Oops! My Inner Thoughts Are Ruining The Plot

Chapter 161: Chapter

The mysterious woman did not answer Li Mei’s panic. She pulled her hood down and walked away into the heavy snow, leaving Li Mei alone in the freezing wind, her heart beating fast with fear.

[Kill her?] Li Mei thought, her hands shaking inside her fur muff. [No... this was not our plan. Yueqing has nothing to do with our revenge against the Xi family.]

She looked one last time at the camp gates, where the carriage tracks were already disappearing under the snow.

Miles away from the camp, the heavy carriage bumped over a frozen path in the mountains. Inside, it was quiet and cold, except for a small charcoal heater on the floor.

Yueqing sat near the window, resting her head against the wooden wall. Her fingers touched her purple silk sleeve as she watched the snowy trees pass by outside.

"Madam, please drink some warm tea," Lu Yue said softly. She poured a steaming cup and handed it across the seats. "The cold gets worse as we move south. It will take five days to reach the capital."

Yueqing took the cup, letting the warmth heat her cold fingers. "Five days..." she whispered.

[System 009: Yes. Five days until we reach the Xi estate. Host, you must use this time to plan your next step. Once Wenzhe returns, his guards will make it almost impossible for you to move freely or talk to Xiao Chen.]

Yueqing drank a little tea, her eyes thoughtful.

[I know,] she answered in her mind. [Xiao Chen thinks I am on his side, and Wenzhe thinks I hate him. I am caught in the middle.]

[System 009: Your main job is to finish the story. If Wenzhe keeps caring about you instead of Li Mei, the story will break, and you will be stuck in this world forever.]

Yueqing felt a dull pain in her chest, but she pushed it away. She set her cup down on the small table.

"Lu Yue," Yueqing asked, her voice calm. "Who is leading our guard unit?"

Lu Yue thought for a moment. "It is Commander Gao, Madam. He is one of General Wenzhe’s most loyal officers. Dong Li specifically asked him to protect you."

Yueqing nodded slowly, looking back out the window.

Suddenly, the carriage slammed to a stop.

The horses neighed in fear, their hooves slipping on the ice. Lu Yue gasped, holding onto the seat so she wouldn’t fall, while Yueqing’s teacup tipped over, spilling tea across the table.

Outside, the sharp noise of swords being drawn filled the cold air.

"Stop!" Commander Gao shouted from the front. "Form a ring around the carriage! Now!"

Yueqing’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

[System 009: Warning! Enemies detected ahead!]

Before Yueqing could move, arrows cut through the air, hitting the wooden carriage walls with a loud thud.

"Lu Yue, stay down!" Yueqing yelled, grabbing her hand as another arrow pierced through the small window, barely missing them.

The wooden door burst open with a loud crash. Commander Gao stood there, his sword dripping with fresh blood.

"Madam, out now!" Gao shouted over the noise. "They are trying to trap you inside! Follow me!"

Yueqing pulled her mink cloak tight and scrambled out into the freezing night air, with Lu Yue drawing her blade to guard her back. All around them, black-clothed assassins were locked in brutal sword fights with Wenzhe’s men under the dim moonlight.

"This way! Quick!" Commander Gao yelled, blocking an assassin who rushed at them from the trees.

Yueqing ran into the dark forest, her thin shoes slipping on the icy ground. The shadows were thick, making it almost impossible to see where she was stepping.

Suddenly, an assassin lunged from behind a tree. Lu Yue moved swiftly, blocking the blow with her sword, while Commander Gao stepped in to strike. The clash forced Yueqing to step back quickly to give them room. Her foot caught on a jagged rock hidden beneath the deep snow, and she lost her balance completely.

"Madam!" Lu Yue cried out, reaching for her.

Yueqing gasped as her body tipped backward over a steep, hidden cliff. Lu Yue lunged forward, her hand missing Yueqing’s sleeve by an inch as Yueqing fell.

Yueqing tumbled backward down the steep ravine, rolling out of control through sharp, frozen bushes and rough rocks. Her purple hanfu tore, her hairpins flew out into the dark, and the frantic shouts above faded into the howling wind.

With a heavy thud, her body slammed into a deep snowbank at the bottom of the hill. Pain shot through her body, her vision flickered, and everything went dark.

High above on the mountain path, the fight finally died down. Dead bodies littered the snow, and the remaining assassins fled into the woods.

"Madam Yueqing!" Commander Gao shouted, his torch high in the air as he searched the trees. "Madam!"

Lu Yue stood at the edge of the steep cliff, her sword covered in blood and her face pale as she stared down into the pitch-black ravine. "She fell! She slipped and fell down there!"

Commander Gao ran over, his face turning pale as he looked into the dark abyss. "Search the bottom! Find her now!"

One of the guards rushed back to the carriage, panic in his eyes. "Commander! The General is still at the border! If he finds out Madam is missing..."

"Send a rider to the border camp immediately!" Gao ordered, his voice shaking for the first time. "Tell General Wenzhe that Madam Yueqing has been ambushed and is lost in the mountain forest!"

Down at the frozen bottom of the dark ravine, the cold bit deep through Yueqing’s torn purple hanfu. Red blood slowly pooled into the white snow beneath her, staining the dark mud beneath her broken body. Every breath felt like sharp glass tearing through her lungs.

[Nine...] Yueqing called out weakly in her mind, her internal voice barely a whisper. [Nine... answer me...]

[System 009: Host! Your vital signs are dropping rapidly! Internal bleeding detected! You must stay awake!]

A faint, bitter smile touched Yueqing’s pale, freezing lips as her eyelids grew impossibly heavy.

[If... if I die right now...] she asked, her mind drifting into a cold haze, [would I still pass the mission...? Can I... finally go home...?]

[System 009: Host! Do not close your eyes! The mission criteria require— Host!]

Before the System could finish its answer, Yueqing’s eyes slipped completely shut. Her fingers went limp against the cold snow, her chest settling into a still, silent faint as darkness swallowed her whole.

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