertips stained the red corners of Ning Wujie's eyes, like a painter's brushstrokes, adding a breathtaking bright color to the corners of his eyes.
Wen Xing pressed the corners of his lips together, and a warmth welled up in his eyes.
"...Where have you been?" His voice was trembling and hoarse, and tears blurred his vision in an instant. He could not see Ning Wujie's expression, so he hurriedly pulled Ning Wujie into his arms and rested his chin on his shoulder to hide his tears.
"I've been...looking for you..."
"I thought you..."
The man patted his back and said soothingly, "I'm fine, don't worry."
Wen Xing couldn't stop crying. When he saw the corpse just now, he thought it was Ning Wujie. He didn't cry at that time, but now that he saw the person standing in front of him in good health, he couldn't help crying.
A feeling of relief at surviving the disaster welled up in my heart.
My heart was beating uncontrollably with excitement.
His tears slid down the corners of his eyes, dripping one by one onto Ning Wujie's shoulders, wetting his clothes.
He sobbed like this for a long time. He thought he was hiding it well, but he didn't realize that his shoulders were trembling slightly, which was keenly noticed by Ning Wujie.
Ning Wujie patted his back patiently, comforting him like a child.
After a long time, Wen Xing took a deep breath and finally suppressed the heat. He hurriedly wiped away his tears with the edge of his sleeve, and only then did he have the energy to look at the person in front of him.
Only then did he discover that there was a huge tear in Ning Wujie's clothes from his left shoulder to his entire upper arm, revealing a hideous wound inside, with the flesh turned inside out and blood soaking through the cloth.
Just by looking at it, one can guess how dangerous Ning Wujie had just been.
Wen Xing's expression froze. He took the other person's arm, looked at the shocking wound, and asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"
Ning Wujie looked at his red eyes from crying, his heart softened beyond words. He stroked the corners of his eyes with his fingers and said softly, "It's okay, just a minor injury."
"Is this a minor injury?" Wen Xing said as he tore off a strip of cloth from under his clothes to bandage his wound.
His movements were not very skillful and the dough looked like a rice dumpling.
But when Ning Wujie saw his clumsy and cautious look, the corners of his lips raised and he couldn't suppress his smile at all.
Wen Xing didn't notice that the man was grinning at him. After carefully bandaging the wound, he pulled the man up and said, "Go back and sew it up."
After that, he ordered the shadow guard, "Bring the horse here!"
The horses were brought over, Ning Wujie first helped Wen Xing onto the horse's back, then he nimbly jumped onto the horse and sat behind him.
An arm went around Wen Xing's waist, holding the reins firmly.
Ning Wujie shouted softly and spurred his horse forward.
The horses were not running fast, so Wen Xing was able to sit steadily in the front.
He could feel the man's body temperature and strong heartbeat from behind, which reached his heart. The heart rates gradually became the same, and he didn't know when the heartache disappeared.
His nerves suddenly relaxed, and he sighed lightly and fell backwards, falling on Ning Wujie's shoulder.
The person behind him lowered his voice and asked in his ear, "Your Majesty...are you still angry with me?"
Wen Xing's body stiffened slightly, and his fingers subconsciously clenched the saddle.
"Just now, when I was on the verge of death, I was wondering, if you never see me again, would Your Majesty be sad?"
Yes, Wen Xing thought.
I'm so sad.
When he saw the buried body just now, he felt that nothing else mattered.
As long as Ning Wujie is alive, it doesn't matter if he is forced to return to the palace, his identity is exposed, or even if he has to live with a mask for the rest of his life.
As long as this person is alive, he can give up anything.
It turns out that he could endure this much for this person.
It's unbelievable.
He must be out of his mind.
But he didn't dare to speak. He had treated Ning Wujie so badly, so what right did he have to say such things?
Besides, if he told it, would this person become more aggressive and try to manipulate and control him more unscrupulously?
As he was hesitating, two slightly cold fingers gently pinched the tip of his chin, forcing him to turn his head to look at the other person.
Ning Wujie lowered his eyes and looked at him, whispering, "But when I saw Your Majesty just now, I thought, I would rather Your Majesty never know sadness."
Wen Xing was startled, and her beautiful eyes trembled slightly.
However, before he could figure out what was going on, a kiss came down on him.
The setting sun dyed the sky a brilliant golden color, and the light outlined a pair of figures entwined on horseback, stretching their shadows extremely long and gradually blending into the vast twilight.
At this time, on the top of a cliff not far away, a hooded man was riding on horseback. He saw two figures hugging each other in the canyon from afar, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
It is indeed His Majesty...
You are still alive.
Oh, it’s really wonderful.
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The author has something to say: I’m sorry, I’m a local dog (bow)
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