Chapter 68

It was rare for Grandma to light a candle at night. Chen Xiaogou watched with fascination as the wax dripped down the candle and solidified, then curiously turned his gaze to the boy sitting behind the light. After watching for a while, he frowned and asked the old woman busy at the stove outside, “Did he really save you? Grandma, are you tricking me?”

“How could I mistake my own savior!” The old woman glared at him and handed Chen Xiaogou the steamed bun she had just taken out of the pot. “Break it and feed your brother. Don’t let it burn him.”

“I… I’m scared of him.” Chen Xiaogou twisted his body, unwilling.

Grandma had finally returned from Yangcheng Lake, but she brought back a boy who was deaf, blind, and mute. He had never seen such a person before—in his eyes, he was practically a monster! And he had personally seen him kill a chicken that had lunged at him with a single twist of his hand, swift and ruthless. Someone who struck so hard couldn’t be a good person.

“Scared, scared, scared! You’re even afraid of such a handsome brother—your courage is smaller than a mouse’s! Don’t eat then.” The old woman snatched the bun from his hand, broke off a small piece, and brought it to the boy’s lips.

The boy lowered his lifeless eyes and showed no reaction. The old woman touched his arm, and he tilted his head slightly, took the bun from her hand, nodded slightly to her, and began eating politely.

Chen Xiaogou found it even more astonishing that he could eat.

The old woman sighed. She had no idea what the boy had been through. In just a few months, he had gone blind and deaf. When she found him by the cargo piles at the dock, she almost thought she had mistaken him for someone else. But with such a rare face, it was truly impossible to mistake him.

She had been unconscious for over half a month in the Crab Household. When she woke up, her fellow villagers told her that it was the young boy and girl who had saved her and even left her some money. Later, when the crab-harvesting season ended, she should have returned home, but the city suddenly fell into chaos. It wasn’t until a few days ago that the Lou River waterway was finally cleared, allowing her and her fellow villagers to take a boat back home. Just before boarding, she found him.

Chen Xiaogou drooled with envy beside her. Seeing how thin he was, almost like a monkey, the old woman quickly gave him the remaining bun. “Eat, eat! I asked your uncle to look after you, and this is how he’s done it. Sigh!”

Chen Xiaogou broke off more than half and handed it back to her. “Uncle’s family has no grain either. There’s nothing he could do.”

The water boiled, and the old woman brought a bowl for the boy to drink. Every household in the village was pitch black, with only the sounds of barking dogs and snoring people. The old woman had a bad feeling, suspecting that the boy had likely offended some enemy. Her own home couldn’t attract attention like this, so she quickly blew out the lamp.

The bun had a thin skin, filled with finely shredded radish. As he chewed, Guan Xuan could taste a hint of lard mixed in. He finished it bite by bite. In Changfu County under Suzhou Prefecture, this was how poor families made radish buns. When he was a child, during the New Year, the adults would give him one to hold and eat.

By a twist of fate, he had returned here. He didn’t know if the adults who had raised him were still alive or whether the money from selling him had allowed that young, healthy child to survive.

Suddenly, Guan Xuan felt a wave of nausea and forcefully pressed an acupoint to stop the headache. His old wounds had not yet healed, and he was running a slight fever.

He reached out to his side, feeling for the child lying beside him. Judging by the breathing, the child had already fallen asleep. He got up, pushed open the door, and walked out silently before closing it behind him. His pursuers would soon arrive, and he couldn’t stay here, risking danger for them.

But he didn’t know where to go either. He couldn’t be captured by the Princess’s enemies and used as a bargaining chip to threaten her. He wanted to return to the Princess’s side, but the wind was fierce and the snow heavy, making it impossible to determine the direction. In the end, he found a haystack by the riverbank and sat down, leaning against it.

In truth, the Princess might not love him. Guan Xuan’s headache grew increasingly severe, and thoughts that had once only wavered now flooded his mind. She could have told him more about her thoughts, shared her troubles, her ideals, and her plans. He wanted to understand her. Once, he had understood everything about her.

Several assassins, dressed in black, made their way to the western part of Liuye Village. Exchanging glances, they quietly leaped into the window of the last small house. Inside were two rooms—one occupied by an elderly woman, the other by a child no bigger than a bean. The person they were looking for was not there.

The assassins could only sheathe their daggers and slip out quietly. They had searched house by house, yet the cripple was nowhere to be found.

A moment later, someone discovered a set of footprints that hadn’t been completely buried by the snow. “In such a fierce snowstorm, blind and deaf as he is, he couldn’t possibly have left this village. Search every corner before dawn!”

Zhao Rongzhang gazed into the distance at the small village, reining in her horse to pause briefly. She recalled the location and confirmed it with Ming Luo. “This is the place, right?”

“Yes. The informant spotted the assassins around here.”

Zhao Rongzhang turned to ask her guards, “Is Li Tong catching up soon?”

“He’s been following five miles behind.”

Reassured, Zhao Rongzhang urged her horse forward again. As they neared the village, to avoid alarming the villagers, she instructed Ming Luo and the others to search the outskirts while she took only a few guards with her, extinguishing their torches before entering the village.

The biting wind carried hard snowflakes that seemed to burrow into the necks of those exposed. The small village now resembled a natural prison, constructed by the pitch-black night and the vast, unending snowfall. Zhao Rongzhang wasn’t sure whether Guan Xuan had hidden here himself or been brought here by force. She almost wished Li Tong and his assassins would act against her sooner—with them in the open and her in the shadows, she could seize the initiative by staying still. Guan Xuan would also be less at risk.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, her horse suddenly pricked up its ears in alert. One of the guards reacted even faster, intercepting a hidden arrow aimed at her with a single slash of his blade before darting off in pursuit. “Assassins!”

Three guards scattered in different directions to give chase, leaving only two by her side. Zhao Rongzhang heightened her vigilance, moving through the village while keeping a close watch on her surroundings.

She often forgot that the all-capable Shadow Guard, Guan Xuan, was no longer by her side. Many times, her situation was perilous. Irrationally, she thought how much better it would be if he were with her now. He had always been the foundation of her audacity.

The village was small, and they quickly walked from one end to the other. One of the guards who had gone in pursuit returned, reporting that they had failed to catch up and nearly chased beyond the village. Knowing Guan Xuan as she did, Zhao Rongzhang understood that if he had hidden himself, even she would not be able to find him. The only possibility was to wait until he caught her scent, sensed her presence, and chose to reveal himself.

Zhao Rongzhang had no choice but to circle the village a few more times.

Suddenly, the sound of a scuffle came from nearby. Another guard rushed back and reported, “Li Tong could no longer restrain himself and has made his move. Official Ming Luo is currently engaged with him!”

Before Zhao Rongzhang could react, the sound of galloping hooves grew louder and louder, heading straight toward them. Ming Luo’s sharp cry echoed from the periphery: “Princess, be careful!”

It was Li Tong breaking through!

After all, Li Tong was the commander of a battalion and one of Zhao Yu’s most capable generals. With a fierce expression and a muscular build, he was not someone to be trifled with. The guards immediately formed a protective circle around Zhao Rongzhang, raising their shields and swords, while blowing whistles to signal for more reinforcements to hurry over, preparing to encircle and eliminate Li Tong as planned.

Zhao Rongzhang calmly raised her longbow, drew the string taut, and released an arrow toward the direction of the galloping hooves. Li Tong dodged it with a swift lean, swinging a broadsword to cut down all the arrows aimed at him. He glared at her fiercely and cursed, “You vile rebel! How dare you falsely accuse me! Tonight, I shall uphold justice and take your life!”

His momentum was fierce and nearly unstoppable; merely shooting arrows could not harm him. Even the guards around her were no match for his iron-clad advance. To capture him, they would have to wait for more reinforcements to arrive. However, Li Tong had also brought many men with him, all seasoned veterans of the battlefield. Ming Luo and the others were trapped in the periphery, locked in combat and unable to break through.

Seeing the situation turning unfavorable, Zhao Rongzhang quickly turned her horse around and fled outward. She had to hold out until reinforcements arrived!

Seeing her attempt to escape, Li Tong’s arrogance swelled even more. He laughed loudly and gave chase.

As she circled through the village, Zhao Rongzhang drew her bowstring while urgently blowing her whistle. Finally, she faintly glimpsed a group of riders galloping through the swirling snow toward her—her own people. However, Li Tong, wildly swinging his broadsword, was closing in behind her, the distance shrinking to less than ten feet.

Li Tong grew increasingly smug, his curses growing filthier: “What a fine Great Zhou Princess, a treasure even the Turkic Khan has never enjoyed. It makes me reluctant to kill you. Tonight, why not let me savor the taste of the Great Zhou Celestial Maiden!”

With that, he whipped his horse fiercely, timing his leap to pounce on her. Unexpectedly, the little princess had already seized the moment to evade him, pulling sharply on the reins and swiftly turning into a blind spot. Fortunately, he managed to steady his balance in time, avoiding a fall from his horse. This only fueled his rage further, and he no longer intended to spare her life. With an enraged roar, he swung his long blade and hurled it straight at her head!

Zhao Rongzhang happened to turn to draw her bow and caught sight of the sudden, cold glint of the blade. Her pupils contracted sharply, and every hair on her body stood on end. Instinctively, she bent low, though in her heart, she knew she likely could not avoid it.

“Clang—”

The metallic clash reverberated, and for a moment, the world fell silent.

Zhao Rongzhang gasped desperately, feeling her neck and the waist pressed tightly against the horse’s back—both were still there, intact, and painless. She immediately looked back and saw that the terrifying broadsword had broken into two pieces, lying on the ground. What had shattered it was nothing more than a stone the size of a fist.

The stone was held in a slender yet powerful hand. Following the hand, Zhao Rongzhang looked up, and in an instant, joy surged in her heart, even bringing the urge to tears: “Guan Xuan!”

The heavy snow had long ceased, and a bright moon hung high in the deep black, clear sky.

Li Tong stared wide-eyed at the youth who had appeared like a ghost and was now approaching him step by step, equally ghostlike. He stared incredulously at his eyes, even more shocked to find that they were unfocused—clearly, he was still blind!

Furious, Li Tong leaped off his horse, picked up the broken blade from the ground, and lunged to kill him. Unexpectedly, the youth moved with the wind, striking his vital spot with the stone in his fist and seizing the broken blade in one smooth motion.

Before Li Tong could even comprehend how he had been captured, the youth’s fist, harder than solid stone, landed on his skull. Once, then again—effortlessly, cleanly, and chillingly calm.

Li Tong let out a scream, desperately trying to twist and struggle, but wherever the youth held him—whether arm or thigh—it was effortlessly snapped with seemingly light movements. The youth possessed astonishing strength and masterful skill, clearly accustomed to killing, dismantling his body like a butcher carving an ox. Li Tong had been on the battlefield, won more than one victory, but against such ruthless, lethal close-quarters combat, he couldn’t fight back. His screams weakened into groans, while the rhythmic sound of the youth’s fists continued to fall.

Zhao Rongzhang dismounted and walked over. In the vast darkness, under the pure white glow of snow and moonlight, the sickening sound of crushed bones and flesh echoed. Reinforcements hurriedly arrived behind her, their footsteps crunching on the snow. Li Tong’s skull was caved in, resembling meat paste nearly pounded to completion. Everyone watched in silence.

Blood droplets and bits of flesh splattered across the youth’s jade-like face, expressionless. His eyes remained vacant, yet they clearly reflected the bright moonlight in the sky and the pristine white snow on the ground.

Growing weary of the beating, he gradually stopped. Groping for the broken blade nearby, he cleanly severed the half-collapsed head along the neck.

Guan Xuan held the head and slowly walked toward the Princess.