The south gate.
Sun Yan coldly watched the clamoring nobles, saying: “I’ll give them thirty minutes!”
He and Chen Rong both knew that in this moment of life and death, the families in Mo’yang had had their carriages ready and their luggages loaded, ready to flee. Within thirty minutes, if they wanted to, they without a doubt could keep up with the troops. Besides, there was still much time until dawn.
Chen Rong stared straight ahead at the yelling and hurtling nobles, then turned and walked toward her carriage.
After five steps, Wang Hong’s tender voice sounded to her: “Ah Rong, come sit in my carriage.”
She paused and turned around.
She came to face with Wang Hong’s “but-of-course” expression and faint smile.
Chen Rong opened her mouth to blurt out a refusal, but ended up swallowing it back. She glanced at a shivering and pale faced Old Shang – how can he drive like this?
Under the lights, Chen Rong curtsied to Wang Hong, went over, and said beseechingly, “My retainer is old, please allow him to ride inside. If you will, my lord, let someone else drive the carriage.”
Wang Hong nodded and gave his servants instructions. Without glancing at Chen Rong again, he got into the carriage.
Chen Rong followed him and also climbed in.
Just then, they heard a frantic cry: “How brazen you are, Sun Yan! Do you want to escape by yourself? Come down, come down this instant!”
It was the mayor of Mo’yang. He was barefoot, his trousers were loosely belted, his hair ruffled and his face ashen. Where had his graces gone?
Upon his arrival, Sun Yan jumped onto his horse, turned around, and said to him with a deep bow, “I do apologize.”
Wang Hong’s supple voice resonated at this time: “Why don’t you pack up and wait for us to break out, mayor? If we can fight our way out with two thousand men, it will prove that the south gate is indeed empty. You can then follow us.”
His voice was particularly clear, his goodbye easily heard. The mayor of Mo’yang paused. “At this point, we can only do as Wang Hong says.”
“Open the gate, let’s break our way out…” yelled Sun Yan.
The two thousand soldiers and the Wang retainers tightened their grips on their weapons.
Squeak – the iron gates opened wide.
A night wind swept by.
Amid Sun Yan’s hollers, the riding knights together rode out.
Chen Rong sat inside, clutching the carriage shaft. Her small face was as white as a sheet of parchment and it was dripping with sweat. She shut her eyes. In the complete stillness, she listened to the sound of horseshoes, horse neighs, rolling wheels, as well as screams, war drums, and clashing metal.
There had never been any time as long as this, so long that every second felt like an entire lifetime.
There had never been a time as tormenting as this, so tormenting that her heart threatened to jump out from her throat.
“Fwoosh–” It was the sound of impaled flesh. Immediately, a stream of blood sprayed onto the curtain like a fountain, a few drops sprinkling onto Chen Rong’s face and body.
This was only the beginning.
Screams tore across the night sky where anguish became the darkness’s main refrain.
Gradually, Chen Rong lost her composure as her knees gave out; she crawled into a corner of the carriage and huddled there.
Yet time did not stop for her.
And the battle cries never seemed to end.
…
A long time later, Chen Rong felt a warmth.
Almost subconsciously, she curled up and rolled into his embrace. Her hands reached around to hold his waist, her face buried against his chest, sinking into his body.
In darkness and confusion, she could only feel that he was like a soothing air. Like a drowning man, she tightly clung onto this air – hugging this person tightly and never to let go.
Uncertain after how long, Sun Yan gasped for breath while his hoarse voice sounded outside the carriage: “Five hundred meters. We only need to push another five hundred meters!”
There was boundless excitement in his croaking voice.
Amid the orderly shouts of compliance, metals began to clash anew.
Another long time passed before Sun Yan excitedly shouted: “Brothers, the barbarians have no reinforcements. They have no reinforcements! They have the same number of men as we do.”
He wasn’t the only ecstatic one. At this time, a scratchy voice suddenly howled: “Brothers, let’s kill these barbarians and go home…”
“Go home” ought to be the world’s most appealing slogan. All of a sudden, hollers boomed louder outside along with the increase of clashing metal.
After a series of slaying noises, only galloping hooves and heavy breathing could be heard.
And then, Chen Rong heard Wang Hong’s habitually pleasant voice: “Have we broken out?”
“We’ve gone past the Hu camp, just a bit more and we will be at the main road,” answered the driver, who then hoarsely cried.
His voice trembled a little in excitement: “My lord, if we don’t get ambushed from here on out, our escape i