“What’s going on??” née Sun demanded.
“I found traces of suspicious people when we ascended the mountain earlier.” Qin Yining’s face was serious.
“What?!” Née Sun exclaimed. “What kind of people?”
“Don’t fret, let’s listen to darling Yi first.” The duchess patted née Sun’s hand.
“I’ve started living in the mountains since I was eight. Because I lived alone, I needed to be constantly on the alert against wild beasts. Therefore, I trained a very keen perception. My hairs stand on end whenever someone looks at me with hostility. I had that feeling when we were going up the mountain just now and looked around casually. I discovered two men wearing Great Zhou army uniforms hiding behind the short trees next to the stone stairs. I was worried that they weren’t alone and that our family would be injured if I raised a fuss. So, I just continued going up the mountain.”
Qin Yining comforted the anxious looking duchess at this point. “I already sent half of our guards to the residence that my aunts are in and kept the remaining half here. But, I think that the other half of the family is safe for now. If these people really do have ulterior motives, then anyone worthy of kidnapping or assassinating in this nunnery are all gathered in this house.”
That was right. The priestess, duchess, wife and daughter of Grand Preceptor Qin were all in this house. Compared to the other nuns or females with insignificant status, the most valuable people were gathered here. It was the duchess and née Sun’s turn to have their hairs stand on end. Qin Yining had only seen two, but how many were there? It was also very bizarre that they’d come in Great Zhou uniforms!
“Daughter Yi, are you sure you saw clearly? This is the capital of Great Yan! Even if we’re not in the best of straits, that doesn’t mean Great Zhou soldiers can just take a walk through our streets!” Née Sun’s voice had become slightly shrill from taut nerves.
Qin Yining quickly shushed her mother. “Let’s set aside whether or not they’re Great Zhou for now and when they got their hands on these uniforms. What’s important is what their intentions are.”
Many ideas circulated in the duchess’ mind. Her first guess was that the decrepit emperor had sent these people. Perhaps he’d arranged for his men to wear Great Zhou uniforms and kill the remaining Suns to vent some ill temper, but also give himself the veneer of innocence at the same time. Although it might seem ridiculous, it was entirely possible that the trash emperor would do something this ludicrous.
All was deathly quiet inside the house.
“What do we do, what do we do?! Mother, what should we do??” Née Sun was shaking all over.
The duchess frowned with disapproval. Née Sun’s panicked disarray was a sharp contrast to Qin Yining’s measured pre-knowledge. “Will you be quiet? We’re all here together!”
“No matter, no matter. My house is solidly built and we’ll be fine for a bit.” Priestess Liu piped in as well.
Pang Xiao retracted his cold, dismissive gaze from née Sun and looked calmly at Qin Yining. He admired her wits, pitied her circumstances, and had some thoughts of his own as well. Since she’d noticed the enemy on her way up the mountain and the Celestial Nunnery was about four hours from the city, this amount of time was enough for reinforcements to arrive with all haste. While not everyone was familiar with his looks, what if someone she summoned recognized him? He’d be in real trouble then. The reinforcements would be able to keep the ladies safe because Qin Yining was a smart one. She’d never let her grandmother and mother be in any trouble, not to mention her newborn niece.
When his thoughts traveled here, Pang Xiao shot to his feet with an ashen face and trembling voice. “Why, why didn’t you say so earlier?? What do you mean by all this? You’ll be the death of me!”
His cowardly act was on point as he paced and turned like ants in a hot pan. “This won’t do, we’re leaving right away. Good luck to the rest of you!” He dragged a slack jawed Huzi away with him.
Doesn’t my prince like Miss Qin? Shouldn’t he step forward at this time and promise manfully that “I’ll keep you safe” to win her over? My dear prince, aren’t you afraid of leaving a bad impression running away like this?! The befuddled guard chased after his lord.
Qin Yining narrowed her eyes and laughed softly, the sound appearing particularly crisp. “Sir Yao, don’t you think you’re being very suspicious?”
Pang Xiao halted, an admiring look appearing in his eyes. He looked back, still appearing like someone about to wet his pants. “What, you nobles brought the bad guys here and don’t let us escape? I don’t have the time to waste with you. Our family has only one male carrying on the family name in the last three generations! Do you want me to stay and protect you? Not happening! You better get out while you can too!”
“Stop joking, Sir Yao.” Qin Yining focused her eyes on Pang Xiao, the sharp light in her limpid, charming eyes making her hard to ignore. Although her body was pliable and soft, her aura wasn’t one bit less than that of a mature man’s. Pang Xiao was almost completely taken in by her dazzling gaze.
“If Sir Yao was any normal person, you’d think about how it’s much more dangerous outside than inside, right?
“I see only two suspicious people here. Any normal person would wonder if the enemy had already surrounded the nunnery.
“You probably won’t get out now even if you know how to fly!
“Unless… you brought those people and you’re in a hurry to go meet up with them?
“Or are you worried that my reinforcements will unmask you for who you truly are?” Qin Yining took a step forward with each line until she was in front of the duchess and née Sun. A light danced in her eyes, that of a small animal that wasn’t willing to accept defeat. Even if she was small and weak, she would bristle all of her fur to meet the enemy. Pang Xiao’s heart pounded wildly when he saw this. He really wanted to just take her away and tame her at his side!
Qin Yining grew even more nervous when she saw the man remain silent. She tugged the duchess and née Sun in the direction of the door, calling out for her people as she did so. Because the priestess hailed Sir Yao as her patron, even the priestess couldn’t be trusted at the moment.
Four tall and stocky guards charged in with wooden bats, almost breaking the door. They put Qin Yining, née Sun, and the duchess behind them. Bingtang, Songlan, and Qiulu also came rushing in, blocking the way to their mistresses. Qin Yining was standing very close to the door, a position making for easy escape.
Priestess Liu slapped her thighs with a loud cry. “Oh gods above! My redwood table! And that’s jade embedded above the door curtains! What do you want? Get out!”
Pang Xiao wasn’t in a mood to pretend anymore and discarded all pretense in front of Qin Yining for the first time. He was no longer the elegant gentleman, the scholarly merchant, much less a death-fearing coward. He straightened his slightly stooped back and flared an exceedingly domineering aura, making it difficult for others to breathe. His long and slender brows gave one a sharp and cutting feeling. Arrows of ice seemed like they would shoot out of his angled phoenix eyes as a teasing and dominating smile played around his lips. He brazenly seized up Qin Yining while the girl’s mind sent her the signals indicating the arrival of danger.
It felt like she was staring down a tiger or panther. “So it really is you? Who are you?” Her voice trembled slightly.
“Why should I tell you who I am?”
“You—!”
“I have a thousand methods if I really wanted to do anything to you. Would I have to go through all of this mess? Little girl, it’s good to be smart, but don’t be so confident in yourself.”
Qin Yining thought furiously, trying to see if her four guards could fight him and his follower. He seems quite domineering, but does he know martial arts? As she hesitated, cries and shrieks suddenly traveled in from the front door, swiftly followed by yells of violence and slaughter that made listeners quail. She thought it was the arrival of reinforcemen
ts, but the sight of a group of men in Great Zhou uniforms greeted her quick peek. They hacked at everyone they saw without mercy!
“Oh heavens!” Née Sun screamed loudly.
“We can’t stay trapped in the house!” There were too many she couldn’t trust inside and so many enemies. They would be fish in a barrel if they stayed! Qin Yining pulled née Sun and the duchess out with her, calling out to the guards as well and wanted to leave via the side door. They’d just set foot outside when a sharp, earsplitting sound broke through the air!
She felt a sense of danger she’d never experienced before. All of her hairs stood on end and she subconsciously wanted to duck to the side. But her mother was behind her! What would her family do if she dodged? This mometary hesitation was enough to let a bulky, uniformed man come charging over with blood dripping from an upraised blade. She also saw two archers on the walls. It’s too late!
* * *
Chapter 89: A Life-Risking Rescue
Chapter 89: A Life-Risking Rescue
Qin Yining screwed her eyes shut tightly with fright. This was the end of the road for her!
And yet, fierce air displacement sounded next to her ears in the next moment. Someone seemed to dart in front of her, blocking the sunlight. Her hand was enveloped by a warm, large, and callused hand. She opened her eyes to see Sir Yao’s slanted body in front of hers, holding her hand with one hand and grasping the arrow with the other. Cold light gleamed darkly off of the arrow tip, less than an inch away from her neck!
Time moved slowly for her. Unceasingly warmth traveled to her hand from his on this cold winter’s day. He’d yanked her behind him and obscured all vision with his large height. It took only him to partition off all blood and gore, filling her eyes with just his back. She couldn’t see his face or his exceedingly fast moves. She could only see cold light flash to him again and again, but he was able to beat them off again and again with deft and wily moves.
He’s not a merchant alright! No merchant would have such adept and strong moves or be so coolly composed in such a situation. Who is he? The assassins were showing him no mercy at all. Every move was fatal as they penned the group in. If it wasn’t for Sir Yao, her guards wouldn’t be able to put up a fight at all. They might even be already dead! Qin Yining knew that she’d misunderstood him. Even if Sir Yao’s identity was a mystery, he wasn’t with the assassins.
She covered the duchess’ and née Sun’s retreat into the house, but the assassins had already planned for this and blocked their way. She could only settle for the next best move of hugging the wall and slowly moving to the corner to remove themselves from the fight.
Pang Xiao and the other four guards put themselves in front of the women. The prince was torn between fighting off twenty or so strong opponents, evading the unexpected arrows, and calculating what angle the arrows were coming from. He was afraid that the girl behind him would get hurt if he dodged out of the way. Even though his martial arts skills were superb, there was no guarantee that he could fully protect her.
“Huzi!” Pang Xiao roared and flicked his eyes up the wall. The guard understood and immediately gave up protecting the women. He picked up a steel blade and charged outside the encirclement, trying to take down the two archers. Meanwhile, Pang Xiao had gotten to the bottom of the backgrounds of these assassins.
At first, he’d thought it was the Great Zhou emperor who meant him no good. The emperor had possibly figured out his movements and wanted to kill him in Great Yan territory. He could’ve bid his own men to wear Great Zhou army uniforms so that no one would suspect this had been an imperial mission.
But when he truly crossed paths with the assassins, he discovered that they possessed the same style and methods as the Tatars, enemies would often invaded Great Zhou! Although they were dressed like Great Zhou soldiers, their build and body odor were the result of spending many years in the plains. These details were impossible to ignore!
The Tatar khan [1] was extremely devious and slippery. The khan certainly knew that since Great Zhou was fighting Great Yan, the Valiant Tigers would be fully deployed to the southern borders. The Tatars dould take advantage of this to increase their invasion efforts in the north of Great Zhou. Ji Zeyu was probably holding back the Tatar invasion with all of his might, trying to buy as much time for Pang Xiao as possible. Neither of them had considered the possibility that the Tatar savages would travel through Great Zhou territory and make it all the way to the Great Yan capital for an assassination attempt!
Using the Great Zhou army uniforms is a stroke of genius! Pang Xiao thought through all of this in a quick instant. Meanwhile, Huzi had made it to the wall and bounded up to slash at one of the archers. When the other archer saw that his comrade under attack, he didn’t come to his comrade’s aid or run away. Rather, he took advantage of the time to kill a few more people.
Seeing that he was unable to harm Pang Xiao, he aimed his arrows at the females huddled by the corner. He fired off three arrows in a row before Huzi charged him, forcing the archer to jump down the wall.
Qin Yining saw the cold light come whistling forth again and only had enough time to turn and hug née Sun behind her. Her mother had long since been terrified into a mess of tears and snot. She thought she was done for when she saw the cold light arc towards her again, but Qin Yining hugged her tightly and interjected herself between the arrows and the two women.
Née Sun was both touched and horrified. She tried to push Qin Yining away, screaming gibberish. The duchess was transfixed with horror as she screamed, “Darling Yi!”
Pang Xiao noted the arrival of three more arrows and used all his strength to snap the neck of the assassin blocking him, flinging himself towards Qin Yining in the nick of time. However, the arrows were extremely fast. He hacked downwards with his blade but knocked aside only two of them. He couldn’t reach the third and didn’t think much in that crucial moment, thrusting out with his arm to block it.
Qin Yining only heard the sounds of weapons clashing and arrows clattering to the floor, then the muffled piercing of a sharp weapon into flesh. She looked back frantically and saw the familiar, tall, and strong backside in front of her. This time, the right side of his body was dyed red with fresh blood and the arrow had pierced through his shoulder. The arrowhead was protruding out beneath his shoulder blade!
She sucked a breath in and exclaimed, “Sir Yao!” He’d saved her again!
Pang Xiao looked quickly back at her, actually flicking an eyebrow up with a smirk! He didn’t hesitate to break off the arrow that was embedded in him and charged back in the fray. Blood continued to spread along his clothes, making Qin Yining twinge with phantom pain as she looked at him. But somewhere in the depths of her heart, she was strangely shaken.
She blinked rapidly and shook her head firmly, trying to sweep away that utterly handsome and assured smile from seconds ago. Née Sun was hugging Qin Yining tightly and drenching the girl’s shoulder with tears.
“Are you alright, daughter? Are you alright? You scared me!”
Qin Yining came back to herself and patted née Sun’s back comfortingly, giving another reassuring smile to the nervous duchess looking at her inquiringly. The duchess nodded, tears in her eyes.
The assassins were quickly cut down to half of their numbers after a while of hacking from Pang Xiao and Huzi. Roars sounded again from outside. This time, it was the reinforcements that Qin Yining had sent for.
There were only six assassins left, all wounded. Once surrounded, they looked at each other and shuddered once. Black blood trailing down from the corners of their lips heralded the crashes of their dead bodies onto the ground.
Pang Xiao sneered as he clutched his shoulder. Tatar deathsworn. They hadn’t killed him or their principal targets, but would manage to cause misunderstanding and friction between Great Zhou and Great Yan with these uniforms.
Huzi rushed up to his master and lifted up the prince’s shirt to take a look at the wound. He glared fiercely at Qin Yining
. They say that pretty women bring trouble. Well, she’s big trouble!
“Are you alright, master?”
“I’m fine.” Pang Xiao shook his head and moved his shoulder still dripping with blood. “Mm. It didn’t harm the tendons or bones. It’s just a flesh wound.”
“But you’ve bled so much.”
Footsteps sounded from the yard as a man in black army uniform respectfully showed in a tall, bearded man in a luxurious, black fur cape. It was East Area Commander Xu Mao of the Warden’s Office [2] making way for Qin Huaiyuan.
Qin Huaiyuan was out of breath and took in the ghastly scene in the yard first, immediately looking at Qin Yining and née Sun after. He exhaled a long sigh of relief when he saw that they were fine, his expression finally taking a turn for the better. Whereas, Huzi clenched his fists so tightly that the bones cracked when he saw Qin Huaiyuan, and Pang Xiao’s gaze chilled as well.
Qin Yining inwardly relaxed when she saw her father arrive, feeling that everything would be fine now. Née Sun ran up with tears streaming down her face, grabbing Qin Huaiyuan’s arm and sobbing like a bullied child.
“You’re here, my lord.”
“Mm. I rushed here immediately when I received Sir Xu’s news. Are you alright?” Qin Huaiyuan straightened née Sun’s crooked cloak and nodded at the duchess. He finally completely relaxed when he saw that Qin Yining was unharmed despite her mussed up hair and some drops of blood on her.
“It was daughter Yi who protected us,” née Sun sniffled. “And Sir Yao. If it wasn’t for him helping, I’m afraid that we…”
Qin Huaiyuan followed her gaze to the young man who’d taken an arrow to the shoulder and was covered in blood. He was just a hair over twenty, tall, fit, and quite handsome. His eyebrows slanted upwards energetically and the look in his phoenix eyes was deep. This is an unfathomable character.
“Thank you greatly for your help, Sir Yao.” Qin Huaiyuan raised his hands in a cupped fist salute.
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