Impératrice douairière Xiaoxuan

Chapitre 130

"..."

“If it had been hunted before, it would have been even more difficult to catch it…” Mo Yan was still speaking when Zhao Yu, standing beside her, sullenly led his horse past her, “…Princess, wait for me.”

Without turning his head, Zhao Yu said from afar, "You should throw away that tuft of hair first."

"oh."

Mo Yan shook her hand, threw the fur away, and seeing that she had fallen to the back of the group, she hurriedly caught up.

Chapter Sixty-Two

A small border town, a dilapidated inn.

The Liao man who sold leather goods had been here for three or four days. When he arrived, he had almost sold all the leather goods he had. He bought some rice and flour to take back with him and was now checking out of the shop.

Madam Fang sat at the table, sipping her tea intermittently. Compared to usual, the person who came to meet her this time was two days late, and she couldn't help but feel a little anxious, glancing towards the door from time to time.

The Liao man checked out of the room and returned to the table, placing his rice and flour bags at his feet. He tiptoed over his money bag, which was clearly quite heavy, so he ordered wine and meat from the waiter. After eating his fill, he continued on his journey.

As they were eating, a woman dressed in a coarse cloth robe and with her face covered by a black cloth hurried past the door. Given the strong winds and sandstorms in the northern frontier, covering one's face with a cloth was not unusual, so no one in the shop paid her any attention. Only Madam Fang, upon seeing the woman pass by, calmly got up and went out, strolling in the direction the woman had gone.

As soon as she turned away, the Liao man gulped down the wine in his bowl, threw the loose silver on the table, hoisted the rice and flour bags onto his shoulder, and strode out of the inn.

The street was bustling with people. The Liao man walked leisurely about seven or eight zhang away from Madam Fang, occasionally glancing down at the goods on both sides of the road. The wind in the border region was quite strong, carrying sand and dust. Although the Liao man's hair was disheveled and covered his face, when he raised his hand to brush away the dust, his handsome face was vaguely visible. It was Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao's room at the inn was next to Madam Fang's. He had barely slept these past few days, especially after following Madam Fang so cautiously, neither too close nor too far, and without giving himself away. Having determined that Madam Fang was indeed heading towards the town, he took a detour and arrived at this inn ahead of her, so as not to arouse her suspicion. While at the inn, he kept a close eye on Madam Fang's movements, trying to find out who she was meeting. Only today, with all the furs sold, and fearing he would give himself away if he didn't leave, did he reluctantly check out, intending to continue his investigation in the shadows. Unexpectedly, he finally encountered the person before leaving.

What was even more unexpected was that the newcomer was also a woman. Zhan Zhao gazed at the two figures, one in black and one in white, from afar, daring not to underestimate them in the slightest. Even someone as skilled as Hai Dongqing had been poisoned by Madam Fang's needles, so he knew his own skills were inferior to Hai Dongqing's, and therefore needed to be even more cautious.

As the crowd thinned out, Zhan Zhao slowed his pace, not daring to get too close. The masked woman walked to a dilapidated house that appeared to be uninhabited, glanced around, and slipped inside when no one was looking. Madam Fang hurried a few steps and followed her into the house.

From afar, Zhan Zhao could see clearly, but he didn't want to enter. Firstly, the situation inside was unclear, the space was cramped, and the other party was a highly skilled fighter; he would easily be discovered. According to Hai Dongqing, he had relied on his superior skills and daring to eavesdrop on their conversation, but was discovered. During his struggle with Madam Fang, Hai Dongqing had the upper hand, but the limited space prevented him from maneuvering properly when Madam Fang fired her syringe, resulting in him being poisoned and his attempt failing. Secondly, his purpose in coming here was to find out who the contact was, that is, to find out the identity of the masked woman and the mastermind behind her. To avoid further complications, he decided to wait in the outer room as a precaution.

With a quick glance, he chose the tallest tree nearby, and silently leaped up, hiding among the branches and leaves, taking in the house from above. This way, he could clearly see the veiled woman either emerging from the backyard or leaping over the wall.

Nearly two hours later, Madam Fang emerged from the house, leaving through the same door as before. She looked around briefly before gracefully retracing her steps.

A little while later, the masked woman also came out of the house. Sure enough, she didn't go in front, but left through the back door. Zhan Zhao caught a glimpse of Madam Fang's back disappearing around the street corner. She probably hadn't noticed him, so he quietly jumped down from the tree and followed the masked woman from a distance.

After following her for a while, Zhan Zhao couldn't help but wonder. The masked woman didn't seem to have any martial arts skills, and she walked with a slender, willow-like gait. If it weren't for her coarse clothes and her appearance in this desolate border region, she would have looked like a young lady from a wealthy family.

The veiled woman walked to a desolate spot outside the town, where an unremarkable carriage rested quietly in waist-high grass. When the driver saw her return, he quickly bowed, lifted the curtain, and invited her to get in.

Zhan Zhao lay prone in the grass, watching the carriage speed past him. Its route bypassed the town and headed straight for Yanmen Pass. He used his lightness skill to track the carriage...

On the city gate tower at the entrance of the town, a slender figure stood watching the carriage kick up dust, her eyes filled with reluctance. Inside the carriage was her benefactor; her husband's great revenge had been avenged entirely by her benefactor's help, a debt of gratitude she could never repay in this lifetime.

As the carriage receded into the distance, she was about to look away when she suddenly caught sight of a figure appearing and disappearing in the grass, displaying extraordinary lightness and agility. Her eyes narrowed, and she no longer cared about revealing her identity; she only knew that her benefactor's identity must never be seen by anyone. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, she leaped down from the city wall, stole a passerby's horse, and sped after the carriage like lightning.

Zhan Zhao never expected that Madam Fang would actually stand on the city wall and watch this person go. He only heard the sound of horses' hooves behind him, which was not like ordinary passersby. When he turned around, Madam Fang was less than ten feet away from him.

"Oh no, how did she manage to catch up with us?"

Zhan Zhao secretly groaned as his whereabouts were exposed, but the current situation did not allow him to think any further. The only thing to do was to quicken his pace and catch up with the carriage first.

He quickened his pace, leaping and landing several times before finally settling on the carriage. Just as he was about to lift the curtain, a strong gust of wind came from behind, forcing him to dodge to the side.

Madam Fang had caught up with the carriage, calling out, "Madam, be careful! Someone is following us!" Without pausing, she spurred her horse forward, her delicate hand flicking out several poisoned needles aimed directly at Zhan Zhao's face. Fearing she might accidentally harm her benefactor, she acted cautiously and dared not use the syringe.

Dodging a few poisoned needles was not difficult for Zhan Zhao, but it prevented him from reaching into the carriage.

The coachman panicked, veerging the carriage off course. The wheels struck several stones, causing the carriage to bounce violently. A woman's screams came from inside the carriage...

Fearing that her benefactor might get hurt, Madam Fang cried out anxiously, "Madam, don't be afraid, I'm here!"

Before the words were even finished, the wheels slammed into a large rock, sending the carriage flying almost into the air. When it finally landed, the driver was thrown to the side, his head hitting the rock and knocking him unconscious. The woman inside the carriage was also thrown out and landed in the nearby bushes.

"Madam!" Before the horse could even be reined in, Madam Fang jumped off, worried that her benefactor might get hurt.

Zhan Zhao rushed forward, trying to tear off the woman's black veil. "Kill him quickly!" The woman retreated on the ground, shouting at Madam Fang.

"Madam, hurry, I'll be here."

Madam Fang slashed at the back of Zhan Zhao's neck, but he ducked and dodged. He then grabbed her wrist with a small grappling technique, which she also avoided. Although Madam Fang's skills were slightly inferior to Zhan Zhao's, he was somewhat wary because she held a needle in her palm. The two fought fiercely, and for a time, neither could gain the upper hand.

Seeing that the battle was going on for a long time without a clear winner, Madam Fang tried to take out a syringe. When Zhan Zhao saw her reach into her bosom, he knew that she wanted to take out the syringe. He launched several attacks in succession, forcing her to block.

He had only taken half of the syringe when Zhan Zhao forced him to drop it on the ground.

The woman had sharp eyes. Taking advantage of the fact that the two men were fighting and had no time to spare, she quickly picked up the syringe and aimed it at Zhan Zhao.

The syringe mechanism was opened with a very faint "click".

"lady……"

Madam Fang only managed to utter those two words before her pupils could only see the rapidly enlarging needle.

Zhan Zhao collapsed, and everything suddenly returned to calm.

Chapter Sixty-Three

A gust of wind swept through the forest, and Mo Yan felt a chill on the back of her neck, causing her to shiver involuntarily.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Yu asked, noticing her strange expression.

Mo Yan scratched her ear, looked around, and frowned, saying, "I don't know, it just feels a bit strange."

Zhao Yu glanced at her strangely, but didn't ask any further questions. After walking in the dense forest for a long time, she couldn't help but feel a little scared.