Chapter 29: The embroidered spring knife and long sword were unsheathed at the same time in the snow---
How could it be Cen Luye?
Why is he here?!
Cen Luye was tied to a thick wooden post, his upper body naked, and the blazing fire beside him was very close to him. He looked very weak, and the flames reflected on his pale cheeks, almost burning him.
The faces of the people around were full of fanaticism.
Without time to be shocked or think too much, Lou Wanqiao raised his arm and gestured to Wen Xuechi.
Cen Luye couldn't just die here in obscurity.
From all aspects, saving Cen Luye is far more valuable than standing by and watching from the sidelines. Although there are risks, it is worth a try.
Embroidered Spring Knife and long sword were unsheathed at the same time——
…
It’s so noisy and hot.
...What are they shouting? No, this shouldn't be the case...
Cen Luye opened his eyes hazily. Cold snowflakes fell on his head and shoulders, then evaporated in the flames, causing unbearable pain in his skin and flesh. He fought back the pain and struggled.
No, the rope is too tight, I have no strength left, and all my clothes have been taken away.
Even though it was so noisy all around him, he could still clearly hear his own heartbeat.
It was so fast and so intense that even my breathing became rapid. Although my body was weak, facing such a scene, my whole body seemed to be boiling.
A man holding a torch came up to him, mumbling something in a strange language. But he could not hear anything, and there was only a buzzing sound in his ears.
Cen Luye stared at him, a feeling of despair gradually spreading throughout his body.
I've come all the way here, and I'm going to die?
He looked up, and all he could see was the falling snow.
The scorching flames rushed towards him.
The overwhelming snow covered my eyes, melting into a layer of water and sliding down from the corners of my eyes.
In an instant, a strong airflow swept out from in front of him, and then Cen Luye felt a stream of hot liquid splashed on his skin.
He suddenly lowered his head, his face still dazed as he stared at the scene in front of him.
The man holding the torch didn't seem to react either. His movements remained unchanged, but his eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. Then, Cen Luye watched as he was split in two, the blood spurting from his chest splattering all over him.
The man fell stiffly to the ground. This time, Cen Luye saw clearly that there was a man standing behind him, holding a long knife and with a fierce look in his eyes.
It’s the Shaoqing of Dali Temple.
She stood there in the wind and snow, her long hair dancing in the air, her body as strong as the toughest pine tree, standing firm.
Then the knife of the Dali Temple Shaoqing came towards him.
Lou Wanqiao cut the ropes binding Cen Luye. He landed on his feet, his thighs weakening as he fell forward. Quick-witted and quick-handed, Lou Wanqiao caught him firmly with one hand, while with the other, he swung his long sword to clear the obstacle.
A white figure flashed past her side, almost blending into the wind and snow, and people fell down wherever it passed.
Cen Luye looked at the face of the man in front of him, and he couldn't describe the emotion in his heart.
Lou Wanqiao raised her eyes and looked him in the eye: "Can you still walk?"
He was stunned and nodded.
"Well, be careful and follow me." She bent down, picked up the torch stick buried in the snow on the ground, and put it in his hand, whispering, "Don't get lost alone."
Cen Luye nodded again: "Okay."
Lou Wanqiao no longer paid attention to him and focused on chopping people to clear the way.
She and Wen Xuechi worked in perfect harmony, and even when the other side had more people, they did not lose the upper hand. The long knife in her hand was as sharp as cutting grass.
Before long, the snow was dyed a large area of red.
Cen Luye was unable to use any strength, and his clothes and weapons were nowhere to be found. He could only hide for the time being to protect himself, and followed Lou Wanqiao closely.
After the sounds of swords clashing and sharp weapons breaking through flesh and blood, the surroundings returned to silence, with only the whistling wind remaining between heaven and earth.
The fire had been put out a lot, and with no one adding fuel to the fire, its momentum was now fading.
The Embroidered Spring Knife was covered in sticky blood, which dripped down along the tip of the knife, merged into a stream on the snow, and was quickly covered by the white new snow.
Lou Wanqiao left the spot, leaving a few red footprints on the ground with his boots. He found a slightly cleaner place not far away, squatted down, and slowly wiped the blade on the snow, wiping it bit by bit.
Wen Xuechi landed beside her, lowered his head to see what people were doing, then looked around to see if there was any hidden danger.
Cen Luye supported himself with a wooden stick and limped slowly to their side.
Lou Wanqiao glanced at him, pointed at the tree trunk, and threw the cloak he had just taken off to the ground, and reminded him, "After you put it on, you'd better stand by the fire for a while. You saved him with great difficulty, don't freeze yourself to death."
Cen Luye stood still for a moment. He was silent for a moment. His voice was not loud, but it cut through the wind and fell neatly into the ears of the two men: "I will never forget your life-saving grace."
Lou Wanqiao waved his hand nonchalantly: "Then repay me with gratitude. Come with us tonight."
He put on his robe to cover his scarred skin and said in a deep voice, "Okay."
…
In the dilapidated temple, three people sat together.
There was no absolutely safe place to stay at the moment, but it was safer to stay here. She had dealt with the guards here, so she wouldn't be discovered until tomorrow morning.
Should be able to collect information well.
Lou Wanqiao lit a small fire to keep warm, barricaded the door, and sealed the tunnel for now. He then stripped the clothes off the two men he had dealt with earlier and handed them to Cen Luye.
"Tell me, why are you here?"
Cen Luye lowered his head, the flickering light of the fire reflected on his profile, his eyes filled with regret: "I was careless for a moment and didn't calculate well..."
"What haven't you calculated?" Lou Wanqiao asked.
He paused. "I came here to investigate the truth, but was bewitched by the thieves and fell into their trap. They wanted to sacrifice human flesh to the gods they believed in..."
"So they arrested you? We just happened to stumble upon a sacrifice?"
"yes."
Lou Wanqiao scratched his head. "Aren't you Prince Duan's man? Have you found out anything else?"
Cen Luye glanced at her, then turned his gaze to Wen Xuechi, and this time he was silent for a long time.
The wind and snow outside hit the door, making a muffled sound.
Lou Wanqiao seemed to sense something. He raised his head and glanced at Wen Xuechi beside him inadvertently without saying a word.
"What's wrong?" Wen Xuechi seemed completely oblivious, his eyes still smiling. "Why are you all so strange? Is there something I don't know?"
Cen Luye said, "Prince Duan has already sent people to investigate. More than ten years ago, a prince was sent to another country as a hostage, and there has been no news since then."
"You mean..." Lou Wanqiao seemed to be lost in thought, "He was also involved?"
"It's not impossible." Cen Luye didn't hide anything and simply told her, "I investigated the secret correspondence between officials here and other countries, and I'm afraid it was written by this prince."
So...
Lou Wanqiao stroked his chin and lowered his head in thought, the files racing through his mind.
There was no reason for Cen Luye to lie to her about this, so it was very likely true. The hostage who was sent abroad...if she remembered correctly, her name was Li Mengtai.
Lou Wanqiao was speechless for a moment. If that was the case, this matter had already reached the national level.
"Does Li Lie know about this?"
"I was captured before I could pass on the news. Now only the three of us know about it."
"I understand. This news must be passed back to the capital. We must find a way to leave the city tomorrow."
"Lou...Brother Liu," Cen Luye pursed his lips, as if he was very hesitant. He met Lou Wanqiao's inquiring eyes, gritted his teeth, and then made up his mind, "I can help you."
"Oh?" Lou Wanqiao raised his eyebrows. "Help me? What do you want to help me with, and how do you want to help me?"
"Although I don't know what you want to do specifically, if you need anything, you can tell me. As long as I can help, I will..."
"Thank you very much, brother."
Cen Luye looked up suddenly and saw the half-smile on Lou Wanqiao's face. He glanced at Wen Xuechi hesitantly, and perhaps understood what she meant, so he said nothing more.
"Okay, let's rest first. We're exhausted after tossing and turning all night." Lou Wanqiao found a corner, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes. "It's important to conserve energy. Let's get through tonight first. Don't get hungry or cold."
She knew in her heart that this was not a good time to discuss other things, and the most important thing was to get out of this damn place alive.
Wen Xuechi slowly moved to her side, hugged his sword and closed his eyes to rest.
They all had a strong smell of blood on their bodies, but it was not so pungent after smelling it for a long time.
Snowflakes fell in a flurry, covering everything on the ground and extinguishing the burning fire. The dark red ground was covered with fresh snow, and the bodies lying scattered around soon disappeared.
Another night passed.
Lou Wanqiao woke up before dawn. She listened to the whistling wind outside and slowly stood up.
Almost at the same time, Wen Xuechi beside him opened his eyes and reached out to help: "How do you feel?"
"Don't worry, I'm not hurt."
She turned to look at Cen Luye again. He was awake at this time. It would be better to say that the three of them were not asleep at all. They were just taking advantage of this short period of time to replenish their energy and physical strength.
He coughed lightly a few times, then quickly clenched his fist to cover his lips and calmed his breathing.
Seeing Lou Wanqiao staring at him, Cen Luye waved his hand and said, "I'm fine too."
"That's good. We should go now. If we're any later, we'll be easily discovered."
"Where is this place?" Wen Xuechi asked.
"Burn it. Put on those two men's coats, and we'll prepare to leave the city. If I'm not mistaken, there aren't that many bodies in the city, so even more people... should have been taken care of in the mountains."
“…”
During the day, two men in official uniforms detained a young man and walked slowly towards the city gate.
"stop!"
The guard at the city gate stopped the three of them with a stern look on his face: "What are you doing here?"
Cen Luye lowered his head slightly, looking respectful: "My Lord has ordered that he be sent to the mountain."
Before setting off, Wen Xuechi and Cen Luye simply disguised themselves.
The man's eyes moved back and forth on his face, then looked at Lou Wanqiao again.
Well, it seems that a foreigner was indeed captured yesterday.
"Is that what the Lord said?" He was still a little skeptical. "Then what about the sacrifice?"
"Your Excellency's intentions are not something we can guess. It's too dangerous to keep this person here. Your Excellency has ordered that he cannot be kept here." Wen Xuechi said in a cold tone, reaching out and pushing Lou Wanqiao on the back, "What are you still standing there for? Go!"
Lou Wanqiao lowered his head, his hands tied behind his back, and staggered forward.
Seeing this, the gatekeeper said nothing more and made way.
Just as this was happening, the sound of galloping horses came from behind.
“Stop them!!”
Cen Luye paused and turned his head.
The man had an angry face, a heavy sword in his hand, and was riding a horse at full speed.
"grown ups!"
The soldiers guarding the gate bowed and revealed the man's identity. Lou Wanqiao pulled the loose rope and threw a dart without hesitation, but the man blocked it with his sword.
Seeing that their plan had been discovered, the three reacted quickly and rushed towards the gate.
But there were quite a few people defending the city. They stood there, their silver armor reflecting the white light on the snow, like a thick wall.
Lou Wanqiao turned around and saw that the man was very close to them. He swept the heavy knife in his hand straight towards her, and the blade brought a strong wind straight to her face.
She dodged to the side, and when her eyes were dazzled by something, the muscle memory accumulated from long-term training made her subconsciously fall backwards. A long arrow almost brushed past her upper body and went straight into the city wall.
I don't know where the hidden arrow came from, it seems that these people are determined to get rid of them here. Lou Wanqiao's eyes darkened, and he didn't dare to take it lightly.
Cen Luye's fight was also exhausting. He had been seriously injured yesterday, and now he hadn't received proper treatment, only a hasty bandage. His wound had long since opened, and he struggled to defend himself with the inferior sword he had picked up yesterday, but he was constantly retreating.
No, this can't go on.
Lou Wanqiao looked up at the sky and thought about a strategy.
What should I do? There are too many people.
If they fought hard, she and Wen Xuechi might be able to escape, but Cen Luye would be left here.
She suddenly heard a buzzing sound, caught a glimpse of darkness out of the corner of her eye, and immediately dodged to the side.
The two people who were originally standing in front of him and attacking him were crushed by the huge rock that fell from the sky and died.
Lou Wanqiao leaped back several steps and looked up, seeing a man standing on top of the city wall.
The blue and white dress looked even greener in the bright sunlight, like fine porcelain. Her red lips were stretched, a smile plastered across her face.
She was laughing, silently but very happily, pushing the stone down again and again.
One after another, people were crushed by the stones rolling down from the city wall. It seemed that she was aiming at those people intentionally, but Lou Wanqiao and the other two were able to easily avoid them.
The "master" also noticed it. He raised his long sword and roared, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and do it!"
Another arrow shot out from the darkness and pierced her chest.
The bright red blood stained the white cloth.
Lian Yuxiang stood there, stunned for what seemed like an eternity, her hand still pushing the stone. Her lips moved, but no one could hear what she said.
Then her body fell straight back.
Her blue dress blended into the ice and snow, and she fell to the ground silently like a snowflake.
Lou Wanqiao saw Lian Yuxiang's lip movements clearly.
She squatted on a big rock, and seemed a little dazed.
What Lian Yuxiang had just said was clearly: You thief, go to hell.
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