Chapter 343: Extra: Fierce Neighbor, Part Sixty-Six

Extra: Fierce Neighbor, Part Sixty-Six

To be able to scheme against Yin Fengxuan, the other party clearly had a formidable background.

But Jin Jingwen could not think that much at this moment. She quickly gave out her orders, then rode out of the city alone, heading straight for the horse farm outside the city!

The horse farm was located west of the capital. On a normal day, it would only take an hour or two to ride there, but a heavy snow had just fallen two days ago. In the city, with so many people constantly about, the streets were swept and still passable, but once outside the city, the accumulated snow was very deep, making it extremely difficult for horses to run on.

So a journey that originally took only an hour or two now required three or four. Therefore, by the time Jin Jingwen rode all the way to the horse farm, it was already afternoon!

It was Jin Jingwen's first time at the horse farm. She dismounted at the entrance, and the soldiers guarding the gate were taken aback when they saw her approach. By then, Jin Jingwen had already walked briskly up to those guards.

"Has the Prince arrived?"

Jin Jingwen did not waste words with pleasantries, asking hurriedly the moment she opened her mouth. Hearing this, the guards could not help but exchange glances, and then one of them answered,

"His Highness the Prince? No!"

The soldiers were clearly taken aback by Jin Jingwen's question, but upon hearing that Yin Fengxuan had not come, Jin Jingwen's expression instantly changed.

He hadn't come?!

How was that possible?!... Wait!

That bastard had been tricked into coming out, so it was not surprising that he hadn't come to the horse farm. But although that bastard was a bit of an idiot, he wasn't so stupid as to be deceived without even knowing it!

So, if that bastard had known from the very beginning that he was being tricked, he definitely wouldn't have obediently complied. He would naturally have resisted or turned straight back toward the city...

Could it be that the other party had made their move immediately after luring that bastard out of the city?!

At this thought, Jin Jingwen's already panicked expression instantly turned bloodless!

But Jin Jingwen was no ordinary woman. Her momentary agitation was immediately forced down, and then she slightly closed her eyes.

Jin Jingwen told herself to calm down, then took a deep breath.

Wait, calm down, calm down again...

If I were the other party, and I wanted to harm that bastard, would I make my move right after leaving the city?

No, I wouldn't! Because that would be too risky. After all, even though we'd be out of the city, it wouldn't guarantee that no one would see me during the act. And given that bastard's special status, to be safe, I definitely wouldn't act immediately after leaving the city!

So, if I couldn't act right after leaving the city, I would need to keep that bastard calm for the time being. Which meant everything would have to follow the excuse they'd already found, thereby luring that bastard to a specific location...

Which meant...

At this thought, Jin Jingwen instantly opened her eyes, then rushed up to those soldiers.

"I'm asking you—aside from the horse farm, is there any other place around here that falls under the farm's jurisdiction but isn't inside the farm itself?"

Jin Jingwen asked urgently, her wide eyes betraying an indescribable panic and intensity. The soldiers were startled, and then one of them blinked and reflexively replied,

"Uh... There is, actually. There's a stable at the foot of the hill to the south. It was built this year, temporarily..."

The soldier did not understand why, and could only instinctively say what he knew. Hearing this, Jin Jingwen's eyes instantly shifted. Without waiting for the soldier to finish, she turned, mounted her horse, raised her whip, and headed straight for the stable at the foot of the southern hill the soldier had mentioned...

In truth, at this very moment, Jin Jingwen herself could not be certain that her judgment was definitely correct!

Perhaps those people, after luring Yin Fengxuan out of the city, would first trick him into dismounting, then ambush him, knock him unconscious, and take him away.

Perhaps those people would take advantage of Yin Fengxuan's inattention and directly force him at swordpoint to go with them.

Or perhaps, if those people were ruthless and decisive enough, they would simply lure Yin Fengxuan out of the city and take his life with a single blade from behind!

But right now, Jin Jingwen dared not think of such things. She could only firmly believe that her judgment was correct, otherwise...

So Yin Fengxuan was still alive. He had to still be alive!

Jin Jingwen kept comforting herself this way in her heart, galloping on horseback. The biting wind of the first month cut like a knife across Jin Jingwen's delicate and refined face, but she could no longer care. She could only keep riding, riding with single-minded focus, while constantly scanning her surroundings, not letting a single spot around her escape her notice!

Then, after riding for more than a quarter of an hour, Jin Jingwen finally neared the foot of the southern hill, and sure enough, she saw several figures not far away. Though the distance made it hard for Jin Jingwen to see clearly, she still spotted that familiar silhouette among them at a glance.

He was still alive!

For an instant, an indescribable wild joy surged in Jin Jingwen's heart for no reason! But in the next moment, a baseless fury suddenly and without warning rushed to her head! Jin Jingwen immediately squeezed her horse's flanks hard with her legs, cracked her whip, and charged toward Yin Fengxuan as if flying.

A lone rider kicking up dust—in the blink of an eye, Jin Jingwen arrived before Yin Fengxuan, instantly dismounted, tossed aside her whip, and came right up to him.

"Yin Fengxuan, you bastard! Who told you to come out here?"

Jin Jingwen was trembling all over with anger, itching to raise her hand and slap him across the face right then and there.

Faced with Jin Jingwen's sudden appearance, Yin Fengxuan was clearly stunned. He blinked and looked at Jin Jingwen for a good while, then suddenly broke into a wide grin.

"Wifey..."

Heavens above, earth below—how many days had it been? He was finally seeing his wife again!

For a moment, Yin Fengxuan was moved beyond words. Looking at Jin Jingwen, whom he hadn't seen in days, his heart grew ever fonder, and then, without a second thought, he reached out and pulled Jin Jingwen into his arms!

This was a move Yin Fengxuan never dared to make on ordinary days. But at this moment, he was truly too agitated. He even forgot about Jin Jingwen's fierce roaring and blazing fury, wanting only to hold her in his arms—tightly, fiercely, and never let go again!

Yin Fengxuan's movement was so sudden that it left even Jin Jingwen momentarily dazed. Held by those powerful arms, leaning against Yin Fengxuan's solid and warm chest, the anger that had flared up in Jin Jingwen subsided slightly, and in that brief instant, she even felt a sense of dependence!

But the next moment, thinking of their current situation, Jin Jingwen immediately came back to her senses.

"Wait, Yin Fengxuan, let go of me first! Hurry up and let go of me!"

As she spoke, Jin Jingwen raised her hands and shoved Yin Fengxuan hard twice. But after holding it in for so long and finally getting to hold his wife, how could Yin Fengxuan possibly let go?! So despite Jin Jingwen's shoving and hitting, Yin Fengxuan refused to loosen his grip!

Yin Fengxuan was like a great bear, tightly embracing the already petite Jin Jingwen. Seeing that this fellow wouldn't let go, Jin Jingwen grew angry again, but she couldn't push him away. In the end, Jin Jingwen could only suppress the urge to beat him senseless, pressed her lips slightly together, and urged,

"Alright, alright, hurry up and let go! Yin Fengxuan, let go quickly! I have something to tell you—it's urgent!"

Jin Jingwen was getting anxious too. Only then, hearing Jin Jingwen say she had business, did Yin Fengxuan finally and reluctantly loosen his arms. Jin Jingwen seized the opportunity, pushed with all her might, and finally broke free from Yin Fengxuan's embrace.

"Wifey, what's the urgent matter? Oh right, wifey, how did you get here? My goodness, look at you—how could you not even wear a cloak? Look at your little face, frozen red..."

Yin Fengxuan finally, belatedly, noticed something strange. But at this moment, Jin Jingwen had no time to explain so much to him. Her expression turned stern as she said directly,

"Yin Fengxuan, this is no place to talk. Come with me right now—leave here!"

"Huh? Leave... I can't, wifey! I still have things I haven't dealt with!"

"Enough! We'll talk about that later!"

"No, no, the stable roof here was crushed down. If I don't handle it right away, it'll be a lot of trouble!"

Although Yin Fengxuan was usually unreliable and his mind often not present, he still had a sense of responsibility—at the very least, he knew clearly what ought to be done. So even though he also wanted to take Jin Jingwen and leave immediately at this moment, as the Deputy Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud, there were certain things he had to do!

So while saying that, Yin Fengxuan at the same time reached up and pulled the cloak off his own body, then stepped forward and draped it directly over Jin Jingwen, and then tied the sash tight.

"Wife, I'll take care of this matter right away, so you go back first… oh right, you could also wait for me at the horse farm, there's a place to rest there. Once I've handled this matter, I'll come find you!"

Yin Fengxuan was rarely this serious. But hearing this, while Jin Jingwen felt moved in her heart, she was also extremely anxious, and immediately grabbed Yin Fengxuan's large hand that was helping her adjust the cloak, then couldn't help but cry out.

"Yin Fengxuan, you big idiot! You've been tricked! Enough, stop talking nonsense, hurry up and come with me, leave this place!"

Saying that, Jin Jingwen pulled Yin Fengxuan and turned to leave. And at this point Yin Fengxuan was already dumbfounded, blankly following Jin Jingwen for two steps, but a moment later, his body suddenly halted and he stopped in his tracks.

"Wait, wait, wife… what did you just say? What 'been tricked'?"

Yin Fengxuan was somewhat unable to make sense of the situation, and when Jin Jingwen saw that he had stopped walking, she immediately turned her head and glared.

"There's no time to explain all this to you right now, just come with me first! Hurry!"

In the brief moment while she had been speaking, Jin Jingwen had already cast a quick glance around. But this one look was no small matter—with just one glance Jin Jingwen spotted the problem.

It turned out that at this moment, Yin Fengxuan and the others were standing right in a hollow at the southern mountain's foot. Three sides were mountains, and because it had snowed a few days ago, the mountains were covered in white snow, while there was only one way out—the side she had just charged in from… in other words, they were now like being inside a sack, so if there was an ambush around them, the consequences would be unimaginable!

And more importantly, when she had come earlier she hadn't paid much attention because she was anxious, but now looking carefully again, the opening side was actually extremely narrow in width. This way, once the other side made their move, it would without question be like catching turtles in a jar—effortless!

It seemed the other side had been prepared all along, and had perhaps even deliberately lured Yin Fengxuan here beforehand!

So at once, Jin Jingwen grew even more anxious in her heart. But at this point, although Yin Fengxuan still didn't know what was going on, seeing his wife this anxious, he felt he couldn't keep insisting, yet on second thought, he still stopped.

"Wife, wait, we still have people!"

……

It turned out that Yin Fengxuan had not come alone this time; several Yamen Runners from the Court of the Imperial Stud were also following beside him.

These Yamen Runners had all come from the city together with Yin Fengxuan. Earlier they had also heard that something had happened here, but now hearing the suddenly appeared Jin Jingwen say things like "been tricked" and "hurry up and leave," the several Yamen Runners were instantly dumbfounded too! They could only blankly stare at Jin Jingwen and Yin Fengxuan, without even the slightest reaction.

And at this moment, hearing Yin Fengxuan's words, Jin Jingwen then turned her head and swiftly glanced at the several Yamen Runners beside them, after which her eyes instantly turned cold!

To be able to trick Yin Fengxuan to this place today was clearly someone's deliberate doing. And this person was most likely among those who had left the city together with Yin Fengxuan—in other words, the mastermind behind this might be among these very Yamen Runners!

Of course, that mastermind might be one of them, or it might be all of them! And if they were truly left behind and ignored right now, then innocent people might lose their lives…

But who was Jin Jingwen? In her dictionary, there had never been any such thing as "saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda"—there was only "better to wrongly kill a thousand than let a single one escape!" Therefore, after just one glance, Jin Jingwen didn't have the slightest hesitation, and without another word directly continued pulling Yin Fengxuan to run to the horses' side, while raising her voice and shouting.

"Get on the horses, quick!"

Jin Jingwen was truly anxious. Seeing this situation, although Yin Fengxuan still wanted to call the several Yamen Runners behind to come along, he was already urged by Jin Jingwen so much that he couldn't bother with that, and he mounted his horse, then followed Jin Jingwen to ride outward together. And seeing Yin Fengxuan and Jin Jingwen ride off on horseback, the several Yamen Runners only then snapped out of their daze; though they still weren't clear on what was happening, they nonetheless immediately mounted their horses and then also followed to ride outward!

Everyone rode extremely fast, but right at this moment, just as Jin Jingwen and Yin Fengxuan reached the mountain pass, suddenly a muffled "Boom—" came fiercely from above!

Instantly, Jin Jingwen reflexively looked up, and then saw that the mountain on one side of the pass had begun to vibrate slightly, and at the same time a rumbling boom reached her ears!

Someone was blowing up the mountain?!

Not good! Avalanche!

Jin Jingwen was no ordinary woman; although she had never encountered an avalanche before, she was not ignorant. And now, seeing the accumulated snow on the mountain rolling toward them, trying to outrun it with just one life was probably not going to work! So in this split-second instant, Jin Jingwen didn't even think before directly shouting at Yin Fengxuan beside her.

"Fengxuan, turn back!"

Right now there was no time to dawdle. Hearing this, Yin Fengxuan hastily pulled on the reins, then spurred his horse to follow Jin Jingwen running back into the hollow… and just in the moment they turned their horses' heads around, the snow on one side of the pass was already rumbling down the slope, tumbling and surging downward!

In an instant, the entire mountain pass was sealed tight! But things did not end here—as the avalanche began on one side of the pass, it actually set off the snow on the entire southern mountain slope, simultaneously letting out a rumbling roar!

Instantly, Jin Jingwen, who was riding at the very front, felt her heart sink along with it. But right at this moment, perhaps because they were riding too fast and there was accumulated snow on the ground, the horse beneath Jin Jingwen accidentally slipped, and Jin Jingwen was instantly thrown off!

Although there was thick accumulated snow on the ground, the moment she landed, Jin Jingwen still felt pain all over her body as if she had been struck hard all over! But now was not the time to cry out in pain, so the moment she fell, Jin Jingwen immediately fought through the pain all over her body, executed a clean roll, and scrambled up from the snow!

Everything happened too suddenly. And at this moment, seeing Jin Jingwen thrown down, Yin Fengxuan, who was right behind her, instantly felt his heart lurch, and in a flash reached out and grabbed the reins, while turning his horse around at the critical moment…

Clearly, at the critical moment Yin Fengxuan was going back to pull Jin Jingwen up. Seeing this, Jin Jingwen, who had just climbed to her feet, immediately couldn't help but curse loudly.

"Yin Fengxuan, what the hell are you coming back for? Run, run! Run toward the woods in the hollow! Run, now!"

With the accumulated snow sliding down and the terrain being flat and open, there would certainly be no hope of escape. So the only choice was to run into the dense forest, hoping that the thick stand of trees in the forest could block the surging, sliding snow, and thereby they could keep their lives!

So right now was a matter of racing against every second, yet what was Yin Fengxuan doing?

He was actually turning back!

This bastard was actually turning back!

Didn't he want to live? One person dying was better than two dying—could he really not understand such a simple principle?!

This idiot! The biggest idiot in the world!

Jin Jingwen cursed in her anger, but Yin Fengxuan paid no attention to any of it; turning his horse's head, then regardless of whether Jin Jingwen was willing or not, the instant he drew close to Jin Jingwen, he instantly leaned over and reached out, then with a hard yank pulled Jin Jingwen onto the horse's back!

At the critical moment, Yin Fengxuan's series of movements flowed like water! And after pulling Jin Jingwen onto the horse's back, he pressed her tightly against his chest with one hand, then once again turned to ride back into the hollow…