Isolated town in northern border region

After Xiao Lie asked his last question, the canyon fell silent for a moment.

Eleven held his twin swords horizontally in front of his chest, the blades reflecting his expressionless face.

The twenty-one guards behind him remained silent as stones, as if waiting for his answer, or as if they were so numb that they didn't need to answer.

Eleven nodded slowly, her voice soft, yet like a pebble dropped into a deep pool.

"Calculate."

Xiao Lie did not ask any further questions.

He tightened the strip of cloth wrapped around his hand, and the knife handle pressed against his palm through the cloth, sending a warm sensation through his skin.

That was the hot blood that had gushed from the assassin's chest earlier; it hadn't cooled down yet.

He stood with his sword drawn, his gaze sweeping over Eleven and landing on the faces of each of the guards, as if remembering them or bidding them farewell.

The 11th has moved.

He moved with extremely light steps, gliding silently as if stepping on water. His twin blades, one above the other, drew two intersecting arcs, one aimed straight for his throat and the other for his ribs.

Xiao Lie did not retreat, but instead charged straight at the two blades of light!

The Taiping sword slashed horizontally, its blade colliding with Eleven's left sword, producing a piercing screech and sending sparks flying.

At the same time, he used the recoil to sidestep the right knife and then delivered an elbow strike to Eleven's ribs.

Eleven grunted and was knocked back half a step, but almost at the same time, the chains on both sides wrapped around him, like two cold snakes, silently coiling towards Xiao Lie's wrists and ankles.

Xiao Lie caught a glimpse of the two dark figures out of the corner of his eye, and suddenly sheathed his sword and slashed down!

The Taiping sword struck the end of the chain, and the chain made a crisp sound as it was severed in half.

But the broken chain snapped back, grazing Xiao Lie's forearm. A piece of armor was pulled off, and blood seeped out, slowly soaking the strip of cloth on his wrist.

Xiao Lie didn't stop. He rolled over and squeezed through the gap in the chains. When he got up, the tip of his knife had already pierced the abdomen of a guard on his right.

The man didn't even utter a sound, his hands gripping Xiao Lie's arm tightly, refusing to let go despite the blade churning inside his body.

Xiao Lie looked up at him...

That was the first time he had seen the eyes of the bodyguard.

There was no anger, no fear, not even any emotion in those eyes!

It was just a pair of empty eyes, like a forgotten, dry well.

Xiao Lie felt his arm being gripped tighter and tighter by those iron-like hands, almost as if they were being embedded into his flesh and bone.

He raised his other hand and slammed his elbow into the man's temple.

The force was so strong that the man finally released his grip and fell softly backward into the pile of rubble. His eyes were still open, but there was no light in them.

Xiao Lie took a breath, turned around, drew his sword, and deflected the short blade of a guard.

Two more short swords stabbed at him from behind, their tips slicing through the gaps in the armor plates, leaving two bloody marks. Fortunately, the finely crafted armor from the Northern Frontier was tough enough!

This allows Xiao Lie to attack without defending in such a fierce battle, trading injury for life!

Ignoring his wounds, Xiao Lie continued to wield his Taiping Blade during Eleven's pursuit, carving a path to Eleven.

Eleven moved with lightning speed, his twin blades slicing like snakes, each strike aimed precisely at Xiao Lie's vital points.

Xiao Lie tried to get close several times, but was forced back by Eleven's net of blades.

He had seven or eight more wounds on his body, his armor was cracked in three places, and a piece of the armor plate on his left shoulder had been cut off, revealing the blood-soaked cloth underneath.

They continued fighting for another half an incense stick's time, when suddenly Eleven's sword strikes slowed down slightly...

They were completely exhausted!

Xiao Lie had been waiting for this moment!

Relying on his superhuman strength, he did not retreat. Instead, he charged forward to meet Eleven's blade, dodging the left blade with his side and slashing upwards with his right Taiping Blade at an almost impossible angle, piercing through Eleven's ribs.

Eleven let out a muffled groan, his whole body stiffened, and the two swords in his hands fell to the ground with two crisp sounds.

Xiao Lie drew his sword and took a step back. Blood dripped from the tip of the sword, spreading a small dark patch on the gravel beneath his feet.

Eleven knelt on one knee, looking at the blood gushing from her chest, then raised her head and looked at Xiao Lie.

"Your Highness... what His Majesty wants... is a beast attack."

His voice was broken and intermittent, each word sounding like it was being squeezed out of his lungs.

"His Majesty ordered us...to kill His Highness...and then...to use a serrated sickle...to fabricate wounds on His Highness...and to tell the outside world..."

He coughed up blood.

"They say... a wild beast attack... and then the new army... will slaughter the prince's men... and the Panlong Guard... leaving no one alive..."

Xiao Lie's hand paused slightly.

"Thanks for letting me know. You don't seem like an assassin."

Eleven's lips twitched slightly, as if he were smiling, but also as if he didn't have the strength to complete the action.

"Because...the prince said before..."

His voice grew softer and softer.

"Tell me... if Your Highness ascends the throne... Great Chu will have no more secret guards..."

"Being a bodyguard...it's too tough!"

Eleven struggled to lift his head and forced a smile.

"Eleven, I have done my duty..."

"Your Highness, I once had a name..."

His head drooped.

Xiao Lie stood there, watching Eleven kneeling in the rubble, and remained silent for a moment.

"The Eleventh Guard... is free."

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of rapid whooshing sounds rang out overhead.

Arrows rained down from the cliff tops on both sides of the canyon.

Xiao Lie's pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately lunged towards the already damaged carriage, curling up behind the wreckage of the carriage.

The sound of arrows striking the wooden planks was dull and resonant, like the beating of a drum, with no gaps between them.

Immediately afterwards, rocks of all sizes rolled down from the top of the cliff, hitting the roof of the carriage, shattering the wooden planks and sending wood chips flying everywhere.

Xiao Lie raised a shattered piece of the carriage door to his head, barely blocking countless arrows, but the dilapidated carriage collapsed under the impact of the falling rocks, with pieces of wood and iron flying everywhere.

The rain of arrows overhead hadn't stopped, and the falling rocks were even more intense.

Xiao Lie gritted his teeth, holding the wooden plank as he dodged left and right in the canyon, his feet never stopping. He managed to perform countless parkour moves in the canyon while wearing a full suit of steel armor!

Between life and death, Xiao Lie felt an overwhelming excitement, as if he had inexhaustible strength, and his blood was boiling at this moment!

Just as Xiao Lie was struggling to survive in the crevice, a battle cry suddenly came from above the canyon!

Those were the voices of soldiers from the northern frontier!

Xiao Lie paused, looked up, and saw that the rain of arrows on the cliff top had suddenly thinned out.

Immediately following were the sounds of clashing metal, screams, and bones shattering, along with the familiar bugle call of the northern frontier warriors.

"Your Highness! It's all cleaned up!"

"Dr. Xu is with me!"

A voice came from the top of the cliff, hoarse but resolute.

Xiao Lie tossed the wooden plank aside, looked up at the gradually quieting cliff top, and let out a long breath.

"Wait up there! Stay put and maintain vigilance!"

Xiao Lie walked out of the canyon and circled around the hillside to the top of the canyon.

Xu De was already waiting at the top of the cliff.

The moment he saw Xiao Lie, he froze for a second.

Xiao Lie was covered in blood, his armor was torn to shreds, and his face was splattered with blood, making it impossible to tell whether it was his own or someone else's.

Xu De opened his mouth as if to say something, but Xiao Lie spoke first.

"Don't act like that!"

Xu De wanted to take Xiao Lie's pulse, but Xiao Lie waved his hand impatiently.

"These are just superficial injuries; why would our 'Imperial Physicians of the World' need to intervene?"

Xiao Lie's smile was so smug that Xu De immediately blushed, and even the bruises on his face turned rosy!

The soldiers of the Northern Frontier laughed heartily with Xiao Lie, showing no signs of the tension of a life-or-death battle.

Embarrassed, Xu De quickly changed the subject.

"Alright! Let's get down to business!"

"The Mu family's convoy transporting medicinal herbs was hijacked on a small road in the back mountains."

"But how can we transport so many medicinal herbs from these mountains and forests? We can't expect the evil spirits to carry them away one bag at a time, can we?"

"I reckon there must be some hidden paths in the back hill that we don't know about!"

Xiao Lie smiled and nodded, then called out to the crowd.

"Our 'Imperial Physicians of the World' speaks with sound reasoning and evidence! You should all learn from us!"

Xu De finally lost his temper and started cursing at Xiao Lie.

"Xiao Lie! Are you never going to stop?"

"Whom did I come to Bingzhou for?"

"Who was responsible for my kidnapping and near-death experience?"

"You can't be heartless! That's enough!"

"If you keep going like this, I don't care if you're a prince or not, I'll get angry!"

Xiao Lie suppressed a laugh, out of consideration for Xu De's undeserved misfortune caused by him.

"Okay, okay! I won't say anything more!"

"No one is allowed to speak!"

"Peng Xuan's new army is the Chu Emperor's trump card. Their weapons and equipment are no worse than ours, and their numbers are much greater."

"We can only use the mountainous terrain to our advantage and deal with them. Everyone should break up into smaller groups and disperse into the forest."

"Do you remember when we were training in the northern frontier, I taught you how to hide, how to fight guerrilla warfare, and how to break out of the encirclement..."

"They outnumber us, so we absolutely mustn't fight them head-on. We should just lead them in circles in the mountains..."

As he finished speaking, his steps suddenly faltered.

Xu De quickly caught him.

Are you injured?

Xiao Lie waved his hand.

"fine."

Then he took a step forward, and suddenly his legs went weak. Everything in front of him began to blur, and the world spun around him.

A strange heat surged up from deep within his chest, as if a ball of fire was rampaging through his body.

Just like when I was dodging the rain of arrows in the canyon, I was incredibly excited!

Then, his heartbeat became rapid and erratic, like a runaway horse.

Xiao Lie felt his hands trembling, and everything in front of him was spinning. The faces of Le Duo, Xu De, and the soldiers of the Northern Frontier suddenly became blurry double images.

He heard Xu De shouting.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Then he knew nothing more.

When Xiao Lie woke up, it was already dark.

He lay in a secluded spot in a dense forest, surrounded by tall pine trees and shrubs.

His armor had been removed, and his outer robe had been unfastened, revealing most of his chest.

His chest was covered with countless silver needles of varying lengths and depths, which reflected the sunlight like twinkling stars.

Xu De squatted down next to him, holding a burning moxa stick in his hand, sweat dripping down his forehead and nose.

Seeing Xiao Lie open his eyes, he paused for a moment, then let out a long breath.

"You're finally awake!"

"Don't move, you almost had a heart attack just now."

Xiao Lie's lips moved slightly.

"Heartbreak?"

Xu De put down the moxa stick and wiped his sweat.

"You've been poisoned. It must be because those guards' weapons were poisoned."

"When the poison takes effect, it can cause severe throbbing in the heart. If activity continues, the heart will rupture."

Xiao Lie frowned upon hearing this.

"That's how Xiao Yu died!"

Xiao Lie remained silent for a moment.

"...Xu De, how much longer can I hold on?"

Xu De said in a low voice.

"The silver needles have sealed your heart meridian, temporarily saving your life."

"This poison isn't incurable; I already have some ideas, but it requires medicinal herbs. If you can survive this ordeal, I guarantee I'll cure you!"

"However, in your current condition, you absolutely cannot engage in strenuous activity. If you do move, the toxins will flare up again."

"If we do it again, I'm not confident I can win you back."

Xiao Lie raised his hand, pressed it against his chest, and remained silent for a long time.

At that moment, Ledo strode out from the shadows of the trees and knelt on one knee.

"Your Highness, Peng Xuan's men have begun to shrink the hunting grounds."

"There are people in all four directions: east, west, south, and north. The closest is to the north, with about three thousand people searching in that direction."

Xiao Lie neither moved nor spoke.

He lay on the ground, looking at the sky above him, fragmented by the tree canopy. The wind whistled through the pine forest, like countless people whispering.

"I don't want to be born into royalty in my next life..."

"Eleven, I have done my duty..."

"Your Highness, I once had a name..."

Xiao Lie supported himself on the ground with both hands and slowly sat up.

Xu De pressed down on his shoulder.

"You can't move!"

Xiao Lie gently pushed his hand away.

"At this point, if we don't move, we're just waiting to die!"

"Ledo, go and keep an eye on them, see if there are any gaps in their search, and watch carefully!"

"Here you go!"

Ledo accepted the order and left, while Xiao Lie turned to look at Xu De.

"If you could save my life with your silver needles, you must have a way to get me moving again!"

Xu Degang was about to deny it when Xiao Lie grabbed his wrist.

"Back in the northern frontier, my elder brother also died from this poison!"

"Princess Minyue was able to revive my brother briefly using acupuncture techniques she learned from a book; you must have a way!"

Xu De shook off Xiao Lie's hand, then, worried that Xiao Lie might lose his balance and fall, quickly helped him up.

"Are you crazy?!"

"I told you, this poison can be cured!"

"If we can survive this calamity, we'll live!"

"Why do you have to be so eager to die?"

Xiao Lie twitched the corner of his mouth and looked at Xu De.

"How can I lead my brothers to survive in my current state?"

"If we can't even move, it will only drag more brothers into trouble!"

"Xu De, please help me! Let me lead my brothers to the end!"

"If I can break through the encirclement, even if I die, the Chu Emperor will be hesitant to act against me until he sees my body."

"Only in this way can the people of northern Xinjiang live like human beings!"

"help me!"

Seeing the pleading look in Xiao Lie's eyes, Xu De completely lost it.

"You're insane! You're a complete lunatic!"

"No wonder my martial uncle said that all of you surnamed Xiao are crazy!"

"Your dad's gone mad!"

"Now you're going to go crazy too!"

"Go to hell!"

"My entire medical family owes your Xiao family something?!"