Chapter 13: Don’t Leave Me

Yao endured the pain, clutching the horse’s neck tightly, pulling on the reins to try and stop it. The horse was already running wild, completely ignoring her commands, only galloping faster.

As the horse raced forward, it charged directly out of the hunting grounds. Yao’s shoulder wound was pulled even further by the violent shaking, and blood spread across her shoulder.

Her face gradually turned pale, her vision becoming blurry, and her grip on the reins began to weaken.

The horse made another sharp turn, and finally, Yao lost her grip and was thrown from the horse’s back, rolling down a slope.

The hunting grounds echoed with the sound of warning horns.

Ling Xiao was drawing his bow, aiming at a wild bear he was facing. His eyes were sharp, his killing intent palpable. The feathered arrow flew through the air, piercing the bear.

The bear roared in pain, a deafening explosion of sound that shook the entire area.

Ling Xiao quickly drew his bow again, firing arrows in rapid succession, piercing the bear as it charged towards him. Then, with a light step, he leaped from the horse’s back, drawing his sword and striking the bear’s face with a swift and decisive blow.

The bear let out a whimper, then collapsed powerlessly.

The sword-wielding guard exclaimed, “This bear was killed so swiftly, Your Highness’s archery skills are truly extraordinary!”

But at that moment, he heard the sound of horns, and Ling Xiao’s expression changed.

The sound of hooves echoed, and an imperial guard galloped towards him, “Your Highness! Good news! There were assassins ambushed in the hunting grounds!”

Ling Xiao turned his head and asked sharply, “Where is His Majesty?”

“His Majesty is safe. A group of assassins ambushed the hunting grounds, attacking simultaneously. His Majesty and Princess Huaining were both attacked, but luckily, the imperial guards were vigilant and protected them in time. His Majesty’s body was not harmed, only Princess Huaining was nearly hit by an arrow and suffered some fright.”

Ling Xiao’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Did anyone else get hurt?”

The guard was stunned, seemingly not realizing the question’s importance. After all, the most important thing during an assassination attempt was the emperor’s safety, followed by Princess Huaining. As for others, they seemed insignificant.

“There were some injuries. The guards were fighting with the assassins, and Wang Gonggong, who was by His Majesty’s side, was also injured. This… this… ” He hesitated, then added, “It seems that a noble lady was also injured, she was with the princess.”

But he didn’t know who it was. The scene was chaotic, and everyone’s attention was focused on the emperor and the princess.

Ling Xiao’s face suddenly changed, “You said a lady was with the princess! Where is she now!”

The guard was so scared that his face turned pale. He stammered, “They said, they said, she’s missing.”

Ling Xiao’s expression was incredibly dark. He grabbed the guard’s collar, his killing intent radiating outward, “What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t guarding the princess at the time, so I don’t know for sure. I only heard about it when I was sent to report. They said that the lady, in order to protect the princess, was hit by an arrow, and then her horse went wild and ran away. She hasn’t been found yet…”

She’s missing!

… In the hunting grounds…

“Sword!” Ling Xiao commanded sharply.

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“Go, search separately!”

“Yes!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Xiao threw the guard who had brought the news aside, mounted his horse, and rode away.

He knew better than anyone that the only female companion with the princess was Jiang Yao.

He galloped away.

The guard who had been thrown aside was still dazed and confused. He had been thrown to the ground, his heart pounding.

This was the first time he had seen the Military Marquis lose his temper like this.

Ling Xiao quickly arrived at the scene where Princess Huaining and the others had been attacked. There was no smoke left, only traces of the fight and a few corpses.

He scanned the area, then turned his horse and began to search in a different direction.

The hoofprints in the bushes were very messy, with multiple horses having trampled through, making it impossible to determine a direction. He could only distinguish them one by one and search them all.

He was secretly anxious. He had heard that she had been hit by an arrow, and her horse had gone wild. It was impossible to say for sure if she was still alive. Every minute was crucial.

But the hunting grounds were located in the forest that stretched across the entire Longming mountain range. How could he possibly search such a vast area?

After two quarters of an hour, Sword suddenly came to report, “Your Highness! We found a horse, it’s already foaming at the mouth and collapsed near the ravine at the edge of the hunting grounds.”

“Immediately search that ravine!”

…

Ling Xiao commanded, and he immediately rode towards the ravine.

He had been rushing towards the scene of the attack, so he had been scanning the area along the way, leaving no stone unturned.

Just as he was riding into a dense forest, he suddenly noticed a familiar silk ribbon lying on the ground.

He immediately pulled on the reins, dismounted, and picked up the ribbon to examine it. It was Jiang Yao’s hair ribbon.

She hadn’t used any hairpins today, only a silk ribbon to tie her hair, making it easier to ride in the hunting grounds.

He looked up and saw a few drops of blood near where the ribbon had fallen. The bloodstains led down the slope.

The slope was quite steep and slippery, making it easy to fall but difficult to climb.

In a flash, a thought crossed his mind. Why did he have to save her?

He should be indifferent to this.

He had seen countless deaths on the battlefield, and it had become commonplace.

Today’s assassins were only targeting the emperor. If the emperor was safe, the court would be in chaos, and the entire Zhou Dynasty would be in turmoil. Besides the emperor, no one else mattered.

Moreover, there was Jiang Yao, this woman who annoyed him at every turn.

These thoughts flashed through Ling Xiao’s mind in an instant. At that moment, he leaped down the slope.

After all, his brother had left a dying wish to take good care of her. Even if it was just to fulfill his brother’s wish, he had to save her life.

… It was only for his brother’s wish.

Ling Xiao leaped down the slope, following the bloodstains, and finally found the unconscious woman lying in the bushes.

He quickly walked over and pulled her into his arms, “Jiang Yao!”

He touched her shoulder, feeling the sticky blood, his body stiffened, and his fist clenched tightly.

He used two fingers to feel her neck, and even he couldn’t help but notice a slight tremor in his fingertips.

She was still alive.

The weight that had been hanging over his heart finally lifted.

He tore off a piece of his robe and quickly bandaged her shoulder wound to stop the bleeding.

Her face was pale, devoid of any color, and she was leaning weakly against him.

Her body was limp, as if she had no bones.

But he couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of comfort from her warmth. He had already bandaged her wound, but he still hesitated to let go of her.

“Your Highness!”

Sword’s voice came from the slope.

A flash of panic crossed Ling Xiao’s mind, as if he had been caught off guard.

He didn’t have time to think about anything else at this moment.

He had left a mark on the slope, and Sword and the others would naturally be able to find them. The slope was steep and slippery, making it difficult to climb, let alone with an unconscious woman with no strength in her body.

He had to let them pull her up.

At that moment, a thought flashed through his mind, leave a mark.

This thought came out of nowhere, startling him.

He forced himself to calm down, suppressing the chaotic and impulsive thoughts in his mind, and made a firm decision to let go of the woman in his arms.

He should do this.

Just as he was about to let go, he felt her grip tighten on his robe.

“Don’t…”

Her body was stiff, her eyes closed, her face pale, and she was unconscious. Her slender fingers, however, were tightly clutching his robe, and she mumbled in her sleep.

“Don’t leave me.”