HomeAfter I Bloom Hundred Flowers DieChapter 558: Never Leaving Behind

Chapter 558: Never Leaving Behind

The fire raged uncontrollably, turning half the forest red. Shen Xihe looked up to see Xiao Huayong’s deep, unyielding gaze. She pressed her lips together, ultimately choosing to trust him, whipping her horse forward and leading the others ahead.

He cut down burning trees before her while she followed, watching as flames licked at his clothes’ hem, watching as his shoes began to curl from stepping on fire. Her eyes grew misty.

The soles of Xiao Huayong’s feet burned, the scorching heat piercing like sharp needles, causing heart-wrenching pain. This fire carried poison – he couldn’t let it burn through his shoes. Shen Xihe threw him two leather covers: “Wrap these on first.”

Though the leather wouldn’t burn easily, it would heat up quickly, certainly scalding his feet.

Xiao Huayong caught them and gave Shen Xihe a gentle smile. He moved swiftly, then continued clearing a path. They couldn’t approach the standing trees where burning drops fell too densely. As more trees fell, the flames grew fiercer. Surrounded by fire, everyone felt as if they were inside a furnace. Even Shen Xihe’s delicate skin began to feel the stinging pain of splitting flesh on her arms.

Choking smoke filled Xiao Huayong’s nose, irritating his recently healed eyes. He knew they needed to move quickly. Fighting the discomfort in his chest, he leaped up, his clothes billowing as he spun. The ordinary steel sword seemed to glow in his hands, its edge too bright to look at directly. As he swung, it was as if a great wind suddenly arose, an even stronger force sweeping out straight ahead, like an invisible giant blade cutting through a row of massive trees as cleanly as a razor through hair.

As this batch of trees fell with thunderous crashes, the fire momentarily diminished. Xiao Huayong pressed on with all his might. After several moves, two rows of trees fell though still ten paces from him. When he finally landed, his stance was unsteady, nearly losing balance. To avoid worrying Shen Xihe, he channeled his energy, gripping the sword with both hands. As his knee struck the ground where his force had extinguished the flames, power surged through the embedded blade, forcefully sweeping aside the burning branches. He felt a searing pain in his meridians – his strength was failing.

With a light shout, Xiao Huayong leaped up once more, his long arms gripping the gleaming sword. He poured all his remaining power into one horizontal sweep. Shen Xihe almost thought she saw energy rippling like waves from the blade, surging toward the burning trees, feeling them one by one.

The burst of energy was so powerful it instantly extinguished the fires in the still-standing trees. With few trees remaining, Shen Xihe called out: “Charge!”

Xiao Huayong spun as he landed, once again driving the great sword into the ground. The remaining force connected with his previous energy, quickly extinguished the last few trees.

They rushed forward. Seeing them clear the forest, Xiao Huayong quickly charged after them. As soon as he released his grip, his energy dispersed, and the burning leaves flared up again like candles bent by a fierce wind, reigniting as soon as the gust passed.

Before he could get out, drops of fire began falling again, forcing him to stop abruptly and retreat while the drops were still sparse, back to where the trees had fallen, where no fire fell.

Shen Xihe, having just leaped clear on horseback, turned back to witness this. Her gaze sharpened. As soon as she cleared the forest, she pulled the reins and turned her horse around. Seeing Xiao Huayong forced to retreat, she bit her lip and dismounted, taking her cloak from her pack and her water skin, and pouring all the water over the cloak. She urged Mo Yu and the others: “Quick, water!”

Mo Yu, Mo Yuan, and the others were already moving before Shen Xihe finished speaking, pouring all their water onto her cloak. Once Shen Xihe confirmed every part was soaked through to dripping, she mounted again, donned the cloak, pulled up the hood, and tucked the edges into the saddle to ensure she was completely covered before charging back in.

Mo Yu didn’t try to stop Shen Xihe or offer to go in her place, knowing this was something she had to do herself. Without realizing it, the Crown Prince had become someone of utmost importance to her master.

Xiao Huayong’s throat burned from the smoke, which grew thicker. He tried to hold his breath while seeking an escape route – if necessary, he would have to retreat and find another way around alone.

Just as he retrieved his dropped sword to withdraw, hoofbeats sounded again. Through the thick smoke and flames came Shen Xihe, wrapped completely except for her eyes, which showed unwavering determination and pure clarity.

As she galloped toward him and drew close, she pulled off her cloak and threw it to him. The fire burned fiercest here but without falling flames. Shen Xihe pulled the reins, quickly turning her horse. Before completing the turn, she gripped the saddle with one hand while reaching for Xiao Huayong with the other.

As she spun, she grasped his hand and pulled him onto the horse. Xiao Huayong had already caught the cloak and leaped up, pressing tightly against her back.

“Are you afraid?” Xiao Huayong asked softly as they faced what had become almost a waterfall of fire, gripping the still-dripping cloak.

“No,” Shen Xihe replied calmly, eyes forward, gripping the reins. “Ready?”

“Let’s go.”

Before Xiao Huayong finished speaking, Shen Xihe had already whipped the horse forward toward the forest. Her cloak wasn’t large enough to cover two people, but they had only this much water, not enough to soak another garment, and no water source nearby. Xiao Huayong couldn’t wait for her to find one.

She charged unflinchingly toward the forest where fire fell like strings of pearls. Just before they reached the falling flames, Xiao Huayong gripped the cloak’s corners and whirled it out like an umbrella, forming a tight shield above them.

His arms moved constantly, making the cloak flutter like a banner, changing positions so quickly it seemed to maintain continuous coverage, leaving no gaps for the flames to penetrate, catching them all on the cloak.

Shen Xihe trusted him completely, driving forward without blinking. The horse’s neighs and the meteor-like falling fire flashed past in her peripheral vision.

Most of the burning trees in the forest had already been cut down by Xiao Huayong, leaving only a hundred or two meters to cross. Working together, husband and wife quickly broke through the encirclement.

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