Thus, as Xiao Changtai clashed with Xiao Huayong, he continuously drove Xiao Huayong toward the position he had reserved for the Youning Emperor.
The location was of Xiao Changtai’s choosing, and he had long laid numerous traps. He forced Xiao Huayong from the undulating rocky hills into a deciduous forest. The northwest was often characterized by windblown sands, vast deserts, rocky terrain, and grasslands—forests like this were exceedingly rare. Fallen leaves blanketed the ground.
Xiao Huayong spun to evade Xiao Changtai’s longsword, landing gracefully. Unexpectedly, two figures emerged from the ground like moles, their hands clamping firmly around his ankles.
Glancing down, he noticed they had lifted a stone slab—narrow and long, just wide enough for one person to slip through. The slab was cleverly disguised with scattered leaves identical to those around it, making the trap nearly indistinguishable to the naked eye.
At the same time, Xiao Changtai, gripping his longsword, leaped into the air and swung down at Xiao Huayong.
The sharp gleam of the blade, illuminated by the sun, was particularly blinding.
To force him into this position, Xiao Changtai had been battling him since the previous night until now. Both bore numerous injuries, but Xiao Huayong’s wounds were merely superficial—sustained intentionally to bolster Xiao Changtai’s confidence and prevent an immediate retreat. In contrast, Xiao Changtai’s body was marred by grievous wounds inflicted by Xiao Huayong. His face was contorted with rage, his clothes torn and stained with blood.
Calculating that the time was about right, Xiao Huayong raised the hand holding his short flute, pressing his other palm against its end to block Xiao Changtai’s aerial strike. The immense force caused the jade flute to crack all over, as if it would shatter into dust at any moment.
As Xiao Changtai descended, the cracks in the flute grew more pronounced. With his legs restrained, another assailant flew out from behind him, landing with a gleaming blade aimed straight at his back.
The glint of the blade flashed in Xiao Huayong’s peripheral vision. With a sudden exertion, he pressed his entire body downward, spreading his legs and kicking the shoulders of the two men restraining him. Their necks snapped violently against the stone wall—one died instantly with a broken neck, the other knocked unconscious.
Simultaneously, Xiao Changtai channeled all his strength into his iron sword. With a loud crack, Xiao Huayong’s short flute shattered. Expecting to cleave Xiao Huayong’s shoulder, Xiao Changtai was stunned to find a slender, sword-like weapon, about the thickness of a little finger, hidden within the flute. The object was incredibly rigid, showing not even a scratch from his blade.
In that moment of hesitation, Xiao Huayong hooked his ankles, swept them crosswise, and spun upward like a whirlwind.
He narrowly dodged the blade descending from behind. The ambusher’s strike landed on the ground, sending leaves flying and leaving a glaring mark on the earth.
Xiao Huayong executed several aerial somersaults but had yet to steady himself when Xiao Changtai’s iron sword pursued him once more.
The sword’s gleam flowed like lightning, closing in within a blink. As Xiao Huayong flipped mid-air, he sensed the ground beneath him loosening. Instantly, he slashed with his weapon—blood splattered across the ground as he rolled away, though his shoulder still grazed Xiao Changtai’s thrusting sword, leaving a trail of blood.
“Xiao Huayong, today will be your end!” Xiao Changtai’s swordplay flowed like drifting clouds, swift as a gust of wind.
It was unclear how many lay hidden beneath the ground. Occasionally, Xiao Huayong could anticipate them in advance, but each time he focused on countering those below, he would inevitably suffer additional wounds from Xiao Changtai.Xiao Changtai was an extremely vigilant man. To avoid alerting him and giving him another chance to escape, Xiao Huayong had not set any counter-traps, even though he knew Xiao Changtai had laid an ambush in this area. He had never expected Xiao Changtai to be so cunning.
At this moment, Xiao Changtai was also secretly seething with hatred. Xiao Huayong was already trapped like a turtle in a jar, yet he still couldn’t capture him. He had been waiting, waiting for Your Majesty’s men to arrive, but he had never imagined that Xiao Huayong had deliberately leaked his own secret to him—first, to make him target Geng Liangcheng, and second, to lure Your Majesty’s men here. Not having men stationed nearby did not mean Xiao Huayong was unaware of where the ambush was laid. Along the fastest route from Tingzhou to here, he had long arranged people disguised as Xiao Juesong’s subordinates to intercept them. To guard against any unforeseen circumstances and unsure how many men Your Majesty could allocate to Pei Zhan, Xiao Huayong had left most of his forces to intercept and kill Pei Zhan and his men. That was why he was left alone to deal with Xiao Changtai.
Once again, Xiao Huayong slipped away from under his sword. Xiao Changtai gritted his teeth in silent fury. His hand gripping the sword suddenly tapped rhythmically on the ground twice. Three men burst out from underground, and as they leaped into the air, the venomous snakes they held were flung toward Xiao Huayong.
Xiao Huayong swung his weapon, his feet spinning rapidly. The blade in his hand moved so fast it left afterimages, like a night-blooming cereus in full bloom. In one sweeping motion, the flying snakes were either deflected or sliced in half. But at that moment, Xiao Changtai’s sword was already closing in on his face.
Xiao Huayong leaned back and slid backward. Xiao Changtai’s sword-wielding hand followed him forward, the tip of the blade just three inches from Xiao Huayong’s throat. Xiao Changtai’s two subordinates, one on each side, raised their broadswords and swept toward Xiao Huayong from oblique angles, like a pair of wings.
Seeing this, Xiao Huayong exerted force in his wrist, flicking his weapon to deflect Xiao Changtai’s iron sword. At the same time, he spun along the blade toward Xiao Changtai’s face. In one fluid motion, he flipped over, struck the ground with his palm, and used the momentum to soar upward, evading the two attackers. But just as his body rose into the air, another of Xiao Changtai’s subordinates, who seemed to have anticipated this move, leaped up ahead of him, brandishing a knife and stabbing down toward Xiao Huayong.
At this moment, Xiao Huayong had no time to gather his strength or twist his body. He could only avoid the vital spots. Just then, a blur of shadow swept by. At the critical moment, before the blade could pierce Xiao Huayong’s body, the man about to harm him was snatched away. A clear, resonant cry echoed in the sky. Xiao Huayong flipped and landed, quickly retreating several steps before steadying himself.
Arrows whistled through the air, aimed at Xiao Changtai and his men.
Xiao Huayong turned to look. Clad in purple like a delicate mountain flower, her slender figure appeared both free-spirited and graceful as she galloped forward on a swift horse, drawing her bow and nocking arrows as she rode.
This was his wife.
Xiao Huayong’s eyes softened involuntarily, even filling with pride.
After Haidongqing snatched away the man who had tried to harm Xiao Huayong, it swiftly turned back to deal with the others. Seeing the situation turning unfavorable, Xiao Changtai immediately called out all the men he had hidden underground and began retreating rapidly—a clear sign he was preparing to flee once again.Mi He. Xiao Huayong raised his weapon, his steps light and elusive as he effortlessly fended off the attackers closing in from both sides. He charged straight toward Xiao Changtai, leaving him no chance to escape again.
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