Eyes met.Meng Fuyao"s eyes were clear, like the moon high above the clouds. On the other hand, his eyes were deep and intense, like the ever-flowing ocean.
The moon shone down onto the peaceful ocean as nature started singing along to the rhythm created by its gently rippling waters, its chorus generating a rumbling echo.
At this moment, her blade ray came close.
He opened his mouth, but at that moment, there was no sound.
"Still doing well, Fuyao?"
Still, doing well?
The movement of his lips sent electricity straight into her heart.
Meng Fuyao had imagined plenty of times a reunion between Yuan Zhaoxu and herself. But they would meet again at a festive location, perhaps at a grand gathering of the n.o.blemen or in his nation ––– she hadn"t considered the possibility of seeing him again on such a night, and that he would be standing opposite of her as the recipient of her incoming blade.
Despite the blade pointing at his heart, Yuan Zhaoxu had remained cheery and even greeted her.
Meng Fuyao steadied her body, hovering somewhere above the horse"s head, her blade still glistening but her heart already softening.
Especially when he was mouthing the words to her.
Especially when a white furball with two black, beady eyes had wiggled its way out of his clothes, immediately seeing the blade and plucking a strand of fur to block it.
What did he think the fur on his b.u.m was made of?
Meng Fuyao wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, but instead, she did none, opting to plop off.
She knew she had screwed up the moment she allowed that to happen. Yuan Zhaoxu was Qi Xunyi"s helper after all, and now that she had fallen, Yun Hen wasn"t going to leave her alone. She was about to land him in trouble once more.
Meng Fuyao fell into a warm embrace. She could see the skin uncovered by his collar, and it was as smooth as the satin found on his robe. There was a faint, exotic fragrance that enveloped her as the back of her neck rubbed against his chest. She felt as though she had been set on fire.
The fire spread throughout her body, not in a painful but warm and tantalizing way. It was as if she had become one with the hot springs, and she was relaxed all over, from her fingers to her toes. A whole night of thrilling adventures had tired her out, but at this moment, she felt every inch of her bones and muscles loosening and becoming almost nonexistent as the wind gently blew her away.
Behind her, the man"s breaths were like alcohol, lulling her into a beautiful dream. If not, they were like the year-round spring breezes drifting from Xuanyuan Nation. If not, they could also be compared to the jade waters of the most beautiful lotus lake in Taiyuan. They were soft, charming and everywhere.
His lips were so close to her and had even brushed against her earlobe from the impact of her movement. A heart-piercing itch took over her body as his hot and moist breaths touched her cheeks as if blowing her soft kisses. Meng Fuyao stiffened her back, but the rest of her body softened, turning into cotton and mist.
The moment seemed to last a second, yet it also seemed to last a millennium.
She heard a low voice drifting into her ear. It was a smiling voice that reminded her of flowers of all seasons, blooming at the same time.
"I really want to kiss you..."
Meng Fuyao shuddered, absentmindedly wondering if his voice had a bewitching effect on her, since those few simple words, coming out of his mouth, seemed to each be attached to a golden hook that had managed to hold her spellbound.
She touched her face. It was burning.
That magical voice paused, and when it started again, it carried a tinge of regret.
"But now"s not the time."
Before he could finish, Meng Fuyao felt the warm behind her dissipate, and her back and her heart were empty. She whipped her head around to see that the loosely-robed man had drawn back and gotten off the horse.
On the ground, he made a roll, like floating clouds. When he got back up, a bow had appeared in his hand.
It was a vermilion red bowstring and an ink-black arrow, its metallic arrowhead flickering indistinctively. He gave a soft smile as his fingers quickly wrapped themselves around the bow and arrow-tail. He pulled the bowstring, forming a full moon amid Yan Lie"s astonished gaze, Qi Xunyi"s furious glare and the increasing footsteps coming from the batch of imperial guards behind.
He pointed his arrow at Meng Fuyao.
It was cold. Bone-chillingly cold.
Meng Fuyao turned around on the horse, staring at the sharp, eagle eye-like arrowhead, and at the n.o.ble-looking man behind it.
In that instant, the air around them turned so still that the flame from the torch and her nervous breathing could be heard. Amid the light, her face appeared calm and her eyes were akin to the clean snow on the highest mountains, never melting. Subtly emerging from within them was a pinch of shock, suspicion, confusion... there were thousands of words that could describe her emotions, but she wasn"t able to speak.
Those non-conveyable words that her eyes expressed struck the audience deeply, causing everyone to momentarily forget their tasks.
Only the man standing opposite of her maintained a smile on his face, his hands steadily holding onto his weapon. His bowstring was pulled taut, generating low creaks that sounded like meaningful sighs.
He shifted his fingers backward, inch by inch, and his arrow was only a second away from being launched.
Xiu–––
The arrow pierced through the sky, creating a sound that evoked despair. It flew toward Meng Fuyao, bright and as fast as electricity and undetectable by the naked eye.
Bang!
At the same time, the first palace gate burst open and shouts filled the area like a surging wave. The leading military officer had on a set of black armor and yellow headscarf, his brows so long that they almost touch. It was Fang Minghe.
Pleasantly surprised, Qi Xunyi called out loudly, "You"re here, Minghe!"
Fang Minghe broke into an energetic laughter. "Congratulations, Your Highness!"
Shocked by his words and unable to respond in time, Fang Minghe added while smoothing out his sleeves, "We"ve killed everyone on the way here. How satisfying."
The last three palace gates were about 500 meters apart, but the smell of fresh blood on the soldiers" armors was overpowering. The aura that surrounded them was brutal and deadly.
One could only imagine the number of heads that had rolled to the ground, the number of lives that had been lost amid the flames, all because Fang Minghe had gotten the wrong signal and a.s.sumed that Qi Xunyi had succeeded.
Fang Minghe was basking in his own glory, thinking about the beautiful future that awaited him and failing to notice the change in Qi Xunyi"s face. On the other hand, Yuan Zhaoxu simply shook his head, smiling.
His eyes weren"t on the soldiers but instead fixed onto the target of his arrow.
The arrow whizzed forward, but as it was about to reach Meng Fuyao, it turned to the side and landed on her horse with a strange clap.
The horse neighed wildly in response before charging forward in an uncontrolled manner.
Meng Fuyao moved along with the horse, gripping onto the reins as tightly as possible. The speed was so intense that she felt as though the bones in her body were about to get dislocated. She bit down on her lips, struggling to wrap the reins around her wrists. With much effort, she turned her head to look at Yuan Zhaoxu.
As she turned around, her scattered black hair covered half of her face. Through the wisps of hair was the complicated and indescribable expression in her eyes.
Her gaze was like a bridge pa.s.sing through the chaotic crowd and arriving straight at its destination.
Before her was a surging wave of armored soldiers, and behind her were Qi Xunyi"s imperial guards. In between, Yuan Zhaoxu stood, smiling as usual in his fluttering robes. He lifted his eyes, which landed onto Meng Fuyao"s deep gaze. His lips moved.
A calm and collected voice drifted into her ears. She was convinced that even a collapsing mountain wouldn"t be able to shake him up.
"Careful."
His voice sent shivers down her spine. The arrow that had fallen to the ground sprung up once more and struck the horse"s back this time. The horse let out another furious neigh, and then Meng Fuyao found herself whizzing through the wind once more.
Meng Fuyao felt as though her body was being dragged along by huge waves as she undulated involuntarily. She had pa.s.sed the second gate and caught sight of the half-opened palace door. She was dismayed to spot thousands of fully-armored security guards and Pei Yuan, who was holding her sword and guarding the door. How was she going to get out?
She turned around again to look at Yuan Zhaoxu, not realizing that there was a hint of helplessness in her eyes.
Yuan Zhaoxu fixed his eyes on her. As it was so rare for her to reveal such fragility even in times of danger, his smile widened, carrying a hint of gentleness within it.
"It"s not death she"s afraid of..."
The horse charged forward, and Qi Xunyi waved for his guards to catch up. Yuan Zhaoxu spoke, "It seems that the crown prince hasn"t pa.s.sed through the door. You have to tighten your search. Send these guards away."
Upon seeing Qi Xunyi"s pale face and hesitant reaction, Yuan Zhaoxu added, "It"s better if you lead your people in the search. I"ll settle the situation over here, so you don"t have to worry."
Qi Xunyi looked him in the eye, sensing his unreliability. Nevertheless, he knew that Fang Minghe had his own troops to lead and both the Yan and Pei families had doors to guard. With no one else to employ, he decided that it was indeed more efficient to dispatch his guards instead of having them idle around without obtaining any result. As such, he consented to Yuan Zhaoxu"s advice and started on his search. He urgently sent a signal to Fang Minghe, requesting for a batch of men to block all paths leading to the imperial guards" camp.
"I"ll leave it to you then, Sir. Please don"t let these two suspicious characters go."
"Don"t you worry," rea.s.sured Yuan Zhaoxu.
At that, Qi Xunyi took his leave. Yuan ZHaoxu looked up at the city gate tower and smiled before waving for the guards to "make chase".
In front, Yun Hen stationed himself behind the horse, springing out at times to block off incoming arrows. Catching a glimpse of the densely arranged troops through the half-opened door; however, left him sighing in despair.
The crown prince hadn"t exited through that door, which meant that he had caused her trouble. Since that was the case, he was obligated to protect her even if it was at the expense of his own life.
On the opposite stood Pei Yuan, who had been observing the two approaching individuals. From afar, they appeared like two insignificant and meager dots. She, on the other hand, had a capable pool of guards behind her. She could easily crush the pair with a wave of her hand. With a smirk on her face, she did exactly that.