Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot Chapter 75 Recognition

ng Qianqian had been hiding in the mountains for an entire day and night.

The Shadow Guards of Beiliang were relentless. If it weren’t for the fact that winter had blanketed the mountain with snow, ng Qianqian strongly suspected they would have set the forest on fire to smoke her out.

Life in the mountains wasn’t too difficult—at least, not for her. When hungry, she would snack on wild fruits like firethorn berries and hawthorn, which were everywhere.

As for whether those Beiliang fellows could find so wild fruits to stave off hunger, she had no idea.

ng Qianqian even caught a few wild chickens and rabbits, but since she couldn’t risk lighting a fire, she played with them for a while before ultimately setting them free.

At night, she slept in a snow pit she had dug out with her Brocade Spring Saber, using a leopard as her pillow to keep warm.

anwhile, the Beiliang Shadow Guards searching for her were losing their minds.

"Where the hell is that damned girl hiding?"

"In this snowy weather, her footprints just vanished into thin air. Even if she used Qinggong, there should at least be marks on the trees."

"And in this freezing cold, she at least needs to light a fire to stay warm, doesn’t she? Not that it matters to her during the day."

That said, they had lit a fire for themselves.

Sitting in a cave, they had kindled a bonfire and roasted so wild rabbit at.

Another full day and night passed. Just when the guards began to suspect she might have frozen to death out there, the target finally erged.

When bad luck hits, even drinking water can get stuck in your teeth.

ng Qianqian had gotten a good rest in her snow pit and had just poked her head out when she ca face to face with a Shadow Guard.

The guard looked down at the small head suddenly popping out from the snow, while ng Qianqian tilted her head up to stare at the man’s shiny bald forehead.

The two locked eyes in an awkward mont of silence.

Innocently, ng Qianqian blinked and then pulled out the leopard: "Bite him."

The leopard sank its teeth into the guard’s leg.

The guard: "...!!"

Damn it!

It’s her!

Without her mask on, he hadn’t recognized her at first!

"Found her!"

He shouted.

He kicked the leopard away, sending it tumbling across the snow. The feline tried to pounce back, ready to maul him, but froze upon noticing several more Shadow Guards charging toward them, their blades glinting with killing intent.

One of them even held a flaming torch.

The leopard imdiately turned tail and fled in disgrace.

ng Qianqian scowled sternly, "Hmph. What a coward."

The leopard, watching ng Qianqian dart off even faster than itself, was left speechless: "..."

The pursuit dragged on until nightfall.

Sagging against a tree, ng Qianqian panted heavily: "Can’t you guys... just stop chasing ?"

A Shadow Guard, equally breathless, retorted: "If you... stop running... we’ll stop chasing..."

The rest of the guards, exhausted and beaten, nodded in agreent.

ng Qianqian, barely able to catch her breath, muttered, "If you... stop chasing... I’ll stop... running..."

The Shadow Guards: Damn it! We’re dead tired... truly at our limit! We can’t catch her, and we can’t hit her either!

ng Qianqian wasn’t in much better shape, completely drained to the point where she couldn’t even unsheathe her Brocade Spring Saber.

Suddenly, one of the guards pulled out a small crossbow from the basket on his back.

His companion gaped in astonishnt: "You’ve had that thing this whole ti... Why didn’t you use it sooner?"

The guard wheezed, "Only just rembered."

He raised the crossbow and aid it squarely at ng Qianqian.

ng Qianqian collapsed onto the ground in despair.

It was over. There was no way she could outrun a crossbow. This was really the end...

The guard fired. A bolt shot through the air like lightning, its speed cutting through the silence with a sharp whistle as it hurtled straight for ng Qianqian’s heart.

But at that precise mont, a tall figure clad in purple descended from the heavens, stepping in front of her. With one sweeping stroke of his sword, the bolt was cleaved in two!

ng Qianqian stared at the towering, regal figure before her. Her vision blurred, and she collapsed backward, arms and legs sprawled wide, before passing out.

When ng Qianqian regained consciousness, she found that the sky had turned completely dark, and she was lying on a warm, broad back.

She wiggled her legs a little.

"Awake?"

Lu Yuan asked indifferently.

ng Qianqian rested her chin on his shoulder. "Mm."

She thought he’d tell her to get off and walk on her own now that she was awake.

To her surprise, he rely said, "Yin Hu is waiting for you in a cave up ahead."

ng Qianqian let out an "Oh" and made no move to insist on walking herself. After all, after fleeing for so long, her legs were sore beyond asure.

"Have you been cured of your poison?"

"I have."

"I told you Yin Hu could solve it. But why didn’t he wait for back at camp?"

Lu Yuan didn’t answer.

Soon enough, ng Qianqian found out why Yin Hu had co all the way from the military camp to et her personally.

In the cave, Yin Hu sat against the cold, hard stone wall. His face was ashen, his vitality draining, his breathing faint and weak, as if it might cease at any mont.

"Enough, there’s no ti left. If you delay any longer, your friend won’t survive!"

Looking back, she recalled how Yin Hu had urged her in the forest to hurry back to the military camp. She’d assud he’d been referring to Lu Yuan’s situation being urgent, but now she realized the one running out of ti was Yin Hu himself.

A huge wave of sorrow surged through ng Qianqian’s heart.

"Yin Hu."

She crouched before him and softly called out his na.

Yin Hu laboriously opened his heavy eyelids, forcing out a faint smile. "You’re here."

ng Qianqian nodded.

Yin Hu solemnly studied her face for a long mont before speaking. "Tsk, a young girl’s face, frozen to such a state!"

ng Qianqian’s nose stung with emotion. "I’ll apply so snow cream when I get back."

Yin Hu chuckled. "Put on extra."

ng Qianqian obediently agreed. "Mm."

Yin Hu said, "I’ve saved the person for you. Now I’m going to ask you sothing. Think carefully before you answer. If you don’t want to respond, that’s fine, but don’t lie to . I’ll know if you do."

ng Qianqian nodded once more.

Yin Hu: "First question, who gave you the silver needles?"

ng Qianqian replied, "I had them made based on my mories."

Yin Hu: "And who taught you the Needle Technique and Martial Arts?"

ng Qianqian shook her head. "I don’t rember."

Yin Hu considered her words, then said, "Write a word for ."

Picking up a dry twig, ng Qianqian wrote on the ground: Yin Hu.

The handwriting was entirely different from what she had used in Haitang Courtyard. She even added a haphazardly drawn tiger’s head.

A flicker of shock and excitent appeared montarily on Yin Hu’s pallid face.

With his remaining strength, he picked up a twig and drew an Eight-sided Exquisite Lantern on the ground, inscribing words onto the lantern:

ng Qianqian read each word aloud, "The solitary night lingers long; amidst the maple forest at dusk, frost and snow lie still..."

Yin Hu stopped writing there. He could go no further.

ng Qianqian, almost instinctively, completed the words: "Flowers bloom, flowers wither, as jade remains."

Yin Hu straightened up, staring at her in a daze. "You... who are you?"

After a mont of silence, ng Qianqian replied, "All I know is that my surna is now ng."

Yin Hu gazed at her for a long while.

At last, he sighed softly, "So be it."

Yin Hu passed away.

His eyes remained open.

In his eyes, ng Qianqian saw herself—or perhaps, what she glimpsed was a hazy shadow of another person.

She reached out to gently close his eyes.

Bowing her head, a single, scalding tear fell onto the earth. "Honor, the Yin Hu Guard."

...

ng Qianqian and Lu Yuan buried Yin Hu in the mountains, in a spot overlooking the Chu Family’s land.

Lu Yuan handed her a bundle. "Yin Hu asked to give this to you."

ng Qianqian opened the bundle to find the Yin Hu Token and a handwritten journal, which contained records Yin Hu had ticulously gathered from all corners of the land on various poison formulas.

ng Qianqian asked, "What else did Yin Hu tell you?"

Lu Yuan’s tone was calm. "No comnt."

ng Qianqian frowned and turned her face away, pouting.

Lu Yuan gazed down at Yun Pass in the valley below. "It’s ti to end this."

ng Qianqian was taken aback. "The fight’s over?"

The Beiliang army wasn’t like those haphazardly assembled Rebel Armies. If they truly fought, it would be an all-out war. How could it possibly be over in three days? Three months would have been more believable.

Lu Yuan swished his wide sleeves with brazen flair. "Who said there must be a battle? The highest form of warfare is to outmaneuver the enemy. This Lord has his own ways of making Beiliang obediently retreat."

ng Qianqian thought of sothing and asked, "Did you find the missing Beiliang diplomatic envoy? So quickly?"

Lu Yuan replied coolly, "Did you really think I stayed in Feng County just to wait for you to bring Yin Hu to cure ?"

If he had been desperate to detoxify, he would have accompanied her to Yun Pass himself.

He had stayed to investigate the case.

And now, it was ti to slap Beiliang in the face.