Chapter 857 - 859 Heading Towards Her_1
Bai Ruozhu’s knock was not gentle, and immediately drew the attention of the other Study Palace students nearby. However, due to Bai Ruozhu’s status, no one dared to show anything, so they had to pretend to eat while sneakily glancing over.
"Second brother!" Bai Ruozhu’s voice rose a little, and her tone grew much heavier, "If you spill the medicine, just come to me to mix it again. Even if I’m tired, I can arrange for someone trustworthy to do it. You’re my own brother, what is there to feel embarrassed about? You’re afraid of troubling me, but have you considered how much trouble it would be for me if your illness kept flaring up? Should I not prepare medicine and worry about you? If you’re seriously injured, how am I supposed to explain to our parents when we go home?"
Bai Zepei was taken aback, then a bitter smile appeared on his face, and he raised his somewhat withered fingers to rub his head. It wasn’t that his little sister had saved up the times he had flicked her on the head to get back at him all at once, was it? He felt his scalp was about to swell.
Just when everyone thought they would see Bai Zepei coldly scolding his sister and witness a spectacular sibling fight, Bai Zepei withdrew his hand and said in a gentle tone, "It won’t happen again."
Everyone was stunned. Was this the same Bai Zepei who was usually cold and aloof, looking fragile but standing tall and straight, carrying a hint of arrogance and three parts chill?
Bai Ruozhu was also startled, and seeing his good attitude in admitting his mistake, she felt a bit embarrassed, thinking that she might have been too harsh just now.
"First swallow this pill, and when we get there, I’ll brew you some medicine; try not to cough too hard, or the injury to your internal organs might recur." Bai Ruozhu said, handing the pill toward her brother’s mouth, but for some reason, her brother turned away and took the pill to pop it into his mouth himself.
Bai Ruozhu was immensely relieved to see him willing to follow orders. Actually, her second brother was not a capricious person. He had only accidentally knocked over the medicine bowl last night due to overthinking.
After giving her brother a few more instructions, she picked up Dengdeng and returned to the carriage. Bai Zepei watched her retreating figure, feeling somewhat choked up inside.
"You are my own brother, what is there to feel embarrassed about?" This sentence kept revolving in his ear. Yes, he was her own brother. Even though she knew that she wasn’t the same little sister as before, he was still her own brother.
Bai Zepei also turned back and boarded the horse carriage. His carriage, now missing Tu Bai and Qin Kaichang, had become much more spacious. Therefore, the dean of the Study Palace had arranged for the injured Mr. Zhang to share his carriage before their early departure, so that Mr. Zhang could have a comfortable place to lie down.
Mr. Zhang’s injury was not serious; he was only hit in the shoulder by a hidden weapon, a superficial wound. However, it became dangerous because the hidden weapon was poisoned. Due to his age, he could not compare to the soldiers, so he needed to be particularly careful throughout the journey.
"Haha, Zepei, only your little sister can handle you," Mr. Zhang said with a soft chuckle upon seeing Bai Zepei enter the carriage. He tried hard to suppress his smile to avoid pulling on his injured shoulder.
"Everything she said made sense, and I am not an unreasonable person." Bai Zepei remained calm and light, hiding the deepest secrets in his heart. But he had become thinner, worrying others just by looking at him.
Mr. Zhang was startled and couldn’t help but ask, "You haven’t caught a chill, have you? How did you sustain an internal injury?"
Bai Zepei smiled faintly and shook his head, opening the front of his shirt, "I was hit in the chest by a Dark Arrow after class that day."
Now it was Mr. Zhang’s turn to be shocked, his mouth agape for a long while before he managed to speak, "Your sister is right to scold you, with such a serious injury, if you don’t take good care of it, I would scold you too!"
A bitter smile appeared on Bai Zepei’s lips. Yes, the teacher would scold him too, and his sister was only expressing her concern as a sister, nothing else.
Soon after, the caravan continued on its way, and as evening approached, the sky gradually darkened; they were almost at Xuanlang City.
All at once, the previously dispirited demeanor of the crowd shifted, as if a new hope had been ignited. The Dean of Letters felt somewhat reassured; he was genuinely concerned that the ongoing assassination attempts during their journey had dampened the students’ morale, potentially causing them to lose confidence before the competition even began.
A sudden whooshing noise cut through the air, and iron hooks descending from the sky viciously latched onto the top of the horse carriage. Bai Ruozhu heard a loud bang as the carriage was lifted significantly, then fell back heavily to the ground. She immediately realized there was another sneak attack, this time aiming to rip off the carriage’s roof.
"Jianqi, cut the ropes!" Bai Ruozhu called out. Before she had even finished speaking, she heard the sound of swords clashing against the chains, demonstrating Jianqi’s swift response. He had known to cut the ropes without needing her command, but... the sound made it clear the ropes had not been severed.
"It’s Dark Gold Iron ropes," Jianqi cursed. He marshaled all his inner strength and delivered another fierce chop, only to result in sparks flying and a shallow notch etched into the rope.
Jianqi was intensely vexed. If it had been his Black Gold Sword, even if it couldn’t slice through the Dark Gold Iron rope in one stroke, a few more would have sufficed to cut through. But all he had was a regular sword.
At that moment, a loud boom sounded. Bai Ruozhu felt a wave of hot air rushing over her head as the top of their carriage was unceremoniously removed!
The carriage was immediately exposed, making it clearly visible to those above. It seemed they were still intent on killing Tu Bai.
Jiang Yichun executed his light-body technique, leaping from horseback and stepping on the shoulders of soldiers behind him as he charged towards Bai Ruozhu’s carriage. Then, around twenty black-clad figures suddenly materialized, one hand brandishing treasure swords emitting a blue glow, the other throwing obscure projectiles.
Jianqi and the dark guards dared not move haphazardly, tightly encircling the carriage for protection, fearful that Bai Ruozhu might be wounded by a hidden projectile. As Jiang Yichun tried to push through, he was tightly entangled by several killers, yelling frantically, "Protect those inside the carriage!"
With the carriage cover gone, Tu Ying could stand upright. She didn’t dare to rashly join the battle, instead staying vigilant and protecting both her brother and Bai Ruozhu.
Without anything to cover her from above, Bai Ruozhu could clearly observe her surroundings. She somewhat regretted sharing a carriage with Dengdeng and Tu Bai; she should have at least entrusted Dengdeng to her second brother’s care.
Just then, Bai Ruozhu suddenly felt a chilling sensation rising from below. A myriad of thoughts flooded her mind.
If the enemy wanted to launch a surprise attack, wouldn’t it be more convenient to wait for the darkness? They were still two hours away from Xuanlang City, and there were opportunities ahead. So why choose to strike when it was just getting dark, in the half-light?
Her eyes suddenly widened in realization—long-distance archery! If it were completely dark and the inside of the carriage lacked light, hitting a target from afar would be impossible, while a daylight attack would be too conspicuous. In this twilight, the conditions were perfect!
Was Tu Bai doomed today?
No sooner had she thought this than the chill in her heart grew more profound. Bai Ruozhu suddenly looked up into the distance; her vision was exceptional, and she thought she saw a figure perched in a distant tree, hunched over like a crouched cat, with a glint of Cold Light flickering at the tip of their nose.
She instantly realized—the Cold Light was the tip of an arrow, and the archer had already drawn their bow!
In that moment, she seemed to see the archer’s squinting eyes, and an idea suddenly struck her: this arrow was aimed at her!