The crimson smoke and clouds were still burning along the horizon. Liu Hanyan leaned back against the gnarled old tree root, clutching Yue Tingyun's icy hand; his breathing was already extremely faint.
The deathly silence in the woods had been shattered by the blast of that signal arrow, yet it quickly sank into an even more suffocating state of waiting.
"Cough, cough… those running dogs of the Prince Mansion… move so damn slow…" Yue Tingyun forced his eyelids open, his voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz, still not forgetting to sneer.
"Shut up! Save your strength!" Liu Hanyan hissed, but her ears stayed keenly attuned to any disturbance in the forest.
At that moment, a sound like dry leaves being lightly crushed came from the dense fern thicket to their left. It wasn't the wind, nor a beast. Every hair on Liu Hanyan's body stood on end! She jerked her head up, only to see, from within that patch of shadow, a gaunt figure slowly emerge.
It was Wu Meng!
