The two escorts with arrows in their legs had been lying prone on the hilltop the whole time, searching for traces of the enemy archers.
They had found nothing earlier, but this time, when the shot was fired at Da Niu, one of them finally spotted the culprit.
“Old Seventh, I’ve got him! Two o’clock direction, behind those round boulders in the bushes. That’s where the bastard is hiding!”
“I see his clothes! The turtle, he was concealed really well!”
The other escort shouted, “Fourth Brother, I’ll shoot left, you shoot right. Don’t let him escape!”
“Got it!”
The two had long developed perfect coordination. They pulled their crossbow triggers almost simultaneously.
Swish! Swish!
Two arrows flew side by side into the bushes.
The next instant, a man completely covered in camouflage tumbled out.
“Turtle! Finally took you down!”
Da Niu spat a mouthful of blood toward the foot of the hill.
In the moment he was distracted, two bandits on his left swung their hatchets at his neck.
Just as the blades were about to strike, Qin’er suddenly grabbed Da Niu by the collar and yanked him violently backward.
The burly Da Niu was dragged back by Qin’er with a single hand.
The two hatchets sliced through empty air, missing his chest by a hair’s breadth.
Cui’er immediately flashed forward to take Da Niu’s place.
Yet before Cui’er could steady herself, a bandit who had previously only been skirmishing on the edges suddenly launched a ferocious assault with his hatchet.
His attack looked overwhelmingly fierce, but it was completely chaotic, clearly the random chopping style typical of bandits.
After fighting for so long, Cui’er was thoroughly familiar with bandit tactics. She prepared to find an opening and finish this one off first.
Before she could, the bandit suddenly lashed out with a kick toward her stomach.
Cui’er instinctively stepped back.
Based on the bandit’s earlier performance, she should easily have avoided the kick.
Yet somehow this previously unremarkable bandit suddenly moved a fraction faster than she did.
Unable to dodge in time, Cui’er took the full force of the kick and was sent flying.
“This is bad, a hidden expert!”
Cui’er instantly realised the danger.
But worse was still to come.
The moment Cui’er was kicked into the air, two arrows streaked up from below, one aimed at her throat, the other at her heart!
With no way to borrow force while airborne, Cui’er could only twist her waist at the cost of her balance to evade the arrows.
They were too fast. She barely avoided the one aimed at her throat; the second struck her squarely in the chest.
Cui’er landed on the slope with a thud. With her last strength she turned to look at the Ninth Princess, then closed her eyes forever.
Her body rolled down the hillside.
“Cui’er!”
Watching the little companion she had grown up with die before her eyes, Zhu’er felt pain like a knife twisting in her heart.
Yet she could not leave the princess’s side, could not take revenge for her friend.
The Ninth Princess’s expression remained as calm as ever, but the fists hidden in her sleeves clenched tight!
Everything had happened too quickly. From Qin’er pulling Da Niu back to Cui’er being struck, it had taken only a few breaths.
A few breaths earlier a lively, leaping person had been alive; now she was gone forever.
But the battlefield is no place for grief or sentiment. Qin’er did not even have time to glance again at Cui’er’s body before throwing herself back into the fight.
She casually tossed Da Niu to the ground, stepped forward to replace Cui’er, and blocked the hidden expert who was trying to charge uphill!
Da Niu sat on the ground, completely stunned.
In his eyes Cui’er had been invincible. Just like that, she was gone?
The two escorts on the hilltop were equally dumbfounded.
“Old Seventh, didn’t we already kill their archer…?”
“There must have been another one lying low!”
Old Seventh punched the ground. “Fourth Brother, I’ll find this turtle. You cover Miss Qin’er!”
“Understood!”
Arrows were running low; good steel had to be used on the blade’s edge.
Old Fourth raised his crossbow, trying to line up a shot at the expert fighting Qin’er.
But the expert was prepared and kept harassing from Qin’er’s far side. Old Fourth could find no clear angle.
Just as the two sides were locked in fierce combat, another group of bandits appeared below, each carrying a shield.
By now the escorts and guards were heavily depleted. Even Da Niu had rejoined the fight. No one could be spared to intercept these new arrivals.
The shield squad charged straight to the summit in one burst.
Some split off toward Old Fourth and Old Seventh who had been shooting from hiding; the rest made directly for the Ninth Princess and Zhu’er.
With no reinforcements left, Zhu’er could only position the princess behind a huge boulder while she herself joined the fray.
Knowing Zhu’er was formidable, the shield squad did not trade blows with her. They simply surrounded her with shields, ramming and crowding.
This forced Zhu’er to break through the shields before she could kill the bandits behind them. Not only did it drain her stamina rapidly, it also neutralised her speed advantage.
Moreover, the summit was too large for Zhu’er to guard every approach.
The Ninth Princess was wise and calm, but her martial ability was ordinary. If even one bandit slipped past Zhu’er, it would spell disaster for her!
“To think I would actually die in a place like this?”
Watching the bandits close in, bitterness and unwillingness filled the princess’s heart.
Ever since she was thirteen and learned of the oppression the Dangxiang and Khitan inflicted on border peoples, the Ninth Princess had resolved to revive Da Kang.
While other princesses schemed and fought for favour, she studied.
While others embroidered wedding gowns and dreamed of future husbands, she pored over classics.
While others wept at their weddings, she pondered Da Kang’s future.
At last Emperor Chen Ji noticed this book-loving daughter. After testing her knowledge, he was delighted and, before the entire court, proclaimed her the most talented woman under heaven.
From then on she became a regular visitor to the imperial study.
At first she only brewed tea and ground ink for Chen Ji. Gradually she began helping with routine memorials.
Eventually Chen Ji, who disliked politics, simply handed most memorials to her.
The Ninth Princess proved more than capable; she often handled matters better than the emperor himself.
It could fairly be said that Da Kang had not yet collapsed in part because of her efforts.
At first the court officials thought it merely a little joke between father and daughter and paid no heed. But as her involvement grew, princes and ministers whose interests were affected became dissatisfied.
Thus the Ninth Princess chose the path of a marriage alliance, determined to help Da Kang escape its plight by other means.
She was proud, and she was calm.
She knew perfectly well what fate awaited if she fell into bandit hands.
So, though she knew she was no match, she still picked up a long knife from the ground and readied herself to fight!
She readied herself to die.
Only unwillingness filled her heart.
Just as the Ninth Princess prepared to rush out and aid Zhu’er, a sudden clamour rose from below.
She looked down and saw, at the foot of the hill, a dazzling white light flare up.
Even from this distance it made her eyes sting.
When her vision cleared, she saw a troop dressed in black uniforms appear at the base of the hill.
A handsome young man stood at the front of the formation. He raised a hand toward the summit in a signal to attack.
Behind him, a great black banner snapped in the wind…
Whether because her eyes had been dazzled by the flash or because joy had overcome her, tears suddenly welled up in the Ninth Princess’s eyes!
