Untouchable Lovers

Chapter 233: Chapter 212: Slowly Coming Fragrance Amidst the Snow_2

Chapter 233: Chapter 212: Slowly Coming Fragrance Amidst the Snow_2

This was no longer an issue of merit; the thought of claiming credit had long been cast aside. At this moment, Zong Yue’s only thought was how to slice Rong Zhi into pieces with his blade to quench the hatred in his heart from being mocked by him twice.

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Rong Zhi glanced at Zong Yue, who was getting increasingly closer, and said with a smile, “After all, man’s plans can’t beat heaven’s designs.”

When he had awakened, he hastily pulled out the jade hairpin to resolve Hua Cuo’s crisis. The sword he used was borrowed from Huan Yuan, so where could he find poison? When he said he had used poison, it was nothing more than leveraging his own accumulated awe and Zong Yue’s suspicions to intimidate him.

However, no matter how meticulous his thoughts were, he couldn’t have accounted for unexpected random events, such as Zong Yue encountering his own people on the way back, or—

Rong Zhi looked back over his shoulder.

Or, Chu Yu.

Not Liu Chuyu, but Chu Yu.

Silently calculating how much strength he still had left to use in these circumstances and to what extent he could do it, Rong Zhi picked up the sword again. After resting for more than half a day, he had recovered slightly. If he had been in this state earlier, he could have killed Zong Yue with one stroke and eliminated future troubles.

Of course, it was pointless to say “if” at this time. Rong Zhi merely gave it a passing thought, then focused all his attention on facing the enemy.

However, before Zong Yue’s cavalry army even reached them, Rong Zhi seemed to sense something. Ignoring the fact that Zong Yue and the others would soon approach, he turned around and looked in the opposite direction.

Chu Yu also turned around in surprise.

On their other side, the road split into two, and on the left branch of the road, there was also a dark cloud accompanied by the sound of hooves, galloping towards them with great momentum.

One after the other, two troops surrounded Chu Yu and the others from both front and back.

The Black Cavalry had appeared later within their sight but had almost simultaneously arrived in front of them with the other cavalry unit.

Chu Yu only heard the hoofbeats like thunder, as several hundred horses swept past like a fierce wind, kicking up shards of snow on the snowy ground, creating a vast cloud of white mist. It seemed as though the Black Cavalry were stepping on clouds as they approached. The riders were all dressed in black from head to toe, draped in black woolen cloaks, their faces covered with black scarves to ward off the snow. Even more impressive was that each horse matched the color of the rider’s clothes, born with a body of black hair, majestic and powerful.

The leader of the cavalry rushed up to Chu Yu, suddenly raised his hand, reined in his horse, and the steed stopped with a loud neigh. Following that, the hundreds of horses behind him let out a long whinny, impressively halting in unison right where they stood.

It wasn’t until this group of riders stopped that Chu Yu could see they numbered only a hundred or so, but each one was remarkably agile. They were arrayed in two neat rows, not more than fifty in each, their presence seemed to surpass that of the three or four hundred men on Zong Yue’s side by a great margin.

The leader dismounted from his horse and strode toward Rong Zhi. Stopping one zhang away from Rong Zhi, he removed his mask, kneeled on one knee, and said, “Yu Wenxiong pays his respects to the young master.”

The man who claimed to be Yu Wenxiong was in fact Yu Wen, whom Chu Yu had met before. Unlike the affable demeanor he presented when he accompanied Chu Yu to Jiangling, his eyes now held steadfast determination, and his entire being exuded a sturdy and sharp aura, much like a drawn sword. And now, this sword lay prostrate at Rong Zhi’s feet.

Rong Zhi, still leaning against the carriage, made a slight gesture with his palm, signaling Yu Wenxiong to stand, and then turned back with a smile to Zong Yue, whose expression was a mixture of shock and uncertainty, and said, “General Zong, would you care to battle us?”

Just moments ago, Rong Zhi was uncertain whether he could escape from this predicament, but with Yu Wenxiong’s arrival, the situation had completely turned around—at least, it had in his mind.

Zong Yue looked at the riders brought by Yu Wenxiong with an odd expression. Soldiers of the Southern Dynasty were not particularly accomplished in mounted archery, so he couldn’t fathom that within the territory of the Southern Dynasty, there would be such a formidable cavalry. Without the need for a formal battle, just the sight of the opposing force’s momentum made it clear that they were ten times stronger than the cavalry behind him.

But having failed twice to deal with Rong Zhi, he wasn’t content to just retreat.

Yu Wenxiong glanced coldly at Zong Yue, then whirled around and bellowed, “Men! Prepare for battle!” His voice was robust and majestic, and it burst forth like thunder over the plain.

“Kill!” The hundred knights responded in unison, their cry shaking the heavens as they simultaneously drew their sabers, a flash of white from the blades nearly blinding Zong Yue. Snowflakes, carrying a fierce killing aura, lashed at him.

What bravery, what momentum.

Zong Yue almost felt envious. He didn’t know where these cavalrymen had come from but thought if all the cavalry of the Southern Dynasty could be as valiant and sturdy as these, how wonderful would that be?

Heaven was helping Rong Zhi.

At this point, Zong Yue knew there was nothing more he could do. If he lost his rationality and insisted on fighting, he would only lead his entire army to destruction. Biting back his resentment, he said a few words to the commander next to him, then led his troops to slowly retreat.

He had pursued them thrice, only to be repelled by Rong Zhi each time. Even though the taste in his mouth was as bitter as gentian, he had no choice but to swallow it down.

Yu Wenxiong turned to Rong Zhi and asked, “My lord, shall we pursue?”

Rong Zhi smiled and said, “No need. With turmoil in Jiankang, the new Emperor will surely not tolerate him. Why should we waste our strength?” He paused, then glanced at Yu Wenxiong with a smile, “How did you come to be here?”

Before Yu Wenxiong could reply, Rong Zhi’s eyebrows lifted slightly as he suddenly remembered something and looked behind the hundred riders with a smiling gaze.

On that road, now trampled and chaotic from the horses’ hooves, a solitary figure approached at a slow pace. It was a person in a black cloak, riding steadily, the horse’s hooves tapping rhythmically on the ground, the sound reaching Chu Yu and the others.

As the figure drew closer, the hundred Black Cavalry automatically parted down the middle, creating a path to allow the rider to come directly to Rong Zhi.

Rong Zhi smiled.

The person stopped their horse and dismounted slowly. His movements were a bit clumsy as if his body was not very agile, and his horsemanship was so bad it wasn’t worth mentioning, but Yu Wenxiong did not show any contempt. Instead, he watched the figure with respect.

The person stood firmly after dismounting, then slowly raised a hand, lifting the black felt cloak to reveal a face with deep scars from a sword wound on one cheek.

That face, originally very beautiful and delicate, now appeared tragically miserable against the terrible scars and the look of exhaustion.

All was silent.

Moxiang.

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Well, this chapter is when Moxiang should really make a comeback, but initially, I was not firm enough and couldn’t help letting her come back early… tears, it’s my fault… I will rewrite this part completely in the published version…