Ziqing could see that Yelu Qianqian was in grave danger. Though she showed no outward reaction, inwardly she was weighing every option, calculating exactly how and when to strike in order to save Yelu Qianqian’s life while minimizing the harm done.

By now, she was only seven paces from Nanny Qin.

Suddenly, a glint of cunning flashed through her eyes, and she slowly curled her fingers. At such close range, though a wind blade wouldn’t carry much force, Nanny Qin would surely never expect her to use one at all!

In an instant, she snapped her fingers, and a wind blade shot out unexpectedly. Caught completely off guard, Nanny Qin panicked and instinctively dodged—and in that moment, Ziqing seized the chance to close the distance.

But!

No one could have predicted that just as Ziqing’s dagger was about to strike home, a hidden projectile suddenly shot out and struck her wrist with brutal force. The pain made her hand go weak, and the dagger dropped from her grip!

Nanny Qin retreated at once, not even bothering to figure out who had helped her, and dragged Yelu Qianqian away as she fled.

Ziqing tried to pursue, but countless hidden projectiles suddenly rained down from every direction, forcing her to focus entirely on dodging.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!”

Ziqing shouted even as she dodged, but who would have thought—this dodging went on for a full hour. If not for her excellent stamina, and the fact that the projectiles gradually thinned out, she truly would have collapsed from exhaustion!

She had to admit—this kind of trap was utterly ruthless.

Once the projectiles finally slowed, Ziqing had no time to spare for whoever was lurking around and immediately gave chase after Nanny Qin. But it was no use—half an hour was far too long, and Nanny Qin had long since vanished without a trace!

Ziqing turned back at once, but by then, all was silent around her.

Whoever had been hiding seemed to have no intention of harming her—only of holding her back, keeping her from chasing Nanny Qin.

“Come out! Cowering like a turtle, don’t have the guts to face me?”

“Still too ashamed to show your face?”

Ziqing sneered and taunted, but all around her was silence—not a single person in sight, only the sound of the wind and the wolves’ corpses littering the ground.

It seemed everyone had gone.

Only then did Ziqing quietly let out a breath of relief, her hand instinctively pressing against her stomach again. That unexpected wind blade from Nanny Qin earlier had wounded her badly! Combined with the exhaustion of the past hour, she truly could barely hold on.

Though she couldn’t find Nanny Qin, if she simply pursued them all the way toward Xiliang, she was bound to catch up eventually!

But she had no choice but to stop and rest. The wound in her abdomen demanded it—otherwise, even if she caught up, she might not be able to win the fight.

Ziqing let out a whistle at once, summoning her messenger falcon, and sent word separately to the Shadow Guards and the emperor of Xi Jing.

Bypassing Mobei Town from here and cutting through the Mobei forest to reach Xiliang would take at least ten days, even moving at top speed. She hoped someone could get there faster than she could.

Once the message was sent, Ziqing finally relaxed a little. Though she hadn’t managed to save Qianqian, at least she’d laid eyes on her! She had to recover her strength as quickly as possible.

Paying no more mind to the wolf carcasses on the ground, Ziqing sat down at once, closed her eyes, and began circulating her energy!

But soon, a faint rustling sound suddenly came from behind her, growing louder and louder!

Though Ziqing sat perfectly still, she’d already sensed it—she didn’t know what was behind her, but she had a vague, uneasy feeling. And just then, a snarling sound suddenly rang out!

Wild wolves!

Ziqing startled and instinctively flipped up and away, and at that same moment, the pouncing wolf missed its mark, landing on the ground instead.

This… this… how could this be!

She saw more than a dozen wild wolves emerging one after another from the underbrush, all glaring at her with hungry eyes, snarling ferociously!

Ziqing glanced at the wolf corpses on the ground and suddenly understood, a chill running through her.

This pack of wolves must have only just arrived—they’d misunderstood, thinking she was the one who had killed the wolves on the ground!

They must think the alpha’s earlier signal to them had been a call for help!

However attuned to spirits wild wolves might be, they were still untamed, still beasts after all!

There were already a dozen or so wolves before her now, and judging by the commotion in the forest just moments ago, there had to be far more than that. How many more were still out there?

Never mind how many more there were—given the wound in her abdomen and her not-yet-recovered strength, even dealing with this dozen or so wolves wouldn’t be easy.

She had only one option left: flee this forest as quickly as possible!

Soon, the dozen or so wolves spread out, surrounding Ziqing from every direction. Mouths agape, panting, saliva dripping from their fangs, they hadn’t come only to avenge their fallen kin—they’d come to hunt as well!

They could pounce at any moment!

Before they could move, Ziqing moved first. Gritting her teeth against the pain in her abdomen, she leapt up abruptly, soaring skyward, and at the same instant unleashed several blades of wind in quick succession!

But her strength was limited after all—the wind blades only wounded three or four wolves. She couldn’t stay airborne for long and had no choice but to land in a tree.

Yet the moment she landed, several wolves began climbing up after her. The wild wolves of Xi Jing were even more agile and nimble than leopards, and in no time at all they’d swarmed up around Ziqing.

Ziqing gripped her dagger tightly, knowing her chance had come!

The space in the tree was limited—the wolves couldn’t attack all at once, only one at a time!

Facing them one by one, she could still manage!

But just then, a young girl suddenly burst out of the underbrush, waving a torch and shouting at the wolves, “Come on, come get me!”

This…

Was this girl out of her mind? Practically begging to die!

That was Ziqing’s first thought.

The wild wolves of Xi Jing couldn’t stand provocation—the instant they spotted the girl, they all abandoned the tree at once and charged straight at her.

Ziqing could clearly see the girl’s face had gone ashen, yet she still put on a brave front, swinging her torch to keep the wolves at bay.

Wolves feared fire, after all!

But did she really think that alone would keep her safe?

This dozen or so wolves would absolutely wait her out until the torch burned itself dead!

Who on earth was this foolish girl, and where had she come from?

“Hey, girl, hurry and gather some dry firewood to build a fire—my torch won’t last much longer!” the young girl shouted.

Ziqing’s expression at that moment could not have been darker. If not for this girl, she would already have dealt with the wolves one by one!

She wanted her to go build a fire, of all things?

Did she not realize wolves could wait out a bonfire dying down just as easily as a torch?

In this freezing cold, trying to outlast wild wolves—wasn’t that just asking for trouble, plain and simple?

Ziqing had no energy left to explain and snapped sharply, “Can you climb trees?”

The young girl jumped, startled. Why was this woman so fierce?

“Can you or not?” Ziqing barked impatiently.

“I can!” the girl answered at once.

“I’ll lure them away. You climb up the tree, guard your torch carefully, stay put, and don’t let them get close!” Ziqing instructed earnestly.

“You… what are you going to do?” the girl asked, confused.