His Demoness

48 ⚔️ In Pursuit

The first arrow had been a warning: to hand over the Demoness.

Zhijian knew that if he refused to heed to it, the Jiang clan definitely wouldn't show mercy in their next shot.

But regardless of what others might say, his answer was definite. He would love her, protect her and keep her away from anybody who attempted to misuse her powers for heinous conspiracies.

When he took a step towards her, his decision instigated the next wave of attack.

A flurry of arrows was released in his direction. He weaved through them and hurriedly unsheathed his sword. Grabbing Xiaoyu's hand, whose face had paled with alarm, he pulled her into a run.

A loud, painful neigh came from behind them and their poor horse went down, its innocent life ending in a pitiful way. It seemed like the Jiang clan was trying to eliminate all their means of escaping from them.

Zhijian's grip on the Xiaoyu tightened. "Head into the woods for cover!"

Entering the dense thicket, the pillars of the trees shielded them from the relentless arrows that were being fired at them. The pair ran as fast as they could, hoping to widen the gap between them and their enemies.

Something wheezed past Zhijian. The sharp edge of an arrowhead ripped his sleeve and nicked his skin, drawing blood.

Xiaoyu witnessed it, her eyes were wide with terror. "Zhijian!" she gasped in realisation. "They're only targeting you!"

She was right. The Jiang clan didn't seem to have any intention of hurting her, seeing that none of the arrows went for her. She was after all their prized possession, whereas Zhijian was nothing of worth to them.

But he was a risk, one that was capable of alerting the other clans of their despicable scheme. Getting rid of him and recapturing the Demoness seemed like their only apparent solution.

Dodging the arrows that flew in his direction, Xiaoyu tried to move away from him. The fear in her eyes was evident. She didn't want him to be hurt because of her.

"Leave me and run."

Zhijian's jaw clenched, his fingers tightening on hers. "No," he said firmly. "We're in this together."

Refusing to let her convince him, he kept her close by his side, weaving through the trees and trying to shake their enemies off their tail. The birds' chirping grew faint at the commotion, whereas the sound of branches swishing and the twigs snapping under their feet was deafening in this wilderness.

The trees paved their way into a rugged dirt road, leaving them wide open and an easy target. Just as they tried to cross over to the other side and duck into the woods again, a set of hooves thundered down the path they were standing on.

Zhijian's head snapped towards the approaching mass, realising that it was actually a carriage that was heading straight for them. And riding the horse at the front was a person clad in a black cloak, his face concealed by a hood.

The carriage stopped before them. In a swift movement, the mysterious man pulled out a bow that he had slung across his back, firing arrows at the Jiang clansmen with rapid precision. They skidded to a stop, obviously caught off guard by the arrival of the new guest.

One by one, the bodies dropped to the ground. But even though they were being taken down, more of their kind started appearing. Without wasting any more time, the hooded figure yelled at Zhijian and Xiaoyu.

"Get onto the carriage! And hold on tight!"

There was a flicker of hesitation across their faces as they exchanged looks. Their obvious reluctance drew an exasperated huff from the mysterious man.

"What're you guys waiting for? Do you wish to die here?"

He was stating the fact. There weren't many options to pick from; it was either this or get killed by the Jiang clan.

Without much of a choice, they started moving as they were told. As Zhijian helped Xiaoyu onto the carriage, a shuffle of footsteps to his right had him turning right in time to slash at his attacker across the chest with his sword. Planting a kick right into his ribs, Zhijian watched as the man fell onto the ground before leaping onto the vehicle and scrambling into the safety of the wooden carriage body.

Once they were settled in, the hooded figure whipped the horse and they finally rode off. From the back of the vehicle, they watched as the remaining Jiang clansmen chased after them, their figures growing smaller as the horse pulled the carriage away. It was only when they disappeared from sight did Zhijian and Xiaoyu exhale and slump back into their seats in relief.

They exchanged silent glances before staring at the back of their mysterious saviour. Neither one of them knew who he was, but they shared the same thought.

Was this person an ally or a foe?

"What do we do?" Xiaoyu mouthed at him, but he didn't really have an answer. 

"Let's wait and see."

After travelling for a good thirty minutes, the carriage eventually halted on the outskirts of a small, unfamiliar town. Their coachman dismounted from his horse and gestured for his passengers to alight. When the hood was thrown back and his face was revealed, Zhijian and Xiaoyu were taken aback by what they saw.

Unlike what they had assumed, their saviour wasn't a man.

It was a woman, one who looked in her forties. Despite how dainty she looked, she didn't move or behave like an ordinary person. Her eyes held a depth of wisdom, and her display of excellent archery skills couldn't hide her years of experience in battle.

Her attention was fixed on Xiaoyu, her eyes crinkling into a smile. "It's been twenty years, little girl," she greeted. "You haven't aged at all."

Xiaoyu was shocked. Her eyes widened with recognition before a turmoil of emotions hit her. Her hands fisted her clothes and she swallowed thickly, allowing herself to lower her head and eyes respectfully.

"Legendary Enchantress."

A/N: Let me just take a moment to thank everyone of you for making this far into the story. 🙆🏼‍♀️❤️