Flowing Light—this was the token of love Jun Beiyue had given Han Ziqing, long since become her signature mark!

It was her! She had come!

Yelu Qianqian was overjoyed, while Nanny Qin abruptly yanked Flowing Light free and hurled it forward with all her strength—the throw landed squarely on the head of one of the wild wolves.

This immediately set the wolves into an uproar. Nanny Qin, having thrown caution to the wind, barked an order at her guards, “Watch these beasts!”

With that, she tightened her grip on Yelu Qianqian and spun abruptly to look up at a nearby tree. Sure enough, Ziqing was there, her cold eyes narrowed, watching her.

“Kidnapping the princess of Xi Jing, right here in this place—old woman, you certainly have some nerve,” Ziqing said coldly, leaping down from the tree.

“Princess Consort Yao, you abducted Princess Qianqian, slandered Xiliang for breaking faith, provoked Crown Prince Lie into war, letting your precious Da Zhou reap the benefits, and killed the Crown Prince of Xi Jing. And you dare show your face here?” Nanny Qin shot back at once, mockingly.

“No… that’s not… that’s not how it was, you’re twisting the truth!” Yelu Qianqian tried to protest, but her throat was held too tightly—she could barely breathe, let alone speak.

“This is a matter between Xi Jing and Da Zhou—what business is it of yours, old woman?” Ziqing said coldly, trying to probe the old nanny’s identity.

Judging by her dress, she wasn’t from Da Zhou—she must be from Dong Qin!

But Nanny Qin was no pushover either. She ignored Ziqing’s provocation entirely, and the hand gripping Yelu Qianqian’s throat tightened suddenly as she issued a cold warning, “Order these wild wolves to withdraw at once, or don’t blame me for what happens next!”

Ziqing hadn’t originally intended to act. She knew it was Yelu Qianqian who had summoned the wolves, which was why she’d chased after them—she’d been waiting for the wolves to swarm in from every direction and trap this group for good. But once Yelu Qianqian’s safety was at stake, she had no choice but to act.

“Let her go! Or I won’t hold back.” As she spoke, she flung her hand up, and a blade of wind suddenly shot out, like a sharp whip, cracking down hard on the back of Nanny Qin’s hand!

The pain made Nanny Qin’s grip loosen involuntarily, and at that very moment, Yelu Qianqian tried to seize the chance to shove her away—but no sooner had she wrenched free than Nanny Qin grabbed hold of her again!

“Ziqing, she’s after Xuanyuan Lige! I don’t even know who she is—she wants to take me to Xiliang!” Urgent as she was, Yelu Qianqian didn’t forget to pass along everything she knew to Ziqing.

Hearing this, Ziqing felt her heart lurch uncontrollably.

Xuanyuan Lige!

This group had ties to Xuanyuan Lige—could it be… they were people of the Dong Qin imperial house!

No wonder. The Dong Qin imperial house was desperate for something to go wrong on Da Zhou’s western frontier right now!

If that was the case, then ever since Xuanyuan Lige had left the desert clinic, he’d never resurfaced—even the people of Dong Qin were searching for him. Where on earth had he gone? How was his condition?

Ziqing found herself momentarily distracted—but just then, Nanny Qin, gripping Yelu Qianqian with one hand, suddenly flung the other, just as Ziqing had done!

Heavens!

It was a wind blade too! An unusually sharp blade of wind swept straight toward Ziqing. She hadn’t seen it coming and took the hit square in the abdomen, staggering back several steps before she managed to steady herself!

A wind blade—this old woman could wield wind blades too!

Who exactly was she to Xuanyuan Lige?

Ziqing pressed a hand to her stomach, her heart racing with alarm. That blade of wind just now—whether in force or in mastery—had been no low-level skill at all!

To put it precisely, it hadn’t fallen short of what Xuanyuan Lige or she herself could produce!

This old woman, she…

“Princess Consort Yao, using my own disciple’s martial arts against me—you truly overestimate yourself,” Nanny Qin sneered coldly. The wind blade technique was precisely what she had taught Crown Prince Li.

Though the crown prince had long since surpassed his teacher by far, she herself was no slouch either!

Ziqing frowned at the smug Nanny Qin. She truly hadn’t expected this—but she had more than just wind blades up her sleeve.

At once she drew Wuzheng from her back, cradling the zither in one arm, and with a resounding twang, swept her hand across the strings from end to end!

Seeing this, Nanny Qin went pale with shock, and the guards nearby, still tangled up with a dozen or so wild wolves, were equally alarmed!

Wuzheng—whether attacking with the zither itself or with sound, none of them could withstand it!

Without a word, Nanny Qin shoved Yelu Qianqian forward. Yelu Qianqian stood there dumbly, but Ziqing suddenly stopped her hand.

For no other reason than that Yelu Qianqian was likely the weakest in internal energy and mental fortitude among everyone present!

Even if Ziqing didn’t use sound as a weapon, using the zither itself to strike would still produce music the moment Wuzheng’s strings unleashed a wind blade, and that sound alone would be a heavy blow to Yelu Qianqian as well!

Nanny Qin didn’t even need to threaten her—by shoving Yelu Qianqian forward, she’d made her meaning perfectly clear!

Ziqing had no choice but to put Wuzheng away!

By now, over a dozen wolves had already been mostly killed off by the guards, leaving only two or three, one of them—the alpha—still crying out ceaselessly, calling for its pack, yet no more wolves came.

Ziqing had already noticed this oddity. By rights, after all this time, this place should have been swarming with wolves, yet from the moment she’d arrived until now, not a single additional wolf had appeared!

Though thoroughly puzzled, Ziqing had no time to dwell on it. If she couldn’t win with wind blades, and couldn’t use the zither as a weapon, then all that was left was the move she was best at.

She yanked the dagger from beside the fallen wolf and lunged straight for Nanny Qin. But Nanny Qin seemed to know her all too well—the instant Ziqing closed in, she immediately dragged Yelu Qianqian backward, and several guards rushed forward to block the way!

“Anyone who stands in my way dies!”

Ziqing snarled, her blade rising and falling with a speed that left onlookers stunned. The guards nearby took turns stepping in to replace their fallen comrades, yet none dared get too close to her.

Meanwhile, Nanny Qin, cowering at the back, had likewise noticed the strange scarcity of wolves—far fewer than she’d expected, all thunder and no rain. With a few quick wind blades she dispatched the last two wolves, then, shielded by her guards, dragged Yelu Qianqian and fled deeper into the forest!

Ziqing gave chase at once. Any guard who blocked her path and got too close died instantly, every wound without exception across the throat—one stroke of the blade, blood spilled, throat sealed.

Though the expected reinforcement of wolves never came, Ziqing still managed to cut off Nanny Qin’s escape route, dagger pointed straight at her.

Nanny Qin stopped in her tracks, a mere ten paces from Ziqing.

Given how much the crown prince cherished this woman, how could she not have investigated her, come to understand her?

She knew—if the distance between them narrowed to three paces, she would be no match for this girl at all!

Wind blades were a technique that required distance; close combat demanded swift reflexes, swift movement—and that was precisely her weakness as an old woman!

Soon, Ziqing took a step forward, and Nanny Qin instinctively stepped back. “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll kill her for certain!”

“Ziqing, don’t worry about me, kill this old wretch! I—”

Before Yelu Qianqian could finish, Nanny Qin’s grip on her throat cut her off at once. Soon her face flushed red, for Nanny Qin’s grip was terribly tight, and only growing tighter!