34 A Reunion (2/2)

Only the man standing opposite of her maintained a smile on his face, his hands steadily holding onto his weapon. His bowstring was pulled taut, generating low creaks that sounded like meaningful sighs.

He shifted his fingers backward, inch by inch, and his arrow was only a second away from being launched.

Xiu–––

The arrow pierced through the sky, creating a sound that evoked despair. It flew toward Meng Fuyao, bright and as fast as electricity and undetectable by the naked eye.

Bang!

At the same time, the first palace gate burst open and shouts filled the area like a surging wave. The leading military officer had on a set of black armor and yellow headscarf, his brows so long that they almost touch. It was Fang Minghe.

Pleasantly surprised, Qi Xunyi called out loudly, ”You're here, Minghe!”

Fang Minghe broke into an energetic laughter. ”Congratulations, Your Highness!”

Shocked by his words and unable to respond in time, Fang Minghe added while smoothing out his sleeves, ”We've killed everyone on the way here. How satisfying.”

The last three palace gates were about 500 meters apart, but the smell of fresh blood on the soldiers' armors was overpowering. The aura that surrounded them was brutal and deadly.

One could only imagine the number of heads that had rolled to the ground, the number of lives that had been lost amid the flames, all because Fang Minghe had gotten the wrong signal and assumed that Qi Xunyi had succeeded.

Fang Minghe was basking in his own glory, thinking about the beautiful future that awaited him and failing to notice the change in Qi Xunyi's face. On the other hand, Yuan Zhaoxu simply shook his head, smiling.

His eyes weren't on the soldiers but instead fixed onto the target of his arrow.

The arrow whizzed forward, but as it was about to reach Meng Fuyao, it turned to the side and landed on her horse with a strange clap.

The horse neighed wildly in response before charging forward in an uncontrolled manner.

Meng Fuyao moved along with the horse, gripping onto the reins as tightly as possible. The speed was so intense that she felt as though the bones in her body were about to get dislocated. She bit down on her lips, struggling to wrap the reins around her wrists. With much effort, she turned her head to look at Yuan Zhaoxu.

As she turned around, her scattered black hair covered half of her face. Through the wisps of hair was the complicated and indescribable expression in her eyes.

Her gaze was like a bridge passing through the chaotic crowd and arriving straight at its destination.

Before her was a surging wave of armored soldiers, and behind her were Qi Xunyi's imperial guards. In between, Yuan Zhaoxu stood, smiling as usual in his fluttering robes. He lifted his eyes, which landed onto Meng Fuyao's deep gaze. His lips moved.

A calm and collected voice drifted into her ears. She was convinced that even a collapsing mountain wouldn't be able to shake him up.

”Careful.”

His voice sent shivers down her spine. The arrow that had fallen to the ground sprung up once more and struck the horse's back this time. The horse let out another furious neigh, and then Meng Fuyao found herself whizzing through the wind once more.

Meng Fuyao felt as though her body was being dragged along by huge waves as she undulated involuntarily. She had passed the second gate and caught sight of the half-opened palace door. She was dismayed to spot thousands of fully-armored security guards and Pei Yuan, who was holding her sword and guarding the door. How was she going to get out?

She turned around again to look at Yuan Zhaoxu, not realizing that there was a hint of helplessness in her eyes.

Yuan Zhaoxu fixed his eyes on her. As it was so rare for her to reveal such fragility even in times of danger, his smile widened, carrying a hint of gentleness within it.

'It's not death she's afraid of...'

The horse charged forward, and Qi Xunyi waved for his guards to catch up. Yuan Zhaoxu spoke, ”It seems that the crown prince hasn't passed through the door. You have to tighten your search. Send these guards away.”

Upon seeing Qi Xunyi's pale face and hesitant reaction, Yuan Zhaoxu added, ”It's better if you lead your people in the search. I'll settle the situation over here, so you don't have to worry.”

Qi Xunyi looked him in the eye, sensing his unreliability. Nevertheless, he knew that Fang Minghe had his own troops to lead and both the Yan and Pei families had doors to guard. With no one else to employ, he decided that it was indeed more efficient to dispatch his guards instead of having them idle around without obtaining any result. As such, he consented to Yuan Zhaoxu's advice and started on his search. He urgently sent a signal to Fang Minghe, requesting for a batch of men to block all paths leading to the imperial guards' camp.

”I'll leave it to you then, Sir. Please don't let these two suspicious characters go.”

”Don't you worry,” reassured Yuan Zhaoxu.

At that, Qi Xunyi took his leave. Yuan ZHaoxu looked up at the city gate tower and smiled before waving for the guards to ”make chase”.

In front, Yun Hen stationed himself behind the horse, springing out at times to block off incoming arrows. Catching a glimpse of the densely arranged troops through the half-opened door; however, left him sighing in despair.

The crown prince hadn't exited through that door, which meant that he had caused her trouble. Since that was the case, he was obligated to protect her even if it was at the expense of his own life.

On the opposite stood Pei Yuan, who had been observing the two approaching individuals. From afar, they appeared like two insignificant and meager dots. She, on the other hand, had a capable pool of guards behind her. She could easily crush the pair with a wave of her hand. With a smirk on her face, she did exactly that.