Song Ruotang's eyes flashed. Only the servants in the mansion knew about her relationship with Pei Zhiyan. No one else was aware of it.
But this man was obviously not a servant in the mansion. Since Pei Zhiyan's mansion was small, there were few people to take care of it. It was only after Song Ruotang came that a few more maids were added. He himself didn't have a page to attend to him.
Song Ruotang sized up the man calmly. His clothes were torn, and there were wounds on his back and legs. The urgency in his eyes hadn't faded completely. He should have been being chased and killed.
Before Song Ruotang could withdraw her gaze, footsteps came from afar. She looked in the direction of the sound. Pei Zhiyan, in a jet - black robe, was chasing after with a swift figure.
His face was full of a solemn expression. Until he suddenly met Song Ruotang's gaze, he obviously paused for a moment.
"Pei Zhiyan, take a good look. Who is this?" The man pressed his sword against Song Ruotang's fair neck and pulled her forward, using her as a shield.
Pei Zhiyan stopped in his tracks. His subordinates behind him didn't dare to act rashly either. His face was tense and he said nothing. But the man who had grabbed Song Ruotang burst into laughter.
"Pei Zhiyan, so you've finally met your match because of a woman."
After he had laughed enough, Pei Zhiyan said calmly, "Let her go, and we can still talk."
"Bullshit!" The man suddenly stopped laughing and roared angrily. "If you want me to let this woman go, you can. Let me go and don't track me anymore. Otherwise, I'll kill her."
As he spoke, he pressed the sword on Song Ruotang's neck down a bit. A thin line of blood instantly appeared on her fair neck. The bright red blood beads rolled down immediately, staining the rabbit fur around her neck.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense. At this moment, Song Ruotang naturally couldn't pretend to be calm anymore. Her life was at stake, and she could only think about how to save her own life without dragging Pei Zhiyan down.
Her hand hanging by her side moved closer to her waist, and her fingers curled slightly.
"Have you made up your mind?" The man was getting impatient. "My patience is limited!" He pressed the sword down a bit more. Song Ruotang felt a sharp pain in her neck and couldn't help frowning.
Pei Zhiyan's gaze was always fixed on her neck. Emotions were surging in his eyes. Seeing the man press the sword down further, there was finally a crack in his expression. "Okay, I promise you."
The man showed a smug smile. He pulled Song Ruotang back until they reached the carriage. The moment he put away his sword, Song Ruotang quickly drew out a dagger and stabbed at his heart.
The man's eyes widened in surprise. He instinctively dodged, but he didn't completely avoid it. Song Ruotang stabbed him in the shoulder. He let out a pained cry, but he didn't have time to attack Song Ruotang. He could only endure the pain and jump on his horse, trying to ride away.
Pei Zhiyan naturally wouldn't let him get away. He took an arrow from his subordinate's bow and shot it at the horse's leg. The horse neighed in pain and bucked, throwing the man off. He landed beside Song Ruotang.
Song Ruotang ran towards Pei Zhiyan, but the man was quicker. He grabbed her ankle. During the struggle, the snow collapsed, and the man slipped down first.
Pei Zhiyan quickly pounced on Song Ruotang and grabbed her hand. But the man refused to let go. The weight of the two people made Pei Zhiyan's body slide down continuously.
Song Ruotang couldn't shake the man off. Gritting her teeth, she kicked his wound on the shoulder hard with her other foot. The man let out a pained grunt and instinctively let go. He fell off the cliff all of a sudden.
"A Tang, don't be afraid. I'll pull you up." Pei Zhiyan's whole body was sliding down. Song Ruotang nodded. Just as she was about to reach out her other hand, the snow beneath them suddenly slid down in a large area.
Their hands were already wet with snow water, numb and slippery. The sudden collapse made Song Ruotang's body sink suddenly, and their clasped hands were instantly shaken loose.
Fortunately, Pei Zhiyan was quick - witted. He quickly grabbed Song Ruotang's fingers again. "A Tang, hold on..."
His body slowly slid down due to gravity. Song Ruotang lowered her eyes and looked at the mist - covered cliff below. Then she looked up and saw Pei Zhiyan's determined expression. She gave a gentle smile.
Pei Zhiyan's eyes widened slightly. He immediately tightened his grip on her hand. "Don't!"
But he still watched helplessly as Song Ruotang slipped from his hand. Pei Zhiyan couldn't help calling out to her loudly, "A Tang!"
Song Ruotang was falling off the cliff. Her heart sank to the bottom. She didn't expect that she would lose her life before avenging her hatred...
Just when she was resigned to her fate, a familiar figure suddenly appeared above the mist. Song Ruotang's eyes widened instantly. She didn't expect that Pei Zhiyan would jump down. His subordinate had clearly grabbed him just now.
He had jumped down on his own...
Pei Zhiyan quickly grabbed her. The wind was so strong that it felt like a knife cutting on their faces. He hugged Song Ruotang tightly in his arms and said nothing.
The falling speed was very fast. Probably because of the wind, Song Ruotang's eyes felt sour and tears welled up.
Pei Zhiyan hugged her and broke several small trees slanting on the cliff. Finally, they fell heavily to the ground. Despite being held in Pei Zhiyan's arms, the huge impact made Song Ruotang pass out instantly.
I don't know how much time had passed. A drop of water fell on Song Ruotang's face. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a tree not far away. It was the melted snow on the tree that had dripped on her face.
Song Ruotang turned her head. Pei Zhiyan was lying not far away. His clothes were torn by branches and stones, and there were countless abrasions on his body.
Looking at Pei Zhiyan's appearance, her nose felt sour. He was probably the only one who had sacrificed for her without any other motives.
Song Ruotang got up and wanted to walk to his side, but the pain from the fall all over her body made it difficult for her to take each step. Fortunately, it was a snowy day, and it had snowed all night. Although the bottom of the cliff was covered by some trees, there was still a layer of snow, which also reduced the impact of their fall.
Song Ruotang moved to Pei Zhiyan's side and squatted down. She softly called him a few times, "My lord? Wake up."
Pei Zhiyan didn't respond. Song Ruotang bit her lip. She saw that he wasn't wearing a cloak, and his clothes were thinner than ordinary winter clothes. At this moment, he was lying in the snow, and his lips were getting paler.
Song Ruotang took off her cloak and put it on Pei Zhiyan. Then she used her hands to push the snow away from his side to prevent it from getting his clothes wet after melting.
She swept away the snow bit by bit until Pei Zhiyan seemed to regain consciousness. Only then did Song Ruotang stop.
Although he was wearing Song Ruotang's cloak, Pei Zhiyan was still shivering a bit. Song Ruotang tucked the cloak around him. Staring at his pale lips, she withdrew her hand but touched something warm.
It was a wine pouch.
Song Ruotang was overjoyed. How could she have forgotten that she had a wine pouch on her? No wonder she hadn't felt too cold when she took off her cloak to sweep the snow just now.
She quickly took off the wine pouch, helped Pei Zhiyan sit up, and carefully fed him some wine.
After the wine went down his throat, Pei Zhiyan coughed lightly and slowly opened his eyes. He looked up and saw Song Ruotang. The latter's nose felt sour, and big teardrops rolled down. "Pei Zhiyan, you scared me to death..."