Chapter 635: Rapid Sprint

Outside the capital, a small forest.

Mei Qinghe and You Zi'ang were running in a hurry.

"Are we not going back?"

You Zi'ang did not stop his feet and looked back.

When the first loud explosion came, the two had already received Zhu Zai's order to leave the city. Afterward, the explosions and firelight became increasingly dense. With their hearing, they could naturally distinguish the situation from the sounds—the Zhengyang Gate had been blasted apart, the enemy had already entered the inner city, and at the same time, fighting was already occurring within the Forbidden City.

This was undoubtedly a critical situation, yet Mei Qinghe did not stop at all, as if nothing had happened. She even increased her speed, not even bothering to look back.

"You and I cannot influence the overall situation."

She said coldly.

"The old Commander told us to find the Commander."

"But—"

You Zi'ang frowned, instinctively wanting to retort.

But immediately, he understood.

Mei Qinghe was right.

The enemy chose to strike at this time clearly to avoid Li Miao. Listening to the dense movements coming from the direction of the capital, it was clear the enemy had planned this for a long time. The single loud explosion that blasted open the Zhengyang Gate was almost comparable to the explosion at Wang Gongchang three years ago. And since both Mei Qinghe and he were public figures, the enemy could not have failed to take precautions—the two of them truly could not influence the overall situation.

If Zhu Zai could hold on, they wouldn't make a difference.

If Zhu Zai could not hold on, Li Miao was the only hope.

Thinking of this, You Zi'ang turned his head to look at Mei Qinghe.

They were the closest in time to being taken under Li Miao's command; he had almost watched Mei Qinghe grow up bit by bit. The naive girl of those years had become colder, sharper, and more and more like a keen sword.

Especially after practicing Nature Cultivation and achieving the Xuanlan Realm, Mei Qinghe's greatest weakness—insufficient deliberation—had been compensated for by an instinct that was sharp, direct, and pointed straight to the core of the problem. The current Mei Qinghe was the sharpest sword among the Embroidered Uniform Guard, second only to Zheng Yi.

Not to mention her Xuanlan divine ability, which was so simple it was chilling.

By comparison... he was just an errand runner.

Official rank, Wu Gong, and intellect—he had fallen behind Mei Qinghe in every aspect. Even though the time they were taken under Li Miao's command was only a few days apart, the gap had been stretched wider and wider, leaving him unable to catch up... What right did he have to question her decision?

You Zi'ang withdrew his gaze and stopped speaking.

He pushed his light-body technique to the limit, followed behind Mei Qinghe, and sprinted forward in a straight line.

The decision was made, and there was no more hesitation.

There was also no need for any guilt about deserting the battlefield... one could guess with their knees that the two of them would certainly not have a peaceful journey.

Sure enough, the moment You Zi'ang's thought fell!

"Lower your head!"

Mei Qinghe, in front, shouted sternly!

You Zi'ang instinctively bowed his head, and then he saw a large clump of hair drifting down from above his head. At the same time, the back of his head felt cold and then hot, and a sharp pain followed.

A piece of skin and flesh had been sliced off the back of his head.

If he had been a fraction of a second slower, it would have been his neck that was severed.

You Zi'ang had no time to hesitate; he flashed and retreated several steps, then looked up.

Under the moonlight, Mei Qinghe stood silently, her long sword already drawn and pointing obliquely at the ground.

"Go."

She said coldly.

You Zi'ang was stunned.

Was she telling him... to abandon her and flee for his life?

They had long anticipated that they would encounter obstacles on this journey.

But, this was only the first enemy!

How could this make Mei Qinghe decide to let him flee for his life!

But he was naturally not a fool who would ask why at such a time. Without the slightest hesitation, he used his light-body technique and flashed sideways to sprint away. In that brief instant, he looked back and understood why Mei Qinghe had told him to flee.

There was a grain-sized nick on Mei Qinghe's sword edge.

The enemy had just slashed at them, aiming for their waists. Mei Qinghe had swung her sword to deflect it, lifting the enemy's blade by a foot, which was why You Zi'ang had only had the skin on the back of his head sliced off—just by blocking it once, Mei Qinghe's sword had been damaged!

The person who came was a swordsman stronger than Mei Qinghe.

You Zi'ang's heart sank, and he pushed his light-body technique to the limit to sprint away.

He was not stupid enough to hesitate.

He could not help, so he had to leave immediately. If Mei Qinghe could win, she would flee for her life herself; if Mei Qinghe lost... at least he could not let her die in vain!

With You Zi'ang's light-body technique, he darted out dozens of yards in an instant, on the verge of diving into the dense forest.

But just at this moment—his heart turned cold.

How could the opponent have blocked them here?

The two of them had climbed over the wall and left the city immediately after receiving the order, without passing through any city gate, and had not been seen by anyone. With their speed, the opponent would have missed them if they were even a few seconds late... Therefore, either the opponent had been following them the whole time, or the opponent had known about their actions long ago and had blocked them here in advance.

Whether it was the former or the latter, the opponent could not have failed to know that there were two of them.

Then... the opponent could not be just one person.

You Zi'ang stopped abruptly, his toes pointed to dissipate his momentum, and he suddenly turned back! ===== CHAPTER 636 =====