Chapter 6: Pity There Is No

Seeing the little girl flying toward him, Tang Xiao subconsciously reached out to catch her, while Yagyu Ichiro shrank behind the little girl, thrusting his blade toward Tang Xiao.

Said to be slow, it was fast. Tang Xiao's body spun violently. While catching the child with his left hand, the Embroidered Spring Blade in his right hand slashed out like lightning, colliding with Yagyu Ichiro's Tachi.

*Ding*, sparks flew.

The two bodies crossed. Yagyu Ichiro slapped Tang Xiao's back with a palm as he turned, while Tang Xiao kicked Yagyu Ichiro's lower abdomen in return. Both flew out in opposite directions.

In mid-air, Yagyu Ichiro brushed his left hand across his chest again, and a black Ninja Dart suddenly appeared in his palm, which he threw out using the force of his body's rotation.

This dart came fast and urgent. The key was that Tang Xiao was still holding a child, which greatly affected his flexibility, so he could only barely tilt his head.

The Ninja Dart grazed his cheek and nailed into a large tree behind him, leaving a wound less than three inches long on his cheek.

At the same time, Lin Zuo's right hand holding the blade suddenly aimed at Yagyu Ichiro. A tiny sound of a mechanism was heard, and a miniature arrowhead suddenly shot out from his sleeve, aiming straight at Yagyu Ichiro's face.

This was a Sleeve Arrow, a special hidden weapon tied to the wrist and triggered by a mechanism. It was usually hidden in the sleeve and would not attract attention. At a critical moment, one only needed to pull the mechanism to fire it. It was powerful and concealed.

By the time Yagyu Ichiro discovered it, the silver-flashing arrowhead had already shot before his eyes.

The next second, a fountain of blood sprayed from the top of Yagyu Ichiro's head, and he fell to the ground with a *plop*.

"Hoo..." Tang Xiao let out a long sigh of relief, feeling his back soaked with cold sweat.

When masters fight, victory or defeat is decided in an instant. It is very likely that one oversight will lead to an abyss of no return. Tang Xiao had been in office for so many years, and he had seen many peers capsize in the gutter.

Fortunately, it was a narrow escape just now, not only capturing Yagyu Ichiro but also saving the child.

He placed the girl on the ground and rubbed her head. Although the girl was only four or five years old, she was very sensible. Knowing that the uncle in front of her had saved her, she didn't cry or make a fuss, just opened her big eyes and looked at Tang Xiao without blinking.

Her brother struggled to climb up from the ground and tried to walk over to say to Tang Xiao, "Thank you, official, for saving my sister."

"No need to thank me, it's a small matter." Tang Xiao smiled and helped the boy wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

The world thinks the Embroidered Uniform Guard is cold-blooded, but they don't know that there is also a soft spot in their hearts.

"Your injury needs to be treated by a doctor, otherwise..." Before he finished the sentence, Tang Xiao's expression suddenly changed. His brows furrowed sharply, his feet stumbled, and he knelt on one knee.

Then he sprayed a mouthful of blood violently. A few drops of blood foam splashed on the girl's face. The latter looked blank, seemingly frightened, as if she was about to cry again.

"Hahahaha!" A hoarse laugh suddenly came from not far away.

Tang Xiao barely raised his head to look in the direction the sound came from. He saw Yagyu Ichiro, who had just fallen to the ground, slowly sitting up with the Tachi supporting his body. The Sleeve Arrow had grazed his eye corner, scraped across his forehead, and left a wound four inches long with the skin and flesh rolled back.

At this moment, Yagyu Ichiro, with disheveled hair and a face full of blood, looked like a ferocious evil ghost from hell.

Tang Xiao suddenly felt some regret. It seemed that holding the child just now still affected his accuracy. If the Sleeve Arrow could have been two inches lower, it would have guaranteed that Yagyu Ichiro would never have the chance to stand up again in his life.

It was a real pity.

The next second, his body softened, and he fell down.

"Walking by the river often, how can one not get their shoes wet?" Tang Xiao gave a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth. "Forget it, this is fate!"

The strength in his body was rapidly fading, while the pain was increasing, as if flames were burning in his blood vessels.

He didn't expect the poison on Yagyu Ichiro's dart to be so fierce. In just a short moment, it had already flowed through his whole body with his blood.

The time left for him might not be much.

He lay on the ground, looking at the sky. The whole world seemed to become cold. That kind of cold went deep into the bone marrow, and the light he could see in his eyes gradually dimmed.

Tang Xiao began to feel difficulty breathing, and even his consciousness began to blur, as if he had reached the last moment of his life.

He had heard people say that this moment is often very long, long enough to condense a person's whole life, or it could be very short, short enough that you don't have time to raise any thoughts.

Vaguely, he saw Yagyu Ichiro supporting his body with the Tachi, struggling to climb up, and then staggering toward him step by step.

It seems this guy wants to give him another blade.

And those two children, not knowing where they got the courage, actually stood in front of him with their thin bodies. Is this wanting to protect their savior?

Tang Xiao suddenly smiled, feeling a bit of comfort in his heart.

It's just a pity that they are still children. Not only can they not save him, but they might also lose their own lives.

Thinking of this, he gripped the hilt of the Embroidered Spring Blade beside him with a trembling hand and moved it toward his neck with his last strength.

I, Tang Xiao, have never been weaker than others in my life. Even if I die, I must die by my own blade.

"Master!" Lin Zuo's familiar voice suddenly came from afar.

Tang Xiao's hand suddenly stopped, and Yagyu Ichiro, who was less than ten meters away from him, also stopped his steps, a look of shock and anger appearing on his face.

With his current injuries, he couldn't fight anymore. Running now might still give him a glimmer of hope. Every second he delayed, the possibility of escape would decrease by one point.

Thinking of this, Yagyu Ichiro staggered toward Tang Xiao's warhorse nearby, climbed onto the horse's back with all his strength. He had no whip in his hand, so he directly stabbed the horse's butt with his Tachi.

*Hiss—* The warhorse, in pain and frightened, neighed and ran wildly into the distance with him.

A person with two legs could never catch up with a beast with four legs, so Lin Zuo didn't chase Yagyu Ichiro, but rushed to his Master at the first moment.

The first time he saw his Master, his heart sank. His Master's face was as pale as paper, and the blood flowing from the wound on his cheek was black, with a faint, fishy stench.

Clearly, his Master had been poisoned, and he hadn't brought an antidote because he had gone undercover on the ship earlier.

And even if there was an antidote, could it solve Yagyu Ichiro's secret poison?

A strong sense of helplessness rose in Lin Zuo's heart. He knelt beside his Master, held his Master's head on his lap, hoping to make his Master feel more comfortable, and shouted loudly: "Master, hold on, the doctor will be here soon."

However, beads of sweat the size of beans had already slid down his cheeks...

At this moment, his heart was filled with guilt and self-blame—if he could have watched Yagyu Ichiro drink the wine with the Monghan Drug and then sent the signal, perhaps none of what happened later would have occurred.

If he could have come a little earlier, even just a little, the master and disciple could have joined forces, and Yagyu Ichiro would never have had the chance to fire the poison dart.

If...

Pity there is no "if"... ===== CHAPTER 7 =====