Chapter 56
Liu Wu waved his hand and those frightened females were quickly dragged down. A gang of bandits also poured into the hall and pointed their bows and arrows at these few individuals. In a flash everyone’s daggers were drawn.
Most of the bandits came from the slums and had lived by licking blood from the knife’s edge. Even if they were apprehensive of these people, they were absolutely not afraid. Cheng Nuo stood up with Cao Tou, pale-faced and smiling bitterly in his heart.
Li Yue sneered at Lian Yu, saying, “It looks like they won’t hand over those things honestly.”
Lian Yu leaned towards him, saying in an indulgent tone: “Naughty again! I know what you’re thinking -- you want to take advantage of the chaos to run away? Oh, how much trouble have you caused for me these past few days. You even have a serious injury. Can’t you behave a little?”
Li Yue snorted. “Whatever you say. Those people above are not pleasing to my eye right now. If you won’t move, I’ll do it myself!”
That said, his feet suddenly dashed towards Liu Wu who was above him. He unexpectedly did not use a doll, but wielded an energy wire on his own. Liu Wu hadn’t even moved when Chu Yunxuan jumped out to block the attack with a folding fan. The two immediately began to fight in a flurry.
The arrows of those bandits also shot towards Lian Yu and the others, but they were all effortlessly blocked by the white-robed attendants. The hall suddenly descended into a melee.
Cao Tou sucked in a big breath and whispered: “Jin Yu, you take Big Brother Cheng away from here, I will a.s.sist the Chief in defending against the enemy.” Donning a special hand-guard, he threw his fist at a white-robed attendant.
Jin Yu hesitated before grabbing Cheng Nuo. He threw him over his shoulder and squeezed through the side door to go outside.
Cheng Nuo had a spell of dizziness. He could see that Li Yue wanted to break away from Lian Yu, but Li Yue was already so abnormal, how strong must Lian Yu be? Cao Tou staying behind by himself was obviously very dangerous! Chest turning hot, he struggled and said, “Jin Yu, I won’t be a hindrance, first let’s go back to help Cao Tou…”
Jin Yu paid him no heed, firmly restraining his two legs and heading directly towards a secluded spot.
But as he was pa.s.sing by the garden at the back of the mountain stronghold, Jin Yu abruptly stumbled. The sole of his right foot was pierced by spikes that had suddenly erupted from the ground. The two tumbled down together.
Chang Chun sneered as he leaped down from atop a boulder. “Still want to escape?”
Jin Yu quickly jumped up from the ground. Gnashing his teeth, he said: “Right now you’re one of the Ten Chiefs, but when encountering foes you actually run away!”
“I’m here to destroy a traitor in our ranks, how is that inappropriate?” Chang Chun’s hand raised a gleaming sword as he closed in on them. “Since you and Cao Tou are helping this outsider so much, then just die with him!”
Cheng Nuo was pretending to be struck motionless by the fall, but his right hand had already pinched out a Devouring Flower seed and induced it to bloom. He threw it at Chang Chun, shouting: “Bend down, Jin Yu!”
Jin Yu hastily lowered his body. The flower burst open in the empty air, big enough to fill a washbasin. Two rows of razor-sharp teeth chomped at Chang Chun.
Chang Chun thrust forward a row of iron brambles to block it. Smiling, he said: “Don’t waste your energy, you two are dying here today!”
Jin Yu was enraged, his temper much more violent than Cao Tou’s. He dashed forward with his injured leg. Fearing that he would be injured, Cheng Nuo gritted his teeth and also rushed ahead with the knife that Bai Rui had given him gripped in his hand.
Aware of how terrifying that knife was, Chang Chun didn’t dare to cross weapons with him. But Cheng Nuo’s movements were sluggish after being poisoned, and Chang Chun quickly found an opening to aim a kick at his wrist. He immediately lost his knife. Jin Yu’s leg was injured and his thigh had also been slashed once by Chang Chun, blood flowing copiously.
Since nearly everyone was inside the hall at this moment, it was quiet all around. Chang Chun sent Cheng Nuo flying with a fist in his stomach and struck Jin Yu’s nape with a flat palm. Jin Yu instantly dropped down in a faint.
As Chang Chun raised his sword to slay Jin Yu, Cheng Nuo struggled to sit up, clutching his chest. He shouted: “I’m the one you hate, why involve an innocent bystander?”
Chang Chun’s hand stopped in midair and he mumbled: “Indeed, if I’m going to kill I should first kill you, this scourge! If it weren’t for you, would Guang ge have let me leave for so many years? Jin Yu and Cao Tou also wouldn’t have fallen out with me!”
Step by step, he trudged towards Cheng Nuo with red eyes. Cheng Nuo sat on the ground, panting incessantly, tightly gripping the last Entangling Plant seed in his fist.
But before he could launch it, his acupuncture points were struck by several flying needles. He was paralyzed at once from head to foot. Chang Chun smiled with pleasure: “Did you think I would still give you a chance to make a move?”
He threw the sword in his hand down to the ground in exchange for a keen-edged dagger. He wanted to cut off Cheng Nuo’s head in one clean swipe!
Cheng Nuo gritted his death and shut his eyes. Since coming to this world he’d lost track of how many times he’d hovered on the verge of death. It seemed like this time he really was going to die…
Chang Chun’s nasty smile had not yet faded when he bent his head in stupefaction -- unexpectedly, he discovered that there was a cavity where his heart was supposed to be.
Scorching pain abruptly spread from his chest throughout his whole body. He turned his head little by little and saw a familiar face flying freely. That red hair, l.u.s.trous as flowing fire, and lake-green eyes rendered him completely incapable of opening his eyes.
“Guang....” His lips opened and closed once. In an instant, his whole body had turned into a flurry of ashes and disappeared into thin air.
Dying like this wasn’t too bad...
Cheng Nuo heard movements. Opening his eyes in amazement, he saw a pair of familiar golden pupils and blurted out: “Bai Rui?”
Bai Rui nodded his head. Brows knitted, he softly asked: “How are you?”
Embarra.s.sed, Cheng Nuo replied: “I’m fine. It’s just that my body was struck with needles. I’m afraid I can’t move.”
Could this be considered a reward for a transmigrator"s hard work and service? Every time he was in a life or death crisis, peril always turned into safety.
He’d also lost track of how many times Bai Rui had come to his aid. Now, staring dazedly at that pair of beautiful eyes, his mind was blank but his heart began beating faster and faster.
Bai Rui stretched out his hand to examine him and remove the needles, but he was quickly pushed aside. Seeing the red hair that had pressed into the s.p.a.ce, Cheng Nuo was even more pleasantly surprised: “Liu Guang? ...Did you guys come together?” These two actually appeared together, what magical happenstance was this?
Liu Guang glared at Bai Rui with an unhappy face: “It was just a coincidence… Naturally I’ll be the one to help treat Cheng Nuo.”
Bai Rui said indifferently: “Aren’t you here to carry out a mission? With this free time, why don’t you go check out your target?”
Liu Guang sneered: “Then what about you? What did you come here to do?”
Cheng Nuo was dizzied from their quarreling. Recalling something, he fl.u.s.teredly said: “Liu Guang, quickly go save Cao Tou, he’s still inside the hall! Li Yue and someone called Lian Yu are both there…”
Liu Guang was distracted. Darting an unwilling look at Bai Rui, he hurriedly headed towards the hall. Although he detested Bai Rui, he knew that with him here Cheng Nuo would be wholly protected.
Bai Rui extended his hands and drew Cheng Nuo into his embrace. He sucked out the needles in Cheng Nuo’s body with a magnet. After laying down for a while, Cheng Nuo could finally move his hands and feet in little increments. Gasping, he said: “Many thanks! But… How did you and Liu Guang find out that I was here?”
Bai Rui looked away with some bashfulness. “By chance.”
Running into Liu Guang really was a coincidence, but knowing that Cheng Nuo was here was absolutely not chance.
The knife he’d gifted Cheng Nuo was actually part of a pair. The two blades would start resonating whenever they were in close proximity, which was how he’d found them so quickly. He took the knife and pa.s.sed it to Cheng Nuo: “Take it for protection.”
Cheng Nuo carefully stored the knife inside his storage pouch. Catching sight of Jin Yu who was not far away, his head hanging and unmoving, he hurriedly got up with Bai Rui’s support and staggered over. He felt Jin Yu’s pulse. Perceiving that Jin Yu had only lost consciousness, Cheng Nuo’s heart somewhat calmed down.
Seeing that he wanted to treat Jin Yu, Bai Rui asked: “You recognize this person?”
“He’s Jin Yu.” Cheng Nuo nodded and put both his hands on the upper part of Jin Yu’s leg injury. He smiled: “This time it’s thanks to him and Cao Tou... Do you still remember them? Oh right… Where’s Chang Chun?”
He looked all around, but found no trace of Chang Chun. His heart was somewhat bemused.
Bai Rui said indifferently: “He was burnt to ashes by Liu Guang.”
Cheng Nuo startled. Liu Guang probably hadn’t realized that it was Chang Chun? Chang Chun had been a dagger hidden deep in his heart, but for him to be dealt so swiftly and cleanly, he almost didn’t know how to respond.
Bai Rui gazed at the side profile of Cheng Nuo, who was concentrating fully on healing Jin Yu. His body seemingly beyond his control, he seized Cheng Nuo into his arms from behind. He had always been apathetic, but now his heart held a trace of regret. In his childhood he’d thought it beneath his dignity to pay attention to those ant-like people, but earlier, if they had been just one step too late...
Cheng Nuo looked at the pair of extremely beautiful hands encircling his own waist. A buzz sounded in his head, and a sense of vertigo enveloped him. The hands that had been in the midst of healing subconsciously halted, and his heart began jumping uncontrollably. d.a.m.n, why was he always so at a loss when facing Bai Rui...
This seemed to be the second time that he was pressed close enough to Bai Rui to feel his heartbeat. Last time it was when Bai Rui had rescued him from Li Yue’s clutches. Owing to his guilt and remorse, he’d lost control and embraced him.
However, there didn’t seem to be a reason this time...
Jin Yu groaned, as if about to wake up. Cheng Nuo finally returned to his senses, quickly breaking away with some shame. Lowering his head, he asked: “Jin Yu, how are you?”
Bai Rui slowly retracted his hands. Noticing the red stain on Cheng Nuo’s face, his heart was endlessly pleased.
Jin Yu bewilderedly opened his eyes, at once wanting to jump up. “Big Brother Cheng, where’s Chang Chun?”
Cheng Nuo hesitatingly darted a glance at Bai Rui. Bai Rui’s ident.i.ty appeared quite secretive and he would always change his hair color and eyes in front of others. Presently, he’d already donned his disguise. Cheng Nuo simply said: “Liu Guang was here just now, Chang Chun… It’s been settled. Bai… Cheng Yi, let’s first go to the hall. I’m worried about Liu Guang. Li Yue and Lian Yu aren’t mediocre people.”
He held down Jin Yu, who in his surprise was struggling to sit up. “Jin Yu, you shouldn’t go, there are too many people there. In a little while Liu Guang will bring Cao Tou over to see you.”
Bai Rui was too lazy to speak. Reaching out to place Cheng Nuo’s hands on his own neck, he hooked up both his legs and hurried in the direction of the hall.