"Prince Rui!" Seeing Prince Rui's clothes catch fire in an instant and a crossbow bolt pierce through his chest, the group of black-clothed secret guards and imperial guards beside him were shocked and rushed forward in a hurry to put out the fire.
Prince Rui covered his chest and turned his head with difficulty. In the darkness on the eaves, he saw a black figure quickly shuttle into the crowd. On that person's face, there was actually a ghost mask. Pointing at the person, Prince Rui roared angrily, "Kill him for me!"
"Yes!" The crossbowmen on the palace wall received the order and aimed their arrow tips at the person, shooting crossbow bolts in a hurry.
Yu Mo, the champion of the martial arts exam, seeing that his master, Prince Rui, was injured, left Luo Xunlong and rushed towards the high platform at full speed. Luo Xunlong and Uncle Li immediately flipped over and followed.
Wei Dongling's hands were tied behind her back and she couldn't move. From afar, she saw the black-clothed man wearing a ghost mask stepping on people's shoulders and rushing towards her in a hurry. There were also a group of crossbowmen on the palace wall firing at full force to kill him. Wei Dongling's heart skipped a beat. This person seemed to be here to rescue her! This person must be Yu Zixi without a doubt!
A complex mix of emotions welled up in Wei Dongling's heart. She didn't know how to face Yu Zixi and didn't want to see him again! But now she was involuntarily caught up in the situation. Suddenly, Wei Dongling felt a warmth under her feet. She quickly looked down and saw that the pile of dry firewood under the iron cage had somehow been lit!
Wei Dongling stamped her feet anxiously and jumped up and down desperately. If even a bit of spark touched her clothes, she, being tied up, might be burned to a pile of charcoal!
Yu Zixi rushed towards the high platform along the eaves in a hurry. With each step he took, he was targeted by the group of crossbowmen. The menacing crossbow bolts were shot one by one at the glazed tiles under his feet. If he was a bit slower, he might be pierced all over with holes. Soon, those crossbow bolts with sparks slowly lit the wooden beams under the roof tiles, starting one fire after another.
Seeing that Yu Mo was in a hurry to rush onto the high platform to protect his master, Luo Xunlong flashed forward and punched him. Yu Mo sensed the killing intent approaching and quickly turned his head to dodge. Then he fought back with Luo Xunlong.
Uncle Li was eager to go and rescue Wei Dongling. Looking at the group of arrows all aimed at the elusive figure wearing the ghost mask, and that figure was rushing towards Wei Dongling in a hurry, leaving a trail of sparks wherever he went! Uncle Li had no choice but to turn and leap onto the palace wall. He picked up a big knife and roared as he hacked his way through, scaring the crossbowmen so much that they trembled. With a wave of his knife, heads rolled all over the ground.
By the time Yu Zixi climbed onto the high platform, several arrows had already hit his legs and blood was gushing out. Prince Rui collapsed on the ground and pointed at Yu Zixi, roaring at everyone, "Kill him for me!"
"Yes!" A group of black-clothed secret guards and imperial guards rushed forward with their knives, charging towards Yu Zixi.
Seeing Wei Dongling's clothes on fire and her running around anxiously in the cage, Yu Zixi didn't care about the black-clothed men rushing at him from behind. He stepped forward and kicked away the burning pile of wood on the ground. Then he took off his clothes and reached into the cage to pat out the flames on Wei Dongling's clothes.
Even through the thick clothes, Wei Dongling could feel the burning pain on her feet. Since her hands were tied behind her back and she couldn't move, she could only rely on the clothes in Yu Zixi's hand to pat out the flames on her legs.
Wei Dongling felt pain all over her body. Her nose was almost broken, and there was still a faint seepage of blood on her neck. Her feet were so burned that cold sweat was oozing out. She couldn't stop trembling. Seeing a black-clothed secret guard stabbing at Yu Zixi from behind with a dagger, Wei Dongling shouted anxiously, "Watch out behind you!"
Yu Zixi turned his head to dodge and kicked the man away. After the flames on Wei Dongling's feet were extinguished, Yu Zixi grabbed two iron bars with both hands and tried hard to break them open to let her out. But the iron was very tough. No matter how hard he tried, the iron cage didn't move at all.
Wei Dongling looked at Yu Zixi anxiously and said, "Prince Rui has the key on him!"
Yu Zixi didn't move. He kicked up a burning piece of firewood as a weapon and fought back against the group of black-clothed secret guards and imperial guards behind him. In just a few moves, he knocked down dozens of people to the ground. Yu Zixi persevered and rushed forward. He wrapped his clothes tightly around the iron bars, twisted the two ends tightly and tried to turn them, but the iron still didn't move.
Wei Dongling was a bit puzzled. Yu Zixi could clearly go and search for the key on Prince Rui to unlock the cage and let her out first, but he deliberately abandoned the simplest way and insisted on trying to twist the iron bars open with his hands. Why was that?
Soon, when a group of arrows were shot towards Yu Zixi, Wei Dongling instantly understood. He was afraid that if he left for a moment, some careless crossbowman might accidentally hurt her in the cage! So, he was willing to rescue her in this way, using his own flesh and blood to stand in front of her.
Wei Dongling's nose turned sour. She wanted to scold him but couldn't open her mouth.
Yu Zixi suddenly turned around, waved his hand to knock away the incoming arrows, and then turned back to twist the iron cage hard. Finally, the iron bars were slowly bent by him, leaving a gap for Wei Dongling to pass through. When Yu Zixi reached out to help Wei Dongling out, unexpectedly, an arrow pierced through his chest.
Just as Wei Dongling took a step out of the iron bars, she saw the bright arrow tip sticking out of his chest. Yu Zixi let out a muffled groan, and his thin inner clothes were instantly stained red with blood.
"Yu Zixi!" Wei Dongling's nose turned sour and two lines of clear tears flowed down.
"I'm here. Don't be afraid." Yu Zixi's voice was still gentle, but one could faintly hear a tremor in it. He reached out to untie the ropes behind Wei Dongling.
Seeing another wave of arrows shooting straight over, Yu Zixi grabbed Wei Dongling's slender waist and dodged backward.
Wei Dongling looked back in panic. Seeing a group of crossbow bolts with flames shooting over, she shouted anxiously, "Watch out behind you!"
Yu Zixi grabbed the half-dead Prince Rui lying on the ground and held him in front of him. Prince Rui, who was already on his last breath, was instantly shot like a hedgehog by the flying arrows and died on the spot.
Yu Zixi picked up Wei Dongling and rushed out in a hurry. He hid behind the eaves, out of the sight of the crossbowmen.
In the hidden place under the eaves, Yu Zixi untied the ropes on Wei Dongling. Seeing that she was still looking at him with teary eyes, Yu Zixi's heart softened. He gently comforted her, "It's okay now. It's very dangerous over there. You hide obediently and don't go out." Saying that, he used a dagger to cut off the tip of the arrow that had pierced his chest, casually handed the dagger to Wei Dongling for self-defense, covered his chest and turned to leave.
"Zixi!" Seeing him breathing heavily and gasping for air, Wei Dongling was extremely panicked. She quickly grabbed his sleeve.
Yu Zixi looked back at her. A pang of sadness welled up in his heart. He said softly, "They need me. I have to go and help."
"Zixi!" Wei Dongling said with difficulty, tears streaming down her face, "Can you leave your mask for me? I want..." She wanted to let the Ninth Prince, Murong Yuchen, be buried in the imperial mausoleum in a proper and glorious way.
Before Wei Dongling could finish her words, Yu Zixi reached out and took off his mask. He gently placed it in her hand, looking at her with a look of doting in his eyes.