AYM Chapter 107

The sudden, excruciating pain in his right arm startled Li Xuanjing and caught him completely off guard. He stared in shock at Tang Tong, who had swung his blade at him, but Tang Tong’s strike still failed to stop the arrow from flying free.

So close, already so close to the Emperor.

Joy had crept into Yan Yihuan’s eyes. He could think of nothing else, his heart filled with only this one thought!

A tremendous impact struck him from behind, making his eyes widen in an instant. His body was immediately propelled forward by the immense force. Staggering forward with it, Yan Yihuan lowered his head in disbelief, only to see a bloodstained arrowhead protruding through his body. It was only then that excruciating pain washed over him in a powerful wave.

In the instant he fell, Yan Yihuan saw the Emperor galloping madly toward him, but his ears were ringing. He knew the Emperor was shouting, yet he could not hear a thing.

Li Xuanjing stared at Li Xuanming in the distance, watching his expression crumble in an instant. A surge of exhilaration swept through his entire body. Even the deep wound in his arm that cut all the way to the bone could not stop the corners of his mouth from curling upward.

Tang Tong had already been pinned to the ground by the people around him. Those nearby stared at his arm and cried out in alarm, calling for His Highness, but Li Xuanjing reached behind himself and drew out another arrow. Completely disregarding the blood gushing from the wound and the torn flesh still constantly spliting apart, he once again drew the bowstring taut.

The spot where Yan Yihuan had fallen was still within his range.

As long as he aimed at Li Xuanming, whose eyes held nothing but Yan Yihuan, it would all be over. Li Xuanjing could not help but laugh. “You love him that much? Then go die with him!”

“Your Highness! Something terrible has happened!” A frantic shout from behind, accompanied by the sound of galloping hooves, instantly shattered Li Xuanjing’s tightly wound nerves. The voice continued to shout as the rider approached, its pitch distorted by terror. “A vast army suddenly came from behind! Everyone was caught completely off guard and was practically slaughtered the whole way!”

“Who?!”

“They are carrying the banners of the Yan army! Leading them is none other than King Yan’s heir, Yan Zheng!”

Yan Zheng…!?

How could it possibly be Yan Zheng?!

His arm seemed to suddenly regain sensation. The excruciating pain made Li Xuanjing tremble all over, and the bowstring he had been holding fully drawn instantly slackened. The bow and arrow fell from his horse almost simultaneously. When Li Xuanjing looked up again, the two figures who were already stuck to each other had been blocked from view by countless elite soldiers.

But before Li Xuanjing could even curse King Yan, countless deafening shouts came from beyond the hill, accompanied by countless flames pouring into view. His pupils suddenly contracted. It turned out that the forces led by Li Xuanming were not limited to these meager troops.

Wasn’t there barely any of the capital’s garrison left? How did he still have so many men!

Overcome with rage, Li Xuanjing felt a wave of dizziness. Yet the stream of devastating news did not spare him.

“Your Highness! His Highness King Qin has been… been killed by King Yan!”

A metallic taste instantly surged in his throat, impossible to suppress. Li Xuanjing spat out a mouthful of blood, while even the warhorse beneath him sensed the unsettling disturbance, letting out a neigh as it reared high on its hind legs.

“Li Xuanming!”

Even with blood still streaming from the corner of his lips, Li Xuanjing continued to roar, “So what if you win? Yan Yihuan is dead. I killed him!”

“He is my Empress!” Li Xuanjing gripped the reins tightly and laughed maniacally. “He can only accompany me to death!”

“Get out of Zhen’s way!”

The command left the elite soldiers guarding Li Xuanming stunned for a moment, but their rigorous training kicked in, and they immediately parted in perfect formation, allowing Li Xuanming, also mounted high upon his steed, to face Li Xuanjing from afar.

Compared to the swaying, seemingly deranged Li Xuanjing, Li Xuanming’s expression, though grim, remained impassive, seemingly unaffected by the curses at all, as composed as before.

Except for Yan Yihuan leaning against him with his eyes tightly closed, the clothes over his chest soaked in blood, and the glaring arrowhead protruding from him.

The dark ebony longbow was held firmly in his hand. A sharp arrow glinted coldly against the taut bowstring, its tip pointed directly at Li Xuanjing.

“Even if you kill me, you can’t bring him back.” Li Xuanjing, covered in blood, looked like a devil as he laughed hoarsely. “You’ll regret this for the rest of your li…”

The instant the arrow was released, Li Xuanming lowered his eyes. He tossed the bow directly to the person beside him, then lifted Yan Yihuan’s slumping body, carefully avoiding the site of the arrow wound as he gathered him into his arms. Without looking back, he spurred his horse away.

Du Yunsong watched this scene in utter shock. Even as a battle-hardened veteran, his heart could not help but pound, secretly relieved that he hadn’t stubbornly resisted and stayed on Li Xuanjing’s side.

Seeing the horse’s pace quicken, Du Yunsong suddenly understood. He hurriedly pointed at a group of soldiers,

“Escort the Emperor back to the palace!”

Then he glanced at Li Xuanjing, who had already collapsed to the ground, and raised the spear in his hand.

“All soldiers, heed my command! Follow this general and slaughter every last one of the rebels! Leave no survivors!”

The deafening sounds of battle no longer mattered to him. The moment Li Xuanming turned his horse around, he finally broke down. The person in his arms had always been lively and full of energy. Even at the slightest bump, he would deliberately come to Li Xuanming and cry out in pain, just for a look of heartache from him.

But now, when the ache in Li Xuanming’s eyes had almost completely blurred his vision, Yan Yihuan’s eyes were tightly shut, no longer able to flash that triumphant smile again.

“You won’t die.”

The wind howled past his ears. Although his gaze remained fixed on the road ahead, Li Xuanming could not resist leaning down to kiss that cold forehead. “Our fate has only just begun. It absolutely will not end here, not at this moment!”

A full day had passed since the battle. The imperial palace was so quiet that it seemed as though nothing had ever happened, as if the bloody battle of the previous night had never taken place.

Shen Zhaoquan watched the tightly closed doors of the sleeping quarters with deep anxiety. He paced toward them several times, only to stop himself, afraid of disturbing those inside.

Inside were Yan Yihuan, who was barely clinging on to life, the imperial physician and master healer Sun Zhicheng, and the current emperor, who had remained silent the entire time, his eyes red with emotion.

Shen Zhaoquan had never doubted that the Emperor would return victorious, but he had never imagined it would be under such circumstances. He did not even dare ask what had happened to Yan Yihuan. All he could do was quietly wait for those doors to open.

Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps sounded behind him. Shen Zhaoquan whipped around, only to see King Yan and Yan Zheng stride in without even changing out of their heavy armor. To enter the Emperor’s sleeping quarters clad in full armor was an outright act of disrespect, but who had the heart to question it now?

“Yihuan, he…” King Yan had no time to care about anything else. King Qin and the heir of Qin were both dead, while the Qin army had either fled or surrendered. With him and Du Yunsong attacking from both sides, they had won a resounding victory with almost no effort.

When he regrouped with Du Yunsong, he had wondered why the Emperor was nowhere to be seen. Only after asking did he learn that Li Xuanjing had shot Yan Yihuan and that he had been taken to the palace.

“King Yan, please calm down. His Majesty has been inside, keeping watch for a full day and night without sleep.”

“His Majesty?” King Yan was stunned for a moment. “Why would His Majesty…?”

Even Shen Zhaoquan, who had always been meticulous in his thoughts, was flustered. Only then did he remember that King Yan knew nothing about the matter between the Emperor and the Third Young Master Yan. For a moment, Shen Zhaoquan did not know how to explain, so he could only lower his head and stand to the side, afraid to say anything more.

King Yan understood at once. He glanced at the tightly closed doors with a complicated expression, then looked at Yan Zheng, only to see him looking equally solemn as he shook his head.

“This son does not know either.”

Although he did not know, how could he possibly fail to understand? So it turned out that this fated calamity was something they could never escape, no matter what they did.

“Enough…” King Yan gazed at the door, his heart heavy with worry yet tinged with faint relief. “As long as Yihuan can live, let it be as fate decrees.”