Chu Dingjiang raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
An Jiu replied, "I think you're someone who can't stay idle. You want to retire now because you're looking for a place to settle down. But once you're settled, you'll grow restless again."
Chu Dingjiang was momentarily taken aback. "A Jiu, you..."
"Nothing to be surprised about." An Jiu's face was obscured in the darkness, but her voice sounded even clearer. "I long for a peaceful life, but even in peace, I get irritable, bored, and even more tempted to kill."
An Jiu had once had a three-month-long vacation. Yet, when she finally lived the life she desired, it wasn’t as enjoyable as she had imagined. Perhaps it was because, from the very beginning, the organization that trained her had deliberately instilled in her some misguided ways of handling things, making the restlessness in her blood increasingly uncontrollable.
The primary issue with retiring was that she had to first turn herself into a normal person, so this matter couldn’t be rushed. As for the heroic ambition in Chu Dingjiang’s heart to command the world, it wasn’t any easier to cure than a mental illness.
Under a sky full of stars stretching over the plains, two figures sped swiftly through the night. Not far behind them, a troop of cavalrymen galloped with torches in hand.
"Halt!" someone among the cavalry shouted sharply in Han Chinese.
An Jiu glanced back. With her keen eyesight, she could clearly see that the cavalry was chasing two women on horseback—they weren’t the ones being shouted at.
"Is that the woman you saved today?" Chu Dingjiang didn’t need to look back to guess the situation.
"Mm," An Jiu acknowledged.
Chu Dingjiang slowed his pace. "Yelü Jinglie is a wolf. If an assassination attempt against him succeeds, fine. But if it fails, there’s no good outcome. For these two to have escaped the city is no small feat. Let’s lend them a hand."
An Jiu gave him a skeptical look.
"These two are from Wei Yue," Chu Dingjiang explained. "I recognized their identities back at the tavern."
"When do we act?" An Jiu frowned as she assessed the number of Liao cavalry. "There are two hundred riders, plus four ninth-rank experts."
For Yelü Jinglie to deploy such a force just to hunt down two women—it was clear he wouldn’t rest until the assassins were dead.
"Wait a moment. I’ll sneak up from behind and take two horses. You attack from the front with your crossbow. Stop once I succeed. We can’t do much else—just divert some of the pursuers." As he spoke, Chu Dingjiang vanished into the night.
If they relied solely on qinggong to escape, they might outpace horses initially, but after an hour of nonstop sprinting, their True Energy would likely deplete. Facing four experts with abundant Inner Force at that point, Chu Dingjiang’s advantage as a Transformation Realm master wouldn’t be significant. Even if they won, the cost would be steep. So, securing two horses first was the best strategy.
As two riders at the rear of the troop silently toppled from their horses, An Jiu seized the moment before the Liao cavalry could react and fired her crossbow.
The lead Liao cavalryman fell with a loud crash, and chaos erupted among the riders.
"Ambush!" someone roared.
The Liao cavalry immediately halted.
The two Wei Yue women suddenly saw a glimmer of hope and whipped their horses even harder.
The horses, stung by the pain, sped up slightly.
Chu Dingjiang clung to the side of a horse, avoiding the Liao army’s line of sight. From their perspective, it looked like two riderless horses were bolting wildly across the plain.
In the momentary confusion, the Liao troops had no time to wonder why two horses had suddenly broken loose.The two horses were approaching An Jiu's ambush spot. She leaped onto a tree, watching the approaching steeds while swiftly calculating their speed. As they passed beneath, she landed steadily on one of the horses.
Chu Dingjiang saw her successful mount and likewise swung onto the other horse.
The entire maneuver was executed seamlessly within moments. By the time the Liao soldiers reacted, they spurred their horses in pursuit.
Since An Jiu and Chu Dingjiang were heading in a different direction from the two Wei Yue members, the Liao cavalry had to split into two groups.
Diverting half the pursuers was the only thing Chu Dingjiang and An Jiu could do—the rest depended on the Wei Yue duo's own fate.
The horses raced at breakneck speed, and though the Liao soldiers' skills varied, most of the pursuers fell behind. Still, two managed to keep up.
One of them drew level with An Jiu, separated by a distance of about ten zhang, which was slowly closing.
An Jiu leaned forward, steadying herself as she raised her arm-mounted crossbow to aim at the pursuer.
The Khitans excelled in riding and archery, but even they couldn’t hit a target at such a frenzied speed. The Liao cavalryman dismissed her attempt with contempt.
Yet An Jiu had to account for multiple factors—wind speed, the enemy’s movement, the arrow’s trajectory—calculating where the arrow would intercept the rider’s path. His lack of evasion made her job easier.
As the gap narrowed, a faint smirk curled An Jiu’s lips in the jolting chaos.
Three arrows loosed in quick succession, each aimed at slightly different angles.
The Liao soldier scoffed, urging his horse faster—only to freeze in horror as three glinting arrows materialized just ahead, certain to strike.
By the time he yanked the reins, it was too late.
His horse charged onward. As he jerked back to dodge, one arrow grazed his throat while another pierced the horse’s eye.
Blood sprayed. The horse screamed in agony, veering wildly before flinging its rider to the ground.
"Hyah!" An Jiu cracked her whip, rejoining Chu Dingjiang, who had just dealt with the other pursuer.
In the howling wind, they exchanged a glance before galloping south.
Roughly three hours later, they crossed into Song territory.
The eastern sky paled to fish-belly white, with only the morning star gleaming in the dimness.
Slowing their pace at last, they rode through the chilly dawn breeze. Chu Dingjiang stripped off his outer robe and tossed it to An Jiu.
She caught the garment, still warm from his body, hesitated briefly, then pulled it on. For An Jiu, a little cold wind was nothing—she’d endured icy winters in thin clothes before. But the warmth of someone’s concern… that was new.
Silence lingered between them until Chu Dingjiang chuckled softly, recalling their earlier scramble.
An Jiu smiled too.
"Ha. An occasional thrill like that isn’t bad," Chu Dingjiang remarked.
Swamped in his oversized robe like a blanket, An Jiu retorted, "Stop pretending to be cool. I saw your face go pale."
"Brat. I was worried for you ," he flicked her forehead, then added self-deprecatingly, "Though I’m touched you noticed my momentary pallor."Chu Dingjiang was wearing a Human Skin Mask, his wheat-colored skin barely noticeable in the darkness. Combined with his messy beard, it was indeed difficult to discern his expression. However, at a certain moment, An Jiu had seen him heave a sigh of lingering fear, which was why she teased him.
Upon returning to the Hebei camp, the two of them went to see Ling Ziyue first.
After learning that the Liao forces had gathered at Xijin Prefecture, he had also received detailed reports from the army scouts and immediately began preparations for battle. By now, the arrangements were mostly complete. He should have been resting properly, but weighed down by concerns, he tossed and turned, managing less than two quarters of an hour of sleep that night.
If the Liao army possessed a large number of Raging Crossbows, the Song troops would have to block them with their own flesh and blood. Whether they could hold the frontier was uncertain, but one thing was certain—the bones of the fallen would pile into mountains! (To be continued...)
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