newbobooks 184 It seems we guessed wrong.
184 It seems we guessed wrong.
“But there’s no better way now.” Fusang seemed to have made up his mind and said decisively, “You have too many carriages and they can’t run fast enough. I can’t be a burden to you. I can go towards Fancheng, which is less than six miles from here. Moreover, my guards are all highly skilled in martial arts and can definitely escort me safely into the city.”
Fusang thought that as long as he could lure the men in black away, Chu Qingluo and the others should be able to reach the border city smoothly.
“Even so…” Ji Qiran asked, “But we are all on this carriage now, how do you plan to split into two groups?”
Fusang said, "My brother's spirit horse is right in front of the carriage. I will woo it with my whistling, and once I'm on it, I can head towards Fancheng."
Upon hearing this, Chu Qingluo immediately refused, saying, "That won't do! Without the protection of the carriage, you'll be more likely to get injured!"
"I can't worry about that anymore!" Fusang was frantic. She clasped her hands together and blew hard through the gap between her thumbs.
With a whoosh, the spirit horse in front heard the call, raised its head and tugged, loosening the reins that had been tied to the back of the Sixth Princess's carriage. It deliberately slowed its pace, riding alongside the horses of Fusang and the others' carriage.
Seeing that Fusang was about to leave, Chu Qingluo reached out and stopped her: "You are the Crown Prince of Yuezhi, we must not let you take any risks." After saying that, she turned to Ji Qiran and said: "Let us ride the spirit horse and transfer to Princess Anyang's carriage."
She didn't know if her suggestion was too far-fetched, nor did she know where the courage came from.
Hearing Chu Qingluo say this, Ji Qiran nodded in agreement: "Fusang, if something happens to you, we will not be able to explain to the Queen of Yuezhi, so let Qingluo and me go instead."
"..." Fusang looked at the two of them silently, her heart filled with a myriad of emotions.
Ji Qiran stared intently at Chu Qingluo. "Trust me, I will protect you." With that, he reached out his hand to her.
Without the slightest hesitation, Chu Qingluo placed her hand in his palm and shook it. "Let's go."
"Wait..." Fusang lifted the carriage curtain, drew the sword from one of the guards driving the carriage, handed it to Ji Qiran, and then shouted a couple of times to Zhi Jun's spirit horse...
It was a language that Chu Qingluo and Ji Qiran couldn't understand—the ancient language of the Yuezhi Kingdom.
"I told it you're my brother's friends, so it shouldn't make things difficult for you." Fusang looked at them with concern and said, "Take care!"
I never imagined that the moment of parting would turn out like this. So chaotic and rushed, even life-threatening...
"Fusang, take care!"
Chu Qingluo knew that now was not the time for sentimentality, nor could she afford to hesitate or be afraid. She nodded firmly to Ji Qiran, indicating that she was ready.
Ji Qiran gasped and pulled her outside the curtain.
At this moment, many of the men in black were already fighting with the guards, but a few people on the periphery spotted them instantly.
Just as Ji Qiran lifted Chu Qingluo onto the spirit horse, an arrow flew towards her... Fortunately, Ji Qiran managed to knock it down with his sword in time!
Although she wasn't injured, the close call just now really gave Ji Qiran a cold sweat!
"Lower your body!" he shouted as he darted forward, leaping onto the horse's back. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gripped the reins tightly. With a spur of his legs, the spirited horse galloped off into the distance.
A man in black was trying to catch up with them, but as soon as he got close, Ji Qiran slit his throat with his longsword!
The scene before her eyes flashed rapidly, making her feel dizzy. When the few drops of thick blood from the man in black splattered on the back of her hand, she felt her stomach churn!
How wonderful it would be if I closed my eyes and opened them again, only to find that it was all a dream!
But this isn't a nightmare! It's a bloody reality!
Seeing that the two of them had successfully mounted their horses, and with the fork in the road ahead, Fusang immediately shouted, "To Fancheng—!"
Immediately, the Japanese carriage turned around and sped off down the left side of the fork in the road. The Japanese guards were also quick-witted and followed suit, turning left as well.
Seeing the two groups of people split up and head in different directions, the men in black were genuinely taken aback. But quickly, the leader of the men in black made a hand gesture, and they also swiftly split into two groups!
"It seems we guessed wrong!" Seeing that there were still men in black relentlessly chasing after them, Ji Qiran squeezed the horse's flanks again, and the spirit horse quickly caught up with the Sixth Princess's carriage.
At this point, the difficult part was that Chu Qingluo had to jump from the horse onto the carriage. But for her, this was practically a circus act.
It's a terrible idea that she came up with herself!
Ji Qiran was busy blocking arrows and couldn't dismount first. She had no choice but to grab his collar with one hand, step over with her other foot, and sit sideways on the horse, facing the Sixth Princess's carriage.
The guards driving the carriage also understood Chu Qingluo's intention and were doing their best to keep the carriage moving in a straight line to cooperate with her.
At this moment, Chu Qingluo's heart was pounding in her throat.
Hearing the commotion, Zhi Jun lifted the carriage curtain and stepped out. He first said something to his spirit horse... something that sounded like comforting or praising it. Then, he moved to the side of the carriage and stretched out his hands to Chu Qingluo: "Jump over here, I'll catch you!"
There was no time to hesitate any longer, but with no foothold, how was she supposed to jump over?
Seeing this, Ji Qiran cleared the stirrups from her feet, allowing her to place one heel on the stirrup. He gently encouraged her, "Don't be afraid, you can do it."
Chu Qingluo nodded, taking a deep breath. She gritted her teeth, using the momentum from her heels to leap towards Zhi Jun…
Zhi Jun caught her with lightning speed and pulled her onto the carriage.
When Chu Qingluo came to her senses, she was already standing steadily on the carriage. She reached out and gripped the carriage door tightly, turning around in disbelief to find Ji Qiran smiling at her... his bright eyes captivating.
“Well done,” he said.
A surge of warmth welled up in Chu Qingluo's heart, though she herself didn't know what it was that moved her so much. But with Zhi Jun's cry of "Watch out—!", the smile that had just appeared on her lips instantly froze on her face!
A sharp arrow whistled past her eyes at lightning speed!
It pierced Ji Qiran's right shoulder without mercy!
His smile was still on his lips, but blood splattered on the spirit horse's mane, resembling a beautiful yet tragic poppy...
"Ji Qiran—!!!" Her cry trembled in the wind.
Seeing Ji Qiran's body slightly tilted on the horse, she was in a state of panic, wanting nothing more than to rush forward and help him down...