Chapter 506

Hu Xiaotian finally came to his senses just now. Damn! I've got black silkworm armor protecting me, damn it, bring it on! He shoved the two men's arms away. At the same time, swoosh! swoosh! Two more arrows came in rapid succession; the two warriors gripping Hu Xiaotian's arms didn't even have time to make a move before their throats were pierced one after another. These two also died with their eyes open, having thought they were ambushing a eunuch who knew no martial arts, never expecting this guy to possess a formidable external training skill—either the Golden Bell Shield or Iron Cloth Shirt—and they never imagined Hu Xiaotian was wearing black silkworm armor that blades couldn't pierce.

Hu Xiaotian took the opportunity to break free of their grip, drew the black gold blade at his waist, roared, and swept it sideways. The black gold blade was irresistibly sharp, consecutively beheading the two men; blood spurted from the severed necks. Hu Xiaotian didn't rush to flee, and his body ended up smeared with plenty of blood.

He looked up; smoke and mist rose above, obscuring the view. He looked down and saw someone crouching low, approaching him not far away; judging by the figure, it should be Zhan Peng.

"Be careful!" With a faint twang of the bowstring, an arrow flew past Hu Xiaotian's left shoulder, killing on the spot a masked man who had been using the smoke for cover. The sound gave away Zhan Peng's position; as soon as he spoke, five arrows shot toward his location. Zhan Peng rolled continuously on the ground, his right hand darting back and forth in the air, actually catching all the arrows aimed at him and then firing them back. From within the smoke came two miserable cries, and two more enemies were struck by arrows.

After landing, Zhan Peng first pulled the arrows from the three corpses, returned them to his quiver, then whispered, "Follow me!" He hurried off to the right.

Hu Xiaotian dragged his blade, closely following Zhan Peng. Although his martial arts had improved considerably lately, he still lacked real combat experience, and with smoke everywhere he couldn't tell direction at all, nor could he distinguish friend from foe.

A figure flashed out from ahead; Zhan Peng reacted instantly, shooting it down with an arrow. Hu Xiaotian rushed forward and delivered a stabbing blow, not even seeing the attacker's face before walking into an ambush. This guy had pent-up fury, and in this state his strikes were especially decisive, showing no mercy.

Zhan Peng came from a hunter's background; the forest was his natural stomping ground. Though he had never been in this black pine forest before, his innate familiarity with mountains and woods let him adapt to the environment in the shortest time. Actually, when Hu Xiaotian headed toward those warriors, Zhan Peng had already been watching him; thick smoke rose. Several warriors escorted Hu Xiaotian to safety while Zhan Peng silently tailed them, never leaving Hu Xiaotian's side. Even so, he never imagined those guards protecting Hu Xiaotian would suddenly turn on him. He had thought his own response was a step too late, but he was pleasantly surprised to see Hu Xiaotian unharmed, and immediately deduced that Hu Xiaotian might be wearing some kind of protective armor or treasure.

Hu Xiaotian had already lost his bearings in the smoke; earlier he had been running with the wind. In fact, running downwind when there's smoke is counterproductive, as the wind drives the smoke to chase their footsteps. Thus they couldn't escape the smoke's enveloping range for a while.

Zhan Peng gestured for him to bend down and keep his body as low as possible. Hu Xiaotian then recalled the fire‑escape knowledge he should have used in an emergency, but he had forgotten; smoke rises. One should keep the body low.

Zhan Peng handed Hu Xiaotian a piece of cloth dampened with snow water, indicating he should cover his mouth and nose. Hu Xiaotian shook his head, saying it wasn't needed; his unique breathing method could maintain a long breath‑hold. Following behind Zhan Peng, they soon left the smoke‑filled area.

Zhan Peng lowered the wet cloth covering his mouth and nose, took a breath, then grabbed a handful of snow and stuffed it into his mouth. His eyes stayed alert, scanning the surroundings, after which he lay prone in the snow to listen for any movement.

Hu Xiaotian looked down at himself; his fox‑fur coat was torn in several large holes, revealing the black silkworm armor underneath. Thank goodness Li Yuncong had given him this armor; otherwise today he would have been stabbed at least three times and died thrice over. Recalling the earlier scene, Hu Xiaotian was still shaken. Those warriors were clearly Wen Boyuan's subordinates, yet they turned on him. After a moment's thought he realized this was a conspiracy—Ji Feihua had ordered him to kill Wen Boyuan, and though he had been somewhat reluctant, he hadn't expected Wen Boyuan to be even more ruthless, striking first the moment he left the Tianbo Manor. If it weren't for his good fortune, his life would already be gone.

Zhan Peng stood up and whispered to Hu Xiaotian, "They're to the northwest."

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "Let's go!"

Zhan Peng said, "The warriors who just ambushed you are all from the Divine Strategy Garrison."

Hu Xiaotian whispered, "I know!"

Zhan Peng frowned, worried for Hu Xiaotian; those men were clearly acting under Wen Boyuan's orders.

Up ahead came another shout of battle; Hu Xiaotian and Zhan Peng followed the sound and heard Wu Jingshan's hoarse voice yelling, "Wipe out all these bandits, leave none, protect the princess, protect the princess!"

Hu Xiaotian smirked inwardly; it seemed the victory was already sealed, otherwise Wu Jingshan wouldn't be shouting so fervently. He and Zhan Peng split off to head forward and rejoin the troops; as he expected, five bandits had already been slain on the scene, while the rest had fled.

Upon hearing that Hu Xiaotian had returned safely, Wu Jingshan was also greatly relieved, but Wen Boyuan's face grew unusually grim. Hu Xiaotian didn't mention what had just happened; instead he asked what had occurred. Wu Jingshan sighed, "These bandits are utterly audacious—they dare to create a smoke screen and even try to ambush us mid‑retreat; fortunately General Wen is here, and he's wiped them all out."

Hu Xiaotian glanced at the five corpses on the ground, inwardly sneering, "Do they really think everyone's a fool? A mere five bandits daring to rob seven hundred trained warriors, some of whom are masters? Wen Boyuan, you dog, your scheme could use a bit more brains."

The remaining scattered warriors gradually arrived here.

Wen Boyuan said, "Rest here for now. Zhan Peng and Zhao Chongwu, each take fifty men; once the smoke clears, head to the camp to check for any enemies, and also see if any supplies are missing. Dong Tieshan! Count the personnel."

Hu Xiaotian nodded with a smile toward Wen Boyuan, then walked toward Princess Anping's direction. Long Xi Yue had been constantly worried about Hu Xiaotian's safety, wishing she could rush into the smoke to find him; now seeing him return safe, she finally relaxed, took a step forward, but realizing she had acted improperly, she immediately stopped.

Zhou Mo watched this, sighing inwardly, "This princess and my third brother are deeply in love; this bond is unlikely to be severed." Zhou Mo had been guarding Long Xi Yue's left and right all along, so he didn't know Hu Xiaotian had just gone through such a perilous ordeal.

Hu Xiaotian approached Long Xi Yue, who forced herself to suppress her excitement and concern, speaking calmly: "Little bearded one, you're back?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "I'm back!" Those three simple words held countless twists and dangers. At this moment their carriage had also been brought here; Hu Xiaotian asked Long Xi Yue to return to the carriage to rest.

Zhou Mo whispered, "How is it?"

Hu Xiaotian gazed at the distant Wen Boyuan, coldly saying, "It should just be that bastard's self‑directed, self‑acted play."

Zhou Mo noticed Hu Xiaotian's torn clothing, immediately deduced it was blade damage, guessed Hu Xiaotian must have just gone through a dangerous fight, and whispered, "All good then." His gaze turned toward the camp: "I don't know where those thieves came from."

Hu Xiaotian scoffed, "Just another smoke screen to hide his purpose." At first Hu Xiaotian thought Wen Boyuan's insistence on crossing the black pine forest was mere obstinacy, but now he realized Wen Boyuan was nothing but a wolf with ambition, having already laid an ambush in the black pine forest intending to harm him and then blame it on the bandits. From this point on, even without Ji Feihua's commission, Hu Xiaotian would certainly see Wen Boyuan dead; toward enemies one cannot show the slightest mercy, especially when that person still regards him as a love rival.

Zhou Mo whispered, "I'll kill him today!" Today's murder plot against Hu Xiaotian had thoroughly ignited Zhou Mo's anger; he wanted to be the first to eliminate Wen Boyuan, thus guaranteeing Hu Xiaotian's safety.

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: "No rush; this matter must be carried out flawlessly, though Zhan Peng might end up exposed."

In the distance, several corpses were brought over; Hu Xiaotian told Zhou Mo to stay put while he went to look. Zhao Chongwu brought five corpses, three of which were Wen Boyuan's warriors—the very three who had just ambushed Hu Xiaotian; one had a large blood hole in his head, the other two were beheaded, their heads held by a warrior and placed on the snow, temporarily arranged as a whole corpse. The other two were the bandits who had ambushed them, also killed by arrows; these two bodies still had arrows lodged in them.

Wen Boyuan walked over, pulled an arrow from one of the corpses, held it in his hand; the Divine Strategy Garrison's arrows are uniformly marked, but these clearly aren't theirs, causing his brows to knot instantly; everything before him left him somewhat bewildered. The three dead warriors were precisely the ones he had sent to assassinate Hu Xiaotian; it's unimaginable that they failed the assassination and died at Hu Xiaotian's hands—this eunuch is truly devious, having killed three men yet said nothing upon returning, pretending nothing happened. All five should have died from cold arrows, yet three of the arrows were pulled out, and the two bandits' arrows don't belong to the Divine Strategy Garrison, so they likely belong to the bandits' side. What exactly happened among them? Perhaps only Hu Xiaotian knows the truth.

Wen Boyuan glanced at Hu Xiaotian, who feigned innocence by shaking his head: "How awful! These three seem to be ours, alas, look—they've lost their heads! They must be buried with honor, definitely a proper burial!"

Wen Boyuan hearing this felt an itch of hatred in his heart.

Valentine's Day, still two updates delivered; people as diligent as me are few, but why are the monthly tickets so scarce? Is it because Zhangyu's emotional intelligence is too low? Can't attract girls, now can't even attract votes? Please give me a monthly ticket! For this hard work, just one will do! (To be continued~^~)