escape
As dusk approaches, the setting sun approaches the distant horizon and finally disappears into the woods from sight. The orange-yellow sunlight shines on the leaves, adding a touch of softness to the dark green branches and leaves, but contrasting with the gloomy darkness, adding a hint of danger.
"Let's camp here today." Yu Tongan stopped the advancing convoy from the carriage.
There were quite a few people in the team going to the capital this time. After hearing Yu Tongan's words, they all dispersed, each doing their own job, skillfully parking the carriages and horses nearby, and began to set up camp at a location on the spot.
The carriage was pulled away and stopped in an open area with no shelter around it, some distance away from the burning fire.
"Brother, are we going to stay here today?"
Yu Tongxin's eyes were rolling around, and she finally showed some excitement since she set out.
"Yes, you haven't tried it yet, so you might as well treat it as an experience." Yu Tongan had a faint smile on his face, but his eyes did not show any smile at all.
If possible, he would not want to camp in such a remote place.
He didn't know if it was influenced by Yu Tongxin, but he always felt a little uneasy.
However, the two cities are far apart, and the environment of the place in the middle is almost the same as where I camp. I have to run at full speed, so it is better to take it slowly.
"Don't go too far." Yu Tongan carefully instructed Yu Tongxin. She was walking nearby with Cuizhu, watching others busying themselves with curiosity.
The last time Yu Tongxin talked to him, he felt overwhelmed by Yu Tongxin's intelligence and didn't know how to comfort Yu Tongxin.
"Okay." Yu Tongxin responded obediently.
Yu Tongan sighed inwardly.
After nightfall, they had a simple dinner, arranged their sleeping places and night watch rostrum, and then Yu Tongan took Yu Tongxin back to the carriage. He sat by the carriage door while Yu Tongxin slept in the carriage, intending to spend the night like this.
The night seemed to stretch out long at this time. The servants on night watch patrolled the surroundings from time to time. The sound of footsteps on the grass and people's whispered conversations were amplified.
It seems a bit noisy in a quiet environment.
Yu Tongan couldn't sleep, so he closed his eyes to calm down, but his thoughts were a little confused.
Many things flashed through my mind, but I always felt like I had missed something. I felt heavy inside and couldn't relax.
Just as Yu Tongan was falling asleep, the crackling sound of burning firewood woke him up.
Yu Tongan took a deep breath to calm his restless heartbeat. Feeling a little tired, he wanted to close his eyes and continue trying to fall asleep, but suddenly he found that the surroundings were eerily quiet.
The sounds of conversation weren't very normal, so what about the sounds of the patrolmen walking around?
Yu Tongan felt his eyelids heavy, and anxiety forced him to look up. The surroundings were peaceful. The others had already fallen into a deep sleep, and the patrol was nowhere to be seen.
Yu Tongan's mind was a little confused and he felt dissatisfied. Why did he leave his post without permission?
There was a noise in the jungle, and a figure gradually emerged from the woods.
Is the person on duty back?
Yu Tongan was about to ask him where he had been and whether he had noticed anything wrong, but he discovered that the number of people was not right.
In an instant, Yu Tongan woke up completely, but his body was still very soft and tired, and it was difficult for him to move.
Moreover, his group of people are people who travel for business all year round, and many of them are warriors. How come no one has discovered them until now?
The person wearing a black veil was casually turning over the people leaning against the tree, as if looking for something, but those people were still sleeping.
Was this drugged? When?
The knife light reflected by the flames stung Yu Tongan's eyes, and Yu Tongan reacted slowly. There was no time to think about the reason.
Run away, run away now!
The masked man was obviously coming for him and Yu Tongxin.
But how can I take Yu Tongxin away?
Yu Tongan felt the smoothness of the wooden front railing of the carriage with his palm, and secretly calmed himself down and tried to be more alert.
While the masked man had not yet reached them, Yu Tongan supported his body and, with the help of the horse's cover, successfully landed on the ground.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Yu Tongan staggered a little, but he still moved over with weak legs and pulled the reins.
But at this moment, a masked man noticed the unusual movement here and looked at Yu Tongan.
"Here, he's trying to escape!" the masked man shouted loudly, his voice echoing in the woods, attracting the attention of everyone else.
But even so, no one in the Yu family woke up.
Yu Tongan didn't dare to stop, and didn't even look to see if the masked man was rushing towards him. He took two steps at a time and returned to the front fence of the carriage.
"drive!"
Yu Tongan immediately pulled the reins and started the carriage, without taking the time to figure out where the road led.
However, the carriage was still a little slow at the beginning, so one person jumped directly onto the front railing of the carriage.
The man hadn't even stood firm yet and was about to chop Yu Tongan with a knife.
Yu Tongan gritted his teeth, not daring to let go of the reins. He kicked the masked man, causing him to fall back to the muddy ground.
However, he failed to stop the sword from swinging, and the blade eventually cut through his clothes, leaving blood deeply embedded in Yu Tongan's right leg.
The pain made Yu Tongan break out in cold sweats, and also made his mind, which was a little dizzy due to the medicine, clearer.
Yu Tongan resisted the urge to curl up in pain and continued to steer the carriage. He could even feel that the other party wanted to lie down on the carriage.
But ultimately failed.
The masked men naturally would not watch Yu Tongan leave. They had a death order. If Yu Tongan and Yu Tongxin didn't die, they would be the ones to die.
Some of the men had returned to the woods and were on horseback chasing the carriage.
…
This was the scene when Mingyu found Yu Tongan’s camp.
The people of the Yu family were sleeping together in groups of three or four. The fire was about to go out but no one added firewood.
Mingyu held the reins tightly in his hands, unable to believe the scene before him for a moment.
What about Yu Tongan? Was he killed? Were they too late?
Mingyu and his companions arrived according to the route provided by Wu Pi, and traveled day and night, so why were they still a step late?
Mingyu looked around but could not find Yu Tongan, and the carriage was also missing.
Did Yu Tongan find out? Then where did he take Yu Tongxin?
There should be clues on the ground for them.
Mingyu dismounted and wanted to carefully check the wheel tracks to see where Yu Tongan had gone.
The traces were complicated and confusing, proving that someone had attacked here.
Mingyu's lips were pursed as he followed the attacker's steps, past the fire, and towards where the carriage was parked.
“Pah.”
The remaining firewood was burning, making slight sounds, emitting wisps of smoke and bringing with it a strange fragrance.
Is there someone who has rebelled?
"They went into the woods in the east, let's chase them quickly." Mingyu said in a deep voice.
Mingyu jumped onto his horse, unwilling to waste even a minute here.
The carriage could not enter the dense woods, so Yu Tongan could only run along the path in the forest.
Is she in a hurry this time?
Mingyu suppressed his bad thoughts and ran through the woods with his team.
…
The night spreads and the shadows of the trees sway.
The carriage wheels ran over an inconspicuous little stone, forcing the carriage to hang in the air for a second, nearly causing it to overturn.
The shaking of the carriage pulled at the wound, but Yu Tongan could no longer feel the pain in his leg. His eyes were filled with the current danger.
Yu Tongan looked at the road ahead. There was no light around, and he couldn't even find a place to call for help.
Under the moonlight, the only thing that could be seen clearly was the ruggedness of the road, indicating that he had left the official road and was running on an unknown path.
The sound of galloping horses behind him was getting closer and closer, and it wouldn't be long before he was caught up.
After all, a carriage can never outrun a single horse.
What's worse is that the medicine was taking effect on his body, and coupled with the blood loss, Yu Tongan gradually fell into a coma.
During the escape, Yu Tongan felt that every second was stretched out.
The horse jumped out from the left side of the carriage, and despair engulfed Yu Tongan.
One after another, masked men passed the carriage from behind and surrounded it as it moved forward.
The two men were level with the horse ridden by Yu Tongan and suddenly chopped at the horse's legs.
The horse felt pain and kicked its hind legs, straightening its body and causing the carriage behind it to fall backwards.
Yu Tongan grabbed the reins and slammed the horse's back against the door of the carriage.
Before he could react, the horse with its legs broken fell heavily to the ground.
The carriage turned upside down, and Yu Tongxin rolled back and forth inside the carriage, while Yu Tongan, who was exposed outside, fell directly to the ground.
Yu Tongan instinctively supported himself on the ground with his hands, but failed to prevent himself from falling. His hands were covered in blood from rubbing against the ground.
This hard fall made Yu Tongan feel more energetic.
Yu Tongan smiled bitterly. If this was the end of his life, it would be better to let him faint completely. At least he would suffer less.
The masked man got off his horse and walked towards Yu Tongan step by step.
"Why bother? You're making us waste all this energy." The masked man said with a hint of arrogance. "Don't blame me. It's the master who wants you dead."
Master? Yu Tongan immediately thought of Prince An. This trip was also a sudden request from the Wuzhu Hall. Not many people knew about it, so the biggest suspect was Prince An.
As the masked man gradually approached, Yu Tongan slowly calmed down, perhaps due to the effect of the drug.
He thought of Yu Tongxin in the car, wondering how she was doing. He also thought of his mother at home, and he wanted to make her cry...
Yu Tongan paused, remembering the silver sword tassel in his arms that he had not been able to give away.
It suited Mingyu's sword very well, a soft silver color that gleamed in the moonlight.
Yu Tongan tried to prop himself up, but the wound on his leg began to bleed again due to the fall, and his arm was shaking with pain due to the broken bone. In the end, he failed.
Yu Tongan suddenly felt very sad. He really wanted to see Mingyu again. They hadn't seen each other for a long time.
He hadn't replied to Mingyu yet, and he hadn't told her that if she wanted, she could have a home with him in Huanzhou.
"What about the other person? Don't let that little one go either."
"In the carriage, right? Otherwise, there would be no need for him to drag such a large carriage." The masked man in front of Yu Tongan pointed at the carriage with a knife.
"This is none of her business. She is still a child and she won't remember what happened today." The possibility was slim, but Yu Tongan tried to get them to let Yu Tongxin go.
"I'm sorry, but the order is that both of you must die." The masked man raised his knife, the blade reflecting the moonlight. "You two, brother and sister, will be together in the underworld."
Yu Tongan closed his eyes in despair.
"Ah—" The scream blocked out the sound of the sword piercing flesh and bone.
Yu Tongan suddenly opened his eyes, and a broken arm holding a sword fell to the ground, while the sword deeply embedded in the ground gleamed in the moonlight.
The silver hilt of the sword was as soft as it was when it was held in the hand of the beloved.
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