Fan Guanshan, who was over forty, laughed along. "I didn't expect the County Princess to believe in ghosts and gods."
Folk legends say that female ghosts suck the life force of men. He now felt a chill all over his body.
Especially his back, as if a female ghost outside the carriage was staring at him, her mouth full of sharp teeth dripping with blood.
Song Jinzhao crossed her arms over her chest. "People believe there are gods in heaven, so why can't they believe there are ghosts and monsters below?"
She lowered her voice, her tone becoming light and airy.
"But sometimes, people are more terrifying than ghosts."
Fan Guanshan closed his mouth, not wanting to say another word. He felt an eerie atmosphere all around him.
In a dark alley by the street, a masked man in night clothes stared intently at the slowly approaching carriage.
Just as the horse's head was about to pass the alley, he swung his sword down fiercely and ordered in a hoarse voice, "Do it."
The sound of something piercing the air from a distance rang in Song Jinzhao's ears. She lowered her eyes and glanced outside the carriage.
There really was an ambush, and the distance was closing in.
Hearing the footsteps, Fan Guanshan frowned, panic rising in his chest.
Were ghosts really coming?
The next second, doubt crept in. Don't ghosts float when they walk? Why would there be footsteps?
Then he realized people were rushing out of the alley.
Dressed in black and masked, holding weapons in their hands, their eyes gleamed with a cold, murderous intent.
Qingshuang immediately sped up and shouted, "County Princess, there are assassins!"
Fan Guanshan's pupils shrank. He quickly glanced at Song Jinzhao. It wasn't ghosts; it was assassins.
After surrounding the carriage, the assassins launched a fierce attack.
The unarmed Qingshuang dodged an incoming longsword, grabbed the attacker's wrist backhandedly, twisted it hard, caught the dropping sword, and ruthlessly thrust it into his heart.
Two narrow swords pierced into the carriage. As she tilted her head, the reflective blades passed right by Song Jinzhao's neck, heading straight for Fan Guanshan's eyes.
Fan Guanshan grabbed the scimitar beside his hand and chopped off the incoming sword tips with a single strike.
Seeing Song Jinzhao's calm and unbothered demeanor, sudden realization dawned on him.
Afraid of the dark and ghosts? Nonsense, it was all a lie.
She knew all along there would be an assassination attempt, which was why she dragged him along.
For such a young girl, she was quite scheming.
With more and more assassins appearing, Fan Guanshan had no time to dwell on being fooled by Song Jinzhao. He gripped his scimitar and rushed out.
Leaping onto the roof of the carriage, he wielded his scimitar with masterful skill. Every strike drew blood, and no swing was wasted.
Upon seeing the man's face clearly, the lead assassin's eyes widened in shock. Why was Fan Guanshan in the carriage?
Wasn't County Princess Linghui supposed to be sitting inside?
As screams rang out continuously, Song Jinzhao twirled the silver needles she held in her hand.
The assassins ambushing on the eaves looked down in confusion at the people already fighting below.
Why were there other assassins?
Were there really this many people who wanted to kill County Princess Linghui!
They hadn't even made their move yet!
"Boss, Commander Fan is here. Are we still going to do it?"
The lead assassin clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
"The Prince ordered that he must hear the news of County Princess Linghui's death tonight."
"Now that they have Fan Guanshan tied up, it's the perfect time for us to strike at Song Jinzhao."
Taking advantage of the moment Fan Guanshan jumped off the carriage to fight the others, the assassin leader gave the order, and over a dozen men flew down from the roof simultaneously.
Looking at the sudden appearance of another group of people, Qingshuang shouted back in panic.
"County Princess, there are a dozen more assassins!"
Song Jinzhao lifted the torn carriage curtain, ruthlessly smashing a thick wooden board down onto a man's head.
The wooden bench that had been nailed inside the carriage behind her was now gone.
Splinters flew. Splattered brains and bulging eyeballs spun a full three hundred and sixty degrees along with the board.
In the blink of an eye, the severed head fell to the ground.
With a dark gleam in her eyes, Song Jinzhao flicked her index finger.
Several flashes of silver pierced the dark night sky, accurately embedding themselves into the assassins' eyes.
Agonizing screams tore through the air. The commoners living along the street were jolted awake from their dreams, breaking out in a cold sweat upon hearing the shrieks.
The entangled Fan Guanshan looked up and saw Song Jinzhao pull out a longsword stuck in the carriage, slitting the throats of five men with a single stroke. His mouth dropped open in astonishment.
A cold light flashed past his eyes; as he ducked his head, a lock of his flying hair was sliced off.
"You're courting death!" he cursed fiercely, kicking the assassin away. He backhandedly snatched a short sword from another person and threw it, piercing the man's stomach.
Miserable screams echoed repeatedly. The awakened commoners hugged their quilts, trembling in fear, not daring to make a sound.
The bricks on the ground were stained dark red with blood. Song Jinzhao pressed her right foot down heavily on a man's stomach, the bloody blade resting across his neck.
"Who sent you to kill me?"
The assassin, determined to die, stared at Song Jinzhao. His lips twitched slightly as he bit down on the poison hidden between his teeth, bleeding from his seven orifices and dying instantly.
"County Princess, here is another one alive." Qingshuang dragged over a gagged assassin and threw him in front of Song Jinzhao.
"These people are death soldiers. If the assassination fails, they immediately commit suicide. They all have poison hidden in their mouths."
With disheveled hair, Fan Guanshan grabbed two assassins by their necks and threw them to the ground. Their mouths were dripping with blood, their teeth completely shattered.
Song Jinzhao leaned over and pried open the assassin's mouth.
The sharp blade was inserted and twisted in a circle. When she pulled it out, not a single tooth remained, yet she hadn't harmed his tongue in the slightest.
"Speak, who ordered you to kill me?"
The assassin, having a layer of bone scraped off his upper and lower jaws, convulsed in agony. His brain buzzed; he felt that dying would be far more merciful.
But Song Jinzhao deliberately refused to let him die.
The sharp blade sliced across the man's face like carving meat, curling up a slice of cheek flesh.
Heart-wrenching screams echoed from one end of the street to the other.
As clothes were sliced open, Fan Guanshan squinted, unable to bear looking.
It wasn't that he had never seen the punishment of death by a thousand cuts, but the one wielding the knife right now was an eighteen-year-old girl, the emperor's personally titled County Princess Linghui. It truly startled him.
The yamen runners from the Jingzhao Prefecture, who had rushed over upon hearing the noise, went weak in the knees upon seeing the scene before them.
At this moment, in their eyes, Song Jinzhao looked like a vicious ghost crawling out of hell—absolutely terrifying.
"Commander Fan, County Princess Linghui, what happened here?"
The head runner looked at the dozens of corpses lying on the ground and swallowed hard in lingering fear.
Judging by their attire, these people should be assassins. Who were they here to kill?
Qingshuang looked at the head runner and said, "Someone tried to assassinate our County Princess. Fortunately, Commander Fan was escorting us, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable."
Fan Guanshan looked at the assassin who had been tortured beyond recognition, the corner of his mouth twitching three times uncontrollably.
Even without him, the consequences wouldn't have been unimaginable.
With County Princess Linghui's ruthlessness, it really wasn't certain who would be killing whom.
Fan Guanshan said, "County Princess, since the people from Jingzhao Prefecture have arrived, it's better to hand these assassins over to them for interrogation, lest you dirty your hands."
If this continued, the man would probably be tortured to death before spilling the truth.
Hearing Fan Guanshan's words, the head runner nodded hastily.
"I have already sent someone to notify the Prefectural Magistrate. He must have arrived at the yamen by now. We will interrogate them overnight and definitely give the County Princess an explanation."
At the foot of the Son of Heaven, in the vital capital region.
To think that an assassination attempt on a County Princess would happen here. These people were truly too audacious.
Song Jinzhao looked at Fan Guanshan. "Since Commander Fan says these men are death-sworn assassins, I imagine they will be extremely tight-lipped."
"As this concerns my safety, I intend to personally join the interrogation. Would Commander Fan be willing to accompany me?"
The Governor of the Jingzhao Prefecture held too low a rank; she needed someone present who could hold the floor and whose words would carry enough weight when it mattered.
Seeing the unwavering resolve in Song Jinzhao's eyes, Fan Guanshan knew he wouldn't be able to get out of this.
Anyone capable of cultivating so many elite assassins was undoubtedly someone of formidable standing.
This was not going to be a trivial matter.
Harboring a sliver of curiosity, Fan Guanshan sheathed his scimitar and said, "If that is the case, then this humble official shall accompany the County Princess."
