Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 634 Escape in embarrassment
Xue Er and his men protected Xu Shu and immediately retreated.

Sun De and his group brought a lot of followers and entourage. Upon hearing the order, they rushed over and immediately clashed with the followers who were protecting Xu Shu.

The forest was quiet, but the Holy Church, which was gathered nearby, began to fall into internal strife.

Fan Yun rushed towards Xu Shu and quickly engaged Xue Er in combat. Huang Fengtai was dead, and the remaining few might be killed at any moment. Now, all they wanted was to rescue her immediately.

Xue Er brandished his sword to resist Fan Yun's attack, shouting in an attempt to stabilize the situation: "Fan Yun, can't you see? This is all Xie's scheme; she wants to create chaos within the Holy Sect."

"Do you really think we're fools?" Fan Yun swung his knife, almost hitting Xue Er's shoulder. "After the old master passed away, you suppressed us and secretly seized our interests. Now you're not even trying to hide it and frame us. If we continue to trust you, we'll end up like Wu Qian and Huang Fengtai."

Xue Er continued to explain, "It's not what you think. The Supreme Leader has been trying to save people all along."

"Pah!" Fan Yun spat a mouthful of phlegm onto Xue Er's face, the blade hovering above his head. "We people are not even as good as Xie Shumi's servants in Bianjing. The Holy Cult is just like the Supreme Leader now, doing all sorts of jobs, but without any official title."

Now that the pretense of civility has been broken, there's no need for anyone to hide anything anymore, and the words spoken are exceptionally harsh.

Xu Shu was furious, and Xue Er also wished he could teach Fan Yun a lesson immediately, but for now he could only fight Fan Yun to a draw. Today's events were truly unexpected. Xie Yuyan brought several families' nephews and nieces here without their prior knowledge, and they certainly didn't expect Xie Yuyan to kill Huang Fengtai so decisively, giving them no chance to maneuver.

Xie Yuyan wasn't negotiating terms to replace people; he was using forceful tactics to exert pressure.

Fan Yun pressed further: "Taking advantage of this opportunity to plot against us behind our backs, was it an order from the leader, or was it your idea?"

"Why waste words with him?" Huang Ping said. "Let's kill him now to avenge Tai Ge'er."

Huang Ping killed two cult members, but his grief over losing his son still had nowhere to go. He then turned to Fan Yun to deal with Xue Er. Even if he couldn't kill Xu Shu, killing Xue Er would throw Xu Shu into chaos. Xu Shu relied too much on Xue Er, and without him by her side, she might not be able to win people's hearts.

Xue Er was already struggling to deal with Fan Yun, and with Huang Ping added to the mix, he was immediately overwhelmed and kept retreating. In a moment of carelessness, Huang Ping slashed his shoulder, and blood gushed out immediately. Fortunately, the followers around him stepped forward to stop Huang Ping, otherwise Xue Er would have died on the spot.

"Go quickly and help Xue Er."

Xu Shu instructed her guards that, given the current situation, she couldn't do without Xue Er by her side.

"Your Excellency," Xue Er, supported by someone, fled back to Xu Shu's side, "it's all my fault..."

"Don't say anything more," Xu Shu said. "They were prepared all along and planned to rebel against the Holy Church."

Xue Er said, "Let's protect our leader and get him out of here first. Once we've gathered our forces, I'll lead a team to capture the five of them."

Xu Shu nodded and, escorted by Xue Er and others, mounted her horse. However, as soon as she started riding, chaos broke out among the guards. Two guards suddenly attacked their own men, knocking down those around them before lunging at Xu Shu. Xu Shu turned pale with fright. Fortunately, she had some loyal followers by her side. One of them stood in front of her, while the others carried Xu Shu onward.

Xu Shu drew the steel knife from her waist, preparing to fight those who came close.

After becoming the leader, she knew that such a situation might occur. She learned some kung fu from the guards, but this was obviously different from the usual training. In her panic, she just swung her knife randomly, which was of no use at all. She had to rely on Xue Er and others for protection.

Xue Er had advised her to stay in the camp, but she ignored him, determined to see Xie Yuyan captured with her own eyes. She never expected that Xie Yuyan would be unharmed and that she would be the one who fled in a sorry state.

In the midst of the panic, Xu Shu's mind gradually cleared. Unbeknownst to her, she had actually fallen for Xie Yuyan's trick, taking it as a good opportunity to capture Xie Shi... In reality, it was just a trap.

Huang Ping was stopped again, leaving Xu Shu with only a dozen or so men. Xue Er ignored the injury on her arm and arranged for her followers to fight the enemy.

“Once we cross this forest, we’ll see the camp,” Xue Er said. “Then…” Before Xue Er could finish speaking, a volley of arrows rained down. Everyone dodged, and Xu Shu felt a burning sensation on her cheek. The next moment, she felt a sharp pain. She reached up to touch it and found her fingers covered in bright red blood.

The arrow grazed her cheek, leaving a wound on her right cheek.

Seeing that Xu Shu was injured, Xue Er became even more anxious and was about to go forward to check on her, but Xu Shu stopped him: "Don't worry about her, let's go quickly."

They were getting closer and closer to the camp, but... Xu Shu, who was running ahead, suddenly reined in her horse. Her eyes narrowed as she saw thick smoke rising in the distance, mixed with flames. With the help of the strong wind, it seemed as if everything was about to be burned to ashes.

“Something’s happened at the camp,” Xue Er said. “It’s possible that after we left, Sun De and his men took advantage of the situation, or perhaps…”

Xue Er didn't continue, but Xu Shu guessed what he was going to say.

Or perhaps someone joined Sun De and others, and together they rebelled against the Holy Church.

If that's the case, they'll be in danger.

Just as the two were pondering this, a group of people came galloping from the direction of the camp.

"Your Excellency..."

"Quickly...protect the leader..."

The leader shouted.

……

In the mountains, Xie Yuyan mounted his horse and instructed everyone, "Let's leave here now and go back to Longde Prefecture."

This was all planned long ago. They would take advantage of the internal strife within the demon cult to leave. She had made an appointment with Tang Xing for five days, and today was the last day. She had to save Tang Xing.

Seeing Madam Xie mount her horse, Sang Mo and Su Man hurriedly instructed their men to follow.

Sang Mo touched his chest. Fortunately, Su Man had given him a pill beforehand; otherwise, he might have been scared out of his wits when Madam Xie "fell from her horse."

The young master said that he must protect the eldest daughter-in-law and not let her suffer any mishap. In his mind, it was close enough that she would be "completely unharmed".

But right under his nose, Madam Xie fell off her horse.

Even though this was put on display for the demonic cult, wouldn't a fake one still fall apart? After falling apart, they would still be hunted down.

The demon cult was in turmoil due to the madam's scheme, but he was not at ease either. His heart was rising and falling with the situation, almost jumping out of his throat. The madam's work... was good in everything else, except... it hurt the guards too much.

With the demonic sect preoccupied with its own problems, Xie Yuyan easily left the forest and headed north.

On the other side, almost simultaneously, Xu Shu clearly saw the people coming to greet her; the one leading them was Xu Lai.

(End of this chapter)