nucmednet Chapter 488 Danger on the Road
Chapter 488 Danger on the Road
"Sister Shi!"
With red eyes, Lin Yiyu picked up the broken knife from the ground and lunged at the rebel soldier, slashing him in the leg. The rebel soldier screamed and fell to the ground.
But the remaining four rebels quickly surrounded them, their blades flashing as they slashed at the two men.
Shi Wanxia leaned against the wall, barely able to hold the short knife in her hand. Blood dripped from her arm down her fingertips, and the wound on her back was so painful that she could barely stand.
She watched as Lin Yiyu was entangled by two rebel soldiers, and his body suffered several more wounds. Her heart ached as if it were being stabbed.
"Don't hit him! Come at me!"
She shouted at the rebels, raised her dagger, and charged at one of them.
But she was no match for the rebel. He kicked her to the ground, and her dagger fell to the side. She fell to the ground, and the wound on her back slammed hard against the bluestone slab. The pain made her vision go black, and she almost fainted.
"Sister Shi!"
Lin Yiyu tried to rush over to save her, but was held down by two rebel soldiers with knives to his neck.
The rebel leader sneered and pointed his knife at Shi Wanxia: "Kid, you think you're so tough? Move again and I'll kill this girl!"
Lin Yiyu froze; the knife on his neck cut his skin, and blood seeped out.
He looked at Shi Wanxia lying on the ground, her face as pale as paper, blood streaming from her arms and back, and finally, tears streamed down his face: "Sister Shi, how could you be so foolish... Didn't I tell you to leave..."
Shi Wanxia tried to stand up, but fell down again. She looked at Lin Yiyu, her voice hoarse, "Xiaoyu, I can't leave you... We promised to go home together... to take Brother Cui out together..."
"Oh, you still want to go out?"
The leader of the rebels crouched down and used his knife to lift Shi Wanxia's chin.
"Neither of you will escape! General Lei said that anyone associated with Cui Zhihao must die!"
The glint of the blade flashed before her eyes, but Shi Wanxia was no longer afraid. She looked at Lin Yiyu and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips: "Xiaoyu, being with you... is not a loss..."
Lin Yiyu's heart broke at the sight of her smile. He struggled violently to his feet and roared at the rebels, "Let her go! Come at me! She's innocent!"
"innocent?"
The rebels scoffed.
“Being associated with the imperial court means you’re not innocent!” With that, he raised his knife, ready to strike Shi Wanxia.
Shi Wanxia closed her eyes, thinking about Cui Zhihao still waiting for them at the City God Temple, about Lin Yiyu pushing her away earlier, and about how they hadn't yet handed over the defense map to the reinforcements...
She was unwilling to accept it, but the pain in her back and arms made it impossible for her to move.
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from afar, and someone shouted, "The imperial reinforcements have arrived!"
The rebels were stunned for a moment. The leader cursed, "What bad luck!" He glanced at Shi Wanxia on the ground and Lin Yiyu who was being held down, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Take them away first! Go back and hand them over to General Lei!"
Two rebel soldiers carried Shi Wanxia, while two others escorted Lin Yiyu, and they headed towards the prison.
Shi Wanxia was being held up, her feet barely touching the ground, and the wound on her back was being pulled even more painful. She watched Lin Yiyu being held in front, blood dripping from his arm, and her heart ached so much that she couldn't speak.
"Xiaoyu... I'm sorry... It's my fault..."
She whispered, tears falling to the ground, mingling with blood, creating a blurry mess.
Lin Yiyu turned to look at her, his face pale, but he still managed a smile: "Sister Shi, it's not your fault... Being with you... I haven't lost out..."
The two were escorted by the rebels toward the prison, and bloodstains stretched along the alley, like a red line of despair.
The candles in the City God Temple were still burning forlornly, and Cui Zhihao was still unconscious in the haystack. He was unaware that the two people he cared about most were walking step by step into the abyss of death.
The wind grew colder, making the fallen leaves in the alley swirl, as if singing a song of despair for the two figures who had shared life and death.
The sound of the rebels' hooves had just disappeared at the end of the alley when Shi Wanxia's arm, which was being supported, was still aching, and the wound on her back felt like it was being burned. Suddenly, two dark figures flashed before her eyes.
They weren't rebels, but two people dressed in coarse cloth, crouching low as they crawled out from behind the woodshed. Their movements were hurried and flustered, yet they had a familiar air about them.
"Lord Shi! Come here quickly!"
It was Zhang Li's voice! Shi Wanxia's heart skipped a beat. Before she could react, Zhang Li had already rushed over and pushed aside the remnants of the rebel army who were holding her (the leader had taken the main force away, leaving only two soldiers to guard the rear).
His wife, Wang, was equally decisive. She grabbed a broken stick from the corner of the wall and smashed it down on the back of the head of the soldier holding Lin Yiyu. With a thud, the soldier fell straight down.
"Don't just stand there! Go!"
Zhang Li grabbed Shi Wanxia's arm, and Wang Shi supported Lin Yiyu, who was so weak he could barely stand. The four of them stumbled and ran towards the City God Temple.
Shi Wanxia leaned half her body against Zhang Li, feeling the sweat soaking the coarse cloth on his back, and heard him panting as he said, "We've been following them for a while now. When we saw you two being captured, our hearts were in our throats. We only dared to make a move after the rebels dispersed..."
Shi Wanxia's throat tightened. She wanted to say thank you, but the pain made it hard to even breathe. She could only grip Zhang Li's arm, her nails digging into his flesh.
She knew that Zhang Li was just an ordinary person who used to sell vegetables in Chuzhou City. Cui Zhihao had even helped him retrieve his vegetable basket that had been stolen by local thugs. He was risking his life to save her.
After dodging the patrolling rebels, Shi Wanxia finally managed to sneak back to the City God Temple. The moment she pushed open the door, she saw that the candles next to the offering table were still burning, and Cui Zhihao was still lying in the haystack, his face even paler than in the morning.
She was about to walk over when her legs gave way and she slid down. Zhang Li quickly caught her and said, "Lord Shi, don't move. My wife knows how to bandage. I'll go home and get some food and medicine—I have some wound medicine at home that I had left over from when I broke my leg last year, and two steamed buns. I'll bring them all to you."
Wang had already helped Lin Yiyu lie down on another pile of grass. She took out a coarse cloth from her bosom, wiped the blood off Lin Yiyu's arm, and looked up at Zhang Li, saying, "Go and come back quickly. Be careful on the road and don't let the rebels see you."
Zhang Li responded and turned to run out of the temple, his figure quickly disappearing into the darkness.
Wang knelt down beside Shi Wanxia and carefully untied the tattered cloth from her back. When she saw the arrow wound that was still bleeding, she gasped, "My God, this wound is so serious..."
She took out a small porcelain bottle from her bosom and poured out some brown powder. "This is a hemostatic medicine passed down in my family. It will hurt a little, Master Shi, please bear with it."
The moment the powder was sprinkled on, Shi Wanxia trembled all over in pain, her teeth grinding together, but she didn't utter a sound—she watched as Wang cleaned the knife wound on Lin Yiyu's arm, and looked at Cui Zhihao, who was unconscious in the haystack, and had only one thought in her mind: she couldn't fall down, they were still waiting for her to take care of them.
Before long, Zhang Li ran back, carrying two cold cornbread buns in his arms and a cloth bag in his hand containing a medicine bottle, clean strips of cloth, and a small jar of rice porridge.
"I made two trips because I was afraid of being watched if I took too much at once,"
He placed the items on the offering table, wiped his sweat, and said, "I also heard from the rebels at the alley entrance that the imperial reinforcements seem to be arriving soon, but I don't know if it's true..."