Chapter 564 - 570: Deadly Attack

With Han Yu leading the way and having already arranged a retreat route and backups, the group managed to withdraw smoothly. Despite encountering small groups of pursuers, simply killing them off didn’t take too much effort. So far, everything has been safe; even afterwards, the escape could almost be considered extremely smooth, without any pursuers or obstacles, quickly reaching a safe place.

The young man’s name was Luo Ziling.

He had grown up in this small mountain village since he was a child, living with his grandfather Luo Liansheng in the small mountain village for twenty years.

Grandpa’s medical skills were quite good, and Luo Ziling had also learned medicine from him since he was young. Although he hadn’t reached the level where he could miraculously cure most diseases like his grandfather, he was still considered a skilled doctor—at least that’s what everyone who knew him said.

Grandpa thought so too, saying that Luo Ziling had already mastered his true teachings and that with more experience, his medical skills would surpass his own.

The woman Luo Ziling had brought back, although seriously injured and having lost a lot of blood, didn’t worry him too much after he checked her pulse and heartbeat. All he needed to do was to remove the bullet that remained in her body, and she would be fine.

The woman had suffered a gunshot wound, and there was still a bullet inside her body. Fortunately, the bullet hadn’t hit her heart or major blood vessels.

The woman had simply fallen into a coma due to excessive blood loss and the shock from multiple traumas.

After preparing the necessary medicines and instruments and turning on the shadowless lamp, Luo Ziling began to treat the injured woman.

Lifting the blanket that covered the woman’s body, her form was once again exposed in front of Luo Ziling.

Despite the bloodstains all over the injured woman’s body, her allure was hard to conceal, and Luo Ziling couldn’t help but swallow hard. He had to take several deep breaths, forcing himself to cast aside any distracting thoughts.

“Not to be looked upon without consent, not to be looked upon without consent,” he muttered to himself a few times before finally fully stepping into the role of a doctor. After administering local anesthesia and stopping the bleeding with his skilled acupuncture techniques and self-prepared medicines, Luo Ziling put on disposable gloves, lit the alcohol lamp, and prepared to extract the bullet.

The woman was quite lucky; the injured area on her chest was about two centimeters away from her heart and major blood vessels. Otherwise, if the heart or major vessels in the chest and abdomen had been hit, and the bleeding couldn’t be stopped, even a divine doctor couldn’t save her life.

The injured woman’s muscles were quite firm, and her body had very nice curves without an ounce of excess fat, clearly the result of long-term labor or consistent exercise. Long-term labor or exercise had made her body develop very well.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Her well-developed body not only disturbed Luo Ziling’s mind but also made the surgery more difficult.

He quickly became parched and his heartbeat and breathing became rapid.

At twenty years old, a young virgin was at the peak of his vigor, and he had almost no resistance to the temptation of a woman’s body.

If Luo Ziling’s temperament hadn’t been out of the ordinary, he might have already been weak in the knees and clueless about what to do under these circumstances.

Eventually, it took him a Herculean effort to extract the bullet that was lodged in her chest cavity.

The bullet hadn’t penetrated deeply, making it easy to remove.

Of course, if it had gone deep into the chest cavity, the woman might have already been dead.

The anesthesia from the acupuncture and homemade medicine worked quite well. While extracting the bullet from the injured woman, her body didn’t react too much and she slept soundly. However, Luo Ziling expended a lot of physical strength, and sweat dripped continuously from his forehead.

After extracting the bullet from the injured woman’s body, treating the wound, applying anti-inflammatory and hemostatic medicines, and bandaging the wound, Luo Ziling was drenched in sweat, his whole body soaked.

But he didn’t rest, as the injured woman still had a gunshot wound on her left thigh, with another bullet to be removed.

While extracting the bullet from her chest cavity, the injured area bled profusely again, and blood flowed over her body, staining it everywhere. Luo Ziling carefully took a clean towel and wiped off the bloodstains from her body.

Some of the bloodstains had already coagulated, and it took Luo Ziling quite some effort and vigorous rubbing to clean them off.

Luo Ziling also noticed that there was a large black mole under her right breast.

At first, he thought it was a bloodstain or dirt and rubbed it vigorously twice until he realized it was a mole and stopped.

He felt embarrassed, and although the woman was still in a coma, he blushed as if he had done something shameful.

He swore to himself that he didn’t mean to take advantage of the woman; he truly thought it was dirt.

The woman had a great figure, but she had many scars on her body that marred the overall aesthetic.

Especially the long scar from her left breast to her shoulder blade, it looked so shocking.

This woman must have been injured many times; otherwise, she wouldn’t have so many scars.

What was her identity? Why did she have so many scars?

This was the doubt that Luo Ziling couldn’t suppress in his heart.

Luo Ziling also wanted to use their Luo family’s ancestral medical skills to remove these scars from the injured woman.

By cutting away the old scars and applying the medicine he and his grandfather had formulated together, the wounds would heal without leaving any scars.

Although the woman hadn’t opened her eyes and he couldn’t fully see her face, from her delicate nose, long eyelashes, perfect face shape, and slender neck, he could infer that this woman wouldn’t be unattractive.

A beautiful woman with so many scars on her body, he found it heart-wrenching and couldn’t help but feel a compulsion.

He eventually suppressed his compulsion; the woman’s wounds hadn’t been treated yet!

The woman’s clothes, including her bra, had all been removed by Luo Ziling, leaving only a very old-fashioned pair of panties on her body.

The black four-cornered panties were also soaked, and the water seeping out from inside the panties flowed onto the wound.

Luo Ziling hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to take off the last bit of clothing on her body.

“Xiu Qi has always been this cautious. However, I feel the journey has become increasingly peaceful. It’s very likely that Zhao Fan realized we had escaped far and, knowing he couldn’t catch up, chose to give up and recalled the troops pursuing us. After all, they have already taken Yiyang City, achieving their goal. Why bother chasing us relentlessly?”

At this time, Liu Xiu did not yet perceive himself as a threat to the Imperial Court, underestimating his importance in Wang Mang’s eyes, which is why he thought this way. After all, the court has long been in chaos, with numerous armies and troops harboring rebellious intentions—not only his. It’s just that his force’s momentum has been the strongest, which is why Wang Mang harbored fear and decided to send a large army for suppression. Now that they had been defeated, their threat to the court seemed diminished.

But in Wang Mang’s eyes, Liu Xiu had always been a source of great apprehension and significance. Firstly, Liu Xiu’s rapid growth, plus the assistance of capable people, gave Wang Mang a sense of crisis. Moreover, Liu Xiu’s older brother was also a formidable force within the Rebel Army, persistently challenging the court, significantly impacting its governance. More importantly, both brothers were descendants of the Liu royal dynasty, a status that made it easy for those loyal to the Liu monarchy to defect to their side.

Through the Insider Sikong Ling within the Imperial Court, Han Yu had a clear understanding of the situation inside and out. He knew that the courtiers would never let Liu Xiu off easily, suspecting they had long harbored thoughts of swift elimination. Otherwise, the previous assassination attempts would not have occurred. Now that Liu Xiu had become even more of a concern for the court, letting him go was even less likely. Han Yu was aware that Wang Mang had officially issued a kill order against Liu Xiu, so Zhao Fan’s men would not give up so easily.

Having warned Liu Xiu, Han Yu considered his duty fulfilled. Whether Liu Xiu would act upon and believe the warning or not, what was going to happen would still unfold; Han Yu fell silent once more, saying no more.

Although Liu Xiu hadn’t sensed the impending danger, he obviously trusted Han Yu more than before. Taking Han Yu’s words into consideration, Liu Xiu felt somewhat uneasy and refused to linger or rest, leading his people back on the road.

“What Xiu Qi said is quite sensible. The enemy is cunning, and we should be cautious. It’s better to leave the territory of Yiyang Prefecture and reach a safe place sooner to rest well afterward,” Liu Xiu said.

In truth, Han Yu wanted to say that being cautious now was already too late. No sooner had Liu Xiu spoken and they set off than they passed a small hill and were ambushed by countless soldiers, who had long been lurking on the sides of the hill, waiting for them to pass before striking.

“Kill them all! The superior has issued a direct order to capture Liu Xiu, dead or alive. Whoever captures Liu Xiu will be rewarded handsomely. We cannot let Liu Xiu escape; otherwise, we face military law. Today, it’s either his death or ours—charge!” shouted the commanding Soldier, his voice booming.

Encouraged by those words, which concerned their very lives, the soldiers charged at Liu Xiu with bloodlust, each one eager to claim his life.

“Damn it, if you want my life, let’s see if you have the ability. Let’s find out whether you kill me first or I slaughter you!” Liu Xiu, either enraged by the words or something else, cursed—a rare outburst, seemingly provoked by the disregard for his life.

“Liu Xiu, the rebel, stop being delusional! Watch as we take your life and return with your head to claim our rewards!”

The local general said no more, choosing instead to let his sword do the talking.

Liu Xiu was no pushover. Apart from having many bodyguards and Soldier protecting him, he was also skilled with both pen and sword. Joining the desperate fray, he swiftly reaped two more lives with his blade.

“My Lord, be careful!” Han Yu, without any hesitation, guarded Liu Xiu’s side, assuming a strategic position to prepare for the battle ahead.

Seeing Han Yu’s protective stance, similar to his reactions when they faced pursuers these past days, Liu Xiu felt a surge of gratitude and relief.

“Rest assured, Xiu Qi. You face the enemy; don’t worry about me. I, Liu Xiu, am not some frail scholar without the strength to truss a chicken. I can handle these soldiers’ assassination attempts!” As Liu Xiu spoke, his sword danced, quickly claiming two more lives,

“Alright, Uncle Wen, be careful. Swords and sabers are blind, make sure to protect yourself. I’ll handle things here.” Seeing the importance the court placed on Liu Xiu to send so many after him, Han Yu had his own calculations, but the immediate problem still required a solution.

“Don’t worry, I…” Liu Xiu, full of confidence, felt relatively at ease despite the large number of pursuers. With no significant figure among them and Han Yu by his side, he felt secure. However, before he could finish his thought, a flash of a sword aimed at him from behind. Liu Xiu, preoccupied with his current adversaries, hadn’t noticed the impending danger.

Seeing the sword light closing in on Liu Xiu, it looked to be the work of an expert Assassin capable of lying in wait within their ranks, waiting for the opportunity to deliver a deadly strike.

Though Han Yu’s hands were busy fighting, he kept a close watch on Liu Xiu’s situation. Spotting the threat, he shouted a warning to Liu Xiu, and before Liu Xiu could react, quickly moved to intercept the lethal attack.

Liu Xiu hadn’t fully processed Han Yu’s cry of “Careful, there’s an Assassin behind you!” and spun around instinctively.

The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!