Chapter 223 - Great White Fox (1)
Chapter 223 – Great White Fox (1)
Su Daji held the reins in her hands with great difficulty. Her eyes were now brimming with tears. She just realized that her favorite maidservant had just used her own body to shield her miss from being hit by the arrow.
It was just a wound through the left shoulder, but was her maidservant a soldier? Bai Ting was already heavily injured at this rate, and it was because of her.
Bai Ting shut her eyes in fright. Even though she was afraid, she was still worried about her young miss more. She could only pray for the gods to protect her young miss.
Both of them thought that this would be the end of their lives. The only sound they could hear was the galloping horses of the bandits that continued to chase after them.
Meanwhile, back at the camp, the other soldiers indeed bought the others some time to escape.
When Jiang Mo's group finally returned from their survey, they could hear the sounds of clashing metals ringing out loudly, immediately making them realize that enemies had infiltrated the camp.
Jiang Mo and the rest of his subordinates grew agitated, killing the remaining bandits as fast as they could. As soon as Jiang Mo stabbed the last one with his sword, he questioned one of the badly injured soldiers.
"Where's Su Daji?" He demanded, his voice laced with fear and distress at the same time.
The man cracked his eyes open and heaved a deep breath. He didn't expect that he would survive tonight. Thankfully, their commander returned with the elite soldiers in time. Jiang Mo's troop was considerably smaller than others; they naturally were at a disadvantage when facing a lot of enemies.
"S-she left the camp with one of her maidservants on a horse… to the east…"
Right after the soldier said those words, Jiang Mo pulled the reins of his horse and darted in the direction Su Daji took.
By the time Jiang Mo left the camp, he grew aware of how painfully his heart was thumping against his chest. As the cold wind touched half of his face, he could only hope in his heart that he hadn't arrived too late and that Su Daji was yet to be captured by those bandits.
Their trip to the mountain earlier was unproductive, aside from discovering that the local bandits might have colluded with the ninth prince's troop to invade Su province. His eyes turned cold, deep with nothingness. He gritted his teeth, his hands itching to kill every bandit he could find.
If they dared to harm or even touch Su Daji, he would make sure they would experience what living in hell on earth felt like.
Jiang Mo gripped his reins even tighter and whipped his poor black horse to run faster.
Even though he was normally calm in the middle of the battlefield, it couldn't be said when Su Daji's safety was involved.
His heart was filled with worry and regret. He shouldn't have left her to her own devices when she was sick. He would never forgive himself nor face Minister Su if something bad happened to Su Daji while she was under his care.
If only he knew this would happen, he would have insisted for her to return home as soon as she delivered the supplies they needed. If he didn't become a little selfish and kept Su Daji by his side, she wouldn't be exposed to threats like this.
Jiang Mo was more experienced than Su Daji in horseback riding. Using the fastest steed he could get, Jiang Mo caught up with the bandits, who were now only thirty meters ahead of him.
His heart almost sank when he briefly noticed Su Daji's maidservant bleeding from behind. Then, he saw a bandit drawing yet another arrow, aiming at Su Daji this time.
His face blanched at the thought. Jiang Mo took his lance from his back and threw it at full force towards the bandit who wanted to harm his adoptive sister. His eyes grew filled with hatred as the strong scent of murderous intent emitted from his body.
In the next instant, another howl of pain pierced through the peacefulness of the night. By then, the bandits realized that it came from one of them and that someone was on their tail. However, there were still eight of them, while Jiang Mo was the only one chasing after them. Moreover, two vulnerable young women were already in their sights.
They decided to split into two groups with equal numbers. Four of them continued to chase after Su Daji, while the other half slowed down to prevent Jiang Mo from saving the young lady. They specifically attacked tonight to catch the famous great beauty, Su Daji of the Su province, after all.
Jiang Mo drew his brows together. Judging by their actions, he had no doubt that someone had employed these bandits to kidnap Su Daji.
However, it didn't matter who the mastermind was at this time. He would never allow anyone to lay a hand on their precious young lady. He drew the sword from his waist and charged forward.
The bandits clearly knew who he was, and so they didn't dare to underestimate him. Around the northern borders, who hadn't heard the name Jiang Mo?
He was a one-man army. He was versed on battle arrays, mounted combat, and tactics for both short- and long-distance engagement. If he was compared to an imperial soldier, he could already be considered a high-ranking military officer. It was for this reason that the bandits didn't dare to underestimate him.
Moreover, if they could kill Jiang Mo, they all thought that they would receive a hefty amount of money from the other party that hired them, with capturing Lady Su as a cherry on top.
The four bandits charged with their swords toward Jiang Mo at full speed, while the other group continued to chase after Su Daji. Jiang Mo decided to end his battle with these men as soon as possible for him to be able to catch up with his sister.
He charged towards the enemies, swinging his sword midair. The first man fell from his horse and dropped to the ground with his throat cut open by Jiang Mo. The second one came soon after, and he was slightly startled by how fast Jiang Mo could move. He was riding so fast that it was almost impossible to see him at such a speed.
The next moment he knew, he was thrown to the ground with a loud thud, his bones breaking upon impact. Because his body flew off of his horse that was running at full speed, his injuries were enough to knock him out for good.
The third and the fourth ones glanced at each other. They didn't expect Jiang Mo to be this fierce. It was as if he was dead himself, collecting the souls of the humans he came upon.
When they saw how easily their companions fell by Jiang Mo's blade, they had this silent agreement to abandon their mission and join the others in chasing the young lady.
However, how could Jiang Mo let that happen? Since they willingly came after him, they should already know what would happen. He immediately came after them and bathed his sharp sword with their foul blood.
As Jiang Mo hurriedly ran to catch up with the others, his heart sank when he noticed the endless cliff in front of them. Two young women were on the ground. With the other four bandits drawing closer towards them, he swore inwardly.
'Daji…!'
After running for some time at full speed, the horse she was using slowed down. It also didn't help that she was starting to lose her focus and her eyesight. She briefly thought that if she died tonight, at least Xuan Yanrui couldn't threaten her and even use her against her father and Jiang Mo. It was just a pity that she wasn't able to reunite with them and live happily instead.
However, the horse suddenly reared on two legs when it noticed a cliff ahead of them. Su Daji and Bai Ting fell to the ground, with the latter already losing consciousness because of her injury.
"Miss… hurry. You should run away," Bai Ting spoke with half-lidded eyes. It was getting hard for her to keep herself awake.
However, even if Su Daji wanted to, she had no more strength to run. She could feel her whole body burning as if she was on fire. She looked up at the clear sky and saw the crescent moon above them as they lay on their backs, waiting for their own deaths.
At least, she wouldn't be leaving this world alone. If she had more regrets, it would be that she wasn't able to bid goodbye to her special friend, the great white fox.
"The moon is beautiful tonight.. Dear great fox, where are you?" Su Daji whispered… before a huge form came to cover their bodies.