Chapter 140 (1/2)
Chapter 140
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
But it was at that precise moment another sharp sense of danger assaulted her mind! Chu Qiao, without any hesitation, stooped down, and could only feel that from the other side of the tree a blade had flashed past. The blade skimmed past her head, and a few strands of her hair flew in the air!
Chu Qiao almost wanted to swear at her opponent. She had been completely seen through! As though the opponent had known exactly what speed she would have, what strategy she would use, when she would lie in wait to ambush the opponent… Instead, she was ambushed!
That was so frustrating!
In that split second, Chu Qiao activated her entire brain to formulate a follow-up strategy. Adjusting her posture, she readied herself for another round of conflict. If she was unable to defeat this adversary, she felt sorry for her instructor back in the modern world.
But then, a whooshing sound came from above. Chu Qiao was taken by surprise, and before she had even realized what happened, her back was dealt a heavy blow. Something hammered onto her back, and the intense pain almost caused her to vomit blood! But what happened next would have really caused her to vomit blood out of anger.
A loud wailing sound came from behind her. A young child, around seven to eight-years-old, was riding on Chu Qiao's back. He wiped his face and cried as he wailed loudly.
It seemed that before they came, there was already a kid who was playing in this tree. The joke was on her as she had been a top agent! She had not even noticed a kid hiding in the tree. Seeing the entire process of their fighting, the kid's grip loosened from fear, and he fell right onto Chu Qiao! Was there anything that was more frustrating than that?
Pushing away the kid, Chu Qiao was hoping that she still had room for retaliation, but a blade had already been pressed onto her neck. A flurry of footsteps approached, and instantly, a crowd surrounded her. A few more blades were then placed next to her neck. Chu Qiao lifted her head and glared fiercely at the kid who was still crying. She overheard people gossiping quietly behind her, ”I didn't know that our Princess was so good at martial arts.”
Another person replied, ”The Zhao family was originally a family that rose due to their prowess in the martial arts. Knowing a little here and there would be natural. It's just surprising that the Princess is so good.”
What did they just call Zhao Chun'er? Their princess? Are they from the Xia Empire?
A war horse galloped from the distance. The man jumped off the back of the horse. Wearing a black veil over his face, he dashed up and proclaimed, ”Our men are still delaying the scene. We still have time.”
The man in black nodded, and told the man beside him, ”Take her and go to the square.”
Another man-in-black ordered Chu Qiao, ”Put down your weapon.”
Unable to resist, Chu Qiao complied. With a clank, she dropped the knife, and considered whether or not she should reveal her identity in front of the crowd and tell them that she was actually not Zhao Chun'er. But it was just then that the highly skilled man, whom she was fighting with, walked up, and stretched out his lanky hand, and held Chu Qiao's chin. Coldly snorting, Chu Qiao shook her head, and with all her strength, bit down on that man's hand!
As though she could hear the sound of her teeth breaking through flesh, blood immediately started flowing down from the wound. Chu Qiao stared back at that man, a trail of blood on her chin. Her gaze was like a wounded wolf, still with plenty of fighting spirit left within her, not willing to give up.
”Ah!” A loud and clear groan resounded, but no one moved. No one reacted to Chu Qiao's action.
That man stared at Chu Qiao, at a loss for words, and just allowed her to continue biting his hand. Without words, without motion, the only reaction he gave was his gaze which peeked out from beneath the black mask. Right now, that gaze even had a trace of amusement!
Chu Qiao was taken aback as well. That pair of eyes was all too familiar to her. As though she had become retarded, she slowly unclenched her jaw. With her mouth still agape, she looked up at him.
”Haha!” That man suddenly started laughing. Tearing off his mask, he pulled Chu Qiao up, and with one swift motion, he swept her into his embrace.
”I knew you would not die so easily!” Like a kid who had just received a new toy, Zhuge Yue chuckled. He was so ecstatic, yet one could tell from his pale complexion how worried he was. Hugging her tightly, it was almost as though he wanted to morph their bodies together!
Chu Qiao's head was pressed into his chest. Through his firm and strong chest muscles, she could hear his heart thumping away vigorously. Remembering what had just happened to her, her vision clouded. After just escaping death, certain emotions raged on beyond her control within her heart. She could not contain herself. Burying her head in his chest, she freely let her tears flow out.
The entire parade was silent, as the only sound that could be heard was the fluttering of the flag in the wind. Looking up at Qiang Wei Square, people once again were reminded of its history. 300 years ago, atop that bronze platform, the first great traitor of the Tang Empire—He Lanye—was burnt alive in an execution.
At that time, he was appointed the highest commander of the Hongchuan Highlands by the Tang Empire. Yet, he merely watched as the Zhao Family invaded the highlands, without putting up any form of meaningful struggle. And when the Zhao Family's forces seized Zhen Huang City, he merely escaped the city with his entire family. He threw away the northern buffer of the Great Tang Empire, and relinquished swathes of Tang Territory for no good reason. He was the only reason that the ruler of the entire continent became history. Ultimately, he was the reason why the Great Tang Empire had to remove the ”great” from its name; the Song Empire and the Xia Empire threatened them, claiming that the Tang Empire was no longer deserving of such a name. That became the humiliation of the Tang Empire even until today.
From that point onward, the platform in Qiang Wei Square became the location for executing criminals. At this very moment, a lady who was coated in bloodstains was tied up high on the bronze platform. With her clothes tattered, no one could see her face clearly. At her feet, a huge pile of firewood had been stacked. Soldiers holding the burning torch were already standing at one side, ready to light the bonfire. A group tried to rush in to save the lady. Although they seemed like normal civilians, those who were sharp would have noticed that they were all hiding weapons and were nothing like common folk.
The ruckus grew louder. Countless men waved their hands, cheering the execution on. Zhao Chun'er opened her frail eyes. Her cries of anguish and roars of anger only received a few loud and crisp slaps to her face in exchange. The rugged soldiers all had rough skin with thick callouses, and their slaps were extremely painful.
With her jaw dislocated, she could not say anything that resembled human speech. All she could do was peek through the dried blood that glued her eyes shut and observe the crowds of overly excited people. There were all unfamiliar faces wearing infuriated expressions. Suddenly, she started to feel scared. She started to tremble uncontrollably.
Was she going to die?