AUBTN -Chapter 36 Encountering Enemies in the Mountain Forest

Shen Jue changed into an ordinary dark-blue cloth robe, making him look like a refined and handsome accountant.

Su Hewan and Yu Qing disguised themselves as attendant servants, shrinking into the corner of the carriage.

As the carriage drove into the night, Su Hewan kept her nerves tightly strung.

“This diversion tactic was played quite beautifully,” Su Hewan said in a low voice.

“Just now they deliberately made a commotion at the front gate to draw Prince Ning’s attention away, while we slipped out of the city from this side. It’s just that…”

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Jue—who had been resting with his eyes closed—suddenly opened them.

“It’s just that that old fox Prince Ning isn’t so easy to fool.”

Shen Jue let out a cold laugh, his slender fingers pressing against the hilt of the blade at his waist.

“We’ve got a tail.”

“What?” Yu Qing nearly screamed in fright. She hurriedly covered her mouth, her wide eyes round with terror.

“Someone’s following us? How is that possible? We were so careful…”

Su Hewan’s heart also skipped a beat, her expression instantly turning grim.

“Only the few of us knew this route. How could it have been exposed? Could it be…”

She suddenly looked at Shen Jue, disbelief flashing in her eyes.

“Another mole?”

An intelligence agency like the Eastern Depot should have been airtight, but with so many incidents happening one after another lately—if there wasn’t a traitor, even ghosts wouldn’t believe it.

Shen Jue didn’t answer. Instead, killing intent surged in his eyes.

He snorted disdainfully. “Just a few rats in the gutter. Do they really deserve my attention?”

When the carriage reached a stretch of forest outside the city, he turned his head and swept a sharp gaze over the two of them.

“No matter what happens later, stay inside the carriage. Don’t come out.”

“I won’t! Even if you beat me to death I won’t come out!” Yu Qing shook her head like a rattle drum, curling up into a ball and complaining with a tearful voice.

“Why? Why is it that ever since we transmigrated here, we’re either running for our lives or on the way to running for our lives? Every other moment it’s life-or-death—this script’s difficulty level is way too high!”

Although Su Hewan was just as anxious inside, she forced herself to remain calm. She wrapped an arm around Yu Qing’s trembling shoulders and gently patted her.

“Don’t be afraid. Shen Jue is here.”

She said that for Yu Qing’s sake, but it sounded as if she were also saying it to herself.

In her heart she silently added:

【Although that damn eunuch is usually unpredictable and ruthless, his combat power is definitely top-tier. As long as he doesn’t suddenly go crazy and sell us out, we should… be fine, right?】

【But he still has old injuries. The poison he took while saving me earlier hasn’t been completely cleared yet. After all this confrontation and breaking people out of prison, even someone made of iron couldn’t withstand it forever. If a fight really breaks out and he can’t hold up…】

Su Hewan’s worried gaze uncontrollably fell on Shen Jue’s slightly pale profile.

Shen Jue’s hand, which was about to lift the carriage curtain, paused slightly.

Worried about him?

For a brief moment, an almost imperceptible trace of pleasure flashed across the icy depths of Shen Jue’s eyes.

There were as many people in this world hoping for his death as carp crossing a river. But someone worrying whether his body could endure it—this woman was the first.

“Sit tight.”

He gave a low reminder, his body shifting as he prepared to flip out of the carriage.

“Wait!”

Su Hewan suddenly called out to stop him.

Shen Jue turned back. He saw Su Hewan quickly pull a moon-white handkerchief from her robes and, without explanation, hold it out to him.

“This is…” Shen Jue raised an eyebrow slightly. It was clearly a woman’s personal item, with a few embroidered orchids on it.

“Those outside must be Prince Ning’s men,” Su Hewan said rapidly, though her eyes were unusually resolute.

“Even if they’ve probably guessed it’s you, as long as they don’t see your face and don’t catch you on the spot, we can still deny everything afterward. The Eastern Depot still can’t completely fall out with Prince Ning—especially not over such obvious evidence.”

She pushed the handkerchief forward a little.

“This is a woman’s personal belonging, so it’s… not exactly proper. But in special circumstances, we can only make special arrangements. Covering your face is better than leaving it exposed.”

Shen Jue lowered his eyes, looking at the handkerchief that carried a faint fragrance, then at Su Hewan’s utterly serious expression.

If anyone else had dared to insult him with something like this, that person’s hand would probably have been broken by now.

But, as if possessed by some strange impulse, he reached out and took the handkerchief.

The moment their fingertips touched, the slight coolness of Su Hewan’s fingers made his heart tremble inexplicably.

“Med­dle­s­ome.”

He spat out the two words in disdain, yet his movements were extremely swift as he tied the handkerchief over his face, leaving only a pair of cold, star-like eyes visible.

The next second, cold steel flashed from its sheath.

Shen Jue moved like lightning, suddenly lifting the carriage curtain and darting out!

Outside the carriage, the sounds of battle erupted instantly.

The harsh clang of weapons colliding, the frantic neighing of horses, and the agonized screams of men tangled together, making the silent wilderness feel especially terrifying.

Su Hewan and Yu Qing clung tightly to each other, listening to the chaos outside, their hearts lodged in their throats.

Through a gap in the curtain blown open by the wind, Su Hewan saw Shen Jue—one man with a single blade—moving like a phantom among the men in black.

His blade work was incredibly fast. Even surrounded, he moved as if no one could stop him.

However, the enemy had clearly come prepared. There were many of them, and every one of them was a trained dead soldier, fighting with complete disregard for their lives. They stubbornly entangled Shen Jue, refusing to let him get close to the carriage.

“Damn it! There are too many of them!” Su Hewan gritted her teeth.

Just as Shen Jue was momentarily surrounded by five or six men in black, a shadow suddenly darted out from the side. Using the cover of night, he leapt onto the front shaft of the carriage!

“Ah!” Yu Qing screamed in terror.

The man in black grinned viciously and slashed the carriage curtain open. The cold, gleaming blade thrust straight toward the people inside!

“Die!”

At that critical moment, Su Hewan didn’t know where she found the strength. She grabbed the copper hand-warmer from beneath the seat and hurled it with all her might straight at the man’s face!

The assassin hadn’t expected such resistance from someone who looked so delicate. Caught off guard, he was struck squarely in the face. Blood burst from his nose as his body staggered.

“Qingqing! Push him!” Su Hewan shouted.

Although Yu Qing’s legs were trembling with fear, the instinct to survive unleashed surprising strength.

With her eyes squeezed shut, she screamed while lifting both feet and kicking fiercely at the man’s chest.

“Ahhhh! Get off the carriage!!”

Working together, the two of them actually knocked the man off balance. With a miserable scream, he fell from the carriage.

But as he dropped, the knife in his hand swung wildly—and the blade stabbed deeply into the rump of the horse pulling the carriage!

The horse shrieked in pain and instantly went mad.

It reared up on its front legs, ignoring direction completely, and bolted forward like a lunatic, dragging the carriage with it!

“Ah—!”

The carriage lurched violently. Su Hewan and Yu Qing were thrown back and forth, their heads slamming into the carriage walls, stars exploding before their eyes.

“Shen Jue!!!” Su Hewan shouted in panic.

Hearing the commotion, Shen Jue abruptly turned his head. His pupils shrank sharply.

The carriage was racing forward like a beast that had broken free of its reins.

And the direction it was heading…

…was a cliff.

“You’re courting death!”

Murderous intent surged in Shen Jue’s eyes. Ignoring the blade slashing toward his back, he took the hit and burst forward, chasing after the carriage!

“Jump out!” he roared into the wind.

But the maddened carriage was moving far too fast, jolting wildly along the rugged mountain path, ready to overturn at any moment.

Su Hewan clung desperately to the window frame, feeling as if her organs were about to be shaken out of her body.

She glanced outside through the shattered window—and her vision immediately darkened.

Less than a hundred meters ahead was a pitch-black cliff.

“It’s over! It’s over! We’re going to die!” Yu Qing cried, her makeup running as she clutched Su Hewan’s waist.

“I haven’t even fallen in love yet! I haven’t won Best Actress! I haven’t even slept with Lu Yan! I don’t want to die!”

Su Hewan’s face was equally pale. After a moment of blankness, she forced herself to calm down.

【Jump from the carriage?】

【At this speed, they would die—or at least be crippled.】

【Don’t jump?】

【They would be smashed to pieces ahead.】

【Calm down, Su Hewan! You’re a warrior of materialism!】

【There must be a way!】