Rebirth: So what if my husband is a little crazy? He loves me.

Chapter 258 The Black-Clad Assassin!

As the stone was pushed aside, light shone through the shadows, and a servant on the other side exclaimed in delight, "It's the master! The master!"

Shen Li took a step to go over, but as soon as she took the first step, she felt her blood rush to her head.

"Ugh." She bent over and spat out a mouthful of blood, her face turning deathly pale.

That push just now exhausted her strength and inevitably injured her body.

"Madam." The magistrate's face also turned pale. Looking at the large pool of blood on the muddy ground, his heart sank deeper and deeper.

"Never mind me, look at him." Shen Li pointed at Gu Chang'an.

The soldiers carried Chunsheng down, and a servant exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Chunsheng is still breathing!"

"Help me," Shen Li said with difficulty.

Even without her instructions, a doctor was already waiting nearby to provide emergency treatment.

After Chunsheng was carried away, Gu Chang'an, whom he had been protecting, was revealed.

Gu Chang'an's white clothes were stained light red with blood, except for his arms and legs, which were soaked through after being in the rain all night. His handsome face was as white as paper.

Upon seeing this, Shen Li felt as if her heart had been ripped open, a pain a hundred times more intense than any physical ache.

Memories of her previous life flooded back: the image of Gu Chang'an lying in a pool of blood after committing suicide. She felt suffocated, and her vision went black again and again.

Reason told her she should go and see him, but she was trembling all over; she was afraid.

The servant had already helped the man up and reached out to check his breathing.

Shen Li had already sat on the ground without anyone noticing, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her skirt, her fingertips turning white from the effort.

"The master is alright, madam, the master is not breathing." The servant looked at Shen Li with great joy.

Shen Li was momentarily stunned. She had been tense and anxious just moments before, but now that she finally had an answer, she was lost in thought.

The doctor was also called over to take his pulse. After a moment, he said, "The gentleman has lost too much blood and caught a chill after being out in the rain all night. Although it is not very serious, he needs to be treated quickly."

As he spoke, he took out a pill from his pocket and put it into Gu Chang'an's mouth, saying it was a ginseng pill, and that he needed to keep Gu Chang'an's blood and energy flowing.

Shen Li closed her eyes and realized that the most precious thing in the world is a false alarm.

However, when she opened her eyes again, they were filled with wariness.

"Shhhhhh!"

Suddenly, thirty men in black rushed down the mountain on the other side, which had not experienced a landslide, and the sound of crossbows piercing the air rang out continuously.

Some officers and soldiers fell to the ground, and the rest scattered when they saw that things were not going well.

They were all constables or soldiers under the county commandant, working for the government just to make a living. Naturally, they wouldn't risk their lives to protect others when disaster struck.

The magistrate had intended to show off, but seeing that the soldiers had all fled, he simply ran away as well.

Anyone with eyes can see that this is a military crossbow, and the people who want to kill are not some江湖人 (jianghu people, meaning martial arts practitioners or江湖义气人, a code of honor among江湖义气人). If these people are left alive, it will only take two rounds of crossbow fire.

Clearly, someone is planning to make a move against Gu Chang'an and Shen Li.

As expected, these people did not pursue the fleeing people, but instead fired arrows at Shen Li and Gu Chang'an.

Shen Li reacted quickly, immediately picking up Gu Chang'an and hiding behind a large rock. At the same time, she grabbed a handful of pebbles from the ground and threw them at the man in black.

"Shhhhhh!"

The sound of the pebbles tearing through the air echoed wherever they went, and those hit by the pebbles were almost pierced through the body; five or six people fell to the ground in an instant.

"Madam, please take the master and leave. We will cover you." There were also five servants and guards present.

They held knives in their hands and were about to rush out from behind the rocks.

"No rush, I want to see who can get close." Shen Li said, grabbing another handful of pebbles and scattering them.

The servants watched in horror as those people fell to the ground after being hit by stones. How much strength did their mistress possess?

The men in black got smarter and started to spread out, initially keeping a distance, hoping to get behind them and fire their arrows.

Shen Li simply moved a smaller stone and placed it behind and on the left and right sides, instantly creating cover all around. Crossbows couldn't get in, but if those people wanted to get close, they would definitely be no match for Shen Li.

The servants were stunned, never expecting that their mistress had resolved what seemed like a very dangerous situation in just a few moments.

Now, any of those men in black who dare to come up are just asking to die.

Shen Li blocked her surroundings not only to shield herself from the arrows, but also to conceal her condition.

"Wow." She had only moved two or three hundred pounds of stones, and now she was vomiting blood again.

Her body was severely exhausted in the past day and night. After vomiting blood, she felt dizzy again, and she didn't know how much longer she could hold on.

"Madam!" the servants exclaimed. "You're injured! Let us rush out and meet the enemy!"

Shen Li was speechless for a moment and could only wave her hand slightly. She didn't know if she could hold out until reinforcements arrived. Logically, her mother should have sent people to protect her, but those people hadn't arrived yet, and it was hard to say what had happened.

The assassin was clearly a member of the military. Bai Wuyou had pointed out several regions controlled by Zhou Zhen on the map, including Shanxi Province.

The most likely reason for this assassination attempt is that the Crown Prince and the Zhou family are desperate and will stop at nothing to kill her and Gu Chang'an here and eliminate any future trouble.

In this way, the reinforcements would likely be intercepted, but there might not be just one group of assassins. She might not be able to hold out for long, so it would be better to leave these servants to protect Gu Chang'an as she leaves.

She came to cover the rear.

Thinking of this, she looked at Gu Chang'an on the ground, wiped the water off his face with her sleeve, her eyes full of longing and tenderness.

The servants didn't even have the heart to speak up and disturb them, but they saw the men in black surrounding them.

Shen Li ignored the people around her, her gaze remaining fixed on Gu Chang'an. She longed to continue her relationship with him, but she feared she wouldn't have the luck.

With her other hand on the ground, she grabbed another handful of pebbles and suddenly looked up and threw them in one direction.

The man in black who was nearby was hit but did not fall down immediately. Looking down, he found that he was only slightly injured, not fatal or seriously injured. It was clear that the force was much less than before.

Shen Li also realized that she was exhausted, and she found that these men in black were very clever. Only some of them approached with knives, while a few others stood at a distance with crossbows, ready to strike at any time.

"Madam, we can't wait any longer. These people will get closer sooner or later."

"Give me the knife, I'll tear open an opening, and you take your family members up the mountain." Shen Li judged that the best place to hide was the mountain.

The official road at the foot of the mountain is an easy route for assassins, and as for the city or government offices, it's hard to say whether they belong to Zhou Zhen's people.

The mountains are high and the forests are dense, making them easy to defend and difficult to attack, and they are the most suitable places to hide for a short time.

"Madam, although you are incredibly powerful, you are still injured. Please let me go instead," the guard said urgently.

"I know I can't hold on much longer, so I'm entrusting your family to you." Shen Li took the knife, stood up, and walked out.

“Madam…” Several servants’ eyes turned red.

At this moment, several men in black approached rapidly, because they had realized that Shen Li's strength was not as great as before.

However, these people clearly underestimated Shen Li's strength and speed in close combat. In just one exchange, several people had their necks severed, and their heads rolled off.

The man in black was quite frightened.

Several archers lying in ambush on the mountain fired their arrows almost simultaneously.

Shen Li aimed carefully and threw out several pebbles with precision. Thanks to her archery practice in the past few days, she could always hit someone with three pebbles.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!" Arrows and pebbles weaved through the air, the arrows moving almost in slow motion before Shen Li's eyes. She reached out and caught them all, then casually tossed them back.

Although she was much weaker, stones could still hurt people, let alone the arrows she threw.

Several archers on the mountain died in the ensuing battle. Shen Li signaled his servants and soldiers to go up the mountain, while he waited behind to wait for the pursuers and resist the crossbowmen.

The servants quickly obtained four crossbows and dozens of arrows. Two of them stayed behind with the crossbows, while the other three took Gu Chang'an up the mountain.

When the dozen or so men in black approached Shen Li again, they were already bracing themselves for the worst, after all, they had seen the heads rolling all over the mountain.

But Shen Li was already in a killing frenzy. She charged into the crowd and swept her sword out. Although she had no particular technique, she was fast. The men in black either lost their heads or had their upper bodies cut off.

The blade chipped after just two strikes, so she picked up two more from the ground and started slashing with her left and right hands respectively.

Even so, some people managed to get close, which required the guards with bows and crossbows to intervene. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen people had already lost their lives on the spot.

Before the archers on the other side could catch up, Shen Li had already led two archers to hide behind a rock.

Shen Li felt weak again and leaned against a large rock to rest. The archers opposite her surrounded the mountain from three directions, but their speed had slowed down a lot, not out of caution but out of fear.

The enemy's crossbowmen were hiding behind cover. They couldn't hit them if they didn't get close, and if they did, they would be the first to be killed. If it weren't for military orders, they really didn't want to take a single step.

Shen Li was covered in blood at that moment, and she no longer looked like a young lady from a wealthy family; she was a real female demon.

"Madam, you should go first," a guard advised.

Shen Li closed her eyes and took a few breaths, shook her head slightly, picked up a crossbow and said, "You guys go first, take care of him, and leave the rest of these dozen or so people to me."

Even though she was so weak, she still had a higher chance of winning against the enemy. It wouldn't be safe to leave the soldiers here, and she couldn't let anyone sneak up the mountain and pose a threat to Gu Chang'an.

Although the soldiers were reluctant to agree, they had no choice but to obey. They used tree branches to cover their bodies, quietly moved from behind one rock to another, and then disappeared into the dense forest.

With trembling hands covered in blood, Shen Li grabbed some herbs from beside her, rolled them into a ball, and stuffed them into her mouth along with the blood. They were herbs that nourished qi and calmed the mind. Although the effects of the medicine couldn't be fully realized yet, at least they weren't poisonous and could fill her stomach.

She needs food far more than the average person. If she doesn't eat for a long time, the large amount of energy her body needs to consume will harm her health. At this time, she should replenish her food as soon as possible.

But she was also glad that she had arrived in time without eating or drinking, otherwise even if Gu Chang'an hadn't been crushed to death, he would have certainly been killed by this assassination attempt.

These people really know how to exploit loopholes.

She hid behind a rock and watched. To save energy, she used a crossbow and only fired arrows when people got close.

"Shhhhhh!"

In the blink of an eye, three arrows killed three people. The remaining people dared not move forward. They were also in the dense forest, and they also disguised themselves and began to crawl on the ground to approach. How were they discovered?

Unbeknownst to them, Shen Li had heard the sound clearly from a distance, but only fired when they got closer.

The remaining people clearly paused before continuing forward, presumably because they had no choice but to go through with it.

Hearing the pause, Shen Li moved the men closer and fired again just as they were about to succeed.

After several rounds, the remaining three archers finally broke down and lay on the ground, retreating backward.

Shen Li refused to let these people retreat, but although she could hear their location, they were too far away and some were behind rocks for her to hit.

So she started rolling the small stones, weighing several dozen kilograms, down and throwing them in three directions.

Fearing they would be injured, the three naturally tried to get up, at which point they could not escape Shen Li's arrows.

Finally, the surroundings quieted down. Shen Li leaned against the rock with a happy expression and closed her eyes. Even if Shanxi Dao had some power, it was certain that they would not rebel.

Therefore, while they could trap the Shen family's guards, they definitely couldn't trap the Three Great Camps or the Imperial Guards. She believed that the emperor would surely send troops, and as long as they could delay a little longer, they would definitely be saved.

She took a few breaths, emerged from behind the rock, and walked down the mountain. Along the way, she picked up crossbows and arrows. She collected seven or eight crossbows, then crushed the ones that were inconvenient to carry. She took all the arrows with her, totaling more than two hundred.

After doing all that, she rested on the ground for a while. When she came, it was just before dawn, but now the sun was shining brightly. Her original purple clothes were now shimmering with a bewitching crimson color in the sunlight.

She was covered in mud and blood, so much so that her original color was no longer visible. She leaned against a tree, looked at the sunlight, and grinned. In her previous life, she never imagined that she, who conserved her strength, could be so brave.

After resting for a while, she grabbed a few more herbs she recognized and ate them, ignoring what symptoms they were treating, just to fill her stomach.

On her way up the mountain, she picked some more herbs. She was very glad that she had compiled the book for Old Man Zou, because she never expected that it would actually come in handy in the wild.

Although the group had taken Gu Chang'an very discreetly, the recent rain had made their footprints extremely obvious, making it easy to catch up.

She frowned slightly, realizing she needed to find a good way to conceal her whereabouts, otherwise the next batch of assassins would be too easy to find.

She walked for a full half hour before finding a cave. The servants and guards were anxiously looking out of the cave entrance. When they saw Shen Li, they were overjoyed: "Madam, you're finally back! Let me help you rest."

They were astonished to see Shen Li walk back like this, carrying eight crossbows, five large swords tied together, and hundreds of arrows and herbs on her back.

To be able to escape unscathed despite such physical exertion, and to carry so much stuff up a mountain path, is something even a very strong man might not be able to do, let alone a woman.

"With these, and by occupying this small hill, a few dozen men won't be able to get up here at all, and a hundred men will be able to fight us." The soldiers all came over and took the weapons from Shen Li's hands.

When Shen Li climbed up, she discovered that it was an extremely steep hillside, and a small one that could not accommodate many people climbing at the same time. It could be defended by simply setting up a few crossbows.

The only way to get up here is to sneak up, but it's not easy to hide it from her ears.