Transmigrated Genius: Fragile Heiress Reigns Supreme-Chapter 722 - 723: Bygone Days (1)
Others might not recognize it, but Fourth Master Xiao was very familiar.
This voice was none other than Xiao Yancheng’s. Fourth Master Xiao stood with his hands behind his back in the darkness, his long eyes seemingly gleaming with light, piercing through the layers of darkness and falling on the person opposite. He raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Where are Mother and Second Brother?"
A silence ensued, with only the Third Madam emitting a whimpering sound.
Xiao Yancheng chuckled lightly and said, "Fourth Brother, what do you think?" He paused, then glanced in the direction where the Third Madam was tied...
It was as if Fourth Master Xiao could predict what he was thinking. He said nothing and snapped his fingers again. After a slight pause, in the darkness, the dry voice of the Third Madam finally sounded. The soldiers of Great Zhou could not understand, as the Third Madam spoke in the local Miao language, her voice filled with agitation...
"Just wait a bit longer, and I’ll take you back." Xiao Yancheng said nonchalantly with a confident demeanor.
Fourth Master Xiao, however, curled his lips, disdain flashing in his eyes, and once again heard Xiao Yancheng speak: "Fourth Brother, how about we make a deal? You can trade Danlan for either Mother or Second Brother." After a pause, he added, "But only one! How about it?"
This was forcing Fourth Master Xiao to make a choice!
"What if I refuse?" Fourth Master Xiao replied in a deep voice.
Xiao Yancheng pressed his lips into a cold smile: "You have no choice. They are in my hands, and as for you... whether you can walk out of this forest alive is still unknown. What makes you think you can refuse!"
"Then let’s see your skills!" Fourth Master Xiao’s lips curled up arrogantly, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes. Instinctively, Xiao Yancheng took a step back, laughed loudly, and replied, "It seems the ten-year feud between us is going to be settled tonight." After a pause, he added, "Do you know where this forest is? This is precisely the jungle of the Wu Luo Mountain Range. Since we started here, let’s end it here!"
Just as Xiao Yancheng finished speaking, a high-pitched, clear note from a bamboo flute pierced through the forest...
There wasn’t a glimmer of light, but the hum of cold weapons clashing was like cold musical notes being played, with the sounds of tearing reverberating through the forest. Third Madam struggled mightily to break the ropes binding her. Suddenly, a short-long-long whistle sounded, causing Third Madam to pause before desperately raising her toe to respond on the ground.
In the midst of the clash of swords and blades, Xiao Yancheng skillfully maneuvered with his men to approach the Third Madam without making a sound. Like a cat on a nighttime patrol, nimble and agile, his arms contracted and released, causing the four soldiers guarding the Third Madam to collapse one by one... 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
"Hush!" Xiao Yancheng placed his finger on his lips, signaling the overjoyed Third Madam to remain silent as he reached out to untie her bonds.
Just as his fingers touched the Third Madam’s, another hand swiftly and accurately clamped onto his arm. Startled, Xiao Yancheng reacted quickly, flipping his hand to stab the dagger he was holding towards the person opposite, but that person moved even faster, easily standing behind Xiao Yancheng, yet not loosening the grip on Xiao Yancheng’s hand.
"It’s been years, and your martial arts have indeed improved greatly!" Xiao Yancheng exclaimed without surprise, pressing the dagger in his fingers against the veins on Fourth Master Xiao’s wrist, the sharp blade likely severing his tendons with a single move.
"But you have deteriorated." Fourth Master Xiao remained utterly still, his voice cold and terrifying: "Do you think our deal still has any necessity now?" Completely ignoring the sharp blade against his wrist, as long as he exerted force, Xiao Yancheng’s only strong arm would become useless.
Xiao Yancheng sneered, unconcerned: "You’re right, our transaction indeed no longer needs to continue now." With that, his lips moved to signal another whistle.
Instantly, a dense sound echoed in the forest, and the soldiers following Fourth Master Xiao were astonished, discerning from the sound that no fewer than five thousand people had arrived.
"Great Governor!" someone whispered softly, quickly gathering around Fourth Master Xiao to protect him in the center. Xiao Yancheng laughed loudly upon hearing this: "Fourth Brother, do you still remember our bet back then? Can you keep your word!"
Five thousand against three hundred, moreover, in the forest where the Miaojiang people excelled, this battle left no room for thought; it was a sure loss.
The soldiers of Great Zhou were already embracing the idea of certain death, tightly gripping their weapons against the enemy.
Fourth Master Xiao remained unmoved, maintaining a tight grip on Xiao Yancheng’s hand without loosening even slightly as a multitude of sounds surged toward them...
They were already surrounded.
From no discernible direction, a long arrow suddenly flew through the air, its piercing whistle grating on the ears, heading straight for Fourth Master Xiao...
"Fourth Master!" Xiqiu awoke from a dream, drenched in cold sweat, leaning on her arms and panting heavily. The terrifying scene she had just envisioned still frightened her. Bihuai, who was on night duty, heard the commotion inside, immediately draped on a coat and walked inside from beyond the screen, lighting the palace lamp in the corner and walking to the bedside to softly ask, "Madam, what’s the matter?" Seeing Xiqiu sitting up clutching the quilt, her face pale, Bihuai was startled, "Why have you sweated so much? Are you feeling unwell?" She said, turning to fetch a small jacket hanging by the bed and draping it over Xiqiu, "I’ll call Nanny Cen."
"No need!" Xiqiu gathered the quilt and shook her head, saying, "I’m alright, just had a nightmare. No need to alarm anyone else. Could you pour me a glass of water?"
Bihuai glanced at Xiqiu, still worried, but seeing her face did appear somewhat better than before, she hesitantly nodded, "I’ll get you some tea." With that, she turned around and picked up a water kettle on the stove in the room, poured a cup, and handed it to Xiqiu. As Xiqiu held the cup and drank a sip, she finally felt the stifled breath in her chest ease up considerably.
"I’ll fetch some water for you to wipe your body, can’t afford to catch a cold!" Saying this, she let down the curtain, moved the stove closer to the bed, and went to the washroom to get water to help Xiqiu wipe and change out of her sweat-soaked clothes.
After changing clothes, Xiqiu lay down again and looked at Bihuai, "I’m alright, you go rest!" With that, she turned over, her voice betraying a sense of loss: "Leave the light on."
Bihuai glanced at Xiqiu worriedly, nodded, and said, "I understand." With that, she lowered the curtain and took the water out.
Yet Xiqiu lay with her eyes wide open, her mind endlessly replaying the recent scene, the barren wilderness strewn with corpses hauntingly vivid. She ran barefooted desperately through the land of corpses, yet couldn’t find Fourth Master Xiao... She shouted with all her might, only to be answered by the vacant echoes of the valley.
Why would she have such a dream!
Xiqiu felt still frightened, worrying that Fourth Master Xiao might truly be in danger. She couldn’t bear to imagine, fiercely shaking her head, trying to dispel the images from her mind.
But her heart continued to pound incessantly.
The military report mentioned that Prince Rong was not in Jiangnan, at least his trace wasn’t found in Jiangnan. He couldn’t possibly have gone to Wei Hui, leaving only one possibility that he went with Xiao Yancheng to Miaojiang.
