Song Yihuan was forcefully pushed by Fuling and staggered backward several steps. Then, the sound of projectiles cutting through the air rang out again. Several short arrows were embedded in the spot where she had just been standing!
One could well imagine that if Fuling hadn't pushed her away, she would have met the same fate as Fuling!
Song Yihuan's eyes were bloodshot. With tears in her eyes, she took a glance at Fuling, who was lying motionless on the ground. She gritted her teeth, then immediately turned around and ran in a certain direction, hoping to find other participants who had also fled into the forest. At the same time, she took out the whistle from her body, put it to her lips, and blew hard.
As long as she could meet someone, she would be saved!
However, to her great disappointment, the bamboo whistle in her hand didn't make a single sound. It seemed that someone had tampered with it in advance.
The person chasing her from behind had already guessed Song Yihuan's intention. He calmly followed behind her, just like a cat playing with a mouse. From time to time, he shot a short arrow at her, forcing her to change her route. Gradually, Song Yihuan was driven deep into the dense forest.
Song Yihuan knew no martial arts, so she dodged in a complete mess. Her forehead and body were covered in sweat. When the cold mountain wind blew, her limbs slowly became stiff.
The deeper she went into the forest, the calmer she became. At the same time, her mind was working at full speed.
The bamboo whistle had been tampered with and was no longer useful. She couldn't call for help. But the bamboo whistles were kept by the palace guards and distributed on - site. No one could predict which whistle would be given to her.
Could it be that all the bamboo whistles were out of order?
This thought made Song Yihuan's heart sink even further.
If so, once any of the people participating in the hunt today encountered danger, they wouldn't be able to call for help smoothly. This hunt was scheduled to last for three days, and anything could happen during these three days.
For some reason, Song Yihuan thought of the crazy horse she had encountered in the market before.
Now she knew that the strange man she had met in the market was the emperor. So, did the horse really go crazy suddenly? Could it be that the crazy horse and the tampered - with bamboo whistles were actually aimed at the young emperor?
And she was just an insignificant rabbit to be easily eliminated in this scheme?
After dodging another short arrow, Song Yihuan found that her palms were full of cold sweat.
As Song Yihuan had expected, the other participants who had entered Yangjing Mountain to hunt on the other side were also in trouble. As soon as they entered the forest, someone shot short arrows at them from the dark, forcing them deeper into the forest.
Realizing something was wrong, everyone took out their bamboo whistles and tried to blow them. But just like Song Yihuan, they found that the whistles couldn't make a sound. Only then did they know that something serious had happened.
Ji Lingchuan spun around to block a short arrow. When he saw the faint purple color on the arrow, his face became extremely solemn.
The arrow was poisoned.
Seeing this, Ji Lingchuan drew out the soft sword from his waist and rushed in the direction from which the poisoned arrow had come. The other side obviously had been on guard against him. When they saw him coming, they shot a few more poisoned arrows at him, but Ji Lingchuan managed to dodge them all. And he successfully caught sight of the figure of the attacker.
He quickly drew his bow and aimed an arrow. The poisoned arrow accurately hit the attacker's body. A black - clothed man fell from the treetop and lay motionless on the ground.
Ji Lingchuan stepped forward to check. He lifted the veil on the man's face and found that the killer had the features of a Beidi person.
From time to time, cries for help came from the forest. Instead of using the bamboo whistle in his hand, Ji Lingchuan put his fingers to his lips and blew a long and loud whistle. This was a special signal for him to contact the Xuanjia Army.
After doing this, he gathered his strength and rushed quickly to another part of the forest.
He remembered that Song Yihuan had gone in that direction just now. She was powerless. If she met these killers from Beidi, she would surely be no match for them!
The Xuanjia Army guarding outside received Ji Lingchuan's signal and immediately realized that something had happened in the mountain. Just as Fuzhou was about to lead his men into the forest, there was suddenly a commotion behind the camp.
A group of rebels on horses charged straight towards the hunting ground, aiming at Ji Zihuan.
Fuzhou realized the seriousness of the situation. He drew out his saber and shouted, "Your Majesty is in danger! Half of you go into the forest to rescue people. The rest follow me to protect His Majesty!"
Ji Lingchuan rushed desperately in the direction where Song Yihuan was. On the way, he met several people who had been attacked and helped them deal with the killers hiding in the dark. When he finally arrived at the place, he saw Fuling, who had been pierced through the chest by an arrow and was lying on the ground.
Ji Lingchuan recognized that this was the maid who often followed Song Yihuan. His face changed. He stepped forward to feel Fuling's pulse.
She wasn't dead. She was still alive!
Ji Lingchuan blew a few more whistles. He fed Fuling a pill to protect her heart veins, then forcefully pinched her philtrum. Fuling, who had fainted due to blood loss, woke up and opened her eyes. Ji Lingchuan asked anxiously,
"Where's your mistress? Is she in danger?"
It took Fuling a long time to focus her eyes. When she found Ji Lingchuan in front of her, there was a glimmer of light in her eyes.
"Sh - Shizi, s - save the mistress! Someone, w - wants to k - kill..."
Before she could finish, she fainted again. But before she fainted, she had pointed out the direction for Ji Lingchuan.
Ji Lingchuan was furious.
Someone wanted to kill Song Yihuan. Her situation was very dangerous!
Ji Lingchuan observed the surroundings and found that there were many short arrows on the ground and tree trunks. He then followed the scattered arrows.
In the dense forest, a short arrow grazed Song Yihuan's cheek and was embedded in a tree trunk. She narrowly avoided it, but accidentally sprained her foot and fell to the ground. Then she found that there was a cliff behind her.
She knew that she had to get up quickly and run in another direction. But after running for so long, her physical strength had reached its limit. Her legs were as heavy as if filled with lead and she couldn't lift them at all.
Seeing that she was unable to escape, the person who had been teasing her from the dark finally showed up.
Footsteps approached from behind. Song Yihuan turned her head and saw a tall black - clothed man walking slowly towards her. His eyes were full of maliciousness, as if she was just a plaything.
"Run! Why don't you run anymore? Hmm?"
The man was tall. From his build and voice, it was obvious that he was a man.
And his slightly upturned eyes gave Song Yihuan a very familiar feeling.
Song Yihuan remembered that Song Nanxin had been pregnant and had a miscarriage. Her intuition told her that this man was the one who had had an affair with her elder sister.
Even at this moment, she remained very calm. She propped herself up and said to the man, "Did my elder sister send you to kill me?"
The man laughed and said, "Sure enough, you're Miss Song the Fourth. Even at this moment, there's no trace of panic on your face. You're nothing like your elder sister. I feel a bit sorry that you're going to die at my hands."