Chapter 223

As midnight loomed, the mountainous ranges gave way to a flat piece of grass plains. The guide mentioned that this place was Youyou Plains, and that the Sunset Mountains lay ahead. After the Sunset Mountains, they would arrive at the biggest city in the southwest, Qiufeng City. Using Qiufeng City as a reference point, Tang Jing was situated to its east, while Baishui Pass was located to the north. The territory of Xia laid outside Baishui Pass.

These few days, the party had traversed along the mountain ranges. When they finally saw the flat plains, everyone’s mood brightened up. The sight of the flat plains was always the same—a tree could be seen from afar. Although its distance was often perceived to be not too far away, it often required a day’s journey by horse to arrive there. After wandering along Youyou Plains for two whole days, they finally arrived at Sunset Mountains.

The name of this mountain was glorious, along with its sceneries. A few peaks stood tall beside each other, decorated with lush green trees and dense clusters of flowers. A waterfall flowed downwards from the top of the peaks, forming a white stream. As the water vapor lingered in the air, it gave off the aura that the place was a utopia. As Qiufeng City was nearby, the mountain roads were wide enough to accommodate two horse carriages side by side. As the sun set, the landscape glowed a bright red along with the forests and flowers. The sceneries remained as beautiful as ever; the mountain deserved its name after all.

That night, Chu Qiao ordered her party to set up camp at the foot of a valley. When the servants heard the orders, they cheered in joy. Evidently, they were fatigued, having traveled non-stop for a few nights without any sleep. Before they managed to fall asleep, the howls of wild wolves drifted from not far out into their ears, sending chills up their spines.

Jingjing’s face turned pale in fear as she curled up against Meixiang in the tent. She closed her eyes as she tried to drift off to sleep, but to no avail. Chu Qiao felt a little worried. The hungry wolves in the southwest were renowned for their savagery. Presently, Chu Qiao did not have a large group of people with her. The majority of them were hired bodyguards and carriage operators. Also, there were women in the group. If they bumped into the wolves, there would be dire consequences. Hence, she summoned Pingan and gave him a few orders. Then, she told everyone to prepare themselves, before she dared to let her guard down a little.

As the latter part of the night approached, the howls of the wolves became louder, along with the shouts of some men. Chu Qiao put on her coat and went outside. She ordered a few people to guard the camp, and wandered towards the source of the sound with Pingan and over ten other bodyguards. As they had just navigated through the first slope, a pungent smell of blood lingered in the air. All of them took a careful look in front, only to see a group of over 100 wolves attacking a group of men on their horses in another valley below them. Although they were outnumbered by the wolves, they were agile and organized in their movements. Evidently, they were people that were not to be trifled with. However, the wolves were equally savage as they flashed their sharp, white teeth. As they flocked together, they seemed to be emboldened by their strength in numbers, fearlessly engaging in combat against the humans.

As blood splattered everywhere, the pungent smell became more intense. Cries of agony reverberated in the air, sending chills up everyone’s spines once again.

“Sister?” Pingan frowned as he continued in a heavy tone, “There are too many wolves. If these people cannot beat them, neither can we.”

Chu Qiao nodded as she ordered, “Everyone, prepare yourselves.” Her entourage was made up of people who were experienced pugilists. Although they were not as capable as an army, they were brave and courageous. They prepared their bows and arrows as they assumed their posture, waiting for Pingan’s orders to strike.

“Fire!” A neat row of fiery arrows, doused with pine oil, flew out from their bows. In an instant, over ten wolves collapsed on the floor as they yelped in agony, having been attacked suddenly from behind.

This enraged the other wolves as they turned around and charged towards them. With frightening speed, a few of the wolves had dashed right in front of them.

Pingan was quick to react as he picked up a bucket of tung oil, splashing its contents onto the ground in front of him. He threw a torch onto the moist ground, causing a wall of fire 30 feet tall to form in front of the mountain. The few hungry wolves, unable to stop in time, crashed head-on into the flames, letting out ear-splitting howls.

As the wolves were scared of the flames, their semblance of organization evaporated away. The group of men on horses, seeing that an unknown ally had come to their aid, dashed forward defiantly, using their swords to seal the victory by hacking at any wolf they saw.

The wolves were indeed savage; they only retreated after an intense battle lasting more than two hours. Before they scampered away, they let out a few howls in anger, signaling their intention for revenge.

A man shouted from below the valley, “Which friend of ours is that? Our master thanks you for lending a helping hand!”

Pingan was slightly stunned upon hearing those words. He turned to look around, but his view was blocked by the trees. In addition, he could not see well in the darkness. Hence, he had no choice but to shout, “Is that Brother Cao? We met at Qingheng River before.”

The other party remained silent for a while before he laughed in reply, “Oh, it’s Brother Du. It’s a bit inconvenient for me right now, but I will repay the favor in time.”

Pingan remarked, “Please dispense on ceremonies, Brother Cao. Are you injured? Do you have any ointment?”

“It’s just some superficial wounds. It’s nothing. Thanks for your concern.”

Chu Qiao was able to hear the guarded tone in the other party’s voice. She tugged at Pingan’s sleeve lightly and pointed towards the direction of their own camp.

Pingan, realizing her intentions, added on, “I’ll take my leave first. Brother Cao, take care.”

When they got back to the camp, Jingjing was jumping around anxiously. When she saw Chu Qiao, she dashed forward hurriedly and probed, “Sister, are you injured?”

“No.” Chu Qiao shook her head as she continued to address Pingan and the rest, “Maintain your guard when you sleep tonight. Keep the torches lighted. Prepare the fire arrows, the sulfur, and the tung oil. The wolves will not let this go. Be careful of them.”

Everyone nodded as Chu Qiao headed back to her tent. Meixiang removed her cloak as she said gently, “You could have let Pingan go himself. Why did you follow along?”

Chu Qiao shook her head, frowned, and gently replied, “I haven’t been at ease these few days. I don’t know if something will happen.”

“Miss, you must be worried for the Tang Emperor. Don’t worry. He’s so smart. Those villains will not be able to take advantage of him.”

Chu Qiao sighed and received a cup of warm, piping ginseng tea from Meixiang. However, it was unable to warm her hands up.

“I certainly hope so.”

As she thought of the group of men on horses earlier on, she suddenly felt another bad premonition. Subconsciously, she uttered, “Meixiang, do you still have the ointment we bought from Xinglin Hall last time around?”

Meixiang was stunned as she asked in a panicked manner, “Who’s injured? Miss, are you injured?”

“No.” Chu Qiao shook her head hurriedly. “No one’s injured.” She laid on the mat, feeling frustrated. Meixiang looked at her with some reservations, wondering if she had been lied to. What was going on? Chu Qiao frowned as she thought.

On the morning of the next day, Chu Qiao and the rest resumed their journey. They had barely made up any ground before they saw a group of men on their horses lying in wait ahead of them. They were the people which had fought with the wolves last night.

A middle-aged man in his thirties walked over and engaged in a brief, formality-filled conversation with Pingan. Then, he walked over to Chu Qiao’s horse carriage, bowed, and said, “My master thanks Miss for your helping hand. I should not have bothered you, but I have been taught to remember others’ favors. May I ask for your name? Please forgive me for my boldness.”

Chu Qiao frowned as she replied in a heavy tone, “It was what I should have done. No need to thank me further.”

The man was slightly stunned as he continued to direct the conversation towards his motives. “I still don’t know your name.”

“You’re weird. Your master sent you here, which means that he does not want to reveal his identity. Why are you trying to inquire about my background? We’re just strangers who have helped each other. It’s normal to guard against each other. Since we don’t trust each other and have our own matters to attend to, why are we still standing here engaging in this meaningless conversation, instead of rushing off towards our own paths?”

The man was utterly dumbfounded, not expecting Chu Qiao to be so frank. Following which, he took his leave quietly. The group in front then vanished after a short while.

Jingjing gasped in admiration, “Sister, you’re so capable!”

Chu Qiao sighed as she leaned on the cushion. She was not capable, she was just not willing to waste time on them. As day by day passed, she felt increasingly worried. The group of people made her feel uneasy and gave her a sense of danger; she evidently felt that this was no ordinary group of people. At this moment, it was better to tread carefully—the lesser troubles, the better.

However, barely half a day had passed before they encountered their next obstacle. At this moment, even Jingjing, who was dense, was able to feel that something was amiss. A few trees and a heap of mud and stones were strewn across the narrow stone path in the mountains. They were as tall as half a human being, blocking off the path for them to continue their journey. Everything was obvious. Although the primary instinct was to attribute this sight to a landslide caused by a torrential downpour a few days ago, no one believed in this possibility due to the coincidental occurrences they had witnessed many times along their journey.

As expected, the group of men waited in front of their horses, greeting Chu Qiao’s party with an aura of hostility. Pingan and the rest responded by frowning; their hands subconsciously drifted to the side as they prepared to withdraw their swords.

Anticlimactically, the sky was a bright azure blue. The birds circled in the sky as the warm sun shone on the ground below. It was almost oxymoronic as a dark atmosphere emanated from the brightness. The two parties, instead of clearing up the mess on the road, stared at each other in anticipation of a fight.

“How coincidental,” the man surnamed Cao laughed coldly as he spoke.

Pingan raised his eyebrows as he matched the man’s tone. “It is coincidental indeed, having been through life and death situations with Brother Cao these few days. Even though I don’t believe in fate, I have no choice but to acknowledge fate this time.”

“In my opinion, fate is rubbish. I’m afraid that someone has bad intentions.”

Pingan answered angrily, “Who are you talking about?”

The man surnamed Cao snarled coldly, “Who are you? Reveal yourselves!”

“You look more like the bad guy!” Pingan hollered in anger as he withdrew his sword which sparkled amongst the brightness. He took a step forward, as he prepared to strike.

The opposition, threatened, withdrew his sword as well. Suddenly, a glimmer of silver flashed across Pingan’s face, as another sword knocked Pingan’s sword off his hand and onto the ground. A sharp, female voice echoed out, “Pingan, don’t be rash.”

The tense atmosphere was almost instantly diffused. There was dead silence everywhere; even the sounds of breathing was faintly audible. The winds swept across everyone’s eyes and caused the leaves in the distance to rustle. The birds chirped as they flew across the sky, restoring the bright atmosphere that was befitting of the weather.

Swoosh! A soft sound suddenly echoed out, which resembled a boot treading on the stone path. As the wind lifted the curtains of the horse carriage, the man surnamed Cao and the rest of his party exclaimed in shock, “Master?” The man remained silent as he walked towards Chu Qiao’s horse carriage.

Pingan raised his eyebrows as he shouted, “Stop there!”

The man ignored him. Pingan held his sword in his hand as he prepared to strike out again.

Clank! The sword was only halfway out of his sheath before the man knocked it out of his grip onto the ground, with great agility.

Pingan’s face turned red from anger, as he charged towards the man. However, the man did not show an ounce of fear as he quickened his steps, walked towards Chu Qiao’s carriage, and lifted the curtains.

Whoosh! The refreshing winds blew into the carriage. The sunlight at noontime was blinding. Chu Qiao held a mini crossbow in her hand, pointing it towards the door of her carriage. However, she froze as the sunlight entered the pupils of her eyes.

Pingan charged towards them from behind, his hands shaped like a claw and aimed towards the man’s neck. He was easily able to kill his enemy at this instant, having been under Chu Qiao’s tutelage for three years. However, the man did not dodge. He was wearing a white outfit as he stood at his original position, staring at her with his handsome face. In that instant, he did not know whether to feel happy or sad. A flurry of emotions surged within him, causing him to feel overwhelmed.

Swoosh! The arrow left the crossbow, brushed past the man’s ear, then brushed past Pingan’s arm with frightening velocity. It carried with it a heavy murderous aura, which stopped everyone in their tracks.

“Pingan, step away,” Chu Qiao ordered quietly without any anger, but her tone was sufficiently threatening.

Pingan answered in confusion, “Sister?”

Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows and looked at him, without speaking a word.

Pingan stepped back slowly, giving a final look of indignity towards the man in front of the carriage.

The winds were mesmerizing; the weather was good. A group of orioles landed on the tree branches not far out, chirping happily. The trees were branched out. Many flowers bloomed on the trees of the dense forest at the sides, giving off a beautiful sight.