“Girl, hang on, we have to go, I’ll get you out, don’t cry, hold on just a little longer, I’ll take you home!”

Situ Haonan comforted her as he ran, but his speed was too great—he was practically running on internal energy alone. Even he was panting hard, let alone Yelu Qianqian.

The pursuers behind grew closer and closer; Yelu Chenyi and Wanyan Lie were closing in even tighter.

They couldn’t afford to slow down any further. They could already see the city wall—soon they’d be able to escape!

Situ Haonan gritted his teeth and hoisted Yelu Qianqian onto his back, but he had gone only a few steps when blood nearly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Heaven only knew how much internal energy he had burned just to widen the distance between them and Yelu Chenyi and Wanyan Lie under these circumstances!

He ran with everything he had, but at last even he could run no more. His legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground along with Yelu Qianqian.

The two of them lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath, without even the strength to stand.

But strangely, the pursuers behind them did not come.

What was going on?

Yelu Qianqian forced herself up and looked back, only to see that behind them, though it could hardly be called an army, several dozen cavalry had lined up in a row, with Yelu Chenyi and Wanyan Lie mounted on tall horses at the very front.

It seemed they weren’t looking at them at all, but rather…

Panting, Yelu Qianqian followed their line of sight upward, puzzled.

There was nothing above—just the sky!

Suddenly, something seemed to occur to her, and she jerked her head around to look ahead at the city wall!

In that instant, she froze!

What was that?

No—who was that?

“Haonan, look… look…”

Yelu Qianqian, still gasping, tugged at Situ Haonan. He too had been puzzled, and slowly raised his head—the moment his eyes met the figure standing high atop the city wall, his jaw nearly dropped from shock!

How could it be her!

“Haonan, who is she?” Yelu Qianqian, utterly exhausted in body and mind, sounded a little dazed. “Haonan… is she a god sent down from heaven to save us… but… but why is she so ugly… but, but she’s so cool!”

With that, she fainted, and Situ Haonan couldn’t help touching his own chin to make sure it hadn’t actually fallen off, before murmuring, “She’s the person you’ve been longing for all along!”

There, atop the city wall, stood a woman high above them all, dressed in black fighting attire, her hands clasped behind her back, her spine straight as a resolute pine. Her entire being radiated an air of wild, unrestrained arrogance, as though she towered over everyone else like a god!

Her face was as ugly as a monster’s, and yet those eyes—amid all that ugliness—blazed with a dazzling, noble brilliance that would put any beauty, any radiance, to shame in comparison!

To her right stood the meticulously trained Shadow Guards led by Yingzi, each one dressed in black with their faces covered, utterly mysterious!

To her left stood the mercenaries led by Bingchan, each clad in black jiao-scale armor, like war gods incarnate!

All of them stood in neat formation, ready to act at any moment!

She looked coldly down upon Yelu Chenyi without so much as a glance at Situ Haonan and the others, yet it seemed she had already taken them under her protection.

Down below, only Situ Haonan and Yelu Chenyi recognized who she was.

“Who are you? I warn you against trespassing in my Akbachu!” the Emperor of Xijing couldn’t help shouting, clearly shaken by her presence as well.

At this point, Wanyan Lie finally came back to himself and roared furiously, “Who is she, then!”

Yelu Chenyi answered only in a low voice, “Seize the princess and Situ Haonan!”

With that, he leapt off his horse into the air, sword drawn, charging at Ziqing. The corner of Ziqing’s mouth curled into a cold smile as she too rose to meet him in midair. At the same time, Yingzi and the rest of the Shadow Guards dropped down all at once, heading straight for Situ Haonan and the others.

Once airborne, Ziqing did not close the distance to meet him head-on. Instead, she kept her range, drew a guqin from her back, and with one arm cradling the instrument and the other plucking the strings, she unleashed several formidable blade-like gusts of sound in an instant.

This qin, though not Wuzheng, was still serviceable enough for her purposes. Her five fingers loosed wind-blades one after another, each one sharp and merciless, all aimed at Yelu Chenyi’s vital points, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

“Han Ziqing, you’re walking right into the trap!”

Yelu Chenyi spoke coldly, blocking the wind-blades with his sword while constantly seeking an opening to close the distance with Ziqing—against someone skilled with wind-blades, closing in was the only way to win.

Ziqing kept to her usual habit of saying little, her wind-blades never ceasing, her position constantly shifting. No one knew when she had mastered such an extraordinary lightness technique.

She shifted through the air, her footwork as graceful and flowing as a dance!

Graceful footwork paired with merciless fingers—this blend of motion and stillness, of softness and severity, was anything but jarring; instead it formed a strange dance that fused masculine strength with feminine grace!

Watching from below, Wanyan Lie actually forgot all about capturing Yelu Qianqian and Situ Haonan, staring upward transfixed, as though watching some rare and magnificent performance.

That was hardly surprising—this Crown Prince of Xiliang had been infatuated with Yelu Qianqian largely because of his infatuation with her dancing. Encountering something even more exquisite and shifting his affections was only natural.

As he watched, he suddenly leapt into the air as well, joining Yelu Chenyi in the attack.

Below, the guards and Shadow Guards had already descended into full combat, while above, Ziqing narrowed her eyes coldly and abruptly retreated back to the city wall, sitting down cross-legged. Just as Yelu Chenyi and Wanyan Lie were about to close in, there came an unexpected “clang…” as she struck the first note of “Lishang.”

Though it wasn’t the Demon Zheng (Blood Zheng), nor the Wuzheng, it was at least a fine instrument she had managed to find on short notice.

“Lishang” itself possessed tremendous sound-based killing power, and her skill on the qin was now more than sufficient to bring out its lethal intent.

Moreover, the killing intent she carried at this moment far exceeded that of the piece itself.

“Clang, clang, clang…”

Soon the melody rose, mournful and sorrowful, note after note forming an unbroken tune, coming too fast to fully absorb.

Many people present with weaker willpower reacted almost immediately, one by one falling still, their faces filled with grief!

Yelu Chenyi looked back and saw his father the Emperor and many important court officials falling under its spell. He had no choice but to halt his attack and retreat to protect them, even ordering the guards sent to capture Situ Haonan to fall back and guard the Emperor and ministers instead.

Most began to retreat. Yelu Chenyi himself had actually been affected from the very first note, but he had been holding on. When Wanyan Lie saw Ziqing truly playing, he listened intently at once, sensing that the rhythm was clearly the same “Lishang” that Jun Beiyue had once played—only somehow it felt different this time.

As he listened, though his willpower was strong, he too was quickly drawn in.

Soon the entire scene grew quiet. Yelu Chenyi gritted his teeth and suddenly slashed his sword across the back of his own hand, using the pain to jolt himself awake.

Without hesitation, he raised his sword and leapt again, charging straight at Ziqing. With a “whoosh,” he used the edge of his blade to sever her qin!

“Clang…” the music cut off abruptly!