Chapter 31: Tuojie (Part II)

Murong Feiyan shouted angrily: "Where to flee!" She leapt into the air, tapping the fence lightly with her toes, her delicate body soaring upward again, performing three consecutive front flips. As she landed, she kicked a black-clad knight off his black steed, seized his mount, and sped after Mo Shaolin's escape route at full speed.

Although Hu Xiaotian admitted that Murong Feiyan's series of flips was pleasing to the eye, this girl's brains were truly lacking; clearly she could have handled the matter more cleverly and perfectly, yet she deliberately chose the most difficult method. I said, do women of this era dislike using their brains? Must they resort to fighting and killing, solving problems with force?

At that moment, the groom in the horse pen slowly climbed onto a horse caked in mud; because he was covered in filth, the horse's original coat color was indiscernible, matching his own mud-splattered clothes, which also hid their original color. The groom raised his whip and shouted loudly, "Giddyap!" The call was full of vigor. The horse lifted its head and strode, actually galloping wildly toward Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian silently thought, "Not good." Li Jin Hao and Shao Yijiao were still on the other side of the horse pen. Seeing the groom spur his horse toward Hu Xiaotian, he instantly felt uneasy. Li Jin Hao pulled a horse tether from the ground, mustered all his strength, and hurled it; the tether was as thick as a thigh, and when Li Jin Hao threw it, it flew like a bolt from a powerful bow and crossbow, with a whoosh, straight toward the groom's back.

The groom didn't even look back; he flicked his long whip, which lashed out like lightning behind him. With a crack, it struck the tether squarely, sending it flying sideways. It spun and slammed into Li Jin Hao and Shao Yijiao, who scrambled to duck; the tether whooshed over their heads, hit the fence behind them, and actually broke the horse pen's fence—showing just how tremendous the whip's force was. Seeing the gap in the fence, the horses inside the pen rushed out one after another.

Shao Yijiao had just gotten up from the ground when a horse knocked him down again; Li Jin Hao fared no better, dodging left and right as he weaved through the herd.

The onlookers saw the herd of horses bolt out and scattered in fright. Hu Xiaotian took the opportunity, following the nearby crowd toward the densest part of the throng. The groom shouted angrily, "Where are you going?" He flicked his whip, making a whip flower, reaching forward like a spirit snake that wrapped around Hu Xiaotian's right foot; a pull and a jerk threw him off balance, dragging him to the ground. Before he could get up, the groom spurred his horse past him as a guest, the whip still hooked on Hu Xiaotian's right leg, dragging his body through the mire.

At this moment Hu Xiaotian felt extreme regret, yet he was still employing the 'feign east, strike west' tactic; they focused their attention on Mo Shaolin, but Mo Shaolin used their psychology to lure Murong Feiyan away, and that seemingly ordinary groom seized the chance to cause trouble—their true target was actually himself.

Hu Xiaotian's body was being dragged by the whip; in the crisis, he kept his wits, drew the dagger he carried at his waist, and tried to cut the whip coiled around his leg.

Liang Da Zhuang and the three other household servants had been waiting in place; seeing a knight gallop toward them on horseback, with a long whip dragging a person, they realized it was their young master, Hu Xiaotian.

Upon seeing this, the servants panicked, grabbed their weapons, and rushed forward to meet him, trying to block the knight's advance.

The knight snorted coldly, shook his whip, and actually lifted Hu Xiaotian's entire body off the ground; Hu Xiaotian suddenly flew into midair, terrified, the servant dropped his dagger, clutched his head, his soul seemed to flee, and he inwardly cried, "My life is over!"

The whip released Hu Xiaotian's right leg, but his body continued flying toward the knight, who grabbed him with one hand and casually struck his chest; Hu Xiaotian instantly felt numb all over, likely having his acupoints sealed, and was laid sideways on the horse's back. Then the knight waved his whip about, the crackling sounds continuous.

Before Liang Da Zhuang and the three other servants could even approach the horse, the whip lashed them, knocking them to the ground. The knight shouted a command; the horse instantly accelerated, and when it was about a zhang from the wagon, its hind legs pushed off, it leapt into the air, all four hooves leaving the ground, astonishingly clearing the wagon with its incredible spring, breaking through the servants' blockade, and galloped straight toward the southern gate of Tuojie.

Hu Xiaotian lay prone on the horse's back, his body jolting with each stride, but his limbs were completely paralyzed, giving no response. Fortunately his consciousness remained clear; these bandits were outrageously arrogant, daring to abduct him in broad daylight right before Murong Feiyan's eyes.

Suddenly a sharp female shout came from nearby—it was Murong Feiyan realizing she had fallen for the enemy's 'lure the tiger away from the mountain' ploy, and she turned back. Gripping the reins with one hand and raising her sword high with the other, her silver teeth almost grinding, her beautiful eyes filled with fierce killing intent. She had just chased Mo Shaolin a short distance when the incident of Hu Xiaotian's abduction occurred behind her; upon realizing she had been set up, Murong Feiyan immediately gave up pursuing Mo Shaolin, turned her horse, and rode to rescue Hu Xiaotian.

The knight's mud‑covered thin steed looked frail, yet bearing two riders it still ran like the wind. Murong Feiyan pursued closely behind, and the two charged into Xizhao Jie, this street also being the longest in Kangdu, known locally as the Ten‑Li Long Street.

Just moments ago the sky had been clear, but suddenly heavy dark clouds covered it; a blinding, eye‑catching lightning twisted its way out of the clouds, and immediately a thunderclap boomed.

On the right side of the long street's eaves, a figure leapt and sprang about, finally stopping, he took down a long bow from behind him—the Ox Horn Bow, five feet three inches long, made of ox horn, bamboo‑wood core, ox sinew, and animal glue; its draw weight exceeds two stone, meaning that without two hundred catties of strength one cannot draw this powerful bow.

The birch arrow shaft was two feet long, its tip forged of refined steel; under the overcast sky the tip gleamed with a deep, cold light. Suddenly rain began to fall, dense and all‑enveloping. Mo Shaolin's body froze on the long street's eaves, like a cast‑iron statue, the bow drawn like a full moon, the feathered arrow nocked and ready.

Amid the wind and rain, a sudden urgent horse‑hoof sound approached from afar.

The horse beneath the knight had been washed clean by the rain, stripping away all mud to reveal a pure white coat, like a white bolt of lightning flashing through the heavy rain on the long street. Although the mount was divine, it bore two grown men; short‑distance sprinting posed no problem, but after this prolonged gallop its stride had begun to slow.

Murong Feiyan's sword‑brows rose, the cold light in her beautiful eyes sharp as a knife, piercing through the layers of rain and mist straight toward the knight's back.

The knight did not turn back, but from the sound of hooves he judged the distance closing; he roared, "Giddyap!" like a thunderclap exploding in the cloud‑filled sky.

At the same moment, Mo Shaolin's lip twitched; he relaxed his right hand, and the feathered arrow hissed "whoosh" as it left the string, piercing the permeating mist, breaking through the heavy gloom, its tip flashing cold light, driven by the white tail feathers it traced a straight, beautiful arc in midair; the falling rain's speed suddenly seemed slow compared to the arrow's swift flight, fast and slow, hard and soft, in the dim light enacting a heart‑rending cruel beauty.

Lan-colored lightning split the sky; the arrowhead reflected the blinding flash of lightning in an instant, this glow lying only three feet from Murong Feiyan's chest.

Swish! A sword swung out, its icy blade striking the chilling arrowhead; the clash of sword and arrow burst into a shower of brilliant sparks.

Whoosh! A second arrow shot straight for Murong Feiyan's neck; she leaned back slightly, parted her lips, and in the instant the arrow brushed her face she opened her mouth and seized the shaft with her teeth.

Whoosh! After two consecutive arrows missed, Mo Shaolin finally aimed at the black horse beneath Murong Feiyan; he held deep affection for the animal, and would not have harmed this beautiful, loyal creature unless he had no other choice.

The feathered arrow arced forward, striking the desperate black steed from the side at a forty‑five degree angle; the tip pierced its right eye and drove deep into its skull. The black warhorse let out a mournful cry, its four legs buckling as it collapsed with a thud; on the freshly washed blue‑stone road, rain‑cleared, two shocking trails of blood were dragged.

At the instant the horse was struck, Murong Feiyan's delicate body leapt into the air, instantly soaring over five zhang, like a hawk stooping for a rabbit from the rain‑filled sky, descending together with the downpour, her long sword thrust straight for the knight's nape.

The knight had to rein in the reins; the white warhorse, under forced restraint at high speed, neighed, its hind legs pushing off as its front hooves lifted high; Hu Xiaotian's body was flung from the horse and crashed hard onto the hard blue‑stone ground, nearly knocking him out, but because his acupoints were sealed he lay rigid and motionless on the ground.

The knight backhanded his whip; the lash struck the rain, emitting a sharp whine. The whip met the sword, coiling around it turn by turn, then he gave a powerful jerk trying to wrest the sword from Murong Feiyan's hand.

Murong Feiyan, however, used his pull to launch herself forward, body and sword as one, becoming like a drawn blade, she thrust straight at the knight's chest and abdomen.

Seeing Murong Feiyan's fierce advance, the knight realized the danger; he had to abandon his whip, tumble off the horse's back, and in that sorry maneuver he barely avoided her deadly strike.

Murong Feiyan seized the white warhorse, gave the reins a shake, and galloped toward Hu Xiaotian; the urgent priority was to rescue him first.