Tao Xue, up in the tree, cried out, pleading, "elder princess!"
Xiang Yuanshuo looked at Xiang Yuanlang, "Younger brother, you go!"
Xiang Yuanlang immediately untied the straps on his body and slid down the tree.
Just as he was about to step lightly towards Xiang Ying, Second Miss Lin hurriedly jumped down from the tree, blocking him.
"Don't go! The elder princess resorted to this desperate measure to save everyone, you must not get into trouble again."
Xiang Yuanlang struggled with his small body, while Xiang Yuanshuo urgently called out from the tree, "Let him go, my brother can subdue that bear!"
Second Miss Lin didn't take it seriously, the child was still so young, the elder princess had already sacrificed herself for others, how could she just watch her child die as well?
She hugged the little one and climbed back up the tree.
At this time,
Xiang Ying had already lured the black bear away, swiftly climbing a nearby tree.
Unexpectedly, the black bear followed her up, its widely opened bloody mouth spewing white mist.
Just now, she shot several arrows at it until her crossbow was exhausted, but it only caused minor fur injuries.
Yet, it completely enraged the bear, which wouldn't stop until it tore Xiang Ying into pieces.
Xiang Ying, calm and composed, pulled out a gleaming dagger from her space.
With the spine of the knife facing outward, she bit the dagger in her mouth.
Then, she leaned back and leaped up!
Xiang Ying grabbed the black bear's mane with one hand, and tightly held the dagger with her right hand, stabbing it directly into its eyes.
The black bear, in pain, howled and fell from the tree.
Xiang Ying quickly dodged to avoid, but the bear got up and attacked more fiercely.
She threw the dagger aside, took out a treasure sword from her space, and gripped it with both hands, the sword blade held horizontal in front of her eyes.
The icy blade reflected her cold Phoenix Eyes.
"You're just in time, my Crown Prince still needs a bear skin to cushion his back."
*
The Military Supervisors and others, upon hearing that the rear troops were attacked by wild beasts, immediately arranged for most soldiers to return to aid.
However, when they arrived, they only saw the people trembling on the trees.
Yu Pin was crying breathlessly, pointing in the direction where Xiang Ying had vanished.
"elder princess, elder princess lured the bear away..."
The masked Military Supervisor, towering, led people in that direction, but was stopped by Xiang Qianqian.
"Wait, are you still going to concern yourself with her?"
The Military Supervisor turned back, under the black iron mask, only a pair of deep, cold eyes.
He stared at Xiang Qianqian, remaining silent.
Xiang Qianqian descended from the tree, her steps unsteady, her face even paler.
"We should quickly leave, to avoid the beast coming back and harming people."
As soon as she finished speaking, several others agreed:
"Yes, our top priority is to leave here quickly."
"Even if we went to search, the elder princess must have already... alas!"
Tao Xue angrily said, "How can you be like this? The elder princess made herself the target to protect everyone's safety!"
"Not only are you not grateful, but you also prevent the Military Supervisor from rescuing her, do you have no conscience?"
Xiang Qianqian's face paused for a moment, frowning, she said, "But it's not us who asked her to sacrifice herself, right? You can't blame us."
The people who had agreed with her also nodded along.
They all feared the bear's return, such a large bear, almost two meters tall.
They had witnessed it smash a person's skull with a swipe of its claw.
Xiang Yuanshuo clenched his little fists, pointing at them angrily.
"I remember you now! If you won't rescue her, I'll do it myself!"
With that, he stepped with his small feet and turned to run towards the direction Xiang Ying had gone.
Xiang Yuanlang and Xiang Xiuxiu quickly followed the others.
The three children were grabbed by soldiers and struggled desperately.
But without the Military Supervisor's order, no one dared to let them go.
Huang Huzi cautiously moved closer to the Military Supervisor: "Military Supervisor, look, the elder princess is after all the legitimate Princess of Xizhou, don't you care?"
Most importantly, if Xiang Ying dies, who will give him the antidote!
Huang Huzi was so anxious he wanted to curse.
The masked Military Supervisor coldly said, "I'm not afraid of her dying, I'm afraid she won't die, then escape."
With that, he turned to look for Xiang Ying.
Tao Xue and the three children hurriedly ran past him, even quicker.
Xiang Qianqian watched them, feeling it was unreasonable.
"What if the wild beast comes back at this time and kills us all? Do you only care about Xiang Ying and not the main troop?"
No one answered.
Everyone followed the trail of fresh blood on the ground, expecting to see Xiang Ying's torn and broken corpse.
Unexpectedly, they only saw Xiang Ying with her back to them, deftly cutting up the black bear's corpse.
Neatly arranged beside her were—
bear bile, Bear Claws, and chunks of whole bear meat.
She heard the noise behind her, turned her head, her face half covered in blood and half radiant.
"Wait, I'll soon cut the bear skin off, I found this, you can't snatch it."
Her tone was unusually calm, even possessive about food, leaving everyone present in stunned silence.
Tao Xue approached, picking up a broken knife blade from the ground.
Splatters of blood were everywhere on the ground, showing the intense struggle that had just occurred.
She cried as she went to Xiang Ying's side: "elder princess, sob, I'm glad you're alright, this servant was scared to death!"
Xiang Xiuxiu threw herself over, hugging her arm, and the little girl burst into tears.
"Mother, why are you so bloody, you can't die!"
Xiang Ying laughed: "This isn't my blood, just think of it as if mother was slaughtering a pig, we'll have meat to eat in a moment, Tao Xue, take them aside."
The masked Military Supervisor, with cold steps, approached.
Tao Xue quickly protected the three children in her embrace, vigilantly standing by Xiang Ying's side.
"Did you kill it alone?" the Military Supervisor asked in a deep and pleasant voice, which even made Xiang Ying feel vaguely familiar.
She hummed in response: "Otherwise? Is there anyone else here?"
Those words of Xiang Ying made the Military Supervisor's eyes turn colder.
Huang Huzi and his men rushed over, with the sudden appearance of the black bear, he had run away to save his own life.
On the way, he learned that Xiang Ying had killed the bear alone, and seeing it with his own eyes, his eyes bulged.
Mother, is she still a woman?
The masked Military Supervisor turned, and coldly instructed Huang Huzi: "Lead your troops forward, we will camp outside the forest tonight."
Huang Huzi nodded and bowed, just agreeing when Xiang Ying said, "Stop."
She stared at the masked Military Supervisor, locking eyes with his thin pupils, feeling his gaze as cold as nine layers of cold ice.
Xiang Ying: "You are the Military Supervisor, I want to discuss this with you, I want to keep all these things, the bear bones that I remove later can be for you."
The Military Supervisor's attitude was chilly: "No one wants your things, nor do we have time to wait for you alone; since you are not dead, hurry up and hit the road, or there won't be good consequences."
After saying that, he left. Xiang Ying frowned, feeling his attitude excessively arrogant.
Helpless, she didn't have enough time, so she had to leave the bear bones behind.
Xiang Ying told Huang Huzi to hold on to the Bear Claw and bear bile for her, while Tao Xue held several pieces of cut bear meat.
She herself dragged the bear skin back.
Dripping fresh blood, trailing along the way.
Fortunately, the rain got heavier and quickly washed the bear skin clean. The next day, when it was sunny, she would dry it all day and stitch it up, then it could be used for Xiang Li.
Covered in blood, when Xiang Ying reappeared before the women, everyone involuntarily widened their eyes.