LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 2: Confronted by Shadow Guards
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the darkness ahead, blocking their path. Hua Yanrou didn't hesitate. In one smooth motion, she drew the dagger from her waistband, the cold steel gleaming in the dim light. Without a word, she hurled it toward the shadowy figure, aiming for the throat.
The guard dodged it with expert precision, but it was enough to buy them a split second to move.
"Jia Xin!" Hua Yanrou shouted, motioning for her to move left.
Jia Xin, her movements fluid and graceful, darted to the side, drawing a pair of sharp daggers from her belt. With a precise strike, she dispatched another guard who had tried to intercept them. Blood spattered on the ground, but there was no time to celebrate the kill.
More shadow guards were closing in, their eyes gleaming with cold intent.
The fight had only just begun.
Hua Yanrou moved like a shadow herself, her body a blur as she weaved between trees, striking with lethal accuracy.
Her target was always a vital point—throat, heart, or spine—never giving her enemies a chance to retaliate.
Each strike was swift, decisive. She didn't waste energy or time. But for every one of them she took down, two more replaced the fallen, their numbers growing exponentially.
They were surrounded.
Jia Xin fought just as ferociously, her twin blades flashing as she parried and slashed at the shadow guards. Her combat style was fluid, almost dance-like, but with a deadly edge.
She evaded every swing, every strike aimed her way, as if she could read her opponent's next move before it was made. Her arms were a blur, cutting down anyone who dared come too close.
"Yanrou!" Jia Xin shouted, ducking beneath an attack aimed at her neck. She spun, her blade catching a guard across the chest. "We can't keep this up!"
Hua Yanrou met her gaze, her own eyes burning with resolve. "We fight, Jia Xin. We fight until we can't anymore."
But as the seconds ticked by, it became painfully clear that they were fighting a losing battle. More shadow guards emerged from the trees, seemingly out of nowhere.
The moon, still hidden behind thick clouds, offered no help, leaving them to fight in the deep shadows.
Hua Yanrou's breath came faster now, her muscles aching with the strain of the fight, but she refused to yield.
Not yet.
Jia Xin's stance began to falter, exhaustion creeping in as she was forced to dodge yet another strike. Hua Yanrou could see the fatigue setting into her friend's movements, and she knew her own body was giving out too.
The fight was draining them, but the shadow guards remained relentless—pressing in from all sides.
Then, it happened.
Hua Yanrou's dagger met the blade of one of the shadow guards in a clash of steel, but the guard was faster, more precise. With a brutal flick of the wrist, the guard disarmed her, sending her dagger skittering across the forest floor.
In that instant, Hua Yanrou was overwhelmed—several guards descended upon her, pinning her arms to her sides with brutal force. Her legs were kicked out from under her, and she twisted, struggling to break free, but their grip was like iron, too strong for her to overcome.
"Jia Xin!" Hua Yanrou called out with a gritted teeth, her voice sharp and urgent. "Get the ruby—go, run!"
Her fingers barely managed to reach beneath her robe, and with a final, desperate motion, she pushed the pouch containing the ruby into Jia Xin's hands. "You have to escape. I'll hold them off—just go!"
Jia Xin's eyes filled with panic as she looked at her friend, her heart aching. She could feel the weight of the pouch in her hands, and though every part of her screamed to stay, she knew Hua Yanrou was right. Her life, their mission—it all depended on her survival.
"Run, Jia Xin! It's over for me!" Hua Yanrou urged, her voice raw and final.
With a final, anguished glance, Jia Xin turned and sprinted, her movements swift as she faced the shadow guards blocking her path. She fought with precision, her desperation fueling each strike as she desperately cleared her way forward.
Hua Yanrou, her blade already stained crimson from the blood of the shadow guards she had killed, glanced over her shoulder to check if Jia Xin had made her escape. With a determined but strained breath, she shouted, "Go, I'll—"
But before she could finish, a shadow guard struck her with a swift blow to the head, sending her crashing to the ground. Her vision blurred, her senses spinning as the world tilted sideways.
The cold earth pressed against her cheek, and for a brief moment, she thought she might lose consciousness entirely.
Jia Xin, already struggling against her own attackers, hesitated for a heartbeat too long. She could see the ease with which the shadow guards overpowered Hua Yanrou, could see her friend being handled like a ragdoll, her resistance futile against their strength. Jia Xin's heart clenched with panic, but she could still feel the pouch with the ruby in her hand.
She knew what she had to do.
They had worked too long, too hard for this.
She took a step back, eyes flicking to the path ahead, and then—
Her feet faltered. Her resolve crumbled.
Jia Xin couldn't make herself leave. She couldn't abandon Hua Yanrou like this. Not when she knew her friend could not survive alone against the overwhelming odds.
"No!" Jia Xin whispered to herself, her heart hammering in her chest.
She couldn't let this happen, not like this.
With a determined cry, Jia Xin turned on her heel, her heart racing as she rushed back toward Hua Yanrou. But before she could reach her, one of the shadow guards lunged, pinning her to the ground, a dagger pressed against her throat. Panic shot through her, but she struggled uselessly beneath the guard's weight.
Hua Yanrou's vision had begun to fade, her strength failing her, but she managed to turn her head just in time. Through the haze, she saw Jia Xin, her face filled with anguish, her voice breaking through the quiet forest.
"Yanrou!" Jia Xin shouted, her voice cracking with desperation. "Yanrou, no! I won't leave you!"
Hua Yanrou's body grew limp beneath the guards' hold, and her vision blurred even further. But in that final, fleeting moment, she saw Jia Xin's face—tears in her eyes, her hand reaching out for her. Then, just as quickly as she had appeared, Jia Xin was pulled back, her body slammed to the ground as the shadow guards took hold of her as well.
The two of them, once fierce and unstoppable, were now nothing more than captives, their bodies bound, their will to fight fading as darkness closed in around them.
Hua Yanrou's last breath escaped her lips in a faint whisper, her eyes searching for Jia Xin until the world around her went black.
"Jia Xin..."