Aoyama

Chapter 476 The night doesn’t stop

Where should we look for Xiaoman?

"To the west."

In the mountains and forests, Zhang Xia silently estimated Xiao Man's speed and direction as he walked through the woods in the darkness: "If Zhuo Sheng discovers something in Dongbaogou and then changes course there, at their speed, they will probably catch up with Xiao Man in Yaozigou... Xiao Man is in danger."

She seemed to be a living map, and continued, "Go through that mountain pass ahead, then turn south and you'll reach Yaozigou. Don't worry about me, you need to be 30% faster, I'll meet up with you later."

Chen Ji didn't speak, but leaned forward slightly. As he ran, he stirred up a gust of wind, carrying leaves away from the branches and forming a faint tornado behind him.

As Chen Ji approached Yaozigou, three brass swords were already poised to strike from his sleeves.

At this moment, Chen Ji saw that the arrows nailed to the ground and trees were all three-tailed feathered arrows.

His heart sank.

The more feathers an arrow has, the more accurate it will be.

However, arrow fletching is expensive, and ordinary archers can only afford to carry double-feathered arrows. Only the elite of the elite are entitled to carry triple-feathered arrows.

Chen Ji stood beside the big tree, stroking the fletching of the arrow... This was the arrow of the Hunter of Life, who had already been here.

He looked down at the bloodstains on the ground, squatted down, dipped his finger in the blood, and rubbed it between his two fingertips.

It was damp, and the fighting had just ended, within about an incense stick's time.

He arrived too late.

Chen Ji slowed his pace, cautiously looking around as he headed south.

He followed the trail of blood southward, one, two, three... There were at least twenty pools of blood along the way, but no body was found.

Chen Ji's heart sank deeper and deeper: the main force that was capturing the live general had probably caught up with Xiao Man and the little monk. Among these bloodstains, were any of Xiao Man's or the little monk's?
As he walked further south, his mood calmed down somewhat: there were no bodies of Xiaoman and the little monk here.

There's no need for the hunter to capture Xiaoman. If Xiaoman were no match for the hunter, she would have been killed and her body left in the wilderness. The absence of a body means that everything is fine.

strangeness.

What the hell is going on here?
While pondering, Chen Ji walked up the low hill, wanting to look into the distance.

But as soon as he stepped onto the low hill, he suddenly exhaled a long breath of stale air. He saw words clearly carved on the ground: "Lord Chen, I have saved the person. May I have the honor of drinking a cup of nuptial wine this time?"

The inscription reads: "Bright Rabbit, wishing you good health and peace."

At this moment, Zhang Xia caught up from behind: "What happened here?"

Chen Ji pointed to the writing on the ground: "It is Jiao Tu and Yun Yang. The two of them stayed outside Chongli Pass as promised and rescued Xiao Man and the little monk. But I don't know what realm these two are at now, that they were able to join forces to repel more than thirty capture generals."

Zhang Xia glanced at the words on the ground and calmly said, "Don't get entangled with her."

Chen Ji turned to look at her: "Hmm?"

Zhang Xia was silent for a moment before explaining, "Jiao Tu is putting on an act for Yun Yang. This person is a womanizer who enjoys it immensely. Yun Yang killed many people out of jealousy, and his reputation is well-known. If you get too entangled with her, you might incur Yun Yang's resentment."

Chen Ji hummed in agreement: "I know... Where should we look for Xiaoman now?"

Zhang Xia closed his eyes and pondered for a moment: "They haven't gone far. If I were Xiaoman, I would probably go towards Miaogou, which is the flattest area, but I would encounter Zhenggou River. Zhenggou River is swift and stretches for more than ten miles, but there is only one suspension bridge. They may not know where the suspension bridge is and will definitely be trapped on the riverbank... I have to find them before nightfall."

The two set off south, but before they had gone more than a few miles, they heard Xiaoman's voice coming from afar, angrily shouting, "This is Princess Liyang, an envoy of the Jing Dynasty, being escorted back to the capital by the Governor-General of the Capital Garrison. Get out of the way!"

Then Hong Zu'er's voice came at the same time: "Girl, get out of the way, this man cannot live."

Chen Ji and Zhang Xia exchanged a glance, then immediately took off the horn bow from their backs, nocked an arrow, and swiftly approached.

……

...In the mountains and forests, Hong Zu'er and dozens of night scouts surrounded Xiaoman and the others, riding their warhorses back and forth beside Xiaoman, the little monk, and Princess Liyang.

Hong Zuer raised his bow and pointed it at Princess Liyang, but Xiaoman pulled the little monk in front of and behind Princess Liyang. Xiaoman said in a trembling voice, "This is an envoy requested by the imperial court. Do you want to rebel?"

Hong Zu'er said coldly, "Get out of the way. I, Hong, do not wish to harm the innocent. I will leave Princess Liyang behind, and the two of you may leave on your own."

As soon as he finished speaking, a whooshing sound arose in the distance.

Hong Zuer suddenly turned his head and saw two arrows coming straight at him. He swung his bow to deflect the first arrow, but the second arrow hit the trajectory of his swing and broke the bow in half.

He looked down at the broken horn bow in his hand, then solemnly looked at Chen Ji who had rushed over: "Excellent archery skills."

Chen Ji drew another arrow from his quiver, nocked it on his bowstring, and cautiously approached.

He looked at the other night watchmen and said coldly, "I am the Governor-General of the Capital Garrison and the Imperial Guard. I am here on His Majesty's secret decree to welcome the Jing Dynasty's envoy back to the capital. You are all meritorious officials of my Ning Dynasty. If you stop now, I can pretend that nothing happened and will not reveal a word to the outside world."

The night guards pulled on the reins, slowing the horses until they came to a stop.

But they did not retreat. Instead, they stood on their horses in the night, silently looking down at Chen Ji and Zhang Xia.

In the darkness, dozens of night watchmen stood with their hands on their swords, resembling a continuous mountain range.

Wansui Army Gao Yuan calmly said, "Lord Chen, you have never been to Chongli Pass, so you do not know what Yuancheng means to us. Some people lost their fathers because of him, some lost their brothers because of him, and some lost their sons because of him. The Jing Dynasty traitors hate us night scouts to the bone. Any night scout who falls into the hands of the Jing Dynasty is executed by slow slicing, unable to live or die."

Another night watchman said in a deep voice, "In the winter of the twenty-fifth year of Jia Ning, Yuan Cheng led his troops south and challenged them at Chongli Pass. This barbarian captured eleven of my night watchmen, turned them into 'human pigs,' placed them in urns, and set them up at the foot of Chongli Pass."

Gao Yuan said in a deep voice, "Lord Chen, I have heard of you. Commander Yang speaks highly of you, which is why I have told you so much. You may think that Hong Zu'er alone wants to kill Yuan Cheng? Not so. This is not just Hong Zu'er's business. We all hate him so much that we wish we could eat his flesh and break his bones."

Chen Ji took a deep breath: "I know you all hate me to the core, but the Jingchao envoy is someone the court needs. It is my duty to do so, and I cannot afford to fail."

The two sides remained deadlocked.

The next moment, Chen Ji slowly approached and walked into the encirclement under the gazes of all the night guards. He instructed Xiaoman and the little monk, "You go first. I'll take care of Princess Liyang."

Xiaoman was about to leave, but then gritted her teeth and said, "I'm not leaving."

However, at that moment, screams came from the northwest, and flames broke out in the mountains and forests, spreading rapidly like a dragon across the wilderness.

Everyone turned to look and saw a blade of energy, several meters long, streaking across the night sky like a bolt of lightning.

Gao Yuan's expression hardened: "The Divine Machine Battalion and the Imperial Guards encountered that female swordsman."

"Silence!" Hong Zu'er dismounted, pressed his ear to the ground and listened quietly for a moment, then suddenly looked up and said, "There are many people coming, not just female swordsmen."

Gao Yuan immediately turned his horse north: "With foreign enemies at hand, kill them first!"

Hong Zu hesitated.

Gao Yuan roared angrily, "Hong Zu'er, we will not arrest him tonight!"

Hong Zu'er chuckled self-deprecatingly, then gave Chen Ji a deep look before mounting his horse: "Kill the enemy first!"

Chen Ji was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected that when the enemy came, these night scouts would immediately put aside their hatred and turn around to kill the enemy.

Hong Zuer pulled on the reins, circling his warhorse in place. He looked down at Chen Ji and said sarcastically, "Boy, give me the bow, and go claim your credit!"

Chen Ji remained silent for two breaths before tossing the horn bow into the air.

Hong Zuer caught the horn bow with his hand, spurred the horse's belly with his legs, and the warhorse galloped off like an arrow to the northwest.

……

Sorry, I had to catch a flight today, so updates will be shorter.
(End of this chapter)