Hearing the commotion behind her, Yan Sanhe turned to look, her eyes going wide.

Unexpectedly…

The carriage had overturned!

She quickly wheeled her horse around and galloped back.

Drawing near, she discovered that the left wheel had fallen into a ditch. One horse had fallen in with it, crying out in distress.

The other horse, hearing its companion’s calls, stamped its front hooves anxiously.

“What happened?” she asked.

“No idea.”

Xie Zhifei jumped down from the carriage in a disheveled state. “Yan Sanhe, help me calm the horses. Pei Mingting, Li Buyan, are you two all right?”

“Still alive.”

Li Buyan scrambled out of the carriage using hands and feet, then sprawled on the ground to look, fury blazing.

“Damn it all, which motherless, fatherless bastard dug a hidden ditch in this godforsaken place? What a lack of virtue.”

Inside the carriage, Pei Xiao stopped crawling halfway out.

This person curses just like me—a true master!

Xie Zhifei crouched down. “Are you injured?”

Li Buyan shook her head and climbed up from the ground.

Turning around, she saw Pei Xiao crawling as arduously as a turtle. She reached out, grabbed the back of his clothes, and like lifting a small chicken, pulled him out of the carriage.

“Is Pei Daren injured?”

Can I say my spirit is injured?

How are you so good at hauling people around?

Pei Daren’s body swayed several times before he stood steady. “What do we do now?”

Xie Zhifei wiped the rain from his face. “No matter what, we must first get the carriage out. Yan Sanhe, what do you think?”

Yan Sanhe patted the horse’s back. “Correct.”

Xie Zhifei: “Mingting, the two of us will go down.”

“Nobody move. Let me check first.”

Li Buyan circled the carriage twice, then called out to Xie Zhifei, “Cut the reins. Get the horse out first.”

Xie Zhifei: “You’re sure?”

Li Buyan drew the soft sword from her body and slashed down with one stroke. “Absolutely sure.”

Freed from its burden, the horse jumped in the ditch several times but couldn’t get out.

“Lift the horse!”

Li Buyan and Xie Zhifei’s eyes met. One lifted the front hooves, one lifted the rear, and finally hauled the horse up.

“Young mistress, hold the horse. Don’t let it run off.”

Without pausing to catch her breath, Li Buyan jumped down into the ditch and commanded, “Third Master at the front, me at the back, Pei Daren in the middle. When I count to three, everyone push together.”

The wind was strong, the rain heavy, yet Pei Daren still had the inclination to ask questions. “Why do I have to be in the middle?”

“The front of the carriage is heaviest. Besides Xie Sanye, who else can hold it up? The back is crucial—I have some martial skills. As for the middle…”

Li Buyan didn’t bother finishing. “Figure it out yourself.”

Pei Xiao wanted to rush over and strangle her.

“Enough.”

Xie Zhifei crouched down. “Stop wasting words. Get to work!”

Pei Xiao swallowed his resentment and walked to the middle.

Li Buyan called out, “Listen to my command. One, two, three.”

“Lift!”

“One, two, three.”

“Lift!”

“One, two, three.”

“Lift!”

“Thud!”

The wheel hit the ground, and everyone’s hearts settled.

The rain grew increasingly torrential, soaking them all through.

Xie Zhifei touched Yan Sanhe’s shoulder. “Get in the carriage to avoid the rain.”

Yan Sanhe held the reins of both horses. “What about the horses?”

Xie Zhifei snatched the reins from her. “Don’t worry about them. I’ll figure something out. Quickly, get in.”

Yan Sanhe didn’t stand on ceremony. She used her sleeve to wipe the rain from her face and was the first to duck inside.

“Wait, wait, take off your shoes before getting in.”

Pei Xiao shouted urgently, “My quilts… aiyah, you bunch of wastrels!”

…

Moments later.

The last wastrel, Xie Sanye, ducked into the carriage. The already cramped space immediately became oppressive.

The other three silently glanced at each other, then curled up with their knees drawn to their chests.

Yan Sanhe’s chin rested on her knees, her eyelids drooping as she asked, “Are the horses settled?”

Xie Zhifei shook his head, spraying all three with rainwater. “No place to settle them. There are two rain capes in the carriage. That’ll have to do.”

“Pfft!”

Li Buyan laughed softly.

Pei Xiao looked at the completely soaked quilts beneath his bottom, his heart bleeding. “In this state, you can still laugh?”

Li Buyan ignored him and nudged Yan Sanhe with her elbow. “Look, don’t those two look like plucked chickens in a rainstorm?”

Yan Sanhe’s chin lifted slightly. She inadvertently met Xie Zhifei’s eyes—those eyes were wet with moisture, his lashes beaded with rain.

The man’s lips curved as he joined in the laughter.

“Li Buyan, your eyesight is poor. The three of us rolled in mud—we’re beggar’s chickens. Your young mistress is cleaner—she’s a plain boiled chicken.”

Pei Xiao’s eyes swept around and he shook his head. “Xie Wushi, your eyesight is worse. Clearly there are two roosters and two hens.”

“Pei Daren’s eyesight is even worse.”

Li Buyan’s mouth couldn’t close from laughing. “Clearly two are spring chickens and two aren’t.”

Xie Zhifei: “Who are the spring chickens?”

Pei Xiao: “Who aren’t spring chickens?”

“Pfft!”

Yan Sanhe couldn’t hold back and laughed softly.

At this moment—

Outside the carriage, violent rain poured down as night fell darkly.

Inside the carriage, a night pearl sat in the corner, emitting dim, ghostly light.

The young woman was soaked through, her face pale, her hair still dripping water. Her usually dark, somber eyes brightened with her laughter.

Like a ray of light shining into a dry well.

Like a fresh breeze sweeping through a fog-shrouded forest.

Xie Sanye stared, dumbstruck.

Countless sounds rushed into his ears, but he could only hear one sentence: When she smiles, she’s truly beautiful.

To the side, Pei Xiao silently turned his face away.

The divine sorceress can actually smile?

In the carriage, there was a moment of silence.

This silence made Yan Sanhe suddenly realize she’d never smiled like this in front of outsiders. Before the awkward feeling could rise in her heart, another thought rushed forward first.

No, wait—why would there be a hidden ditch on the official road?

She fell silent for a moment. “We can’t keep sheltering from this rain. We must leave immediately. Right now.”

The atmosphere in the carriage shifted from silence to tension.

Everyone’s expressions changed.

Except for Pei Xiao.

Pei Xiao looked confused. “Yan Sanhe, why must we leave urgently?”

Yan Sanhe seemed not to hear him. Her gaze lifted, boring straight into Xie Zhifei. “A hidden ditch on the official road—it must be man-made.”

Xie Zhifei’s reaction was remarkably quick. “Anyone who can afford a carriage isn’t from a small household.”

“In this desolate wilderness, looks like someone wants to rob travelers.” Li Buyan spoke while reaching for her waist.

Pei Xiao was about to speak when Yan Sanhe continued, “With this heavy rain, they’re trapped too. Once the rain stops, they’ll act.”

Xie Zhifei: “So we must escape while we still can.”

Li Buyan raised an eyebrow. “If we don’t want to escape, that’s fine too. Anyway, I can take on a dozen or so Embroidered Uniform Guards with no problem. Mountain bandits? Even less to fear.”

Yan Sanhe: “The enemy situation is unclear. We don’t fight—we flee.”

Xie Zhifei: “But there might be more hidden ditches ahead. We can’t keep the carriage.”

Li Buyan: “Three horses, four people. How do we divide up?”

Yan Sanhe: “Buyan and I will ride together.”

Xie Zhifei: “Mingting can’t ride well. He and I will take the sturdy one.”

What do you mean I can’t ride well?

Can a man admit he can’t?

Before Pei Daren could open his mouth, Li Buyan spoke first. “I’ll take the lead. If there’s danger, I’ll whistle to warn you.”

Yan Sanhe: “No time to hesitate. Take action immediately.”

“Wait!”

Xie Zhifei: “Travel light. Bring only banknotes and dry rations. Leave everything else. In two days, Zhu Qing and the others will catch up with us.”

Li Buyan: “Agreed.”

Yan Sanhe: “Agreed!”

Xie Zhifei made the final decision. “Move out.”

Pei Daren: “…”

Ahhhhh!

Can you let me say something?!