Dongfang Heng gathered his strength, about to speak, when his expression suddenly changed: "An assassin!"
Outside the circle of corpses, dozens of men in black appeared, wielding long swords, their eyes cold and murderous as they stared at Shen Lixue and Dongfang Heng.
“Prince An, do you still have the strength to fight us?” Another leader in black stepped forward, his eyes peeking out from behind a black mask as he looked at Dongfang Heng with a mocking expression.
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; you are quite clever!" Dongfang Heng stood up, coldly staring at the man in black. He first sent a team of assassins to deplete the man's inner strength and lower his guard. When the man killed the assassins, exhausted all his inner strength and willpower, and was unable to resist, he sent someone to finish him off. The plan was not ingenious, but it was very practical.
"Hehe!" The man in black looked at Dongfang Heng, smiling without saying a word!
"Taking advantage of someone's vulnerability, even if you kill them, isn't your true ability. Don't you feel ashamed?" Shen Lixue stepped forward, her eyes full of mockery as she looked at the man in black.
She could sense that Dongfang Heng was extremely weak and probably couldn't even handle one man in black. She could escape on her own, but with Dongfang Heng in tow, the chances of her breaking through the encirclement were practically nonexistent. The only option now was to stall for time and let the nearby guards notice the anomaly and come over.
Dongfang Heng is really something. The fighting noise when he killed the man in black was so quiet that it didn't even alert the nearby officials.
"Miss Shen, there's no need for you to try to provoke us; it won't work!" The leader in black looked at Shen Lixue and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Assassins only care about the result, not the process, and certainly not the means!"
"Kill Dongfang Heng!" The leader in black gave a cold order, and the men in black swarmed forward again. Shen Lixue's eyes turned cold, and she flicked her wrist, sending silver needles flying at the men in black. Several men in black fell to the ground, and more men in black rushed over.
Shen Lixue narrowed her eyes slightly, just as she was about to take the soft sword from Dongfang Heng's hand and wield it, ten guards descended from the sky, protecting Dongfang Heng and Shen Lixue in the middle, and quickly thrust their long swords at the swarming black-clad men.
They arrived just in time, and Shen Lixue secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Cough cough cough!" Dongfang Heng coughed heavily a few times, blood seeping out from between his fingers, meandering down his jade-like fingers...
"Your illness has flared up!" Shen Lixue frowned deeply.
"It's nothing!" Dongfang Heng had barely finished speaking when several more streaks of blood seeped out.
"You're so sick, yet it's nothing serious!" Shen Lixue glared at Dongfang Heng. Beside her, ten guards were dealing with dozens of assassins, and even if they won, it would take some time. Dongfang Heng's illness had flared up, and they couldn't wait.
"Let's go to a safe place quickly, I'll help you suppress your symptoms!" Shen Lixue pulled Dongfang Heng to his feet and was about to leave when Dongfang Heng moved, coughed up another mouthful of blood, and collapsed softly to the ground.
"Dongfang Heng!" Shen Lixue exclaimed in surprise and quickly helped him up.
Dongfang Heng's face was pale, and his eyes were unfocused. He was about to fall into a coma. Shen Lixue gritted her teeth and walked to Dongfang Heng's side: "I'll carry you!"
Dongfang Heng was taken aback: "I am very heavy, can you carry me?"
"Stop talking nonsense. You've already had a relapse. If you don't get treatment soon, you'll die." Shen Lixue replied to Dongfang Heng in an annoyed tone, grabbed his arm, and carried him on her back.
Dongfang Heng lay on Shen Lixue's back, his feet still on the ground, his arms wrapped around Shen Lixue's fair neck and hanging down to her chest. Looking at Shen Lixue's forehead, which was slightly sweaty as soon as she put her back on his back, Dongfang Heng's lips curled up slightly.
Dongfang Heng was seriously ill, and Shen Lixue dared not delay. Carrying him on her back, she avoided the assassins' attacks and moved forward quickly under the protection of the secret guards.
They actually got away! Watching Shen Lixue and Dongfang Heng's retreating figures, the black-clad leader gritted his teeth in anger and roared, "Chase them!"
In the shadows, several black figures flashed past quickly, heading straight for Shen Lixue and Dongfang Heng.
Dongfang Heng was taller and heavier than Shen Lixue. Although Shen Lixue had martial arts skills, it was still very difficult for her to carry him. She frowned and panted heavily as she ran. Why was Dongfang Heng so heavy?
A layer of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, and the sounds of fighting had faded away. Shen Lixue was pondering whether to stop and rest when she suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder, as if something was pressing down on it.
Shen Lixue was startled and turned around to look. Dongfang Heng had his eyes closed, his brows were furrowed, and his face was full of pain. His condition had worsened, and he had completely fallen into a coma.
"Dongfang Heng, can you hear me?" Shen Lixue asked urgently.
Dongfang Heng did not answer, his brows furrowed tightly, his large hands gripping his clothes, his expression of pain growing stronger.
His condition has worsened again!
Shen Lixue took a deep breath and, without pausing, carried Dongfang Heng on her back and moved forward quickly, her usually cold eyes filled with anxiety: "Dongfang Heng, just hang in there a little longer, you'll be able to take your medicine soon!"
Three men in black appeared about five or six meters behind Shen Lixue. They did not approach, but instead exchanged glances. Sharp hidden weapons flew like arrows from a bow, swiftly shooting towards various acupoints on Shen Lixue and Dongfang Heng's body.
The unconscious Dongfang Heng suddenly opened his eyes, his cold, arrogant gaze sweeping over the three assassins. A hint of disdain flashed in his deep eyes, and a sharp palm strike swept across the hidden weapons.
"Swoosh! Swoosh!" The hidden weapon instantly changed direction and reflected back at its original owner, deeply embedding itself in various vital acupoints. Its speed was so fast that no one had time to dodge. The three men in black stared at Dongfang Heng in disbelief, their eyes wide open, and one after another fell to the ground dead: they couldn't understand how Dongfang Heng, who was clearly so sick that he had no strength left, could still use his internal energy to deflect their hidden weapons.
A faint sound, mixed with a murderous aura, drifted in on the wind. Shen Lixue was startled and looked around abruptly. The surroundings were empty, without a single person in sight. Dongfang Heng rested his head on her shoulder, his eyes slightly closed. It was unclear whether he was asleep or had fainted from the pain.
Dongfang Heng was seriously ill and urgently needed medicine. Shen Lixue carried him to the nearest Prime Minister's residence. The Prime Minister's residence was the residence of a high-ranking official, and assassins would not dare to act recklessly there. It was a suitable place to treat his injuries.
Quietly entering the Prime Minister's residence through the back door, Shen Lixue carried Dongfang Heng to the Bamboo Garden.
Shen Yingxue was seriously injured. Lei Shi and Shen Minghui had been busy for most of the day and had already fallen asleep. No one came to cause trouble for Shen Lixue, and Shen Lixue returned to the Bamboo Garden smoothly.
Shen Lixue placed Dongfang Heng on her soft, carved bed and shook him vigorously: "Dongfang Heng, what's the prescription? I'll go brew the medicine for you."
Dongfang Heng slowly opened his eyes, his deep gaze filled with bloodshot veins and exhaustion. With all his might, he pointed to his chest: "Here... is medicine..."
"You've turned the medicine into pills!" Shen Lixue asked, her small hand reaching inside Dongfang Heng's clothes to pull out a small bag. She quickly opened it, and a faint medicinal fragrance wafted out: "Is this the medicine?"
Seeing Dongfang Heng nod, Shen Lixue quickly took out a pill, put it in Dongfang Heng's mouth, and fed him a few sips of water so that the pill could dissolve as soon as possible.
After taking the medicine, Dongfang Heng's pale complexion improved, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he closed his eyes gently, breathing evenly.
Finally, everything is alright! Shen Lixue breathed a sigh of relief. She helped Dongfang Heng remove his boots and coat, carefully helped him lie down, covered him with a blanket, and then fetched water to gently wipe the blood from his mouth and hands!
After finishing all this, it was already quite late. Looking at the peaceful sleeping face of Dongfang Heng, Shen Lixue gently lowered the curtain, stretched her aching body, and dragged her weary steps behind the screen.
After running hot water to wash away her fatigue, Shen Lixue hugged her quilt and lay down on the soft couch by the window. After Dongfang Heng's illness flared up, he needed to rest for several hours to recover. It was already past midnight, and it would be bright outside when he woke up. She wasn't worried that anything else might go wrong with him.
After fighting for most of the night and carrying Dongfang Heng on her back for a long time, Shen Lixue was truly exhausted. She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.
The instant she fell asleep, a barely audible sound came from outside. Dongfang Heng, who was fast asleep in bed, suddenly opened his eyes, threw off the covers, got out of bed, and his slender figure swept over many obstacles, instantly arriving at the window. He coldly asked the empty space, "How is it?"
A figure dressed in black appeared out of nowhere and reported, "Your Highness, as you instructed, I deliberately let a black-clad assassin go. The assassin went to a house in the suburbs..."