The warhorses neighed softly. The vast army of Yan remained silent, watching Sheng Jiangli retreat, waiting for their Prince to release the arrow in his hand.
The heavy iron arrow was nocked on Song Yinghuai's finger. Tiny wisps of white mist rose from the bowstring, caressing his cheek.
His face was moist from the riverside, which made his handsome and gentle features even more prominent.
But only from his cold, icy eyes could one see the fierce killing intent within.
Apart from the defeat in the Battle of Nauerhai due to the Crown Prince's plot, this was probably the second time in his life that he had tasted failure.
Sheng Jiangli and Subude had retreated to the entrance of the secret passage.
Caiyu finally let out a sigh of relief.
Sheng Jiangli's unsteady voice rang out, "Shu'er, you..."
He was torn. Should he let Caiyu go or abduct her against her will?
At that moment, an arrow shot through the air like a white rainbow piercing the sun!
It seemed that Song Yinghuai had sensed Sheng Jiangli's intention and released the arrow at the last moment.
The arrow flew towards them like a shooting star from afar, its shrill whistle echoing across the Tiexian River!
At the same time, his warhorse charged towards them under his command!
Behind him, Ma Mo, filled with hatred, ordered, "Loose the arrows!"
In an instant, a shower of arrows rained down like a sudden storm, forming an inescapable net in the air and heading straight for them!
The arrows whistled through the air like thunder. Sheng Jiangli dodged Song Yinghuai's arrow and pushed Caiyu forward, then ran towards the secret passage with Subude.
There was no time to say anything else. As he pushed her away, he shouted, "Run forward towards the Prince of Yan! Run as far as you can! There's gunpowder here!"
Gunpowder!
Caiyu felt a chill run down her spine. Without even looking back, she started running towards Song Yinghuai with all her might!
The sky was filled with a dense shower of arrows. The man leaped from his horse, soaring over the rain of arrows. He reached out his large hand and firmly grabbed her waist, rolling with her to the side.
The arrows whizzed past them, and countless arrowheads landed where they had just been.
At the same time, there was a deafening explosion behind them.
The earth shook, and the river roared.
Gigantic boulders rolled down from the mountains on both sides of the Tiexian River, blocking the entrance of the secret passage that Sheng Jiangli and the others had fled into.
Countless gravels rained down on Caiyu's head, covering her face with stone chips.
Ma Mo led the army forward at full speed. The warhorse neighed in panic at the sight of the rocks blasted by the gunpowder, and he barely managed to rein it in.
"Damn it! I'll kill you one day!" Ma Mo roared.
Caiyu turned around and stared blankly at the mess behind her. A sense of fear quickly crept up her spine.
If she had run a little slower.
If Song Yinghuai had come a little later.
If Song Yinghuai hadn't held her and dodged the rain of arrows...
"Lan Caiyu!"
Behind her came Song Yinghuai's cold and angry voice.
Caiyu was startled and turned around. The man's large hand had already tightly grasped her slender neck.
Song Yinghuai's clothes fluttered in the night wind. The bloodthirsty desire in his eyes seemed to want to devour her alive:
"You were going to go with him just now?"
Although he had been standing far away, he had seen clearly.
Sheng Jiangli had grabbed her hand, and she hadn't resisted.
She had looked back several times as she retreated.
She wasn't being kidnapped. She was quite willing, wasn't she!
Thinking of how he had rushed here in a hurry, his heart filled with anxiety, Song Yinghuai felt like a fool!
The last time she had staged a kidnapping on Fucheng Street, and this time it was the same!
Thinking of how she had toyed with him again and again, Song Yinghuai's bloodshot eyes were like those of a wild beast. He almost lost all his sanity, and the strength in his hand on Caiyu's neck involuntarily increased.
When had he, Song Yinghuai, ever been played like this?
Only this reckless woman, relying on his favor, kept challenging his bottom line!
A strong sense of suffocation rose from Caiyu's throat. Her chest felt as if it was being crushed by a stone, and her breathing seemed to be covered by an invisible net. Every breath was like struggling to survive in a confined space.
Her vision began to darken.
Caiyu thought that this time she was really going to be strangled to death.
Well, anyway, Song Yinghuai had already intended to kill her when he first arrived.
If it hadn't been for Sheng Jiangli blocking the arrow for her...
She had chosen to stay, so she had also chosen to bear Song Yinghuai's anger.
Including his killing intent.
This time, even she wasn't sure if Song Yinghuai would really kill her.
A calm smile appeared on Caiyu's face, and she closed her eyes.
Her willing-to-die appearance only further stirred up Song Yinghuai's killing intent.
His face remained calm, but only he knew that his heart felt like it was being kneaded into a ball, slowly being squeezed and rubbed, brewing a sour plasma.
The twin snakes in his body seemed to sense his surging blood and took the opportunity to stir in the blood, frantically swimming towards his heart, causing his calm to quickly shatter.
Just strangle this ungrateful girl to death!
Then he would have no weakness!
Zhu Xiao and the others rushed up quickly and forcefully grabbed Song Yinghuai's arms, pulling him back:
"Your Highness, please calm down!"
"Your Highness!"
"Your Highness!"
"Miss Caiyu is going to be strangled to death by you!"
Song Yinghuai turned a deaf ear. His arms were as strong as iron, and even Zhu Xiao and the other strong men couldn't budge him an inch.
A tear of suffocation slid down Caiyu's cheek and "plop" landed on Song Yinghuai's hand.
His hand felt as if it had been burned by fire.
Song Yinghuai withdrew his hand. The scarlet in his eyes gradually faded. He tightly grasped the Buddhist beads on his wrist, and clarity slowly returned to his mind.
Fresh air rushed into Caiyu's throat, and she coughed violently, her back arching like a bow.
She heard Song Yinghuai's slightly trembling voice ring out again:
"Lan Caiyu, you said I was going to be yours alone, but you keep wavering and being greedy... You're just a servant girl! How dare you?"
Song Yinghuai took a deep breath, feeling the killing intent surging in his body again. The indestructible Vajra Bodhi was almost crushed into powder by him:
"You're really something! You're so bold! You're not like a servant girl at all! You..."
Song Yinghuai's scolding suddenly stopped when he saw the tears in Caiyu's just-raised eyes.
The sky was turning white in the east. Her eyelashes were trembling wildly due to the choking cough. They were moist, and the morning glow cast a soft light on them. They were a somewhat fragile dark brown, like the wings of a newly born butterfly.
The tears were still flowing, but her lips were tightly pursed, allowing the tears to fall freely on the ground.
Song Yinghuai's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he couldn't scold anymore.
The feeling of anger and helplessness made him feel dizzy for the first time.
He took a deep breath and then gritted his teeth and said, "You feel wronged? What did I say wrong? If you have the guts to elope, you should be prepared to bear the consequences."
Elope?
Caiyu was also filled with anger.
She had clearly been abducted by Sheng Jiangli!
If she had known she would be misunderstood, she might as well have been really abducted. At least she wouldn't have been misunderstood.
Caiyu swallowed a mouthful of air and, regardless of her status, said defiantly:
"Since Your Highness is convinced that this servant girl is eloping, then shoot the arrow that was meant for me just now one more time. This time, without General Sheng to save me, I, this servant girl, will surely die as cleanly as Your Highness wishes!"
Her voice was unsteady, like the mottled strokes engraved in the air. Her feathery eyelashes trembled in the air, and her lips were trembling as she tried to suppress her emotions.
"When did I ever shoot an arrow at you..." Song Yinghuai blurted out without thinking, then suddenly stopped. Realization quickly flashed across his eyes.
Sheng Jiangli had saved her!
Song Yinghuai remembered that when he first shot the arrow at Sheng Jiangli, with Sheng Jiangli's skills, he could have easily dodged it, but instead, he had pulled Caiyu around and blocked the arrow with his own body.
So that's how it was...
Song Yinghuai's knuckles tightened, and his eyebrows twitched violently.
Sheng Jiangli was truly the most scheming opponent he had ever met in his life.
Song Yinghuai stared at Caiyu for a long time. After the intense anger, his emotions unexpectedly calmed down.
"Do you think that arrow was meant to kill you?" Song Yinghuai asked slowly.
Caiyu was also filled with anger, grievance, and the image of Sheng Jiangli's blood-soaked shoulder kept flashing in her mind:
Caiyu retorted, "Your Highness just wanted to strangle this servant girl to death, didn't you?"