In the distance, Princess Ariunbayar notched her bow and pulled the string taut. She was uninterested in the two men that followed that dumb Virtuous Phoenix girl and only cared about her prize.
In the corner of her vision, there was a bright glow of gibberish. Despite its illegibility, she knew that it was a damage buff she had against [ Harem Members ]. What she couldn't see however were the added effects that appeared when the buff level was raised from level 2 to level 3. If only she had her debugger!
Alas, it couldn't be anything bad. A buff was a buff for a reason, and she wanted to make full use of it before it ran out!
Little fingers let go. The arrow that left her fingertips quickly multiplied.
…
Reaching into his interspatial ring, Zhang Wang retrieved his bow and quiver. He awkwardly tried to tie it around his waist. Wordlessly, Yu Yanlin reached out to pluck Zhang Wang's bow of his hold, allowing him to secure the quiver more readily.
Even if Yu Yanlin was quiet and spared him of embarrassment, Chu Changying was not so kind, "Why aren't you even prepared? What's wrong with you?"
"Shut up!" Zhang Wang whined. He understood his own folly but who could blame him? Carrying around a bow and quiver all the time was just cumbersome and plus a sword made him look so much more handsome.
But his sword was now hanging around Yu Yanlin's hip and he was wrestling with his own equipment. More exploding arrows came down upon him and finally, he was able to grab his own bow back from Yu Yanlin's grasps. "Thanks…"
"Not a problem."
Finally with weapon in hand he twisted around, gauging the distance of his foe by the trajectory of the arrows that rained down upon them, all the while continuing to flee.
The ground was still rumbling beneath their feet and Zhang Wang waited for the precise moment when the tremors were quieter.
He pivoted on his toes, bow raised. In a heartbeat, he let go his arrow whizzed through the air. A stream of blue surrounded it, cutting through the sky faster than their foe's attack.
And as his arrow disappeared over the horizon, the barrage against them relented as well.
Still too early to breathe easy not to mention the earth was still quaking below them.
Yu Yanlin had unsheathed Ermei and used the blade to shield them from the falling debris. His moments were not the most elegant but they were precise and practical. Chu Changying as well had her long celestial ribbon and floated around her like a protective shell.
But now that the arrows had stopped their assault, the tremors seemed to quell as well. Whatever it had been seemed calmed and appeased. Still, they continued to run until their breaths were short.
Zhang Wang, hunched over, wiped the sweat off his brows and let out a tired groan, "What the heck was that?" He whined in annoyance. The power that came upon them was neither devilish nor demonic. Just what nature of assassin did Ch Changying manage to attract this time? And all for that strange glowing jewel she wanted to give Sikong Ren?
There were simply way too many things left unanswered.
But Chu Changying was not interested in answering any questions. Alert had her eyes blown wide, scanning nervously their surroundings for any signs of their unseen foe, "She could still be around. We need to be on the lookout."
Of the three of them, only Yu Yanlin appeared calm. He did not jolt in fright or heave from fatigue. Calmly he surveyed their surroundings and felt the ground below their feet. He knelt and felt the grit of the rock beneath them. Deep down he could still feel and hear the earth groan and shift. The thing that terrorized them earlier was still around. He could even feel a subtle pulse. It was definitely devilish.
"Yes, we ought to be alert," he said, "It has not left us yet."
Annoyance caught hold of the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms. "Shijie," he said in a more serious tone, "I honestly thought you only have one goon or something after your life but that attack that chased us was not normal. Just who have you angered?"
Chu Changying's lips were pursed, her shoulders tensed defensively. But even if she wanted to refute his words and ignore them, she couldn't. Zhang Wang had a point. "Fine. I'll tell you about it. But only if we walk at the same time, I don't want to idle around."
"Alright, fine." Zhang Wang held his temple as his headache threatened to take over.
Yu Yanlin walked over close to the Immortal of a Thousand Blossom's side. "Are you alright?" he said softly, brushing odd bits of dust out of Zhang Wang's hair.
Surprise made him stop for a second and basked in Yu Yanlin's gentle action. Huh, maybe the demon king was taking this whole lover act seriously after all? Wait a moment, Zhang Wang was supposed to be putting in twice the effort for the both of them but the moment shit hit the fan he had conveniently forgot.
…Woops.
He leaned on Yu Yanlin for support, surprised at how nice it felt for someone else to hold up his waist. Maybe it was just his laziness talking though.
No, it was definitely his laziness. "Thanks, Huhu darling." He teased and watched the way Yu Yanlin tensed at the nickname, with color coming up his pale visage. Teasing the demon king was slowly becoming a very amusing pastime.
Though, he currently had other things to be worrying about.
With Yu Yanlin by his side, he caught up to his Shijie with brisk steps. The path tapered and became too narrow for three people to travel side by side so he could only follow behind her with his inquiries. "Do I know this person that's after you?"
"You've probably at least heard of her. She is known as the Princess of the Steppes."
"Ah!" Zhang Wang exclaimed, of course he knew of her! Who didn't know of her? And to think he had the audacity to challenge her with his bow. Woops. He quietly prayed she didn't take too much offense to his arrow. "Wait, how the heck did you piss off the Princess of the Steppes? Se Mayang isn't known to be a bad person! In fact, people say many good things about her character."
Se Mayang was the Princess of the Steppes' common name, the one that Zhang Wang actually knew how to pronounce.
Chu Changying rolled her eyes at him, "What and you're going to believe those rumors over your Shijie? Never mind. She was just after the Dawn Star like I was, but I got to it first. I don't know why she so desperately tries to pry it from my hands but it's not like I know her personally. Anyway, do you see why I'm so concerned now? This isn't just a normal enemy that's after my life!"
Well, that was for certain. Zhang Wang sighed. Going up against the Princess of the Steppes really made things a lot more difficult. However, his suspicions about his Shijie's intentions had not felt fully lifted either. "Why didn't you just tell me beforehand? It would have been good to know it's the Princess of the Steppes we're up against!"
"How would it have been good?" Chu Changying huffed in frustration, "Whether it's the Princess of the Steppes or Demon King Yanlin or our Shizun, would it really change anything?"
"Of course!" Zhang Wang shrieked, "Do you take me for an idiot?"
"I believe now would be a good time to stop bickering," Yu Yanlin cut into their conversation for the first time. Though his eyes covered, his visage was pointed skyward.
"What!?" Chu Changying shouted, but unladylike and exasperated.
Her answer was given when something sparkled in the sky. At first they appeared like twinkling constellations. But that was not possible in the middle of the day.
Arrows.
Thousands if not ten thousands. Falling upon them at frightening speeds and covered the span of a whole damn football field!
There was no way for them to run for cover, especially not when caught in the tiny canyon crevice!