Broken Jade - Chapter 124

Chapter 124

Everyone fell into chaos, rushing off to call the Yulin Guard for reinforcements.

No one noticed the inconspicuous bloodstained pebble by the water. Without a sound, it blended into the dust and was quietly buried…

The horse carried Sheng Zhaoning deeper and deeper into the woods.

The chaotic wind howled in her ears. Tangled branches tore at her clothes, while her face and hands were slashed with long, bloody scratches.

Sheng Zhaoning gritted her teeth. She wanted to pull the reins tight and force the horse to stop, but the moment she raised herself, the horse’s jolting nearly threw her off. Her arms had no strength left at all.

Wave after wave of dizziness washed over her. Her entire body was covered in scratches, and she bent forward over the horse’s back, forcing herself to stay steady.

As the horse charged blindly through the woods, it had long since lost its direction. All she could see was the vegetation growing denser around her until she found herself completely surrounded by a stretch of deep mountain wilderness.

“Sheng Zhaoning!”

Behind her, the thunder of hooves rapidly drew closer.

Sheng Zhaoning had no time to look back. A long ravine had appeared in her path.

The horse beneath her showed no sign of stopping.

As it drew closer and closer to the abyss, Sheng Zhaoning’s brows drew tight. She made her decision in an instant, took a deep breath, and leaped from the saddle. Her body was violently flung downward-

A strong iron arm swiftly hooked around her and pulled her up in midair.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Wei Yi snarled furiously beside her ear.

He had never expected Sheng Zhaoning to jump from the horse rather than wait for him to save her!

Did she really trust him so little?

Wei Yi gripped Sheng Zhaoning tightly with one hand, suspending her at his side. By then, the horse’s hooves were only a step away from the abyss, and it was already impossible to stop it.

Wei Yi’s eyes darkened. He abandoned the horse as well.

Wrapping Sheng Zhaoning against his chest and giving her no chance to resist, he turned and leaped down. Their two bodies crashed heavily onto the ground.

Sheng Zhaoning heard a clear, muffled groan beside her ear. Then her body began rolling uncontrollably down the mountain. It was only when they struck a massive fallen tree that the two of them finally came to a precarious stop.

The two horses tumbled into the cliff, one after the other.

They vanished without a trace.

A sharp pain belatedly shot through Sheng Zhaoning’s arm.

Her vision dimmed again and again, growing steadily more blurred.

After the world spun around her, a long spell of dizziness followed.

For a brief time, she lost the ability to think. Wei Yi, who had shielded her with his own body and continued holding her tightly, was clearly even more seriously injured.

She did not know how much time had passed before Sheng Zhaoning’s vision slowly cleared.

With great effort, she pried away the hand locked around her waist and gradually pushed herself upright. Only then did she discover that something had pierced her arm, leaving a long bloody gash. At its deepest point, the wound went all the way to the bone.

Such an injury would not normally be considered serious, but in her current condition, failing to treat it promptly could cost her life.

Sheng Zhaoning took out what little Liangzhou wound medicine she had left and, gritting her teeth, sprinkled it over the wound. She endured the excruciating pain, as if someone were gouging the flesh with a blade, until the bleeding finally stopped. Only then did she let out a trembling breath.

After lowering her head and recovering for a long while, Sheng Zhaoning finally raised her eyes to survey their surroundings.

Dense woods surrounded them. Broad leaves overlapped one another, blocking half the sky.

She lowered her gaze. Wei Yi lay beside her, covered in dust. His dark blue narrow-sleeved robe was stained with blood, his eyes were tightly shut, and his lips were pale.

Sheng Zhaoning furrowed her brows, an expression of conflict and puzzlement appearing on her face.

Why had he come?

But there was no time to worry about anything else. If Wei Yi died here, it would only give Prince Zhenbei even more reason to send troops.

Until they found a suitable reason that could bring about Prince Zhenbei’s downfall, even the Emperor of Wei would not dare let the two of them die in the Capital.

Sheng Zhaoning endured the pain and moved closer to him, patting his face. “Wei Yi, Wei Yi…”

The man beside her gave no response.

She reached out to check his breathing, and a faint warmth brushed against her fingertips.

Just as Sheng Zhaoning was about to pull her hand back, a powerful force suddenly clamped around her wrist.

Her eyes abruptly met a pair of menacing eyes.

Her heart gave an inexplicable jolt. She yanked her hand back, but that force held her fast.

“Let go,” Sheng Zhaoning said coldly.

Wei Yi stared into her eyes. A dark glint passed through his gaze before he slowly released her.

Sheng Zhaoning quickly pulled her hand away.

Seeing the way she avoided him as though he were something terrifying, Wei Yi felt a knot form in his chest, and a surge of anger rose within him.

“So now you can’t even touch me?” Wei Yi stared into her eyes and asked in a low voice.

Sheng Zhaoning couldn’t be bothered to answer him.

With one hand, she felt around to examine his injuries. Most of them were scrapes and bruises caused by flying stones and broken branches. But when her hand touched his chest, Wei Yi’s body visibly trembled, and a restrained look of pain appeared on his face.

“Your ribs are broken,” Sheng Zhaoning said.

“Is it serious?”

“It’s fine.”

Seeing the calm expression on her face, Wei Yi’s expression darkened. He deliberately emphasized, “It hurts.”

“Mm.” Sheng Zhaoning answered perfunctorily and reached back for the medicine.

Suppressing his anger, Wei Yi asked, “When that person was injured, did you treat him with the same indifference?”

Sheng Zhaoning’s patience finally ran out. She stopped what she was doing and looked back at him coldly.

“He wouldn’t pretend to be unconscious to trick me, and he wouldn’t put on an act of weakness like you’re doing now.”

Wei Yi had practiced martial arts since childhood and had spent many years at the frontier. He was covered in countless scars, great and small. It was only two broken ribs. What was he putting on an act for?

“…”

His chest ached with anger, and his face shifted between green and white. Before he could suppress the flare of rage, a medicine bottle suddenly came flying at his side.

“Wherever you’re hurt, apply the medicine yourself.”

Wei Yi was thoroughly enraged, fire seeming to flare from his eyes.

“I can’t move. You do it.” His gloomy gaze pressed down on her, carrying a veiled threat.

Sheng Zhaoning calmly met his eyes. “Then leave it. It isn’t my pain, anyway.”

After confirming that he was in no danger of losing his life, Sheng Zhaoning was far less tense than she had been at the beginning.

Besides, one of her arms was injured and almost impossible to raise.

She didn’t have the strength to apply the medicine for him, nor did she want to get too close to him.

The most important thing now was to find a way back as quickly as possible.

Ah Heng was probably terribly worried by now.

Sheng Zhaoning sat on the ground and rested for a while, recovering some of her strength. She struggled to stand, then lifted her head and used the sunlight to roughly determine their direction.

The horse had been running so fast and for so long that they had most likely already left the hunting grounds.

After she and Wei Yi disappeared, the others should have already gone to report it to the Yulin Guard.

But the mountains and forests here were all connected. If they waited here, no one knew how long it would be before help arrived.

When Wei Yi saw that she had truly abandoned him and begun surveying their surroundings, he was so angry he nearly ground his teeth to pieces.

From the shadows, a short, faint whistle resembling a birdcall sounded once from a bamboo whistle.

Sheng Zhaoning paid it no attention.

Wei Yi, however, raised his brows slightly and cast a glance toward the darkness.

Don’t. Stay put.

He wanted to see how she would respond to the same debt of having one’s life saved.

Apart from that, he did not believe there was anything about him in which he was inferior to Wei Heng.