The night was as cool as water. Wei Dongling quietly lurked and looked in the direction of the glimmers of light.
On the winding path, several black - clad men were chasing a dark figure. Wei Dongling couldn't make out the face of the dark figure, but she saw the eagle raised by Tian Qi hovering intermittently over the group in the night sky.
In the dark forest, Wei Dongling moved swiftly, taking a shortcut to the path the pursuers were bound to pass. Looking around, she lightly leaped onto a thick, dark - green bamboo and bent it into a huge bow with her weight.
The running figure in front was getting closer. Just as he was about to approach, Wei Dongling called out in a low voice, "Watch your step!"
The dark figure hesitated slightly and then quickly leaped over.
As they passed by, Wei Dongling suddenly recognized that it was Tian Qi. On his shoulder was Yu Zixi, pale - faced and covered in blood!
Wei Dongling's heart gave a violent jolt.
Before she could think further, she saw several black - clad men with torches and long knives catching up. Wei Dongling seized the opportunity and suddenly let go of the bamboo joint. The powerful rebound force sent the black - clad men crashing to the ground.
Wei Dongling turned around and quickly followed Tian Qi. She heard the men wailing miserably behind her, and one of them shouted in a panic, "They have accomplices! Call for reinforcements quickly!"
Not knowing how many people were lurking in the forest, the black - clad men didn't dare to rush forward rashly. One of them took out a signal arrow from his bosom and shot it into the sky.
Seeing the blood constantly dripping from Yu Zixi's body onto the ground, Wei Dongling became flustered. She whispered to Tian Qi, "Follow me!" Then she pushed aside the branches in the forest and got in.
Tian Qi looked back at the dark bloodstains along the way, gritted his teeth, and followed Wei Dongling into the forest.
Along the way, Wei Dongling cleared the branches for Tian Qi. Her smooth hands were scratched with many tiny wounds. She looked at Yu Zixi's pale face worriedly and asked in a trembling voice, "Is he badly hurt? Let's find a place to stop the bleeding first!"
Tian Qi walked with great difficulty in the muddy forest. Several times, it was Wei Dongling beside him who quickly supported him to prevent him from falling. He gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "The young master took a knife to the abdomen to cover for the Ninth Prince."
Wei Dongling's face turned deathly pale. Yu Zixi was injured in the abdomen again?
Tian Qi gasped and said, "I'll take you to a safe place later, and then I have to go back to look for the Ninth Prince. Madam, please take him back with Cui Huan quickly!"
Wei Dongling nodded with gritted teeth and said, "Cui Huan and I got separated. She should be not far behind."
"Okay." Tian Qi closely followed Wei Dongling through the forest, secretly surprised. He never thought that as a woman, the young mistress could walk so nimbly and steadily in such a steep and difficult jungle, even with a limp.
After a long while of shuttling, they finally reached a shoal.
Tian Qi put down the unconscious Yu Zixi, took out pills from a porcelain bottle in his bosom, crushed one, and stuffed it into Yu Zixi's mouth. Then he tore open Yu Zixi's clothes, took out the hemostatic medicine, and applied it to the long wound on his abdomen.
By the dim moonlight, Wei Dongling saw the long wound on Yu Zixi's abdomen and covered her mouth in shock, almost crying out. Her eyes instantly welled up with tears, and she choked, "We have to take him back quickly to find Ruan Niang!"
Tian Qi fumbled to stop the bleeding and bandage the wound on Yu Zixi, then casually stuffed the medicine in his hand to Wei Dongling and said in a deep voice, "Madam, just now the young master ordered me to go back to look for the Ninth Prince..."
Wei Dongling bit her lips tightly and nodded, saying in a low voice, "I'll take him back."
Tian Qi bowed, then turned around and walked away in a hurry.
Wei Dongling groped her way to Yu Zixi's side and knelt down. Looking at his pale face, tears couldn't stop falling. She grabbed his hand and whispered in his ear, "Yu Zixi, hold on! Be strong. I'll take you back right away!"
She took out the dagger hidden in Yu Zixi's shoe and walked towards the bamboo forest they had passed by earlier.
He Yao was hiding behind a huge rock by the stream. She peeked out from time to time. There were some glimmers in the forest, and people were bustling about, shooting signal arrows to call for their companions, which made her turn pale with fear.
This place was not safe to stay for long. She didn't know how Dongling was doing out there to help. What if something happened to her? What should she do if she was left alone here?
He Yao thought for a while, then trembled on her legs and slowly groped along the shoal in the direction the black - clad men were chasing.
Yu Zixi's dagger was extremely sharp. Wei Dongling successfully cut down several thick bamboo poles and dragged them back to the shoal one by one. Then she went to cut some long vines and tied the bamboo poles together side by side.
Seeing the thin figure walking towards the shoal from afar, Wei Dongling called out in a low voice, "County Mistress, come and help quickly!"
Hearing Wei Dongling's voice, He Yao quickened her pace. When she saw Yu Zixi lying limp on the ground at a glance, she was so shocked that she almost let out a scream. She rushed forward and hugged Yu Zixi, sobbing softly.
Wei Dongling was tying the bamboo raft with hands and feet. She whispered, "Don't move. He has an abdominal injury. Come and help me quickly. We have to take him back for treatment right away!"
He Yao was crying like a pear blossom in the rain. Hearing this, she quickly stopped sobbing and came to help.
The two of them fumbled to tie the bamboo raft tightly, then lifted Yu Zixi onto it. They grabbed the vines on either side and waded in the shoal, leading Yu Zixi downstream.
He Yao imitated Wei Dongling and picked up a branch as a walking stick. The two of them staggered forward in the water.
As they walked, Wei Dongling looked at the mountains on both sides, carefully distinguishing the direction. She heard He Yao beside her gasping and saying to her, "Sister Dongling, actually you're not a bad person. You have quite a few good ideas. We're really lucky to have you today! If we sisters work together, we'll surely save Brother Zixi. When we get back, I'll give you a big red envelope!"
Wei Dongling, who was a bit tired, instantly perked up at this. The pain in her right shoulder didn't seem so bad either. She gasped and asked, "How... how much?"
"What?" It took He Yao a long time to realize what she was asking about. She quickly stretched out her palm and said, "Five... five thousand taels!"
Wei Dongling was so excited that her hands were trembling. She wished she could fly back immediately and grab the silver note worth five thousand taels.
Seeing her full of energy and speeding up her pace, He Yao couldn't help twitching the corners of her mouth.
The mountain road was rough, and the stream meandered down. There were large drops between some rocks, so the two of them had to lift the bamboo poles and cross over, then slowly move forward. They drifted along the stream for I don't know how long, exhausted and in a sorry state.
He Yao, a young lady who had never done any hard work, already had blisters on her hands from grabbing the vines. The blisters on her feet were rubbing back and forth in the water, making her limp slowly as she walked.
The sky was gradually getting bright. These two limping and exhausted women dragged the bamboo raft behind them with sheer willpower, tremblingly moving forward in the stream.