“Madam, let your people join in too.” The black-clothed leader looked toward the Princess of Zhennan, extending an earnest invitation.

“Why are you here? Where are they!” Suzhen was frantic with worry, moving to the side of the person in front, asking in a low voice.

He glanced at her extremely quickly, scanning over the patches of blood on her body, his brow furrowing deeply.

He didn’t answer her, and as if he hadn’t seen the black-clothed men pressing closer step by step, he still pulled her behind himself, only smiling toward the Princess of Zhennan a few steps away: “Princess, you’ve been well?”

“Emperor of Great Zhou.” The Princess of Zhennan’s expression was uncertain, as if she never would have expected this noble man to appear here alone.

“Princess,” Lian Yu said, lightly kicking with his foot to hook up the dagger from the hand of a red-clothed man who had been kicked down by the skinny horse earlier, tucking it at his waist. “I don’t know if you’re working with this person or merely share a common goal. My martial arts aren’t poor—fighting desperately, I can at least hold out for half an incense stick’s time. Even if you kill me, I’m quite certain my people will arrive before I die.”

“Your black-clothed friend here left nothing behind, but this dagger on me bears your royal residence’s mark. What do you think my people will conclude? Not to mention the entire Chu Kingdom, not to mention your prince husband who still has countless beautiful concubines—for the sake of just one Li Huaisu, you’d sacrifice your parents in Chu Kingdom. This deal is already unprofitable for you.”

Lian Yu lifted his chin slightly, looking at her with a half-smile. The Princess of Zhennan trembled all over, her phoenix eyes sinister and rapidly calculating.

The black-clothed man’s gaze changed. Seeing this woman not only refusing to assist but even seeming about to order her remaining subordinates to obstruct his own people—fury rose in his heart, but at this critical moment, he couldn’t offend her, or forcing her to turn against them would be even worse—

This man was trying to make them fight among themselves. Suzhen was delighted in her heart, but then he suddenly scooped her up. His steady voice fell gently in her ear: “Once you get out, don’t think of anything else. Just ride desperately forward. Seventh Brother and the others are on their way. You’ll definitely be safe. I love you.”

He gazed at her, that look containing too many things. She was still somewhat dazed when he suddenly cast his sword to the ground, lifted her at the waist, spun and leaped up, then struck her back with his palm, using his palm force to propel her.

All this happened too quickly—from his speaking to her landing with a thud on the horse’s back. The skinny horse made no sound, only exerted itself to charge forward. Suzhen was still as if in a dream.

She didn’t know how the skinny horse had found him.

She didn’t know how he had instructed the skinny horse along the way—man and horse using deception simultaneously.

The skinny horse was badly injured and couldn’t carry two people. When he had told it to leave earlier, he actually wanted it to lurk outside the wall…

She hadn’t expected that Lian Yu had thought of everything.

The black-clothed man whispered state secrets in the Princess of Zhennan’s ear: “Madam, Great Zhou is on the verge of major war. He cannot send troops to Chu Kingdom and cannot threaten your parents or the prince.”

Sure enough, the Princess of Zhennan’s gaze changed, her phoenix eyes immediately filling with ruthlessness.

She then cried out, “Li Huaisu!”

At this moment, Suzhen had already landed on the horse outside the house.

That flick of the finger was the key to survival.

No matter how quickly they reacted, they were still a bit too slow!

The wind whistled past her ears with a whooshing sound. Outside the house, Suzhen turned her head to look—the Feng family residence was shrouded in dark coldness, rapidly receding—

Several black-clothed men rose from the courtyard, flying into mid-air to give chase. Another blue shadow rushed up, raising a sword to battle them, and immediately, more black and red figures spun and leaped up, surrounding him.

Tears dropped one by one onto the skinny horse’s back.

In the national examination disaster, among tens of thousands he had held her, shielding her from universal condemnation. In the imperial palace crisis, he had never abandoned or left her. At the crossroads gallop, he had pointed the way for her, helping her establish trust before the crowd. He had refuted eighteen memorial protests from high ministers to preserve her life. In the ancient shrine’s bone-chilling cold, he had protected her with the mulberry clan. At the Quan residence, one kneel…

“Champion Scholar, from now on, are you willing to serve as escort for me?”

In the Golden Luan Hall, his smile like spring breeze had sealed half a lifetime’s destiny.

Perhaps, except for their first “meeting” at the inn, when he came bearing starlight, deliberately hiding behind her—the one who had always served as escort for the other was… But the pain of family vengeance learned from her brother’s mouth, the hatred in his furious eyes when A Luo “died,” still gnawed at her heart.

“Zhen’er, I’ve already let go of the Feng family’s case. Why can’t you let go?” By her ear, a voice drifted past with a quiet sigh.

The Milky Way vast, the earthly river flowing with light, cutting through all things. Suzhen looked around at the boundless wilderness, yet there was no one there.

That day, he had hated her, been angry with her, struck her—and finally, spared her.

She suddenly pulled tight on the reins, ignoring the skinny horse’s angry neighing, turned the horse around: “If you won’t leave, then I’ll go back myself.”

Racing all the way, she returned once more to the gate of the Feng family residence.

She gently dismounted, lovingly patting the skinny horse’s forehead: “We met by chance, never expecting any return, yet unexpectedly received your greatest reward. Go on. There’s no need to accompany me to death.”

The skinny horse looked at her once, slowly walking to the riverside. It too was exhausted, at the end of its strength, but it didn’t leave, only stumbling and faltering as it munched on coarse grass there.

Suzhen watched with hot tears in her eyes. She also didn’t go in—going in would only burden him, would only bind his hands and feet. Enduring the pain in her hands and feet, she slowly walked to the pile of corpses killed earlier by the white-clothed man and picked up a sword.

She thrust the sword forcefully into the ground, then gazed intently at the residence ahead, listening to the sounds within.

If there were no more sounds inside, she would take the sword and enter—kill one if she could, and if not, die beside him.

“Li Huaisu!”

“Magistrate Li.”

Suddenly, the thunder of hoofbeats arose, and several voices came from behind. Her whole body trembled as she turned to look, seeing Lian Jie and the others galloping urgently toward her on horseback, with dozens of elite inner guards behind them.

“He’s inside, quickly!” Great joy filled her heart as she raised her hand to point the way for them. Everyone nodded, faces full of fury ready to battle the enemy to the death. Upon reaching her vicinity, they each abandoned their horses and flew up, leaping into the courtyard ahead. As Xuanwu passed by, he bent low on his horse’s belly, scooped her up with one hand, then deployed his lightness skill to place her on the eaves before jumping down to join the battle.

The situation immediately reversed, and overwhelmingly so.

Lian Qin and the others had come with fury, each killing with rising bloodlust. The black-clothed and red-clothed forces collapsed completely, blood and flesh and severed limbs flying everywhere.

Suzhen covered her mouth as she watched, seeing him covered in blood, his sword tip dripping with blood. He planted his sword in the ground, supporting his body, his sharp eyes blazing with brilliant light as he watched the blood-soaked battle.

As if sensing her watching gaze, he suddenly looked up, then cast aside his long sword, flew up to her, and covered her eyes: “Don’t look.”

His voice was hoarse but carried its constant steady strength, falling on her ears.

His palm seemed immediately scalded, trembling imperceptibly. He almost immediately held her and leaped outside the courtyard, temporarily leaving the battlefield.

“What’s wrong?” He cupped her face, somewhat frantically wiping the increasingly hot liquid falling from beneath her eyes.

“It will end soon. I’ll have people clean up the house and restore it to its original state. From now on, I absolutely won’t allow anyone to disturb your parents’ peace again. It can definitely be restored—”

He thought she was sad about her ancestral home being destroyed. His heart ached because hers ached, while simultaneously filled with overwhelming joy that in this life there was still a chance to be so close to her, to comfort her.

“Lian Yu, you didn’t die.”

He looked at the wounds on her body with heartache, wanting nothing more than to embrace her tightly in his arms, yet afraid she would be angry. His emotions were complex and intense—just as he was about to rejoice, pain became unbearable. Suddenly, her soft words made their eyes meet, and he was stunned: “What did you say?”

“I said, Lian Yu, when this matter is settled, perhaps before you return to the capital, I can take you around to various places. The local snacks here are quite good, but the one who likes eating potstickers isn’t me—it’s my brother.” Suzhen saw him completely forget himself, his gaze following only her, his eyes containing something deeply suppressed. She said slowly through her tears.

For an instant, time seemed to stop, sun and moon withdrew, all things fell silent.

The taut string in his mind snapped with a twang. Lian Yu lowered his head to look at the person before him, then suddenly turned away. Suzhen couldn’t quite read his thoughts, only feeling he wasn’t as happy as expected. Just as disappointment filled her heart and she thought herself ridiculous, he suddenly whirled around, said not a word, and fiercely kissed her lips.

…

“Leave.”

From a grove not far from the skinny horse, a ten-man team that had been urgently summoned from the inn by their master was suddenly ordered by him to return. But they were retainers who had served this family for decades—naturally they didn’t ask reasons, only strictly and quietly executed orders.

“Young Master,” seeing their master resolutely turn and walk into the deep forest, one person anxiously caught up, “Li Huaisu, she… are your injuries serious…”

The other person suddenly stopped, removed the cloth mask from his face, and threw it to the ground. He lowered the hand covering his abdomen, drew the long sword from his waist: “Lanfeng, if I still harbor any feelings from the past and touch even a thread of anything related to the Feng family daughter, let it be like this sword.”

As he spoke, he laughed toward the sky, cold light like frost in his eyes. With a muffled “pop,” a section of broken blade fell from between his fingers.

Happy Qixi Festival, everyone~