Empress, Can I? [Transmigration + GL] - Chapter 72

Clad in white robes and wielding a long sword, Leng Qiuci was slender yet her swordsmanship was astonishingly formidable.

Wherever her blade flashed, it swept through like an autumn gale scattering fallen leaves—severed limbs and heads flew through the air! Blood dripped from the tip of her sword, pooling on the ground into winding rivulets. Her snow-white robes were now splattered with blood, like red plum blossoms blooming across a snowy field.

She had already cut down over a hundred and thirty men, yet more and more surged forward, howling for blood.

Exhausted, she panted heavily, her chest heaving violently. Sweat-drenched strands of hair clung to her forehead, but her grip on the sword remained unyielding.

She knew she couldn’t let go—the moment she did, all would be lost!

She was an assassin, accustomed to life and death. Her own death mattered little, but she couldn’t bear to see Meng Wan die.

“Charge! She’s alone! Wear her down! Kill them, and the Governor will reward us handsomely!”

Leng Qiuci glanced back. The last large boulder was about to be moved—they would soon be able to break through.

Turning her head, Leng Qiuci faced another wave of men charging with broadswords and longswords. In the firelight, their faces were twisted with excitement and bloodlust.

Sister Wan, I won’t let anything happen to you!

With a light step, she flew toward the crowd.

Amidst the flashing blades, more and more enemies surged forward.

The boulders on the road were finally cleared. The prisoners hurriedly scrambled into the carriages, and Meng Wan and Yao Xianhui boarded as well.

“Xiao Leng! Get in the carriage now!”

Meng Wan called out anxiously, watching helplessly as Leng Qiuci was surrounded by more and more assailants. Her heart burned with frustration—if only she knew martial arts and could help.

Hearing the shout, Leng Qiuci gritted her teeth and swung her sword with all her might. Five or six men at the front fell instantly.

Seizing the opening, she leaped into the air, light as a swan, soaring across the sky toward the carriage.

Suddenly, the sound of a blade cutting through the air reached her ears. Leng Qiuci’s expression darkened as she looked toward the shadows.

So they’ve finally caught up.

Twisting midair, she dodged the hidden weapon. When her feet touched the ground, two figures stood before her—a man and a woman, one clad in pitch black, the other in deep purple.

The man shouted to the pursuing soldiers, “This one is ours. The rest are yours.”

The leader of the pursuers had initially been alarmed by the sudden appearance of the two strangers, fearing they were reinforcements for the white-clad woman. Given how formidable she was alone, two more would spell disaster. But hearing the black-clad man’s words, he realized they were enemies instead.

Perfect! Someone else would handle the troublesome white-clad woman—exactly what he wanted.

With a wave of his hand, he bellowed, “Ignore her! Kill the ones in the carriage!”

Over four hundred soldiers bypassed Leng Qiuci and the two newcomers, charging straight for Meng Wan’s group.

“Xiao Leng! Xiao Leng!”

From afar, Meng Wan saw Leng Qiuci’s expression grow a hundred times more tense, as if facing a deadly threat. A fear unlike anything she had ever known gripped her—though there were only two newcomers, they seemed far more terrifying than the hundreds before.

Xiao Leng… might never make it back.

“Sister Wan, you should go,” Leng Qiuci suddenly said.

She turned to Meng Wan and smiled. Though faint, the smile on her bloodstained face was incredibly tender.

In that moment, she was no longer a cold, ruthless assassin—just a young girl bidding farewell to the one she loved.

Meng Wan’s vision blurred as tears spilled from her eyes.

Her grief erupted into a heart-wrenching scream: “Xiao Leng!”

“Minister Meng, we must go! Now, or it’ll be too late!” Yan Xing urged frantically as the pursuers closed in, mere steps away.

“Go! Don’t worry about me! Just go! GO!!!” Leng Qiuci’s voice grew increasingly urgent.

“Xiao Leng… Xiao Leng… Xiao Leng…” Meng Wan’s heart felt as though it were being torn apart. She turned to Yan Xing and ordered, “Go!”

Tears fell one after another, rolling down her cheeks in a steady stream.

Yao Xianhui couldn’t bear to watch and said, “Teacher…”

“Giddyap!” Yan Xing shouted loudly, and the carriage sped forward once again.

At that very moment, the road ahead suddenly brightened. A light was approaching, gradually illuminating the sky.

Yan Xing was startled and hastily reined in the carriage. Could there be enemy soldiers ahead as well?

Amid the dim light, the crisp sound of hoofbeats rang out.

In the next instant, a rider and horse came galloping forward. The person on horseback shouted loudly, “Xuan Jingchi, Emperor of Daqing, is here! Anyone who dares to rebel will be executed on the spot!”

“It’s the Emperor!” Yan Xing exclaimed joyfully, “Her Majesty is here! Her Majesty is here!”

Meng Wan’s eyes grew warm as she saw the figure galloping toward them. The next moment, she saw Xuan Jingchi, dressed in bright yellow robes, flying to her side, flashing a confident smile: “I’ve come to save you!”

At that moment, Meng Wan smiled through her tears. Her Majesty truly was a deity descended to earth—how else could she have appeared at this critical moment, just in time to tell them she had come to their rescue?

The pursuing soldiers were startled upon hearing the Emperor of Daqing was present, immediately thrown into panic.

When they saw the formidable army not far behind the emperor, their panic only intensified.

“Ah?!”

“The Emperor?!!”

“The Emperor is here?”

“How did the Emperor arrive so suddenly?”

“What do we do? What do we do?”

“Should we flee?”

From atop her horse, Xuan Jingchi had a clear view of the battlefield. She spotted Leng Qiuci locked in combat with two opponents, clearly at a disadvantage and in grave danger.

Just then, a black-clad assailant thrust his sword straight toward Leng Qiuci’s heart—a fatal strike if it landed. Unable to wait for her troops to arrive, Xuan Jingchi swiftly drew her bow and fired an arrow, aiming not at the sword but at the attacker’s back—forcing him to abandon his deadly strike.

Hearing the sharp whistle of the arrow, the black-clad man had no choice but to turn and slash, deflecting the projectile.

Seeing him dodge, Xuan Jingchi rapidly fired several more arrows in succession. Her archery was astonishingly precise and powerful, keeping the black-clad man in frantic defense.

Enraged, the man raised his sword and lunged toward her. Xuan Jingchi immediately drew her own blade and leaped forward to meet him.

But just then, the black-clad man was pulled back by a figure in purple. “Don’t forget our mission.”

The black-clad man paused, turned back, and joined the purple-robed woman in attacking Leng Qiuci.

Both were first-rate experts. One-on-one, Leng Qiuci wouldn’t have feared them, but now she was fighting two alone—and after already enduring a fierce battle—she was at the end of her strength, utterly unable to resist.

Two sharp shh sounds—her left and right ribs were simultaneously grazed by sword blades, leaving two bloody gashes that stained her white robes crimson.

Seeing her falter, the black-clad and purple-clad assailants were overjoyed and pressed their advantage.

Suddenly, a flash of cold light—a long sword joined the fray.

“Two against one? That hardly seems fair,” Xuan Jingchi remarked.

“Who are you?” the black-clad man snarled, thrusting his sword at her.

Leng Qiuci, her face icy, snapped, “I don’t need your help!”

Distracted by her words, she took a palm strike from the purple-robed woman and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

Xuan Jingchi effortlessly dodged the man’s sword and countered with a strike of her own. Though her technique wasn’t refined, her speed was astonishing.

The black-clad man, underestimating her, was startled and leaped back—but not fast enough. The tip of her sword still pierced his chest, leaving a glaring red dot of blood.

Only then did Xuan Jingchi reply, “I am Xuan Jingchi, Emperor of Daqing! Who are you, daring to harm an imperial envoy? Do you seek rebellion?”

The black-clad man froze. They were accustomed to roaming the martial world, killing for money—no one had ever seriously asked him if he wanted to rebel.

The Emperor? With such formidable internal energy? He was genuinely surprised.

His gaze turned cold. “We don’t want rebellion—just blood. Since you love meddling so much, I don’t care if you’re the Emperor. You’ll die too.”

Xuan Jingchi thought, This man has guts! He doesn’t fear the Emperor at all!

She said icily, “How insolent! Utterly lawless! If you want to kill me, let’s see if you have the skill.”

Just then, Meng Xiansheng and Chi Xiao arrived on horseback. Chi Xiao shouted from his saddle, “By imperial decree, we arrest the rebels! Those who resist will be executed without mercy!”

With the arrival of two thousand guards from Yunzhou, the tide of battle turned instantly. The soldiers who had earlier attempted to assassinate Meng Wan were swiftly crushed.

Meng Xiansheng spotted Meng Wan and hurriedly asked, “Where is Her Majesty?”

Before Meng Wan could answer, he followed her panicked gaze and was shocked to see Xuan Jingchi locked in a fierce duel with a black-clad man—clearly a martial arts master.

Meng Xiansheng rushed forward, calling, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

But their blades flashed like lightning, each move too fast for him to intervene. Ordering the archers to shoot risked hitting the Emperor.

At that moment, thud—Leng Qiuci was stabbed in the back again.

Xuan Jingchi called out, “Miss Leng, are you all right?”

“Stay out of it!” Leng Qiuci, realizing she wouldn’t survive today, gritted her teeth and flicked her wrist, releasing over a dozen fine threads that instantly bound the two assailants—yet spared Xuan Jingchi.

“Dog Emperor, you’d better be a good one!” With those words, Leng Qiuci suddenly turned and leaped backward—plunging toward the bottomless cliff by the roadside.

The two, entangled in her threads, struggled desperately to break free, but the silk was too resilient. Unable to escape, they were dragged down with her into the abyss, their horrified screams echoing as they fell.

“Xiao Leng!”

Meng Wan’s heart-wrenching cry tore through the air.

Seeing the white figure about to vanish over the cliff, Xuan Jingchi lunged forward, trying to catch Leng Qiuci.

However, the moment she grabbed a corner of the clothing, her hand suddenly felt a heavy weight. The fabric tore, and in the next instant, the world spun before her eyes. Instead of pulling Leng Qiuci to safety, she was dragged down by the force of the fall.

Mid-air, she found herself upside down, plummeting straight down like a turtle flipped onto its back.

“Ahhh!!!” Xuan Jingchi screamed in terror.

At that moment, she heard several voices above cry out in unison, “Your Majesty! Emperor! Sovereign!”

Xuan Jingchi’s heart sank halfway—this was the end!