Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Her water-soaked robes weighed her down, snagging on branches and tripping her as she fled.

Li Zhu yanked up her sodden skirts, tore at her wide sleeves, and pumped her arms desperately as she ran for her life.

After Changjun loosed three arrows in succession behind them, he turned his head and was startled to find that Li Zhu had almost outpaced him. He quickly quickened his pace to catch up.

"Your Highness, didn’t you say we should flee deeper into the forest? Why…" he demanded.

"I was tricking them!" she shouted.

The howling cold wind rushed into her lungs, leaving Li Zhu gasping for air. She could only gasp out words in fragments.

"Follow the shoreline! Find Lu Yu!" she panted.

Lu Yu was now their only hope.

If Lu Yu and his men had died last night, it would be hopeless—any further escape by Li Zhu would be futile.

But if Lu Yu was still alive, her struggle would not be in vain. If Fang Jian and his men could track us this far, then Lu Yu and his group might also be able to find them.

As for the talk of bandits earlier—

"Ah—!"

While running, Li Zhu stumbled and fell. Before Changjun could help her up, she scrambled up and continued running.

"Don’t worry about me! Don’t stop!"

In truth, not only were Fang Jian and his men afraid of encountering the bandits—Li Zhu was even more terrified.

Those were men who lived by violence!

They killed, plundered, and committed atrocities without restraint. Encountering them was like facing wild animals—what chance of survival was there?

Faster!

Her useless legs—why were they failing her now?

"Over here!"

"Stop right there!"

"Archers, fire!"

The whistle of arrows filled the air. Changjun’s eyes sharpened as he drew his sword, turned, and cut down an arrow aimed straight at Princess Li Zhu’s heart.

Fang Jian: "Fire again!" he ordered. "I refuse to believe he has superhuman abilities to block them all!"

The sound of arrows intensified behind them.

Li Zhu’s teeth chattered, too afraid to look back. She scanned the area frantically but saw no sign of Lu Yu. Despair slowly filled her trembling eyes.

A choked grunt came from behind.

"Changjun!"

Struck by an arrow, Changjun gritted his teeth against the pain, broke the shaft with a backhanded swing, and shouted to Li Zhu:

"Go! I can hold them off for a while longer. If you delay any longer…"

The eunuch’s long sword clattered on the ground. Li Zhu hastily picked it up, only to hear the footsteps behind her growing louder and closer.

Li Zhu raised the sword, trembling.

"You’ve certainly led us on quite a chase," he snarled.

Li Zhu: "Stay back—!" she cried.

Her sword swings were wild and clumsy. Fang Jian raised a hand to signal his men to hold back and advanced calmly toward Li Zhu.

The young woman was a complete mess.

Her soaked robes were covered in reed down and torn from the frantic escape. Her hair was disheveled, and even her pale cheeks were smeared with mud.

Yet, even so, her delicate, fearful face was like a jewel in the mud—its brilliance impossible to conceal.

Fang Jian’s eyes were as hypnotic as a snake’s.

"In a situation like this, what use is a sword to a fragile girl like you? You should be begging for mercy."

Li Zhu’s eyes filled with tears: "...If I beg for mercy, will you spare my life?"

"Of course not."

Fang Jian mocked her naivety.

"Begging will only grant you a quick death. A princess like you, raised in luxury, probably has no idea what an unpleasant death entails. Would you like me to explain it slowly…"

No one expected the sheltered princess, who didn’t even know how to hold a sword properly, to suddenly thrust it downward.

Fang Jian, standing just three steps away, was completely unprepared. The blade went clean through his foot.

In agony, Fang Jian froze, but she pulled the sword out and, using her momentum, swung it horizontally forward.

A sharp pain shot through Fang Jian’s abdomen. He looked down, and his face paled instantly—

The slash had opened his belly!

"You know how to use a sword!?"

Supported by his subordinates, Fang Jian shook with agony, his eyes wide with rage.

Changjun, wounded on the ground, stared at her back, equally bewildered:

"Your Highness, how did you…" he gasped.

The princess’s hands had only ever held writing brushes—when had she learned to wield a sword? Who taught her?

Li Zhu shed her fearful demeanor, her face flushed with anger as she shouted:

"I can kill too!"

She raised the sword to strike again, but this time her opponents were prepared. No longer underestimating her, one of them kicked her wrist. Li Zhu cried out in pain as someone moved to grab the sword.

Though Li Zhu knew how to use a sword, she had no battle experience, and her strength was no match for these trained soldiers.

In the struggle, a searing pain pierced her thigh, and she staggered badly.

Seizing the opportunity, the masked men swarmed forward, pinning Li Zhu's arms while also apprehending Changjun on the ground.

Fang Jian was nearly dying from the pain, flying into a rage:

"...You bitch! You faked weakness to catch me off guard! Kill the one on the ground first! Chop him to pieces! Hold her down—make her watch!"

Though the flesh on her thigh was torn open, bleeding profusely, Li Zhu paid it no mind, lunging desperately toward Changjun.

*Whoosh—!*

An arrow whistled through the air.

The expected death did not come. Instead, Li Zhu felt a splash of warm liquid pour over her.

When she opened her eyes, she was met unexpectedly with the lifeless face of a wide-eyed dead man, her pupils shrank in shock.

An ambush!

"Who's there!?"

All the masked men drew their swords in unison, scanning the area warily. But before they could locate the enemy, three more of them fell simultaneously!

Li Zhu kicked aside the corpse in front of her, its head pierced by an arrow.

"It must be Lu Yu!"

Ignoring the blood covering her, she clung to the barely breathing Changjun, slapping his cheeks repeatedly as tears of relief streamed down her face:

"Lu Yu is here to save us!"

She knew it!

Heaven always leaves a door open!

"Lord Fang, the arrows are coming from the north—"

Another man fell, struck by an arrow.

Clutching his wound, Fang Jian was horrified.

It couldn’t be Lu Yu and his men.

Last night, he had deployed a team of deadly assassins specifically to hold Lu Yu back—they couldn’t have arrived so quickly.

*Run!* Survival was all that mattered. If he lost his life, the wealth and power the Empress promised would mean nothing—

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a voice shouted a command from the woods, "Now!"

The forest floor, covered in red leaves, suddenly stirred. Fang Jian’s feet gave way beneath him as a long-concealed net snapped upward, ensnaring him instantly!

Li Zhu, who had thought they’d escaped death, went pale.

Something was wrong.

Changjun sensed it too. Struggling, he propped himself up and shielded Li Zhu, weakly saying:

"If it were really Lord Lu... how would they have had time to set up an ambush in such a vast red-leaf forest while chasing us in haste?"

If it wasn’t Lu Yu, then who could it be?

Li Zhu’s mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario.

After Fang Jian was captured, lassos shot out unexpectedly, accurately hooking the panicked masked men.

Their throats tightened, and without any chance to struggle, they were swiftly dragged deep into the forest.

Everything happened quickly and methodically.

From all directions in the red-leaf forest, raucous, mocking laughter echoed, yet not a single person was in sight.

"With such pathetic skills, you dare make trouble at our Red Leaf Village’s doorstep?"

"Third-in-command’s arms have the strength of a water buffalo—firing a dozen arrows, each one perfectly accurate!"

Behind the mountain ridge, the rising sun broke over the horizon, dispelling the forest’s darkness and illuminating the numerous figures lying in wait among the maple trees.

Ten, twenty, fifty... no! At least a hundred people!

Li Zhu’s mind went blank with shock.

They’d truly encountered bandits!

Footsteps crunched over red leaves as a disorderly crowd drew closer.

Her mind numb, Li Zhu instinctively scrambled backward.

"Brother Chou Er, look! Earlier you said both of them were young ladies, but doesn’t the one passed out on the ground look like a boy?"

"This kid has delicate skin, not a hint of stubble—how does he look so much like a girl?"

"Strange. Could he be a woman disguised as a man?"

"What young lady? He clearly has an Adam’s apple—see for yourselves!"

"I bet it’s a boy! Who’s wagering on a young lady? Heh heh, all bets down, I’ll check..."

"You idiots! How dare you mess around before the Chieftain! Can’t you see what’s important?"

A woman in red, holding a bow, kicked one of them in the butt.

Her voice was loud and clear, and she was exceptionally tall. With that kick, the tough-looking men ahead made way for her.

Besides her, two men led the group.

One wore plain gray robes, with a refined and scholarly face—he seemed to be a scholar.

The other wore a bronze mask of a furious ape, covering the upper half of his face, revealing only a sharp jawline and thin lips.

Li Zhu felt her heart race inexplicably.

How strange.

Why did it feel familiar?

The woman in red walked toward Fang Jian, hanging from a tree, looked up at him, clucked her tongue, and turned to the masked young man:

"Whoa, his guts are spilling out. Chieftain, he’s a goner."

After speaking, she glanced briefly at Li Zhu.

"That was a clean cut."

The Grayrobed scholar said:

"Cut the chatter, Chieftain. This side's handled. What do we do about the other two? Should we send someone to sound them out first?"

The gaze of the man in the middle fixed on Li Zhu.

She couldn’t help but shiver.

His attire was totally mismatched.

At first glance, the luxurious peacock-blue brocade robe seemed elegant, yet it was half on, half off.

The dangling sleeves were casually tucked into his lean waist, while the tight black combat gear beneath—clearly designed for swift sword drawing—was tightly fastened at the wrists, with no loose ends.

Further down, a leather belt with clasps hung heavy with a short sword and dagger.

With each step he took, the heavy clank of metal accompanied him, carrying with it a bone-chilling killing vibe.

Perhaps it was because this man’s vibe was too intense.

Li Zhu suddenly felt her head spinning, her heart racing, her back drenched in cold sweat, and a sharp ringing in her ears that nearly drowned out all surrounding sounds.

Li Zhu fought to stay awake.

No—she couldn’t faint.

She absolutely mustn't let herself be scared into passing out!

Look on the bright side—at least for now, they shared a common enemy.

Moreover, these bandits had captured Fang Jian’s men but hadn’t harmed her or Changjun. Did that mean they weren’t mindless killers?

Perhaps there was still a chance to bargain?

The man with hair cut sharp as a blade came to a stop before her.

Up close, Li Zhu noticed his hair was cut extremely short.

The ends just reached his collarbone, with one strand braided into a thin plait adorned with a red-gold clasp, swaying with a cold gleam as he moved.

With his hair cut so short, how does he even put his hair up or wear a crown?

The body, hair, and skin are from your parents—didn’t any of his family try to stop him?

Then again, did a bandit like him even have family?

One question after another bubbled up in Li Zhu’s mind.

Absurd, dangerous, incomprehensible.

This was a person whose identity and appearance went way beyond anything Li Zhu had encountered in both her lifetimes.

Just as Li Zhu was scrutinizing him, he, too, was quietly looking her over.

His eyes swept over her from head to toe, taking his time.

Though he did nothing and said nothing, his gaze seemed to possess a tangible force, inch by inch, from skin to bone, dissecting her.

So scary.

Li Zhu swallowed hard without thinking.

The back of her neck grew cold, and she inexplicably felt like she was being hunted.

Unable to withstand the pressure, Li Zhu slowly put on a bit of a sucking-up smile.

She said, "Th-thanks for having my... back?"

He didn’t answer.

When she smiled, faint dimples appeared on her cheeks.

Sweet, soft-looking—yet just moments ago, she had used that same face to decisively slice that idiot open.

The next moment, he reached for his belt and undid it.

Li Zhu’s smile froze on her face.