Lu Deer Chases Emperor

  Xiao Wu's eyes narrowed, his forehead sweating, for the first time facing a hail of bullets and arrows, life and death in someone else's hands, even with the highest martial arts he didn't dare to move rashly. His gaze swept across, the other side all wore grass rings on their heads and green branches on their bodies, no wonder it was hard to detect.

  Han Jiu'er was also afraid, hiding behind Xiao Wu's back, seeing his broad shoulders, feeling a lot more at ease, and involuntarily turning her worried gaze towards her father.

  Han Xiaocong saw the guards surrounding him, and with great effort, he supported his trembling body and shouted in a hoarse voice: "I am an envoy of the Great Song Dynasty, offending me is the same as offending the Song..."

  Little does one know that when abroad, if the country is weak, even an ambassador cannot escape violation; if the country is rich and powerful, even a commoner will not be disturbed.

  But then the companion rushed forward and said something in Khitan language. The ambushers put away their bows and arrows, whistled again, and disappeared into the forest in an instant, truly swift and sudden.

  "The ambassador was shocked, this is the Liao Emperor's personal guard, set up ambushes to protect our emperor. The reception hall is just ahead, I have already sent someone to report." The accompanying envoy turned back and informed the Song envoy.

  "It turned out to be the noble upper army, indeed mighty and powerful..." Han Xiaoqu let out a long sigh of relief, praising them, covering up his previous loss of composure.

  They finally arrived at their destination and would soon be able to escape the hardships of their journey, returning home to a joyful Song Dynasty delegation.

  Han Jiuer thought of the approaching return, and made the most of his time to appreciate the exotic scenery. This forest was much more lush than the ones he had seen along the way, with clear air that refreshed his heart and lungs. Many rare plants and trees bathed in the warm sunlight, their yellow and green hues competing for attention. Unnamed birds sang sweet melodies, making one feel carefree. No wonder Emperor Liao had set up camp here.

  Only Xiao Wu's brow was tightly locked, and the Liao army he saw along the way, although not many in number, were all strong and stern. The Great Song army, on the other hand, was notorious for its bloated ranks and lax discipline, truly a case of sheep encountering a lone wolf, collapsing at the slightest touch.

  With the experience just now, Xiao Wu discovered several groups of dark posts along the way, and they should have received reports, but none of them appeared to let the Song Dynasty's envoy team pass by. From a distance came the sound of an animal's cry, "yuuu", Xiao Wu had been in the north for some time and knew that it was the call of a deer.

  "Deer! What a large herd of deer!" Han Jiu'er suddenly shouted with joy on horseback.

  The team looked up and down, and sure enough, a group of white-spotted short-horned deer came running towards them. Although they had occasionally seen deer tracks along the way, they were all fleeting glimpses, but this time they were so close that everyone was excitedly pointing and whispering to each other.

  A group of deer, startled by the people in front, hastily turned to the left, but heard a whistle and saw a group of militiamen emerging from the darkness, brandishing their guns to block them. The deer then turned to the right, only to be met with another group of militiamen shouting and driving them back.

  At this moment, along the deer's path, a horse hoof rushed, and a cavalry emerged from the forest. The first young man wore a purple scarf on his head, a golden armor on his body, and held a yellow bow in his hand, with a majestic momentum. Many followers did not wear armor, all wearing dark green military uniforms, most holding guns and arrows. Among them, there was only one person, wearing deer horns, wearing deerskin, holding a wooden tube, unknown what he was doing. Several hunting dogs ran happily at the front, with different shapes and sizes of prairie dogs: long mouth, big tail, thin body, thin legs, very agile.

  The three attendants hastily dismounted, not noticing the grass blades scratching their faces, and immediately kowtowed, shouting: "Your subjects pay homage to Your Majesty, Emperor Tianxu, wishing you eternal peace and prosperity!"

  Han Xiaoji saw that the opposite side was the Liao Emperor, and he hastily dismounted his horse. Following the usual practice of Song envoys, he knelt down to pay respects and said: "The birthday envoy of the Great Song Dynasty to the Khitan State, Han Xiaoji, pays homage to Your Majesty."

  The emperor of Liao, known as Tianzuo Emperor, did not pay attention to him and only stared at the surrounded prey. The deer saw that there were people on all sides, panicked and ran around in a hurry, rushing left and right, but how could they break through the encirclement.

  "Brother Wu, I still remember General Fei..." The only one sitting on a horse in the Song Dynasty's envoy team, Han Jiu'er, flashed a tight and excited expression, leaning over to say this sentence to Xiao Wu.

  Xiao Wu's body shook, and he had already understood the implication of Han Jiu'er's words. He couldn't help but shoot a glance at the person opposite him, only to see the Northern Dynasty Emperor with piercing eyes and sharp eyebrows, his two wispy mustaches like a snake spitting out its tongue, his face full of arrogance, looking absolutely not like a good person.

  Originally, as a small Wu identity, it was absolutely impossible to meet the master of a country, but the heavenly opportunity brought this Tianzhu Emperor in front of him. At this time, the Liao Emperor was within his large bow's shooting range. With his marksmanship, he could have shot and killed him with one arrow. As long as this arrow was shot, he would surely be famous throughout history, teaching later generations "still remembering the Flying General".

  At the thought of this, Xiao Wu's hot blood was boiling. At his and Han Jiu'er's age and experience, they naturally couldn't distinguish the consequences of shooting this arrow, but leaving a mark in history was precisely Xiao Wu's greatest dream. If any young man had the chance to fulfill their own dreams, none could refuse.

  The Liao Emperor was completely unaware of the danger he was in, and soon chose a target, urging his horse forward, drawing his bow to shoot. Xiao Wu's eyes didn't even blink, one hand already pressed on the bow... Before he could react, several figures suddenly jumped out from the deer group, holding short knives, rushing towards the Liao Emperor in a fan shape.

  It happened suddenly, and by the time the surrounding imperial guards realized something was wrong, it was already too late. The archers did not dare to shoot arrows for fear of accidentally injuring the emperor, while the spearmen tried to rush forward but were blocked by the deer herd. Only a few military officers who followed the emperor's carriage rushed out, and the rest of the civil officials frantically shouted: "Save the Emperor! There are assassins..."

  Xiao Wu saw someone else take the lead, and his heart relaxed. The murderous aura that was about to erupt dissipated without a trace. Suddenly, he thought of his wife at home and how he hadn't left any descendants for his parents... His hand also involuntarily dropped, deciding to observe first before acting.

  The Tianzuo Emperor was not an ordinary person, seeing himself surrounded, he drew his bow and shot down the nearest assassin, then swung his bow to block another incoming short sword. Unexpectedly, his horse let out a miserable whinny and fell to the ground, stabbed, and the Tianzuo Emperor followed suit, falling forward onto the horse's body.

  The remaining assassins simultaneously chopped towards the fallen Liao Emperor with their knives, which shone with colorful lights and were clearly coated with deadly poison. Unexpectedly, while knocking down the Liao Emperor's horse was advantageous for the assassination, it also exposed themselves to the rescuers.

  Those several generals were all seasoned veterans, skilled at seizing opportunities in battle. Seeing the emperor's life hanging by a thread, they shouted loudly and threw away their swords and spears.

  The assassins were all focused on their target, not considering their own lives and deaths, just wanting to stab the knife into the Emperor of Liao's body, and then they would have accomplished their great achievement. Several muffled sounds, several assassins were pierced by swords and guns, and their efforts were in vain. The remaining two assassins were extremely agile, avoiding swords and guns, and not being moved by the death of their companions, they chopped at the Emperor of Liao without blinking an eye.

  All he heard were two "clangs", and Tianzuo Emperor rolled on the ground, miraculously escaping unscathed. It turned out that one knife chopped onto his chest armor, while the other was held back by a dagger holder.

  The situation changed so quickly that only Xiaowu's sharp eyesight could see the whole process clearly. He saw that Emperor Liao had already been rescued by the generals who dismounted and surrounded him, and the imperial guards also gathered around, leaving no chance for himself. He sighed inwardly and shifted his gaze to the assassins who were already surrounded.

  The two men were slender and wrapped in deerskin, with their heads also covered, revealing only their eyes, making it impossible to discern their original appearance. Xiao Wu had already thought that the assassins must have hidden their limbs under the belly of the flower deer, which was why they hadn't been discovered, but he didn't know where they came from. However, since they dared to take on the almost hopeless risk of assassinating Emperor Liao, they could be considered good men!

  But then the Liao Emperor shouted a few sentences in Khitan, and the archers who had been ready to shoot all retreated, leaving only the gunners surrounding the assassin. It seemed that they intended to capture him alive. The urgent drumbeat followed, transmitting the signal of battle to the hidden stakes everywhere. Who knows if the assassin has any reinforcements.

  The two assassins glanced around, the imperial guards surrounding them densely, long spears like a forest, escape seemed impossible. The two exchanged another glance, nodded to each other, and reached some kind of tacit understanding.

  Only one of the assassins suddenly opened his stance, straddled his legs, twisted his body and swung his arm, using force to throw the short knife in his hand towards the direction where Liao Emperor was. His movements were neither fast nor slow, as if intentionally wanting people to see clearly. In fact, Liao Emperor had already been blocked by layers of people, and this knife, no matter how fast, could not hurt him. But due to habitual thinking, the imperial guards still made a commotion, turning towards Liao Emperor's side.

  What happened next was even more unexpected to everyone, another assassin took advantage of this brief leisure and the only space, turned around and ran back a few steps, and jumped up into the air above the knife-wielding assassin.

  The assassin, who had already taken a stance, sank his body, bridged his hands, and caught the airborne assassin's feet. With a loud roar, he pushed upwards with both hands, sending him flying out.

  The flying assassin, with the help of his companion's strength, drew a beautiful arc in mid-air and swooped down towards the back of the Song Dynasty's envoy team, his landing point coincidentally being Han Jiuer's mount.

  Everything happened in a flash, even Xiao Wu's reaction was half a beat slower. Before he could react, Han Jiu'er let out a "yip" and was already being held hostage by the assassin, who had dragged her and her horse more than ten steps away.

  Whether to stop the Liao army from pursuing his companions or to seek death with one heart, the assassin who stayed in place opened his arms and rushed towards the gun forest. The imperial guards were unable to react in time, and more than a dozen spearheads pierced into the assassin's body, blood gushing out like a spring, and he died instantly.

  "Xiao Jiu!" Along with several almost inaudible shouts, someone had already rushed out, with a gun tucked under his right arm and his left hand waving wildly, chasing after him. Who else could it be but Xiao Wu?

  "Jiǔ Piāo Tóu......" On the other side, Han Xiao Chu could no longer bear to conceal his daughter's identity, and with a hoarse voice, he shouted out her maiden name. He rushed out several steps, but suddenly felt a severe pain in his chest and fell to the ground.

  Xiao Wu's face was twisted, his legs moving swiftly as he chased after the fleeing lone rider. He didn't care that his hands and face were being scratched by the sharp branches that kept hitting him, all he could think about in his heart was: "Jiuniang, don't be afraid, I'm here, I definitely won't let you get hurt..."

  Xiao Wu felt this way about Han Jiu'er, not just because he was responsible for her safety, but also because of the days and nights they spent together on this journey, a feeling that was hard to express, a feeling that made him willing to put his life on the line for her.

  Alas, two legs cannot rival four hooves. The little five eyes stared wide-eyed as the escaping horse galloped further and further away, leaving behind only a faint cry of "Fifth Brother" drifting through the forest. His eyes were about to bulge out, his chest tight and head dizzy. It turned out that this mad dash was all sustained by just one breath.

  Xiao Wu's footsteps paused, took a deep breath of fresh air, and suddenly had an epiphany. He slapped his forehead, realizing that when it comes to personal matters, one can become muddled, and he had even forgotten the simple principle of shooting the horse before shooting the person.

  He immediately stood firm, with his iron spear inserted into the ground, his hand raised and his bow stretched, an arrow already on the string. He glanced at the horse and was about to release the arrow when he heard a whistle sound. The trees on both sides shook violently, arrows rained down, making a terrifying "whooshing" sound, pouring towards the two men on horseback.

  Xiao Wu was shocked and lost color, knowing that it was the Liao army's sneak attack. Wouldn't even Han Jiu'er be shot into a hedgehog at this distance? Even if he wanted to save people, he had no power to change the situation.

  He looked ahead in near despair, but saw the deerskin-clad assassin display astonishing horsemanship. With someone in front and a hail of arrows behind, he jerked the reins, and the horse came to an abrupt stop, its forelegs raised, spinning around on the spot. The assassin took advantage of the spinning speed of his mount to dance his short knife into a circle of silver, barely holding off the hail of arrows. Seizing the brief moment when the archers were reloading, he urged his horse forward, dashing sideways towards a dense thicket. Once inside, the power of the arrows would be reduced by half.

  He hoped to return to Xiao Wu's eyes, he didn't hesitate at all, his feet kicked off like an arrow leaving a bowstring, and he rushed straight over. Just now was the pursuit of a straight line, but now it changed to a diagonal intersection, Xiao Wu ran while measuring the intersection point, wanting to intercept him before the assassin entered the dense forest... Getting closer and closer, Xiao Wu had already seen Han Jiu'er's side profile, she was shrinking in front of the assassin's chest like a startled little deer.

  The assassin sensed someone approaching, turned his head and glanced, his eyes sharp as a knife, sweeping over Xiao Wu's face, seeing how young he was, slightly revealing surprise.

  "Where are you going!" Xiaowu shouted loudly, leaping up with a sudden burst of speed, holding his spear in one hand and thrusting it forward to strike the assassin off his horse.

  "Big Brother Wu!" Han Jiu'er also saw Xiao Wu, her eyes revealing surprise and delight, but quickly turned to fear, staring at something behind him, "Be careful!"

  He only heard the denser "whooshing" sound approaching, and Xiao Wu knew that the Liao army's second wave of arrow rain had arrived, and this time, he was also within range.

  Xiao Wu let out a sigh, unwilling and resentful, turning around in mid-air, dancing his iron spear into a large flower to protect himself while also becoming a shield for the assassin and Han Jiu'er. The assassin responded with a cunning smile, clamping his legs on his mount, and darted into the dense forest.

  "Snap, snap", Xiao Wu Ge released the last few arrows, and before he could regret it, he rushed into the dense forest. However, the dense forest not only blocked the arrows but also slowed down the horse's speed, and the thick fallen leaves on the ground trapped the horse's hooves, making even the skilled assassin's horsemanship useless, and they had to dodge left and right, which was actually slower than running on foot.

  Xiao Wu was overjoyed, spread his legs and ran, high and low, without much effort, he caught up, panting, blocking the horse's path. At this time, a noisy sound mixed with dog barks came from behind, it was the Liao army searching in the forest.

  "Brave warrior, put down Xiao Jiu and do as you please!" Xiaowu Zun shouted, holding his spear and pretending to point at him. He didn't want to help the Liao people catch the assassin, as long as they put down Han Jiu'er, it had nothing to do with him.

  "I won't!" The assassin slowly shook his head and replied in stiff Mandarin, the short knife still pressed against Han Jiu'er's neck.

  "Big Brother Wu..." Han Jiu's body trembled slightly, her small face pale against the backdrop of the flashing knife blade.

  "Have you been shot?" Xiao Wu's gaze fell on the assassin's shoulder, where a feathered arrowhead was exposed, and a patch of bloodstain on the surrounding deerskin was expanding.

  "Save me!" The assassin nodded, his tone already showing weakness.

  "I can't." Xiao Wu also shook his head, having walked out of the impulse to kill Liao Emperor just now. After all, he was in Liao territory and couldn't do anything that would implicate Han Jiu'er and the envoy team.

  "You can!" The assassin's eyes showed a sly smile again, and the knife in his hand made a cut on Han Jiuer's white and tender neck.

  "Don't!" Xiaowu's soul flew out of his body as he threw down the iron spear, only to discover that the assassin had merely lightly scratched a blood mark on Han Jiu'er's neck. After a brief moment of confusion, he understood the assassin's intention.

  "Save me and there will be an antidote!" The assassin was clearly not Chinese, his words were brief and to the point.

  "Second Brother, what did he do to me......" The blood stain on Han Jiu's neck had already turned black, and surprisingly, she didn't feel any pain, such a powerful poison.

  "You this..." Xiaowu's eyes almost spat out fire, if not for Han Jiuer's presence, he would have scolded him, but had to admit that the assassin's move was quite ruthless. He then comforted Xiaonizi, "It's okay, he just wants us to help him."

  "Keep going down and find the river!" The assassin knew he had grasped Xiao Wu's seven-inch weak point, his tone almost commanding.

  At this time the noise was quite close, Xiao Wu couldn't think of anything else, and didn't hesitate anymore, grabbed his gun, led the horse and left. After walking for a short while, suddenly there was a rushing stream in front of him.

  "Cross the river and go upstream!" The assassin's hands grasped the reins, his body almost leaning against Han Jiu'er's back, propping himself up with great effort.

  "Brother Five, I'm a bit cold..." Han Jiu'er was no better off either, his face turned pale, and his originally rosy lips had turned dark purple, the poison had taken effect.

  "It'll be alright soon!" Xiao Wu knew that the top priority was to shake off the pursuing soldiers, and also knew that the best way to avoid being tracked by hunting dogs was to cross the river. So he gritted his teeth and let the icy creek water soak through his boots as he led the horse across, trampling on the cobblestones, one step high and one step low, hurrying upstream.

  As they walked along the stream in the mountains, the noise behind them gradually faded away. Xiao Wu let out a slight sigh of relief and slowed down his pace, turning back to ask: "Where is the antidote?"

  "Do you think I'd carry it on me?" The assassin couldn't help but burst out laughing, but the movement stirred up his injuries, and he was seized by a violent fit of coughing.

  "How are you? Let me help you treat your injuries first?" Xiao Wu suddenly became worried about the assassin, if he died, Han Jiu'er would be finished too.

  "You won't die! Leave the river and head towards that mountain..." The assassin urged.

  The mountain path was quite strange, the mountain head that the assassin pointed to seemed not far away, but after walking for half a day, it still seemed just as far. The assassin was obviously very familiar with the terrain, constantly reminding Xiaowu which way to go and how to walk.

  After walking for a long time, the sky gradually darkened, and it was already deep autumn. The mountain wind was biting, blowing on his face like a knife cut. Han Jiu'er couldn't bear it, his teeth chattering loudly. Xiao Wu, as if he were suffering himself, couldn't help but speak out: "How come we still haven't arrived?"

  "Arrived!" The assassin replied.

  "Where are we?" Little Wu Zhen Er was confused, looking around at the grass and trees, rocks everywhere, but couldn't see anything special.

  "That big rock!" The assassin weakly raised his hand and pointed.

  The two people on the horse were about to collapse, Xiao Wu didn't have time to ask questions, pulled the horse over, tied the reins to a short tree next to a big rock, and went forward to carry down Han Jiu'er first. The assassin, however, fell head-first onto the grass as soon as Han Jiu'er got off the horse, apparently having fainted.

  "Brave man, brave man..." Xiao Wu was at a loss for what to do, and his voice cracked with tears. Although he had been calm and self-controlled, after all, he was just a young man who had never experienced such a big thing before, and it was already not easy for him to hold on until now.

  Han Jiuer was still able to walk, and her body floated closer to the big stone to observe. With her cleverness, she naturally guessed that the assassin wouldn't randomly point out the road, and indeed made a discovery: "Fifth Brother, there's a cave inside."

  Originally, a large stone had cracked open on one side, just enough for one person to pass through. Inside was empty, and due to the angle, it couldn't be seen from afar.

  "Alright, alright! Let's hurry in!" Xiao Wu busied himself, carrying the assassin forward while supporting Han Jiu'er from behind, squeezing and pulling as they crawled into the cave.