The incident happened suddenly, and the situation was urgent. Shen Qingyao barely had time to react before being pulled along by Tu Lan, following a few others waiting outside the door as they retreated to the back of the village.
However, Shen Qingyao’s emotional upheaval had triggered her heart condition, leaving her weak at this critical moment. Kong Lin, being old, was also struggling. One was elderly, and the other was ill, both entirely dependent on Tu Lan’s strength to pull them along. Despite Tu Lan’s usual fierce and efficient demeanor, she was still just a slender girl. Dragging one on each side, sweat began to bead on her forehead, and she was gradually becoming exhausted.
“Hurry up! Faster!” The man leading the way ahead shouted urgently as he turned back. Hearing this, Tu Lan cursed under her breath and gritted her teeth, tightening her grip.
Shen Qingyao stumbled, unable to stand straight, but she could only force herself to keep running. In her panic, she glanced back at the village. Although she had never seen it in its usual state, she could still vaguely tell that it was a beautiful place. But now, it was almost entirely engulfed in flames, with faint screams of agony echoing through the firelight.
It was Shen Qingyao’s first time witnessing such a scene, and she was stunned, her pace naturally slowing. Tu Lan, anxious to keep moving, pulled her sharply, nearly causing her to fall.
“Hey! Be careful!” Fortunately, Tu Lan had some skills and quickly steadied her. Following Shen Qingyao’s gaze, Tu Lan saw the flames as well. Her eyes immediately reddened, and she cursed in the Nanzhao language, which Shen Qingyao didn’t understand, her face full of sorrow.
“What exactly… happened?” Shen Qingyao asked.
Tu Lan turned away, not looking back anymore, and continued to pull her and Kong Lin forward. They needed to reach the shelter in the back mountain before being discovered to be safe.
As they walked, Tu Lan explained in a hoarse voice, “Those who attacked are bandits from another village. We used to occupy different hills and, although unfriendly, we coexisted. But a few years ago, their hill was wiped out by the authorities, and they set their sights on our territory. By then, we had already reformed and stopped robbing under Grandpa Kong’s guidance, so we naturally refused to join them. They have been causing trouble for us ever since…”
As she spoke, hatred seeped into Tu Lan’s words. “My brother was killed by them!” she said through gritted teeth. “Now they’ve probably lost patience entirely and want to wipe us out to become kings of the mountain. It’s just your bad luck to run into this when you just came.”
Shen Qingyao opened her mouth, wanting to say something comforting, but given the situation, nothing she could say would help. She was also running desperately, her throat burning, unable to make a sound. She could only look at Tu Lan in shock with wide eyes.
“Don’t worry, since we’ve brought you along, we won’t let anything happen to you!” Tu Lan said with a smile, successfully masking her hatred and sorrow. Shen Qingyao felt a mix of emotions. She lowered her head and ran faster, determined not to be a burden to Tu Lan.
“Hey! Girl! Slow down! Your body can’t take this kind of running! Do you want to die?” But after just a few steps, before Shen Qingyao could complain about being tired, Kong Lin started shouting, banging his cane on the ground, trying to get Shen Qingyao to stop. She panted heavily, her chest indeed hurting more and more, but she knew they had to keep running.
Sure enough, the leading man, seeing them slow down, urged anxiously again, “We can’t slow down! We have to move faster! If we don’t hurry, we’ll be caught!”
No sooner had he spoken than several tall, burly figures emerged from the side, wielding knives and attacking him without hesitation. Shen Qingyao’s pupils contracted, and she couldn’t help but cry out, “Watch out!”
The man sidestepped to avoid the blow, but more knives were coming his way. He cursed loudly, raised his own blade, and charged forward. The three people behind him, led by Tulan, didn’t dare delay any longer and prepared to flee to a safer distance. However, once the pursuers arrived, it wouldn’t just be these few. As the blades neared, Shen Qingyao even felt the wind from the blade’s edge brush against her face. The dual screams of the system and Tu Lan echoed in her ears, but she couldn’t avoid this strike.
Was she really going to die here? Shen Qingyao couldn’t help but think, dying not from her heart condition but at the hands of bandits? It wasn’t so much fear she felt, but regret—regret that she couldn’t see Lu Zhao one more time.
“Watch out!” Tu Lan shoved Kong Lin aside and lunged towards Shen Qingyao. The man with the blade wore a ferocious expression, not caring who he was cutting. Seeing Tu Lanrush forward, he let out a wild laugh, exerting even more force, as if intending to cut down both girls with one strike.
“Tu Lan!” At the moment the blade fell, a man who had been grappling with others crashed into them, his face contorted with rage. The blade sunk deeply into his back, then was yanked out violently, spraying Tu Lan with hot blood and splattering Shen Qingyao’s face.
Shen Qingyao shuddered, staring blankly as Tu Lan cried and caught the man’s falling body.
Panic and helplessness nearly overwhelmed Shen Qingyao. It wasn’t her first time facing such danger, but it was the first time someone had fallen before her eyes to protect her. She didn’t even know his name…
The chase continued; the enemy didn’t stop for the girls’ sadness and fear. Seeing the greatest obstacle dead, the bandits exchanged glances, realizing the only ones left were two frail girls and a dying old man—hardly a threat. They sheathed their knives and surrounded them with cruel smiles. Forced back a step, Shen Qingyao glared at them through her tears.
“Well, well, didn’t expect such a delicate little girl here. Second Brother, the one on the ground is yours! This one is mine!” The leader reached out to grab her, but before his hand could touch her, a flying longsword sliced off half his arm.
Blood splattered the bandit’s face, and he screamed in agony. The others turned with their blades ready but were swiftly subdued by people who surged in from all sides.
A cold voice emerged from the crowd: “Who did you say you wanted?”
Shen Qingyao looked up sharply. From behind a group of guards dressed in Great Liang military robes, a tall figure slowly emerged. His white clothes were slightly disheveled but couldn’t conceal his extraordinary grace. Yet his face was terrifyingly cold as he held a sword sheath in his slender fingers—it was clear that the longsword that had severed the bandit’s arm was thrown by him.
Seeing him, Shen Qingyao’s long-suppressed tears finally fell.
All her fear and anxiety, all her longing and dependence surged forth. Her voice trembled as she cried, “Elder Brother Lu Zhao…”
In the next second, she was enveloped in a familiar embrace. Lu Zhao held her tightly, his hands still trembling slightly, unable to suppress his lingering fear. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened to the little girl if he had arrived a moment later.
“ELder Brother Lu Zhao… why did you come so late?” As soon as she was held, Shen Qingyao’s tears flowed uncontrollably, as if she wanted to cry out all her night’s fears for him to hear. “I was so scared! Why were you so slow?”
Lu Zhao felt a pang in his heart at her crying. He lowered his head to gently touch the top of Shen Qingyao’s head and said hoarsely, “It’s my fault… I’m here now. Yaoyao, don’t be afraid.”
Lu Zhao didn’t tell her that he was also terrified—terrified to death.
Shen Qingyao grasped Lu Zhao’s shirt with her small hands, crying even harder. The more he tried to comfort her, the more aggrieved she felt.
Lu Zhao raised his hand and wiped the blood from her face with his warm fingertips. The little girl, who had never experienced any hardship, was now in a state of utter disarray. Lu Zhao’s heart ached for her. Glancing around, he saw that the thieves who had chased Shen Qingyao and had other nefarious intentions were already subdued by the secret guards and were being pressed to the ground. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he suddenly hugged Shen Qingyao tighter and covered her ears, pressing her against his chest.
With a single glance, the secret guards understood his intentions. The cold light of their long swords flashed, and in a few swift moves, accompanied by several screams, when Shen Qingyao looked up again, only a bloody scene remained.
Kong Lin and Tu Lan were helped up by others. Once he recovered, Kong Lin rushed to the side of the burly man with his medicine box. After some emergency treatment, he sighed with relief and said to the anxious Tu Lan, “Don’t worry, he’s not dead.”
Tu Lan also sighed with relief, slumping weakly to the ground.
Lu Zhao continued to comfort Shen Qingyao, who was still crying. The little girl, exhausted from crying, kept sobbing intermittently, refusing to stop. Lu Zhao didn’t dare to urge her to stop, only gently patting her back, kissing her forehead, and softly repeating, “I’m here. I’m here, Yaoyao, don’t be afraid.”
Shen Qingyao clung to his shirt, unwilling to let go, until the chaos in the stronghold was cleared up by Lu Zhao’s men. Someone approached Lu Zhao and reported, “Master, everything has been cleaned up. The fire was too big, half of them were burned, but we captured a few alive. Should we keep them?”
Hearing this, Tulan became nervous. Among those still alive, there might be some of their people.
“Elder Brother Lu Zhao…” Shen Qingyao tugged at his clothes.
Lu Zhao immediately lowered his head to listen to her. The girl, having just cried heavily, spoke with a strong nasal tone, “Elder Brother Lu Zhao, the original people here… were good people…”
These people had originally kidnapped Shen Qingyao, and Lu Zhao would not have spared them, but during the turmoil, they had indeed protected her. Moreover, with her pleading, Lu Zhao, already softened by looking at her face, nodded and said gently, “I understand.”
Then he turned his head, his face turning cold in an instant, “Investigate. Keep the original people of this stronghold, as for the others…”
A murderous intent flashed in his eyes. Before he finished his sentence, the secret guards understood and nodded before leaving.
“Yaoyao, I’ll take you back.”
“Okay.” Shen Qingyao, leaning in Lu Zhao’s arms, obediently nodded.
Lu Zhao picked her up and after taking a few steps, turned back to the guards and said, “Bring those few as well.”
He was referring to Tu Lan and Kong Lin. Since they were there to treat Shen Qingyao, they didn’t object and followed along.
Shen Qingyao, having experienced an emotional rollercoaster and expended most of her energy during the escape, was extremely exhausted. With Lu Zhao by her side, she let down her guard, leaned against him, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
In her sleep, she felt very uncomfortable. The night’s fright had been too much, and before they even returned to the inn, Shen Qingyao developed a fever in the carriage on the way back…
Thanks for the chapter!!!!