Mu Jinghu was burning with anxiety. Due to his foolishness and inability to be flexible, he had already wasted an entire day. During this time, he didn’t know if anyone above had come to pursue and kill, and he had no idea what dangers Qin Yining might encounter staying beside that group of bandits.

Mu Jinghu knew his own temperament – he was stingy, wooden-headed, and not clever. His character was passable, but he also had an unreliable master uncle dragging him down from behind. Having finally gained a good friend like Pang Xiao, Mu Jinghu truly didn’t want to lose him. Moreover, a good man should keep his word – since he had promised Pang Xiao to protect Qin Yining, how could he break his promise?

He was anxious to hurry on the road, but unfortunately Tianji Zi’s horsemanship was truly poor. Going slightly faster would make him sway unsteadily and nearly fall off the horse.

Mu Jinghu had no choice: “Master Uncle, why don’t I take you with me? Let’s share one horse?”

“You take me?” Tianji Zi curled his lips in disdain: “I won’t. If you’re really that anxious, go ahead first. I can ride slowly behind.”

Mu Jinghu was both angry and helpless. If they went any slower, what if something happened to her? But looking at Tianji Zi’s innocent face, Mu Jinghu was completely at a loss. This was his master uncle, his responsibility – he couldn’t hit him, couldn’t scold him, couldn’t persuade him or make him listen. Mu Jinghu even suspected that his grand-master had deliberately gone traveling for so many years without any news just to avoid his master uncle…

“If I could leave, I would have left long ago. Master Uncle clearly knows I couldn’t possibly abandon you, so don’t say such things anymore.” Mu Jinghu sighed.

Tianji Zi clicked his tongue twice. Seeing Mu Jinghu looking both excited and angry yet completely helpless with her, he knew that if he continued playing around, Mu Jinghu might well fly into a rage from embarrassment.

Tianji Zi softened his tone to persuade: “Don’t worry. Even if someone wants to make a move, they won’t do it close to the capital. The Qin family’s convoy is so long and has so many people – they definitely can’t travel at full speed, so they’ll be delayed a lot on the road. They can’t have gone far, so the possibility of something happening today isn’t great.”

“Really?” Mu Jinghu was half-believing and half-doubting, somewhat distrustful of Tianji Zi’s words, yet hoping everything he said was true.

Tianji Zi didn’t explain further, only snorted: “Believe it or not, it’s up to you.”

This attitude of not insisting actually made Mu Jinghu believe him, and his heart settled down.

The two traveled until night. Tianji Zi’s speed became even slower, and he complained continuously while sitting on the horse.

“Aiyo, my thighs hurt so much! My old back is about to break from all this jostling! I’m so tired I can’t stand it. Why don’t we rest for a while? Sleep a bit before continuing?”

Mu Jinghu said nothing, keeping a stern face as he stayed close beside Tianji Zi, mercilessly giving Tianji Zi’s horse a light whip.

The speed suddenly increased, and Tianji Zi nearly fell off.

“Aya! You little rascal!”

Tianji Zi cursed and swore while Mu Jinghu kept a straight face. The two pressed forward for a while longer before both unconsciously slowed their pace.

A faint trace of bloody scent drifted through the air.

Tianji Zi suddenly became serious: “Something might have happened.”

Mu Jinghu’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

“It shouldn’t be Qin Shi, right?” He knew Qin Yining didn’t have a single attendant by her side – all her companions were bandits.

But if the bandits really killed one or two people, the bloody smell wouldn’t be this strong!

The further forward they went, the stronger the bloody scent in the air became, and the more nervous Mu Jinghu grew. The bloody smell from one person being killed couldn’t possibly be this strong – could it be that the entire convoy was slaughtered?

Did the Emperor make his move?

Mu Jinghu grew anxious and pushed even harder.

Tianji Zi was quite annoyed and said sternly: “Be more steady! What’s the rush!”

But Mu Jinghu’s horse had already charged far ahead.

After turning a gentle curve, Mu Jinghu slowed down.

Under the pitch-black night sky, a bright moon hung high in the heavens. The cold moonlight clearly illuminated a scene in the wilderness that resembled hell. In the distance and nearby, corpses were everywhere. While it wasn’t exactly rivers of blood, the scene was truly too “spectacular.” The pungent bloody smell was nauseating, making even Tianji Zi and Mu Jinghu feel sick to their stomachs.

“Master Uncle, this…” Mu Jinghu suddenly stopped speaking and looked warily toward the forest.

From the deep ditches by the roadside, the grass, and the woods, over a hundred people came swiftly wielding weapons. Their weapons gleamed coldly in the moonlight, making one feel intimidated just looking at the group.

Mu Jinghu’s heart skipped a beat as he tightly grasped Tianji Zi’s horse reins.

The opponents were clearly well-trained, different from ordinary guards in their bearing – each one imposing and carrying hidden killing intent.

Tianji Zi clicked his tongue: “This is going to be trouble.” He urged his horse closer to Mu Jinghu’s side.

Mu Jinghu pressed his lips together. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the opponents forming an encirclement part to let through someone who looked very familiar.

For a moment, Mu Jinghu couldn’t remember where he’d seen this person, and his brow gradually furrowed.

Mu Jinghu couldn’t recall the opponent, but the opponent recognized him immediately.

“Capture him! He’s someone from beside Prince Zhongshun’s consort!”

“Yes!” Over a hundred people immediately responded, brandishing their weapons and charging forward.

Mu Jinghu finally grasped the fleeting thought in his mind – wasn’t this the person he’d seen when he followed Qin Yining to Jianchuan City and caused a ruckus at the Qiu family?

So these were the Qiu family’s forces!

This meant that the hundred-plus corpses on the ground were all the work of this group from the Qiu family? Did they also kill Qin Yining?

Mu Jinghu clenched his teeth, furious beyond measure. He drew the flexible sword coiled at his waist. With a sharp ringing sound through the air, the originally drooping flexible sword suddenly became rigid as steel in Mu Jinghu’s hands.

“Anyone who dares approach, don’t blame me for being merciless!”

Mu Jinghu’s aura was so fierce that it slightly slowed the steps of the Qiu family group.

Mu Jinghu seized the opportunity, grabbed Tianji Zi’s reins, and charged outward with her.

The two were on horseback, determined to break through the encirclement. Their horse speed was naturally fast, giving them a brief advantage while catching the opponents completely off guard.

However, this time the Qiu family had sent more well-trained people. Mu Jinghu had originally wanted to unexpectedly break out with Tianji Zi, but now they were stuck like glue, and this group from the Qiu family clearly didn’t care about martial arts ethics – over a hundred people actually played wheel tactics against Mu Jinghu.

Mu Jinghu’s eyes were frosty. Thinking that Qin Yining might have been killed by this group from the Qiu family who arrived first, he was filled with resentment. He truly didn’t know how he would explain this to Pang Xiao!

With his head heated, Mu Jinghu’s attacks became even more fierce.

The Qiu family people weren’t to be outdone either, all going to slash at the horses’ legs.

Mu Jinghu dodged in time, but Tianji Zi wasn’t so fortunate. He wasn’t skilled at horsemanship to begin with, and now being surrounded by so many people, plus having traveled half the night and being exhausted, when he saw someone coming to slash his mount’s legs, he was powerless to do anything.

Tianji Zi cursed Qin Yining fiercely in his heart – he should have killed her back then! All his calculations were very accurate, and he could say he had the confidence and ability to calculate all affairs under heaven. But whenever anything involved Qin Yining, everything would slip from his control and become unpredictable.

Qin Yining was the biggest variable.

At this moment, Tianji Zi’s heart was both shocked and afraid. Could it be that the catastrophic disaster he thought he’d already avoided was once again descending upon him unexpectedly because of Qin Yining?

The horse’s legs were slashed, and it neighed loudly as it crashed to the ground.

Tianji Zi screamed in terror, closing his eyes as he fell together with the horse. Before even hitting the ground, he had already imagined in his mind the miserable sight of being hacked to death by random blades.

At the critical moment, Mu Jinghu endured the opponents’ flashing blades and extended his arm to catch Tianji Zi, at least helping to reduce the force of Tianji Zi’s fall. He landed sprawled on the ground but fortunately wasn’t killed.

However, with everyone now attacking en masse, Mu Jinghu dodged the steel blade slashing toward him head-on, and Tianji Zi was once again exposed under the enemies’ blade light.

“Stop! Otherwise I’ll kill her!”

Qiu Feipou strode forward, grabbing Tianji Zi by the collar with one hand to lift him up, while his other hand seized a blade and pressed it cleanly against Tianji Zi’s neck. A line of blood trickled down due to his poor control of force.

“Stop, stop, stop! Stop!” Tianji Zi shrieked miserably in terror.

Mu Jinghu turned his face to see Tianji Zi had been captured, and his heart went cold.

It was over – everything was finished now.

He originally had the ability to escape this place with Tianji Zi, but Tianji Zi just happened to be caught at this moment, and he couldn’t possibly ignore his life or death.

Could this be the bloody disaster he had calculated?

“Still won’t stop?” Qiu Feipou sneered coldly: “I know you’re a guard beside Prince Zhongshun’s consort. I also know you’re Qiu Feishan’s husband! As long as you surrender without resistance, I won’t kill you. Otherwise, I’ll finish her off right now!”

Mu Jinghu’s heart raced even faster. His grip on the sword tightened and loosened, loosened and tightened again. It seemed Qiu Yuanming had arranged spies outside – otherwise how would he know that Qiu Feishan had married him?

With the blade at her neck, the stinging wound further agitated Tianji Zi’s emotions: “Why aren’t you agreeing? Are you trying to take this opportunity to get me killed?”

Her loud shout finally made Mu Jinghu decide.

He couldn’t let his master uncle die – otherwise wouldn’t that be betraying his sect?

Mu Jinghu dropped the flexible sword in his hand.

The Qiu family assassins around him immediately stepped forward, twisted Mu Jinghu’s arms behind his back, and tied him up like a rice dumpling with rope.

Tianji Zi was kicked once, cried out loudly as he fell to the ground, then was also grabbed and tied together with Mu Jinghu in a string.

Qiu Feipou looked around and said: “Having these two to return and report is also good. Let’s go!”

His subordinates all responded in unison, escorting Mu Jinghu and Tianji Zi away.

Though Mu Jinghu was slow to react, he immediately understood.

That person had just said taking them back to “report was also good,” which meant these people had not completed their original mission.

They must have been sent to ambush the Qin family’s funeral convoy, but now they hadn’t succeeded.

So these bandit corpses all over the ground – were they perhaps the work of people arranged by the current Emperor?

Whether Qin Yining was alive or had already been killed by Li Qitian’s people?

Mu Jinghu couldn’t figure it out and could only be taken with Tianji Zi to a Qiu family stronghold near Jianchuan.

However, ten days later, Pang Xiao returned with Qin Yining to the gates of the old capital.