The Imperial College's

Eps. 29: Bamboo Forest

The next day, Huang Yunxi and Yuwen Yue left Liuli Palace in secret. The two returned to the Royal Academy for a bit to change clothes, then climbed onto the horse and went to the place they had planned for last night. Along the way, Huang Yunxi was unceasingly witty-faced as she could tease Yuwen Yue over her poor sleeping habits. Yuwen Yue herself was only speechless with a red face, occasionally chiming in and snapping Huang Yunxi's forehead when her teasing was already a little outrageous.

The two stopped for a while at Muyun Restaurant to fill their stomachs. The ordered menu is not as much as before because here they come not for fun. There's still a lot of work to do at the end of this fall. Huang Yunxi and Yuwen Yue had to catch the villain Liu Yang before the winter was over. If not, they will lose the opportunity to dismantle the trash of the community.

While chewing the food, Huang Yunxi began to think of a good strategy for him and Yuwen Yue to get good results. The journey ahead will not be easy. He wanted to investigate through Liu Yang's subordinates, it was indeed a little difficult especially if the subordinates had followed Liu Yang for many years. Getting them to open their mouths is harder than keeping them alive.

“Quick spend!” yuwen Yue's orders. The man finished eating his food.

“Hm.”

Huang Yunxi thought again. He wanted to get information right away without having to work hard. Huang Yunxi changed her course from asking Liu Yang's subordinates to investigating something else that most likely could directly bring tangible evidence. Butwhat? I don't know. Huang Yunxi did not know.

At his last mouthful, several people behind his desk were heard talking about something interesting. Huang Yunxi put her ears on nicely.

“Aih...” Someone sighed.

“Why did you sigh?” ask someone else.

“You know? The construction of the Yuhua temple on the outskirts of the city must be repeated. Though it's almost half done.”

“What's the problem?”

“The wood used for the foundation and the pole is not good enough. Maybe in two years his temple can collapse if it remains forced.”

“What wood is used?”

“Pine wood. Flammable. Easily weathered. I don't understand, why my boss chose the wood.”

“Isn't teak wood supposed to be? The construction of the temple of Yuhua I heard his orders directly from His Majesty. The supply of wood for the foundation and the pole should be the responsibility of the Minister of Forestry, right? He said his logs were cut down from the forest he managed.”

“Entahlah. Master Liu Yang never even came directly. He just had his subordinates deliver the wood by cart without ordering anything.”

That person's conversation made Huang Yunxi come up with an idea. Perhaps, he could directly investigate through the bad possibility of what they were talking about. They must be the officers who handle the affairs of the temple construction on the edge of the city. They complained in such a way, there must be something wrong.

Huang Yunxi used this opportunity to dig up further information. He pretended to drop the glass until it rolled near the people's table. While apologizing, he took the glass. In order not to make them suspect that Huang Yunxi was eavesdropping, he immediately returned to his desk. As a result, Huang Yunxi got information that the forest he cut down for the construction of the temple came from the forest to the north of the city.

Yuwen Yue only frowned seeing his future wife acting strangely near those people. His heart said that the girl must be doing something to get more detailed information. He also heard the people talking about the construction of a constrained temple. Yuwen Yue deliberately remained silent and allowed Huang Yunxi to act on her own in order to avoid suspicion.

“How?” ask her when the girl returns to the seat.

“Hutannya in the north. Teacher, we have to get there!”

Yuwen Yue nodded. The two then went downstairs. After finishing paying the bill at the restaurant cashier, Yuwen Yue and Huang Yunxi directly spurred his horse towards the north of the capital. The crowded streets were split apart and people went aside to see a pair of men and women dressed in similar colors passing by on horseback. Those who did not know might think the two people were wandering knights.

After passing through the quiet little road, Yuwen Yue and Huang Yunxi arrived at the edge of the river where the water was very clear. Huang Yunxi descended from his horse, then washed his face with water in the river. Cold cold air went straight into his pores and immediately his face felt rejuvenated. Yuwen Yue who saw him from the top of the horse only smiled knot. The girl seemed to have first come out into the wild like this.

The two continue their journey. After passing through the steep rocky road, Huang Yunxi and Yuwen Yue arrived at a bamboo forest with dense leaves. The breezy wind patted their exposed shoulders, stifling the typical chill. Soft but soothing. Had it been the right time, they would have wanted to linger in this soothing, cool atmosphere. Only this time they did not come for an excursion.

As Huang Yunxi closed her eyes for a moment, she felt a bad feeling was about to happen. The quiet bamboo forest was like a false illusion. The calm and breezy wind was just a veil hiding something dangerous that had been lurking about them ever since. Huang Yunxi's auditory senses caught a sound like one's movement from the direction of a bush. He opened his eyes, then glanced at Yuwen Yue. The man was also in a vigilant mode. His black and thick eyebrows almost fused together. The voice was not only heard by him, but by Yuwen Yue as well.

“Yunxi, watch out!” yuwen Yue shouted.

A very sharp arrow shot out from the bushes. It was fortunate that Huang Yunxi lowered her head until the arrow did not sever her neck. Some people were dressed in black and their faces were covered in veils out from the direction of the bushes, from the top of the trees and from within the heaps of leaves that fell on the ground. They all carried weapons of swords and arrows. Huang Yunxi and Yuwen Yue were instantly surrounded in a circle.

“This is the murder scene in the drama my friends said?” huang Yunxi asked as she remained seated on the horse.

“Strike!”

The people in black and veiled clothes directly attacked Huang Yunxi and Yuwen Yue. Their horses were surprised to make their riders jump down. Yuwen Yue helped Huang Yunxi stand up because the girl had fallen instead. The sharp sword immediately aimed towards the body and head of the two.

“Teacher, can you fight? I can't defend myself,” Huang Yunxi said as she tried to dodge the attack.

Meanwhile, Yuwen Yue was busy fending off the attacks. The sturdy man fought the criminals with his bare hands. If you knew this, Yuwen Yue might have already brought a sword just in case. Now, the criminals attack brutally and he still has to save a girl who will become his wife in the future.

Huang Yunxi ran to and fro to make the criminals confused. Their attacks failed many times. The sword they struck only split the wind, not hitting their target's body. Huang Yunxi is so agile. He was like a rabbit that ran away when chased by wolves. This is a real murder scene!

His eyes were still watching Yuwen Yue. The young man began to be overwhelmed because the attack of the criminal turned out to be increasingly. The man's right arm had been slashed by the sword until it bled. But, there was no visible look of pain. Perhaps, saving yourself by fighting these criminals is more important than crying out in pain.

Seeing the unfair fight, Huang Yunxi gradually began to have anger. This damned criminal interfered with her trip and harassed her future husband. They didn't even let go even though he was already injured. Can't, can't be allowed. If Yuwen Yue continued to fight empty-handed, the man could die. His body could probably be crushed to shreds by swords.

“Teacher, catch!”

Huang Yunxi threw out an extremely sharp sword that had just been obtained from the magical system. Yuwen Yue instantly accepted it and used it to withstand the attack. The man is attacking the criminals. In the next few seconds, the two criminals had already fallen. The sword that Huang Yunxi gave was very light and easy to use but very sharp. The sword was easy to control until Yuwen Yue's movements became easier even though his arm was injured.

“Where did the girl get the sword?” ask one of the criminals. He seems to be the other leader.

“Ahahaha, brother killer, I'm just a weak and stupid girl. Don't attack me, huh?”

“If you're stupid, how can you hide a sword and give it to your lover?”

“Much talk! Kill him!”

Huang Yunxi ran away again. He threw everything on the ground to block them. His brain could not work properly in this moment of panic. Though, he could ask for something from the system just by imagining it, just like he did when he wanted a sword for Yuwen Yue. Huang Yunxi continued to run and run.

“Hey don't chase me! I can't fight!”

Seeing his future wife being chased, Yuwen Yue did not stay silent. He ran to save her while continuing to resist the attacks and subvert the opponent. Just one second he was late, the girl's head might have already broken off. Yuwen Yue attacked the criminals who were chasing after Huang Yunxi blindly. He wounded all the body parts of the criminals until they all fell to the ground.

Yuwen Yue caught Huang Yunxi's wrist and placed the girl's body behind her body. The criminals are down. However, the other criminals actually came from the air and the number is more. They all directly attacked Yuwen Yue. Huang Yunxi again shouted because she was annoyed that the villain was inexhaustible. It's really a shitty game world!

A bag of white powder fell on Huang Yunxi's right hand. In his left hand, there was another red powder. As Yuwen Yue held back the attack, she mixed the two powders together into one. When the right time came, Huang Yunxi sprinkled the mixed powder onto the faces of the criminals until they closed their eyes. The criminals stopped attacking and shouting because their eyes were sore and hot. Yuwen Yue frowned then glanced at Huang Yunxi. That was when the girl lit a firework into the air as a signal to call for help.

He pulled Yuwen Yue away from the crowd of criminals.

The two walked through the bamboo forest and shrubs, passing the river until they reached a cave flanked by two steep cliffs. Both went in to rest. The distance is quite far from the ambush location, it is likely that they will not be able to catch up to here.

Inside the cave, Huang Yunxi began to treat Yuwen Yue's wounds. The girl gets a box of P3K containing betadine, cotton, alcohol, antibiotics and gauze. The wound on Yuwen Yue's arm was already bandaged and clean. After treating the wound, Huang Yunxi then lit a fire by burning her outer clothes.

“Where did you get this sword?” asked Yuwen Yue.

“From sky.”

Yuwen Yue clucked. The girl could still joke around at a crucial time like this.

“What's this weird box?” ask again while lifting the P3K box.

“Magic box.”

Yuwen Yue clucked again. He shifted his body position near the fire. The weather began to cool because unknowingly, the day had already gone into the afternoon. That fight took quite a long time. Fortunately, they were able to escape and avoid murder. If you are lucky, some more time help may come.

Huang Yunxi rubbed both of her palms. He was really still shocked by the incident. He wasn't afraid, it was just that this was the first time he had witnessed a life-threatening fight. Luckily he had a magical system that helped Yuwen Yue escape.

“You okay?” asked Yuwen Yue softly.

“Yes. I'm fine.”

“Sorry.”

“For what?”

“I can't protect you well. I was too careless to forget to prepare myself for danger.”

Huang Yunxi smiled faintly.

“It's okay. The plan suddenly changed, it's only natural that you don't prepare. How's your wound?”

“It's improved.”

“Teacher, I wonder why they know we changed plans.”

“You assume that the killers were Liu Yang's messengers?”

“If not him, who else? That jerk might've been sending spies and following us all day.”

Both are in silence. The resentment and anger within Huang Yunxi's heart still lit up a little. Not only was he angry from being attacked suddenly, but he was also angry that they might injure Yuwen Yue. The man is his pet, whoever hurts him cannot live happily. That person had to ask his permission first if he wanted to touch the skin or a strand of Yuwen Yue hair, which he would definitely not allow because only he was allowed to do.

“Yunxi,”

“Hm?”

“You're really okay?”

“Yes. I'm fine indeed.”

“Yunxi,”

“What else?”

“What powder did you sprinkle on their faces?”

“Grue powder and chili powder.”

Yuwen Yue was again taken aback by the girl's statement.

...***...