Horses neighed and the night wind howled. A nightmarish battle was taking place on the street.
Amidst the chaos, a gust of wind created by the sword cut off the front leg of a galloping warhorse at high speed. Blood spurted into the air and the horse rolled on the road. When the warhorse rolled over, another guard's face was sent flying backward with blood and minced flesh. The rest of the guards bravely rushed forward, but their steel blades were cut open along with their chests.
The woman's figure rushed forward at high speed. Five or six guards crisscrossed to block her, but they could not stop her at all. That slightly clumsy longsword kept looking for a gap between the crisscrossed edges, drawing out a line of blood. Screams rang out as the sword flew forward. The woman was already covered in blood under the dark night. But in such a short time, she had already forced Song Xian, who wanted to escape, to the end of the road with a great sense of oppression.
The speed of both sides was shockingly fast on the long street. The personal guards who wanted to stop the woman rushed forward from all sides. At this moment, Song Xian was also running away. A personal guard suddenly cut in from the front, trying to stop the woman from chasing him. The next moment, the sword light suddenly pulled down from his left shoulder to the right side of his abdomen. His body flew out like a cannonball, and blood burst out like a huge flower.
The sword light from both sides tore through the air. The woman lowered her body and drew a line of blood on the thigh of the person on the left. She spun and stood up, grabbing the back of the head of the person on the left, smashing his head into the face of the person on the right. She picked up a steel sword and threw it forward.
At this time, Song Xian had already run a few meters away. He reached out to grab the reins of a galloping horse. The spinning steel sword slashed across his waist and into the calf of the galloping horse. In the bloody light, the man and the horse rolled forward almost at the same time. The battle behind him was chaotic. He had just gotten up from the ground when he saw the woman's figure in his field of vision was approaching again with a violent bloody light.
"You're a fucking lunatic —"
Bang —
There was a burst of sparks, and Song Xian's figure was once again sent flying. His back had already reached the corner of the wall. The guards around him couldn't stop the woman even for a second. When he raised his head, the simple and unadorned sword was slashing towards his head. He tilted his head and the blade rolled out a large amount of stone and dirt from the wall. Before he could feel the lingering fear, the woman's right fist suddenly enlarged in front of Song Xian's eyes.
With a bang, his head shook, and the back of his head smashed into the wall behind him. His vision trembled, and blood spurted out. Time seemed to slow down, but his reaction did not seem to be any faster. The figures that rushed up and the sounds of fighting became abnormally distant in this trembling, bloody scene. The woman turned around, and with a slash of her sword, she slashed at the bodyguards that had pounced on her. He subconsciously raised his sword, but the gaze had already turned back.
He swung his arm, but the knife that was supposed to cut the woman's body did not appear. Blood spurted from the severed wrist, and the arm that held the knife danced in the air, smashing towards the guards behind him. The woman's right elbow seemed to carry the strength of her entire body as it smashed towards his face. The darkness expanded.
Bang — Buzz —
He didn't know what happened, but then, the third impact came. The wall that was blocking his back disappeared from his consciousness, and he flew up into the air …
*****
The carriage stopped at the corner of the road. Not long after Ning Yi arrived, he stood under the tree in the darkness and looked at the scene at the end of the long street.
He didn't see the entire process of the fight, but the mess on the street was enough to explain everything. The wreckage of the two carriages, the corpses, the blood, and the horses with their legs cut off were lying on the ground, struggling and whining. The scars of the battle stretched across the entire street, and the most shocking thing was the last part of the battle.
Song Xian originally joined the battle but the woman's pressure was too shocking. When Ning Yi came over, he was already prepared to escape. But he could not escape. Most of the horses were injured and the bodyguards who chose to fight on foot were almost doing their best to stop the woman's pursuit. The battle extended at an astonishing speed. But they still could not stop the woman's attacks. Blood splattered almost non-stop. Among the bodyguards, there were those who were lightly injured and those who were seriously injured … They rushed over from the surroundings and were flung away until Song Xian was caught up to at the end of the long street.
"Boom, boom, boom —" After three consecutive explosions, the entire wall at the end of the long street collapsed with a loud bang … A brick flew over and smashed into a person's head, turning it into powder and flying away. The battle was still going on …
"That's it, that's it …"
In the darkness, Ning Yi muttered to himself. Then, he adjusted his breathing and let out a long sigh.
"This is what I want …"
After watching the battle for a moment, there was no need to watch anymore. The reinforcements would probably be here soon. Ning Yi turned around and walked towards the carriage. Then, he looked at a horse not far away. That horse stood alone at the intersection of light and darkness. The rider on the horse was already dead and fresh blood was dripping down. Ning Yi walked over and rummaged through his clothes. He took out a bamboo tube used to release fireworks and put it into his clothes. Then, he looked around. There might be some scattered houses on the other side of the long street, but there were none here. There shouldn't be anyone who saw him here. Then, he returned to the carriage and quietly turned around, running away.
"… This is the final battle. Let's unite until tomorrow. Internazionale, we must … achieve it …"
His fingers tapped lightly and hurriedly on the carriage. In his mind, he calculated the nearby streets and the possible plans for a pursuit. He casually hummed a song that he remembered. The flickering light of the fire shone on his face. At this moment, there was a smile that was completely different from his usual self. Amidst his modest appearance, there was an indescribable wildness.
He didn't know how many opportunities there would be. After all, there were too many unforeseen events. Perhaps it would even lead to some trouble. But at this moment, he had already confirmed that he wanted that thing. He wanted to obtain it …
If he didn't work hard, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
*****
Fireworks rose up in the streets of the city. More often than not, there was the hurried sound of gongs.
This was a chaotic night.
When most of the people who returned from Egret entered Jiangning City, the chaotic noises had already affected half of the city. The soldiers of the Martyrs of Martial and the bailiffs were busy chasing after the female assassin who was running around in the city. During this period, there were a few clashes, and several people were injured or killed. When the residents who returned to the city spread out in this direction, the female assassin probably wanted to run towards the crowd. However, the elites of the Martyrs of Martial who were originally following Chen Yong also came over from that direction, forcing her to run to a relatively quiet city on the other side.
The woman was probably already heavily injured, but her battle strength was still formidable. If it wasn't someone who felt good about themselves, they basically wouldn't dare to make a move against her. Ordinary bailiffs would only chase after her while beating gongs and drums. After all, there were many people chasing after her. The woman darted left and right, but was ultimately unable to completely disappear.
Tonight was different from the night of the Upper Prime Month. At this moment, there were not many people on the city streets. The woman was also excessively stubborn tonight, unlike on the night of the Lantern Festival, where she immediately left after being injured. She had thrown caution to the wind and killed Song Xian in that kind of situation. She was also heavily injured, so it was very difficult for this place to become an ideal hiding place for her. There was no curfew in the Wu dynasty. Although most people only shut themselves in after seeing the fireworks and hearing the gongs and drums, there were still a few idle people wandering around at night. Ning Yi drove the carriage and wandered around the edge of the situation. He actually had the advantage. Occasionally, he would meet soldiers and bailiffs, say a few words, or leave in a hurry, ignoring him.
Humming a song along the way, he circled around a few streets and watched the chaos from afar. His fingers moved around beside him, calculating the possible direction that each group of people could have gone, the general situation of the entire area, the location of the woman, and the possible plans that she could have chosen. It was very difficult to establish a relationship with her. If he drove over now, it would be very simple to encounter the woman once, but it would be meaningless. If he proposed to help her with such a stupid beginning, the most likely situation would be that he would be killed at the first moment. He couldn't take the initiative in these matters. He could only find a specific environment and let the other party take the initiative. Only then would he have the leeway to express his intentions.
The calculation of people's hearts was always very complicated. Even if he still had the same team of advisors as in his previous life, he couldn't say he was confident at this time. At the moment, he was alone, so he could only do it with the mentality of giving it a try. There should be a few streets in the city that were more ideal. However, in this short period of time, he estimated the direction that the woman would run in twice. One of them was a good opportunity, but he missed it. About ten minutes later, he saw a possibility in the occasional chaos.
The carriage sped along the long street towards the west of the city. When it reached a secluded alley, the sound of a gong could be heard hurriedly from afar, followed by the sound of fighting. The woman was pushing the chaos in this direction. After a while, the visible chaos disappeared again. Ning Yi calculated the time and took out the bamboo tube of fireworks. He pulled off the cap and a firework signal soared into the sky, lighting up the night sky. Then, he waved the whip and let the carriage leave at a high speed, heading towards a nearby street.
In theory, the female assassin's escape route had been temporarily limited. As long as he could reach there in advance, there was a possibility that his carriage could become the ideal bait. Perhaps he would have a 30% chance of getting her on the carriage, and then there would be a possibility of making a deal … After galloping for two streets, a group of bailiffs rushed over from the direction of the direction. When they saw him, they suddenly stopped him.
Sh * t …
If the battle in the distance was still ongoing, the bailiffs would not have bothered with him. However, the woman's tracks had temporarily disappeared, so Ning Yi could only stop the carriage and let them search. The carriage was flying the banner of the Prince Consort's Residence, so the bailiffs naturally did not make things difficult for him. After a brief search, they immediately said good things and let him go, but a lot of time had passed. When Ning Yi continued forward, the woman's location had already exceeded his expectations.
Accidents often happened, and Ning Yi had long understood that. However, he felt that it was a pity that it had happened now. He had already used the fireworks, so he no longer had the chance to control the woman's direction. Not long after, the woman continued to run towards the east, and Ning Yi slowly drove the carriage away from the dangerous central area. There was no point in continuing in that direction. Even if he could really save the woman, he might not be able to avoid the inspection of the soldiers and bailiffs. The ratio of danger to reward was extremely skewed, so there was no point in taking the risk.
What a pity. He did not know if he could meet such a powerful person again …
As he thought of this, he headed back in the direction of the Su Mansion. The chaos behind him was silent for a long time. When the flare signal and the sound of the gong caught his attention again, he suddenly realized that the chaos had actually pushed back in the opposite direction …
*****
There was a relatively secluded lakeside in the west of the city. Ning Yi drove the carriage through the road on the lakeside. On one side was the quiet lake and trees, and on the other side was the high-walled courtyard with lanterns hanging on the wall. Occasionally, he could see one or two pedestrians on the road. They were probably returning from the flower competition.
Far behind the carriage, a group of soldiers was detouring around the road and seemed to be heading this way. At the fork in the road ahead, there were also bailiffs patrolling this side of the road. Ning Yi recalled the location of the battle not long ago. He quietly stopped the carriage on the side of the road near the fork, got out of the carriage, and stretched.
*****
On the dark lakeside, the woman was wrapped in a black cloth and quietly lurking in the deep grass under the trees. She adjusted her breathing and tried to be as quiet as possible so that there would not be too many traces of blood on her body. She patiently waited for several teams of searchers to pass by.
The carriage stopped not far from where she was hiding. Then she saw the driver get out of the carriage, stretch, and walk towards the lakeside. He hummed a strange and leisurely tune and lowered his head to look for something in the grass …
*****
While writing this chapter, he listened to the Tang Dynasty's "The Internationale" several times. It was not that the lyrics were appropriate, but the rhythm and feeling might be similar to what Ning Yi was feeling at this time.
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