Chapter 361 Gone

Chapter 361: The Escape

The massive, still-twitching body of the Northern Di general was ripped clean off the horse's back by sheer force.

It crashed onto the blood-stained snow like a torn sack, splattering a gory mess of blood and viscera.

His head, meanwhile, was cleanly severed by the spear's sharp blade, dangling from the icy tip along with a section of broken neck bone and a dripping line of blood.

Blood gushed like a burst dam from the severed neck cavity and the wound on the head.

It instantly soaked Cheng Ge's spear hand, his warhorse's chest, and the pristine white snow below.

A crimson steam rose, stark and eerie against the howling wind and snow.

The whole world seemed to go silent.

Only the wind and snow howled, along with the faint drip, drip of blood falling on snow and spear shaft.

Cheng Ge slowly raised his spear.

The head that, moments ago, had been smug and spewing filth, now hung from the bloodied spear tip like some grotesque trophy.

Its fierce expression was frozen in sheer terror and defiance, its wide, hollow eyes staring blankly at the gray sky.

Blood snaked down the shaft, freezing into dark red icicles on the cold metal.

Her veiled hat had slipped off during the scuffle, and Cheng Ge's pale, almost translucent face was utterly expressionless.

Only her eyes were blood-red, the murderous intent churning within not the least bit quenched by the killing.

Instead, like a flame fed by blood, it burned colder and more ferocious than ever.

He tilted his head slightly, calmly sweeping his gaze inch by inch across the Northern Di riders, whose faces had all gone pale.

The earlier laughter, contempt, and lechery had all curdled into primal fear.

Cheng Ge's gaze finally landed on the Northern Di soldier clutching the guard's severed head, frozen like a stone statue.

"You want Cui Ji's life?" He paused, gave his wrist a slight twist, and the gruesome head on the spear tip swayed.

"Come and take it." As the words fell, only the howling wind and snow remained on the dead, silent field.

Cheng Ge stood with spear in one hand, the enemy chieftain's head impaled on its tip, black-robed and ink-haired amid the raging snow and scattered corpses.

He was like an Asura stepping out of the blood-soaked depths of hell, or the most savage alpha wolf.

Cheng Ge's voice wasn't loud, but it sliced through every Northern Di rider's ears like an ice-tempered blade, snapping them out of their shock.

Then a surge of humiliated fury rushed to their heads like magma.

A woman! A sickly Zhou woman had actually beheaded their brave general in public—and now dared to taunt them so arrogantly!

A supreme humiliation! A disgrace worse than defeat!

After a brief, dead silence came an even more violent eruption.

"Kill her! Avenge the general!"

"Chop this Zhou bitch to pieces!"

"Charge! Take back the general's head!"

The Northern Di riders' eyes went bloodshot with rage as they charged madly at Cheng Ge and the Cui Family Army behind her!

The blood-red light in Cheng Ge's eyes hadn't faded. There was no fear in her gaze—only a cold, almost detached killing intent.

She violently yanked the reins, spun her horse around, and bent down to scoop the nearly unconscious Cui Ji from the snow, laying him across the saddle in front of her.

Cui Ji's body was cold and stiff, and the blood from his wounds immediately soaked through Cheng Ge's robes.

"Fight our way out!" Cheng Ge roared hoarsely to the Cui Family Army behind her.

"Kill—!" Dozens of Cui Family Army cavalrymen roared in unison, following closely behind Cheng Ge as they slammed into the oncoming Northern Di formation!

Cheng Ge took the lead, the spear in her hand seeming to come alive.

She no longer sought the finesse of a single killing blow, but pushed speed and power to their limits—the spear moved like a dragon, sweeping across thousands!

Wherever the spear tip passed, severed limbs and weapons flew through the air.

Blood stained the warhorse and soaked her black robes until they were sticky and heavy.

She seemed tireless, her eyes fixed only on the enemies blocking her path.

There was only one thought in her mind—fight out! Bring Cui Ji back!

Seeing their commander's wife so fierce and courageous, the soldiers behind her had no reason to shrink back.

They immediately followed close behind, hacking and slashing with reckless abandon, and against the Northern Di army's mad siege, they forcibly tore open a bloody path that kept pushing forward!

Although the Northern Di army had superior numbers, with their general newly slain and shaken by Cheng Ge's utterly reckless fighting style, chaos began to brew in their ranks. These mere few dozen riders managed to throw their formation into disarray, and their offensive involuntarily slowed.

Cheng Ge keenly noticed the enemy's shift and quickly seized the opportunity, preparing to break away from the battlefield with Cui Ji.

But just as they were about to break through the outermost ring—

From the distant horizon, the thunder of even denser hoofbeats suddenly rang out!

The snow curtain was ripped apart as Northern Di reinforcements surged in like a black tide!

Banners fluttered, blades bristled like a forest, their numbers more than ten times what they'd been before!

Cheng Ge's heart sank, and the faces of the Cui Family Army soldiers behind her grew equally grim.

"Madam! Take the general and go! We'll hold them off!" A blood-soaked old soldier roared, his eyes filled with the resolve of a man who'd accepted death.

"Hold the rear! Protect the general and madam!" Dozens of Cui Family Army soldiers answered in unison, not one hesitating.

They reined in their horses of their own accord, turned around, and faced the Northern Di army.

Cheng Ge didn't hesitate. She cast one glance at those backs about to be swallowed by the tide.

Then she viciously spurred her horse, carrying herself and Cui Ji toward Yanluo Pass!

Behind them, the earth-shaking cries of battle, the clash of weapons, and the screams of the dying erupted instantly, then quickly faded and blurred, carried away by the wind and snow.

Cheng Ge dared not look back. She could feel that barrier of flesh and blood being rapidly devoured by the black tide.

The wind and snow raged unabated, slashing his face like knives.

Cheng Ge lay low over the horse's back, using his body to shield Cui Ji from the wind and cold as best he could.

One hand clung desperately to the icy body in front of him, while the other held the reins tightly, his fingers long frozen stiff and numb, almost completely without feeling.

Cui Ji remained completely still and silent, only the faintest rise and fall of his chest showed he was still alive.

Behind them, the thunder of hooves grew nearer and nearer, almost deafening.

They had ridden who knew how far when a troop of riders suddenly burst out of the snow ahead.

Covered in blood, their armor battered and broken, and led by none other than Captain Liu.

They had clearly been through a brutal fight too, their numbers cut by more than half.

Captain Liu spotted Cui Ji's lifeless-looking form on Cheng Ge's horse at a glance and barked: "Arrowhead formation! Protect the general and his lady—fall back!"

Without wasting a word, he immediately ordered his remaining men to surround Cheng Ge.

The group shielded Cheng Ge, fighting as they fell back, soldiers dropping from their horses one after another.

The cries of battle behind them clung to them like a curse, drawing ever closer.

Captain Liu barked orders without pause, directing the formation, his body picking up fresh wounds.

As he turned to parry a blow, a powerful strike from a Northern Di champion staggered him, and at that same moment a stray arrow hit his warhorse in the eye.

The horse screamed and reared up, throwing him to the ground.

"Captain!" the soldiers nearby cried out in alarm.

Captain Liu had barely scrambled to his feet when the Northern Di champion charged at him with a sinister grin, his heavy spiked mace swinging down with vicious force!

"Thud!" A dull thud—Captain Liu's skull burst like a melon, splattering red and white across the ground.

His riderless horse trampled over his corpse and galloped off.

Cheng Ge turned his head amid the jolting, his lips instantly pressing into a cold, thin line, his face utterly expressionless.

He snapped his head back, tore his gaze away, and stared straight ahead.

The wind and snow grew fiercer, nearly blinding, and every breath carried ice crystals.

His hands had long since gone numb, and only the arm wrapped around Cui Ji still held on by pure instinct.

"Hyah!" he rasped, yanking the reins with stiff hands.

The warhorse beneath him strained with all four legs, somehow managing a burst of speed, even outpacing the falling snow.

But then, without warning, the horse's front legs buckled, a pained whinny tearing from its throat as its massive body crashed forward!

At the last instant, Cheng Ge used every ounce of strength to hold Cui Ji tight, and the two tumbled off the horse like rolling gourds, tumbling several yards through the deep snow before finally skidding to a stop.

"Pfft!" The violent impact sent a rush of blood to Cheng Ge's throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood that tasted of iron, spattering a stark red stain across the snow.

The fallen horse struggled to get up, but one front leg was clearly broken, bent at a grotesque angle.

It kicked uselessly, letting out pained cries, before finally collapsing into the snow, great plumes of white breath steaming from its nostrils.

Cheng Ge lay in the snowfield, the soft snow beneath him feeling like ten-thousand-year-old ice.

The biting cold seeped into every pore, rapidly draining what little warmth remained in his body.

He gazed up at the gray sky, where heavy snowflakes fell endlessly. He blinked slowly, and his long lashes instantly crusted with frost.

His vision blurred, then cleared, then blurred again.

He couldn't stop here.

Cui Ji couldn't die...

This thought, like the last stubborn ember refusing to die on an endless frozen plain, suddenly flared in his nearly frozen mind and blood.

"Ugh..." He gritted his teeth, pressed his hands into the deep snow, rested his forehead against the ground for a moment, then slowly, shakily, got to his feet.

His chest burned as if on fire, yet also felt like ice picks were piercing it over and over. He staggered, almost falling, as he lurched over to Cui Ji's side.

Cui Ji's eyes were shut tight, his face and beard crusted with frost, his lips a deathly blue, his breath so faint it was almost undetectable.

Cheng Ge knelt, scooped up a handful of clean snow, and quickly shoved it into his mouth.

Then he leaned down and carefully pried open Cui Ji's cold, stiff lips.

Pressing his warm lips to Cui Ji's, he slowly fed that mouthful of snowmelt into his mouth, bit by bit.

His lips and teeth trembled uncontrollably, clacking against Cui Ji's teeth.

He slowly raised his head and wiped his mouth, which was stained with blood and snowmelt.

He turned around, put his back to Cui Ji, grabbed his arms, and hoisted him onto his back.

Cheng Ge clenched his jaw so hard his molars nearly cracked, veins bulging like earthworms across his temples.

"Crack—" The snow was knee-deep. One step, two steps, he trudged slowly through the snowfield.

A trail of footprints was left behind, quickly filled in and swallowed up by the wind and snow.

Behind him lay the vast snowfield that had swallowed countless loyal souls, leaving only the howling of the wind.

………

"Hah... hah..." Cheng Ge hung his head, his gaze fixed on his own feet.

The crunch of his footsteps was starkly clear in the wilderness, silent except for the wind.

Snow piled thick on him, nearly turning him into a walking snowman.

He hunched forward, his vision a blur, moving mechanically.

He walked for what felt like an eternity, time losing all meaning.

Suddenly, Cheng Ge's foot gave way, sinking into a hollow hidden beneath the thick snow.

His whole body pitched forward, and together with Cui Ji on his back, he crashed hard into the snowdrift.

"Thud!" A dull impact.

Cheng Ge tumbled uncontrollably twice in the snow, ending up covered from head to toe in snow and ice shards.

Cui Ji's body slammed into the ground beside him, kicking up a puff of snow.

Cheng Ge lay sprawled on the snow, struggling to push himself up on his arms, then rolling over with effort.

"Ugh..." He lay on his back in the snow, gazing at the leaden gray sky, wheezing for air.

Then, he turned onto his side, almost crawling, inching his way over to Cui Ji.

Cui Ji still lay there, out cold and unresponsive, a thin layer of snow dusting his face.

Cheng Ge knelt beside Cui Ji, the biting cold snowflakes froze into a fine frost on his eyelashes with every heavy breath.

He blinked, trying to focus his blurry vision on the lifeless face before him.

Cui Ji's face was pale, only his tightly pressed lips tinged with purple, and the ice crystals frozen at his brows and the corners of his eyes, marking the signs of life fading away.

As he watched, the searing pain in his chest surged, and a coppery, sweet taste rose in his throat.

He pressed his lips tightly shut, the corners of his mouth twitched twice, and a thread of dark red blood slowly seeped from the corner of his tight lips.

It ran down the curve of his chin, gathering into a single trembling drop that hung there.

Then, with a soft "plip," it landed on Cui Ji's icy cheek, spreading a small, stark spot of red across that deathly pale expanse.

One drop, two drops, three drops...

Cheng Ge stared at that spot of red, his Adam's apple bobbing painfully as he swallowed hard, forcing down more of the coppery sweetness.

He reached out with his frozen, stiff hand, and wiped at the bloodstain with his fingertip, his movements gentle, with a clumsy, almost tender care.

Yet, instead of cleaning it away, the wipe only smeared the blood, dragging a dark red streak across Cui Ji's face.

Cheng Ge's hand froze.

He looked at the streak, then down at his own grimy fingers.

His face showed no expression, only the dull, bloodshot redness in his eyes seemed to flicker.

"Hah—" He suddenly bared his teeth in a silent laugh.

The smile was faint, barely even a smile—just the corners of his mouth twitching upward ever so slightly.

As he laughed, he suddenly lowered his head, pressing his forehead against Cui Ji's equally cold one.

His laughter made his shoulders shake harder, causing his entire upper body to tremble slightly, his messy, blood-stained hair swaying with the motion.

Both their skins had lost all warmth from the cold, and when they touched, there was only a hard, icy chill.

His laughter didn't stop; instead, it grew clearer, carrying a sense of release so suppressed it bordered on the absurd.

Hot tears seeped from his squeezed-shut eyes, freezing instantly where their skin touched.