Accidentally Having a Baby with the Future Emperor - Chapter 76

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Jin was the first to voice his objection. “I advance and retreat with the Young Prince. At such a time, how could I flee alone?”

Xiao Rong replied, “If this continues, it will only lead to needless deaths. Your Highness’s life is priceless. Should anything befall you, I would have no way to answer to my father and His Majesty. It would be better if you went ahead and brought reinforcements for me.

“Mo Dong!” Xiao Rong’s voice grew cold as he gave the order again. “You and Deputy General Liu will escort His Highness out.”

Mo Dong did not move. He was the Young Prince’s personal guard. His foremost duty was to protect the Young Prince’s safety. Although a guard was meant to obey his master’s command above all else, at such a moment, how could he turn his back on the Young Prince?

Xiao Rong suddenly drew the sword at his waist, a blade meant only for decoration, and pressed it against Mo Dong’s neck. “I am your master. If you dare defy my command, I will kill you here and now.”

Just then, two more savage hounds lunged toward the Prince of Jin.

The Jin Royal Residence guards managed to stop one, but the other was already upon him, about to sink its fangs into his thigh. Mo Dong could no longer hesitate. With a leap, he slashed downward, engaging the beast in a furious struggle. Once he cut the hound down, he and the Jin Royal Residence guards, along with Xiao Rong’s remaining men, forced a bloody path eastward.

The Prince of Jin still protested vehemently.

However, his attendant urged anxiously, “Your Highness, your safety must come first! The Young Prince will surely have a way to manage this!”

Mo Dong and another Silver Dragon Cavalry general fought in the vanguard, battling the pack of hounds that surged after them. Blood sprayed like rain and at last, they tore open a breach in the encirclement. Yet more beasts came bounding; five or six of them at once. Realizing they could not afford further delay, Mo Dong vaulted onto his horse and, with the other guards, shielded the Prince of Jin as they broke through and fled.

He glanced back once. In the shadowed rain, he glimpsed the hounds still chasing after the Young Prince and the few surviving guards of Xiao Royal Residence, driving them off in another direction.

“Captain Mo, we must ride faster! The hounds could come after us again. Only by getting out quickly can we summon reinforcements sooner!” The urging of the Jin Royal Residence attendant cut through the din.

Mo Dong clenched his jaw, tore his gaze away, and spurred his horse into a gallop.

Meanwhile, Xiao Rong had only one Silver Dragon Cavalry general left by his side, with fewer than ten guards from Xiao Royal Residence still standing.

To divert the hounds completely, he had ordered his men to drag several carcasses of slain beasts along with them. The stench of blood worked as intended and every last hound veered toward their trail.

However, the reek only roused them into greater frenzy. Their attacks grew more vicious and their savagery unbridled. Arrows from afar could no longer hold them off; Xiao Rong himself had to wield his sword again and again, thrusting into snapping jaws and heaving bodies.

Fortunately, his blade was no mere ornament but a true treasure, keen enough to cut iron like mud. Even when it failed to kill in a single strike, the steel did not break nor bear the hounds’ teeth marks.

The rain poured harder and harder. More beasts gathered. None showed any sign of retreat.

Blood mixed with rain until the ground was slick red and the stench in the forest grew suffocating.

Xiao Rong’s sleeves were flecked with blood, the hilt of his sword sticky in his grip.

The surviving guards closed ranks tightly around him, while the last Silver Dragon Cavalry general rallied the others in fierce counterattacks.

Only two arrows remained in Xiao Rong’s quiver. After a moment’s thought, he gave the order,
“Scatter! Regroup on the ridge ahead.”

***

The Prince of Jin’s party was still fleeing through the forest.

Rain lashed down in sheets, drenching them all.

Although no hounds pursued close behind, none dared to relax. The attendants of the Jin Royal Residence flinched at every sound, eyes darting warily in all directions, half expecting beasts to spring from the shadows.

After what felt like an endless flight, a troop suddenly appeared ahead. Even from a distance of several paces, their banners were visible through the rain.

“That looks like the Eastern Palace’s men…” The attendant’s face changed at once.

For good reason. The Prince of Wei was troublesome enough, but the Crown Prince was far more ruthless.

At such a time, why had the Crown Prince’s hunting party not taken shelter from the storm, but instead pressed forward through the woods? The timing alone was enough to arouse suspicion.

“Protect His Highness!”

At the command, the Jin Royal Residence guards drew their blades and closed in tight formation around him.

In that instant, the other party drew near.

At their head rode a man straight-backed upon his horse, clad in dark robes and a black crown, armor gleaming jet under the rain, a long sword at his waist. His eyes were like shards of ice, his striking features carved sharply. It was none other than the Crown Prince, Xi Rong.

The two groups collided in the downpour.

Song Yang, close behind Xi Rong, had clearly not expected such an encounter.

When the storm had broken suddenly, they had been in a mountain hollow. Normally, one would halt to take shelter. But His Highness had cast a glance at the sky and ordered the march to continue. Thus, they had reached this place.

The rain had only worsened, soaking them to the bone. Although they had hunted some decent game along the way, trudging through the storm had been an ordeal.

And now came worse: the Jin Royal Residence’s party, face-to-face.

Song Yang’s scalp prickled with unease. But, as he looked closer, he realized with surprise that although Jin Royal Residence’s group included guards from Xiao Royal Residence and even a Silver Dragon Cavalry general, there was no sign of Prince Xiao’s heir.

Could it be that the Young Prince had separated from them midway during the hunt?

As Song Yang watched more closely, he noticed the Prince of Jin’s disheveled hair and weary, bedraggled appearance.

It was only a hunt; how could he look so haggard?

Could it be that the Prince of Jin had encountered some ferocious beast?

“What has happened?”

While Song Yang was still turning over suspicions in his mind, Xi Rong had already spoken. His cold, cutting voice carried through the curtain of rain and landed clearly in the ears of the Prince of Jin’s men.

The attendants of the Jin Royal Residence shook their heads frantically at him.

“Your Highness, you mustn’t tell him! The Crown Prince will never lend a hand. In fact, he might seize the chance to harm both you and Prince Xiao’s heir!”

However, before the Prince of Jin could answer, Mo Dong stepped forward and said, “Your Highness the Crown Prince! Just now in the forest, we were attacked by hounds. Might I beg you to send men to escort the Prince of Jin out of the woods? We must turn back and rescue our heir.”

“Captain Mo, you can’t! The Young Prince clearly ordered that you must personally see our prince to safety,” the Jin Royal Residence’s attendant shrieked in protest.

A sharp crack split the air.

With a scream, the attendant was lashed from his horse by the whip that had snapped through the rain.

Xi Rong reeled back the whip and urged his horse forward, his icy gaze locking onto Mo Dong. “Where is your heir?”

Mo Dong was stunned by the sudden flash of murderous intent in the Crown Prince’s eyes. But since the words had already been spoken, he could only reply, “Our heir stayed behind to hold off the hounds. He is still in the forest.”

Xi Rong spurred his steed without another word. His black stallion shot forward like a bolt of lightning, vanishing into the storm-lashed woods.

“Jiang Cheng, follow His Highness! Zhou Wenhe, take men and see the Prince of Jin safely out of the forest!” Although shaken, Song Yang quickly regained his wits and issued the orders.

Jiang Cheng immediately led several Eastern Palace guards in pursuit.

Seeing the Eastern Palace actually move so readily to assist, Mo Dong exhaled in relief. He left several men to accompany the Prince of Jin and send word to his master, Mo Qing, then turned his horse and followed after.

***

Meanwhile, Xiao Rong was also spurring his mount through the mountains, with a relentless pack of hounds snapping at his heels.

His mind raced back to the hunting grounds map he had studied the night before. Pushing his horse faster, he gauged the terrain, eyes darting for a place he might turn the land itself to his advantage.

He made towards a steep rise.

The moment he reached the slope, a thunderclap split the heavens. Rain sluiced down in torrents and with it, earth and stone as one side of the mountain gave way. The landslide roared down, engulfing the hounds that had been leaping after him.

Silence. Only the crash of thunder remained.

Xiao Rong’s face had gone white. He looked back and the spot where he and his horse now stood was no more than five paces from the collapse.

Behind him stretched only desolation. Xiao Royal Residence guards were nowhere in sight.

Xiao Rong tightened his grip on the reins, his soaked robes clinging heavily to his frame, and pressed on. Soon, he found a sturdier mountain trail leading down into a hollow.

At the base lay a low-lying gorge.

Sword in hand, Xiao Rong carved the Silver Dragon Cavalry’s coded insignia into the rock face as a marker, all the while scanning for shelter. Moving deeper into the ravine, he discovered a cave half-hidden beneath brambles. He dismounted, slashed through the thorns, and forced open a narrow entrance. From a waterproof oil-paper pouch, he drew a fire starter, sweeping the flame around inside to be sure the cave was empty of danger, before ducking within.

The cavern was shallow, clearly a natural hollow. Rain still seeped in at points, but compared to the storm outside, it was refuge enough.

He wedged the fire starter into the wall, dragged out a pile of old hay left behind by earlier travelers, and spread it in the driest corner. At last, he sat down.

His sleeves were splattered with blood; his entire figure was haggard and spent.

No longer caring for appearances, Xiao Rong tossed his sword onto the ground, wrung some of the water from his sleeves and hem, then drew his knees to his chest and leaned against the cave wall.

***

Elsewhere, atop another ridge…

“General, there’s no trace of Prince Xiao’s heir,” a guardsman hurried before Cui Cheng’s horse and reported in a low voice. “And more than half of the war hounds we deployed are dead or wounded…” he added, voice barely audible, not daring to lift his eyes to see the general’s face.

Cui Cheng’s brows drew tight as he gripped his reins. “Impossible. That Xiao Rong knows no martial arts and he had only a handful of guards with him. How could he have survived an attack by so many hounds?”

The soldier glanced about uneasily, then pressed in a whisper, “The Prince of Jin has already escaped. It won’t be long before the Xiao Royal Residence sends men searching. General, you would do best to withdraw at once.

“Besides, Prince Xiao’s heir is the one Prince Yan himself demanded. The Minister of State Affairs treasures this alliance with Prince Yan and has warned repeatedly against acting rashly. If the Minister were to learn of what you’ve done today, General, how would you possibly explain yourself…?”

Cui Cheng’s face twisted with bitter reluctance, but he knew the words were true. At last, he raised a hand and ordered the swift disposal of the hound corpses nearby, then turned his horse and rode off.

***

Xi Rong rode hard to the spot, only to find no trace of the hounds’ carcasses and no sign of any man; only the ground was awash with blood.

His heart sank like a stone, splitting in two. For an instant, his eyes burned crimson with fury before he forced it back down. Then, steadying himself, he searched in all directions, following what scant hoofprints remained.

However, the hunting grounds were vast. To find a single person in the mountains was like searching for a needle in the sea.

Sensing its master’s turmoil, the black stallion grew restless, striking up mud and water with its hooves.

The rain had washed away much of the trail, the prints breaking off again and again. The only consolation was that Xi Rong still came across the occasional slain hound along the way. He dismounted, examining each carcass with care, thinking deeply before mounting once more and turning sharply toward a stand of trees off to the side.

***

Another thunderclap rumbled across the heavens.

A violet bolt of lightning writhed like a dragon through the clouds, splitting the sky with a terrifying roar. Its glow lit the cave mouth in brief flashes of light and shadow.

Xiao Rong hugged his knees tighter, pressing himself against the cave wall, hands clamping hard over his ears. The best course would have been to move deeper inside but the unknown darkness beyond gave him a pause. He dared not enter blindly. Weighing fear against risk, he chose instead to endure, wrestling with the terror of thunder and lightning.

By his reckoning, the Prince of Jin should have already made it out of the forest. Along the way, he had left coded signs. The Silver Dragon Cavalry and the Xiao Royal Residence men would surely come searching soon. He only had to grit his teeth and hold on a little longer.

His face had gone pale as paper, but he forced himself to ignore the crack of thunder outside.

After all, lightning would not strike there. And even if it did, the cave itself should shield him.

It was only his own fear magnified by the storm.

At last, the thunder began to ease.

Xiao Rong dropped his hands, only then realizing his forehead was beaded with sweat, his robe damp with cold perspiration. He wiped his face roughly with a sodden sleeve and let out the faintest breath of relief—

When suddenly, from outside came a rasping sound. A bestial wheeze, heavy and low, as though some predator were lurking just beyond the brambles.

All the blood in Xiao Rong’s body turned to ice.

He could endure thunder. But if some beast had truly caught the scent of blood, then he had no strength left to resist. He would be nothing more than a sacrifice to its hunger.

Forcing himself, he gripped his sword once more and peered through the gaps in the thorny barrier. On the ground outside stood three black hounds, tongues lolling, pacing restlessly as they prowled before the cave.

So, they hadn’t all been crushed by the landslide. Drawn by the reek of blood, they had tracked him there without pause.

Xiao Rong’s heart pounded violently.

The brambles could delay them for a while, but not for long.

First, he had already cut through part of them to enter. Second, those beasts could snap blades in their jaws; what were thorns to them but kindling?

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The sudden beat of hooves rang through the rain.

A mocking voice followed, carrying into the cave, “Young Prince, I know you’re hiding in there. There are no Xiao Royal Residence guards around and no others to protect you. Resistance is useless. Be sensible and offer this General an apology, and I’ll kill these hounds and pull you out myself. How about it?”

The cave mouth was low and from where he crouched, Xiao Rong could see only the shifting legs of a horse.

However, he needed no clearer view to know who it was.

He calmly set aside his bow, leaning against the cave wall as he wiped it dry, and said evenly, “I regret making an enemy of the General. But my leg is injured and I cannot walk, nor can I leave this place. I beg the General’s forgiveness.”

The man outside was none other than Cui Cheng.

He had originally intended to leave in frustration, but word soon came from his men that a heap of hunting dogs’ corpses had been found at the foot of a nearby slope. Following that trail, he was led there.

The voice from inside the cave was thin and fragile, nothing like the arrogant and defiant Young Prince he had confronted in daylight. Cui Cheng’s heart itched with anticipation; the thrill of cat-and-mouse rose within him. “No matter,” he said with mock magnanimity. “If the Young Prince cannot come out, then let this General go in and invite him out himself.”

Silence lingered in the cave.

At last, a voice appeared again, even fainter than before, “How could I trouble the General so?”

The note of timid hesitation only stirred his appetite further. “It’s no trouble at all.” Cui Cheng chuckled. “To be of service to the heir, this General could ask for nothing better.” He swung down from his horse and strode toward the cave.

“Wait!” Xiao Rong’s voice rang out sharply. “I am in no state to be seen. Except for the General, I will not allow another to look upon me. And those hounds outside, I fear them still.”

Cui Cheng had been acting behind Cui Daohuan’s back, bringing only two of his most trusted men. At those words, he smiled, waved his hand, and ordered his men to restrain the three savage hounds and withdraw to a distance.

“Better now, Young Prince?” he called, peering toward the thicketed entrance.

“Yes,” Xiao Rong replied evenly. “You may come in, General.”

Cui Cheng’s impatience overcame him; he stepped forward, hand outstretched to part the brambles—

Swish!

An arrow whistled out from the cave mouth, driving straight into his knee.

“If you dare take one step closer,” Xiao Rong’s cold voice followed, “the next arrow will not strike your leg.”

Cui Cheng grunted through clenched teeth, his eyes flashing with feral menace as he glared at the shaft buried in his flesh. “Young Prince,” he growled, “do not mistake mercy for weakness. Defy me and you will drink the bitter cup instead of the sweet.”

Inside, Xiao Rong drew the last arrow from his quiver, nocked it, and set his jaw. He held Cui Cheng firmly in his sights and loosed the arrow without hesitation when the man lunged forward.

The arrow buried itself deep into Cui Cheng’s thigh.

He collapsed to his knees.

His two retainers started forward in alarm, but his roar stopped them cold, “Stay back! No one comes near!” With a snarl, he forced himself upright, heedless of the blood streaming down both legs. Like a wounded beast, he tore away the brambles with his bare hands, about to drag himself into the cave—

When another iron arrow screamed through the storm, pierced the rain and lightning, and sank into his back.

Cui Cheng crumpled against the thorn hedge and fell unconscious.

At once, the thickets at the cave mouth were slashed open. Lightning’s glare mingled with storm-dim daylight, flooding the cavern in a harsh glow.

Xiao Rong gripped his sword with both hands, blade leveled toward the entrance.

“It’s me, Rongrong!”

A voice rang out, clear above the thunder.