princesa xiangsi - Capítulo 32
"Xiao Yuan, did you see the method that Nangong Zhan and Senior Brother Pei used in their duel? Don't be afraid, you must get close to Hang Yisu and keep him occupied. He's using a longsword, so the closer you are to him, the less dangerous it is. Otherwise, you won't be able to dodge his sword energy alone, understand?"
He frowned; it was the first time she had seen him show such anxiety.
"Mmm." She smiled sincerely at him, expressing her heartfelt gratitude for the first time.
Xiao Juyuan's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, because she sensed the strangeness in Pei Junwu's embrace. His entire body was stiff, his muscles practically digging into her skin. His eyes, his eyes… were looking at her!
Was his overwhelming helplessness also because of her?
She had been with him for ten years, and she could sense every unusual expression on his face! For ten years, he had treated her like a brother and a father, pampering and spoiling her. But... the way he looked at her lacked the excitement and longing a man should have when looking at a woman.
Originally, she didn't know what was missing in his eyes when he looked at her, until Li Yuan'er appeared and she saw two expressions in his eyes that she had never seen before!
She hated! She was jealous! So she didn't hesitate to reverse her own inner energy to force Li Yuan'er to fight Hang Yisu. It was truly heaven's help that suddenly the Palace Master of Mie Ling appeared and injured Yi Chunjun! She had calculated that only Li Yuan'er could go!
Hang Yisu's eyes coldly swept over the solitary man standing on the stage. She mustn't disappoint him! Even if the ruthless Hang family swordsmanship couldn't kill Li Yuan'er, it should at least injure her. As long as she didn't have to appear before Brother Wu for a while, that was enough! Lately… fate had helped her time and time again; what harm was one more time? She would make him marry her!
"How come it's you?" Hang Yisu narrowed his charming phoenix eyes, not too surprised.
"Okay, let's do it." Words were useless. Xiao Yuan would gather his inner energy and entangle her, right? Now that the moment had come, his gleaming longsword still frightened her somewhat. Her heart started pounding again; this was no good sign!
Hang Yisu raised his hand, about to say, "You go first." A gust of wind hissed past, carrying a deep chill. He dodged, thinking someone was about to ambush him, but the wind grazed past him, its target being—Li Yuan'er!
"Watch out!" he whispered, but it was no use. If this person had ambushed him, he might not have been able to dodge it either, let alone her, who was weak and frail!
"Ah!" Xiao Yuan gasped softly as a gust of icy wind brushed past her ears, precisely knocking off her mask. A few strands of hair at her temples were frosted with white.
She steadied herself, genuinely startled. She glanced at Yi Chunjun, whose face was grim in the distance, standing in the decorated tent. Was this fox trying to get her to use her beauty to seduce him?! She glared at him, and he gave a shameless smile, his expression softening somewhat.
"Let's do it." She glanced back at Hang Yisu, but he didn't say anything, just stared blankly at her face, not reacting for a long time.
She felt a little embarrassed and instinctively turned her face away to avoid his direct gaze, only to find that the once noisy crowd had fallen silent. Everyone was staring at her, and no one spoke.
She stomped her foot in embarrassment and annoyance. Being stared at like that by so many people suddenly made her feel flustered and helpless! Damn Yi Chunjun, she couldn't help but glare at him fiercely. He had suddenly exposed her disguise in public, and she was quite embarrassed!
He could only give her a wry smile. As long as he could bewitch Hang Yisu and make him unable to bear hurting her, he didn't care how much she hated or resented him.
"Do it." Seeing that Hang Yisu was frozen there for a long time without reacting, she had no choice but to urge him again.
"I..." Hang Yisu's chest heaved, but he couldn't finish his sentence.
"Get this over with!" She was getting impatient! She simply flew forward and struck out with her palm, but to her surprise, Hang Yisu didn't dodge and took the blow squarely.
Fortunately, her internal strength was shallow, and he only managed a slight groan when she hit him; otherwise, the outcome would have been decided.
There was still no sound from the audience; everyone stared intently, no one booing or jeering at Hang Yisu's erratic behavior, as if they were statues of wood or clay.
"Young Master Hang!" she said, increasingly embarrassed and annoyed. "You fought hard for three days just to stand here in a daze?!"
Hang Yisu stiffened and slowly lowered his eyes. "Then... young lady, be careful!"
He finally made his move, and even with each strike carefully controlled, she struggled to keep up. Every time his blade barely grazed her body, a gasp of alarm rose from the crowd; everyone's eyes, everyone's hearts… were fixed on her!
With a hiss, Hang Yisu's sword tip ripped through her sleeve, and crimson blood spurted out, staining her sleeve with a shocking pattern!
"Ah..." Everyone exclaimed in surprise.
"Miss Li!" Even more panicked than the injured woman was the person who had hurt her. Hang Yisu simply put down his sword and looked at her with distress.
"No! Again!" She was enraged by his pity. Yes, she was weak, but she didn't need pity! Was he only doing this because she was pretty? If she weren't beautiful, he would have knocked her off the stage without hesitation, wouldn't he?
In front of all the heroes of the world, his pity would only be an insult to her! She would rather he defeat her in one move!
Hang Yisu frowned in annoyance, "Miss Li, there should be some understanding, I..."
"No need to say more, you should have done it long ago! Haven't you made me look bad enough on this stage?!" She glared at him irritably.
Hang Yisu lunged forward with his sword raised, but suddenly Li Yuan'er stood up, her clothes fluttering. She looked panicked, like a puppet being pulled on strings. With a thud, she pushed Hang Yisu off the stage, causing him to cough up several mouthfuls of blood. He had clearly suffered severe internal injuries.
Everyone was utterly shocked, screaming in agony, completely dumbfounded.
Xiao Yuan was slowly and gently placed back on the stage by a strong force. It took her a while to come to her senses. She pressed her hand to her chest. Who was behind such a strong force?
This person's internal strength is even slightly inferior to that of Pei Junwu and Yi Chunjun!
Who is it?
The Smiling Flower, Chapter 31: Gazing Deeper
Tuoba Yuanxun rushed onto the stage and picked up Xiao Yuan in his arms. "Are you alright? The blood is still flowing! Senior Brother Yi, Senior Brother Pei..." He anxiously looked around and shouted, like a child who couldn't find his mother.
Xiao Yuan smiled at him affectionately, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Carry me down first." Yuan Xun, oh Yuan Xun, you're always so impulsive and can't tell what's important. So many people are watching, yet you're making such a fuss over her injury.
She looked around, but no one seemed to be the one who had helped her; even the Palace Master of Mieling Palace was nowhere to be seen. She had so many questions to ask him, and it was good that he was in Sichuan!
Tuoba Yuanxun carried her off the stage, and she saw Yan Minyu standing next to Hang Yisu with tears in her eyes. Yan Minyu looked at her with some difficulty, but was reluctant to leave Hang Yisu behind.
"Senior sister, I'm fine. You stay and take care of Young Master Hang." She looked at her and gave her an encouraging smile.
"Mmm." Yan Minyu nodded emphatically, her eyes fixed on Hang Yisu, unable to look away.
"You still say you're alright?" Yi Chunjun arrived, his smile seeming more like a sign of anger. He glanced at her injuries and instructed Tuoba Yuanxun, "Take her back to her room first; it's inconvenient to treat her injuries here." He coldly swept over the infatuated gazes around him, a strange light in his eyes shining even brighter. Xiaoyuan looked at him, puzzled. Was he angry? She wasn't sure.
"No, I'm not going back," she said firmly, shaking her shoulder to signal Yuanxun to put her down. It was the first time she'd been injured and bled so much; she was panicked and scared, but gradually realized it wasn't so unbearable, and that she still had things she needed to do.
"Help me stop the bleeding." She looked at Yi Chunjun, and he looked at her, his brows gradually furrowing. Finally, he pressed the acupoints on her arm to stop the bleeding.