togophonebook Chapter 60 Mother's Tragedy
Chapter 60 Mother's Tragedy
"Mom—!"
Wanyan Yue knelt down and tightly embraced Zheng Shi with both arms.
Zheng's face was ashen, and bloody foam kept oozing from the corners of her lips.
With difficulty, she raised her hand and touched Wanyan Yue's cheek, cradling the small face roughened by the wind and snow of the northern frontier in her palm.
"Jiaojiao..."
Her voice was barely audible, each word tinged with blood and foam.
"Go...go quickly..."
Zheng's eyes were filled with fear and pity.
"No...revenge..."
Her fingers suddenly clenched in spasm, her nails almost digging into Wanyan Yue's flesh.
"Leave the Northern Plains...go to the Eastern Continent...there..."
The unfinished words were cut off.
The hand that was gently stroking her daughter's cheek suddenly tightened, leaving a bloody mark on her cheek.
"Mom...Mom!"
Wanyan Yue buried her face in Zheng's cold neck, trying to hold onto the lingering warmth that was about to dissipate.
The crying was initially suppressed, then broke down, and the sobs squeezed out between the teeth finally turned into wailing, echoing far and wide.
Not far away, two massive, mountain-like figures suddenly stopped.
Two bear-men rushed over following the sound of grief. When they saw the mother and daughter embracing in the snow, and then saw the arrowhead deeply embedded in Zheng's chest, they were immediately terrified.
"Dead! That woman is dead!"
One of the bear-men screamed. The other, equally disoriented, craned his neck and howled towards the depths of the camp:
"Help! Help! Something's happened—!"
The shouts, like a death knell, echoed through the ruined Wanyan tribe camp.
Despite the surrounding noise and commotion, Wanyan Yue remained motionless, seemingly oblivious.
......
Before long, the centaur leader arrived, trudging through the snow.
In the rear camp area, the earth-shattering battle had subsided, leaving only the sobbing of women and children, interspersed with the crackling sounds of burning tents.
His gaze swept across the room, landing on Zheng Shi and Wanyan Yue, who lay motionless beside him, her fate unknown. His face contorted in anger, and he let out a furious hiss:
"Who fired the arrow?!"
"I said—no shooting arrows! Who gave you permission to use arrows—?!"
The crowd of animals that had gradually gathered around fell silent, exchanging bewildered glances.
In those beastly eyes, there was fear and confusion, but no answer.
One of the fox-people, his eyes darting around, crouched down and leaned forward, speaking in a shrill, obsequious voice:
"Chief, please calm down! Look at the arrow fletching; it's clearly a standard Wanyan tribe arrow, not one of our brothers'! It must be infighting among them that they accidentally shot this woman, and it's not our..."
The centaur leader turned his head and stared coldly at him, the rage in his eyes not diminished by these words.
"The person is already dead, so what difference does it make whose arrow we shoot?"
The fox-man was taken aback, his fawning smile freezing on his face.
Before he could react, the centaur leader suddenly raised his hoof and kicked out.
The fox-man screamed and flew backward, rolling seven or eight times on the snow before falling silent.
"waste."
He snorted and looked worriedly in the direction of Wanyan Yue.
He botched this job.
"Let's go up and take a look."
The centaur leader gave a deep command, and white vapor continuously billowed from the horse's nostrils.
"Let's see if Zheng is really dead. And let's see if Wanyan Yue... is dead or not."
Upon receiving the order, some animal handlers immediately stepped forward cautiously and moved towards the center of the snowfield.
......
Zhang Nanfeng stood quietly, staring at the human tragedy unfolding below, his mind buzzing, unable to recover for a long time.
He looked up at the sky.
I've already become an immortal!
He roared inwardly, his pent-up anger churning in his chest.
But why?
Why are we still so weak?
Why can't I escape this damned fate?!
Before the woman died, he saw clearly that the line of death on her body was connected to himself.
If he hadn't shown up, she wouldn't have been alarmed, wouldn't have protected Wanyan Yue, and wouldn't have faced that cold arrow with her own chest in that split second.
Is it... because of me?
Was it because of me?
A sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him completely.
Zhang Nanfeng slowly lowered his head, watching the sacrificial animal approach Wanyan Yue step by step. The girl remained motionless on the corpse, letting the shadow of the sacrificial animal descend upon her.
The once proud and unruly girl who rode her horse through the wind and pointed her dagger at the sky now seemed to have had her spine removed. Her face was devoid of any arrogance, leaving only an empty shell, an empty shell holding her mother's corpse, waiting to rot.
His gaze slowly shifted, sweeping over the samurai, then towards the stern-faced centaur leader, and finally settling on the swarm of samurai, a dark, dense mass.
His expression gradually turned ferocious.
......
The fat pig-man, with his protruding belly, swaggered up to Wanyan Yue.
Seeing the girl kneeling like a dead person, he wantonly dragged and turned her over, examining her closely.
He pinched her arm, pried open her chin, and even leaned in to sniff her breath, his actions as rough as if he were examining livestock, showing no tenderness whatsoever.
Wanyan Yue was in a daze, her mind and spirit broken, completely at the mercy of her opponent.
After examining her, the pig-man confirmed that she was still breathing, but was not fully conscious.
He turned around with a sheepish grin and loudly reported back to the centaur leader:
"Boss! This girl is still alive!"
He paused, a bewildered look on the fat pig's face, scratching the back of his head as he stammered, "..."
"Well... he looks like he's about to die."
Upon hearing this, the centaur leader's dark golden eyes flashed with relief. He immediately raised his hand, signaling the pigmen to bring Wanyan Yue back.
"hey-hey."
The pig-man readily agreed, grabbed Wanyan Yue and tucked her under his arm, then turned to leave.
He had only taken two steps when he suddenly felt an itch on his neck, as if tiny ants were crawling on it.
He freed one hand and raised it as if to scratch.
The moment my hand touched his neck, the enormous pig's head detached from it, falling from the branch like a ripe fruit.
But his body had not yet collapsed.
At the severed neck, pig's blood gushed out like a spring, spraying a three-foot-high column of blood that turned the snow into a crimson stain.
"ah--!!!"
After a brief silence, screams of terror erupted from the crowd of animals.
"Who goes there?!"
"Assassin! Assassin—!"
"Protect your head! Quickly, protect your head!"
The animals were thrown into chaos and panic, their eyes darting around in bewilderment, none of them knowing where the killing intent was coming from.
What the hell is this thing?!
The centaur leader was greatly shaken and sternly commanded the panicked crowd:
"Don't panic! Stay calm and collected!"
A wolf's howl rose from the distant mountain ridges and soared into the sky.
The wolf's howl rolled across the snowfield, across the sky, and over the eardrums and hearts of every animal, silencing all the noise and howls.
Upon hearing the sound, Wanyan Yue, who had been as still as a corpse, trembled violently.
A glimmer of life returned to his empty eyes.
She broke free from his grasp, slumped awkwardly onto the snow, and stared blankly at the source of the howling sound.
Above the mountain ridge, the wind and snow howled.
A lone, snow-white figure stands tall, gazing at the sky.
Wanyan Yue gazed at the familiar wolf shadow and murmured softly:
"...Adachi."