VBNWDW - Chapter 112

Chapter 112

The rocking chair in the small courtyard swayed, but the person from the daytime was nowhere to be seen. As night fell, thick clouds covered the stars and moon, and the distant mountains vanished, their outlines no longer discernible.

The room was silent, save for a half-burnt candle that had extinguished itself, its drippings solidified into a waxy pool.

An ornate wooden bed was placed against the wall, its curtains drawn. A corner of the quilt hung over the edge of the mattress, looking as if it were about to fall off.

What was vexing was the noise from next door. Master Qingyue was fussing with something, moving tables and chairs back and forth. Fortunately, the noise didn't truly disturb this room, which remained as quiet as ever.

Into this silence, five figures dressed in black, carrying sheathed longswords, crept into the small courtyard, deliberately staying in the dark shadows, their footsteps exceptionally light.

Upon reaching the door, a small, thin man took out a copper wire. He bent down, ear to the door, and began to hook the lock from within.

The buildings of Xuanmiao Temple were old and simply constructed, with no thought given to security. The lock was just a wooden plank fixed to the door, loosely latched onto another plank. With a slight pull from the copper wire, the plank was lifted.

The small man controlled his strength with utmost care, gently pushing the door inward. But even so, the worm-eaten wooden hinge let out a piercing sound.

—Creak.

The five men outside held their breath. In an instant, they drew their blades in unison and charged inside.

The glint of their blades half-illuminated the room. Without a moment's hesitation, the five of them slashed wildly into the hanging bed curtains.

The fabric tore instantly, sending bits of cotton flying. Even the wooden bedframe was smashed, but their target was not there.

The pupils of the five masked men contracted. One of them immediately bent down to look under the bed.

The others checked behind the door and under the table with extreme speed, as if by muscle memory.

But their usually effective experience failed them this time.

Every possible hiding place was empty.

One of the more hot-tempered men couldn't help but curse in a low voice, "What's going on? Didn't that little Daoist you bribed say she was already back in her room!"

His tone was a mixture of shock and anger.

The small man was just as stunned. "He couldn't have lied to me," he said quickly.

There was no time for blame. The man who had spoken out, seemingly the leader, immediately ordered, "Find her. Now that we've made our move, there's no second chance."

If Zhong Jueyu survived the night unscathed and returned to find her room in shambles, she would certainly post guards around herself, making their task even more difficult.

The others naturally understood this and were about to head outside.

But one who had been silent all along suddenly said, "Check next door."

The group had been partners for years and understood his meaning. The commotion they made wasn't loud, but it was impossible for the person next door not to have heard it. They hadn't intended to cause extra trouble, planning to kill Zhong Jueyu and flee. It wouldn't have mattered if the neighbor discovered them afterward, but now…

They had to deal with her first, then find Zhong Jueyu.

The five men immediately turned and rushed outside.

But just as they reached the doorway, the sound of a blade slicing through the air, a fraction too late, suddenly rang out.

Men who had spent their lives ambushing others were now being ambushed themselves.

The strike from outside was exceptionally ruthless, delivered by someone who seemed to have weathered countless bloody battles. Facing five opponents, she showed no hint of panic, her blade aimed straight for one man.

The man inside was charging out, and his momentum made it extremely difficult to stop. Relying on muscle memory, he subconsciously raised his arm.

The scene was incredibly awkward, as if his lower body was forcing him onto the blade while his upper body tried to block it.

If the person outside had been greedy at that moment, attempting a downward diagonal slash to injure all five, the combined force of their blocks would have surely pushed her back.

But she chose only one target, thrusting her longsword directly into the man's chest.

His clothes burst open as blood sprayed out. The large man didn't even have time to make a sound before his life was extinguished.

Without a shred of hesitation, the person outside instantly withdrew her blade.

The corpse fell backward to the ground.

"Big Brother!" one of the men beside him cried out wretchedly. Filled with hatred, he was about to charge forward to avenge his fallen comrade.

The four remaining men were skilled and their coordination was seamless.

One feigned a thrust, while another on the side attempted a diagonal slash. From the other side, a man swung his blade horizontally. Taking advantage of their numbers, they tried to encircle their opponent.

The person outside remained unhurried, as if she had anticipated this. Gripping her sword with both hands, she swung it upward from the lower right, directly deflecting the slash from the side. Without pausing, she instantly swung toward the other side, each strike whistling through the air.

The four men were driven back into the room. Their blades struck the doorframe, sending a numbing shock up their arms, but their faces showed no sign of retreat, a ruthless glint in their eyes.

"You scoundrel, die!" one man suddenly roared, preparing to slash down as if ready to trade his life for hers.

But the small man suddenly bent his knees, preparing to dash out the door.

Their advantage lay in their numbers. They usually surrounded their targets as a group of five, but now they were being bottlenecked in the doorway. The space, barely wide enough for two people to stand abreast, was too small for them to bring their full strength to bear.

Thus, they wanted the small man to rush out first, circle around to attack Zhong Jueyu from behind, and force her to retreat into the courtyard, allowing all four of them to exit the room.

It was impossible to know how long these men had been together, but they could make such a decision with perfect coordination without even exchanging a glance.

But how could Zhong Jueyu not have noticed?

In her two years of fighting on the battlefield, she had seen this kind of scenario more than any other. The most perilous time was when she fell into an ambush of several dozen men. Most of the scars Luo Yueqing had seen were from that one battle. If not for Li Shigui, Ruan He, and the others fighting desperately to reach her, Zhong Jueyu would have long since become a pile of white bones.

Therefore, a mere four men were hardly worth her notice.

Her phoenix eyes narrowed, her jaw set in a sharp line. With one hand bracing the front of the hilt and the other gripping further back, she executed a diagonal thrust followed by an upward swing—a standard advancing thrust, the most common technique in the Great Liang army.

The four men opposite her hadn't expected Zhong Jueyu to be so perceptive. The man who had been creating the distraction was the most flustered; his hand trembled, and he nearly lost his sword under Zhong Jueyu's slash.

The small man, already in a half-crouch, found it difficult to exert force. As the primary target of her attack, he was naturally unable to resist.

A bloody gash half a foot long instantly appeared on his right arm. The flesh split open, revealing a sliver of white fat and a faint glimpse of the bone within. It was a gruesome sight.

The man let out a wretched scream. Their most reliable tactic had now sealed his fate.

The other three were stunned, momentarily forgetting how to act.

Zhong Jueyu seized the opportunity and immediately thrust her blade forward.

The clash of steel rang out loudly.

The dark clouds had drifted away at some point, revealing the bright moonlight, which reflected off the narrow blade, creating a blinding flash.

The three men who had been trying to break out were once again forced back into the room.

The corpse of the man they called "Big Brother" lay on the floor, trampled an unknown number of times.

The small man's face was pale with pain, and he sucked in sharp breaths of cold air. He could only manage a few sneak attacks now and then, and once, Zhong Jueyu nearly knocked his weapon from his grasp.

The atmosphere was tense, the air thick with the foul stench of blood.

The four men inside grew increasingly desperate, making several mistakes.

In the dead of night, the slightest sound was clearly audible, let alone the clang of blades and the thud of weapons hitting the doorframe.

In the distance, torches lit up, accompanied by a rising clamor.

The next second, two figures charged toward them, blades in hand.

One was Li Shigui, her clothes hastily tied. The other was Ruan He, the woman in green from their journey up the mountain.

And behind them, Luo Yueqing, breathing heavily, struggled to keep up.

"Your Highness!" the two shouted.

Zhong Jueyu took a step back, letting the two of them advance. Facing five opponents alone had seemed easy, but it had been fraught with peril. Every move from the assassins had been a killing blow, and a single misstep could have led to a sneak attack.

If she hadn't taken the risk to kill one of them at the very beginning, her situation would have been far more difficult.

Ruan He and Li Shigui quickly filled the gap, their coordination no worse than that of the assassins.

A few screams followed. The assassins, their strength already depleted by Zhong Jueyu, were no match for the fresh Ruan He and Li Shigui.

As a blade sliced through the air, the small man's face filled with terror. He immediately shouted, "Your Highness, spare my life! I'll tell you who it…"

"Yang Xu!" a man beside him cut him off with a sharp cry.

The small man shouted in fear, "Third Brother, I don't want to…"

Several more slashes came at them. Ruan He and Li Shigui paid no mind to their argument. As long as the princess behind them didn't give an order, they would ignore it.

Just then, Luo Yueqing had hurried to Zhong Jueyu's side. "Are you alright?" she asked frantically.

Zhong Jueyu's breathing was slightly ragged. She just waved her hand and said reassuringly, "I'm fine."

Her gaze fell upon the little Daoist. In her haste, Luo Yueqing had run outside wearing only a thin robe, her unpinned hair scattered in a slight mess.

Zhong Jueyu subconsciously took her hand. Feeling the warmth of her skin, she finally relaxed a little. She then turned slightly to shield her from the wind and said in a low voice, "It's over. Go back and put on a coat."

She was still worried about her catching a cold.

It had all happened so suddenly. She had already blown out the candle and gone to bed when she heard a clattering from the next room, punctuated by Luo Yueqing's startled cries, as if she had encountered something terrifying.

Thinking something had happened, she had casually thrown on a coat, grabbed her sword, and rushed over, only to find that the person had seen a fat mouse in her room. It had probably been attracted by the sweets piled up in Luo Yueqing's room. When Zhong Jueyu entered, the mouse was still nibbling on a pastry, scurrying all over the place.

It had scared Luo Yueqing so much that she was running around, grabbing whatever she could find and throwing it at the mouse.

The scene was utter chaos.

Zhong Jueyu could only hurry forward to help, but Luo Yueqing was in such a panic that not only was she no help, but she actually hindered Zhong Jueyu's movements by throwing things several times.

Before they could even catch the mouse, they heard a noise from next door.

Zhong Jueyu was no stranger to assassination attempts. Without even a hint of alarm, she had sent Luo Yueqing to the small courtyard outside the temple to call for Ruan He and Li Shigui. Anticipating that the assassins wouldn't spare the person next door, she had struck first.

And that led to the current scene.

Luo Yueqing didn't hear what she said. Her eyes were fixed on the scene ahead as she unconsciously held Zhong Jueyu's hand.

Zhong Jueyu pressed her lips together and had no choice but to look forward again.

The remaining men had long since lost their will to fight, focused only on finding a chance to escape. Their moves became more cautious and conservative, and they were beaten back again and again.

Another bloody wound appeared. The man who had silenced the smaller one fell backward, his breathing ceasing.

The other two no longer had the strength to resist.

The small man grew more and more desperate. He quickly shouted, "Spare me, spare me! I'll tell you who it is! It's the Cr…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the man beside him threw a dagger into his heart.

Then, that man bit down hard, and a black liquid trickled from the corner of his mouth.

The last remaining man did the same.

It all happened in a flash. They had thought the man who silenced the smaller one was the most resolute, so the two guards had deliberately killed him first, but they never expected the others to be just as determined.

Ruan He and Li Shigui quickly sheathed their swords and rushed over to the assassins, but they were already dead.

"Damn it," Li Shigui cursed in frustration.

Ruan He turned to look behind her. She was about to ask for forgiveness when she saw that the Grand Princess had already turned around, shielding the little Daoist who had delivered the message, deliberately blocking her view.

Ruan He was more perceptive and intelligent than Li Shigui. A thoughtful look flashed in her eyes, as if she had faintly realized something.

"Go back inside first," Zhong Jueyu said to Luo Yueqing in a low voice, as if she hadn't noticed the gazes from behind her.

Luo Yueqing's face was a little pale. The flush from running back and forth had long since faded. Even with someone shielding her, she couldn't avoid the chill.

Only Li Shigui had yet to notice anything amiss. She first pulled off all the men's masks, then checked their hands, feet, and weapons.

"They're from the martial world," Li Shigui concluded on her own.

There was a vast difference between warriors of humble origin and those trained by officials.

As the saying goes, the poor study literature while the rich practice martial arts. She and Ruan He, for example, came from proper official backgrounds. Though their training was arduous, their food and expenses were on par with the wealthy households in the capital. They ate meat at every meal, soaked in medicinal baths at night, and had dedicated masters to point out their flaws. Attendants trained this way were naturally strong and robust.

Warriors of humble origin were different. Most of them had damaged their bodies in their early years, trained incorrectly, and didn't know how to fix their injuries, so most had hidden ailments and appeared lean and tough.

Finally, there were the weapons. Ironware was expensive and crudely forged among the common folk. A warrior from the martial world would have to spend all their money just to buy one blade. Even if they treasured it, it was bound to get nicked. Their only option was to have a blacksmith repair it repeatedly, so the marks on the blade would inevitably be messy and numerous.

It was unlike the longswords of Ruan He and Li Shigui, which could be replaced at any time and were always sharp and smooth.

Combining this with what the man had said earlier, Li Shigui hesitantly judged, "Perhaps the Crown Prince hired…"

She stopped mid-sentence, mindful of the outsider present, and didn't dare to speak plainly.

But thinking it over, she felt it was highly likely.

Setting aside the man's dying words, there was the timing. The Crown Prince had just led his troops out of the capital, and someone immediately hired assassins to kill the Grand Princess. It was hard not to connect the two.

Moreover, this wasn't the first time. They had encountered another assassination attempt on their way back. That group hadn't been as tight-lipped as these men and had confessed everything after a bit of pressure.

"Your Highness…" Li Shigui said, turning her head and suppressing her anger.

"Go back to your room first," Zhong Jueyu said, looking down at Luo Yueqing, her tone as calm as ever.

Firstly, she wanted Luo Yueqing to avoid this scene, lest she be disgusted and unable to sleep. After all, how could a young lady from a noble family have ever seen such a thing? Even Ruan He and the others had felt nauseous and vomited the first time they saw a corpse.

Secondly, she wanted to handle this matter alone with Ruan He and Li Shigui.

But no matter how considerate Zhong Jueyu's thoughts were, she couldn't account for the little Daoist in her arms, who looked up with a pale face and replied pitifully, "The mouse is still in the room."

They still hadn't caught it.

Zhong Jueyu: "…"

Get instant access to all the chapters now.

Previous Table of Contents Next