Chapter 30

“What would you do if I didn’t come back? What an ingrate!” Yan Xun pouted, and continued, “Hold tight!” Finishing his sentence, he whipped the horse’s rear end. With a neigh, the horse leapt high up into the air, above the heads of everyone!

“Yan Xun!” Zhuge Yue raged. He adjusted his robe and shouted, “How dare you interfere with my affairs!”

The warhorses in Yan Bei were widely recognised as the best in the world; no one could stop them on the plains. Yan Xun, while carrying Chu Qiao, turned back and laughed. “That’s kind of you, Fourth Young Master Zhuge. I’m going back to the north, you do not need to send me off anymore. Adios, see you next time!” Finishing his sentence, he led the warriors of Yan Bei and departed the scene.

“Young Master!” Zhu Cheng exclaimed in shock, only to see the heavily injured Zhuge Yue sneering in anger. He brushed aside the bandage on his neck, frowning, and climbed on his horse’s back. With a series of frantic whips, he chased after Yan Xun’s party in pursuit.

“Quick! Quick, follow Young Master!”

The night winds conjured up large snow floes. Yan Xun and Chu Qiao rode on the same horse, advancing across the empty, vast and snowy plains.

“Lass, go back to Yan Bei with me!”

“No!”

“No is not an answer.” The young man laughed. “Let’s see where you can run to this time.”

The sounds of the horse’s hooves disrupted the serenity of the plains. As the winds blew across the plains, more sounds of hooves could be heard from behind, just like thunder. Chu Qiao nervously gripped Yan Xun’s arm, shouting, “Lunatic, there’s someone chasing you from behind?”

Yan Xun nonchalantly laughed it off, replying, “It’s fine. Yan Bei is big and rich in resources. It’s no big deal if the Wei Clan wants to follow us there.”

Chu Qiao frowned heavily. She sporadically turned back, looking at the figures behind getting closer and closer. She knew that there were many people in pursuit. She bit her lower lip, scanned her surroundings and berated Yan Xun, “Are you crazy? You knew that people were out to kill you. Why did you still come back?”

Yan Xun raised his eyebrows slightly. He repeated the same line, “What would you do if I didn’t come back?” Tears welled up in Chu Qiao’s eyes. She looked up, her eyes making contact with Yan Xun’s chin. He was really still a child after all; his beard had not even grown. He was an aristocrat and did not know his boundaries, oblivious to the dangers of the world.

Yan Xun, seeing that she was in a trance, laughed and probed, “What’s going on? Are you so touched that you want to betroth yourself to me? You don’t have to. You’re still too young. Who knows what you will look like in the future. How about this, you follow me, and we’ll see how it goes.”

“Traitor from Yan Bei! Get off your horse and surrender yourself!” A loud voice suddenly boomed out from behind. Yan Xun froze. He helplessly said, “Hey, looks like we have trouble again.” As he said those words, he whipped his horse to get it to accelerate.

The black armor gave off an extremely intimidating aura in the night. Rumbling, hurried sounds of horses’ hooves became more audible by the second. Large amounts of snow were stirred up into the air by the horses, as if an avalanche had happened. The ground beneath trembled heavily, as if a beast had awakened and was about to break through the ground.

“Hold tight!” The young man’s expression suddenly became steely and serious. He frowned, held the reins of the horse tightly and with a loud holler, the warhorse let out a long neigh. It raised its hooves in the air and started to gallop even faster. The wind sliced past their ears like a sharp knife, leaving the people chasing shadows.

“Haha!” The warriors of Yan Bei let out loud, hearty laughter in unison, looking back at the shocked faces of the Wei soldiers.

Feng Mian, the small apprentice, laughed and added, “Prince, we should let those people see a real warhorse from Yan Bei is like.”

Yan Xun laughed and replied, “Sure. Let’s give them an eye-opener.” As he finished his sentence, the warriors of Yan Bei grabbed the horses’ reins together, putting a finger to their mouths and letting out a high-pitched, crisp whistling sound. Amidst everyone’s confusion, the warhorses belonging to Yan Xun’s party suddenly stood on two legs, their manes fully extended. They let out a loud cry which resembled that of a lion. The sound reverberated in the night, reflecting the horses’ unrivalled power and domineering nature. It was simply suffocating.

The warhorses belonging to the royal troops of Zhen Huang let out cries of agony, their legs crumbling and falling to the ground. No amount of whipping by the generals could get the horses back to their feet.

Chu Qiao was intrigued.

Feng Mian laughed, explaining, “In Yan Bei, we produce our horses by cross-breeding the finest mares from Tian Mu Mountain and wild wolves. They are unbelievably fast and are also able to call upon packs of wolves for help in battle. These nobles’ horses from Zhen Huang have not even been on the battlefield; naturally, they will cower in fear by just hearing to the sounds of our horses. It’s impossible for them to chase us.”

The warriors of Yan Bei laughed in unison again. Yan Xun’s robe fluttered about in the wind. He sat atop his horse, ordering, “Let’s go! Back to Yan Bei!”

The warriors laughed heartily and echoed, “Back to Yan Bei!” The sounds of horses’ hooves rumbled, scattering the snow about. In the pitch-black night, the warriors of Yan Bei whipped their horses, departing from the scene with grandeur.

However, at this moment, Chu Qiao suddenly felt a sense of danger. The sense of cautiousness, cultivated from working precariously for many years, set off alarm bells in her head. Before the child could comprehend her thoughts, which came out of the blue, a swoosh sound penetrated the darkness and whistled towards her party with an intimidating aura.

In a split second, before Chu Qiao could react properly, she delivered a blow to Yan Xun’s stomach. Yan Xun grimaced in pain, bending his back downwards as a reflex action. As he was about to scold the ungrateful Chu Qiao, an arrow embedded itself into his left shoulder, its tip sticking out from his back. The force of the impact caused blood to ooze out from the wound, knocking him backwards and causing him to fall from his horse onto the snowy ground!

“Yan Xun!” Chu Qiao shrieked. She held the horse’s reins back, trying to stop the horse, but it ignored her actions and continued to dash forward, defying all commands. Chu Qiao panicked, leaping off the horse and up into the air. With a frontal somersault, she landed firmly on the snowy ground. “Yan Xun!” Chu Qiao held his shoulder. She asked, “Are you alright?”

The young man frowned, a cold expression in his eyes. “I’m fine, I won’t die.”

With another swoosh, another arrow flew towards the two of them. Chu Qiao, sensing that the source of the sound came from a different direction, raised her sword to block the arrow. The force of the impact of the arrow with the sword caused a spark to form, illuminating the dark sky.

“Put down your weapons!” Many low sounds echoed together in unison. Countless troops, easily over a thousand, surfaced from beneath the snowy ground. They were all dressed in white, camouflaging themselves in the snow. It was no wonder that the warhorses did not detect any danger when they passed by. Many swords were pointed at the two of them, making it impossible to break free.

Intense sounds of fighting resonated from not far out. It was evident that the warriors of Yan Bei could not dismount in time, being surrounded heavily by the royal troops.

A young man dressed in black emerged from within the crowd. The robe within his cloak had a golden dragon embroidered on it. A sharp-looking dragon claw could be seen on his collar, appearing very intimidating and majestic under the brightly burning fires.

Zhao Che half-squinted and sneered, “I knew that the Wei family couldn’t do anything right.”

The sharp swords were pointed at both of their necks. The swords had purplish-golden flower logos imprinted on them, a symbol unique only to Sheng Jin Palace. This meant that they were imperial guards. Zhao Che, the seventh royal prince, stared Yan Xun in the eye and proceeded to size up Chu Qiao, ordering, “Take them back.”

“Seventh Royal Highness.” A guard walked forward, taking small glances at the warriors of Yan Bei who were still intensely engaged in battle. “What about the rest?”

Zhao Che raised his eyebrows, sneering. “Those people defied royal orders and betrayed their country. What use is there keeping them alive?”

The guard, sensing what Zhao Che meant, shouted, “Kill all of them!” Roars of acknowledgment resonated from the distance. In an instant, a flurry of arrows flew towards where the warriors of Yan Bei were. Moments prior, they were still laughing heartily with conviction. However, they now laid lifelessly on the floor, their corpses collapsing onto the snowy ground.

Chu Qiao was enraged. Hearing Feng Mian curse uncontrollably beside her, she clenched her fists tightly, staring coldly at Zhao Che who was perched atop his horse. At this moment, imperial troops from Sheng Jin Palace approached. The child struggled slightly, catching the eye of the royal prince.

Zhao Che sized her up with his eyes and frowned slightly. She appeared familiar, but he could not remember where he had seen her before. “Execute all the irrelevant people,” he said.

“Who dares!” Yan Xun dashed forward, holding Chu Qiao tightly in his embrace and staring at the young man fearlessly in the eye.

Zhao Che froze; his anger turned into laughter. He retorted, “You do not know your boundaries. At this stage, do you still think of yourself as the Prince of Yan Bei?”

Yan Xun remarked coldly, “Zhao Che, if you dare to do this, I guarantee that you will regret it.”

Zhao Che frowned and sneered. “I want to see how you, a trapped beast, will make me regret. Do it!”

Elite troops from both directions raised their swords and advanced forward. Yan Xun withdrew his dagger and pointed it at his chest. The look in his eyes was steely and exemplified his unwavering decisiveness.

“Stop!” Zhao Che was taken aback and frowned in disbelief. His eyes scanned the child from head to toe, before he said, “Yan Xun, I’ll spare your dignity this time. Bring them back!” Their weapons were taken away, and both of them were imprisoned in a carriage that had been prepared.

The young man held Chu Qiao tightly in his embrace. She rested her head on his chest. Blood oozed non-stop out of the wound on Yan Xun’s left shoulder and down his neck, mixing with her clothes.

“Yan Xun,” Chu Qiao whispered, “how are you?”

“Lass, I’ve implicated you.”

Chu Qiao was saddened. She shook her head, replying, “Don’t say this. We will…”

“Don’t worry!” Yan Xun suddenly interrupted Chu Qiao and declared with conviction, “I’ll protect you.”

Chu Qiao’s body stiffened and she froze. Not long ago, in that dilapidated firewood hut, someone told her the same words with the same seriousness.

“Yue’er, don’t be scared. I’ll protect you.”

The wind whistled past, cold enough to freeze one’s blood. Yan Xun had lost too much blood; his body was cold and he trembled non-stop. Chu Qiao reached out her thin arms and held him tight. She looked towards the left, spotting a small hill not far away. The dark clouds had dissipated, paving the way for the bleak moonlight to shine on the ground. A young man was perched atop the solitary warhorse. He possessed a crossbow which he held, pointing to himself. The wound on Yan Xun’s shoulder had been inflicted by this exact person.

Even though they were separated by quite a distance, Chu Qiao could still make out the person’s appearance and eyebrows. She held Yan Xun, whose body was becoming increasingly colder, tightly in her arms. She bit her lower lip and clenched her small fists behind the young man’s back.