15 I Have Three Podaos (1/2)
Chapter 15: I Have Three Podaos
Translator: TransnEditor: Transn
Just one word: umbrella.
There wasn't a verb before it.
Also, Ning Que didn't call out the name of Sangsang.
Ning Que and his handmaid had been living together since childhood. After spending several difficult years in the mountains and forest and on the grassland, the two of them could easily understand each other and exhibited great teamwork. Just eye contact, a gesture, or a word was enough to clearly convey what one wanted to do.
The moment the word ”umbrella” was uttered, Sangsang, like a squirrel, quickly ran beside the maidservant and shook the umbrella hard, with two hands holding the handle. Then the black umbrella, dramatically huge compared to her thin body, was opened with a ”Hu” sound, as if a dark sky-curtain had suddenly appeared over the thick forest of the Northern Mountain Road at night, blocking the light of the stars.
Two kerosene grenades fell on the ground and ignited rapidly. The blazing fire rolled the fallen leaves up which further aided the combustion. All at once, the area was surrounded by the unstoppable raging flames.
The live bodyguards and grassland barbarians around the carriage team looked at the fierce fire and thought of the noble that was hiding there. They were seized by trembling from head to foot. Unable to help the noble due to their serious injuries, they, desperately screaming, had no choice but to helplessly watch as the incandescent fire was engulfing everything inside it.
However, they didn't notice that the big black umbrella still remained intact. The incandescent and ferocious fire grotesquely became weak when it touched the oily and sticky curtain of the black umbrella. What on earth was the umbrella's cover made of? Miraculously, not only could it block stars like a black sky-curtain, but also ward off the fierce fire!
Below the big black umbrella, Sangsang, who was thin and nervous, lowered her head as she closed her eyes and lips. Her two hands tightly held the handle of the umbrella, which withstood the horrible fire close at hand. Her left hand held the handle head tightly, but then became temporarily relaxed again. It seemed that she was very tense or was struggling with something in her heart.
The maidservant, with her slightly curly hair swinging between her delicate eyes, was also sheltered by the black umbrella. She became extremely nervous with the intensely high temperature and the sight of the blaze sprawling across the black umbrella. Then, a sense of confusion and shock appeared in her eyes the moment she noticed, through the side of the black umbrella, that the fighting was about to unfold.
The assassins in black had hidden and prepared in the forest for a long time. They finally figured out where their target was after silently watching and analyzing the countermeasures of the princess' guards. Then, with the Great Sword Master and the giant cultivator managing to distract Lyu Qingchen, they gradually moved towards the target area and suddenly launched an attack.
Countless sawdust from the trees fell to the ground. The two assassinators in black made a relentless and accurate raid with perfect timing. After throwing two kerosene grenades, they quickly attacked Ning Que from a short distance. In this way, it was impossible for Ning Que to make use of his excellent archery.
They were not mighty cultivators, but they were much more professional being assassins than the cultivators.
On this night with the stars filling the sky, there were few changes or signs of panic appearing on Ning Que's face as the two assassins suddenly appeared. He just threw away his bow and arrows like shabby shoes, and then jumped with force just when the two kerosene grenades touched the fallen leaves.
The muscle in his waist, abdomen, and legs tightened and relaxed suddenly. Without any run-up or preparation, his legs, as if equipped with a spring, leaped from a still condition.
At the very same time, the kerosene grenades began burning and his shadow was just over the fire. It looked like that he, stepping on the incandescent fire, was drifting through the flames.
Ning Que forcibly flew through the violent blaze, with his hollow fists swinging naturally from the side of his face to behind his body. His legs inclined backward and his body slanted forward in a very natural and coordinated movement, like a bird attractively gliding. Meanwhile, his hollow fists were close to reaching the two hilts that were resting askew on his back.
As he leaped through the fire and into the air, Ning Que kept his attention on the two assassins in black. Only calmness, concentration, and peace could be seen from his expression, without any distracting thoughts.
The black maidservant, looking through the tiny gap of the black umbrella at Ning Que's figure jumping out of the flame and the calmness on his face, somehow, felt extremely cold from head to foot.
At this moment, it reminded her of what she witnessed as she followed Chanyu to hunt on the grassland half a year ago.
In that situation, a young and fierce tiger leaped through the shrubs and pounced on her, with its forepaw slightly holding her and its hind legs gently and deftly contracting. However, only extreme calmness and concentration appeared in its eyes, without any cruel and bloody expression. For one fleeting moment, a quality of calmness, even grace, was attached to the beast. For her, unfortunately, the expression in its eyes was the most formidable one she had ever seen, and sometimes she was even woken up by the calm and peaceful staring of that tiger in her midnight dreams.
Calmness without any emotion represented mightiness and confidence, and concentration signified volition and determination. As tigers went for prey, they attacked in a focused and sober, but not grim, way. It was just their talent and instinct for survival to tear all enemies into pieces, not that they want to release its anger, they just had to be clear about their gift or aptitude.
That memory and thought appeared in her mind when the maidservant saw Ning Que's face reflected from the blaze.
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