A piece of Japanese incense

Chapter 187 Hostages

Everything happened so fast that he only had time to feel a chill, followed by a sudden pain deep in his chest. He subconsciously lowered his head and saw a flash of silver light being drawn out from his chest, bringing with it a string of warm liquid.

Hefeng was agile and pulled Zhi Yihe behind him. At the same time, he quickly drew out the dagger with his other hand, ready to launch a fatal blow to Shan Yi again.

Seeing the danger, Zhi Yihe decisively pressed the button, and a dagger came out of the lantern pole. She put the dagger against Hefeng's neck and shouted at the top of her lungs: "Don't move!"

There was a noisy sound all around, and a group of people dressed in different clothes, holding sharp blades, rushed into the teahouse from all directions and surrounded the teahouse tightly.

Hefeng seemed unusually calm, as if he had anticipated all this.

Zhi Yihe observed these people, some were passers-by, some were vendors, some were shop assistants...

She pushed the dagger deeper, grasped his arm tightly, and whispered, "You knew it a long time ago, didn't you?"

Hefeng responded calmly: "Ahe, swords have no eyes, you'd better be careful~" As he spoke, he moved backwards and approached Zhi Yihe.

"Stop moving! Drop the knife! Put your hands up! Make them all stand back!"

The dagger fell to the ground with a crisp sound. He Feng raised his arms and said slowly: "Stand back."

Zhi Yihe swallowed and pressed, "Where did you imprison my grandmother and the others?"

"Ah He, I don't know."

"How could I not know! Let them go quickly! And my dad, quickly!" Zhi Yihe said in a firm tone, and the hand pressing on his shoulder increased its strength.

"Ah He, believe me, I..."

Zhi Yihe interrupted without giving any time for explanation, his eyes flashing with anger and despair: "Shut up! Your Highness, if you had been sincere to me from the beginning, we wouldn't have come to this point."

Hefeng frowned slightly.

"Hurry and tell them to release my father and grandmother! And prepare the carriage to ensure we can leave the city safely!"

"Ah He, you have nowhere to escape."

"Don't say any more! Give the order now!"

"Go and report to His Majesty immediately. I am in imminent danger. Unless Zhi Yian and the Yun family are released, I will not be able to survive! Go quickly!"

Everyone withdrew, leaving only the twenty or so people from the red team who were racing dragon boats. They tied up He Feng and stood guard at his side with swords and knives.

Zhi Yihe seized every moment to stop Shan Yi's bleeding and pretended to be calm and asked, "Did Siqi send you here?"

"Replying to Master, that's right!"

Zhi Yihe was a little uncomfortable with this title, pursed his lips, and continued: "Where is he now? How many of you are there?"

"My Lord, Master Qi and Princess Ruilin have already moved to Sanchuan. We still have 3,000 people in the capital."

"Okay. When you meet my father and grandmother, you must ensure their safety. I will take the prince as a hostage until all of us evacuate the imperial city. Remember, you must ensure they are safe."

"Yes, sir! All orders will be obeyed by the young master!" More than twenty people knelt on the ground and nodded in agreement.

Time seemed to be stretched, and anticipation and anxiety became particularly heavy along with every breath.

"Someone is coming!" A man leaned close to the door frame and listened with bated breath.

Everyone stood up and picked up their weapons with caution. Yu Yi was about to open the door but was stopped by Zhi Yihe. She then put the dagger against He Feng's neck, used him as a shield, and went to open the door.

The street outside the teahouse was deserted, the usual bustle swallowed up by the sudden silence. The soldiers formed a circle of defense lines, surrounding the teahouse.

Yuyi observed through the gap and stammered, "Miss... Miss, I didn't see the lady and the young lady."

Zhi Yihe's heart skipped a beat and he shouted at the top of his voice, "Where's the person?"

"Madam Zhi, release our prince and surrender!" Pei Fanzhou's voice came from afar.

Zhi Yihe's voice was stern and she asked impatiently, "I'm asking someone! Don't you want his life?" The sharp blade pressed into Hefeng's throat, and blood dripped along the blade, sliding across her palm, leaving a little scarlet.

Her heart softened, and her fingers relaxed a little, but she heard the footsteps of the troops approaching quickly. She quickly pushed the blade back and roared through gritted teeth: "If you dare to move again, I will make him die here!"

The atmosphere was tense and tense. At this moment, a deep and firm voice came from a corner of the teahouse: "Young Master, let me fight my way out first. Once the signal is given, our people will be able to escort you out of the city safely."

"No! Let's go together!" Zhi Yihe flatly refused.

"Young Master! Three thousand of us stayed here just to find you and take you away!"

"Yes! Young Master, let's rush out first, and we will definitely be able to fight our way out!"

"Little Lord!"

The crowd was excited and the noise was loud and clear, which filled Zhiyihe's ears. She looked confusedly at Yuyi and Shanyi, whose face was pale due to excessive blood loss.

His fingers kept rubbing the ring in the sachet, and he felt panic-stricken inside.

"Mrs. Zhi, don't be stubborn. There are so many of us who can wait with you, but your father and grandmother can't wait."

"What happened to them?!" Zhi Yihe was confused.

Suddenly, a thrilling crack appeared in the sky, lightning danced like a silver snake, and then thunder roared. Zhi Yihe's heart couldn't help but beat violently with the deafening sound.

At the moment when she was distracted, countless arrows flew through the air and shot into the house with a sound of breaking through the air.

Some were nailed directly into the beams, making a dull sound; others were nailed to the walls, shaking and trembling, making a "buzzing" sound like the whispers of ghosts.

Some people were grazed by arrows, and their clothes were instantly dyed red with blood; some people were unfortunately shot in the vitals and fell to the ground.

"The emperor has issued an order! Zhi Yihe must be captured alive, and no one else will be spared! Remember, do not harm His Highness in the slightest!"

"The situation is urgent! We must escort the young master out of the city as soon as possible!" Shan Yi guarded Yu Yi and rushed to Zhi Yihe's side with difficulty.

The dozen or so remaining guards supported each other and did not allow Zhi Yihe to hesitate at all, and escorted He Feng out.

Yuyi's lips turned purple with fright, but she still followed Zhiyihe closely. The raindrops seemed to be filled with anger, hitting them hard.

In a moment, the rain poured down like a waterfall, blurring their vision, and the wind also joined in the carnival, whistling and pushing the rain diagonally towards them.

Zhi Yihe looked at everyone's faces in the chaos, which were distorted and unrecognizable. However, the people who protected her fell down one after another and turned into blurry shadows.

A long spear pierced through the rain and stabbed between her and Yuyi. Danyi blocked it in time, but it also separated them. Zhiyihe called Yuyi's name, but her voice was drowned out by the more violent noise of wind and rain.

A man pressed close to her back, and the biting coldness of the sword tip penetrated her skin like a snake. Her body shook instinctively, and a sword pierced through the sleeves of both men at the same time. She looked back and saw that it was Hefeng who was blocking her behind.

Pulled by the sword, their bodies leaned forward at the same time, their eyes met at this moment, and there was surprise, confusion, and unspeakable complex emotions flashing in their eyes.

Blood gushed out from the wounds of the two men almost at the same time, like a blooming dark red flower, staining the sword blade red and soaking their pale cheeks.

Hefeng took this opportunity to cut the ropes and untie his mouth. He pressed his hand on the wound on Zhi Yihe's shoulder, snatched someone's shield, hugged Zhi Yihe, jumped on the horse's back, and galloped towards the city gate.

The city gate guards failed to intercept them in time, and they had already rushed out of the city gate, running for an unknown distance. He Feng's hand suddenly shook, and his body fell off the horse's back weakly.

Zhi Yihe grabbed the reins, jumped off the horse, and ran towards him quickly: "How are you? Is your wound too painful?"

Zhi Yihe carefully opened his wound. She thought his wound would be similar to hers, just a little skin abrasion, but unexpectedly, the edge was rolled up irregularly, and the skin around the wound had a circle of light purple-red, which was a sign of inflammation.

She wanted to tear off a corner of her clothes to bandage his bleeding, but found that she couldn't tear off even a little bit.

Hefeng chuckled, gently held her hand, and rolled up his sleeves, revealing the five-colored rope she had tied for him, only to see that the rope had turned ink black.