Wei Rao had already shot and killed four people in quick succession upon her arrival. The assassins sent to deal with her no longer dared to underestimate her, cautiously closing in.
Wei Rao didn’t dare recklessly peek out. Adjusting her position based on the sound of footsteps, she shifted slightly around the tree trunk. Tilting her head slightly, she couldn’t see the assassin targeting her, but she caught sight of Lu Zhuo’s situation—one of the assassins encircling him was exposed within her line of sight.
Naturally, Wei Rao sent an arrow his way.
The six assassins surrounding Lu Zhuo had already been reduced from six to five, and now, with another one falling from an arrow shot from behind, the remaining four were startled. Their first thought was that the two companions sent out earlier must have been taken down. Seizing the moment of their distraction, Lu Zhuo fired three arrows at once.
Two of the three targeted assassins fell, while one managed to dodge in time.
Lu Zhuo ducked back behind the tree and chuckled, calling out loudly to Wei Rao, "I only have two left on my side. No need for further assistance."
Hearing his vigorous tone, Wei Rao felt reassured. Her eyes flickered, and she called out coyly toward the western direction, "Uncle Hu, Her Majesty sent you to escort me and the heir. If you don’t act now, aren’t you afraid I’ll report you to Her Majesty?"
The three assassins were shocked—there was someone else?
The moment Wei Rao called out "Uncle Hu," Lu Zhuo understood her intention. Taking advantage of the assassins’ brief moment of looking around, he forcefully kicked the corpse at his feet to the side and swiftly emerged from behind the tree in another direction. Before he even steadied himself, two sharp arrows flew out, and he immediately concealed himself behind another tree.
Amid the dull thuds of two heavy objects hitting the ground, only one assassin remained between Wei Rao and Lu Zhuo.
The two stepped out from behind the trees. The sole surviving assassin, upon seeing them, dropped his bow and arrows and tried to flee.
Lu Zhuo had already exhausted his arrows and was merely holding his bow for show. Wei Rao aimed an arrow at the back of the assassin’s right knee.
With a sharp cry, the assassin collapsed to the ground. Though his right leg was injured, he still struggled to get up. Just as he wobbled to his feet, another arrow pierced the back of his left knee.
This time, the assassin could no longer rise.
Lu Zhuo looked at Wei Rao. Amid the lush green forest, her calm face took on a pale, cold hue, making her eyes appear as dark as obsidian and her lips as vivid as cinnabar.
She wore a white brocade robe in a masculine style. Despite having just killed so many people, not a single drop of blood stained the hem of her garment. For a moment, it felt as if they were back on Cloud Mist Mountain, and she was merely another hunter who had suddenly appeared before him.
The only difference was that her stunning beauty remained unchanged, while he was in utter disarray.
Only after confirming that the assassin could no longer escape did Wei Rao lower her bow. Observing the dozen or so corpses on the ground, she walked toward Lu Zhuo. After a quick inspection, she noted that both her and Lu Zhuo’s arrows had struck the assassins’ vital areas—they were dead without any possibility of feigning death.
"These assassins…"
As Wei Rao lifted her head and got a clear look at Lu Zhuo, she was so shocked she forgot to speak.
Lu Zhuo was also wearing a light-colored robe, but at that moment, the upper part of his right arm and his left calf were stained with blood, and two broken arrow shafts protruded abruptly from his body. He must have killed at close range, as his brocade robe was spattered with blood. If not for his faint smile and his pale yet strikingly handsome face, this version of Lu Zhuo would have seemed like an executioner emerging from a sea of blood.
"I’m fine. Help me over there," Lu Zhuo said softly, pointing toward the sole survivor.Wei Rao glanced at his left leg and walked over with a solemn expression.
"My apologies." Lu Zhuo raised his left arm and rested it on Wei Rao's slender shoulder.
Wei Rao would hardly mind such a thing at a time like this. Matching Lu Zhuo's pace, the two slowly approached the assassin whose legs had been crippled. However, the assassin lay motionless, his head tilted to the side with unseeing eyes, a ring of white foam around the corners of his mouth.
Lu Zhuo said gravely, "A death warrior. Failing to complete his master's task, he took poison to avoid being captured alive and exposing the mastermind behind this."
Wei Rao looked up at him. "Sent by the Empress Dowager, or have you provoked some enemies?"
She had her own suspicions, but she wanted to hear what Lu Zhuo would say.
Lu Zhuo smiled self-deprecatingly. "If they only wanted to kill you, they had countless opportunities over the past month. This time, I've implicated you, Miss."
Wei Rao was satisfied that he admitted the assassins were targeting him, but she reciprocated politely, "Actually, it's me who implicated you, Young Master. If you hadn't accompanied me to Jin City, they wouldn't have had this opportunity."
These assassins had likely been watching her and Lu Zhuo for some time. Lu Zhuo usually went out accompanied by Zhao Song and his brothers or eight guards. Only this trip to the temporary palace gave the assassins their chance. This road was the only route to and from the temporary palace. The assassins must have guessed their purpose, knowing they would return the same way, and set a trap here to wait in comfort for their prey.
"I came willingly, Miss. There's no need for you to blame yourself. Someone wants me dead. If not this time, they would have found another opportunity," Lu Zhuo said, lowering his head to meet Wei Rao's clear gaze. "If not for you today, I might not have escaped unscathed. I must thank you for saving my life."
Wei Rao could tell Lu Zhuo was genuinely thanking her.
But she wasn't accustomed to this side of him. Pressing her lips together, she looked at the corpses on the ground and said, "I fought to save your life, so naturally I couldn't stand by and watch you be killed by assassins. Besides, if you died here, how would I explain it to the Duke and Old Madam when we return to the capital?"
Traveling together meant that if anything happened to either of them, the other would be unable to face their elders.
"What about your injury?" Wei Rao changed the subject.
With no immediate threat to his life, Lu Zhuo had Wei Rao support him as he examined each assassin's body one by one. For every assassin, Lu Zhuo would first look at their face, then remove their clothes to check for any identifying objects or obvious birthmarks or scars on their bodies and limbs.
Wei Rao merely helped him move around. When Lu Zhuo examined the bodies, she turned away.
Lu Zhuo teased her, "I thought Miss had no inhibitions."
Wei Rao sneered toward the woods. "I have no inhibitions. I just worry you'll start lecturing me again, so I'd rather not look and enjoy some peace and quiet."
After all twenty bodies had been examined, Wei Rao helped Lu Zhuo to rest under a tree at his insistence. Curious, she asked, "Did you find anything?"
Lu Zhuo nodded but said, "I won't tell you. The more you know, the more dangerous it is."
Wei Rao had a retort on the tip of her tongue, but after glancing at his injury, she swallowed it back.
Lu Zhuo suddenly whistled.
Shortly after, Flying Ink wove through the dense trees and came to Lu Zhuo's side, lowering its head to nuzzle against his."I'm fine." Lu Zhuo patted its head, then turned to Wei Rao and said, "There's wound medicine in the saddlebag. I must trouble you to remove the arrow and stop the bleeding."
Wei Rao had learned bandaging from her master, though her practice subjects had only been rabbits from Cloud Mist Mountain.
"There's a village ahead..."
"The fewer people who know about our trip to the mountain villa, the better," Lu Zhuo said with closed eyes.
Wei Rao said no more. After examining the wounds on Lu Zhuo's leg and arm, she went to fetch supplies from Flying Ink's saddle.
The saddle had side bags on both flanks—one contained dry rations, the other held medical supplies. Lu Zhuo had also prepared a separate bundle with two of his robes.
"The arrow wasn't poisoned," Wei Rao observed, relieved after checking the color of blood from Lu Zhuo's wound.
Lu Zhuo kept his eyes shut. "They initially wanted to capture you alive—to humiliate you. Then they'd place our bodies together, making it appear the tragedy was sparked by your beauty. Had the arrows been poisoned, it would have raised suspicion about assassins, since common bandits don't typically use poisoned weapons."
A chill ran through Wei Rao. Lu Zhuo's enemy was both vicious and meticulous. Even if the Empress Dowager loathed her and her mother, she wouldn't go so far as to plot against Lu Zhuo's life. Lu Zhuo's survival was crucial—with him leading the Divine Martial Army, both the Emperor and the dynasty benefited.
She cut strips from Lu Zhuo's bloodstained outer robe to use as bandages, tying them tightly above his wounds. Prepared, she glanced at Lu Zhuo, then swiftly and precisely extracted the arrow, immediately pressing the bandage against the injury.
When she pulled the arrow from his leg, Lu Zhuo didn't make a sound, though his face grew paler.
Fortunately, the bleeding stopped quickly.
Wei Rao then cut strips from one of Lu Zhuo's clean undershirts, applied medicine, and bandaged his wounds.
Seeing so much blood for the first time, beads of sweat formed on Wei Rao's forehead.
Lu Zhuo opened his eyes to find her kneeling before his leg, a stray lock of hair falling forward as sweat droplets rolled from her brow down her flushed cheeks.
"If this happens again, don't worry about me—just save yourself," Lu Zhuo murmured.
Wei Rao tied off the bandage and replied, "There won't be a next time. Once we return to the capital, I won't accompany you on distant travels again."
Lu Zhuo gave a wry smile. Indeed, with someone capable of sending twenty assassins after him, why would Wei Rao risk such danger?
"I must trouble you to help me change robes—this one is too conspicuous."
Wei Rao looked up sharply.
Lu Zhuo explained, "Just the outer robe. I brought a darker one."
Wei Rao pressed her lips together. But Lu Zhuo, covered in blood and unable to move one arm and leg freely, had no choice but to seek her assistance.
She helped Lu Zhuo lean against a tree to stand, making it easier to change clothes.
Lu Zhuo gazed at the tree trunk mere inches away, making no move to take advantage of Wei Rao's proximity. His two wounds served as stark reminders of his carelessness. Had Wei Rao not been skilled in martial arts and archery, what might have happened when he was pinned down by assassins, leaving a delicate maiden like her alone against two attackers?
And if he had died, how heartbroken would his grandfather, grandmother, mother, and other loved ones be?
Lu Zhuo clenched the hand braced against the tree.
Wei Rao finished fastening his belt and noticed him staring coldly at the trunk, lost in thought. She didn't disturb him.
Lu Zhuo snapped back to reality and saw Wei Rao moving the assassins he had hastily covered with black cloaks.
"What are you doing?"Wei Rao said while moving the bodies, "There's a pit over there. I'll bury them so children from nearby villages won't come across these corpses and get scared."
Lu Zhuo remained silent for a moment before asking, "Aren't you afraid?"
Killing was vastly different from hunting.
Wei Rao didn't answer. As long as she remembered these assassins had come to kill her while she remained alive, she felt no fear.
Unable to help directly, Lu Zhuo patted Flying Ink. The horse immediately walked to a corpse, bit its calf with its teeth, and dragged it to the depression Wei Rao had found.
While Wei Rao dragged one body, Flying Ink could manage two.
When they finally finished, Wei Rao was drenched in sweat.
Her clothes were soaked through, clinging to her chest and rising and falling with her breath.
Lu Zhuo didn't look too closely, nor could he remind her about it—doing so would mean he'd noticed, which would only anger her.
"Let's rest for half an hour before setting off," Lu Zhuo said, sitting under the shade of a tree. His injuries weren't suitable for immediate travel.
Hearing this, Wei Rao lay down on the grass, panting heavily as she looked up at the treetops, her cheek flushed crimson.
Lu Zhuo glanced at her, then immediately turned away.
OpenNovel