EWRN - Chapter 51
Chapter 51: Autumn Hunt (VI)
Seeing a large wave of black-clad men approaching, Hua Ying immediately took up her bow and arrows. With a series of swishes, she loosed several arrows. A few of the advancing figures were struck and fell from the air, crying out in agony on the ground.
Seeing this, the others immediately grew vigilant and drew their swords. Hua Ying fired a few more arrows, but this time, they were all deflected.
At this, Hua Ying tossed aside her bow and drew the sword from her waist, preparing for battle.
The men in black wasted no words, for those who do usually die quickly.
The men in black formed a circle, gradually tightening it.
Hua Ying suddenly charged toward one section of the circle, thrusting her sword forward.
Meanwhile, Di An had a terrible time bringing her horse to a stop. She tried pulling the reins and carefully nudged the horse's belly with her feet, and the animal began to walk slowly. When she pulled the left rein, the horse went left; when she pulled the right, it went right. Having ridden a few times now, she had managed to pick up a few tricks and quickly got the hang of controlling the horse. Di An guided the animal, slowly heading back the way she had come.
As she went, Di An began to hear the sounds of a fierce struggle—the clash of swords. The noise set her teeth on edge.
Since Di An didn't dare ride quickly, the sound of her horse's hooves was faint. The two groups locked in combat were completely unaware of her approach.
Di An clumsily dismounted, took the signal flare and tinderbox from her robes, and clutched them tightly in her hand. Then, she cautiously made her way toward the sounds.
The clang of weapons grew closer and more intense. Finally, upon reaching the cover of a large tree, Di An could see the scene clearly.
The situation was dire. A dozen men surrounded Hua Ying, their blades a flurry of motion. Four or five other black-clad figures already lay on the ground—it was impossible to tell if they were dead or alive. Blood pooled everywhere, a terrifying sight.
When had Di An ever witnessed such a scene? During the assassination attempt at the Rite of Heaven banquet, Hua Ying had shielded her, covering her eyes. She had been terrified but had not seen the bloody reality. This was different. This was an assassination where every blow drew blood. Hua Ying was not at her side; she was fighting alone. Without Hua Ying to protect her, Di An felt utterly helpless.
A moment later, another man in black fell. Though Hua Ying's skills were superb, her hand had not fully healed. Seeing that their combined assault was failing, the assassins resorted to a war of attrition, intending to wear her down.
Though several of their accomplices had fallen, Hua Ying had also sustained injuries.
Blades have no eyes. Hua Ying parried blow after blow, but eventually, there was an opening. Just as she found an opportunity to wound another assassin, her back was left exposed. She heard the whistle of a sword cutting through the air but had no time to dodge or block.
In that split second, Di An watched, horrified, as a sword slashed viciously across Hua Ying's back. Blood instantly seeped through her white robes, staining them crimson.
A sharp pain shot through Di An's heart. With no time to wonder why, she fumbled with the tinderbox with trembling hands, blowing on it several times before it finally caught. Anxiously, she aimed the signal flare at the sky. The crackling flame of the tinderbox touched the flare's fuse. After a brief sizzle, a sharp swoosh cut through the air as the red flare shot into the sky, where it burst with a series of pops.
At the swoosh, both Hua Ying and the dozen assassins noticed the movement behind the tree. When they saw Di An, peeking out foolishly while still holding the posture of having fired the flare, Hua Ying's pupils contracted. Panic flashed in her eyes, and a terrible sense of unease surged through her.
The assassins saw Di An as well, and a flicker of surprise crossed their leader's eyes. He clearly hadn't expected another woman to be hiding nearby. For another woman to appear in this remote forest besides their target, even a fool could make the connection. Noticing Hua Ying's slight frown, the leader rejoiced inwardly. It seemed this woman who had appeared out of nowhere was quite important to their target.
But before the leader could savor his discovery for more than a moment, the flare exploded in the sky, drawing attention from all around. The assassins cursed inwardly. She had called for reinforcements!
Knowing their time was short, the leader roared, "Shadow Four, Shadow Five! Go kill that woman! We leave no witnesses today!" As he spoke, he watched for an opportunity to break through Hua Ying's defenses. It was an assassination, after all. One more death didn't matter, and it would surely disrupt Hua Ying's focus.
Hearing the order, Shadow Four and Shadow Five moved to break away and eliminate the witness. Panicked, Hua Ying refused to let them succeed. She lunged forward to intercept them, her assault suddenly becoming desperate and reckless.
"It seems that woman is very important to her," the leader thought, even as he intensified his own assault.
Back in the imperial hunting grounds, Huo Jinyu and Yan Xi had just finished lunch and were leading their horses on a leisurely stroll through the woods. Though they said little, the atmosphere was wonderfully harmonious. Huo Jinyu walked beside Yan Xi, their hands occasionally brushing by accident, sending a faint blush creeping up their ears. Just as a dazed Huo Jinyu was about to reach out and take Yan Xi's hand, the sharp crack of a signal flare shattered the idyllic mood. Startled, Huo Jinyu snatched her hand back. Both women looked up in unison toward the northwest, where they saw a bright red light burst in the sky with a series of pops.
"Hua Ying is in trouble!" Huo Jinyu said suddenly, her brow furrowed.
Yan Xi, too, frowned—a rare sight. "To horse! We must go see!" she said.
Huo Jinyu agreed. She vaulted nimbly onto her horse, then pulled Yan Xi up behind her, settling her into an embrace. With a sharp kick to the horse's flanks, they shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, racing in Hua Ying's direction.
At the same time, guards in the western part of the Jiangbei Hunting Ground saw the flare's lingering mark in the sky, and their expressions turned grim. Only the imperial family of the Great Yuan Kingdom possessed such flares, and only during the Autumn Hunt. Since the Emperor had gone to the western hunting grounds with two consorts, the flare must have been fired by one of them. The guards spurred their horses into motion at once, racing to the rescue. The slightest delay, if any harm came to the Emperor or the consorts, would be a crime punishable by death.
A large contingent of men and horses surged toward the primeval western forest. Within it, the battle between Hua Ying and the assassins had reached its climax. Only five or six of the men in black remained. Both sides were wounded, but Hua Ying clearly had the upper hand; the assassins' injuries were far more severe.
The thunder of approaching hooves grew louder. The faces of the men hidden behind their black masks paled. They threw several hidden weapons, but Hua Ying deflected them all. Their sword strikes were parried again and again. Furious, the leader saw that their mission was about to end in failure. He cursed silently. In his ten-plus years as an assassin, he had never encountered such a difficult target.
Guards were already visible in the distance. The leader knew that if they didn't escape now, they wouldn't get another chance.
"Withdraw!" the leader roared. He broke from the fight and retreated to the west. Seeing their leader's command and the approaching guards, the other assassins immediately withdrew. It all happened so quickly that Hua Ying was still in a defensive stance as they fled west. She might have been able to stop one or two, but with the entire group scattering at once, it was impossible to hold them back.
"Damn it!" Hua Ying cursed, immediately giving chase. "Stop right there!"
But she was a step too late. As he fled, the leader flung several hidden weapons toward Di An, who was now exposed behind her tree a short distance away.
Seeing the objects flying toward her, Di An instinctively twisted aside, but two of the darts still struck her in the shoulder and arm.
"Ah!" Di An cried out in pain. The force of the impact knocked her to the ground. This was the scene that greeted Hua Ying as she rushed over, and her eyes nearly split with fury.
"An'er!" Hua Ying dropped her sword and scrambled to Di An's side. Not only had Di An been struck by two darts, but she had also hit her head when she fell and was now unconscious.
"An'er! Wake up! An'er!" Hua Ying cried, cradling Di An's shoulders. In her panic, she nearly forgot to stanch the bleeding and treat the wounds.
The sticky warmth of blood on her hands snapped her back to her senses, and she remembered what she had to do.
She carefully removed the two darts, then took out the medicinal powder she always carried and sprinkled it on the wounds, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. Tearing a strip of cloth from her own robes, she fashioned a simple bandage for Di An. The priority now was to get back to the villa, treat the wounds properly, and get more medicine!
The thundering of hooves grew closer, and soon Huo Jinyu and Yan Xi arrived, having followed the sounds of the fight.
From a distance, Huo Jinyu and Yan Xi could see the blood-soaked grass and the bodies strewn about. Huo Jinyu's frown deepened.
"Hah!" Huo Jinyu snapped the reins, and the horse surged forward. Behind a tree, they found Hua Ying, who had just finished bandaging Di An and straightening her clothes. The consort herself lay unconscious in Hua Ying's arms.
"Hua Ying, are you alright? What's happened to the Noble Consort?" Huo Jinyu asked urgently as she dismounted. Yan Xi followed suit.
"Your Majesty, we were ambushed. The Noble Consort was struck down by the assailants. I failed to protect her." Hua Ying was filled with self-reproach, but she knew the priority was getting An'er back to the villa for proper medical care.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, and you, Noble Consort, for your timely arrival. I must take An'er back to the villa now to treat her wounds properly. I beg Your Majesty's leave." Seeing Huo Jinyu nod, Hua Ying lifted Di An onto her horse, turned the animal around, and rode through the newly arrived guards, heading east toward the villa.
Only then did Huo Jinyu and Yan Xi see the gruesome, blood-soaked wound on Hua Ying's own back.
Huo Jinyu left some guards behind to clear the scene, then took Yan Xi and hurried after Hua Ying, fearing she might collapse from her own injuries.
Comments
Post a Comment