If Chu Zhao had known that as she left the capital, Xie Yanlai was thinking such thoughts on the city wall, she would definitely have cursed him as a “jinx.”
When flames surged fiercely in the mountain valley and arrows flew everywhere like rain, Chu Zhao wanted to curse someone, but she didn’t know who to curse.
Curse herself? She knew perfectly well that leaving the capital now meant the journey wouldn’t be safe, but should she not go because of danger? No matter how she thought about it, she would still go, so there was no need to curse herself.
Curse the bandits? Right now she didn’t even know who these bandits were.
The journey had been going smoothly all along.
Chu Zhao’s group wasn’t large. Xiao Man brought ten people. The women and children all stayed in the capital—though of course the women and children weren’t weak; on the contrary, being underestimated made them more lethal. As for the Dragon Might Army, Xie Yanlai wanted to give her half—Chu Zhao was embarrassed. She wanted to travel incognito, not roll through like thunder and clouds wherever she passed.
In the end, Chu Zhao only took ten people.
Twenty people traveling light and moving swiftly, not stopping to rest except to change horses, they quickly left the heartland of the Central Plains. Along the way, they once again passed through North Cao Town courier station.
Seeing this station, A’Le enthusiastically told Xiao Man, “We swindled a lot of people here before.”
But this time they didn’t need to stop. They just glanced at it as they passed. The fat courier station master picking his teeth outside the door didn’t even see them.
Chu Zhao also deliberately avoided Zhongshan Commandery, so they wouldn’t have to cross the great river again, instead climbing over a large mountain.
However, an accident still occurred.
Just as they entered the mountain valley, a group of men and horses suddenly appeared, shouting about blocking the road to rob them. Whether in speech or dress, they looked like mountain bandits.
But no one believed they were mountain bandits.
Xiao Man scoffed. “Where do they look like mountain bandits?”
The leader of the accompanying Dragon Might Army was surnamed Bai, calling himself Old Bai—actually only a middle-aged man, carrying a long blade on his back, taciturn, who only said, “Their aura isn’t that of mountain bandits.”
The “mountain bandits” clearly were too lazy to keep up pretenses. They didn’t bother with all that nonsense about wanting money or lives, but directly raised their weapons and charged swiftly forward.
Not only them—behind them in the mountain valley, more hoofbeats thundered, accompanied by loud shouts: “Kill—”
……
……
These people truly weren’t mountain bandits. Under the Dragon Might Army’s resistance, even though bodies littered the ground, not a single person retreated.
At first, Xiao Man and the other ten only guarded Chu Zhao’s side. Soon Xiao Man divided people to provide support. Finally, even Chu Zhao and A’Le held weapons, their bodies and faces splattered with blood.
Prolonged combat wasn’t a good solution.
“Into the mountain!” Xiao Man shouted. “These people aren’t from here. They don’t know the mountain.”
At that moment, a thought flashed through Chu Zhao’s mind—but they also weren’t from here and didn’t know the mountain either, right?
However, this didn’t affect her movements. Old Bai didn’t question it either. The group immediately fled into the mountain forest.
The dense forest and mountain rocks formed a natural barrier. Chu Zhao’s group plunged in and quickly concealed their tracks.
But the pursuit didn’t stop.
……
……
The “mountain bandits'” arrows fell like rain.
An arrow grazed the top of Chu Zhao’s head and flew past. Xiao Man reached out to push her down.
“I know my limits,” Chu Zhao quickly said to her in a low voice. “You do what you need to do.”
Though she had fought on horseback with a blade during that night of chaos in the capital, she couldn’t compare to Xiao Man. Xiao Man was about her age but very experienced in combat.
She knew her limits and wouldn’t act rashly to avoid causing more trouble.
Xiao Man vigilantly watched their surroundings, pointing in a direction to a man standing in a tree. That man immediately leaped several times to the cliff edge, drew his bow and shot arrows. Several screams rang out from below the mountain—
The rain of arrows from below also temporarily stopped.
“These people have military training,” Old Bai moved over from the other side, saying in a low voice.
Actually, he didn’t need to say it. Chu Zhao had already guessed. These mountain bandits advanced and retreated with discipline, with archers, axe-wielders, and even shield-bearers—
“Can you tell their origin?” Xiao Man asked.
Old Bai shook his head, his face showing some shame. After all, he’d always been in the capital and wasn’t familiar with the troops from commanderies and prefectures outside the capital.
“It’s not strange that you can’t tell,” Chu Zhao said in a low voice. “Since they’re making a move against me, naturally they’d conceal their identity.”
Either they were Prince Zhongshan’s people, or remnants of Third Prince Zhao’s faction, or—there was no one else.
There might be others in the future.
Chu Zhao smiled to herself. But currently, only these two wanted her dead.
Prince Zhongshan was the most likely.
The greatest danger on this journey was Prince Zhongshan.
Right now, Prince Zhongshan and the court presented an eerie calm. The court hadn’t moved against Prince Zhongshan, and Prince Zhongshan also maintained silence. He neither attended the funerals of the Late Emperor and Late Crown Prince, nor expressed congratulations to the new Emperor—as if he had disappeared.
Of course Prince Zhongshan hadn’t disappeared, and there was no real peace between the court and Prince Zhongshan. First, the court’s troops and Xie Yanfang’s forces were all pursuing Xiao Xun, then they mobilized troops to surround Zhongshan Commandery. After Vice General Zhong returned to the border commandery, he also mobilized troops toward Zhongshan Commandery, forming an encirclement with the court from front and back—
Prince Zhongshan naturally knew that troops were encircling him.
But so far no one had made a move. Both sides seemed to be waiting, waiting, waiting for a suitable opportunity—
That’s why Chu Zhao had deliberately bypassed Zhongshan Commandery to avoid becoming that opportunity.
But now it seemed Prince Zhongshan hadn’t let the opportunity pass.
She had concealed her movements from the court officials and the world, but might not have been able to hide from Prince Zhongshan. Though the Imperial Palace had been cleaned out several times, after Prince Zhongshan’s many years of operations, how could his informants be easily eliminated?
Was she going to die at Xiao Xun’s hands again this time?
“Your Majesty,” Old Bai looked at Chu Zhao, saying in a low voice, “they also seem afraid of being discovered, so their numbers aren’t large. We’ve seized the advantageous position first, so there won’t be danger for now. If we find another way to alert the local garrison, we’ll surely be able to repel these mountain bandits.”
The position Xiao Man and the others had chosen was indeed excellent. The mountain bandits had tried setting fires at first but caused no damage. Now shooting arrows, due to the terrain, it was of little effect.
Chu Zhao surveyed her surroundings. Behind them was the highest cliff face. In front was an open area without trees, only jagged rocks forming a natural protective wall. From the high ground, standing behind the rocks was like standing on a high city wall.
But how long could “for now” last?
“Whatever arrangements we can make, they’ll naturally guard against as well,” Chu Zhao said in a low voice, looking toward the mountain forest ahead. There was some commotion where the quiet mountain bandits were, as if they were leaving. This wasn’t normal.
She looked around again. They had too few people. After that bout of fighting, five of the twenty had been lost, and seven or eight of the remainder were wounded.
No matter how good this position was, these people couldn’t hold out.
Old Bai naturally knew this too. He said solemnly, “Your Majesty, let this young lady take you away. Even if we fight to the death, we’ll ensure you leave here safely.”
As long as they left here, there would be a chance to call for help.
A’Le nearby gripped her weapon tightly and nodded. “Miss, quickly go with Xiao Man.”
She wouldn’t leave. Xiao Man could only take one person. She couldn’t be a burden. She was willing to fight to the death to block the bandits for Miss.
Chu Zhao shook her head, looking at the rolling mountain forest. “We don’t know the situation outside the mountain forest even less. Without cover, it’s also dangerous.”
Xiao Man, who had been silent all along, suddenly sprang to her feet upon hearing this.
“I’ll go find reinforcements!”
She tossed out this line. Without waiting for Chu Zhao, Old Bai, and the others to react, she gripped her long blade and charged forward in two or three steps.
“Cover her!”
Chu Zhao only had time to shout this.
Along with her voice, Old Bai and the others drew their bows and shot arrows, while the mountain forest opposite also rang out with shouts once more.
The rain of arrows fell like a deluge once again.