Chapter 402

The pursuing troops were like arrows released from a bow, piercing the lingering smoke and swiftly chasing in the direction Gongsun Chi had fled.

"His Majesty! The Lie State troops have caught up!"

Gongsun Chi glanced back: "Take the side path!"

After running about ten li, a patch of low forest and scattered rocks appeared ahead.

Gongsun Chi quickly took off his great cloak, removed his Hair Crown, and handed it to the officer who had been guarding the camp just before: "You! Put it on!"

The officer took it and swiftly put it on.

Gongsun Chi casually pointed at two personal guards: "You two, follow Me!"

"Yes!"

"The rest of you! Keep moving forward!"

He brought those two guards, stopped at the roadside, jumped off the horse's back, slapped the horse's hindquarters: "Run!"

The three warhorses lost their rider's control, and two of them ran into the low forest beside the road.

But one of them still chased after the troop ahead.

"Follow me!"

Gongsun Chi, with those two personal guards, hid behind a rock not far from the roadside, looking toward the direction of the pursuers.

Xiao Yuanhang soon noticed a riderless horse.

He let out a cold snort: "Trying to escape like a cicada shedding its shell?"

"Split the forces into two routes! Xiao Er! You lead your men and continue the pursuit! Whichever route finds Gongsun Chi first, send up smoke as a signal!"

"Chen'er, come with me!"

"Yes!"

Xiao Yuanhang reined in his horse, stopped, and slowly led his men forward, unhurried, carefully searching the low forest and scattered rocks beside the road.

At this moment, Gongsun Chi no longer bore the demeanor of an emperor.

His clothes were in disarray, his hair hung loose, and dirt covered his face and body.

Lying behind the rock, he saw Xiao Er leading his troops gradually drift away, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Listen," he lowered his voice, ordering the guards behind him, "If anyone approaches, you must immediately charge out and, at the cost of your lives, hold them off!"

"I will myself find an opportunity to escape."

"As long as I can return safely to Tianqi Cheng, you will be the foremost merit in rescuing the emperor! Riches and honor, inexhaustible!"

Behind him, all was quiet, without the expected reply of "Yes."

Gongsun Chi turned back and shouted angrily: "Are you deaf? Didn't you hear my order?"

The two personal guards were silently gazing at each other.

Each saw in the other's eyes deep hatred and loathing.

They had not forgotten that bloody, cruel scene before the imperial tent.

The scene of those hundred comrades being pressed to the ground and having their heart's blood taken alive remained vivid in their minds.

The shrill, unwilling cries of "Demon Dao!" and "Foolish ruler!" kept echoing in their ears.

"Foolish ruler! Exactly! This emperor before us is a foolish ruler! He never regarded us as human beings!"

"We lived and died for him, yet he only trusts that demon Dao, and for the sake of an illusory formation, he didn't even blink before taking the lives of those brothers!"

"Seeing the defeat, he without hesitation abandoned the army, only caring for his own escape!"

"The order? Yes, he is the emperor; defying the order is a capital crime."

"But this is the frontier; it's still far from Tianqi Cheng, and the Lie State forces will eventually come after us."

"Obeying the order means death; defying it also means death—do you want us to die?"

"We might as well kill him and let him die!"

The two personal guards exchanged a thousand unspoken words in an instant, then both looked at Gongsun Chi.

However, Gongsun Chi's accumulated authority was immense; even though he was now in a sorry state, he still made them feel fearful, and they hesitated to act.

In the Lie State camp, Xiao Ningxun dismounted before the grand tent, jarring his wounds all over.

He gritted his teeth and endured it, carefully drawing a piece of battle robe from under his armor to wipe the blood from his face and body.

"If Tuan Tuan were still here, don't let her be frightened."

He lifted the curtain and entered.

He saw Lu Qi guarding the tent entrance, Chu Yuan lying on the bed, and his sister and Gongsun Yue crouched beside the bed, staring intently.

Lu Qi sprang to his feet: "Third Young Master!"

Tuan Tuan turned and ran over, throwing herself into his arms: "Third Brother! Wahhh, where's Father? Second Brother, Second Uncle, Ninth Brother—are they all alright?"

Having just survived the ordeal, Xiao Ningxun held her warm, small body and felt utterly reassured: "Father's fine; they're all okay; rest easy."

He looked at the bed; Chu Yuan had his eyes tightly shut, his face pale almost to translucence: "What happened to the National Preceptor?"

Tuan Tuan cried even harder: "Wahhh, it's all the fault of that lousy National Preceptor!"

"A lousy National Preceptor?" Xiao Ningxun held her and sat at the bedside: "Is it Wu Luo? Did you encounter him?"

Tuan Tuan nodded, then immediately shook her head.

Xiao Ningxun was baffled, and turned his head to look at Lu Qi.

Lu Qi simply recounted what had happened, but he himself didn't know much either, and Xiao Ningxun remained utterly puzzled.

Tuan Tuan pointed her little finger at Gongsun Yue: "Third Brother, it's Xiao Yueyue! The lousy National Preceptor had him strike my master with a broken awl, and he killed the National Preceptor!"

"Then my master said the killing energy was gone, the formation was broken!"

"Master? My sister took the National Preceptor as her teacher?"

Xiao Ningxun finally understood somewhat: "Ah, that's how it is!"

The formation was broken, so the talents of Da Xia all returned to normal.

He reached out his hand and rubbed Gongsun Yue's little head: "This time I really have to thank you, Xiao Yueyue!"

Gongsun Yue was praised by him until her face turned red, and she lowered her head embarrassedly: "Third Young Master, it was Tuan Tuan entangling Wu Luo that gave me the chance."

Xiao Ningxun turned toward Chu Yuan and murmured: "The National Preceptor's injury is serious; there's no color left on his face."

Color?

Tuan Tuan's eyes lit up, she lowered her head, opened the embroidered pouch, rummaged through it, and pulled out the ink ingot she had picked up from Gongsun Chi's desk.

The dragon head on the ink ingot was lifelike.

This is the bad Emperor's thing! Try it?

Tuan Tuan gently stroked the dragon head: "Bad Emperor, give your dragon aura to my Master!"

She stretched out a small hand and grasped Chu Yuan's large hand.

She loosened her other small hand and clearly said: "Use the bad Emperor's dragon aura to restore the color on my Master's face!"

A faint light flashed, and the ink ingot disappeared.

The next moment, Chu Yuan's pallid complexion gradually ceased being translucent, a faint blush rose, and the white hair on his head quickly turned jet black.

He slowly opened his eyes, feeling completely relaxed and at ease throughout his body.

He turned his head and softly called: "Tuan Tuan!"

"Master!" Tuan Tuan flung herself into his embrace.

Gongsun Yue stared, dumbfounded.

Tuan Tuan must be a fairy!

No wonder the Emperor also calls her an Immortal Envoy! She really is a little immortal!

Chu Yuan rubbed Tuan Tuan's little head and said: "As Master, I thought I was surely dead—did you do something?"

Tuan Tuan grinned: "I told the ink ingot I picked up from the bad Emperor's desk to use the bad Emperor's dragon aura to restore the color on your face!"

Chu Yuan was stunned: "You, you kid, how dare you rob the Emperor's dragon aura?"

He pondered for a moment, his fingers twitched as he calculated: "Ah, so that's how it is—defeated and fleeing, the dragon aura scattered; I didn't expect you to have captured it."

He let out a soft sigh: "The Emperor's dragon aura is no trivial matter; its dissipation may shake the foundations of Da Xia. However, this is also his own doing."

Behind the rock.

You still want to defy the edict?

Gongsun Chi had already sensed something wrong; as he spoke, he slowly shifted his body, glancing sideways with the corner of his eye.

The two personal guards still hesitated, not daring to step forward.

Suddenly, Gongsun Chi jerked in shock, as if something that had been supporting him had been completely taken away, and even the scar on his face instantly dimmed a bit.

The two personal guards only felt their bodies lighten, the familiar pressure disappearing.

The emperor before them seemed to suddenly become an ordinary person.

The two were stunned for a moment, drew their waist knives, eyes flashing with menace, and slowly approached Gongsun Chi.

The next moment, they spoke not a word, without hesitation, and fiercely slashed at him!