Xiao Jin had already pulled out a feathered arrow from the quiver, suppressing the trembling of her fingers, and strung it on the bow.
As the arrow was about to be released, Chu Shao remained calm, standing still and smiling at Xiao Jin. Then she shook her head lightly.
Even though her blood had started to flow backward, slowing down.
At this critical moment, Xiao Jin chose to believe in Chu Shao and stopped pulling the bowstring.
Strange things then happened.
The blood-red eyes of the white tiger flickered with a deep ferocity. It raised its tail and paced around Chu Shao, but it only assumed an attacking posture and never attacked Chu Shao.
Chu Shao maintained her upright posture, allowing the white tiger to observe her without showing any signs of fear.
The onlookers stared in astonishment, and they could even sense a hint of indifference from Chu Shao’s expression.
In her eyes, it seemed like being surrounded by a bloodthirsty monster was just a trivial matter.
It couldn’t simply be attributed to her courage; it was more like she was indifferent to life and saw through the mundane world. In short, she didn’t care about her own life.
Chu Shao’s composure contrasted sharply with the enormous white tiger and the bloodstains on its claws.
Meanwhile, Xiao Qing had already fainted after being struck by the white tiger’s paw.
Her father, Prince Shen, was furious, and while the white tiger was momentarily inactive, he snatched a bow and arrow from one of his guards.
He pulled the bowstring and shot towards the beast, saying, “You beast! How dare you harm my daughter? I will tear you apart into a thousand pieces!”
Prince Shen had the intention to avenge his daughter, but years of a luxurious and idle lifestyle had deteriorated his archery skills. The arrow narrowly missed the agile white tiger.
At this moment, the guards overcame their inner fear of the massive creature.
Led by the captain of the Imperial Guards, they pulled their bows and unleashed a volley of arrows.
However, due to the scarcity of archers compared to the cavalry present, the arrow rain was somewhat sparse, lacking the momentum of a torrent and a synchronized onslaught.
The white tiger swiftly evaded most of the arrows in its agile movements, but its legs couldn’t avoid being struck by two or three arrows.
The arrows pierced its skin, causing it to roar in pain.
Just as the guards were about to shoot more arrows, they suddenly felt a chill on their backs. They turned around, only to catch a glimpse of what appeared before them.
They felt a sharp pain on their cheeks as they were slapped away and fell to the ground, blood flowing.
The crowd erupted in exclamations, “Another giant creature has appeared! And it’s even bigger than the previous one!”
“Oh my goodness! The white tiger’s eyes have turned red. Could it be possessed by some evil entity and controlled?”
“No, it’s probably here to avenge the smaller one.”
Xiao Jin didn’t pay attention to what everyone was saying. She forcefully calmed her mind to alleviate the intense pounding of her heart. At the same time, she was mostly certain that everything was within Chu Shao’s control.
That’s what she thought in her mind, but Xiao Jin still took a deep breath and gave an order to Ye Juege, “Juege, take the princess to a safe place.”
Ye Juege asked, “What about you, Your Highness?”
“With Auntie here, I’ll be fine.” Xiao Jin glanced at Tang Ling, who was standing behind her, and gave her response.
In fact, the moment the white tiger escaped from the iron cage, Xiao Shuang had already arranged for Tang Ling to be behind Xiao Jin.
However, Xiao Jin’s heart was beating so fast at that time that she didn’t notice this detail.
Now that she noticed it, she couldn’t help but look up at Xiao Shuang. Sure enough, she saw Tang Yu standing beside her, along with several Feng Ling guards holding swords.
On the other side, around Emperor Qi and the Empress, a large group of guards had surrounded them, maintaining a vigilant stance.
“Why are you all crowding around me? Hurry and save Princess Qing!” The clamor overwhelmed Emperor Qi’s voice, almost drowned in the screams and the fleeing crowd.
The primary duty of the Royal Guards was, of course, to protect Emperor Qi’s safety.
However, the Emperor’s words carried immense weight, and as soon as the Emperor spoke, it was like issuing a decree. Anyone who dared to resist the order would be charged with treason and beheaded.
Therefore, regardless of whether Emperor Qi’s words were sincere or not, the guards had to dispatch two teams—one to rescue Xiao Qing and the other to protect the royal family and high-ranking officials.
The remaining two teams were stationed on both sides of the high seats to ensure the safety of Emperor Qi and the Empress.
However, what they discovered next was truly unexpected.
The second white tiger that appeared in the arena didn’t exhibit the affectionate qualities of caring for its cub. Instead, it fled with the little white tiger.
It sniffed the fragrant aroma permeating the arena, its eyes bloodshot.
What surprised everyone even more was that the large white tiger didn’t attack the women who were permeated with the fragrance. Instead, it raised its body and turned towards Prince Shen!
With this sudden turn of events, Xiao Jin was stunned, and even Prince Shen, who had been angrily shouting earlier, was greatly frightened. While shooting arrows at the large white tiger, he shouted desperately, “This beast has gone mad! Someone, come and save me!”
Unfortunately, the guards surrounding Prince Shen had already been knocked down by the large white tiger.
And the imperial guards were also rushing towards Xiao Qing, but they were too far away to arrive in time.
So Prince Shen could only watch helplessly as the large white tiger opened its bloody mouth and pounced on him, every hair on its body trembling. Even when faced with imminent death, he couldn’t understand why this beast was attacking him.
Xiao Jin coldly watched as Prince Shen abandoned his bow and arrows and fled, with the fierce tiger hot on his heels. She had no intention of helping him, considering that she wasn’t close to Prince Shen.
Moreover, that brat nearly harmed Chu Shao. Furthermore, Xiao Jin’s keen eyes noticed that as Prince Shen fled in panic, the sachet hanging from his belt kept swaying in the wind. It was clearly attracting the attention of the big white tiger.
Perhaps, it was the sachet that caused all this trouble.
Xiao Jin estimated that as long as Prince Shen didn’t take off the sachet from his waist, the white tiger would continue to chase him.
However, it seemed that Prince Shen was not aware of the problem, so even if Xiao Jin shot an arrow now, it wouldn’t have much effect in the end.
They say that if calamity cannot be avoided, one must embrace it. It’s time for Prince Shen to meet his end.
In observing this situation with a cold eye, Chu Shao and Xiao Jin shared a striking similarity. As long as the white tiger didn’t harm Xiao Jin, even if it tore everyone else to pieces, she felt that it didn’t matter.
So when Chu Shao realized that Prince Shen hadn’t been immediately bitten to death by the white tiger, she couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised.
Because there was one person who had drawn his sword and stood in front of Prince Shen, with his sword pressed between the white tiger’s fangs.
The ministers who hadn’t escaped yet couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s the Fifth Prince!”
Initially, Emperor Qi’s words were completely drowned out, but when he discovered that the person blocking the tiger was none other than the Fifth Prince, Xiao Cheng, his voice immediately became thunderous, “Cheng’er, it’s dangerous!”
There was no need for everyone to remind him; the Fifth Prince knew very well that it was dangerous.
But he couldn’t just watch this big beast harm Qing’er and hurt Prince Shen, so he lifted his sword and chose to stand in front of Prince Shen.
However, the brute force of the tiger was ultimately greater than that of a human.
Even though the Fifth Prince was agile and had considerable strength, it was still impossible to withstand the tiger’s teeth with his sword.
The tiger’s pupils were red, almost dripping blood, as it tried to close its jaws and fiercely swiped its front paw at the Fifth Prince’s chest.
“Bang!”
Xiao Jin didn’t need to look to know that this claw strike would be excruciatingly painful.
The Fifth Prince held the sword with both hands and couldn’t avoid it; he had to endure this claw strike, grunting in pain as a thread of fresh blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Fortunately, he was wearing armor, or else he would have either died or been maimed.
At the same time, the Fifth Prince’s grip on the sword weakened, and as the white tiger exerted force to close its teeth, it also bit his palm, reducing it to a bloody mess.
Just as the white tiger was attempting to close its teeth, the Fifth Prince also decided to make a desperate move.
So, gritting his teeth and disregarding the piercing pain in his palm, he exerted all his strength and thrust the long sword into the white tiger’s mouth.
In the next moment, amid the high-pitched screams of the onlookers, the long sword pierced through the head of the big beast.
The tip of the sword emerged several inches, splattering a large amount of crimson blood.
However, what truly temporarily immobilized it before the sword pierced its head were the two arrows shot from the banquet.
One arrow struck the white tiger’s abdomen, while the other pierced its left eye.
The crowd stared in astonishment at the source of the arrow’s sound, seeing a person with a pale, bloodless face, but a pair of eyes that were even more beautiful than black ink and jade.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, Xiao Jin curled her fingers and slowly lowered her bow and arrows.
In that brief moment, everyone present was so shocked that their jaws couldn’t close.
The person who made the move was… Her Highness Prince Yan?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator’s note: Oh! Xiao Jin is so cool~ The question is: Why help the fifth Prince? 🤨
TO BE CONTINUE…
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