"I've been through many perils this time. I don't want her to be implicated," Helan Yanting said in a deep voice.
At this moment, Qing Zhu understood Helan Yanting's intention better than anyone else. But now, he knew that "no matter what you think, my lord, did you ever ask for her opinion before making this decision?"
"She doesn't want to be treated like this."
Qing Zhu's expression dimmed a bit, and his thoughts seemed to drift elsewhere.
"Pluck the flower while you may; wait not for the bough to be bare."
Helan Yanting's eyes darkened slightly. He was silent for a long while and didn't try to explain further.
"She's not here. Where has she gone?"
Qing Zhu pointed in the direction where Feng Yunshu had left. "She stormed off in that direction just now."
Helan Yanting nodded slightly, then turned and strode in that direction. When he reached the entrance of the tent, he paused briefly. "Thank you. I was out of line just now."
"It's okay. I know you were just worried about her," Qing Zhu replied.
Watching Helan Yanting chasing after Feng Yunshu, Qing Zhu's heart rippled with emotions.
Xiaoling noticed Qing Zhu's unease and looked up at him. "Brother Qing Zhu, what's wrong? Could it be that Lord Helan's words and actions just now hurt you?"
Qing Zhu looked at Xiaoling, forced a smile, and shook his head. "It's not the lord's fault."
"Then what is it?" Xiaoling frowned worriedly, wondering why Qing Zhu had suddenly become so dejected.
"I just remembered some past events. But the person is already gone. It's useless to dwell on them," Qing Zhu said.
"The person is gone?" Xiaoling suddenly thought of A Yun and seemed to understand why Qing Zhu was so down.
"Brother Qing Zhu, don't be sad. How about we go out for a walk? Staying in the tent might not be good for releasing your emotions."
"Hehe, that's a good idea."
Qing Zhu picked up Xiaoling and walked out of the tent.
Meanwhile, on a small hillside behind the military camp.
Feng Yunshu found a secluded and wide - view place and just sat down to enjoy the scenery when suddenly an arrow came flying from behind.
The arrow whistled through the air. Feng Yunshu's ears twitched as she keenly caught the sound. Her body quickly reacted, and she did a forward roll to avoid it. At the same time, she looked up in the direction where the arrow had come from.
"I didn't expect a little girl like you to react so quickly," a medium - built and rather thin man said. He was holding a longbow and aiming at her. A black cloth covered most of his face, and his eyes were filled with a fierce killing intent.
This man...
Feng Yunshu frowned after seeing him clearly. She seemed to have never seen this person before.
"Who are you? Why are you trying to assassinate me?"
"Who am I?"
The man sneered. "No one has ever lived to know my identity. Die!"
With that, the man drew his bow and shot another arrow. Feng Yunshu dodged again.
But just as she landed, the man quickly took out something from his sleeve and threw it at her.
Suddenly, dozens of silver needles as thin as hairs appeared in front of her. Feng Yunshu's pupils dilated sharply. In a hurry, she gathered her spiritual power to block the attack.
However, just as she was about to use her spiritual power, another black - clothed man suddenly rushed out from somewhere. This man was even thinner than the previous one and moved more quickly. He held a staff - like object and stuck it into the ground not far from Feng Yunshu. Then he quickly chanted a spell.
The spiritual power that Feng Yunshu had just gathered suddenly vanished. Her heart skipped a beat, and she stared intently at the man with the staff.
Oh no! There's something wrong with that staff! It can actually stop me from using my spiritual power!
While Feng Yunshu was hesitating, the silver needles flew towards her in unison. She could only try her best to dodge, but even so, many needles still pierced through her clothes and into her body.
"Ouch..."
The moment the needles entered her body, Feng Yunshu felt a sharp pain, accompanied by a strong burning sensation. It was an indescribable and scalp - numbing torment.
"Who on earth are you?! Tell me, who sent you?!"
At this point, Feng Yunshu was sure that the two men in front of her were well - prepared. Moreover, they must have known that she could use spiritual power, otherwise, they wouldn't have taken out the staff to suppress her.
That staff was definitely not an ordinary one. It might be the staff of some enlightened Buddhist monk, otherwise, it couldn't have such a powerful spiritual force to affect her use of spiritual power.
"Little girl, don't struggle anymore. Since you're about to go to the underworld, I'll let you die knowing the truth. Someone paid a hefty sum to hire us brothers to take your life. Moreover, they specifically told us that you're a cultivator and told us to use this staff to suppress you," the man said.
Saying this, the two men looked at each other and smiled. "The power of this staff is truly great. Hehe."
After saying that, the taller man shot another arrow at Feng Yunshu's heart. This time, Feng Yunshu didn't have the strength to dodge. At this moment, her whole body felt as if it was being torn by thousands of insects. The pain that penetrated into her flesh made her break out in a cold sweat, and she couldn't muster any strength in her limbs.
Feng Yunshu opened her eyes wide and stared at the flying arrow. Her pupils suddenly constricted. Am I really going to fall into the hands of these two today?!
Just as Feng Yunshu was in despair, the arrow didn't pierce through her heart. Instead, it was blocked by a hidden dart that flew out of nowhere. Sparks flew when the iron objects collided, and the arrow deviated from its original direction with a "whoosh" sound and finally fell to the ground.
"Those who dare to touch the people under me will suffer more than death!"
Feng Yunshu heard Helan Yanting's cold and deep voice suddenly coming from behind the two men. Her body trembled involuntarily. The despair in her heart just now seemed to instantly break through all the fear and darkness, and she saw the hope of survival.
He's here!
Helan Yanting used his light - body technique and leaped into the air. His wide sleeves fluttered in the howling wind. The fallen leaves around him danced with the wind as he flew, carrying a strong killing intent towards the two men.
The two men had to turn around to deal with Helan Yanting, who had suddenly appeared. Looking up at the masked man who covered most of his face, they felt the strong killing intent and deterrence emanating from Helan Yanting. The two men looked at each other, seeing surprise and a bit of panic in each other's eyes.
"Brother, who is this guy? Our mission didn't mention such a person."
"Who cares? He just looks like a fake. We've been in the jianghu for so many years. We've seen all kinds of powerful characters. We're not afraid of one or two small fries."
"Then let's go!"
As soon as the two men turned around, they saw Helan Yanting approaching like a demon. The two men quickly took out their weapons, trying to block Helan Yanting's attack and fight back.
However, before the two men could wave their weapons, Helan Yanting's figure suddenly accelerated like a black shadow. The two men couldn't even see Helan Yanting's movements clearly. When they reacted, their necks had already been grabbed by Helan Yanting.
"You—"
The two brothers opened their eyes wide in horror. Their strong will to survive forced them to struggle and plead for mercy. "M, master, spare our lives... We... We were just... taking money to do things for others..."
Helan Yanting coldly glanced at the two men. "Who sent you?"