Those men never expected that even in such a desperate situation, Su Mingyu could still find a way to escape. After exchanging glances, they turned around and chased after her.
Su Mingyu calmly analyzed the current situation. Her pistol had been taken away by Mu Yi in advance. With an unconscious Gu Ruobai in tow and facing so many enemies, she had little chance of winning.
But where did these people come from?
Were they sent specifically to assassinate her? Why was Gu Ruobai unconscious while she remained unharmed?
Since returning from the hunting ground, she had been almost inseparable from Gu Ruobai. There should have been no chance for him to be poisoned.
Moreover, this was Gu Ruobai. His vigilance was definitely no less than hers. How could he have been so easily poisoned? What on earth was going on?
Just then, she heard the whistling sound of arrows flying towards her.
Without even turning her head, Su Mingyu tilted her head slightly and dodged the arrow.
But then, more and more arrows came from behind. Su Mingyu had no choice but to urge her horse to run faster.
However, there was a carriage behind them. No matter how hard the horse tried, it couldn't run very fast.
Feeling that the pursuers were about to catch up, Su Mingyu gritted her teeth. She turned back into the carriage, tied Gu Ruobai to herself, then took heavy steps and remounted the horse. At the same time, she drew her sword and without hesitation cut the rope that was tying the carriage.
With a loud rumbling sound, the carriage was left behind. Along with the carriage, several black-clothed men who were unable to dodge in time also disappeared.
Su Mingyu rode her horse at full speed without stopping for a moment, fleeing forward. The pursuers behind showed no sign of letting her go. Judging from their determination, it was clearly a fight to the death.
Su Mingyu's face was extremely solemn. She had to keep an eye on the pursuers behind while also watching the road ahead. Being distracted in two directions made her completely unaware that there was a dead end ahead.
A huge lake was just in front of them, surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides. There was no way out except for the path they had come from.
Su Mingyu frowned tightly. Staying here would only mean waiting for death. But Gu Ruobai was still unconscious, and it was impossible for her to swim across the lake with him before the pursuers caught up.
After much thought, Su Mingyu suddenly noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She quickly dismounted from her horse and gave the horse a hard slap on the buttocks. The horse, in pain, galloped away in an instant.
When the black-clothed men finally caught up to the lakeside, they saw nothing.
They looked at each other, seemingly at a loss.
"Where are they?"
The leader's face was gloomy. "I clearly saw them come this way!"
"The horse is gone too. Could they have ridden away?" one of them asked nervously.
"Ride your ass!" The leader raised his hand and gave him a blow. "This is the only way we came. Have you seen any signs of them escaping?"
As he said this, the leader lowered his head and examined the ground.
After looking for a long time, his face became extremely ugly. "Look at these horse hoof prints. It seems they ran in that direction?"
The man pointed to the right, and his subordinates came to confirm it.
One of them took a look and then nodded. "It does seem so. Should we chase?"
"Chase!" The leader's expression turned solemn, and he led the others towards the direction where the horse had disappeared.
After they had left, a small string of bubbles suddenly emerged from the bottom of the deep lake, as if a big fish had turned over inside, or as if some monster was about to emerge.
At this moment, a cool breeze blew. Under the lake, Su Mingyu saw that Gu Ruobai had spat out one bubble after another.
Gritting her teeth, Su Mingyu surfaced from the lake and spat out the hollow straw in her mouth. Before she could catch her breath, she quickly turned back to check on Gu Ruobai's condition.
Thankfully, because she had been breathing air into him, Gu Ruobai hadn't choked on the water.
But even though he was completely soaked in the water, he still didn't wake up. For some reason, a bad premonition welled up in Su Mingyu's heart.
With great difficulty, she helped Gu Ruobai up and supported him on her shoulder. Then she staggered towards the capital city.
Su Mingyu had already exhausted a great deal of energy during the autumn hunting. Now, after all this commotion, she couldn't go much further before she really couldn't walk anymore.
But she didn't dare to rest. If those people caught up again, with her current physical strength, neither she nor Gu Ruobai would be able to escape.
Thinking of this, Su Mingyu bit her tongue hard. The sharp pain gave her a little more strength.
Afraid to take the main road, every step Su Mingyu took was extremely difficult. As the sky gradually darkened, Su Mingyu frowned. If she couldn't get out of this forest soon, Gu Ruobai might not make it.
He had already been poisoned by an unknown toxin, and now he was soaked in water and hadn't changed into dry clothes in time. If he got poisoned and caught a cold, Su Mingyu didn't even dare to think about the consequences.
Stumbling all the way, Su Mingyu's face and hands were covered in cuts from the tree branches. Just when she was about to collapse from exhaustion, she suddenly saw a light flickering not far ahead.
A glimmer of joy flashed in her eyes. Su Mingyu was just about to walk over, but then she thought better of it. She first put Gu Ruobai down and hid him in the bushes in the darkness. Then, with a determined look in her eyes, she walked towards the light.
When she got closer, Su Mingyu saw that it was a courtyard. It was very tidy and clean, indicating that the person living here seemed to take great care of it.
Su Mingyu raised her hand and knocked on the wooden door. After a while, she heard a clear male voice from inside. "Who is it?"
Su Mingyu licked her dry lips. After a long while, she replied in a hoarse voice. "I'm just passing by and accidentally got lost. I wonder if I could stay here for the night?"
"A woman staying in my place?" The man's voice seemed a bit displeased. "No. You'd better leave quickly."
Su Mingyu pursed her lips. "I'm here with my husband. But my husband was bitten by some poisonous creature on the way and has fallen into a coma. I have no other choice but to bother you. Please be kind enough to help us."
Finally, Su Mingyu added. "When we get back to our mansion, we will definitely offer you some silver as a token of our gratitude."
Although it was not advisable to show one's wealth when traveling, Su Mingyu had no other options at this point.
Judging from the strong voice of the person inside, it seemed that he was a man with some martial arts skills. With her current state, if they really fought, she might not have much of a chance of winning.
The person inside seemed to be convinced by her words. After a short while, a man wrapped in a coat came out from inside, carrying an oil lamp.