The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 702: Lure the snake out of its hole (Part 2)

Jia Huan tried to pull Ayina up, but he couldn't get a grip. He could only grab her wrist and struggle to support her. Fortunately, Ayina was relatively petite and had slender hands, otherwise Jia Huan might not have been able to hold on.

"Pull me up quickly!" Ayina was dangling in mid-air, with a dark abyss below, and was naturally terrified. She couldn't help but urge Jia Huan in a panic.

"I can't pull it!" Jia Huan practically spat out those four words through gritted teeth.

"You call yourself a grown man? You're truly a useless scholar!" Ayina scolded anxiously, but regretted it immediately afterward, worried that if Jia Huan got angry and let go, she would be lost forever.

Fortunately, Jia Huan did not let go, which eased Ayina's anxiety. She softened her tone and said, "Don't move, try to stay still, I'll climb up myself."

As Ayina spoke, she tried to climb up the rock by using her hands and feet, but the rock had been smoothed by millions of years of melting snow and ice, making it impossible to get a grip. Her struggle not only failed to get her up, but also caused Jia Huan to shift several centimeters, startling Jia Huan into shouting, "Don't move! I'm going to fall! It's too slippery up there!"

Ayina was so frightened that she froze and stopped moving. At that moment, two heads appeared from the hole above, namely Dong Dao and Shan Ba.

"Third Master (Ayina)!" the two shouted anxiously, the echo in the cave making Jia Huan and Ayina below feel a buzzing in their ears.

"I'm here, Shaanba, quickly throw down a rope!" Ayina cried anxiously.

Dong Dao and Shan Ba ​​stared intently, and when they saw what lay below, they were both terrified. At this moment, Jia Huan and Ayina were still eight or nine meters away from the cave entrance above, and the cave walls were smooth. Even with Dong Dao's skills, he dared not climb down rashly.

"Hold on, Third Master! I'll come down and rescue you right away!" Dong Dao shouted down into the cave.

At this moment, Jia Huan was still struggling to hold on and had no strength to answer. Dong Dao looked around and found that most of the enemies around him had been killed. A flash of inspiration struck him. He stripped the clothes off a corpse and tied them together one by one. Shan Ba ​​also reacted and quickly stripped more clothes off other corpses.

At this moment, Jia Huan, who was below in the cave, could barely hold on any longer. His arm scraped against the edge of the rock, drawing blood that dripped through his fingers onto Ayina below.

Ayina felt a warm sensation on her forehead. When she touched it, her hand was immediately covered in blood. Startled, she looked up and saw a drop of blood squinting into her left eye. She instinctively wiped it away.

"Don't move, you little wench! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!" Jia Huan couldn't help but curse.

Jia Huan was already struggling to hold on, and Ayina's movement made it even more difficult for him. His body shifted slightly towards the edge of the rock, which frightened him so much that he gripped the rock surface with his other hand so tightly that his nails bled, before he could barely steady himself.

At this moment, half of Jia Huan's shoulder was exposed above the edge of the rock. When Ayina looked up, she could see his face, which was turning a little purple from holding his breath. His face was distorted and looked very ferocious. He was not handsome at all, but Ayina thought he looked much better than usual.

At this moment, Ayina suddenly felt like crying. Jia Huan could have let go completely, but this "greedy and cunning" guy didn't, which was really unbelievable.

At this moment, although she was scolded, Ayina was not angry at all. She simply closed her eyes, letting herself hang quietly in mid-air, allowing the warm blood to drip onto her head, face, and body. It seemed as if something inside her was being melted by this warm blood.

Finally, Dong Dao and Shan Ba ​​tied a rope about ten meters long with their clothes. Shan Ba ​​grabbed one end and Dong Dao grabbed the other end, and they nimbly climbed down into the cave and landed on the rock where Jia Huan and the other man were.

Dong Dao bent down and lifted Ayina up. The bottomless sinkhole below sent chills down his spine.

"Third Master, let me take you up first," Dong Dao said in a deep voice.

Jia Huan was completely exhausted, and with the added blood loss, his face was as pale as paper. He shook his head weakly and said, "Let Princess Ayina go up first. Let me rest for a while."

Ayina looked at the weak Jia Huan, her lips moved slightly, but she ultimately did not argue. She tied a rope around her slender waist and went up to the cave entrance first.

By this time, all the enemies outside had been wiped out, and a group of guards surrounded the cave entrance to help, and soon they hoisted Ayina up.

"Ayina, you're injured?" Shanba was shocked to see Ayina's face and head covered in blood.

Ayina shook her head with mixed feelings and said, "I'm fine, quickly get him up." Shanba vaguely felt that Ayina's expression and tone were a little abnormal, but he just thought that she had escaped death and hadn't come to her senses yet, so he didn't think much of it and threw the rope down again, hoisting Jia Huan and Dong Dao up one by one.

At this moment, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai arrived under the protection of their personal guards. When they saw Jia Huan's appearance, they were both terrified. When they saw that the flesh on Jia Huan's right wrist was torn open and bleeding, and that all the nails on his left hand were broken and his sleeves were covered in blood, they were heartbroken and cried.

"Huan Di, don't scare me, boohoo, how did you get hurt like this!" Lin Daiyu cried with tears streaming down her face. Xue Baochai silently wiped away her tears, her heart breaking. The maids also had red eyes and hurriedly helped clean the wound.

Jia Huan felt a warm glow inside, and forced a smile to comfort her, "I'm fine, it's just a superficial injury."

Ayina stood silently to the side, her heart filled with mixed feelings. Shanba looked at Jia Huan, who was surrounded by beauties, feeling both envious and regretful. He thought to himself, "This kid is lucky; he didn't die from the fall."

At this moment, Shanba suddenly noticed that Ayina's gaze was fixed on Jia Huan, and her eyes looked strange. His heart skipped a beat, and he coughed lightly, saying, "Ayina, where are you hurt? Let me put some medicine on you!"

“I’m not hurt!” Ayina shook her head, silently turned around and walked away.

Shanba quickly caught up and asked, "Then what about the blood on your body?"

“It’s all that guy’s fault, he saved me!” Ayina said.

Shanba was taken aback for a moment, then quickly said, "You saved him once too, so we're even, and you don't owe him anything."

Ayina didn't speak, silently scooped up a handful of snow and wiped it on her face to wash away the blood. Then she kicked the corpse of an assassin next to her and said, "This looks like someone from the Harahui tribe?"

Shanba nodded and said, "This guy is called Huotudun'er, and he is indeed from Halahui."

Ayina frowned and said, "The sudden assassination of Jia Huan by the Halahui tribe is probably because they rescued Amahei back then, which made the Yibusili tribe take the blame and suffer the tragedy of extermination."

Shanba's eyes flashed, and he nodded, saying, "It should be. But Jia Huan is no good either. He's greedy, cunning, and cruel. It's normal for everyone to rebel against him."

Ayina remained silent. It was true that this guy was greedy and cunning, but he certainly wasn't cruel. When he conquered Hami, he didn't indiscriminately kill innocent people. Moreover, cruel people are usually very cold-blooded and selfish. How could he have risked his life to save her just now?
As Ayina was pondering, a group of soldiers passed through the spruce forest and appeared at the entrance of the valley where the meadow was located. It was none other than the Shaanxi militia led by Lu Xiangjin.

Lu Xiangjin quickly sealed off the meadow, then strode up to Jia Huan and bowed, saying, "Your subordinate greets Your Excellency... Oh, Your Excellency is injured? Dong Dao and Fan Jian, what are you doing?"

Lu Xiangjin looked at Dong and Fan with a mixture of surprise and annoyance. Jia Huan waved his hand and said, "Don't blame them, it was just an accident. Lu, how was the battle down the mountain?"

Lu Xiangjin bowed and said, "Fortunately, I have not failed in my mission. All the invading enemies have been eliminated. After interrogating the prisoners, I learned that these people were all from the Halahui tribe. I have already sent messengers to inform Eunuch Duan. At this moment, the Halahui tribe's camp is probably already surrounded by the army."

As the saying goes, to repel external enemies, one must first secure internal stability. With the Turpan army about to invade, it was natural to first eliminate the spies within Hami. Therefore, Jia Huan's trip was just a pretext; in reality, he was using himself as bait to lure internal spies to assassinate him. And so, the Hami tribe was exposed.

However, as the saying goes, even the most meticulous plans can have flaws. Although Jia Huan had made proper arrangements in advance, a slight oversight still occurred, allowing some of the assassins from the Harahui tribe to sneak into the valley, which led to the danger they just encountered.

“The Halahui tribe also believes in Allah. It seems that they were the ones who rescued Amahei back then.” Lu Xiangjin said admiringly, “Fortunately, Governor is wise. He used a little trick to expose them. Now that we have eliminated this traitor from the Halahui tribe, we can focus on fighting the Turpan people!”

Ayina glanced at Jia Huan, whose face was still pale from blood loss, and thought to herself, "So today's outing was just a trap. This guy is indeed cunning, but he's also too daring to use himself as bait. Isn't he afraid of making a mistake and losing his life? Tsk tsk, what a crazy guy!"

Shanba's face was gloomy, and his gaze toward Jia Huan was filled with deep apprehension. This kid was too wicked; he had to be careful in the future, or he might fall into his trap.

At this moment, the women finally finished treating Jia Huan's wounds. After drinking two cups of hot wine, Jia Huan gradually recovered. He stood up and moved his hands and feet. Apart from the soreness in his right hand, he was fine. Seeing this, Baochai and Daiyu were relieved.

Next, Lu Xiangjin ordered several rattan palanquins to be brought over, and Jia Huan and the ladies, including Daiyu and Baochai, were carried down the mountain and hurriedly returned to Hami City that very night.

(End of this chapter)