Before Xi Lin Yuqiao could finish speaking, she suddenly saw Qing Xia raise an eyebrow, her face instantly turning vicious. With a whoosh, she drew the bright war blade from her waist and charged at them with murderous intent.

The Xi Lin siblings were shocked. Just as they were about to counterattack, they were a step too late. Their chests felt like they’d been struck by lightning as Qing Xia kicked each of them hard, sending them tumbling to the side.

Xi Lin Yuqiao was furious, but before the curse words could leave her mouth, she saw a silver arrowhead shoot from behind where they’d been standing, embedding itself hard in the tent’s mast pole.

Qing Xia leaped to Xi Lin Yuqiao’s side, deflecting a sharp arrow with her blade. Her movements were like an agile leopard, her eyes and brows sharp as snow, her blade turning like wind. She shouted sternly, “The camp is under attack! Protect His Majesty!”

Towering sounds of battle suddenly erupted. The sky filled with swords and flowing fire. Wherever they reached, there was bloody carnage, corpses and charred bones scattered everywhere. Sharp swords pierced the hearts of unprepared soldiers. Bloody slaughter instantly swept through the entire northern camp. The world spun, heat waves towered to the sky, flowing clouds and wild fire struck the heavens, blade light and sword shadows swept across the vast sky. In an instant, it felt like falling into vast ocean waters, rising and falling with the waves.

Le Song’s shoulder was bloodied. Gritting his teeth, he pulled an arrow from his shoulder and shouted, “They’re wearing Northern Hu horse bandit clothes! They’re bandits!”

Qing Xia pulled the already stunned Xi Lin Yuqiao behind a cart, frowning with cold eyes. How dare mere horse bandits attack the empire’s regular army, and they’d even entered the central command camp before being discovered. Clearly there were traitors providing inside assistance. A cold thought suddenly rose in her mind. Her fists involuntarily clenched tightly, fingernails digging into her flesh without feeling any pain.

Qin Zhiyan, do you really want to exterminate us completely?

“Miss! Be careful!” Roaring flames burned, flowing light flickered across the sky. Qing Xia’s eyes flashed as she saw a massive boulder hurtling viciously toward them. Her mind raced as she threw herself on Xi Lin Yuqiao, rolling sideways with her to an open area nearby.

“Ah!” Xi Lin Yuqiao cried out, suddenly pushing away Qing Xia’s control and trying to stand up regardless of danger.

“Get down! Are you looking for death?” Instantly grasping the girl’s neck, Qing Xia’s eyes blazed with fierce light as she shouted sternly.

But Xi Lin Yuqiao now seemed to have gone mad, desperately pushing at Qing Xia’s arms and shouting, “The main camp is on fire!”

Qing Xia was shocked. Looking back, she saw the massive central command tent burning fiercely, huge tongues of fire about to devour the tent roof. Qing Xia’s face instantly turned pale. Seeing a bucket of water nearby, she immediately picked it up and poured it over her head.

“Wait here for me!” All around was chaos and panicked screaming. Today, the Black Guard had suffered heavy casualties, all the great families had lost their elites, and only the Imperial Guards of the main camp remained to watch over the remaining family children and elder generals. This was the moment when the northern camp’s defenses were weakest. Those able to attack the Southern Chu camp at this time could only be traitors from within Southern Chu itself, or Great Qin forces who knew everything. However, the traitors from Southern Chu’s great families had all just been captured by her, and if Lady Zhu Lan had such strong reinforcements, she wouldn’t have needed to force her way through the camp gates. So the answer was obvious without much thought. Thinking of this, Qing Xia felt a burning pain in her heart. She pressed her lips together, stuck her war blade in the ground, and took two deep breaths to suppress her turbulent emotions.

“No! I’m going too!” Xi Lin Yuqiao stared wide-eyed, speaking in a deep voice. She also picked up a bucket of water and poured it over her head, following Qing Xia’s example.

Qing Xia looked at this usually pampered young lady, seeing her stubborn eyes, and finally slowly nodded, saying in a deep voice, “Alright then, be careful!”

At such a critical moment, it seemed their former hostility had vanished. Xi Lin Yuqiao nodded awkwardly and charged out first.

Qing Xia protected her side, deflecting arrows raining from the sky while carefully avoiding catapult bombardments, cautiously rushing toward the central command tent. For some reason, the area in front of the central command tent was completely empty except for dozens of Xi Lin family guards. Not a single Imperial Guard was visible, and fires flickered throughout the camp amid thick smoke.

“Miss!” A loud shout suddenly rang out. Xu Quan came running from the distance, nimbly jumping over a rolling stone and shouting loudly, “Quick, come with me!”

“No!” Qing Xia shouted back, deflecting two arrows and saying sternly, “Chu Li is still in the tent. I must go in to save him. Quickly gather troops to meet the enemy outside the camp!”

With a thunderous crash, a boulder taller than a person smashed to the ground, blocking the line of sight between Qing Xia and Xu Quan. Qing Xia could only hear Xu Quan shouting something fiercely, but couldn’t make it out clearly. Just then, there was a sudden crack behind her. Qing Xia was startled as someone tackled her to the ground. Looking back quickly, she saw a mast pole carrying a military flag had been burned through by the fire and crashed exactly where she’d been standing.

Xi Lin Yuqiao got up from the ground, saying somewhat awkwardly, “Be careful!”

Qing Xia’s heart warmed as she said sincerely, “Thank you!”

The two quickly ran to the central command tent, only to find not even a single guard at the entrance. Qing Xia’s heart sank. Had they been eliminated? Raising an eyebrow, she protected her head and face with her hands and immediately rushed inside.

Xi Lin Yuqiao followed closely behind. The two women stood in the main tent, seeing flames burning fiercely everywhere, everything glowing red, thick smoke rolling, with no human figures visible. Qing Xia’s face was cold as she shouted loudly, “Chu Li!”

Xi Lin Yuqiao also ignored the fire danger, searching everywhere, tears streaming down her face as she called out tearfully, “Brother Li! Brother Li!”

Her mind racing, almost in a single sweep, Qing Xia had determined there was no one here, nor any traces of battle. Thinking of Chu Li’s poisoned body, her heart felt like it had been viciously whipped.

“Let’s go!” Grabbing Xi Lin Yuqiao, Qing Xia said in a deep voice, “He’s not here.”

“Princess!” Someone suddenly shouted loudly outside. Qing Xia pulled the red-eyed Xi Lin Yuqiao and ran out of the tent. They saw a Xi Lin family guard covered in arrow wounds kneeling before the tent entrance. Seeing Xi Lin Yuqiao, he suddenly cried loudly, “Princess! The bandits looted the southwestern camps, killed the family heads of the great families, and took the Li Academy people and Lady Zhu Lan away!”

“What?” Qing Xia cried out in shock. Despite all her calculations, she hadn’t expected Lady Zhu Lan to still have such capability. Had her earlier intelligence been wrong? Qing Xia frowned tightly, her mind racing as she considered all possibly overlooked intelligence. This matter was indeed very strange, not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Could Qin Zhiyan have some secret conspiracy with Li Academy’s Lady Zhu Lan? After all, at this moment, besides Southern Chu’s regular forces, within a hundred li radius, only Qin Zhiyan had the power to launch such a fierce offensive.

“What about my father? What about my elder brother?” Xi Lin Yuqiao finally stopped crying and demanded loudly.

“The family head…” The guard couldn’t finish his words before collapsing to the ground in tears.

Xi Lin Yuqiao’s face instantly turned deathly pale. She grabbed the guard’s collar and shouted, “Speak up! What happened to my father and elder brother?”

“The family head was treating wounded family guards in the western camp when he was ambushed and hacked to death with random blades.”

Like a thunderbolt crashing on her head, Xi Lin Yuqiao’s eyes went black and she fell backward. Qing Xia was quick to catch and support her, thinking of that kind old man with white hair and youthful face, she too felt a pang of sadness.

“What about my elder brother?” Barely managing to speak, Xi Lin Yuqiao’s lips trembled as she asked in a deep voice.

“The young master was wounded by arrows, but his life isn’t currently in danger. The brothers rescued him and he ordered us to come back and save the princess. Of our sixty brothers, only I managed to fight my way in. Princess, please come with me quickly!”

Xi Lin Yuqiao seemed deaf to his words, appearing dazed for a moment. But Qing Xia could clearly see a trace of deep, immense hatred on her face.

“That bitch Zhu Lan!” Xi Lin Yuqiao said through gritted teeth. Suddenly she broke free from Qing Xia’s arms and ran madly forward, grabbing a spear stuck in the ground as she ran. She suddenly caught a stray war horse, leaping onto its back and shouting fiercely, “I’m going to kill her!”

“Princess!” The guard was shocked and was about to chase after her, but Qing Xia grabbed him.

“Go quickly find Imperial Guard Commander Qi Lang, have him leave camp to rescue His Majesty. I’ll go chase Princess Xi Lin back.” After speaking, she leaped forward several steps, and in a few bounds reached the side of a war horse. With agile movements, she mounted it. The startled horse reared up with a long whinny. Qing Xia firmly gripped the reins, shouted sharply, and struck the horse’s flank with the back of her blade, quickly pursuing Xi Lin Yuqiao’s direction.

Qing Xia’s horsemanship was excellent. In no time, she caught up with Xi Lin Yuqiao in her white martial arts uniform from a distance.

“What are you following me for?” In this short time, Xi Lin Yuqiao’s secret love had disappeared, her father had been killed, and her elder brother wounded. This naturally resilient girl was greatly enraged. Turning around, she shouted sternly at Qing Xia.

Qing Xia quickly spurred her horse forward, saying to Xi Lin Yuqiao in a deep voice, “To kill that old witch together with you!”

Sharp light flashed in Xi Lin Yuqiao’s eyes. She finally slowly nodded and said loudly, “Good!”

The two young women suddenly cracked their whips, striking their horses’ flanks and racing forward at high speed.

“Which way should we go?” Xi Lin Yuqiao turned her head and asked in a deep voice.

Qing Xia had always been an expert at tracking and pursuing. Her sharp eyes swept the surroundings and found the trail. She pointed her war blade toward the west.

The two rode hard for about half an hour when they suddenly heard thundering hoofbeats ahead with alarming momentum. Knowing their target was ahead, they carefully slowed their pace.