97 Attacks and Explosions - 31.1

As the loud noise erupted, smoke filled the room and panic set in among majority of the guests yet amidst the din, loud shouts and calm voices could still be heard shouting orders and trying to restore order.

Another explosion sounded but this time it seemed nearer and the thick, acrid smoke soon reached their position.

Fan Hui Zhong who was already on his feet was already clutching a large sword in his hand.

"Xia'er, Little Shi, both of you stay here." Fan Hui Zhong hurriedly whispered as he pushed the two of them to hide underneath the table.

"But-"

"Listen to me! Stay here and stay safe, am I understood?!" Fan Hui Zhong growled, looking sharply at his children.

Biting her lip, Fan Zhu Xia reluctantly nodded at the same time as Fan Shi Hong.

"Yes, Father." Fan Shi Hong murmured through gritted teeth and red eyes.

As Fan Hui Zhong turned to leave, he felt someone grasp his leave to see Fan Zhu Xia holding it tightly.

"Please be careful." she pleaded softly with worried eyes.

"En. I will."

With a reassuring nod, Fan Hui Zhong turned and disappeared into the smoke leaving the two siblings behind.

"Sister... will Father be alright?"

"Hush, Little Shi. Of course he will... We just have to trust him." Fan Zhu Xia replied, comforting her younger brother and pulled him to a hug as they huddled quietly under the table.

The sound of swords clashing and stuff crashing into the ground as tables are overturned, made the two who are unable to see anything due to them hiding and coupled with the dense smoke, their nerves were high-strung.

The familiar smell of coppery blood mixed with the acrid scent of the smoke made Fan Zhu Xia stiffen.

The sound of fighting didn't stop and instead got louder and Fan Zhu Xia could sense the familiar auras of her father and grandfather erupt among with various others as they released it which actually helped thin out the thick smoke as the air around them swirled and roiled dangerously.

Amidst the chaos, as the smoke dissipated, Fan Zhu Xia saw the Spirit Valor Country Princess be whisked away to safety by her old servant and she also saw her father; Fan Hui Zhong standing by the emperor who was surrounded by his personal guards that also protected the royal family along with Bai Nian Zu, the person in charge of the imperial guards who she met when they first entered the capital that was stoically standing there with a serious look in his eyes.

From what she can see, the emperor's arm was lightly wounded yet he was still calm and composed although he wore a grim expression as he said something to one of his personal guards who immediately nodded and disappeared.

The empress who was standing just behind the emperor had the frail-looking princess in her arms while the Crown Prince; Jin Meng Yao also had a sword in his hand.

Before she can inspect things further, Fan Zhu Xia felt a chill in her back and before she even knew what she was doing, she jumped out from under the table with Fan Shi Hong still held protectively inside her arms before a large force hit the table they were previously hiding under.

Unfortunately for Fan Zhu Xia, the thing that hit the table was sword aura that one of the attackers had released towards Fan Li Jie who had dodged out of the way which was why it continued on to their direction.

The moment she jumped out, Fan Zhu Xia looked behind her and saw the sharp sword aura coming fast towards her and knowing that they were in danger, her heart almost stopped and her body moved instinctively.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Fan Yong Rui kick away his opponent and was relatively near where they were so she quickly called out to him screaming, "SECOND BROTHER!!"

This quickly drew the attention of not only Fan Yong Rui but also Fan Hui Zhong who saw his son and daughter in imminent danger making him roar in outrage as his heart sped up with worry as he dashed towards them.

Sadly, he lacked time and Fan Yong Rui who was closer, also reacted at the same time but his eyes widened in horror when he saw what Fan Zhu Xia did next that he yelled out in panic.

"NO DON'T DO IT!!"

Knowing that there wasn't enough time to dodge safely, Fan Zhu Xia looked at Fan Shi Hong who was still in her arms before she planted her feet firmly and resolutely threw him towards Fan Yong Rui as she turned to face the incoming sword aura.

Everything happened in mere seconds and as they watched, Fan Zhu Xia let her own aura manifest to form silken threads which quickly knitted themselves to form a small barrier in front of her just as the sword aura reached her.

Unfortunately for her, though her cultivation was already quite impressive for her age to reach the Early Stage of the Heavenly Sky Realm, the one who released the sword aura was obviously of a much higher level and as soon as the sword aura collided with her makeshift barrier, a small explosion sounded as her barrier shattered and the force of the clashing auras, sent her flying through the air.

Wu Jun Qiao who was also fighting saw what happened and quickly attacked his opponent who got momentarily distracted because of the explosion which gave Wu Jun Qiao a chance to end him.

With one swing of his sword, he managed to slice his opponent's head cleanly off, making it sail through the air yet he paid this no attention.

Instead, he quickly dashed towards Fan Zhu Xia's direction and jumped up to catch her.

The attackers seeing the development immediately took advantage of this and attacked fiercely and threw more smoke bombs to confuse them."

Fan Zhu Xia who was thrown into the air felt her insides roiling that she spat out blood due to the recoil of her barrier being broken forcefully. She knew she got blasted back and she had her eyes closed as she prepared to hit the cold, hard ground when she felt a strong pair of arms catch her instead and gently hugged her body to him.

Dazed and confused by the pain she was feeling, Fan Zhu Xia struggled to open her eyes, while her hands subconsciously tightened her hold on the person who caught her and Wu Jun Qiao who felt her hands tighten, his heart slightly calmed down knowing that she was still alive but seeing that the threat still wasn't eliminated, he clutched her tighter to himself with his free hand while his other used his sword to parry attacks coming their way.

Being so close to him, Fan Zhu Xia whose face was pressed against his chest faintly smelled the familiar scent of sandalwood with hints musk and medicinal herbs.

It was this familiarity that pushed her to open her eyes and as her eyes fluttered open, she saw a very familiar face that belonged to the last person she could've imagined to come and save her.

"L-Lord Owner..."

Hearing the soft, trembling voice call out from his chest, Wu Jun Qiao was distracted and looked down.

"You sure make me worry, Little Xia..."

Before she could open her mouth to respond, an urgent voice shouted near them.

"Jun Qiao, watch out!"

Wu Jun Qiao who received Wu Zhang He's warning in time, nimbly dodged to the left and managed to land a killing blow to the surprise attacker.

Seeing that he was quite skilled, the attackers decided to group up on him to add pressure and despite his skill, Wu Jun Qiao became hard-pressed to defend especially with an injured Fan Zhu Xia in his arms.

The thought of abandoning her never crossed his mind and as the fight went on, he inevitably suffered minor injuries.

Luckily, Fan Li Jie managed to free himself from his current opponent and quickly ran over to help him fight.

Just as they were able to turn over the tides, a couple of the remaining attackers reached into their robes and simultaneously threw something on the ground which resulted in various explosions.

To Wu Jun Qiao and Fan Li Jie's dismay, one of the opponents they were fighting threw one right at them which landed just between where they were standing and knowing that it was going to explode, Wu Jun Qiao let go of his sword and turned his back to shield Fan Zhu Xia as he hugged her tightly to his chest and as soon as it reached the ground, it exploded.

And when that happened, Fan Zhu Xia who was already suffering from numerous internal injuries due to the backslash she experienced earlier also lost consciousness.

The only thing she last remembered was seeing is those amber gold eyes filled with worry before everything went dark.