70 Defrost II (2/2)

”But I want it, and that's enough!”

Meng Fuyao stared at this rash bull and felt that it would be unwise to trade insults with him. The army was nearing and pestering endlessly.

Yuan Zhaoxu, who was behind her, unenthusiastically interrupted, ”Finished bickering? Catch up with me when you are done.”

He grabbed onto Xiao Dao, who had been staring at him strangely the whole time. He then reached his other hand out to pull Meng Fuyao over. ”Follow me. Don't leave my side no matter what.”

Tie Cheng snarled, ”I am not going to...”

”You're excluded,” Yuan Zhaoxu responded simply without looking back.

The Rong man leading the mission was an assistant general from the army. Someone had secretly entered the camp at midnight and had dared to release flaming arrows from high grounds. The arrows had narrowly burnt the general's tent, and the Rong people deemed it inauspicious to have their tents destroyed before a battle. Therefore, the general had appointed him to hunt the perpetrator down and bring him back to camp to be slaughtered.

This assistant general was considered to be a cautious person. He had clearly noticed that the perpetrator was petite and had a weak martial art background and had managed to escape because of his familiarity with the terrain. Nevertheless, he released thousands of troops and horses to scour the whole area, eventually reaching Haoyang Mountain.

Having seen Xiao Dao falling off the cliff and being rescued, the Rong soldiers passed on the news, and all the torches gathered close in tight layers on the mountaintop.

The assistant general went up to the mountain with guards protecting him all around. He wasn't afraid of Xiao Dao, but the man who had saved her as he wasn't an easy opponent. As for Meng Fuyao and Yuan Zhaoxu, he wasn't even aware of their presence.

Small white lights flashed past as he approached the cliff. The assistant general looked down and vaguely saw an animal that resembled a plump, white rabbit or mouse scuttling past. Not minding it much, he continued sealing the path by advancing forward.

Little did he know that ball of plump, white creature had gone down the mountain, found his horse and hopped onto it. With its claws grabbing onto the horse's mane the creature repeatedly tugged vertically at it.

The horse hadn't been trained in the Shangyang palace and thus did not respond to Lord Yuanbao's order. Lord Yuan Bao became worried. His owner had ordered for his bodyguard not to follow him that night, and Yuan Bao was left to shoulder the heavy responsibility of passing on messages. Yet, this wretched dog of a horse did not understand his prompts.

Frustrated, Lord Yuan Bao jumped and viciously bit the neck of the horse. Pain sunk in and the horse released a long neigh and started galloping forward. Just as Lord Yuan Bao loosened his jaw, he nearly flew forward, but speedily grabbed hold of the horse's mane and continued on his shaky journey.

As a result, the hardworking villagers who woke up early got to witness the strange scene of a horse galloping through the wilderness with no rider on it, save for a fluffy white ball that fluttered greatly along with its mane.

Lord Yuan Bao went on his way, doing what he was supposed to. Unbeknownst to the assistant general, this guinea pig was extremely useful. He scanned about his surrounding, guessing the direction in which the perpetrator was hiding.

The soldiers hid in the grass and waited to spot his whereabouts, but to no avail. The assistant general turned his focus to the shallow cave, which aroused his suspicion.

'They had a chance to escape so why didn't they? Isn't hiding in this cave, and lighting a match and producing smoke no different from seeking their own death?'

There was not a sound made in the cave. The extinguished embers of the firewood released deep-red sparks at times, but they weren't as bright as the eyes of those in the cave.

Not allowing any more explanation from Meng Fuyao, Yuan Zhaoxu took her in his arms. His faint scent, along with the fresh vapor, entered her nostrils in a second. It was a smell that made one feel comfortable. Meng Fuyao shifted her body slightly, which led Yuan Zhaoxu to tighten his embrace.

While inhaling his scent, Meng Fuyao secretly wrote on Yuan Zhaoxu's palm, 'Why don't we leave?' With Yuan Zhaoxu's strength, he should be able to escape easily. However, he had two burdens to carry.

Yuan Zhaoxu quietly replied by writing back, 'Since they have come, let's kill them all together to save time later on.'

Meng Fuyao smirked. 'What a bold statement. One versus 3,000?'

Cheek to cheek, they stuck close, and Meng Fuyao could feel Yuan Zhaoxu smiling. Amid the darkness, his eyes sparkled. At an even slower speed, he wrote, 'I alone can kill 3,000 people. You alone can kill me. You're more powerful.'

Meng Fuyao felt the urge to laugh as Yuan Zhaoxu was writing so gently that it felt more like she was being tickled. Sensitive to it, she bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing out loud. Her lip was turning redder each moment.

All of a sudden, she heard a groan from above her head. It was Tie Cheng, who had seen their interaction. He glared at them, full of resentment, and started carving on the wall. 'The enemy is before us, and you two are flirting!?'

Meng Fuyao choked again, somewhat uncomfortable with the word 'flirt.' Yet, she wasn't going to lose to Tie Cheng. Immediately she gestured in midair with her fingers. 'It's none of your business!'

Tie Cheng was infuriated and had almost wanted to leap down when Yuan Zhaoxu suddenly waved his sleeves.

A purple flash struck abruptly, and the air was thinning and cooling down. Tie Cheng only felt his knees freezing up like ice cubes as he rigidly stood rooted to his spot. Terrified, he glared at Yuan Zhaoxu.

Yuan Zhaoxu turned to the wall, a look of satisfaction flashing across his eyes. He reached his hand out to correct Tie Cheng's carving.

'On the 8th of December, the scattered clouds were condensing as it was about to rain. Zhaoxu and his lady were flirting here.'