Ji Yue, I no longer have any leeway.

Things were not going well.

Ji Yue’s heart sank at the thought.

He could feel the rapid spread of toxins through several of his meridians and veins as they quickly sapped his physical strength. It would not take long for him to lose the strength to hold his sword. 

He would not be able to protect Wei Lian. 

Ji Yue’s eyes turned sharp, showing a fearful ruthlessness. He changed his sword to his left hand, and his moves were fiercer, reaping a life in almost every hit. 

He wanted to end the battle fast. 

This was at the cost of his defence as more and more injuries appeared on his body. So he covered Wei Lian’s eyes carefully with his other hand. 

“Don’t look.” Ji Yue kept his voice low, almost whispering softly.

He was unsightly covered in blood.

Wei Lian tightened the reins in his hand, replying with a slight tremor, “Ji Yue…”

“Shh—” Ji Yue said in his ear, “We are fine.”

Even if he was cut on his back, or clothes dyed red with blood. 

The young man in his arms was clean. His white robe was spotless. 

Sadly, some blood managed to splash on the youth’s face because he did not protect well enough. 

Everything happened as quick as a spark. Ji Yue did not love battle, and he did not have time to deal with the dozen people in black. 

Ji Yue and A’Meng worked together to cut out a bloody path, rode the horse out of the siege and left all the remaining assassins behind. 

“Hiss!” Xiao Hong did not let them down at the critical moment and galloped. 

After throwing off the assassins, Ji Yue’s hand holding the reins became weaker and weaker, and a dense cold sweat dripped down from his forehead. 

Running to a narrow and winding path, he suddenly released the reins and fainted on Wei Lian’s back without warning. 

Without a rider, the horse was seconds from going out of control. Wei Lian lowered his eyes and pulled the reins in time. 

He calmly took over for Ji Yue and continued to gallop forward. 

* * *

Wei Lian found a hidden cave and carried the unconscious Ji Yue in. 

He saw the horrifying wounds on Ji Yue once he put the older man against the stone wall. He examined them in silence, and the vicious currents boiling under his eyes became more and more apparent. 

The most troublesome one was the wound on the shoulder. The arrow penetrated through as black blood bled out. 

A sign of highly toxic poison. 

Ji Yue’s eyes were closed as his lips began to turn dark blue, and his gorgeous face was extremely pale. The all powerful Qin Emperor was reduced to a feeble man that could collapse at the first blow. 

A’Meng was anxiously whining before it was silenced coldly by Wei Lian. “Hush.”

A’Meng barked back fiercely, “Woof!”

Master is like this from protecting you!

If it wasn’t for Wei Lian, Ji Yue would not have suffered in this assassination. 

The mastiff dog only recognised one master in its life. A’Meng could peacefully coexist with Wei Lian at ordinary times, not right now as it would always be hostile to any human who hurt its master. 

Wei Lian did not have time to argue with a dog. He quickly sealed several of Ji Yue’s acupoints to stop the bleeding temporarily. The poison in Ji Yue was not uncommon. With time, Wei Lian could prepare an antidote. 

But what he lacked the most was time. 

Any more delays might result in Ji Yue keeping his life but losing an arm. 

Wei Lian fixed his eyes on those scars and felt equally stabbed. Without hesitation, he took out a porcelain bottle, poured out a pill and fed it to Ji Yue. 

In the past, he got the Saintess’s huanhun pill and thought about using it to relieve his own poison, but stopped at the idea of using something so precious for this poison of his. Because of how valuable the pill was, Wei Lian carried it with him at all times. 

Now it came in very handy. 

Ji Yue’s poison was not incurable, but Wei Lian did not care if it was worth it or not during this critical time. 

He did not think about weighing gains and losses, and whether he was wasting a valuable material for petty use. He just wanted the person in front of him to be well. 

Be well sooner. 

Watching Ji Yue take the huanhun pill, the older man’s complexion gradually improved and the blood coming out turned back to normal red. Wei Lian finally put down his worried heart, tore off a part of fabric from his clothes, tried his best to keep calm and treat Ji Yue’s wounds. 

In fact, his hands were shaking. 

The huanhun pill lived up to its name of returning a person from the grave as it quickly took effect. 

Wei Lian did not feel distressed from using the pill. He just had a sudden flash of terror, he never thought today would happen.

Ji Yue, I saved this huanhun pill for myself. I was even reluctant to use it on myself. Now, I gave this life to you. 

Do you know what that means?

Ji Yue, I no longer have any leeway. 

I paid such a heavy price, therefore, you must get better. You will be fine. 

You will definitely, unquestionably be fine. 

* * *

A’Meng watched as Wei Lian pulled out the arrow and banaged Ji Yue. It probably saw that Wei Lian was saving its master and became quiet. 

A’Meng was immediately on alert from the faint chatting coming from outside the cave.

The assassins have not given up and were still searching for Ji Yue’s whereabouts. 

They would quickly search here. 

Wei Lian’s eyes turned cold. He tied up the last makeshift bandage, got up and told A’Meng, “Protect your master.”

With that, he picked up the bow and arrow, as well as Ji Yue’s sword and walked out of the cave. 

…I can protect you too.

In a moment of consciousness, Ji Yue saw the young man’s blurring figure, leaving with the sword. 

“Wei…Lian…” Ji Yue said with difficulty and fell into the darkness again. 

* * *

Outside the cave, Xiao Hong was still waiting. It did not move a single step. 

Seeing the young man walking out of the cave, a trace of panic flashed through its eyes. 

The man felt different…

With all the harmless appearance faded, the young man was still in the same guise, but a cold killing aura surrounded his whole body. 

“Why did you not run?” Wei Lian patted its head. “You would have been free if you ran away.”

Xiao Hong lowered its head. 

It wasn’t that stupid! It would be eaten by wild animals in this mountain if it ran away. 

Besides…that man was injured. How could it escape right now? Horses are loyal animals, all right?!

Wei Lian chuckled, mounted the horse with a light jump. “Forward!”

Near the cave, two assassins were searching through the grass. 

The Qin Emperor was poisoned and with the burden on him, he must not have run far. 

This was a great opportunity to get rid of him. 

Suddenly, there was a sound of horse hooves behind them. As soon as the two assassins turned around, they saw the familiar chestnut horse and the young man with picturesque facial features on its back. 

But there were blood stains on the corner of the young man’s eyes, changing his usual charm to a haunting one. 

They also remembered that this man had been protected in the Qin Emperor’s arms earlier. 

How did he become one rider? Where was the Qin Emperor?

It was their nature to squeeze the soft persimmon rather than a firm one柿子要挑軟的捏 lit. it's the soft persimmons that people choose to squeeze (idiom); fig. it's the weak (soft persimmons, or pushover; soft touch) who get picked on; bullies pick soft targets.. The two assassins planned to rush forward to capture the man and press for information. Before they could act, the young man in white took up his bow and arrow, without saying a word, he shot one of the assassins dead with one arrow.

When the remaining assassin saw that his companion was killed, he immediately acted out. However, the young man’s blade reached his face in the blink of an eye. “Who sent you?”

The young man’s voice was clear and cold, cold as the accumulated snow on Tian Shan天山 Mountains of Heaven or the Heavenly Mountain, is a large system of mountain ranges located in Central Asia..

When assassins clenched their teeth, they were aiming to break the poison pocket between their teeth. Naturally, assassins refused to give up their master.

However, Wei Lian was faster. He stabbed through the assassin's chest, not giving his target an easy way out. 

How could he let the people who hurt Ji Yue die so quickly?

“You came just in time.”

Wei Lian watched coldly as the assassin fell down with his eyes closed. 

“A poisonous arrow pierced his shoulder, three heavy slashes, and seven cuts that drew blood.” Wei Lian’s thin lips were upward, but his gentle eyes were frosty. “I am about to kill every last one of you.”

* * *

The assassins who were still searching for the trace of the Qin Emperor had no idea that they had released a god of massacre. 

Wei Lian’s appearance was indeed utterly harmless. Before, when he was protected by Ji Yue, he showed just how weak he was. The assassins kept underestimating him in every encounter, as not a moment later, their heads dropped to the ground with one slash. 

Wei Lian did not ask their origin, killing only to vent his anger. 

...!

Three assassins were running away in panic. Even if they tripped onto the ground, they climbed up, not daring to stop as they continued to flee. 

That man is too terrifying!

A living King of Underworld that could rival the Qin Emperor himself!

The three of them were originally a group searching for the Qin Emperor. When they came out empty handed, they had no choice but to rendezvous with others. To their surprise, their nest was levelled by someone!

They still could not shake off that terrible scene. 

Corpses piled up by the mountain. Most of them were killed with one lethal blow or had their death acupoint pierced by a silver needle. There was only one who was cut up to his bone and hands shattered. The man was still breathing, a fate worse than death. 

The young man in white nodded and said, “I remember you. The wound on his back is from you.”

Curse it! They were all wearing face coverings with only eyes exposed. During such a scuffle, the young man was still able to recognise who hurt the Qin Emperor!

“Who sent you?” Wei Lian sliced off a piece of skin and fresh with his sword. 

“...”

“My apologies, I forgot I dislocated your jaw.” Wei Lian set the man’s jaw and gently wiped the blood on the sword. “Tell me and I will give you a quick death.”

The assassin was sweating and trembling, “It’s Xia, Xia…”

“Wen Heng, right?” Wei Lian asked indifferently. 

The assassin nodded in haste, and his eyes were full of fear of Wei Lian. 

“He ran away, didn’t he? He shot that arrow, right?”

“Ye-es!”

Once Wei Lian got the answer he wanted, he stabbed the assassin in the heart and sent the man to greet the real King of the Underworld. 

The three assassins hiding behind the tree were scared shitless by this scene and turned to run away. 

After running far enough, a frightened man asked, “He did not cat-catch up right?”

“I don’t think so…”

“Huff, what was that back there—Ah!”

The woods were suddenly quiet. 

Three arrows simultaneously pierced their backs at the same time. 

Riding on the horse’s back, Wei Lian calmly put down his bow and commanded the horse to turn around. 

* * *

The quiver was empty as Wei Lian tossed it to the ground. Ji Yue’s sword was covered with the blood of the dead, and the strong scent of blood had attracted many beasts dormant in the mountain. 

A tiger silently appeared out of the deep forest and stared at Wei Lian, as if it had regarded the man and the horse as food. 

Xiao Hong felt its legs go soft. 

Wei Lian glanced at the big cat very lightly. “I am in a bad mood today. I am not hunting animals, only humans.”

Tiger: “...”

A tiger and a man were deadlocked for a moment, and the tiger quietly returned to the depths of the forest. 

Even the predators have the instinct to seize advantages and avoid dangers. 

Xiao Hong: “...”

It solemnly announced that from now on, it would rather offend A’Meng than Wei Lian. 

Wei Lain led his horse to a mountain spring and dismounted to clean the sword. 

Even after witnessing so much bloodshed, his clothes remained free from the finest dust. Carrying the graceful bearing of an immortal, and possessing the manner like that of a reaper. 

After everything was over, he went back to the cave. 

A’Meng pricked up its ears when it heard noise, when it saw Wei Lian’s return, it lay back lazily. 

Ji Yue was still unconscious. Wei Lian quietly stayed beside him and wiped the sweat on his forehead. 

He left marks along the road, and Xiao Hong’s hoof marks were very obvious. As long as the tracker was not useless, the imperial guard would be here in half an hour. 

A half an hour later, the sound of horses’ hoofs approached. 

The men from the imperial court had finally found their location. 

“Your Majesty, please forgive our late arrival!”

The leading general knelt down and dared not look up. Remembering the assassins’ bodies they encountered along the way, it was not difficult to picture how fierce the battle his Majesty had experienced. 

“His Majesty is injured and unconscious.” A clear voice answered the general. 

The general was shocked. When he looked up, he saw the elegance of Lian Gongzi with deep and distant expression. 

“Summon the imperial physician.”