Chapter 929 - 931 Please Step into the Urn_1
The South Gate was also sealed off, but there weren’t as many guards as at the West Gate. Jianqi sent out a secret signal, and soon, a number of dark guards gathered nearby.
"Master, we can only force our way through. We’ll go first to draw them away and open the city gate; then you can come through to avoid any danger," Jianqi said.
Bai Ruozhu thought for a moment and nodded, "Use the Drug Powder I gave you."
"Yes."
Jianqi made a hand signal, leading all the dark guards straight towards the City Gate. He charged at the forefront, raising his hand to swing his sword, which released some Powder. The others followed him and engaged the guards at the gate in combat.
"Someone’s forcing their way in, quick, fire the Signal Flare!" cried a deputy officer guarding the city gate. A soldier beside him took out a Signal Flare, but Jianqi, with his sharp eyes and quick hands, threw a dart at him, eliciting a scream as the Signal Flare fell to the ground nearby.
Bai Ruozhu, along with Tu Ying and Tu Bai, lurked nearby. Suddenly, Tu Ying shot out like an arrow from its bow, heading straight for the Signal Flare and snatching it into her arms.
Seeing his sister dash out, Tu Bai followed her, concerned. Bai Ruozhu refrained from showing off; after all, she was more of a latecomer to this life and feared she might not be able to help but instead become a liability to everyone.
Right then, the sound of the City Gate being pushed open could be heard, Jianqi’s group had already opened it.
"Stop them! The emperor has ordered that anyone who leaves the city without permission shall be executed without mercy!" the deputy officer shouted again, referring to Prince Duan with ’the emperor’.
Seeing the gate open, Bai Ruozhu immediately darted out, heading quickly in Jianqi’s direction. Passing near the leader, she secretly instructed Furball to spring out.
Furball was as fast as lightning, and even Jianqi saw only a flash of white, mistaking it for some concealed weapon used by Bai Ruozhu. Bai Ruozhu had actually instructed Furball to knock out the deputy officer without taking his life.
Thus, before the deputy officer’s expression could even change, he fell to the ground with a bluish complexion.
Furball re-hid itself on Bai Ruozhu’s body as if it had never appeared.
It was only recently that Furball had learned to control its Poisonous Insect venom; otherwise, Bai Ruozhu would not dare let it take action. If it bit someone, its poisonous insect poison would have definitely killed them instantly, but that could have also caused major trouble for her.
Jianqi blew a whistle, and all the dark guards, escorting Tu Ying and Tu Bai, retreated toward the City Gate. Very soon, everyone had left the city, escaping towards the south.
There was a small town south of Beiyu City where Bai Ruozhu planned to find horses, so they could hurry to the Northwest Main Camp even faster.
The rest were all skilled in lightbody techniques, so hastening on the journey wasn’t a problem except for Bai Ruozhu. She adamantly refused to let Jianqi carry her, fearing that he would expend too much inner strength, which would reduce their battle effectiveness should they encounter enemies.
Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any of Prince Duan’s horsemen on the way. After buying a few horses and a horse carriage in the town, Bai Ruozhu, Tu Ying, and Tu Bai sat inside the carriage while Jianqi and the others escorted them westwards.
Since the group had detoured towards the south, they were delayed by half a day on the road, but they still arrived near the Northwest Main Camp smoothly.
Tears filled Tu Ying’s eyes, and she murmured, "Dad, we’ve arrived."
All of them let out a heavy sigh of relief. As long as they reached the Northwest Main Camp, everyone would be safe, and Beiyu City could be saved!
When the horse carriage arrived at the entrance of the Main Camp, the guards on watch stopped it.
"What’s your business? Get off the carriage! No carriages allowed inside!" the guard shouted.
Bai Ruozhu, Tu Ying, and Tu Bai dismounted the horse carriage. Tu Bai went forward with a fist-and-palm salute and said, "I am the son of School Officer Tu, Tu Bai. I urgently need to see my father."
The guard immediately replied, "So it’s Young Master Tu. Please, go on in."
As everyone was about to enter, Bai Ruozhu’s face suddenly changed dramatically, and she grabbed Tu Ying, saying loudly, "The jade pendant Achun gave me has fallen on the road we just passed. You guys help me go back and look for it."
Everyone paused, stunned. Jianqi, who often followed Bai Ruozhu, immediately grew tenser, realizing there was more to Bai Ruozhu’s words.
Tu Ying and Tu Bai were too anxious at this point to understand, and Tu Ying even said, "Ruozhu, my brother and I will go find our father first; you bring someone to find the Jade Pendant and then come to find us."
Bai Ruozhu frowned, then she quickly made eye contact with Jianqi. Jianqi suddenly picked up Tu Ying, threw her onto the horse, then quickly pulled Tu Bai onto another horse, and said sternly, "Protect the master and leave this place!"
Bai Ruozhu had already jumped onto the back of Tu Ying’s horse and swiftly said, "There’s a trap in the Main Camp; we must escape quickly."
The guard immediately realized what was happening. One of them shouted, "Someone come quick, they’re escaping!"
Tu Ying was full of annoyance and fiercely slapped the horse’s rump, leading Bai Ruozhu to follow Jianqi in their escape.
The pursuers were relentless. Archers released their arrows, and Jianqi leapt off his horse to cover the rear, fearing they would hit Bai Ruozhu and the others.
Before the group had gone far, suddenly three trip ropes sprang up from the ground. The horses, being hastily gathered and not specially trained warhorses, couldn’t clear the trip ropes. The horses were tripped up, the dark guards leapt down, and Tu Ying also pulled Bai Ruozhu off the horse.
"I was wondering why it went so smoothly. It turns out there was a trap waiting for us here," Tu Bai said as he landed, swallowing a mouthful of dust kicked up by the horses and spat out bitterly in anger.
Bai Ruozhu was also furious; how could she not have anticipated this earlier? The journey had been too smooth; how could the King’s men not lay an ambush? It turned out that the entire Northwest Main Camp was a setup, a trap to lure them in.
Having no horses, the group had to hurriedly retreat to a nearby patch of woods. The dark guards covered Bai Ruozhu and the others to leave first. Bai Ruozhu repeated the same phrase, urging everyone to protect themselves, for with the Green Mountain still there, there would be no lack of firewood.
In the end, it was Jianqi who took Bai Ruozhu, Tu Ying, and Tu Bai to flee into the nearby mountains. As night fell, Jianqi spoke softly, "It’s dark now, better for us to hide."
Soon, the four found a hidden cave and took refuge inside.
"The Northwest Main Camp has been taken by the King. Where have my father and the others gone?" Tu Ying asked with reddened eyes.
Bai Ruozhu patted her shoulder, saying, "Officer Tu must be all right; otherwise, the King wouldn’t be in such a rush to capture you."
But she didn’t mention that there were still many soldiers from the Northwest Main Camp lurking in the city. What had become of those soldiers? Had they all been rooted out by the King?
Or was it because they were deployed in small groups within Beiyu City, and some had gone with Jiang Yichun to suppress bandits, that the Northwest Main Camp was left vulnerable and was taken by the King in one fell swoop?
These doubts flashed through Bai Ruozhu’s mind ceaselessly, but at the moment, the four of them dared not speak carelessly, as the night had already fallen, and nobody knew where the pursuers were.
Just then, rustling sounds came from above their heads, and soon those sounds moved down to search the pit where they were hiding.
"The Emperor has decreed that even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we must find them. The two from the Tu Family are to be captured alive; pay close attention to that. As for the others, show no mercy!" The one who seemed to be in charge spoke with a low voice, carrying a penetrating force. Bai Ruozhu’s complexion shifted as she also had trained in inner strength. Though a beginner, she had some understanding and could tell by his voice that his inner strength was profound.
She quickly looked towards Jianqi, and indeed, Jianqi’s expression had grown even more solemn.