Chapter 214: Chapter 209 Divine Archer
However, faster than the blade was a sharp whistle cutting through the air.
It was a piercing sound that almost hurt everyone’s ears, followed closely by a scream of agony.
Shang Ruyi quickly opened her eyes, only to see the steel blade in the hand of the Imperial Guard soldier who was about to kill her fall to the ground. He clutched his wrist, howling incessantly. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that an arrow had pierced through his wrist, with blood relentlessly pouring out.
This is—
Shang Ruyi’s eyes widened in surprise, while another Imperial Guard beside her cried out in terror, "There’s an enemy—"
The word "enemy" hadn’t even been fully uttered before it was abruptly cut off with a dull thud. Shang Ruyi looked up to see his eyes bulging lifelessly, his body tense and rigid, as an arrow had pierced through his throat. A gurgling struggle echoed from his throat, and finally, he collapsed to the ground.
The eyes of an Imperial Guard nearby turned red. He quickly turned to look across the river: "Who—"
Before he could finish, another arrow struck him right in the forehead.
"There’s an assassin!"
"Be careful!"
At this moment, the people around finally reacted, but their response was not as fast as the arrows piercing through the air. In an instant, several streaks of cold light whistled by, and the few Imperial Guards surrounding Shang Ruyi fell to the ground one by one.
In a flash, her surroundings were cleared!
Shang Ruyi was stunned by this sudden change. She instinctively turned her head to look across the river.
Perhaps those around her hadn’t seen clearly, but just now, those who were shot were all around her. She saw more clearly than anyone else where the arrows came from—from the north of the military camp, across the dark river.
At that moment, Shang Ruyi’s gaze was as sharp as a hawk, immediately finding a single point in the dense darkness.
That point of cold light was like the only star in the pitch-black night sky.
Then, she saw a tall figure gradually appearing around that point of light. He seemed to be a muscular man, currently standing sideways, bow drawn, with an arrow on the string. The arrow at his fingertips glowed like starlight against the night, yet it gathered the power of a thousand thunders. Once he let go, someone would fall under his arrow once more!
Shang Ruyi was taken aback.
Not only was she surprised at why this person appeared and why he wanted to shoot the Imperial Guards around her, but more importantly, she noticed after a careful look that there seemed to be many shadows moving across the river, suggesting there was more than one person. Yet, the point of light was a singular one!
In other words, all the arrows just now were shot by this one person!
To hit the targets in the darkness consecutively in such a short time, without a single miss—this wouldn’t be outdone even by the legendary Yang Youji!
Could it be Yu Wenye?
This name surfaced in her mind, making her heart pound heavily. But immediately, she dismissed this thought.
Though both were Divine Archers, Yu Wenye’s archery was known for its strength, with the power to astound on the battlefield, whereas this person’s arrows boasted more of a graceful dexterity.
But who was he?
The thought flashed briefly in her mind before she set it aside. There was no time to ponder who he was; only one thing mattered now—
To run!
As the people around her, terrified, began to back off, she quickly kicked away the corpse in front of her and took advantage of the chaos to rush out!
Kou Junliang saw her trying to escape and immediately shouted, "Don’t let her escape! Kill her!"
Although the Imperial Guards and soldiers at the periphery heard the frenzied screams at the entrance of the main tent, they didn’t immediately understand what was happening. They only saw that the General’s wife was rushing out of the crowd, and with the supervisor shouting to kill her, they dared not hesitate and quickly gave chase.
Suddenly, another streak of cold light pierced through the air.
The Imperial Guard who was pursuing the closest screamed and fell, clutching his throat, while those following were stunned by this sight and fell behind by several steps.
At this moment, Shang Ruyi understood one thing completely.
This Divine Archer in the dark, moving like a ghost, had come to help her!
As if to confirm her thought, several more arrows swiftly shot out, and the ones trailing Shang Ruyi all screamed, clutching the places where they were hit, and fell to the ground, their cries echoing throughout the entire valley!
Although she didn’t know who the other party was, at this moment, at least they gave her a chance of survival. Shang Ruyi felt slightly relieved, but her feet did not stop, and she ran forward quickly, soon slipping through the gap between two fences.
Behind her, the army camp was already in chaos from the shower of arrows.
Especially Kou Junliang, who, while screaming for those around to protect him, immediately pointed and cursed at those around him to pursue when he saw Shang Ruyi rushing out of the crowd. The Imperial Guards and soldiers were at their wits’ end, and amid the chaos, Shang Ruyi had already fled the camp, leaving the noise and confusion far behind.
She ran desperately, the sound of her footsteps and heavy breathing seemingly amplified countless times, reverberating sharply in the valley.
And inexplicably, she could hear footsteps from across the river.
Just as she turned her head, she saw that point of starlight keeping parallel with her!
This is—
Shang Ruyi was puzzled, but she understood one thing even more: this person was certainly not Yu Wenye. Although they had just saved her, they were now holding a bow parallel to her, indicating that their target was also herself!
However, he wasn’t shooting at her, so what was he planning?
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi looked ahead again and understood instantly—after crossing the Luokou Ferry, the Luo River would suddenly make a huge turn flowing northward, while Huangtu Ridge was on the east after the turn. So, after making this corner, those originally on the south bank of the Luo River didn’t need to cross the river to approach, even to ascend to Huangtu Ridge!
And Huangtu Ridge was where Xingluo Granary was located.
A flash of insight came to Shang Ruyi’s mind, feeling that she understood something. Nonetheless, she did not stop her steps, while running, she quickly searched through the darkness, soon spotting a small road ahead, turning southward!
She immediately ran towards that road.
However, just as she was about to turn, a cold flash appeared in front of her, and an arrow nailed directly at her feet!
Shang Ruyi’s breathing became heavier, she stopped and slowly turned to look across the river. The night seemed darker, the night even more heavy, as she watched that point of cold light tracing a beautiful arc, settling once again.
Once again, aiming at herself!
This meant the other side was stopping her from running towards this path!
So, the other party wanted to force her to continue forward!
And now, she had guessed who the other side was—though she didn’t know exactly who the person was, she knew this extremely accurate Divine Archer was from—
The towering and grand Huangtu Ridge ahead!
He was from Xingluo Granary, in other words, from the Wanggang Army!
Shang Ruyi held her breath, looking at the arrow flashing with cold light in the darkness, yet still firmly aimed at her. In the silent mountain ridge, only the pounding of her heart echoed, almost making it impossible for her to stand stably.
What should she do? She couldn’t escape.
Although she had escaped Kou Junliang’s pursuit, her goal was to find Yu Wenye. Now Yu Wenye was missing, his fate unknown, possibly trapped in Kou Junliang’s treachery. The Yuwen Family could be in unimaginable distress, but if she were captured by the Wanggang Army, the following events were too terrifying to consider.
At this thought, Shang Ruyi bit her lip and turned to leave again.
Yet this time, no arrow came!
Shang Ruyi felt a hint of joy, thinking the other party had let her go. She hurriedly turned intending to run away, but just as she pivoted, she bumped into a tall dark silhouette, nearly stumbling to the ground.
"Ah!"
She let out a hurried, low cry, but before she could fall, a hand grabbed her, yanking her back into a solid chest!
In her panic, Shang Ruyi looked up—
And saw a pair of bright, shining eyes smiling at her in the darkness.