Lin Chong's Women's Cuju Team

Chapter 192 Shen Daoyuan Arrives in Time to Save the Emperor

Ning Zhanyan, wounded by an arrow, fought the wolf king for over ten rounds before his wound reopened, blood flowing down and staining his clothes red. The wolf king, realizing Ning Zhanyan was poisoned, launched a vicious attack, stabbing him in the abdomen. Ning Zhanyan gasped for breath. Just as the wolf king's blade was about to rip him open, a dart suddenly appeared in front of him, forcing the wolf king back half a step and deflecting his blade.

Ning Zhanyan looked up and saw that it was Du Rushuang who had come to his aid. Du Rushuang swung her long sword to shield Ning Zhanyan behind her, and while fighting the wolf king, she said to him, "Brother, I know you've been poisoned. Go and meet up with my sister-in-law. Leave this to me."

“No! The Wolf King is too cunning. I don’t trust you to deal with him alone,” Ning Zhanyan said to Du Rushuang, enduring the pain from his back wound.

"Brother, let's deal with the Wolf King together. We must get the antidote for you." Du Rushuang had no choice but to agree to Ning Zhanyan's request, but she was worried about the Netherworld Balls. So she asked, "Brother, I wonder how many Netherworld Balls the Wolf King buried at the football field today? You should go and deal with the threat of the Netherworld Balls first."

“Most of the ghost balls I made for the Wolf King are fake; only a dozen or so are real. Don’t worry! I estimate they’re all in front of the Cuju Field gate and outside the Cuju Field Palace gate. A few have already been detonated in front of the Cuju Field gate. I’ll go check outside the Cuju Field Palace gate now,” Ning Zhanyan said to Du Rushuang.

Upon hearing this, the Wolf King chuckled coldly and said, "Heh! So the treasure is only outside the palace gate of the Cuju field. Then let's go treasure hunting together." As soon as he finished speaking, he headed straight for the direction of the Cuju field palace gate, and ordered his men to follow him.

Returning to Emperor Huizong, he ran out of the Cuju field and headed towards the west gate of the palace, attempting to escape. As he ran, he sensed someone chasing him. Turning around, he saw Yelü Wen, who had surrounded him with three imperial guards.

"Your Majesty, I advise you to cooperate with us obediently, sign the abdication edict, and hand over the imperial seal," Yelü Wen said sternly to Emperor Huizong of Song.

"Don't even think about threatening me! I'm not afraid of you! Minister Shen will be here to rescue me soon," Emperor Huizong said in a trembling voice, but his words had lost all imperial authority. Yelü Wen and the three imperial guards chuckled.

"Your Majesty, stop deceiving yourself! If there really were reinforcements, you wouldn't have been so embarrassed as to exchange clothes with your ministers and flee the football field alone," Yelü Wen mocked Emperor Huizong. After saying this, he lost his patience and reached out to grab Emperor Huizong's collar.

Just as Emperor Huizong was about to be captured by Yelü Wen, a loud voice suddenly rang out behind them: "Your Majesty, I, Shen Daoyuan, have arrived late to rescue Your Majesty! I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness!"

Emperor Huizong and Yelü Wen turned around and saw that Shen Daoyuan had appeared behind them on a fine horse. He held a long spear, looked majestic, and his armor gleamed silver, giving him the imposing appearance of a young general.

"Minister Shen, save me!" Emperor Huizong cried out for help. Shen Daoyuan immediately raised his spear and thrust it at Yelü Wen. Because Shen Daoyuan was on horseback and had the advantage of a higher position, Yelü Wen was forced back two steps by his spear.

Taking advantage of the situation, Shen Daoyuan scooped up Emperor Huizong and made him sit behind him. Then he said to Emperor Huizong, "Your Majesty, please sit tight!" Then he turned his horse around and said to the soldiers behind him, "Brothers, quickly follow me into the football field to save our lords!"

"Yes, sir!" Hundreds of voices rang out in unison. Yelü Wen only saw a troop of cavalry and infantry following behind Shen Daoyuan, estimated to be four or five hundred men, with more soldiers running up intermittently behind. Just how many Song soldiers were there?! Yelü Wen sensed something was wrong and hurriedly led three imperial guards back to the Cuju field to join the Wolf King's imperial guards.

Upon arriving at the palace gates of the Cuju field, they saw several fires raging, presumably from the detonation of the Netherworld Balls. Blood flowed like a river on the ground, along with the corpses of many Imperial Guards, and the smell of burning filled the air. Shen Daoyuan hurriedly ordered the soldiers behind him, "Brothers, don't go any further. There might be Netherworld Ball firearms lying in ambush ahead."

No sooner had Shen Daoyuan finished speaking than another deafening roar erupted from ahead. He knew someone had detonated the underground sphere again. Emperor Huizong, terrified, clung tightly to Shen Daoyuan's waist, saying, "Minister Shen, it's too dangerous ahead! Perhaps we should leave this place first. I'm afraid!"

Shen Daoyuan frowned and thought for a moment. He decided that it was best to ensure the emperor's safety before rescuing the other ministers. So he handed Emperor Huizong over to Wu En, his most trusted bodyguard, and asked him to take Emperor Huizong away from the area safely.

Unexpectedly, a group of people ran out from behind the palace gates and city walls. The leader was none other than Gao Can. He approached Emperor Huizong, knelt down, and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, your subject Gao Can has come to your rescue!"

"Advisor Gao? Weren't you and your son Gao colluding with the Wolf King? How come you're turning into opportunists now?" Emperor Huizong said sarcastically to Advisor Gao with a dark face.

Gao Can quickly kowtowed three times, then placed a bundle on the ground behind him and opened it. Shen Daoyuan and Emperor Huizong were both shocked to see that inside Gao Can's bundle was a bloody human head—the head of Gao Qiu.

“Your Majesty, I only learned today that my adoptive father was colluding with the Wolf King to seize the throne. At first, I thought my adoptive father had only taken money from the Wolf King to help him acquire those three cities, and I had never participated in their transactions.” Gao Can defended himself, “Just now, when Ning Zhanyan came to rescue the ministers, I took the opportunity to betray my own family for the greater good. I beg Your Majesty to believe me! I have absolutely not betrayed Your Majesty.”

Seeing Gao Can's sincere expression, the fact that he had presented Gao Qiu's head, and the fact that he had indeed helped persuade the Wolf King to accept the final shooting challenge to buy time, Emperor Huizong believed Gao Can and said to Shen Daoyuan, "Minister Shen, why don't we trust Gao Can this once? Let him lead me away from here first."

Seeing that Emperor Huizong trusted Gao Can, Shen Daoyuan didn't say anything. He simply instructed Wu En to protect the emperor and then personally led his men forward. As they advanced, he had the vanguard probe the ground with spears to test its safety before ordering the rest to continue. This slowed their progress.

As Gao Can was about to leave with Emperor Huizong, he saw a man in official robes lying in the corner of the palace gate. He was clearly injured, and a woman in a blue Cuju (ancient Chinese football) uniform was tending to him. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the woman as Zou Xiaoyan, and the injured man as Xiao Minghao.

"Little Swallow, what are you doing here? Get out of here with me right now," Gao Can said unhappily.

"Lord Gao, the Wolf King's men just detonated the Nether Sphere. Ah Hao injured his leg while saving me. Could you help me carry him away?" Zou Xiaoyan pleaded with Gao Can, her face filled with anxiety.

The advisor glanced at Xiao Minghao and saw that his trousers were burned through in several places, and thick yellow blood was flowing from his left leg, indicating that he had indeed burned his leg. However, he didn't believe Zou Xiaoyan would plead for Xiao Minghao, so he advised her, "Xiaoyanzi, this man abandoned you before. Even if he risks his life to save you today, you can't be soft-hearted! You must leave this place with me quickly. Xiao won't die; Lord Shen's soldiers will take him away."

After Gao Can finished speaking, he reached for Zou Xiaoyan's hand, intending to forcibly take her away. Zou Xiaoyan looked at Xiao Minghao's pained expression, feeling extremely conflicted. What Gao Can had just said made sense. The man surnamed Xiao had abandoned her before, and even though he had saved her from the brink of death today, it might only be an act of atonement, not a sign that he still loved her.

However, with thick smoke billowing everywhere, how could she ensure that Xiao Minghao would be discovered by Shen Daoyuan's soldiers, and how could she guarantee that the Wolf King's men wouldn't take the opportunity to kill him? This man was, after all, the father of her child, and she couldn't bear to abandon him and run away with another man. But she also knew in her heart that Gao Can was a petty person; if she didn't go with him today, their relationship might be severed. She was just an ordinary woman who had been married and had children; a powerful man like Gao Can wouldn't care about her at all. His taking her away at this moment was merely a manifestation of his possessiveness.