The poker-faced Gong Qianyu walked straightly past the young man without taking a glance at him, and kept striding towards the fierce battlefield emotionlesslyâŠ
The young man was no longer vexed by Gong Qianyuâs ignorance. He then turned around to look at the fighting soldiers, and ordered in a cold tone, âKill them all!â
âAye!â responded the soldiers in deep voices. They slashed in a fiercer and faster way, among whom a figure dressed in light purple appeared vaguelyâŠ
All of a sudden, Gong Qianyu halted his steps, looked up, and saw the beautiful face of Murong Xue. He widened his eyes to confirmâ it was her indeed!
âStop! Nobody move!â
On hearing the cold order, the soldiers stopped, and looked doubtfully at Gong Qianyu.
But he only fixed his gaze on Murong Xue and put on a gentle smile, his clear dark eyes mirrored pureness and unsophisticationâŠ
âYour Highness.â the young general couldnât help reminding Gong Qianyu who spoke nothing, only staring at Murong Xue and Murong Ye.
Interrupted by the general, Gong Qianyu knitted his dashing eyebrows and squinted at the armor on Murong Ye. He then growled with a furious glare, âLet go of them!â
To his shock, the young general looked at Gong Qianyu apprehensively and responded, âYour Highness, they are from Qingyan military camp. Setting them free will bring about danger. I donât think we should let go of themâŠâ
He didnât dare finish his sentence for a tremble of fear came over him when he sensed the piercing gaze of Gong Qianyu.
âLet them go.â said Gong Qianyu in a commanding one.
âAye!â Soldiers from Nanjiang were frightened to hear that, so they sheathed their swords, and gave way quietly by moving aside.
Murong Ye was confused by Gong Qianyuâs decision: we were sworn enemies of his kingdom, so he should have either killed us now, or had us tied up to pillars in front of his military camp. How come Gong Qianyu just let go of us that easilyâŠ
âLetâs get out of here.â Murong Xue said calmly and took a glance at Gong Qianyu. She turned around and strolled backwards, sighing to herself that she would owe him another favor each time they metâŠ
Gong Qianyu looked inexpressibly mysterious and noble, standing in the forest with his hands clasped behind his back and his dark sleeves fluttering. Staring at Murong Xueâs receding figure, his dark eyes lit upâŠ
Noticing Gong Qianyu had focused only on Murong Xue and Murong Ye, the young general narrowed his eyes. He took out a bow and instantly put an arrow on it before he shot mercilessly at Murong Xueâs backâŠ
The sound of slicing the air burst upon Murong Xueâs ears, she turned around immediately and saw a sharp arrow dashing towards her, too swiftly to be dodgedâŠ
She frowned and was about to avoid the shot at her heart. However, at this very moment, Gong Qianyu appeared, waving his hand fiercely, from which a curved flame broke out. It burnt the approaching arrow completely and its edge mercilessly swept across the neck of the young general.
Only a tearing sound could be heard before the young general froze, maintaining his archery posture. After a moment, he collapsed on the ground, with his indignant eyes wide openâŠ
âAs I said, let go of them!â the sullen Gong Qianyu said word by word. Soldiers reverberated with the echo of his order, lowering their heads with no courage to take a deep breath.
As a commander of the troops, what His Highness said was the command that had to be obeyed. According to military rules, the general deserved an execution since he acted otherwise publicly.
âMiss Murong, Young Master!â there came a pleasantly surprised voice. Murong Xue looked up and saw Wuhen walking towards her hurriedly.
Behind him strode Ouyang Shaochen in white, with a mysterious look on his faceâŠ
âYour Master, are you alright?â Wuhen was a bit shocked to see Murong Ye supported by Murong Xue.
Murong Ye smiled unnaturally, and answered, âJust a few scratches on my leg, which made me have trouble walking now. But itâs nothing seriousâŠâ
Wuhen nodded and said in a low voice, âMiss Murong, allow me to support His Master.â
âOkay!â nodded Murong Xue, and she allowed Wuhen to take care of Murong Ye instead. Wuhen was taller and stronger than her, so Murong Ye would definitely feel more comfortable with his support than hers.
Ouyang Shaochen walked to Murong Xue and couldnât help feeling surprised, holding her hands, âLooks like youâve kept yourself miraculously unharmed, it doesnât make senseâŠâ
Murong Xue suddenly turned sullen, âWhat makes sense? Come on, I rarely get hurt. I made it here shortly after we separated in the forest. But the two of you have been trapped in the forest for such a long time. Did you get in big trouble?â
âJust toxic fog and woods, as well as man-eating swamps, nothing seriousâŠâ Ouyang Shaochen gave an understatement and strolled forward, holding Murong Xueâs handâŠ
âSince itâs not a big deal for you, please be our guideâŠâ Murong Xue put on a weird smile. Toxic fog and woods, as well as swamps were invisible killing traps. Chances were that one would sink into the swamp even before he met toxic fog and woods, because swamps were everywhere in the forest. Ouyang Shaochen had just passed by a small one, and she didnât believe he could avoid all of themâŠ
âMy pleasure!â nodded Ouyang Shaochen, dragging Murong Xue into the forest.
Gong Qianyu stood still, looking a bit upset, watching their receding figures with holding handsâŠ
Murong Xue strode forward in the forest without any obstacles. Two minutes later, she reached the edge of the forest. Through the thick trees, the anxious faces of General Zhang and vice generals could even be seen.
Twitching her lips, Murong Xue was taken aback: Ouyang Shaochen managed to distinguish swamps from hard grounds, and made it to the destination in the right way, despite the fact that it was the first time he had ever entered the forestâŠ
Standing outside the forest, General Zhang suddenly caught sight of Murong Ye supported by Wuhen. He rushed to them, and asked, âMurong Ye, thank god youâre alright. Where are the others?â
Murong Ye suddenly turned sullen and whispered, âIâm the only survivorâŠâ
When General Zhang heard him say that, the delighted look on his face faded away. Looking at the dusty forest, he sighed heavily. He knew that could happen, but his heart still sank when he heard the sad news from Murong YeâŠ
âItâs good to have you back. In those traps, how did theyâŠ?â General Zhang asked about how Murong Xue and Ouyang Shaochen died.
âWe struggled through those trapsâŠâ whispered Murong, looking unprecedentedly sullenâŠ\n