After Jingrong left, Jingxian still sat there ramrod straight, his body facing away from the doorway, the corners of his mouth gradually curving into a victorious smile.

Subsequently, he picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of hot tea.

He drank it leisurely and naturally.

Jingrong, don’t blame me. To have come to this point today is truly unavoidable.

……

Jingrong emerged from Prince Xian’s manor, where Lu Jiang was waiting outside with his men.

They had even prepared horses!

Lu Jiang immediately came forward. “Your Highness.”

With a cold, stern expression on his face, Jingrong didn’t even glance at Lu Jiang. He walked straight to his horse and asked, “How could such a major incident occur?”

“I don’t know either. The Emperor issued the edict early this morning. I’ve already quickly dispatched men out of the city to notify Lang Bo, hoping they can bury the coffin back before it’s exhumed.”

Jingrong mounted his horse in one swift motion, pulling on the reins, preparing to rush out of the city.

But—

“Your Highness,” Lu Jiang said. “Young Master Wei has disappeared.”

“What?”

“He went missing last night. Footprints were discovered on the rooftop.”

“Have you searched for him?”

“We’ve searched everywhere. Nothing.”

Jingrong gripped the reins tightly, his chest burning like fire. His sharp brows furrowed deeply. He glanced at the plaque of Prince Xian’s manor, his eyes flashing with a piercing chill.

Then he said, “Continue sending people to search. Even if you have to turn the entire capital upside down, you must find him for me.”

“Yes!”

He spurred his horse and rode out of the city.

Lu Jiang and several guards also quickly mounted their horses and followed behind.

Outside the city.

Lang Bo received the message Lu Jiang had sent from within the city.

Shocked.

“Even if we send the coffin back now, it’s too late, not to mention it’s broad daylight.”

Shi Ziran, however, was furious: “Where did the Emperor hear about the dragon’s head and tail? What a coincidence too—why didn’t he excavate it at some other time, but now!”

Not knowing what to do, Ji Yunshu glanced at the skeletal remains beside her, removed her gloves, and after calm deliberation, said, “Even if they’re going to excavate Duke Yuguo’s tomb, they’ll need to prepare another burial site first. By then, no one will pay much attention to Duke Yuguo’s tomb. So, if we want to return the coffin, the only way is to have Commander Xiao arrange the people at the mausoleum first, then take advantage of the gap when they’re searching for a new burial site to reinstall the coffin back in place.”

It was actually a good idea.

“That’s the only option.”

Everyone agreed!

So, Lang Bo arranged for people to cover the coffin, tie it with ropes, and prepare to carry it back to Ji Mountain.

He worried, “Miss Ji, you only looked at the skeletal remains for such a short time. Is there any problem?”

She said, “I’ve already marked most of the important points. If we need to create a portrait, the later stages might take quite a bit longer, but there should be no problem.”

“That’s good then.”

Thus, the group carried the coffin out of the small residence, but just as they emerged, they encountered a group of people.

About twenty or so.

These people were coarsely dressed, glaring with fierce expressions, burly and rough.

They blocked Lang Bo and his group.

A scar-faced man in the lead stepped forward and said, “This territory is under our management. You’re doing business here—shouldn’t you pay some operation fees?”

Lang Bo looked at them coldly. “Do you know who we are?”

“Don’t care who you are!”

“I never expected there would be bandits even outside the capital.”

Upon hearing the word “bandits,” the scar-faced man let out a cold laugh. “We are bandits! In any case, if you don’t leave something behind today, don’t expect to leave.”

The bandits all drew their large sabers.

Lang Bo and his men also drew their sharp swords.

“Kill them all!”

Dozens of bandits swarmed forward!

The two groups clashed in fierce combat.

The opposing side had many people, while Lang Bo had only brought seven or eight!

The enemy outnumbered them greatly!

Some bandits even charged directly at Ji Yunshu, their eyes filled with killing intent, their large sabers like bloodthirsty hungry wolves, wanting only her life.

Fortunately, Shi Zijin was there protecting her!

The bandits still couldn’t get close.

Several other bandits turned their attention to that coffin, raising their large sabers and rushing over, swiftly cutting the ropes binding it and working together to kick the coffin over.

“Bang!” With a loud sound, the coffin toppled over. The coffin lid was thrown open, and the skeletal remains inside along with some burial goods tumbled out, mixing together in a scattered mess. That skeleton scattered everywhere, covered with snow and filthy mud from the ground—a scene of complete chaos. But those men didn’t seem to be seeking wealth at all. They completely ignored the burial goods, instead stepping forward to stomp and break the already disordered bones. Those they couldn’t break with their feet, they hacked apart with their large sabers. Even that skull was chopped into pieces by the large sabers. This still wasn’t enough—one of them took out a flask of liquor and poured it over the coffin, then pulled out a fire striker and swung it forcefully.

Whoosh!

Instantly, flames engulfed the entire coffin.

They clearly weren’t seeking wealth, but lives!

Seeing this, Ji Yunshu cried out loudly, “No!”

She wanted to rush forward, but Shi Zijin held her back!

Another ten or twenty bandits emerged from the surroundings, all turning their attention toward Ji Yunshu, seemingly deliberately targeting her. One of them rushed behind her, raising his saber to strike at her. She gritted her teeth, seized the man’s wrist, and pressed her thumb forcefully on the meridian point at his wrist bone.

“Ah!”

The man cried out in pain. His hand loosened and the saber dropped. Immediately, Shi Zijin turned around, kicked the man in the stomach, and pulled Ji Yunshu toward the residence to run.

But the bandits emerging from all around surrounded the two of them.

Because she had to protect Ji Yunshu while fighting enemies, even though Shi Zijin’s martial arts were excellent, she was still slashed twice on her arm.

“Zijin.” Ji Yunshu’s eyes widened.

Shi Zijin gasped for breath, not caring about the wounds on her arm, but pushed Ji Yunshu toward the house.

“Miss, don’t go in there.”

“But you…”

“I can still hold on.”

Before she could say anything more, Shi Zijin pushed her inside the house and immediately used her sword handle to fasten the two iron rings on the door.

She was locked inside, her hands desperately pounding on the door.

“Zijin, Zijin…”

She called out with all her might!

To no avail!

She could only see the situation outside through the crack in the door.

Outside, over ten bandits rushed forward. Shi Zijin stood before the door, wielding the sword in her hand, fighting desperately to protect the door behind her.

Flashing blades and swords!

Blood flowing freely!

One figure after another fell!

One corpse after another was stained with blood!

Shi Zijin finally couldn’t hold on any longer. A large saber suddenly pierced through her stomach, penetrating through her back.

Ugh!

In that instant, Ji Yunshu’s face filled with horror. Her entire body trembled. Her pale white hands gripped the door handle fiercely, her fingernails seemingly embedding into the wood grain, drawing blood.

She watched helplessly as the large saber was pulled out of Shi Zijin’s body.

Blood splattered onto the ground, the door, the pillars…

Even through that crack, it splattered onto Ji Yunshu’s body, her hair, her face, and into those crimson, moist eyes.

Her eyes were covered in fresh blood, yet she didn’t blink even once. Blood and tears mixed together, red and piercing.

In this moment, her mind was blank.

Her body was cold.

“Thud!”

A tremendous sound!

Shi Zijin’s body heavily struck the door behind her. Slowly sliding down.