Palace Coup 34

The cliff was merely a rumor she had overheard from the farmhands. Xie Miaoxuan did not actually know its precise location, only vaguely recalling it was somewhere to the east of the manor. But with the situation forcing her hand, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and lead the way.

After walking for a full two-quarter hour, the path ahead remained a dense, tangled forest. The leader’s expression grew dark. Xie Miaoxuan quickly spoke up, "It's just ahead, we’re almost there."

Her face was pale, her expression anxious. Afraid he wouldn't believe her, she gestured earnestly, "Once we pass this thicket, there’s a flat slope, and the cliff is just beyond it. Everyone, watch your step—be careful of landslides."

The leader frowned. Had he not seen Xie Miaoxuan trembling with fear, teeth clenched, and feigning composure despite her pain, he would have suspected she was toying with them. He shoved her, sending her stumbling forward. "Move!"

As they emerged from the forest, the terrain began to shift, sloping downward. Xie Miaoxuan breathed a silent sigh of relief; she had truly stumbled upon luck.

As the men in black looked ahead, scouting for the cliff edge, Xie Miaoxuan—who had been feigning weakness—seized the moment. She lunged forward, shielding her head, and rolled down the slope like a snowball, gathering speed with every turn.

The leader’s face changed drastically. Realizing he had been deceived by the seemingly innocent girl, his eyes turned vicious. He pulled out a bamboo tube and blew into it sharply.

While still tumbling, Xie Miaoxuan felt a sharp sting in her waist, followed by an agonizing, bone-deep pain.

*Whoosh.* A long sword plunged into the ground just three feet in front of her.

The snowy blade faced her; if she rolled just a few more breaths, she would have collided with it, the razor-sharp tip likely slicing her in two. In that flash of lightning, Xie Miaoxuan’s pupils contracted to pinpricks, her heart hammering like a drum.

She refused to die so wretchedly.

She clawed desperately at the soil beneath her, but it did nothing to halt her momentum. Xie Miaoxuan squeezed her eyes shut.

Suddenly, her waist was tightened, and she felt herself being hoisted into the air.

"My lady."

The scent of sandalwood mixed with the metallic tang of blood filled her nose. Light fell upon Xie Yuanju’s face, his features blurred and unreadable, though a monstrous, towering killing intent radiated from him.

"Who gave you the gall to hurt her?"

This was the first time Xie Miaoxuan had seen Xie Yuanju kill at such close range. He was a young master as elegant as jade, yet he fused that grace with a chilling, eerie lethality, like a jade-faced Yama risen from the underworld.

Blessed with innate strength, he held her firmly in one arm, shielding her, while his other hand moved with fluid, deadly precision, his sword finding the throats of the encroaching men in black.

Dozens of the black-clad men were cut down like stalks of wheat. Heads flew high and struck the earth, painting the ground with a grim, scarlet totem.

Everything was stained crimson. The leader exchanged a few blows with him before desperately trying to flee, but Xie Yuanju’s sword was already notched. He casually drove the blade into a fallen man's skull and delivered a ferocious palm strike to the leader’s chest.

There was a sickening, crunching pop as the man’s heart shattered. The leader died instantly, his heart ruptured on the spot.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the men who had forced her into a corner were either decapitated or left with shattered hearts, littering the ground.

Only then did Xie Yuanju find the time to check on Xie Miaoxuan. The girl in his arms was pale and bruised, her eyes wet as if in immense pain.

Xie Miaoxuan still managed a toothy smile. "The spike was poisoned."

The abrupt, disjointed remark made Xie Yuanju’s brows knit deeply. He scanned her body quickly and saw her clothes torn at the lower back, where dark, tainted blood was oozing out.

He quickly carried her away from the carnage, finding a water source. "Pardon the intrusion," he said, before tearing open her bodice.

Beneath the outer garments, she wore only a bodice embroidered with large peonies. He squeezed his eyes shut, gently pressing her onto his knee. Opening his eyes again, his gaze was calm and focused. He quickly moved aside the remaining fabric, exposing her smooth, slender back.

On the porcelain-white skin of her lower right back, a large, dark, festering patch was spreading. He pressed his fingers against the toxic spike, squeezed hard until the head of the barb emerged, and yanked it out.

*Cough, cough... pfft.*

Xie Miaoxuan felt the world spin, and black blood sprayed from her lips. She wanted to ask him to be gentler, but then felt another jolt of pain in her lower back. Something warm pressed against her skin, followed by a sensation of suction that sent a wave of heat and numbness to her brain.

He... he was sucking out the poison with his mouth!

Xie Miaoxuan couldn't help but let out a soft moan, but realizing what was happening, she reflexively closed her eyes and played dead.

After drawing out the toxic blood, he tore a piece of his own garment, dampened it, wiped the wound, and bound it. Feeling the dizziness recede, she was carefully lifted into a half-sitting position. She whispered, "My arm... it's broken."

Xie Yuanju, who had been about to dress her, froze. Only then did he notice her right arm hanging at an unnatural angle. As he tried to dress her, the movement caused her to cry out, "Pain... it hurts!"

Her skin was slick with sweat, and his hands could barely keep a grip. Both of them were beaded with cold sweat.

Left with no choice, Xie Yuanju discarded the clothing, pulled the half-nude Xie Miaoxuan into his arms to hold her steady, and prepared to set the bone.

The girl’s gaze followed his large hand toward her shoulder. Even as she bit her lip, the panic of her pain was evident in her eyes. Xie Yuanju sighed internally. He used his legs to pin her body in place, and with the arm circling her, he covered her fluttering eyes. His voice was hoarse. "Don't look."

Her vision went dark, and she heard two sharp, crisp cracks.

"Ah!"

For an instant, her entire arm felt as if it had been severed from her body, then it was back in place.

Xie Yuanju hurriedly draped her clothes around her. Her head was buried in his chest, feeling heavy and muddled.

She spoke, her voice muffled against him. "How did you find me?"

There was no reply for a long time, only the thumping of his heart against her ear. Xie Yuanju tried to pull her back, but she said, "Don't move. I'm dizzy. Let me lean for a while."

Xie Yuanju stiffened, remaining as still as a stone statue, allowing her to lean on him.

"I left a signal flare with Daniu before I left. I told him if you encountered any unsolvable danger, I would return immediately upon seeing it."

"Benlei and Zhuifeng are a pair. I followed Zhuifeng’s scent to the forest. The mountain paths were difficult, so to save time, I used light-footwork for the latter half of the journey."

"And Daniu?"

"His pace is a step behind mine; he should be right behind."

"That's not good," Xie Miaoxuan said. "There were over thirty of these men, split into two groups. You killed the dozen or so chasing me, but there are still others left. I'm afraid Daniu might run into them. We need to go check on him immediately."