Chapter 61: A Strong Fate
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Chapter 61: A Strong Fate
In a flash, everyone saw a lilac-colored figure dart forward.
Someone gasped in surprise.
Yao Ran only felt a body suddenly rush towards her, embracing her tightly. Though the person wasn’t large or sturdy, the force they used was so great that it knocked her to the ground. Before she could react, she was swiftly rolled aside with the person still holding her.
At almost the same moment, Yao Ran saw the elephant's front leg land exactly where she had been standing!
“Miss!”
Xi'er was so terrified by the scene that her hair seemed to stand on end. The sweat from the lady’s long hours of training had certainly not been in vain, as she had just saved Miss Yao from the elephant’s foot! Cries of shock and relief echoed all around.
“Watch out, Sister Chang!” Yao Xia didn’t have time to marvel at her sister's heroic rescue. Seeing the elephant now turning toward her, she jumped up in alarm and shouted a warning.
Chang Suining quickly sat up, pulling Yao Ran to her feet and giving her a forceful push. “Run farther away!”
Yao Ran was shoved so hard that she nearly stumbled, "Are you alright?”
“I… I’m fine…” Yao Ran shook her head dazedly, her legs still weak, feeling as if she were in a dream.
Had Miss Chang really just saved her?
Her eyes hurriedly searched for Chang Suining, and she saw the young woman being chased by the elephant. Her heart jumped. “Be careful, Miss Chang!”
The elephant rampaged madly, trampling and smashing the sacrificial offerings, sending people scattering in fear. The scene quickly descended into chaos.
But in the midst of this disorder, someone soon noticed that despite its wild behavior, the elephant seemed to be fixated on chasing only the young woman. Others recalled that when the elephant first broke free, it had charged directly toward where she had been standing. From the beginning, it seemed that this elephant had intended to attack her.
“Whose daughter is that?”
“Why is the sacred elephant attacking her?”
“If this continues…”
Those watching began to realize what was happening, and Chang Suining herself could feel the hostility from the elephant. Elephants are intelligent creatures, able to sense human emotions, and would never attack without reason. Clearly, someone had manipulated the situation.
Someone wanted to use the "rage of the sacred elephant" to kill her.
Chang Suining had understood this the moment the elephant broke free.
But she couldn’t stop the elephant’s rampage.
Surviving an attack from a fully grown elephant was no easy task for anyone.
Amidst the growing tension, the crowd saw the young woman narrowly dodge another charge. The elephant crashed into a large ceremonial drum, causing the drum stand to collapse with a loud crash.
The lacquered wooden frame fell onto the young woman, but she quickly pushed it aside and sat up. However, the enraged elephant was already lifting its front leg to stomp on her.
“Suining!”
Amidst the chaos, Chang Kuo, eyes wide with terror, limped toward her as fast as he could.
But it was too late.
The elephant’s leg came crashing down—
But, to everyone’s shock, the nimble young woman escaped death yet again, leaping out of the way just in time. With nowhere else to go, she clambered up the elephant’s body and swiftly climbed onto its back!
By now, many eyes were focused on the scene, including those of the Holy Emperor on the ceremonial platform.
As the elephant let out a series of angry cries, Wei Shuyi, looking concerned, moved to step off the platform, but the Holy Emperor stopped her. “This is not something you are skilled in, Wei Qing. It is unwise to approach rashly.”
Not wanting to endanger her trusted minister, the Holy Emperor held him back.
Wei Shuyi hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand in acknowledgment. “Yes.”
Moments later, she whispered something to a nearby attendant, who quickly rushed off. Wei Shuyi kept her eyes fixed on the figure atop the elephant.
The elephant, growing increasingly agitated, began turning in circles, trying to shake the young woman off its back.
Chang Suining clung desperately to the elephant, her body jolting violently, feeling as though her insides were being thrown into disarray.
“Whose daughter is that?” the Holy Emperor asked, gazing at the lilac-clad figure on the elephant’s back.
Amid the chaos, Ming Luo’s voice was no longer as calm as usual. “In response, Your Majesty, she is the adopted daughter of General Chang.”
the Holy Emperor glanced toward Chang Kuo, who was trying to rescue the girl from the elephant’s back, and nodded slightly. “No wonder…”
“We must first find a way to save her,” the Holy Emperor ordered sternly, “but under no circumstances should the sacred elephant be harmed.”
On a day of prayer, any injury to the sacred elephant would be considered an ill omen.
“Yes,” Ming Luo understood. They could not harm the sacred elephant, but neither could they stand by and let the girl die. Between the two, the safety of the sacred elephant was paramount.
She stepped down from the platform, intending to approach Cui Jing, but noticed that he was already moving toward the rampaging elephant.
Had the Grand General gone ahead without waiting for the Holy Emperor’s order?
Ming Luo quickly frowned and stopped Cui Yuanxiang from following, quietly instructing, “Tell Grand General Cui that both his safety and that of the sacred elephant are of utmost importance. This is the Holy Emperor’s command—he must remember—”
But before she could finish, Cui Yuanxiang’s anxious shout interrupted her. “Grand General! Wait for me!”
Cui Yuanxiang, in a hurry, rushed off without even bothering to listen to the rest of her words.
Ming Luo furrowed her brows. “…”
Cui Yuanxiang ran as fast as he could.
As long as he hadn’t heard Ming Luo’s message, he couldn’t deliver it to the Grand General, and whatever the commander chose to do wouldn’t be considered disobeying imperial orders!
In other words, as long as Cui Yuanxiang ran fast enough, the command wouldn’t catch up to the Grand General!
“Suining, jump down! Hurry, your father will catch you!”
Chang Kuo, risking his life with every step, circled the elephant, refusing to retreat, despite the danger of being trampled at any moment. Seeing that Chang Suining was struggling to hold on, he desperately suggested that she jump down.
Apart from Chang Kuo, none of the palace guards or attendants could get close. Those who tried were injured.
Hearing her father’s voice, Chang Suining propped herself up on the elephant’s back. But before she could make any move, the elephant suddenly charged forward wildly.
A servant was sent flying, screams of terror filling the air, and the chaos only grew worse.
This elephant was clever. Its goal was to throw the person on its back off. After charging, it suddenly stopped and shook itself violently. Chang Suining lost her grip and was thrown forward. As she tumbled down, she grabbed onto one of the elephant’s tusks.
The elephant let out a loud cry and shook its trunk, tossing her to the ground.
Chang Suining’s body landed heavily on a large stone-engraved astrological disk.
The elephant trumpeted angrily and moved forward, pressing its head against her body with all its weight.
Everyone’s faces paled—no matter how strong her fate was, no one could survive such a blow!
The seemingly frail young girl surprisingly had the strength to resist. She reached out with both hands, gripping one of the elephant’s tusks, desperately trying to push the elephant's head away.
Her slender frame looked even more fragile against the enormous star disc beneath her and the massive body of the bull elephant. It seemed that at any moment—no, she should have already been crushed to pieces—
But she did not give up. There was no trace of fear or retreat on her face. Her skin was grazed and bloodied, yet that thin body seemed to contain incredible strength and courage. Some even thought that if she had a sword in hand, she might just be able to slay the sacred elephant!
"General Chang!"
Chang Kuo, who had just arrived, heard Cui Jing's voice and turned to see the other man throwing him one end of an iron chain.
The chain came whistling through the cold spring wind. Chang Kuo caught it, and with just one look exchanged between them, he understood Cui Jing's intent.
The two rushed forward, wrapping the iron chain around one of the bull elephant’s hind legs, pulling with all their might.
Although they couldn’t drag the bull elephant back much, both were men of great strength, and they managed to stop it from advancing any further toward Chang Suining, giving her the chance to escape.
"Yuanxiang, rescue her!" Cui Jing's knuckles turned white as he gripped the chain and swiftly commanded his subordinate.
Cui Yuanxiang had just acknowledged the order when the girl on the star disc said, "…Wait!"
Cui Jing frowned and looked over.
Her hands were still tightly holding the elephant’s tusk, her face pale as snow, her hair disheveled. Her voice was breathless from the effort, but her eyes were clear and unwavering—
She glanced behind the star disc and said to Cui Jing and Chang Kuo, "When I count down from three, let go together!"
Chang Kuo hadn't even processed the words yet when Cui Jing already nodded. "Alright!"
"Three, two…"
Through the gap beneath the elephant, Cui Jing locked eyes with her. For a moment, their gazes met, and as he gave a small nod, the girl shouted, "…One!"
"Swoosh—" Without hesitation, Cui Jing released the chain, letting it slip from his hands.
With the sudden loss of restraint, the elephant staggered forward. At that exact moment, Chang Suining let go of the tusk and tumbled off the star disc.
The bull elephant bellowed and lunged at her once more.
The girl lifted her skirt and ran ahead quickly, with the enraged elephant now chasing her wildly.
"Suining!"
"Miss!"
Cui Jing’s gaze fell on the large pit ahead of the girl—
It was a sacrificial pit, two people deep, built for burning offerings during rituals.
With a loud crash, the enraged bull elephant, unable to stop itself, fell into the pit, sending a thick cloud of dust into the air, temporarily obscuring everyone’s vision.
Many people had yet to comprehend what had just happened. It wasn’t until the dust mostly cleared that they saw the lone figure of the girl standing at the edge of the pit.
"It fell in?!"
"The sacred elephant fell into the sacrificial pit!"
"Thank goodness, thank goodness… truly Buddha’s blessing!" In the crowd, the second wife of the Yao family, Zeng shi, clasped her hands together, her face full of relief.
Yao Xia, who had been crying earlier, corrected her mother, "It’s because Sister Chang is skilled!"
She then sniffled and quickly covered her mouth, instinctively looking up.
She wondered, if Buddha heard this, would she lose some of her merit?
Seeing her older brother walk forward to check on things, Cui Tang also let out a sigh of relief. "That Miss Chang really has a strong fate."
Cui Lang wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded in agreement. "Miss Chang must have quite a sturdy destiny."
Just as he finished speaking, something caught the corner of his eye, and he jumped in fright, ready to hide behind his sister. "No way, there’s another one going mad!"
The writer notes they are still recovering and will be updating 3,000 characters today. They also mention that, despite expecting to feel better after a fever, they’ve been feeling easily exhausted both physically and mentally, with a bit of brain fog.
They wish everyone good health and hope for a quick return to full energy!
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