On the other side.
After all, the poison Xingyi had thrown out was not smoke bombs. When those men in black found out they were taken in, they quickened their pace in hunting them furiously.
Even though she had met countless fierce enemies before, Xingyi was startled into a cold sweat. âThose assassins must have been bewitched!â she thought. Having no time to check the wound on her arm, she clenched her teeth and grabbed Prince Muâs clothes tightly while rushing forward, in spite of the burning pain. She was just a servant, and it was not a big deal even if she died. But in any case, she must ensure her masterâs safety!
Even though the wind was howling, she still could hear swords clashing behind her. Terrified, she felt the atmosphere around her in the darkness more eerie and terrifying, and the road ahead seemed endless.
She thought Liu Wuyi must have set up the formation using the local materials. How come she did not even see a single tree after running for so long?
Though she grew tense, Xingyi did not dare to slow down. She kept running desperately until the one she was holding tightly suddenly moved.
As if she had seen a lamp suddenly lighted up in the darkness, the exhausted Xingyi was overjoyed and without giving it much thought, she cried out, âYour Highness!â
After a while, Nangong Du, who had just woken up, gradually came back to his senses. However, he was still very weak and his voice was hoarse. âXingyi?â
Hearing her masterâs response, the loyal maidservant felt her heart skip a beat and she almost forgot to breathe. âI was so stupid! Those people who were hunting us behind in darkness would know our whereabouts if they heard I call Prince Mu!â
Noticing Xingyiâs nervousness, Nangong Du became alert. He managed to gather his internal force and immediately sensed the strong murderous aura around them, which made him grow tense in an instant. He remembered he had been with Yan Ke and his disciples on the way before he blacked out, so he instinctively thought that the Yans were going to kill him to avenge Liu Zixiu. But next, he denied his assumption. If the Yans wanted to get rid of him, they did not have to wait so long! Besides, there were more than three people behind them. Who could those people be? How come Xingyi suddenly showed up hereâ¦
Because of his illness, the intelligent prince was not as quick-witted as usual. Hearing no more response from her master, Xingyi was more certain that she had revealed their whereabouts to the assassins by accident, so she tried even harder to get rid of the pursuers.
After quite a while when he finally realized that Xingyi was just running around in a panic, Nangong Du gave the order decisively, âStop!â
Xingyi was stupefied by this. But after hesitating for a short moment, she went on running. She had sensed an abnormal change in Prince Muâs temperature, so she only thought that her master said this because he was delirious with fever.
In order to prove that he was still clear-headed, Nangong Du added, âIf you donât want to meet them, stop right away!â
After realizing that his master was sober-minded, Xingyi stopped with butterflies in her stomach. To her surprise, as soon as she stopped, she touched the trunk of a tree! She widened her eyes, but before she could figure out what was going on, she suddenly saw a cluster of fire flickering before her eyes!
Nangong Du had just lit a paper roll!
âYour Highness?â Again, she couldnât help but think that Prince Mu was delirious with fever!
Without looking at her, Nangong Du took out a piece of paper from his pocket in the dim light of the burning paper roll. It was the formation map he had forced Liu Wuyi to draw the other day.
âIsnât Prince Mu worried that the assassins will follow the light and find us?â Xingyi wondered, full of doubt and worry.
With a sneer, Nangong Du suddenly said, âSomeone from the imperial palace wants to kill me!â
â?â Xingyi froze on the spot. When she suddenly realized that Prince Mu had figured out why she hurried to Mount Windward, she couldnât help but widen her eyes again. How could Prince Mu know?
Nangong Du looked at the formation map carefully with a calm look. A moment later, he said, âXingyi, you were too careless!â
Knowing that her master was complaining that she had not noticed being followed, Xingyi felt very guilty. âI should be blamed for that. Your Highness, pleaseâ¦â
âI should be blamed as well for my negligence!â Nangong Du interrupted Xingyi, showing no intent to blame her. âSeems we have no choice but to put up a desperate fight!â
âA desperate fight?â Xingyi was stunned. âIs Prince Mu going to confront the assassins head-on?
Nangong Du had figured out what was on her mind. He waved the map in his hand and continued, âItâs inevitable to take risks, but not now!â
As Xingyi expected, those assassins would follow the light to track them. However, in this dark jungle, unless both parties were walking on the correct path at the beginning, or even they had seen the light, those people could not get them. Even if the light was just around the corner, the distance between the two sides could not be surpassed. That was what was so great about the formation!
Nangong Du also thought of this and that was why he was daring enough to expose his own whereabouts. With the help of the formation map, he could not only get out of danger without difficulty but also trap those assassins. Wouldnât it be nice to kill two birds with one stone?
As the faint light was quite eye-catching in the darkness, at the same time, it also attracted the attention of the two defeated physicians who suddenly wised up! Though they did not remember the way into the valley because they had been so focused on Nangong Du, their Uncle Liu had personally instructed them how to get out of the valley!