Jiang Yichun was stunned for a moment, but the horse did not pause. It kept galloping ahead with the chill wind stinging his face. He raised his hand and whipped the horse again without answering Xu Huilin’s question or offering any explanations for his actions.
Li Yi also turned his head back, a cruel smile playing around the corners of his mouth. He saw that Bai Ruozhu’s cheeks were wet from tears and disdainfully said, "What, are you afraid to be a widow again? Don’t worry, this prince will take good care of you." With that, he laughed heartily.
Wanted to retort, Bai Ruozhu found herself unable to utter a single word; her eyes reddened in anger.
She saw Xu Huilin catching up with Jiang Yichun, but both of them were still racing towards her. Her heart pounding in her throat as she saw the government soldiers couldn’t catch up on time.
Jiang Yichun’s horse was swift, quickly closing the distance between him and the Turkic people. Taking a bow off his back, he shot an arrow swiftly. With a swift sound, one of the Turkic was knocked off his horse by the arrow. The wound itself wasn’t severe, but the man’s leg snapped as he fell off, presenting a chilling angle. He lay on the ground writhing in pain.
Without so much as a glance at the Turkic man, Jiang Yichun continued his pursuit. Xu Huilin, helpless, finished the man off with a thrust of his sword, charged with sword qi.
Jiang Yichun’s inner strength was blocked, shooting arrows solely relying on his arm strength, which was impressively powerful.
Bai Ruozhu, seated behind Li Yi on his horse, felt her heart rise to her throat, fearing that Jiang Yichun might lose control and use his inner strength.
Shortly after, another Turkic fell off his horse. Although his injuries weren’t severe, he was finished off by a swift strike from Xu Huilin who had caught up.
Li Yi turned his head back, cursed under his breath, and abruptly turned his horse around to charge at Jiang Yichun and Du Zhongshu. As Bai Ruozhu saw herself getting closer and closer to Jiang Yichun, her eyes carried a plea. She, who was strong-willed and rarely asked for others’ help, would certainly beg Jiang Yichun to leave immediately if she could speak right now.
Li Yi drew his long sword from its sheath, attacking Jiang Yichun directly. Seeing this, Xu Huilin hurriedly parried with his sword. In no time, the two of them started duelling on horseback.
Jiang Yichun on horseback circled to the back of Li Yi, releasing three arrows quickly at the Turkic people who hurriedly turned their horses to charge at him. The sound of three arrows whistling through the air was heard, two hit their marks, and only one barely missed.
Bai Ruozhu saw the man who had injured Xiaosi take an arrow in the shoulder and couldn’t help but cheer inwardly. But she was even more concerned about Jiang Yichun’s safety.
As expected, Li Yi, the Right Prime Minister, didn’t get his position for no reason. His martial arts skills and strategies were superior, and soon, Xu Huilin seemed to be at a disadvantage. Feeling anxious, he yelled at Jiang Yichun, "Take her and leave quickly!"
Jiang Yichun took out a dagger and rode over to cut the reins binding Bai Ruozhu’s hands, but Li Yi was ready. Taking advantage of Jiang Yichun’s approach, Li Yi chopped with his sword, spraying blood from Jiang Yichun’s arm. The blood splattered on Bai Ruozhu’s face.
"No!" Bai Ruozhu suddenly found her voice. Perhaps the effect of the acupoint sealing had worn off, or maybe she had broken through it in her extreme urgency.
Realizing she could speak, she hurriedly said, "You guys go! I will figure out how to escape. Take care of my family!"
But Li Yi let out a jeering laugh. "Nobody is leaving!" he exclaimed as his sword qi surged. Xu Huilin couldn’t evade in time and a bloody slash appeared on his chest. His ivory robe was quickly soaked in crimson blood.
Xu Huilin fell off his horse and rolled on the ground a few times before managing to stop. When he slowly got up again, he looked extremely disheveled. If it were the past, Bai Ruozhu would have laughed at the sight of the normally flamboyant Senior Fox looking so pitiful. But now she could not laugh, tears wetting her cheeks which quickly reddened due to the cold wind.
During this interval, Jiang Yichun found the opportunity to cut the rope binding Bai Ruozhu. Bai Ruozhu fell backward, tumbling off the horse.
Jiang Yichun reached out to pull her, but was met with a swift slap from Li Yi. Jiang Yichun was also knocked off his horse, vomiting a mouthful of fresh blood.
Bai Ruozhu only saw this scene before she heavily fell to the ground. She tasted the metallic tang of blood in her mouth, she had been internally injured too.
However, her injuries were insignificant. She quickly found herself able to move her limbs and struggled to crawl forward. Li Yi was already brandishing his sword, lunging at Jiang Yichun.
"Ah, Prince, we’ve been poisoned. Be careful, it’s that damned woman’s handiwork!" From not too far away, Li Yi’s men had collapsed to the ground. The man who had previously injured Xiaosi shouted this warning.
Without looking back, Li Yi said, "You go first, I won’t be poisoned."
Bai Ruozhu widened her eyes. Sure enough, he hadn’t been poisoned. Had he ingested a spiritual medicine that could resist any poison, or did he possess a rare treasure that could neutralize poison? Due to this, she had lost significant ground in their battle.
Jiang Yichun rolled to the side to avoid Li Yi’s sword, but he appeared weak and weary. He took a deep breath and cast a glance towards Bai Ruozhu. Seeing her safe, a relieved smile spread across his face.
"Fool, still have the mind to show a smile at this time," Bai Ruozhu softly murmured, so faintly that only she could hear herself.
Just then, Xu Huilin struggled to his feet. With gritted teeth, he swung his sword at Li Yi, causing the fresh red stain on his chest to widen, covering half his body.
Anxious, Bai Ruozhu hurriedly searched for medicine in her spatial inventory. If Xu Huilin continued like this, he might injure his heart meridian.
Jiang Yichun glanced at Xu Huilin, then turned back to smile lightly at Bai Ruozhu. Suddenly, his aura surged, the sword in his hand instantly coming to life.
His sword Qi was as bright as a rainbow, and though Jiang Yichun was no beauty, his pale transparent skin and the handsome fingers that gripped his sword, coupled with his sharp and imposing sword moves, made him more captivating than any beauty. His flying sleeves gave an impression of as if he was an immortal descended from above.
Bai Ruozhu lost her voice again, not due to her acupoints being sealed, but because her heart ached so much it left her speechless. She just stood there, looking at that dark figure, as if he was the only one left in the world.
His figure seemed to faint a bit; Bai Ruozhu finally found her voice. She sobbed, saying, "Don’t... don’t use your inner strength..."
Before her words were finished, fresh blood had already started to trickle from the corner of Jiang Yichun’s mouth, running down his pale chin, and staining the earth below.
"Junior brother!" Xu Huilin cried out in pain, and recklessly attacked Li Yi.
The smirk on Li Yi’s face did not last long. Soon he was cut on the arm and leg by Jiang Yichun. Even though Jiang Yichun was a decade younger than him, his understanding of the Sword Path was higher. Unfortunately, he had discovered Li Yi’s secret, which was why Li Yi held a special hatred for him.
Finally, Li Yi fell to the ground. He had been slashed by Jiang Yichun in the same place where Xu Huilin was injured. Seeing this, Xu Huilin broke into sobs, for this strike of Jiang Yichun’s was to avenge him.
Bai Ruozhu finally crawled over. But Jiang Yichun could not hold on any longer, he collapsed to the ground, vomiting a large amount of blood. However, his eyes were fixed on Bai Ruozhu, the depths filled with an intense affection that could not be diluted.