"Is that so?" Shen Lixue smiled lightly, her dark eyes cold and devoid of any smile. "Prince Zhan has been patrolling inside the city. How could he suddenly be outside the city?"
"After ten consecutive days of heavy rain, there may be waterlogged areas in the low-lying areas of the suburbs. I was worried about flooding, so I brought my soldiers here to inspect and check." Dongfang Zhan smiled slightly, his manner gentle and polite, distinguished by his extraordinary presence.
"Prince Zhan, you've really worked hard." Shen Lixue looked at Dongfang Zhan, her clear, cold eyes like snow on the Tianshan Mountains. In her heart, she thought that when she got back, she must investigate carefully whether Dongfang Zhan would lead people to patrol and check outside the city after it rained in the past.
"I eat the emperor's food and serve the emperor, so I dare not complain of hardship." Dongfang Zhan said politely, "Why are the Princess Consort and Prince An here?"
“We’re here to gather herbs…” Shen Lixue said casually, but before she could finish speaking, another loud rumble rang out, and a small mudslide rolled down the mountain and poured towards the small village.
Dongfang Zhan's expression changed, and he suddenly raised his voice: "There's been another landslide! Whether you've rescued people or not, get out quickly!"
Many people are still trapped under the mudslide, but another mudslide is coming. The safety of the soldiers must be ensured, otherwise they will also be trapped, and who will continue to rescue people?
"Yes!" The soldiers' faces were solemn as they carried or lifted villagers covered in mud on their backs and hurried out. The path was not wide, only allowing three people to walk side by side. Some of the soldiers behind were lagging behind as the rolling mudslide was already overhead.
Dongfang Zhan looked at the long line of soldiers trapped in the middle, his sharp eyes instantly narrowing as he urgently shouted, "Come out quickly, all of you, come out quickly!"
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. With the mudslide right in front of them, it was possible for the soldiers to escape on their own, but the chances of escaping with the seriously injured civilians were extremely slim. However, abandoning the seriously injured civilians would be somewhat heartless. She wondered what kind of people were in the team led by Dongfang Zhan.
The rumbling sound was close at hand, and a mudslide like a dark cloud poured down. The soldiers remained calm and composed, carrying or dragging the injured residents on their backs. Using their light-footed skills, they stepped on the large rocks protruding from the mudslide and rushed out. With so many people, the scene became somewhat chaotic.
In the middle of the road, a little boy covered in mud was bumped into the mud by the crowd and cried loudly in pain. Two lines of tears slid down his cheeks, leaving two clear streams on his muddy face.
Dongfang Zhan glanced at the little boy, a hint of impatience flashing in his sharp eyes. That impatience was as fleeting as lightning. Shen Lixue wondered if she had seen wrong, and subtly probed, "Your Highness Zhan, that child is very close to you. Quickly save him."
Qingling's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the nearby people to hear. All the eyes of the seriously injured but still conscious people fell on Dongfang Zhan.
Dongfang Zhan's gaze sharpened, and without hesitation, he leaped into the air, instantly arriving in front of the little boy. He stretched out his long arm and hugged the little boy into his arms. Just as he was about to leap back to his original position, a torrent of mud and rocks poured down, crashing heavily onto Dongfang Zhan's back.
"Your Highness!" the guards cried out anxiously, wanting to rush forward to save Dongfang Zhan, but the mudslide had already arrived, and large rocks were falling one after another, making it impossible for them to get close.
A burning pain shot through his back, and the pungent smell of mud assaulted his senses. One large rock after another pounded against him, causing excruciating pain. Dongfang Zhan frowned deeply. The landslide had just occurred, and the force wasn't particularly strong yet; he could save himself.
Gathering his energy and focusing his mind, he rapidly concentrated his inner strength in his dantian. With all his might, he suddenly leaped out of the mudslide and quickly rushed towards safety. The moment his feet touched the ground, his legs buckled, and his slender body crashed heavily to the ground.
"Prince Zhan, Prince Zhan..." The soldiers rushed forward and hurriedly helped him up, saying, "Doctor, doctor, please come and see Prince Zhan's injuries..."
Shen Lixue's cold gaze pierced through the gaps in the crowd, looking at Dongfang Zhan, who was surrounded in the center: "He was hit by the mudslide and is seriously injured."
Dongfang Heng looked at Dongfang Zhan, a faint smile playing on his lips, yet tinged with unspeakable sarcasm: "If he had rushed to save the child when he saw him fall to the ground, he wouldn't have been injured at all."
Shen Lixue was taken aback: "You mean, he didn't want to save the little boy at all, but I forced him to."
Dongfang Heng nodded. After Dongfang Zhan arrived with his guards, he sealed off the area in front of the mudslide, preventing Dongfang Heng and Shen Lixue from getting close. He was at ease, but he kept an eye on Dongfang Zhan. After the little boy was knocked away, Dongfang Zhan had no intention of saving him at all.
Shen Lixue lowered her eyelids. It seemed that the impatience in Dongfang Zhan's eyes was real, and not just her imagination.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dongfang Heng's white robe, embroidered with delicate dark patterns, billow slightly. His jade-like fingers rapidly changed shape as he unleashed a powerful burst of internal force. Suddenly, a large rock in the mudslide changed direction and crashed heavily down on the guards below who were trying to leap out.
The soldier was smashed to the ground, his head bleeding profusely, and he was too weak to jump up. His eyes were filled with terror as he was quickly buried by the torrential mudslide. The rocks were moving extremely fast, and if Shen Lixue hadn't seen Dongfang Heng's gesture, she wouldn't have known that he had done it on purpose.
"Heng, they are soldiers of the imperial court, not Dongfang Zhan's personal guards. Why did you kill them?"
Dongfang Heng remained expressionless, his fingers shifting shape beneath his sleeves, powerful bursts of internal energy flying through the air. Two or three more soldiers were crushed beneath the mudslide: "Those people are not ordinary soldiers, but top guards from the Zhan Prince's Mansion. They also have a hidden name: Death Warriors."
"Death squad!" Shen Lixue looked at the mudslide in surprise. The soldiers who were hit by the boulders were very agile and their lightness skills were much better than those of ordinary soldiers. Their faces were as calm as the soldiers', and their eyes were as clear. Only when they used martial arts did their eyes turn murderous, as if they had become completely different people.
Why did Dongfang Zhan plant so many assassins among his soldiers?
"I don't know! They just have bad intentions." Dongfang Heng's technique changed, and several more assassins were killed by stones.
Shen Lixue sighed and rubbed her forehead: "If you kill them all, who will rescue people after the mudslide stops?" Only half of the villagers trapped under the mudslide have been rescued; the other half are still trapped underneath.
"Zi Mo has already sent a message to the capital that the mudslide has stopped, and reinforcements should be arriving soon." As he spoke, Dongfang Heng's wide sleeves billowed up rapidly, fluttering in the wind. The mudslide instantly intensified, burying all the soldiers on the path beneath it.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. Dongfang Heng had almost completely wiped out the assassins in the team. Dongfang Zhan would be furious if he found out.
Among the soldiers, Dongfang Zhan's eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes, his voice weak and feeble: "Has the landslide stopped?"
A soldier quickly turned around and glanced back: "Your Highness, it has stopped."
"Then hurry and save the person." Dongfang Zhan's voice was very faint and soft, as if he might faint at any moment, but he struggled to stand up and continue to give instructions.
The soldiers looked at him with concern: "Your Highness, you are seriously injured and need to rest..."
"I am unharmed." With the help of his guards, Dongfang Zhan slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over them. A thought flashed through his mind: "Where are the other soldiers?"
The soldiers' eyes stung with pain, and they lowered their heads, pointing to the thick layer of mudslide debris: "We couldn't escape; we were crushed underneath."
"What? So many people were crushed underneath?" Dongfang Zhan was shocked. His head throbbed, and he nearly fainted. He clutched his chest and coughed violently.
The soldiers shouted anxiously, "Doctor, doctor... come quickly and see Prince Zhan..."
Dongfang Zhan coughed, then suddenly glanced to the side. Dongfang Heng stood five meters away, looking up at the sky, appearing detached and otherworldly. A surge of anger welled up in his chest, and his slightly open hand clenched tightly.
Those soldiers were no ordinary soldiers; they were perfectly capable of escaping from the falling rocks and debris. It must have been Dongfang Heng who saw through the deception and seized the opportunity to kill those assassins!
"Clatter, clatter!" A series of rapid hoofbeats came, and the guards turned to look. It was the Shuntian Prefecture with a large number of guards who had arrived. Looking at the wounded and dead all over the ground, as well as the endless mudslide, he was suddenly stunned: "Prince An, Prince Zhan, what's going on?"
Dongfang Heng suddenly turned around and looked at Dongfang Zhan, his dark eyes flashing with a cold and clear light: "The landslide has killed many people, but the sun is warm now and the soil on the mountain has been stabilized, so there will be no more landslides. You can safely rescue people."
Dongfang Zhan coldly looked at the distant mountains. The sun rose higher and higher, the environment gradually warmed up, and the soil hardened. He knew that there would be no more landslides. He had been careless just now, only thinking about saving people and not considering that the mountain might landslide again, allowing Dongfang Heng to slip through the hole and take advantage of the landslide to kill so many of his loyal followers.
“Prince Zhan is not feeling well, so why don’t you return to your residence to rest? I will look after things here.” Dongfang Heng’s voice was calm, and his gaze was indifferent, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
Dongfang Zhan coldly looked at Dongfang Heng: "Thank you for your kindness, Prince An. I am fine and can continue to command. However, Prince An, your wife is pregnant and should not be out in the wind. It is getting late. You should go back to your residence to rest. You will not catch a cold and it will not interfere with my work."
One should finish what one starts. He couldn't leave halfway through the rescue of all the villagers.