Chapter 41: Before Su Yingxue could react, a cold arrow had already pierced through her left shoulder.

The hunt began. The vast hunting grounds stretched endlessly with dense, towering forests. Though it was winter, there was no bone-chilling cold—perhaps the tall trees blocked some of the harsh winter winds.

Su Yingxue carried her snow bow and silver arrows, riding her little white steed alongside Chu Xingchen and Mr. Liu for a while without spotting any suitable prey. Suddenly, a white figure leaped through the underbrush in the distance, darting deeper into the woods—a wild rabbit.

The rabbit hopped ahead, and Su Yingxue deemed it the most suitable target she had encountered so far. She urged her horse forward, chasing the rabbit into the forest.

Her movements were too swift; only that attendant followed her. Meanwhile, Mr. Liu was explaining something to Chu Xingchen not far away when the sound of galloping interrupted them. By the time they noticed, Su Yingxue had already ridden her white steed a considerable distance ahead.

Mr. Liu and Chu Xingchen sensed danger immediately and hurriedly gave chase on their horses. However, their mounts were no match for Su Yingxue’s exceptional white steed, which was one in a thousand. Both men wore grim expressions, their faces tense as they spurred their horses in desperate pursuit.

Not long ago, Su Yingxue had been pushed into a lake by a palace attendant and had narrowly escaped death. The one who harmed her was still lurking in the shadows.

If something were to happen to her now in the dense woods of the Drill Ground, it would not only implicate Mr. Liu and Chu Xingchen. Given Your Majesty’s deep affection and doting care for his youngest sister, it was likely that all the servants of the Princess’s Palace and the attendants of the Drill Ground would be punished as well! This was no trivial matter!

Su Yingxue was too fixated on chasing the disappearing rabbit. She galloped ahead until she realized that, at some point, she had become utterly alone in the vast forest—just one person and one horse, isolated amidst the lush trees. The surroundings were eerily silent.

Having neither caught the rabbit nor found her way back, Su Yingxue felt a pang of regret. She had been so engrossed in the chase that she forgot her steed was a thousand-li horse, while how could Chu Xingchen and the others’ horses compare?

They must have fallen far behind without her realizing. Now, lost in this immense forest after recklessly charging around, unaware of her direction and without any attendants, the situation was far from ideal.

Su Yingxue sat still on her horse, deep in thought. In such circumstances, perhaps the best course of action was to stay where she was and wait for Mr. Liu, Chu Xingchen, and that attendant to find her.

Dressed in thin riding attire, Su Yingxue remained atop her little white steed. The surroundings were tranquil and quiet, save for the rustling of leaves in the chilly winter wind. Any faint sound stood out starkly in the silence.

It was at this moment that a “whoosh” broke the stillness—the sound of an arrow cutting through the air, abrupt in the silence. Before Su Yingxue could react, a cold arrow had already pierced through her left shoulder. The icy, sharp arrowhead tore through her flesh, and blood slowly seeped out, instantly staining her pristine and luxurious white riding attire. It bloomed on her shoulder like winter plum blossoms.

Excruciating pain washed over her like a collapsing mountain. Su Yingxue gritted her teeth against the agony, forcing herself to stay alert. She gripped the reins tightly with both hands. As the second arrow whistled through the air toward her, she forcefully kicked the horse’s sides with her legs and shouted, “Giddyap!”

The white colt bolted in pain, its snow-white hooves barely leaving the ground when a sharp, cold arrow embedded itself deep into a nearby tree branch at shoulder height.

The arrow had been aimed directly at Su Yingxue’s left chest. Unfortunately, Su Yingxue was too busy fleeing for her life to notice.

The jolting gallop caused the arrowhead in her left shoulder to grind against the wound with every movement, sending waves of excruciating pain through her body.

She had to cling tightly to the horse’s neck to avoid being thrown off the colt. The assassin pursuing her appeared exceptionally skilled in lightness skill and archery.

Anyone whose lightness skill could keep pace with her thousand-mile steed was not to be underestimated.

Mounted as she was, the assassin fired several more arrows in succession, each deliberately avoiding vital areas. One pierced her right calf, another struck her left forearm, and a third lodged in her back—fortunately deflected by her quiver during the violent ride, preventing full penetration but leaving the arrow embedded.

This person didn’t seem like someone sent to assassinate her, Su Yingxue thought through the agony. Given the pursuer’s skill and perfect aim, she would have been dead long ago if they intended to kill her. This deliberate torment with arrows felt like sadistic vengeance, a cruel game of inflicting pain for pleasure.

Ah, Su Yingxue, even in such dire straits, Zhang Susu couldn’t help mocking herself inwardly. Just how many evils did you commit as the original Host of this villainess? How many enemies have you made? What heinous acts did you perform—pushing people into lakes, now being tortured with arrows for revenge?

Su Yingxue, if this continues, once the assassin grows bored, the final arrow will surely pierce her throat! Then, forget about completing missions and returning home—she’d die without even meeting the Target Character, utterly annihilated in soul and spirit here!

Despair washed over her. Pale-faced and hopeless, after a moment of hesitation, she finally gritted her teeth and silently apologized to Little White. As the fifth arrow whistled through the air, Su Yingxue pulled a golden hairpin from her hair and stabbed it violently into the colt’s back.

The gentle-tempered Little White reacted abnormally to the sudden pain, becoming nearly frenzied. It galloped wildly while bucking and swaying, trying to throw her off.

It was precisely this sudden madness that caused the assassin’s fatal arrow to embed itself in the forest instead of claiming Su Yingxue’s life.

The black-clad assassin, face masked, stared with eyes full of boundless hatred as the nearly mad Bai Ju carried Su Yingxue into the distance. Hearing approaching hoofbeats from behind, he knew he couldn’t complete the kill today.

No matter—severely wounded as she was, even if she survived, she’d need extensive recovery time. At least before her injuries healed, Su Yingxue wouldn’t be able to retake the Juxian Elegant Lodge entrance exam. His master’s orders could thus be considered fulfilled. His gaze sharpened like shadow as he vanished silently through the dense canopy.

Su Yingxue, now riddled with arrows like a porcupine, clung desperately to Little White until she could no longer withstand its violent thrashing. Exhausted and wounded, she was finally thrown from the saddle with a piercing whinny, crashing heavily to the ground where she lost consciousness.

Before losing consciousness, Su Yingxue couldn’t help but calling out to the System, “System, save me.” Unfortunately, the System was still dormant and lacked sufficient energy to receive her plea for help.

She could only watch helplessly as she fell heavily from the horse’s back, crashing onto the ground with a thud. The pain felt as if her internal organs were being torn apart, her wounds ripped open again by the cold arrows, causing fresh blood to flow. The agony was so intense that her vision went black, leaving her powerless to move as she sank into darkness and lost consciousness.