Green Mountain
Chapter 339 - 279, Escape

Chapter 339: 279, Escape

In the darkness, Li Xuan hurried through the alley with a little girl on his back. Every few steps, he would stop to listen to the nearby shouts of battle, the sound of hooves, silently discerning the safest direction.

He stood in the dim alleyway, breathing heavily, while scanning the rooftops, trying to spot traces of Chen Ji.

After three days of siege, Li Xuan had only been able to drink thin, watery porridge. Today, he’d fought from noon until 7 p.m., and even an iron-willed person was starting to reach their limit.

When starvation sets in, the body first consumes the glycogen reserves in the liver and muscles. Three days is just enough time for these reserves to be completely depleted.

Weakness, dizziness, and lethargy—these were the most immediate sensations.

Li Xuan glanced at the elm tree beside him and couldn’t resist peeling off a piece of its dry bark, imagining it was beef jerky as he stuffed it in his mouth and chewed.

The tannins in the bark made it extraordinarily bitter. No matter how hard he chewed, he couldn’t manage to break it down.

A refugee behind him, seeing his desperate state, cautiously said, "Lord, elm bark has to be ground into flour to be edible... How many days have you been without food?"

Li Xuan forcefully swallowed the bark, undone: "Haven’t eaten it before, just thought to give it a try."

The little girl on his back suddenly stretched her hand toward his mouth. "Uncle, eat this," she said.

Li Xuan froze and looked down at the two shriveled jujubes in the little girl’s hand. "You..."

She whispered, "My mom gave them to me, said to eat one if I couldn’t bear the hunger anymore."

Li Xuan stuffed another piece of bark in his mouth and said with a smile, "You keep them for yourself."

The little girl stubbornly pushed the jujubes into his mouth. "I still have two more."

Chewing on the jujube, Li Xuan silently gazed at the narrow patch of night sky above the alley, his thoughts unknowable.

A refugee hesitantly asked, "Lord, your colleague from earlier—where did he go? If he could join us... we mean no offense, just seeing you struggle so much."

Li Xuan’s gaze swept over the empty rooftops again before he finally said, "He probably still has important matters to attend to."

At that moment, a team of Heavenly Strategy Army cavalry galloped past, dragging a border army soldier by his ankle on an iron chain until he was killed.

The crowd in the alley covered their mouths in horror, shrinking back for fear of being discovered by the Heavenly Strategy Army outside.

Once the cavalry passed by, Li Xuan moved to continue northward, trying to reunite with his comrades from the Yulin Army.

On the second floor of a tavern, a Heavenly Strategy Army divine archer leaned against the shadow of the eaves, silently rubbing his hard bow, his eagle-like eyes watching his comrades search from house to house.

He enjoyed this feeling of holding the power of life and death in his hands.

Suddenly, his ears twitched—seeming to catch the faint sound of coughing.

The divine archer straightened his back, his right hand reaching into his quiver, silently retrieving a signal arrow.

The next moment, Li Xuan led the refugees out of the alley, intending to cross Treasure Temple Street.

Like thunder, the divine archer bent his bow and nocked the arrow. With a resounding twang, the thick and flexible bowstring released a terrifying sound as the signal arrow, emitting a piercing whistle, flew straight toward Li Xuan and the little girl on his back, aiming to kill them with a single shot.

A swift change—the whistle of the signal arrow abruptly ceased! A heavy iron arrow shot from the darkness, shattering the signal arrow mid-air.

The divine archer’s heart sank. He hastily pulled another signal arrow from his quiver, not even pausing to aim, instinctively firing toward where the previous iron arrow had come from.

Too late.

Even before he loosened the bowstring, another iron arrow was upon him, crashing into and splintering his second signal arrow before piercing through his throat and pinning him to the wall behind.

The feathers at the end of the arrow quivered, slick with blood.

As Li Xuan turned back toward the rooftops, he saw Chen Ji lightly flip over the railings and snatch the divine archer’s quiver.

Without a word, Chen Ji pointed north from the rooftop.

Li Xuan immediately understood, hoisting the little girl onto his back and escaping northward.

Meanwhile, nearby Heavenly Strategy Army soldiers, hearing the signal arrow, paused their horses, preparing to follow its direction—but the whistle was too brief, leaving them puzzled about what had happened or where it had pointed.

The cavalry exchanged anxious glances. Before they could speak, another signal arrow flew west to east, prompting them to spur their horses in pursuit.

Arriving at the arrow’s destination, a cavalryman frowned at the arrow embedded in the wall and surveyed the empty street. "Why did the divine archer lead us here? There’s nothing here."

Among them, a military armor soldier wearing a black pheasant-feathered helmet said coldly, "Someone killed the divine archer and took his bow! Turn back!"

He tightened his reins, turned his horse around, and hefted his lance, heading toward the origin of the signal arrow’s sound.

Li Xuan and the refugees hadn’t gotten far before the sound of hooves grew louder and faster behind them.

It was bad. The Heavenly Strategy Army had acted quickly, unraveling Chen Ji’s ploy. If the cavalry caught up, all the refugees with him would surely perish!

Li Xuan suddenly turned to look at Chen Ji on the rooftop, only to find an equally grave expression on his face.

Just as Li Xuan was despairing, he saw Chen Ji hesitate for a long moment before finally drawing a signal arrow and shooting it into the sky!

Li Xuan froze in shock and watched as Chen Ji leapt from the roof, running along the rooftops in the opposite direction. Shortly after, another signal arrow flew into the sky, leading the Heavenly Strategy Army further away.

Listening to the sound of Chen Ji firing one signal arrow after another to mislead the enemy, Li Xuan’s feelings were a tangled mix of emotions.

...

...

Breathing.

Even, steady breathing was the key to maintaining balance.

Chen Ji heard the sound of pursuing cavalry growing closer behind him. He pulled an arrow from the quiver at his waist, never breaking stride or looking back as he fully drew his bow and fired behind him.

The bowstring quivered as the signal arrow, shrieking like a banshee, pierced through a Heavenly Strategy Army soldier’s chest, dragging him off his horse.

Chen Ji drew another arrow and fired again, bringing down another soldier in his armored plate, which collided with the ground with an ear-splitting clatter.

One arrow, one life; yet the Iron Cavalry seemed to multiply, their numbers swelling despite his efforts.

As Chen Ji fired another arrow, a shaft flew out from the shadows, striking him at the one moment of distraction and nearly reaching him.

From another hidden point in the darkness, another divine archer released one, two, three heavy iron arrows that sealed off Chen Ji’s path.

The archers hiding in the shadows quietly observed as their arrows closed in on Chen Ji—but he made no move to dodge them.

Just when they thought Chen Ji was doomed, the seemingly inevitable arrows ruptured mid-air into a shower of splinters, smashed by some invisible force.

The two archers narrowed their eyes, unable to discern what had just occurred.

Chen Ji coldly fixed his gaze on the direction of one archer, loosed an arrow in response, and sent the hidden archer scrambling sideways to avoid it.

With a thud, the archer fell mid-air. Trembling, he turned to look at his previous location, where an iron arrow now quivered.

Had he been a second slower, he would’ve been pinned to the wall.

Thwack!

An iron arrow carrying tremendous force struck him, slamming him against the wall. Two arrows—just two were all it took to slay a divine archer.

The other divine archer, seeing his colleague’s grisly end, retreated deeper into shadow, randomly firing three signal arrows in Chen Ji’s direction.

This was not someone they could kill. They needed reinforcements.

Fleeing, Chen Ji felt Heavenly Strategy Army troops encircling him like thickening porridge—slowly but inexorably tightening their net. Without the sword seed’s black radiance smashing incoming arrows, he knew he’d already be riddled with holes.

Meanwhile, the raging fire of Guyuan City had spread here. Thick, heavy smoke billowed from buildings, and the crimson fireline twisted like a rope bisecting the city.

Chen Ji ran alongside the blaze, racking his brain for the next escape route.

The Iron Cavalry’s encirclement tightened. While fleeing, Chen Ji continued to shoot, thinning their numbers. Suddenly, ahead, a squad of cavalry appeared, lying in wait for him.

Chen Ji reached for his arrow quiver but found it empty. Looking down, he realized every arrow had been spent.

He raised his head and saw cavalry charging him, close enough to render escape impossible.

Thirty paces.

Twenty paces.

Ten paces.

Chen Ji abandoned his hard bow and drew the Whale Blade strapped to his back!

Just then, a figure darted out from a side alley, their sword flashing in quick streaks, scattering the cavalry’s formation in moments.

Li Xuan shouted, "Run quickly!"

Chen Ji asked, confused, "Why are you here?"

Li Xuan hastily explained, "Some infantry fought their way out of the city and are engaging the Heavenly Strategy Army. I’ve already sent the civilians to safety."

Chen Ji glanced behind; a flood of cavalry approached. He looked ahead; another torrent of charging cavalry awaited. Escape was impossible in either direction—the only path left was the raging flames to his left.

Gritting his teeth, Chen Ji grabbed Li Xuan, covered his nose and mouth, and plunged into the dense smoke and fire. He had to gamble—the gamble that he could cross the fireline.

At that moment, the converging cavalry from the east, west, and north rushed toward him like a tide, only to come up empty-handed.

A divine archer climbed atop a tavern’s roof, surveying the rolling smoke below him. The fireline and smoke spanned a width of over twenty paces—like a chasm splitting Guyuan City apart.

Just when he assumed Chen Ji and Li Xuan had perished in the flames, two figures emerged from the suffocating smoke, coughing as they escaped southward!

The divine archer’s heart sank. He pulled out a signal arrow and fired toward the south.

A military armor soldier wearing black feathers noticed Chen Ji’s escape. Thinking about how one man had led over a hundred soldiers on a fruitless chase, fury overtook him. He roared, "Chase them!"

With that, he tied a black cloth over his horse’s eyes, gripped the steed tightly, and spurred it forward. Together, horse and rider leapt into the inferno.