“Hurry up and bring some clothes over! I’m suffocating from the smell!”
“What kind of wine did you just drink? It reeks of urine!”
Qin Muyun trembled as he shook the urine-soaked hem of his clothes, ignoring the young servant’s attempts to stop him as he stormed into the guest courtyard.
The moment he stepped into the yard, he saw Ye Chutang standing beneath the apricot tree.
Recalling the coarse words he had just uttered, a flush of embarrassment rose on his slightly intoxicated face, and he forced a smile that was more pitiful than tears.
“Ye—”
“Watch out!”
Just as Qin Muyun greeted Ye Chutang, a flying knife hurtled straight toward his face.
Ye Chutang kicked up a clump of grass-covered earth at her feet, striking the flying knife.
The blade veered off course and embedded itself into the courtyard wall made of earth bricks.
She shouted, “Run!”
Though her voice was loud, it was drowned out by the distant sounds of strings and flutes from the outer courtyard—no one heard her.
Only then did Qin Muyun realize that the guest courtyard was filled with masked men, their overwhelming murderous aura making the air feel thin.
His face paled instantly. He immediately reached into his pocket for a bone whistle.
Just as he was about to blow it, hesitation stopped him.
Qi Yanzhou’s omen was too ominous. If he came now, survival was unlikely.
In that moment of hesitation, a shadow darted down from the apricot tree, a sword aimed straight at Qin Muyun’s throat.
Everyone in the guest courtyard, except Ye Chutang and Qi Yanzhou, was marked for death!
Sensing the danger, Qin Muyun quickly pulled out poison hidden in his sleeve and flung it toward the black-clad assassin using his inner strength.
Though his martial skills didn’t match Qi Yanzhou’s, they were still formidable.
The black poison swiftly surged toward the shadow.
The assassin held his breath and withdrew his sword to avoid the poison.
But the sword did not miss its mark; it severed the head of a young servant.
Seizing the moment, Qin Muyun dashed toward Ye Chutang and tried to call for help using his inner strength.
“...”
Before he could speak, another poisoned flying knife shot toward him with deadly speed and precision.
He pivoted on his toes and dodged to the side.
One after another, the flying knives pursued him relentlessly, forcing him into a clumsy retreat.
Struggling to defend himself, he couldn’t gather enough inner strength to call for help.
After evading the poison powder, the sword-wielding assassin continued his relentless assault on Qin Muyun.
Seeing Qin Muyun overwhelmed, Ye Chutang kicked up another clump of earth.
Using her earth-elemental power, the soil transformed into sharp blades that struck the assassin, temporarily easing Qin Muyun’s crisis.
“Run!”
Qin Muyun thought he could help Ye Chutang, but soon realized he was just a liability.
He nodded, dodging flying knives as he moved toward the gate.
“Bang!”
The gate to the guest courtyard slammed shut, locked by Prince An’s men.
About a dozen men split into two groups, each targeting Qin Muyun and Ye Chutang separately.
To ensure no mistakes, the emperor had sent four highly skilled assassins to Prince An’s mansion.
Prince An, considering that Ye Jingchuan and Ye Chutang were father and daughter, had held back, assigning only two assassins to meet with Ye Chutang.
One assassin had already been killed, leaving three.
One stood atop the apricot tree, overseeing the entire situation and occasionally attacking Ye Chutang.
The other two focused all their efforts on her.
Prince An’s elite team had eight members in total; after losing two, six remained.
Knowing Ye Chutang was tough to handle, they sent four men to deal with Qin Muyun, hoping to distract her and capture her more easily.
Qin Muyun’s martial skills were barely enough to handle two opponents.
Facing four, he was forced onto the defensive, quickly sustaining multiple injuries.
Ye Chutang intended to help him, but the Shadow Guards were highly skilled and coordinated perfectly.
Besides, she couldn’t silence Qin Muyun, so she couldn’t recklessly use her earth-based abilities and was momentarily unable to free herself.
Standing under the apricot tree, although she struggled to keep up, she didn’t lose ground.
She even managed to take down one of Prince An’s men and wound another.
After being injured, Qin Muyun clung to life with fierce determination.
But in the end, two fists couldn’t defeat four hands.
Prince An’s men, seeing him on his last legs, struck simultaneously with deadly precision.
The Shadow Guards deliberately revealed openings, giving Ye Chutang a chance to save him.
But if she acted, it would give the Shadow Guards an opportunity to strike.
Torn between saving Qin Muyun and protecting herself, she had no choice but to choose the former.
Ye Chutang used her earth abilities to bring the five-clawed hook down to her feet.
She hooked the iron chain with her toes, caught it in her hand, and swiftly swung it to separate the Shadow Guards.
Then, pushing off the ground with her toes, she rushed toward Qin Muyun.
Qin Muyun, resigned to death, was stunned when Ye Chutang risked her own safety to rescue him.
“Miss Ye… *cough*…”
He had wanted to tell her not to bother with him and to escape quickly.
But he was too badly wounded; after only uttering two words, he coughed up blood and fainted.
Prince An’s men didn’t stop their deadly strikes, their sword tips aimed at Qin Muyun’s heart and neck.
Seeing Qin Muyun collapse, Ye Chutang immediately activated her earth powers.
The four who sought to kill Qin Muyun suddenly felt as if they were on a violently shaking horse, unable to steady themselves or strike.
The cobblestones overturned, and the earth beneath seemed alive, wrapping around their feet.
As Ye Chutang began dragging them underground to bury them alive, a sudden tension gripped her back.
Danger!
The Shadow Guards’ martial skills were exceptional; the trembling ground affected them little.
All three focused on Ye Chutang, mistaking the disturbance for a sudden upheaval of the earth, unaware of the anomaly among Prince An’s men.
Seizing the opportunity, they struck simultaneously, confident of victory.
Ye Chutang quickly confirmed Qin Muyun’s position and pulled a bomb from her spatial pocket.
Just as she was about to detonate it—to kill, silence witnesses, and destroy the bodies—Qi Yanzhou kicked open the guest courtyard’s door.
He had been timing it ever since Qin Muyun entered the guest courtyard.
After a cup of tea’s worth of time passed and Qin Muyun hadn’t returned to the outer courtyard, he suspected something had gone wrong.
Ignoring Prince An’s men’s obstruction, he rushed into the guest courtyard.
No sooner had he kicked open the door than the massive apricot tree toppled toward him.
At the sight of Qi Yanzhou, Ye Chutang knew the bomb was now useless.
Before he could clearly see the scene inside, she quickly wielded her earth abilities to topple the apricot tree, blocking his view.
Meanwhile, the few who had been shot were buried underground.
The four who wanted to kill Qin Muyun were trapped by the earth, unable to move, and were easily killed by Ye Chutang’s hidden arrows.
Qi Yanzhou narrowly dodged the falling apricot tree and immediately saw Ye Chutang in danger.
“Miss Ye, watch out!”
Without hesitation, he unleashed his lightness skill to its peak, arriving beside her in the blink of an eye.
After blocking the combined strike from the Shadow Guards, he snatched the five-clawed hook from her hand and swung it with his inner strength.
His powerful inner energy forced the Shadow Guards to retreat, unwilling to clash head-on.
“Miss Ye, take Huai Xuan and leave first.”
The emperor’s true target was him; Ye Chutang shouldn’t suffer this unwarranted disaster.
No sooner had he spoken than he spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale.
The Shadow Guards’ martial skills were nearly on par with his, and the combined attack of the three had inflicted severe internal injuries.
Once he unleashed his inner strength, the metallic taste of blood in his throat became impossible to suppress.
After coughing up blood, he shoved Ye Chutang away.
“Go! Now!”
Ye Chutang sensed numerous people approaching the guesthouse. She shook her head.
“Prince An’s men are coming. I can’t escape, and you can’t handle them alone.”
With that, she slipped an antidote pill into Qi Yanzhou’s mouth and took one herself.
Then, as if treading on air, she moved over to Qin Muyun’s side and pried open his mouth.
After Qin Muyun swallowed the antidote pill, Ye Chutang returned to Qi Yanzhou’s side.
Her gaze locked onto the three Shadow Guards, radiating murderous intent.
“I want them dead. Help me.”
The three men saw she had drawn her gun—there was no doubt they had to die!
