Huo Rou drew her saber from her waist and lunged toward Sun Zhiyuan's chest.
Qin Ningyi watched from afar, wanting to stop her. Sun Zhiyuan, after all, was a traitor who had been a mole for many years, and his knowledge was more valuable.
However, the grief and indignation on Huo Rou's face made him hesitate for a moment.
Killing could not vent her anger, but perhaps Huo Rou's perpetually icy heart needed such a cathartic blood sacrifice.
The saber descended.
It lodged itself in Sun Zhiyuan's shoulder.
Her hand trembled, her eyes filled with struggle.
Sun Zhiyuan, however, glared at Huo Rou with a ferocious expression. He asked, "Why didn't you kill me?!"
Blood spurted from his shoulder. Qi Yu quickly stepped forward to help, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pry Huo Rou's hand away.
Huo Rou twisted the saber in Sun Zhiyuan's shoulder, eliciting a scream of agony from him.
The birds in the entire valley were startled.
Sun Zhiyuan desperately pressed his wound, retreating continuously, his eyes filled with terror and fear. His breathing became rapid. "Qi Yu, the hemostatic agent, give me the hemostatic agent..."
Seeing that Huo Rou only intended to torment him and had no further plans, Qi Yu followed Sun Zhiyuan's command, taking out the hemostatic agent from his person and sprinkling it on the wound.
At such close proximity, as Qi Yu moved, Huo Rou spotted a bulge on Sun Zhiyuan's chest.
Sun Zhiyuan swallowed another pill and met Huo Rou's gaze. "You know I'm wearing a chest guard?"
He had deliberately worn a chest guard to prevent such a situation. A full plate armor was cumbersome and restricted movement, but a chest guard was designed to maximize protection while minimizing inconvenience. It thickened the vital areas while remaining thinner elsewhere, allowing for ease of movement.
Huo Rou must have noticed he was wearing a chest guard, which was why she had changed the direction of her saber thrust at the last moment, plunging it deep into his shoulder. This way, he couldn't escape using the moment the armor would have deflected the blow!
He retreated, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Pah!!"
"You treacherous scoundrel! You're nothing like Huo Jin Yi." Sun Zhiyuan glanced at the cliff beside him. The slope had reached its end, and he stopped moving. The terror on his face turned into mockery. "Huo Jin Yi never does things like tormenting people."
"So, children born to a virtuous and upright life are not necessarily righteous and kind!"
Sun Zhiyuan burst into laughter.
Qi Yu silently pressed on his wound, not uttering a word.
Huo Rou's eyes were scarlet. Resisting Qi Yu's efforts, she forced the saber deeper. The blade had barbs, which made it difficult for Sun Zhiyuan to speak, and he could only cry out in pain.
"I didn't know you were wearing a chest guard," Huo Rou stated coldly, devoid of emotion. "Even if you weren't, I still wouldn't have killed you."
She had indeed been enraged and wanted to kill him.
But killing him would be easy, a single blow would end his life. But what about those he had harmed? Those who were plunged into endless darkness because of his actions?
Death was easy; living was the greatest punishment for him.
She wanted Sun Zhiyuan to live to face judgment. She wanted him to suffer consciously.
Her father's death needed an explanation!
And the countless lives lost on the front lines of battle needed an explanation!
"Heh." Sun Zhiyuan gasped for air. "Indecisive, just like your damn father!"
"Huo Rou." His blood-stained lips curved slowly into a grin. "You're acting like this now because you know, right??"
"He was asking for it himself..."
Huo Rou frowned, about to question him, but Sun Zhiyuan, seizing her momentary distraction, yanked the saber out with a sudden backward lunge. He then pulled Qi Yu with him and tumbled down the slope.
"A Rou!" Qin Ningyi arrived just in time, grabbing Huo Rou who was about to jump after them. "This way!"
Sun Zhiyuan's voice had been faint, and the wind howled through the mountains, obscuring his words. He didn't understand why Huo Rou's expression was so agitated, but considering Sun Zhiyuan's actions and his past, it seemed to connect to something.
A traitor, who had committed so many misdeeds, had reason to suspect that this was not the beginning of his wickedness.
They followed the path down to the foot of the slope, but Sun Zhiyuan and Qi Yu were nowhere to be seen.
They seemed to have planned for this!
"Sister Huo!" People from the Jiang family arrived. "Those people have all been rounded up!"
They were quite adept at such tasks.
People from the Liu family arrived shortly after. They looked at Qin Ningyi's grim expression and respectfully stated, "They confessed that Sun Zhiyuan also arranged for people to meet them at the foot of this slope."
Huo Rou nodded. She had anticipated that Sun Zhiyuan would have a contingency plan!
The number of people who had appeared earlier didn't match the number of vehicles found on the road.
That's why she had pressed forward, but she hadn't expected Sun Zhiyuan, despite his fear of death, to be so daring.
To endure such an injury and still...
She and Qin Ningyi examined the area separately for a while, their eyes meeting with grave expressions.
"Split up and pursue."
There were two small paths at the foot of the slope, both showing signs of passage, and the tracks were roughly equal in number.
It was impossible to determine which direction Sun Zhiyuan had taken. Huo Rou led the Jiang family's people, while Qin Ningyi led the Liu family's people, and they split up.
In the dense mountain forest.
Sun Zhiyuan gritted his teeth and tightened the cloth tied around his shoulder.
"Sun, you..." Qi Yu was still by his side, his eyes filled with worry.
Sun Zhiyuan bared his teeth at him, in so much pain that he dared not make a sound. He spoke in a whisper, "That girl is sharp even from a young age. With the blood dripping, the path ahead will be even more difficult."
"Sun, we can bring more people. After all, the two sets of tracks are enough to mislead them." Qi Yu didn't quite understand. Bringing more people would surely increase their chances. Couldn't they tell the number of people from the footprints and tracks?
Sun Zhiyuan moved his stiff wrist. "One is Huo Jin Yi's daughter, and the other is Qin family's genius. We can't afford to be careless."
"Don't worry," he chuckled. "The Jiang family and the Liu family will split up, and we can handle them."
He had calculated that Old Master Qin's men would be stationed around the courtyard to intercept them.
Huo Rou and Qin Ningyi, upon discovering their absence, would only take a portion of their men to pursue.
After all, the objective of killing Walkerbitt was genuine.
As he fled, if he could simultaneously kill Walkerbitt, that would be ideal, giving him a foothold in the US. If not, when Huo Rou and the others returned to chase him, those people could hold them back, buying him time.
He just hadn't expected Huo Rou to arrive so quickly; his traps and ambushes were still ahead.
He also hadn't expected Huo Rou to bring people from the Jiang family.
"This will be a tough fight ahead," Sun Zhiyuan said, looking at the steep slope ahead. It was overgrown with weeds and the path was treacherous, a route he had planned for his escape.
Once he descended the mountain and reached the sea, he would be alive!