Tie Ci sat on her horse, watching the battle situation gradually come under their control.

Just as she was thinking about how to leave again without drawing attention, suddenly several students rushed out, saying that those assassins who had broken into the lecture hall square, being surrounded, desperately broke into the lecture hall and caught people off guard, abducting several students.

Upon hearing this, Tie Ci immediately said, “I’ll go search for them. Chi Xue, Dan Shuang, come with me!” She spurred her horse in the direction the student pointed and galloped away.

The two maidservants followed closely. In the blink of an eye, all three figures disappeared. The student who brought the news hadn’t expected the Crown Princess would personally go search and stood there stunned with tears of emotion.

Xia Houchun chuckled, thinking they were all deceivers.

He gently petted his cat, pondering how many prisoners to keep when closing the net later—the rest could all be killed.

He wondered what expression Xiao Chang would have when he discovered his central command elite forces were completely decimated.

The kitten in his hands meowed, as if saying something.

Xia Houchun picked up the kitten, nose to nose, and answered with a grin, “Meow.”

…

Tie Ci pursued in the direction the student had pointed for a while. Gradually unable to ride the horse, she abandoned it to proceed on foot. Soon she discovered someone with slower pace dragging a student along a mountain path. She and Dan Shuang cooperated from front and back to intercept that person and rescue the student.

Tie Ci examined the assassin, who seemed to be one of the first batch of intruders. Just as she was about to interrogate his origins, he quickly committed suicide—clearly a death warrior.

Searching his body revealed no special marks. Tie Ci could only send the deeply grateful student back first. Fearing he wouldn’t know the way, she had Chi Xue accompany him back.

She continued pursuing and in a mountain hollow blocked the second person, rescuing that female student. The second person had quite good lightness skills and took the opportunity to escape.

This time the girl was somewhat injured, so Tie Ci ordered Dan Shuang to escort her back. Dan Shuang was somewhat worried, but Tie Ci laughed, “What’s to fear? Today all of Qingyang Mountain belongs to my people. All the assassins are now at their wit’s end. Even if I walked sideways, no one could stop me.”

She arranged a meeting point with Dan Shuang afterward and continued walking into the deep mountains.

The assassins who abducted people had scattered in all directions. She heard three people were taken. Having found two locations, she now had no way to search for the third. She thought Xia Houchun’s people were currently scattered throughout the mountain forests—if they encountered them, they would naturally rescue them, so there was no need to worry too much.

She took this opportunity to leave here and head to her next destination, Dongming County.

To rebuild her reputation, she had to shed her disguise, but for safety, shedding the disguise meant she had to disappear immediately.

After walking for a while, she suddenly heard wheezing, panting sounds. Tie Ci hid in the bushes and saw a black-clothed person dragging someone running over. That student seemed to have fainted, head hanging down. Looking at the indigo cloth trim on his sleeves, it was the mark of the academy’s second-class students.

Tie Ci waited for that person to approach, then swept over with a hand chop, knocking the assassin unconscious and catching the softly falling scholar with her other hand, calling softly, “Brother? Brother?”

That person raised his hand, and cold light flashed from his sleeve, stabbing directly at Tie Ci’s heart.

“Thud,” the sound of blade entering flesh was slight, but the scream was piercingly alarming.

Hot blood splattered as a body fell outward.

Wind suddenly arose on the horizon, carrying faint sea fishy scents, cool and sharp, rolling fallen leaves as it pressed forward.

Tie Ci’s hair was swept up, scattered across her head with a whoosh.

She held up her hand with a dagger between her fingers, blood dripping from the blade.

The scholar on the ground clutched his leg howling, raising a face covered in cold sweat—it was unmistakably Cui Shi.

His expression of pain and fear was mixed with amazement—he hadn’t raised his head throughout, and his appearance was sudden. How did the Crown Princess discover him?

“The student who reported told me three people were abducted, running in east, south, and west directions respectively,” Tie Ci said coldly. “The first two directions were fine, but west only leads to sheer cliffs. Anyone going there could only turn back and be caught by people I sent. I’ve already rescued people from the east and south directions. I didn’t go west, so how could I encounter anyone? That means someone was waiting for me.”

“Moreover, your pretense of being unconscious was too unconvincing—your arm muscles were tensed tight. At first glance, one would think you were about to play polo.”

Cui Shi was somewhat bewildered.

His arms were inside his sleeves—how could she see them too?

Tie Ci naturally wouldn’t explain this to him. Mountain winds whirled around them, countless times stronger than before, carrying sand and her hair to strike her face, sticky and ice-cold.

This wind pattern was somewhat strange.

She grabbed the unconscious assassin with one hand and was about to turn him over to look when she suddenly raised her head and quickly rolled away.

Thud thud thud—crossbow bolts struck where she had just stood, pinning the unconscious assassin dead to the ground.

Over ten figures slowly emerged from the darkness, forming a surrounding formation around her.

Looking at their appearance and clothing, they should belong to the first batch of assassins. Indeed, they had left people following her. Seeing their killer had failed, they revealed their true intentions.

One person stepped forward. His dress was different from the others—brocade clothes and jade belt, the bearing of an elegant young master, only his face was haggard, and despite efforts to conceal it, he still showed a slight limp when walking.

Tie Ci smiled as soon as she saw him.

“So it’s the Second Prince.”

Murong Duan, the live-in son-in-law of Lingquan Village—this time he could finally count as successfully divorced.

She wondered what kind of arduous escape process he had gone through—how did he end up lame?

Murong Duan stared at her, his eyes seeming capable of releasing a mountain of hungry wolves. “Ye Shiba, it’s been a while.”

Tie Ci made a gentle “mm” sound.

Tonight’s situation was more than half a revenge plot by this unlucky prince. Her whereabouts must have been told to him by Cui Shi.

Cui Shi seemed to have connections with Liaodong people before. She remembered when competing in archery with Senior Brother Mu, Cui Shi had seemed to deliberately go easy on the opponent and help provide cover.

She happened to want to use this group to disappear, so she smiled and slowly rolled up her sleeves.

Murong Duan stared at her coldly, but felt somewhat anxious inside.

Why hadn’t that old monster appeared yet? How were Jin Wanliang and the Ma family handling things?

Suddenly, faint sounds came from the mountain path—footsteps of someone walking slowly and laboriously. Murong Duan waved his hand, and immediately an assassin rushed into the darkness. Moments later, muffled sounds came as he dragged someone out with his arm. That person wore light, flowing gray clothes and appeared to be a woman by her figure, still clutching a rattan basket—the kind mountain women commonly used for gathering herbs.

It looked like a mountain woman who had gotten up early to gather herbs and unluckily encountered this group of killers.

Obviously the killers thought the same. The killer who held the mountain woman’s neck said, “I hear you are very benevolent and wouldn’t want an innocent mountain woman to die because of you. Put down your weapons and step back three paces.”

Three steps back would put her right into the encirclement behind her.

Tie Ci glanced at the mountain woman. She also hung her head, her lowered face snow-white, seemingly unable to walk with one leg soft and crooked on the ground.

She frowned and said cheerfully, “Fine.” She removed her short blade and threw it away.

Murong Duan added, “And that brush of yours.”

Tie Ci hesitated slightly, then said, “Fine.” She went to remove the brush.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed intently.

Just as the brush reached Tie Ci’s hand and her five fingers loosened, about to drop—

Tie Ci suddenly vanished from their field of vision.

Before everyone could react, the next instant Tie Ci had appeared before the killer who held the mountain woman hostage, raising her hand to stab. The brush tip pierced through his throat.

With a casual scoop, she gathered the mountain woman into her arms.

At this moment, the blade of someone standing beside that killer also arrived, howling as it swept horizontally across Tie Ci’s neck.

But the mountain woman’s hand fluttered out at this moment, pressing a handkerchief over his mouth and nose. That person crashed to the ground.

The two cooperated seamlessly. In the next moment, Tie Ci had already flashed away while holding her.

She had a strange feeling in her heart, as if this scene was very familiar. Looking down, the mountain woman in her arms winked at her.

Enormous joy surged in her heart. Tie Ci only felt her body grow heavy, and she silently groaned inwardly. But it was already too late. She felt her landing spot was both empty and solid. Under her feet came crackling sounds as she broke countless branches while continuing to fall. Broad leaves swept over chaotically like brooms, striking them wildly.

This time she had teleported to the treetops, and due to excessive joy, lost control of her qi, falling together.

Well, it was still better than when she first started teleporting and fell into a bird’s nest with Rong Wei.

Finally, the two got stuck on a branch, looking at each other helplessly and smiling.

The two were stuck in the tree fork, face to face very close together, able to hear each other’s breathing. Tie Ci again caught Feiyu’s characteristic light and sexy sandalwood fragrance, and for a moment her heart swayed.

But then Rong Wei’s shadow flashed through her mind.

Thinking of Feiyu when facing Rong Wei, thinking of Rong Wei when facing Feiyu.

What was wrong with her?

Tie Ci was somewhat confused, wondering if she was too sick to distinguish her feelings toward Feiyu and Rong Wei—like an irresponsible player of both sides, or a libertine who fell for anyone she met.

The wind grew stronger, carrying distant voices. Feiyu raised her finger to her lips, signaling her not to make a sound.

Soon, Murong Duan led people in pursuit, but the wind was too strong with flying sand and stones, howling throughout the mountains. They couldn’t open their eyes facing each other, let alone light torches. Everyone wandered around like headless flies. Murong Duan released several signals in succession and waited for a while. Seeing no response, he said irritably, “Where did that old thing run off to!”

After searching for a while longer, the sandstorm was too severe—someone was directly blown into a ditch. Only then did they reluctantly give up and leave with their people.

Seeing the people leave, avoiding a fight, Tie Ci also breathed a sigh of relief. Looking down, she saw Feiyu sitting on her, somehow having wrapped her arms around her neck and smiling as she looked down at her. This posture was indescribably strange—clearly it should be her clinging to Tie Ci, but it seemed like she wanted to embrace Tie Ci in her arms.

That strange feeling came to Tie Ci again. She looked up, wanting to carefully study Feiyu’s face and expression, but a gust of wind made her cry out as it got in her eyes.

Just as she was about to rub them, she heard Feiyu say, “Don’t move.” Immediately, a pair of hands gently cupped her face, and the faint sandalwood and patchouli fragrance approached as soft, warm breath brushed against her eyelids.

Too close—close enough that speaking a word could touch the top courtesan’s jaw. Tie Ci remained motionless, counting wind sounds in her heart. Her full head of black hair was blown by the wind, scattered across Feiyu’s face, obscuring both their expressions.

Suddenly she felt her eyelid slightly moisten, then Feiyu moved away, laughing, “There.”

Tie Ci’s heart began to beat faster, thinking that just now… did she use her tongue tip to lick away the sand?

Was it? Was it? Was it?

No way, no way, no way—it was raindrops in the wind, right?

But raindrops didn’t have such a soft touch…

Tie Ci shifted her body and touched something hard in her embrace—Rong Wei’s parting gift that Rong Pu had passed along, which she hadn’t had time to open yet.

Her heart suddenly became somewhat clearer, yet seemed even more chaotic. She moved to get down from the tree.

But Feiyu grabbed her, saying, “Wait!”

Tie Ci stopped, then heard a strange sound in the wind.

Like someone breathing strangely, with very long pauses. If anyone could breathe like this, their breath would be extraordinarily long.

Feiyu’s face across from her was somewhat pale.

Strong winds made all the tall trees on the mountain dance wildly like rolling waves. Tonight suddenly turned stormy, the moonlight had withdrawn, making it impossible to tell from which direction someone might come. Tie Ci closed her eyes and suddenly caught a faint fishy smell.

Somewhat like the smell of blood, yet mixed with more complex foul odors, faintly containing some fragrance that, mixed in, was even more nauseating—reminiscent of midnight coffins oozing corpse oil with black, thick flowers blooming all around.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw an additional person had suddenly appeared under the tree.

That person dragged thick brocade robes, swaying his huge head, half his body unnaturally tilted. The strong scent that even the wind couldn’t dispel was emanating from him.

While circling under the tree, he muttered, “Hmm, signal flares were fired here. Where are the people?”

It seemed the person Murong Duan had contacted earlier with signal flares was this individual. Tie Ci looked down at his gait and the wisps of black qi around him as he moved, remembering a legendary figure, and felt somewhat cold.

But the old monster seemed injured, walking crookedly for a while before finally turning to leave.

Just as Tie Ci was feeling relieved, the wind suddenly turned fierce, like a heavy punch from the sky. With a crack, a tree beside them actually fell down, falling toward Tie Ci’s side.

Tie Ci silently groaned inwardly.

The ugly old monster heard the sound and looked up.

Without needing to speak, Tie Ci and Feiyu embraced each other and leaped up simultaneously, stepping on treetops to sweep away.

Tie Ci originally wanted to escape toward the cliff side—with the wind at their backs, they could accelerate. But Feiyu wrapped around her waist and changed direction, charging forward against the wind.

The two spun a circle in the air. In this urgent moment, Tie Ci thought of “Love’s Magic Spinning in Circles” and couldn’t help wanting to laugh, seeing Feiyu’s lips curve and eyes sparkle, obviously also in good spirits.

Tie Ci immediately felt cheerful too. Though dense forest was below, strong wind above, and the old monster behind, she still felt the wind was soft, clouds were hazy, and even the dim stars were gentle.

Only the two of them fleeing against the wind was truly exhausting, especially since Feiyu’s foot seemed injured and movement was inconvenient. Tie Ci was almost half-carrying her as they fled all the way.