Princess Agents: 特工皇妃楚喬傳
Chapter 107 Stormy Night Ops
While it was still dark it started to rain outside. The blackened clouds weighed heavily and strong wind started to wail, accompanied by torrential rain and the constant roll of thunder.
The trees on both sides of the valley shook violently in the heavy storm, continuously rustling. Everywhere yellow mud covered the ground and between heaven and earth was a sheet of white haze.
Chu Qiao opened her eyes and furrowed her brow when a hand covered her mouth, and the moment she lifted her head she saw Zhuge Yue's somber expression as he half knelt on the ground. He wielded a long sword in his hand and angled his ear outward, as if carefully listening to something.
Amid the sound of heavy rain there was the sound of hoofbeats, a large cluster of footfalls splashing, gradually approaching their little tent.
"They're coming," said Zhuge Yue. As soon as he said it, he turned around and deftly prepared a small traveling bag, wrapping both gold and food. He turned back to Chu Qiao and asked, "How do you feel? Can you walk?"
Chu Qiao nodded, "I can."
Using a dagger Zhuge Yue shredded the quilt, and regardless of the small child still sleeping, he wrapped him into the fabric and tied him tightly onto his back.
The child woke up in a daze, reached up to rub his eyes wondering what was happening, and mumbled, "Uncle, why are we going?"
"Boy. The ones who want to catch you have come." Zhuge Yue's expression did not change, and his tone was calm when he said it.
"Ah?" The little boy was suddenly shocked and unconsciously clung tightly to Zhuge Yue's neck. The violent storm whistled, and outside the sound of hoofbeats and footsteps quickly approached. The child on Zhuge Yue's back slightly trembled, trying hard to stop himself from shaking too much.
"Are you afraid, boy?"
The child's face was scared white, but he still declared loudly, "I'm not afraid!"
"Ha, ha!" Zhuge Yue let out a hearty laugh, and the sound held a new kind of responsibility and pride. "Good lad. Remember, those outside have yet to do anything to make us afraid."
In the darkness, even the torches lit by pine oil were doused by the rain. Someone shouted at them in a thick voice, "Give him up, and we'll spare your lives!"
In the darkness the man turned his head around, eyes luminous, eyebrows slanted towards his temples, his beautiful face sculpture-like. His blood red lips were colored as though he had just drank wine of the same hue. When he looked at Chu Qiao his eyes were extremely serene and as he calmly gazed at her he asked in his low voice, "Can you?"
Time lapsed into itself, those years flashed between them, and it was as if she saw that evening of many years past when he sat upon his tall horse, looked down towards her and asked this same question, "Can you?" (TN: This is a scene in the first book, where Chu Qiao as the child Jing Yue'er is accompanying Zhuge Yue to the lantern festival, and the evil servant brought her a tiny pony to laugh at her. But Chu Qiao insisted she could ride a horse, and Zhuge Yue asked if she was capable.)
Since then, the road had been rough, full of swords and arrows. They had drawn their swords at one another, several times they had been in direct conflict, several times they had almost died on the cutting edge of the others' blade. Amid the massacre of life and death, the fresh blood spray never clouded their eyes. To the bitter end they remained the same, remorseless when they dealt that final blow.
Now, in the center of indecision, hesitation, even to the extent of having inadvertent heartache and vacillation at the crossroads, on countless occasions they would ask themselves why in the dead hours of the darkness; but in the end they would still choose to fight side-by-side on a night like this.
They would go without asking what was ahead, nor ask about what had been or acknowledge the political views and positions of the other.
They only had one thought now: Do not die. Whether you or I, neither of us will die in this place.
Chu Qiao drew her short blade and smiled gently, "I won't slow you down."
Zhuge Yue showed a smile, one that even reached his eyes, and it was the first time Chu Qiao had seen him smile like that so she couldn't help but be dazed by it.
"Follow behind me."
His expression was very gentle but his words were said with utmost earnestness. Chu Qiao nodded and responded, "Be careful."
With several sounds of *shua* suddenly sounding in rigorous succession, Zhuge Yue immediately stood upright with a capable strategy. The child clinging onto his back followed suit and boldly straightened up, but the boy was afraid of striking the tent frame and reached out two hands to cover the top of his head. (TN: OMG so cute….)
But with the sound of a *whoosh*, the violent wind suddenly blew in. Chu Qiao's long hair splayed out, like pitch black butterflies filling the sky in a wild dance.
The child opened his eyes to see their old tent had been pulled away by a large hook and the three of them stood in the open wilderness, with more than thirty horses standing in front of them. They were completely surrounded by horsemen dressed in brown, close-fitting warrior attire, each of them the tough as nails stereotype.
"Put the child down." The lead escort held a javelin in his hand, coldly gazing at Chu Qiao's trio. As if the outcome was already certain he said to Zhuge Yue in a low voice, "Don't do anything unnecessary."
However, the response towards him was a multitude of cold icy needle tips, hearing only the downpour's immediate sharp sound. Those people's skills could be considered agile but in the breadth of a split second, the horse between his legs proved not to be of great quality. The horse was affright when the person in front abruptly stood, and with a *shwip* a sharp dagger was ruthlessly plunged into the horse's neck. The horse immediately whinnied a frenzied cry as a stream of fresh blood gushed out, spraying a fine mist of blood everywhere!
The man was thrown off his horse, and they heard the sound of his fall onto the ground. But before he managed to get up the frightened horse stepped on his stomach.
At that moment, everyone heard a tragic cry reverberate between heaven and earth!
However, his men could not rescue him in time and with a whinny the horse trampled the man who had been thrown off.
They clearly heard the sound of breaking bones in the heavy rain and everybody could even imagine the misery of the man beneath the horse. However they had no time to think further on these things because in the span of this unforeseen event, the other man nearby instantly pounced like a panther, fiercely rushing forward.
Along with a sword blade abruptly pulled from its scabbard, in that sudden interval, he unleashed a cry like that of a dragon's roar!
A flash of lightning burst across the sky followed by a rumble of thunder, and crimson blood spilled all over the earth.
In a twinkling of an eye the breath of the cold blade reached all four directions; Zhuge Yue surged skyward with heroic spirit, grunting disdainfully, stepping in open horse stance, pushing an unrestrained offense with swift and fierce momentum.
Chu Qiao had difficulty even walking, but she knew this juncture was a matter of life or death and retreat was impossible. Originally thinking they were merchants from Xian Yang, with expectations she would break bread with members of the DaTong Association, this scenario turned into Liu Xi's betrayal, murdering all the other trade families and their kin. She feared that if her identity were revealed it would bring forth an even more difficult slaughter, so she would risk all of it on this night. In a moment of strong bearing, she charged into the crowd. Blood spray whizzing past, it covered the woman's lake green dress. With brightness in her eyes, her pretty face pale like hoarfrost, she was like a goddess of war (TN: the translation may refer to a Rakshasi, a mythological warrior being in Hindu lore adopted by Buddhism) using vicious moves to lure and send the enemy to their death!
The sudden sound of a weapon rang out, and with a single sword thrust Zhuge Yue forced three guards into retreat, both sides now bleeding, but for every death two more were injured. Even Zhuge Yue's chest was cut open with a knife wound, fresh blood flowing.
"Uncle!" the little boy cried aloud, "You're bleeding!"
Upon hearing this Chu Qiao forced a guard back with her knife, and her body soared upward, with a flying sideways kick her foot struck the center of the guard's torso. The man staggered forward one step, then with an *oomph* he collapsed, sitting on the ground.
"How are you?" Chu Qiao asked as she braced Zhuge Yue up. Their opponents knew how powerful he was, and the attacks he greeted them with for the most part were all over their bodies. At that moment Zhuge Yue only bore three wounds on his chest, arm and calf.
Zhuge Yue spit up a mouthful of blood, and shook his head. His expression was dark, his face ice cold, and his already seductive red lips were stained even deeper. He stuck out his tongue to taste the blood on his lips, and said in a low voice, "Not dead yet."
Suddenly, they heard the sound of a weapon being thrust upon him from behind and Zhuge Yue turned his sword around to meet them with one ruthless cleave on his opponents' blade.
The heavy rains poured in white sheets from heaven to earth, obscuring everything from the naked eye. Simultaneously Chu Qiao whirled her body upward, her petite form flew from under Zhuge Yue's arm.
In that instant before the killing move people such as they were even able to see their opponent's beating heart.
Amid the flash and rumble of the thunderstorm, these people did not think these two would be so difficult to kill, so they did not bring many people, and presently in this confrontation they had already lost more than ten men so they were immediately alarmed. Their loud shouts called an even larger group of men and horses to approach from a distance!
In the area surrounding the outskirts of the encampment there were even more guards armored in iron and steel standing watch in the darkness, blocking their escape.
"Xing'er, we can't escape now."
Chu Qiao raised her brow slightly, her mouth strangely forming a whisper of a smile at a time like this, and lightly laughed, "So now what? Surrender?"
"Ha, ha!" Zhuge Yue laughed out loud, for a moment startling the guards who had been circling them and waiting for an opportunity to strike.
"What do you think?"
Then, the two turned their heads as if a spark of electricity lit their eyes, and simultaneously stared at the large tent sheltered in the darkness of night behind them!
There it was, the dead center of Liu Xi's operation, and living within, none other than the next generation of the Liu House who had planned the entire massacre!
As the saying goes, to catch brigands one must first capture their chief. Their thinking was always so unexpectedly in accord!
"Boy," Zhuge Yue asked, not caring that he was chuckling, "Are you afraid?"
The child climbed up on his back, his original fear had already disappeared, and it was as if he seemed to remember the blood and chaos of the previous night when his parents died before his eyes, the faces of his always smiling family and relatives had turned into cold corpses; Uncle Meng charging the guards with him on his back but suffering so many cuts on his body in the process that his blood sprayed out like hot oil, causing the child to clench his teeth as his eyes were covered in red. He stretched out his tender little white finger, and pointed at those men, his voice laced with a trace of thick hatred.
"Uncle, it was them!"
He paused between each word as she said in a low voice, "Those people killed Mo'er's mom and dad, killed Mo'er's sister. They're the ones!"
"Liu Xi of Xiang Yang?" Zhuge Yue grunted coldly, "He is nothing."
Probing into his sleeves, he took out a small flare of exquisite workmanship, then pulled open the hooked lock. In a split second, a dazzling and resplendent display surged upward into the night sky, exploding into a glittering golden flower.
The guards suddenly seized up, afraid that he had just summoned reinforcements.
Zhuge Yue then turned towards Chu Qiao to face her, "Even if we die here there will be others who will avenge us."
Chu Qiao shook her head and laughed, "We will not die here today."
This surprised Zhuge Yue, but then he laughed aloud in response and said in clear voice, "Very well, then we will charge out of here together!"
"Xing'er! Take a horse!"
In a split second the two switched from defense to offense, over and over pushing towards the outside of the circle, until she searched out and snatched a pair of horses, nimbly maneuvered them around.
The two war horses voice a long whinny and Zhuge Yue's expensive sword stuck into someone's neck. He saw another person to the side take the opportunity to attack the boy on his back. Zhuge Yue grunted coldly, and scolded, "Bastard!" His other hand, holding the sword's scabbard, slammed onto his opponent's head with a *peng*.
After the sound of the shattering skull, Zhuge Yue cried out, one leg kicking away a guard who followed him, and he called out loudly, "Xing'er, follow close!"
Immediately after kicking the war horse into action, it immediately cried out, and like a tiger wild with bloodlust it charged violently out of the guards' circle.
The guards had built a circle of flesh and blood, and by the blade of his sharp sword Zhuge Yue urged his horse forward and opened the path as if cutting through thin white paper, trailing a blood storm behind him as he went.
"Protect the main tent!"
A rush of shouts sounded out, and some realized in a state of panic as they turned and headed towards the main tent.
"Protect the young Master!"
"His goal is the young lord, cut him down! Kill his horse!"
"Archers! Archers at the ready!"
The sound of battle cries were everywhere, everywhere was the sound of panicked shouting, and those who were still in the dark thought that they were being ambushed by a large army. However, what the initial group nevertheless knew was that their enemy were three in number, but to be more precise, it was really just two people.
Blood rushing forth, torrential rain pouring, Chu Qiao followed behind Zhuge Yue, guarding the child behind him, her carriage strong and vigorously brandishing her weapon. Most of the offensive was being blocked by the man in the front at the moment, and she had not even received the slightest injury.
This night was seemingly a different kind of long, and in the end, this time continued without any indication of passing. The wild wind blew and amid the shouting they pressed inch by inch closer to the large tent submerged in silence. The wind whistled and blew the large tent flaps so that she could see the white fur-lined floor behind the curtains. The night was permeated with the smell of fragrance to the point of being extravagant and wasteful, hastening the human desire to sleep.
In the unseen realm, the lord of heaven's laughter sounded as thunder spreading through the earthly realm.
The world was a smelting pot over a furnace, all things on earth were firewood and carbon, and tens of thousands of common people swam in torment as they rolled inside the boiling oil, their flesh separating from their bones, and father and son separated. The aristocrats were the sky, ordinary folk the earth, slaves were grass and weeds, and there was no fairness or justice to speak of.
In the thick dark fog, a belief arose as if someone had suddenly turned on a light in the ocean of her mind, and Chu Qiao grit her teeth as she saw the large tent before her eyes loom closer, her heart abruptly rose up to burn scorching hot.
If you upturned everything, after, someone will hold up the blue sky and put the world up right again.
*Shuaa*
She cleaved a knife into the arm of a guard, and Chu Qiao pressed forward fearlessly.
Half her life had been trials and hardships, drifting and homeless, but always, she was steadfast as ever!
*Ruummble!*
A thunderbolt suddenly exploded on the ground, everyone in the crowd felt their scalp tingle, the fluttering torches were lit, and the smell of pine oil filled the air.
In that moment the child on Zhuge Yue's back cried out, and Chu Qiao lifted her head to see his body was cold and his face pale as if he had fallen into an ice pool. His brow was tight and he could not utter a word. The grasp of her knife became tighter and tighter.
The calm suddenly collapsed, and in that moment, pure hate broke through the embankment in waves and came tumbling over.
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