The mountain forest didn’t have towering trees but was very expansive and had thick vegetative cover. As Ning Xiaoyao continued to run, it was as if her whole small physique was swallowed by the mountain forest. Without shouting, Shadowrain and the Dragon Guards wouldn’t have been able to locate Ning Xiaoyao. None of the Dragon Guards had a short stature but when these tall men stood in the mountain forest and looked as far as they could, all they could see were trees. They couldn’t even spot an animal’s figure, let alone a human’s figure.
The mountain forest was quiet. Thus, when Ning Xiaoyao and Shadowrain and the others were shouting back and forth, not only could their echoes be heard loud and clear, they even spread very far. In fact, even the Northern Hu burly fellows could faintly hear their yells from where they were. Currently, they were dashing off with Shadowgale and Xie Duoying.
Xie Duoying was counting in her heart. When she heard Ning Xiaoyao’s yell for the fifth time, she hollered sternly, “Our Yongning soldiers have arrived. None of you can escape!”
“Stuff something in this woman’s mouth,” commanded the chief. He appeared to be annoyed as he scrunched his brows. The chief had grown a full beard on his face.
Xie Duoying was released from the subordinate’s shoulder. He took a bundle of cloth and was about to stuff it into Fifth Young Miss Xie’s mouth.
However, before he could complete his task, Xie Duoying recklessly swung her arms and scratched the burly fellow’s face like a crazy person. The man was bewildered. Up until now, the woman had behaved like an obedient sheep. He didn’t expect her to turn insane all of a sudden and attack him. In no time, five streaks of blood appeared on his rugged face.
“Repulsive bitch!” The enraged burly fellow slapped Xie Duoying across the face.
“Your Majesty!” Despite being slapped, Xie Duoying did not behave herself. She fell onto the ground and desperately shrieked, “Your Majesty, hurry! Shadowgale is here. Your Majesty!”
Initially, Ning Xiaoyao was going to ask the small animals of the forest to help her track down Windy. However, when she heard Xie Duoying, she instantly followed the sound of her voice and ran like a maniac.
“You’re still shouting?” The burly fellow kicked Xie Duoying and caused her to roll on the floor.
“Your Majesty!” Fifth Young Miss Xie continued to scream. It didn’t matter if Ning Yu was on his way. She could hear voices from the other side, so those people should also be able to hear her. This was her only chance to ensure Shadowgale’s safety. Therefore, even though one of her ribs were already broken from the kick, Xie Duoying didn’t stop screeching.
Shadowgale remained unconscious while two Northern Hu men carried him. Their group had their own plans. Ideally, this time, they would be able to burn Ning Yu to death. If they couldn’t, then they would keep Head Commander of the Dragon Guard alive and hand him to their ruler. Head Commander Shadowgale was one of Ning Yu’s personal guards, so it would also be considered a great meritorious deed.
“You scoundrels won’t die a natural and painless death!” Since Xie Duoying didn’t know many swear words, she went back and forth with “Your Majesty!” and the same curse line over and over again. Currently, she was being beaten up by the subordinate.
“You can’t even handle a woman?” the chief snapped. He was quickly losing patience. Actually, the burly fellow spared no mercy with his throws and kicks. He just didn’t expect the tiny woman on the ground to handle so many continuous blows.
“Why don’t you just kill her and get it over with?” another Northern Hu man suggested.
“Your Majesty, hurry! Your Majesty!” Xie Duoying was still screaming on the top of her lungs. All she could think about was keeping Shadowgale alive.
A fiendish glint appeared in the chief’s eyes. The orders they were given didn’t say they had to keep the Xie Clan girl alive. If it weren’t for her good looks, they would’ve already killed her back at the nunnery. “Kill her,” the chief commanded.
The burly fellow pulled his sword out.
Xie Duoying knew that it was no longer possible for her to survive and gazed at Shadowgale. When she turned her head around, she continued to cursed the beardy chief, “You definitely won’t die a natural and painless death!”
“Do it!” Beardy was furious. Since this woman is wholeheartedly courting death, then he’ll help her achieve her aim.
The subordinate raised his sword.
“I dare you to try killing one of them!” Ning Xiaoyao arrived at this moment. With her arms akimbo, she was panting heavily and standing under the tree beside the small path.
The Northern Hu men were taken aback when they suddenly heard her voice and simultaneously turned their heads to look.
Ning Xiaoyao wiped the sweat off her forehead. Even when she was being chased by zombies in her previous lifetime, she had never run this fast before!
Beardy sized Ning Xiaoyao up and spoke in a clumsy Yongning accent, “You are Yongning’s emperor?”
“What do you think?” Ning Xiaoyao cast a sidelong glance at the burly fellow before her. How does he maintain such a big beard? (Author: Don’t worry about his beard right now! o(╯□╰)o)
“You.” Beardy was stupefied. What is this person talking about? Is the emperor the emperor simply because he says so?
“Release them.” Ning Xiaoyao kept a straight face. “I’ll count to three. If you don’t let them go, you will have to bear the consequences.”
All the Northern Hu men laughed at her contemptuously. How can such a short and skinny fellow even be their match?
“One.”
Beardy guffawed, “Little kid, why don’t you go back to find your mum and drink a few more mouthfuls of milk first? Come back when you’re a bit taller! ”
The Northern Hu men snickered together. Since they were of a different race, their kind was biologically much taller in comparison. There weren’t any dwarfs on their prairies.
“Two, three.” Ning Xiaoyao rapidly finished counting. Her body scuttled forward and she raised the brick in her hand.
Before the Northern Hu men could finish laughing, they felt a wind blowing past their faces and heard a blood-curdling scream. By the time they lowered their heads to look again, their chief had already collapsed on the ground, with a face covered in blood.
Ning Xiaoyao didn’t utter a single word and continued beating people up with the brick in her hand. When it comes to fighting, you have to concentrate and knock out all the enemies onto the ground before you talk about reason. Only a blockhead would talk superfluous words before the enemies have fallen to the ground!
Honestly, the Northern Hu men’s reactions weren’t slow. By the time Ning Xiaoyao had struck the third men, the other men attacked and resisted. Unfortunately, those who were strong weren’t as agile as Ning Xiaoyao, while those who were agile were no match against Ning Xiaoyao’s strength. Therefore, although they desperately resisted, Ning Xiaoyao ultimately won. She swatted the nine Northern Hu men until they dropped to the ground.
Ning Xiaoyao wiped her sweat. Both slashing zombies and waving the brick around to smack people require strenuous labor!
“You.” Beardy pointed at Ning Xiaoyao and wanted to speak.
Ning Xiaoyao moved deftly and swung the brick to hit Beardy’s face. Beardy had just woken but passed out again. He was equipped with good martial arts skills, but unfortunately, he encountered a genetically evolved human who was well-versed in the art of dealing blows.
Upon seeing that the Northern Hu people were lying motionless on the ground, Ning Xiaoyao immediately spoke, “Fifth Young Miss, it’s a pity that that voice of yours is not used for singing…”
“Your Majesty!” Xie Duoying shrieked.
Ning Xiaoyao looked towards where the voice came from, and the brick in her hand dropped onto the ground. Why is Shadowgale still lying motionlessly?
“Your Majesty, quickly save Shadowgale!” Xie Duoying implored while weeping.
In a flash, Ning Xiaoyao stood before Shadowgale. When she saw that Shadowgale’s lapel was soaked with a huge patch of blood, she hastily squatted and pressed her hand against Shadowgale’s chest.
Xie Duoying anxiously asked, “Your Majesty, how is he?”
“You!” Ning Xiaoyao raised her head to look at Xie Duoying and decided not to say what she originally had in mind. Instead, she yelled, “What happened to you?!”
Half of Xie Duoying’s face was swollen. Most importantly, Fifth Young Miss Xie’s lips were purplish-black.
“I’m fine.” Xie Duoying shook her head at Ning Xiaoyao. “How’s Shadowgale?”
Ning Xiaoyao stared at Xie Duoying’s mouth. Shadowgale’s poison wasn’t life-threatening. His muscles were paralyzed as a result, but it didn’t seep into the bloodstream. Are Xie Duoying’s pretty little lips purplish-black because she helped Windy suck the poison out? Thinking of this, Ning Xiaoyao quickly scanned the surrounding floor. On the sandy rocky surface was a pool of blood that someone had spat out.
“Your Majesty, how’s Shadowgale?” This was the only thing on Xie Duoying’s mind. She wasn’t concerned about anything else.
Ning Xiaoyao removed the hand she placed on Shadowgale’s chest. She was about to help Xie Duoying restore her face and lips back to her original state, but on second thought, she retracted her hand. She looked at Xie Duoying and asked, “We were told you took poison to commit suicide. However, the people in the nunnery are all fine so it is impossible that you were held hostage by the Northern Hu men. Fifth Young Miss, did you cooperate with the Northern Hu to trick Shadowgale into going to the nunnery?”
Originally, Xie Duoying was stooping and half kneeling on the floor. When she heard Ning Xiaoyao’s words, her whole body turned limp and she slumped onto the floor.
“Gosh, I revealed the truth?” What should she say about these two? Windy wanted to make use of Fifth Young Miss while Fifth Young Miss was even more ruthless. She became little pals with the Northern Hu people and directly wanted to cause Windy’s death!
“The Northern Hu men told me that if I didn’t want to die, I have to listen to them.” Xie Duoying wiped the tears on her face and whispered, “When my paternal grandfather makes a comeback, I will be the Xie Clan’s most honorable young miss.”
“That’s why you wanted to kill Windy?” Ning Xiaoyao could see Windy’s eyelids tremble and knew that he had woken. She covered Shadowgale’s eyes and didn’t let him open them.
“I don’t want to die,” Xie Duoying muttered.
“Do you still want to be the Xie Clan’s most honorable young miss?” Ning Xiaoyao asked.
“The Xie Clan has nothing to do with me.” Xie Duoying shook her head. “I just don’t want to die. Why do I have to die? Your Majesty, why don’t you tell me, why do I have to die?”
“Then why were you risking your life recklessly with these guys just now?” Ning Xiaoyao continued, “If I hadn’t appeared, you would have definitely died, right? Was it because you knew that I run fast and believed that I would surely appear in time?”
“I don’t want Shadowgale to die.” Xie Duoying’s tears fell and stained the sandy and stony floor.
“Then why did you still choose to harm Windy?” Ning Xiaoyao cried out. Her sentences are contradicting one another. Is this young lady trying to put on an act again?
Xie Duoying shook her head. “I realized I can’t bear to see him die. When I see him in this state, I feel very sad. I don’t want him to die.”
So she realizes that Shadowgale is her true love? Ning Xiaoyao inhaled.
“I’m the type of woman who strives for glory and great wealth. Ever since I was little, Old Madam had told me that I would one day become the most favored woman in the imperial palace!”
“Eh.” The corner of Ning Xiaoyao’s mouth twitched a little. “It’s impossible for something like that to happen. Let’s not talk about it, alright?”
“I don’t have a family anymore. When I knelt in front of the Buddha statue, I only thought about staying alive. I also decided that I couldn’t continue living my whole life like this.” As Xie Duoying continued speaking, she started to smile. “Shadowgale serves beside Your Majesty and Your Majesty treats those around you generously. Perhaps, one day, Your Majesty will let him exit the palace and serve as an official, right?”
“How did you know that I have this intention?” Ning Xiaoyao asked. She won’t let Shadowgale remain a bodyguard forever. She will definitely let her Windy go to the army to render his service.
“I knew that he was my opportunity.” Xie Duoying calmly looked at Shadowgale.
Ning Xiaoyao: … Alright, Shadowgale doesn’t have to feel guilty now. In any case, this young lady also didn’t approach him out of feelings.
“I am a bad woman.” Xie Duoying stopped smiling and was turning hysterical. “I just, I just didn’t want to see him get captured by the Northern Hu and get tortured. I don’t want him to die!”
Recalling the scene she saw when she first arrived, Ning Xiaoyao sighed. “Silly girl, you didn’t even care about your life and only wanted to let Windy live! That’s because you have already fallen in love with Windy!” Xie Duoying is someone who desperately wants to live and refuses to resign to her fate no matter the circumstances. Yet, she’s willing to give up her life for him. If this isn’t love, then what is?