Tie Ci’s intuition was remarkable – she had already stopped and remained motionless. Rong Wei crouched down, feeling around on the ground covered with scattered branches, then stood up and looked around in all directions before suddenly leaping into the air.

Like a great bird, he was on the opposite tree in the blink of an eye. After a moment, branches bounced and there was a crisp “clang” sound.

With a crack, a branch as thick as an arm broke and fell. Wild birds throughout the forest were startled, flapping their wings as they rushed toward the night sky.

Rong Wei flew down, his robes billowing in the air, now holding a crossbow. He signaled to Tie Ci that she could move.

Tie Ci’s gaze contracted.

Crossbows were controlled weapons, but lately, she kept seeing crossbows everywhere.

She flicked her toe and picked up a steel wire – this was a mechanism buried under her feet, connected to the crossbow in the tree. As long as someone stepped on it and lifted their foot, the pre-aimed crossbow would fire.

With the crossbow’s power and the current distance, there was an eighty to ninety percent chance it would punch a hole through the chest of whoever stepped on it.

Wire in her palm, Tie Ci didn’t pause and suddenly spun around.

“Stop!”

A streak of black light shot out like lightning.

The sound of fleeing came from deep in the forest, then abruptly stopped.

As Tie Ci struck, Rong Wei’s crossbow also released. The string hummed, aimed in another direction.

There was a sound of someone falling, accompanied by a scream.

Tie Ci called urgently: “Leave them alive!”

Rong Wei had already swept out, and Tie Ci followed, rushing toward the one she had hit with the steel wire.

Rong Wei had used a crossbow – that one might already be dead, but it didn’t matter. This one was just pierced by steel wire. As long as he wasn’t unlucky enough to have his heart pierced, he wouldn’t die.

But when Tie Ci reached him and turned over the fallen man, she saw his forehead bloody, with a sharp stone on the ground.

This person’s luck was truly so bad that he hit a sharp stone when he fell?

Tie Ci placed her hopes on the one on Rong Wei’s side, but walking over to look, the crossbow bolt had hit right through the heart.

In the dark forest with unclear directions, one couldn’t blame others for hitting vital spots. She said nothing and crouched down to carefully examine the two men.

Both had sturdy builds, rough skin, and callused fingers – they looked like northern warriors.

They carried no identifying marks, and even the fire lacquer seals had been removed from the crossbows.

But the crossbow design differed from Great Qian military equipment.

Jiusui, Liaodong, and Xirong all might use crossbows different from Great Qian’s.

But currently, none of these three parties seemed to have reason to target her.

Tie Ci suddenly remembered something and hurried to leave. Noticing Rong Wei gripping his wrist, she remembered his injury and quickly grabbed his hand: “Your wrist is injured – how can you still draw the bow so fiercely?”

After checking – the front end was slightly split, but it wasn’t serious – she took out her wound medicine and applied it again. “I need to return to town.”

Rong Wei seemed to be thinking about something, nodding somewhat absent-mindedly. The two returned to town again. The group of reveling students’ feast wasn’t over yet. Tie Ci instructed Dan Shuang, who had been waiting all along, to settle the bill. Tonight they could play whatever they wanted, except no payment for flower wine. She went downstairs to find the storyteller, but he had already left. When she asked the owner, he said the storytellers here came and went as they pleased – just give them a cut and they could tell stories in the shop. He didn’t ask about their backgrounds and didn’t know this person, who had only arrived in the past couple days.

After asking around the shop and outside, no one actually knew this storyteller. Tie Ci had to give up. She thought when Chi Xue returned with the map, she’d have Dan Shuang accompany her to visit Lingquan Village again to see if Murong Duan was still there.

Murong Duan was, after all, the second prince of Liaodong. He had family, friends, and subordinates. Earlier she had Murong Duan write home, planning to infiltrate Liaodong by gaining their trust, then lure Murong Duan’s people in. By the time calculation, her Nine Guards should arrive then, perfect for catching them all in one net.

According to her arrangements, even if Liaodong people came to rescue Murong Duan, it should be her infiltrators doing the rescuing, ensuring Murong Duan wouldn’t actually be saved.

But now clearly something had gone wrong – those who came to rescue Murong Duan were his own people.

How had the Liaodong people detected the problem so quickly? Tie Ci couldn’t quite figure it out.

It was just a coincidence.

Originally, she and Feiyu had simultaneously begun extorting Murong Duan. To avoid attention, each only chose half the money and one letter home.

The problem was neither knew the other had also acted, so there became two letters home and the silver became the full amount.

Murong Duan’s wife held power in the household and naturally felt something was wrong, urgently dispatching people to investigate.

Though Tie Ci wasn’t clear why this was exposed so early, she wasn’t too worried.

Lingquan Village was full of experts – not just anyone could enter. These people, newly arrived, shouldn’t be able to find their way there.

So what was this storyteller doing? Deliberately spreading news about Murong Duan?

And at the rare time when she came down to town.

Did the storyteller reveal Murong Duan’s information, draw his people to investigate, then indicate her whereabouts so Murong Duan’s people could ambush and kill her?

The crossbows meant assassination – the other party didn’t want to capture her to ask about Murong Duan’s whereabouts, so they should have already learned Murong Duan’s location.

Also, since these people had come after her, what about Feiyu?

Thinking of Feiyu, Tie Ci felt strange – this person’s image in her mind was gradually blurring, yet the name remained clearly etched there, impossible to erase.

She knew this courtesan’s origins were mysterious and unfathomable. When the courtesan encountered these events, was it accidental or purposeful?

She appeared and disappeared like a divine dragon – always mysteriously vanishing. Was she safe now?

Academy affairs were almost finished too. She should hurry to investigate everything clearly and leave early, lest she cause trouble that implicated her fellow students.

The drinking upstairs continued. She wanted to go up and look but heard someone inside saying: “I just received news from home today – the Crown Princess might come to inspect the academy soon.”

Tie Ci stopped. She recognized Qi Yuansi’s voice.

A chorus of surprised voices came from upstairs. Li Zhi said: “What would the Crown Princess come for? Isn’t she training in the outskirts of the imperial capital?”

Someone said: “The Crown Princess has probably wanted to come for a long time, right? I heard this news too. My uncle who serves as prefect in Penglai said the Crown Princess, under the pretext of admiring the Hairight literary circle and visiting great scholars, wants to inspect Leaping Carp Academy. Actually, she’s getting older and seeing the throne becoming unstable, so she wants to win hearts and select her future inner circle at the academy!”

Immediately there were scoffs from around the table.

“No way! A woman – isn’t it enough to be a proper puppet? What inner circle is she selecting? We scholars have studied hard for ten years in cold windows, taking the proper imperial examination path. When we enter court as officials, we serve the court and the people – how can we easily become appendages to a woman? She thinks too highly of herself!”

“Is she coveting our Leaping Carp’s abundance of talent and gathering of famous scholars? Her ambition isn’t small, but ambition must be matched by ability! She’s an empty-title Crown Princess without inheriting the imperial family’s gifted abilities. I heard she doesn’t even like reading – just a boor who only knows some archery and horsemanship. How dare she covet the academy? Or does she think that with her status, if she raises her arm and calls out, we’ll willingly be driven by her? Hasn’t she heard that scholars have proud bones?”

Everyone chimed in agreement. Someone laughed: “Don’t be so indignant – maybe she’s just been rejected in too many marriage proposals and came to the academy to pick talented and handsome ones to fill her future three palaces and six courts.”

“Haha, if she asked me to be empress I’d consider it! But being a concubine is out of the question.”

“With Yuansi here, would it be your turn?”

Qi Yuansi’s voice, drunk: “Don’t drag me into this! I already broke the engagement!”

“I heard the Crown Princess is quite beautiful – don’t you find it regrettable?”

“Bah! If I married her, I’d be the one regretting it!”

Loud laughter arose, and drunk people’s words headed toward vulgarity.

Suddenly there was a loud crash, like a stool being kicked into the wall, followed by Dan Ye’s slightly drunk voice: “Ha! The few of us just went to take a piss and you’re here farting away, making me dizzy with the stench!”

Someone angrily said: “Dan Ye, you’re being presumptuous! Don’t use your friendly nation prince status to oppress fellow students – do you think this is your Xirong?”

Bang – another loud sound, accompanied by everyone’s cries and that person’s shouts, then a snap of window shutters opening. Dan Ye said: “Get out and blow on your head!”

From the sound, he was about to throw that person out the window. This building was quite high – a fall could easily break a leg.

Tie Ci raised an eyebrow.

She had heard before about Dan Ye fighting for her, which seemed unreal at the time. Hadn’t this kid initially been antagonistic toward her with an unfriendly face? When had he changed his nature?

She hadn’t expected to witness the real thing tonight.

She headed upstairs, not wanting bloodshed over such nonsense. Otherwise, if rumors spread to the censors and the Xiao family, they’d either accuse her of bullying fellow students or charge her with colluding with foreign powers.

She had heard such talk often and long since became numb to it. But Qi Yuansi’s news was strange – when had she decided to inspect the academy as Crown Princess?

But then she heard Huyin and Rong Pu’s voices.

Huyin said: “Don’t throw!”

Tie Ci was just feeling relieved when she heard her continue: “Dare, look down on, women, might as well, castrate!”

Tie Ci: “…”

Fortunately there was Rong Pu, who remained unhurried and calm at this moment: “We’re all fellow students – we shouldn’t hurt our harmony.”

That person was delighted, and everyone quickly thanked him.

“…Throwing him down and breaking his leg would require medical compensation, and points would be deducted later,” Rong Pu said. “Use Ten Thousand Vomit Powder instead.”

Before he finished speaking, there was a thud on the floor, followed by sounds of vomiting from everyone, and an indescribable terrible stench. Tie Ci and Rong Wei fled at the smell.

As she escaped, Tie Ci thought that Rong Pu, being weak in health, had the Rong family seek famous masters for him. The teacher was said to be an extraordinary expert, and the Rong family kept this secret. She couldn’t probe, but since Rong Pu dared to travel without martial arts, he must have plenty of life-saving and harmful items. At least this Ten Thousand Vomit Powder was good – she’d ask him for some later.

She was curious – would they really vomit ten thousand times? This smell was simply like defecating through the mouth.

It was quite fitting for those foul mouths.

Downstairs, she instructed Dan Shuang to settle the wine bill as usual, but let those idiots compensate for dirtying the restaurant and pay cleaning fees themselves.

She took the cats and requested a carriage with Rong Wei to return to the academy first. On the road, Rong Wei ignored her the whole time. Tie Ci felt awkward and tried to start conversation: “Wonder how many days that group will keep vomiting.”

Rong Wei didn’t even open his eyes, saying lazily: “Serves them right.”

Tie Ci felt somewhat better: “You also think it was excessive how they talked about the Crown Princess?”

“What kind of men talk about women behind their backs?” Rong Wei said. “If they really don’t like her, just kill her.”

Tie Ci: “…”