"Following the falcon was the right move! The target is here!"
"Kill—"
A chaotic chorus of shouts erupted from beneath the snowdrifts.
The assassins had tracked them down.
They had set an ambush along the mountain path to hunt down Su Dan Gu. Though they witnessed him sustain severe injuries, he still managed to evade them and escape with his life. The group chased him up the mountain, searching frantically until someone spotted the falcon often seen circling the Royal Court soaring high above. They immediately pursued it.
Though unsure of the identities of the three additional figures, anyone standing alongside Su Dan Gu was deemed an ally—and marked for death.
Unfortunately, Su Dan Gu reacted too swiftly, dodging the first volley of iron arrows! The blade was coated with poison—why hadn’t he succumbed yet?
Hidden behind a jagged rock, the leader fumed with rage. He roared an order, and several bowstrings tensed simultaneously, humming with vibration. Iron arrows shot forth like lightning, their silver tips glinting as they pierced through the crevices between rocks, converging into a deadly rain aimed squarely at Su Dan Gu.
Trembling with fear, Yaoying huddled in Su Dan Gu’s embrace, each sharp whistle of the arrows tearing through the wind and snow sending chills down her spine.
As the arrow shower descended, Su Dan Gu’s icy palm pressed against her neck. His arms spread wide, shoulders and back taut, his slender waist arched to shield her completely beneath him.
He held her so tightly she couldn’t move an inch, forced against his shoulder, struggling to breathe.
The piercing sound of arrows slicing through the air echoed in her ears, and the killers’ cries drew nearer. She could see nothing, unaware of the situation outside, sensing only the faint, steady rhythm of Su Dan Gu’s heartbeat against his chest. His embrace was cold and unyielding, the pungent scent of blood mingled with snow filling her nostrils.
A sticky sensation spread at her waist—Su Dan Gu’s wounds had reopened as he maneuvered to evade the arrows.
Assassins swarmed forward, scrambling over the snowdrifts.
Iron arrows rained down upon Su Dan Gu and Yaoying, embedding deep holes into the snow.
Eyes blazing with fury, Bi Suo drew his blade. His towering figure swept across the steep slope, confronting the advancing assassins. In a low, deliberate voice, he demanded, “Ashina Bisha, Commander of the Royal Court’s Imperial Guard, stands before you. Who dares to assassinate the Regent?”
Though spoken softly, each word was gritted out with unmistakable authority, carrying clearly to the assassins below the snowdrift. The foremost among them hesitated, their momentum faltering momentarily.
Bi Suo’s face darkened with rage: their hesitation confirmed they were from the Royal Court!
The Regent had sacrificed everything for the Royal Court—any courtier who dared plot against him deserved death.
“Back off,” Bi Suo’s eyes burned crimson, “Take one more step, and my blade will show no mercy.”
The assassins exchanged glances. Su Dan Gu enjoyed the Buddha Prince’s trust and was elusive—no one even knew where he resided. If they failed to kill him now while he was severely wounded, they would never get another chance!
Resolved, they roared and charged forward once more.
Consumed by wrath, Bi Suo’s gaze hardened. He raised his long blade and plunged into the fray, slashing left and right with the speed of a gale.
Screams of agony rang out as assassins fell one after another onto the snow, their blood gushing forth and staining the white ground crimson.Yuanjue drew his blade and leaped behind Bi Suo, cutting down an assassin attempting a sneak attack. Back-to-back, they stood guard, their movements synchronized without a word. Trained since childhood as the Buddha Prince’s personal guards, both excelled in close-quarters combat. A glance or a gesture was enough to convey intent, their defense impenetrable as they blocked the snow mound, preventing the assassins from advancing.
Several volleys of iron arrows whistled through the air, the hum of bowstrings fading briefly. The assassins, held back at the snow mound, roared with frustrated fury.
Su Dan Gu remained motionless.
Hearing Bi Suo’s hushed calls to Su Dan Gu between clashes, Yaoying steadied her nerves and tried pushing him. He didn’t budge, his entire body rigid.
Her heart sank. Struggling slightly, she carefully maneuvered her hands around his injured chest, sliding them up his arms to clasp his neck. With a forceful heave, she rolled forward, pulling him with her.
Su Dan Gu collapsed onto the snow, his arms still wrapped around her neck and waist. Yaoying landed atop his midsection and hastily pried his arms away. His eyes were shut—he had lost consciousness—yet his grip remained ironclad. She had to exert strength to free herself, tumbling off him onto the snow.
“General Su?”
No response.
Tears welled in Yaoying’s eyes. The effort Su Dan Gu had expended to save her had clearly drained his last reserves.
Hurried footsteps approached from behind. Bi Suo, drenched in blood, sprinted over and knelt. “Regent!”
Composing herself, Yaoying said, “He’s unconscious.”
A stray arrow shot toward them. Bi Suo deflected it with his blade, then gripped Su Dan Gu’s wrist to check his pulse. His expression shifted drastically. Leaning down, he pressed an ear to Su Dan Gu’s chest, his brow twitching.
“There’s no time to delay. He won’t last much longer.”
Bi Suo’s green eyes scanned their surroundings, his breath ragged. Gritting his teeth, he pulled a porcelain vial from his robe, bit off the stopper, and handed it to Yaoying.
“Feed this to him.”
Yaoying took the vial, catching a whiff of an unusual fragrance. This medicine, entrusted to Bi Suo, was different from the wound salve he’d given her earlier.
“How much?”
Bi Suo’s voice was cold. “All of it.”
Yaoying stared at him in disbelief. “An entire vial? How could his body endure that?”
As someone accustomed to medicinal pills, she understood their toll. The drug Bi Suo offered was clearly potent—ingesting a dozen pills at once could cause irreversible harm.
Bi Suo lowered his gaze, avoiding hers, a mocking smirk tugging at his lips. “Princess, the Regent has been taking this medicine since he was five. Every time, it’s been like this.”
“An ordinary person couldn’t withstand it…”
He glanced back at the relentless assassins, his mockery deepening. His knuckles whitened around his blade as he murmured, “But the Regent can.”
Yaoying’s heart clenched. She looked down at Su Dan Gu’s face—mangled by wounds, his features obscured. His eyes were closed, lashes trembling faintly.
Though he radiated lethal intent, his jade-green eyes held a serene, detached calmness.
To start taking such medicine at five… he was just a child then…
An assassin charged, brandishing a curved sword. Bi Suo sprang up, engaging the foe. Amidst the clashing steel, he shouted over his shoulder, “Feed it to him now! He’s fading!”
Su Dan Gu’s pulse was faint, his breath undetectable. Yaoying hesitated no longer. Trembling, she propped him up, poured the pills into her palm, and fed them to him, one by one.Su Dan Gu had lost consciousness and could not swallow. Yaoying moved closer, pinched his chin to make him open his mouth.
As her fingers brushed against his chin, she touched something strange—an odd sensation under her fingertips, as if there was an extra layer of something.
Yaoying held Su Dan Gu, gazing at his tightly shut eyes.
He carried many secrets.
Yaoying lost herself in thought for a moment, her eyes flickering, then deliberately avoided that spot and continued feeding him the medicine.
Sharp whistles cut through the air as arrows rained down.
Yaoying hastily leaned over, throwing herself atop Su Dan Gu.
A figure dashed forward, swinging a long blade to deflect the arrows for her.
The arrows struck the ground, piercing through layers of snow, their tails quivering violently.
Yaoying’s heart pounded with fear as she looked up.
Bi Suo stood before her, gripping his long blade, his gaze fixed calmly on her.
Su Dan Gu was tall and straight; standing beside him, she barely reached his shoulders. Did she think she could shield him from arrows just by covering him?
She couldn’t, yet she had unhesitatingly embraced Su Dan Gu, protecting him with her delicate frame.
Bi Suo’s brows furrowed slightly.
Yaoying held Su Dan Gu, meeting Bi Suo’s eyes, and opened her mouth: "Behind you!"
Without a second thought, Bi Suo immediately crouched, dodging a spear thrust from the side, then countered with a backhand slash, piercing the assassin. Blood sprayed across the ground.
Splattered with blood—trickling from the corners of his eyes, his nose, and the edges of his lips—he gave Yaoying a deep look, wiped the blood from his blade, and turned to charge toward Yuanjue, who was surrounded.
Yaoying scanned the surroundings. Though Bi Suo and Yuanjue fought in perfect sync, the two couldn’t hold off all the assassins. More kept climbing over the snowdrifts to attack.
Ignoring the corpses on the ground, she forced herself to stay calm, unfastened the blade at Su Dan Gu’s waist, and tried to lift it—but couldn’t even raise it.
The heavy blade thudded to the ground, and the snowy ground beneath seemed to tremble faintly.
Yaoying froze, then looked down and realized the tremor wasn’t an illusion—the snow was indeed shaking.
Suddenly, several deafening roars echoed overhead, as if something was tumbling down from the perpetually snow-capped peaks.
Yaoying lifted her head, following the sound, and the next moment, her face turned ashen.
Silver torrents cascaded down the mountainside, crushing boulders in their path, sending snow swirling into the sky. The cliffs seemed draped with vast silver waterfalls, like ten thousand steeds galloping through the snow, surging downward with an overwhelming, devouring force.
Her voice trembled: "General! Look!"
Bi Suo, Yuanjue, and the assassins, all engrossed in battle, turned simultaneously to look where Yaoying pointed. Terror dawned on every face.
Avalanche!
The assassins’ earlier war cries had triggered an avalanche!
Eyes wide with horror, the assassins dropped their blades one after another, forgetting their mission as they fled in panic.
Bi Suo and Yuanjue no longer cared about the assassins either, sprinting with all their might toward Yaoying and Su Dan Gu, arms outstretched to grab them.
But it was already too late.
The thunderous roar arrived in an instant. Bi Suo and Yuanjue were too far away... Yaoying tugged desperately at Su Dan Gu’s shoulders, trying to push him toward Bi Suo.
"My King—"
Bi Suo’s eyes widened, pupils nearly bulging out as he lunged forward with all his strength.
A mountainous wave of force surged over them, instantly sweeping them apart. Before their eyes, everything turned blindingly white.In the blink of an eye, their figures vanished completely into the swirling blizzard.
...
Down the mountain, after the thunderous roar, startled horses neighed loudly. The personal guards stood frozen for a moment.
Xie Qing steadied her mount and asked a Royal Court guard, "What happened?"
The guard trembled slightly, pointing toward the silver-white peak, and whispered, "It seems like an avalanche."
Xie Qing's face instantly paled. She tugged her reins, ready to charge up the mountain.
The guard stopped her: "General Ashina gave orders—no one is to ascend without his signal!"
Another guard nearby chimed in, "We get several avalanches each winter month here. The General and the others will be fine."
As soon as he finished speaking, sharp cries echoed through the clouds. A falcon swooped down, its dark form swift as lightning, its claws hooking toward the guard's arm.
The guard raised his arm to catch the falcon. Seeing the black cloth strip tied to its leg, his expression turned grave. He ordered the others to stay behind, selected a few loyal subordinates, and spurred his horse up the mountain path.
The rest dared not ask further questions. They remained where they were, exchanging uneasy glances as they stared up at the towering peaks.
Xie Qing tried to follow the guard up the mountain but was held back by the others, her expression darkening.
...
Up on the mountain.
Bi Suo stood before a massive boulder. After releasing the falcon to send a warning down the mountain, he turned and gazed at the cliffside, its terrain completely altered by the avalanche. His face was ashen, his hands clenched into tight fists.
Yuanjue knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, until he finally let out a choked sob, weeping quietly.
"So close... just a little more... I’ve failed the King..."
He kept wiping away his tears.
Bi Suo kicked him lightly. "Quiet. Don’t disturb the King."
Yuanjue sniffled and immediately fell silent.
Ahead of him, beneath a pile of jagged rocks, a campfire crackled, its flames flickering. Two layers of cloaks were spread over scattered stones near the fire. Yaoying lay between them, covered by a cloak, her cheeks pale as snow, drifting in and out of consciousness, her thick eyelashes fluttering faintly.
Beside her sat a broad-shouldered, imposing figure with a fearsome countenance—Su Dan Gu, who had been unconscious until now.
He sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, the wound on his chest already bandaged and treated. Though his lips remained pale, the erratic flow of True Qi was no longer visible along his arms beneath his torn robes, and the turbulent killing intent that had surrounded him had subsided.
Yuanjue kept watch over him, recalling the heart-stopping events earlier. A lingering fear made his shoulders tremble.
When the avalanche surged down, he and Bi Suo had no time to rescue Yaoying and Su Dan Gu. They could only take shelter under nearby massive rocks. Though buried by the collapsing snow, they were fortunate to escape injury. Once the avalanche subsided, they dug themselves out and saw the spot where Yaoying had stood—their faces turned deathly pale, as if plunged into an icy abyss.
The area had become a smooth, blank expanse of snow, with no trace left behind.
Heartbroken, they clung to a sliver of hope and began digging through the thick snow. With each shovelful, their dread grew, and in the end, they found nothing.
Just as despair fully set in, they suddenly heard knocking against a giant boulder!
Overwhelmed with relief, they followed the sound, digging deeper and moving aside several precariously balanced rocks until they uncovered Yaoying and Su Dan Gu.
Su Dan Gu had regained consciousness, cradling Yaoying in his arms as she lay unconscious.
Bi Suo and Yuanjue continued digging fervently, rescuing them both. They gathered some clothing to start a fire, providing warmth for the two.
Yuanjue wiped the corner of his eye, forcing back his tears.A short while later, Su Dan Gu, who had been sitting in meditation, slowly opened his eyes. His sea-green pupils were clear as ocean waters, the strange indigo glow having vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
Bi Suo and Yuanjue knew he had fully regained consciousness and felt a slight relief in their hearts. They knelt on one knee in salute.
"Your Majesty."
Su Dan Gu gave a light cough, his gaze falling upon Yaoying.
Yuanjue hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, I have checked. Princess Wenzhao is unharmed and shows no signs of internal injury from the shock. She likely fainted from fright."
Su Dan Gu acknowledged with a faint hum, his breathing still weak. He lifted his eyes, glanced at Bi Suo, and said, "There are more ambushers than just this group. Return to the Royal Court first—do not engage with them."
He still appeared quite feeble.
Bi Suo understood his meaning and respectfully assented. He took a few steps back and signaled to Yuanjue with a look.
Yuanjue rose and approached him.
Bi Suo removed the outermost layer of his light armor, revealing beneath it a black robe identical to the one Su Dan Gu wore.
He glanced back at Su Dan Gu by the campfire and said softly, "Protect His Majesty and the Princess."
Yuanjue nodded. "Leading the assassins away is also dangerous, General. Please be careful."
Bi Suo smiled, waved at him, then turned and strode away.
An hour later, the guards ascending the mountain spotted a familiar figure in black and hurried forward to greet him. "Regent!"
Standing against the wind on the mountain path was a man in a black robe, his sea-green eyes sharp, the scars on his face fearsome. He gave a slight nod.
...
Yuanjue stood at the edge of the cliff, watching as Bi Suo descended the mountain surrounded by guards. Then he turned and went back to the strange rocks.
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