Yu Jin Chang An (With Jin's Chang'An)

Chapter 5

Li Shuang held the rope with one hand, struggling to stand on the sharp blades around her. With the other hand, she tried to wrap the rope around the man's waist to tie him up before pulling him up. However, she couldn't manage to tie him up properly even after circling around his waist for a while. Li Shuang was getting frustrated. "Can you move your hand a bit to help me loop the rope around? I need to get you out of here."

The man remained still. Li Shuang's temper flared up. As she was about to scold him, she saw the tender gaze in his bright red eyes fixed on her, filled with affection, making Li Shuang wonder if she had a passionate lover in the past, perhaps in the wilderness.

But at this moment, all Li Shuang wanted to say to him with that look was, "What are you staring at? Don't you want to go up?"

Angry! Is this the time to stare at someone? No sense of urgency or priority!

Li Shuang scolded him, but the man didn't seem offended. He responded seriously, "Oh." Then, using his injured hand, he pulled her waist toward him, roughly and dominantly embracing her.

Li Shuang was taken aback. "What are you doing?"

"Taking you up," he said calmly.

With that, he let go of her waist, grabbed the rope she had lowered, and leveraged his feet on a few blade edges. He held Li Shuang and swiftly ascended, stepping out of the trap in just a few moves and onto level ground.

Li Shuang blinked and found herself out of the trap, still being held by the stranger. Being carried in the arms of a stranger felt strange to Li Shuang. Immediately, she pushed away from his chest, furrowing her brows as she asked, "You could have come out of the pit on your own?"

The man nodded. "The blades are poisoned. I needed some time to adjust my internal energy."

Her worries were unnecessary after all...

With no time to spare, they heard the sound of bandits breaking into the outer room. Judging from the noisy footsteps, Li Shuang estimated there might be dozens of them. She composed herself, gripping the blade at her waist tightly. However, before she could take action, the man picked her up horizontally in one swift motion. He moved like lightning, breaking through the window.

Li Shuang saw the surroundings blur into streaks, with only the man holding her remaining a constant presence.

When the chaos around them slowed down, Li Shuang found herself on a horseback, with the man mounting behind her. They broke through the gate of the stone stronghold, riding away confidently on horseback, leaving behind the panicked bandits within the stronghold.

The night cold outside the Great Wall was bone-chilling, with gusts of wind cutting like knives, mixed with large snowflakes. Everything around seemed desolate and bleak.

Li Shuang had long adapted to this dry and harsh climate. Having spent three years in the borderlands, she had experienced numerous battles, both large and small. She had ambushed and raided in the cold night and defended against external enemies under the scorching sun. Regardless of how difficult the circumstances were, she always rode alone. She was the general of Changfeng Camp and the symbol of honor for the Great Jin on the border. Her back couldn't afford even the slightest bend, and her will wouldn't allow any weakness.

Therefore, being seated in front of someone now, surrounded and protected by the aura of a man, was a first for Li Shuang.

Amidst the heavy snow, the two rode together through the desolate wilderness. They rode until they reached a cliff. The horse, taken from the bandits, finally couldn't go any further, its pace slowing down with foam at its mouth.