Thus, in his confrontation with Xiao Huayong, Xiao Changtai had been steadily forcing him toward the position he had revealed to Emperor Youning.
The location was his choice, where he had already laid numerous traps. He drove Xiao Huayong from the rolling rocky hills into a deciduous forest – a rare sight in the Northwest, where wind-blown sand, desert, rocky outcrops, and grasslands dominated. Leaves carpeted the ground.
Xiao Huayong spun to dodge Xiao Changtai’s sword, landing gracefully, only to have two men suddenly emerge from the ground like moles, their hands gripping his ankles.
Glancing down, he discovered they had lifted stone slabs – long and narrow, just large enough for a person to hide inside. The slabs were covered with scattered leaves like those around them, the trap so expertly crafted it was nearly impossible to detect with the naked eye.
At the same moment, Xiao Changtai leaped from above, sword raised to strike Xiao Huayong.
The sharp blade gleamed blindingly in the sunlight.
To force him to this spot, Xiao Changtai had been fighting with him since the previous night until now. Both men bore numerous wounds, though Xiao Huayong’s were merely superficial injuries taken deliberately to give Xiao Changtai confidence and prevent his immediate retreat. Xiao Changtai, however, was covered in serious wounds inflicted by Xiao Huayong, his face twisted in pain, clothes tattered and stained with blood.
Judging the timing was right, Xiao Huayong raised his hand holding the short flute, his other palm bracing its end, blocking Xiao Changtai’s aerial sword strike. The tremendous force caused cracks to spread across the jade flute, which seemed ready to shatter to dust at any moment.
As Xiao Changtai descended, the cracks in the flute grew more pronounced. With Xiao Huayong’s legs restrained, another person sprang from underground behind him, gleaming blade raised to strike his back.
The flash of the blade caught in Xiao Huayong’s peripheral vision. He suddenly exerted force with his legs, pressing his entire body downward. His spread legs kicked against the shoulders of the two men restraining him on the ground, causing their necks to slam violently against the stone walls. One died instantly with a twisted neck, the other lost consciousness.
At the same moment, Xiao Changtai channeled all his strength through his arms into his iron sword. With a crack, Xiao Huayong’s short flute shattered. Xiao Changtai thought he could use this chance to strike Xiao Huayong’s shoulder, but unexpectedly, inside the flute was a slender weapon about as thick as a little finger, neither quite sword nor blade. This object was incredibly hard – his sword left not even a scratch when it struck.
In the moment of Xiao Changtai’s surprise, Xiao Huayong’s flattened legs hooked at the ankles, sweeping alternately as he spun upward like a whirlwind.
He barely avoided the blade striking from behind – the attacker’s sword hit the ground instead, sending leaves flying and leaving a stark mark in the earth.
Xiao Huayong executed several aerial cartwheels, but before he could steady himself, Xiao Changtai’s iron sword came pursuing again.
The sword light flowed, closing in instantly. As Xiao Huayong landed, he sensed movement in the ground. He quickly slashed with his weapon, blood spraying and spattering the ground as he rolled away. Still, Xiao Changtai’s thrusting sword grazed his shoulder, leaving a bloody mark.
“Xiao Huayong, today is your death day!” Xiao Changtai’s sword movements flowed like water, swift as a gale.
Nobody knew how many people were buried underground. Though Xiao Huayong could sometimes anticipate them, each time he dealt with attackers at his feet, he would suffer wounds from Xiao Changtai to varying degrees.
Xiao Changtai was an extremely cautious person. To avoid alerting him and giving him another chance to escape, even though Xiao Huayong knew Xiao Changtai had set an ambush in this area, he hadn’t set counter-traps. He hadn’t expected Xiao Changtai to be so cunning.
At this moment, Xiao Changtai was also secretly furious. Though he had Xiao Huayong trapped, he still couldn’t take him down. He kept waiting, waiting for His Majesty’s people to arrive, never realizing that Xiao Huayong had leaked his location to him specifically to make him act against Geng Liangcheng and to draw out His Majesty’s forces.
Not setting nearby troops didn’t mean Xiao Huayong was unaware of the ambush locations. He had positioned people disguised as Xiao Juesong’s subordinates to intercept along the fastest route from Jingzhou. To be safe, not knowing how many men His Majesty would assign to Pei Zhan, Xiao Huayong had left most of his forces to intercept Pei Zhan and his men, leaving himself alone to deal with Xiao Changtai.
As Xiao Huayong slipped away from under his sword once again, Xiao Changtai gnashed his teeth in hatred. His sword-holding hand suddenly tapped the ground twice in rhythm, and three men sprang up from below, each throwing venomous snakes at Xiao Huayong as they emerged.
Xiao Huayong twirled his weapon, feet spinning rapidly. The weapon moved so fast in his hands that it left afterimages like a night-blooming cereus flower blooming. In one circular motion, he deflected all the flying snakes, some cut clean through. But by then, Xiao Changtai’s sword was already approaching his face.
Xiao Huayong leaned backward, Xiao Changtai’s sword hand following just three inches from his throat as he moved forward. Two of Xiao Changtai’s men raised their broadswords, charging at Xiao Huayong’s flanks from diagonal angles like wings.
Seeing this, Xiao Huayong’s wrist tensed, his weapon flicking upward to deflect Xiao Changtai’s iron sword while simultaneously spinning toward Xiao Changtai’s face along his blade. He then flipped, striking the ground with one palm to leap upward, avoiding the two attackers. But as his body rose into the air, another of Xiao Changtai’s men – who had anticipated this evasion – had already jumped up first, blade plunging downward toward Xiao Huayong.
At this moment, Xiao Huayong had no time to twist away mid-air and could only try to avoid vital areas. Just then, a blur swept past, snatching away his would-be attacker in the split second before the blade could pierce Xiao Huayong’s body. A clear, resonant cry rang out in the sky as Xiao Huayong flipped to land, quickly retreating several steps to steady himself.
Arrows whistled through the air, targeting Xiao Changtai and his men.
Xiao Huayong turned to look. In her purple robes, she was like a beautiful mountain flower, her slender figure appearing graceful and elegant as she galloped forward on horseback, drawing and nocking arrows as she rode.
This was his wife.
Xiao Huayong’s expression involuntarily softened, his eyes filled with pride.
After carrying away the man who had tried to harm Xiao Huayong, the Haitan Eagle swiftly returned to deal with the others. Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Xiao Changtai immediately called out all his remaining men hidden underground. He quickly retreated, clearly preparing to escape again.
Xiao Huayong raised his weapon, his footwork light and otherworldly as he easily deflected the attackers coming from both sides, charging straight for Xiao Changtai, determined not to give him another chance to flee.