“Ah…”

Seeing this situation, Xiao Yaxuan screamed in terror, instinctively wanting to hide, but with her hands and feet bound, she couldn’t run even if she wanted to.

Her scream attracted the attention of the black-clad men, two of whom headed in her direction after hearing her.

Seeing waves of black-clad men surrounding the house inside and out, Mu Yunjin’s eyes flashed fiercely. She mobilized her true qi and raised her palm to strike the first batch of black-clad men who rushed through the door.

“Bang…”

With Mu Yunjin’s palm strike, the ancient little house couldn’t withstand the force. The wall collapsed along with it, falling on top of several black-clad men.

Outside, the villagers who had been watching the commotion had already fled back to their homes in fear.

Bei Qili protected Chu Qingyan, his expression grim at the sudden appearance of so many attackers. “Where did all these people come from!”

“Prince Brother, take Qingyan and leave first. I can handle this alone,” Mu Yunjin glanced at Bei Qili and said.

Bei Qili nodded without hesitation. Taking Chu Qingyan’s hand, they quickly escaped through the path Mu Yunjin had cleared for them.

He trusted his Imperial Sister. Having just seen her split a wall with a light palm strike, he now believed what Chu Qingyan had told him earlier.

He promptly took Chu Qingyan, who couldn’t fight, away to get reinforcements.

After Bei Qili and Chu Qingyan left, Mu Yunjin had no more concerns. She stood alone in front of Xiao Yaxuan, blocking the black-clad men.

“Quick, kill Xiao Yaxuan! There will be a reward!”

At this moment, someone shouted, and the attacking black-clad men were instantly energized.

With another ‘bang,’ the wall behind Xiao Yaxuan was broken through, and several black-clad men emerged, slashing toward her.

Mu Yunjin frowned. She didn’t know who would go to such lengths to kill Xiao Yaxuan, but this was a village with many residents nearby, and it was inappropriate for bloodshed to occur here.

With this thought, she used her Phoenix Tail Whip to wrap around Xiao Yaxuan’s waist, leaping upward and escaping through the roof that had been punctuated with several holes, quickly retreating from the village.

The remaining black-clad men hurriedly pursued.

“Miss, please untie my hands and feet first so I can escape too!” Xiao Yaxuan, being dragged away by Mu Yunjin, was filled with panic.

She didn’t know who had appeared to kill her, nor did she know who this woman before her was. She only wanted to escape from the North Ming Kingdom.

Mu Yunjin glanced at Xiao Yaxuan and chuckled lightly. “Look behind you. How many black-clad men are chasing you? Where could you run to?”

Hearing this, Xiao Yaxuan looked back and indeed saw a large wave of black-clad men in pursuit.

In the night, amidst the flashing blades and swords, Xiao Yaxuan suddenly regretted her choices.

Had she known she would face death outside, she might as well have stayed obediently in the North Border Secret Prison.

Upon reaching an open area, Mu Yunjin suddenly stopped, landing steadily on the ground and turning to face the approaching black-clad men.

“Why have you stopped running?” Xiao Yaxuan became even more anxious seeing Mu Yunjin halt.

“Silence.” Mu Yunjin rebuked her, withdrawing the Phoenix Tail Whip.

Xiao Yaxuan immediately didn’t dare to breathe.

After the black-clad men stopped on the open ground, their leader stepped forward and looked at Mu Yunjin. “Miss, may I ask your name?”

“Why? Do you want to become sworn brothers with me?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, speaking teasingly.

The black-clad man’s eyes darkened, but still restraining his anger, he said, “Miss, you have no relation to this woman surnamed Xiao. Why involve yourself in this trouble? Why not hand her over to us to deal with and avoid a fierce battle between us?”

The black-clad man looked at Mu Yunjin, secretly thinking that if this woman dared to face their group of more than ten people alone, she must be a formidable opponent. Better to avoid trouble when possible.

“It won’t be a fierce battle. I don’t consider a few of you worth my attention,” Mu Yunjin pouted. Xiao Yaxuan had escaped from the secret prison, and her fate should be decided by her father.

Hearing Mu Yunjin’s arrogant words, the black-clad men were instantly filled with anger. One by one, they drew their knives and pointed them at Mu Yunjin.

The leader gestured with his hand, patiently asking once more, “May I ask the lady’s honorable name?”

“Mu Yunjin.”

Upon hearing this, the black-clad man’s face froze, and he instinctively clenched his fist. “Princess Jinhua?”

“Yes, it’s me,” Mu Yunjin smiled.

Hearing this confirmed answer, the black-clad man quietly stepped back two paces and said to the other black-clad men, “Retreat!”

With that, he swiftly fled.

Among those black-clad men, some had heard of Mu Yunjin’s name, while others had never heard of it. Though curious about why they were retreating, they had no choice but to follow.

More than ten black-clad men, after hearing Mu Yunjin’s name, instantly departed.

The open area was once again left with only Mu Yunjin and Xiao Yaxuan.

“Mu Yunjin, you are Mu Yunjin?” Xiao Yaxuan shrank back, looking at Mu Yunjin with terror.

While in the secret prison, she often heard Chu Qing and Rong Min mention this name. They harbored a deep hatred for the owner of this name. The main purpose of escaping from the secret prison this time was to eliminate Mu Yunjin.

But now, this woman before her said she was Mu Yunjin?

Wouldn’t that mean they had all failed?

“When did I become so famous…” Mu Yunjin curled her lips, smiling self-mockingly.

Xiao Yaxuan bit her lip, not knowing how to respond. After thinking, she said, “Why did you let those people go? Don’t you want to know who wants to kill me?”

“I already know who it is,” Mu Yunjin approached Xiao Yaxuan, untied the ropes from her feet, and dragged her toward the city.

Xiao Yaxuan’s feet had been bound for several days, so she couldn’t walk quickly. After walking for a while, she felt unsteady on her feet, about to fall at any moment.

“You just said you already know who wants to kill me?” Xiao Yaxuan looked at Mu Yunjin’s back, unable to resist asking.

Mu Yunjin made an affirmative sound.

“Can you tell me?” Xiao Yaxuan saw they were getting closer to the city, and her heart grew increasingly anxious.

“Those who address me as Princess Jinhua are mostly from the North Ming Kingdom. So in North Ming Kingdom, who would go to such lengths to kill you right now?”

After Mu Yunjin finished speaking, she felt the rope suddenly grow heavier. Turning around, she saw Xiao Yaxuan had collapsed on the ground, her body trembling slightly.

“You mean those people were sent by Wei Ru?” Xiao Yaxuan looked up at Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin didn’t answer her question.

At first, she had only thought these black-clad men were sent by Chu Qing or Rong Min, but after testing their skills, she realized those two wouldn’t send people with such limited abilities.

Moreover, Rong Min had been captured, and Wei Ru had been implicated in this matter. If this were exposed, he too wouldn’t escape responsibility.

Though he had deep feelings for Xiao Yaxuan, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to give up his promising future.

On Chu Li’s side, Rong Min should have been completely dealt with. A dead man couldn’t speak.

Thus, after killing Xiao Yaxuan to silence her, Wei Ru could consider himself to have escaped this ordeal.

Unfortunately, man’s calculations are no match for heaven’s will. Today, she had witnessed it.

“Get up. It’s already dark, and I’m tired,” Mu Yunjin tugged at the rope, signaling Xiao Yaxuan to stand.

Xiao Yaxuan said nothing, silently standing up and following Mu Yunjin into the city.

Once inside the city, Mu Yunjin wanted to use her lightness skill to take Xiao Yaxuan away, but she noticed Xiao Yaxuan’s gaze was fixed on a place to the west. She murmured, “The Grand Tutor’s Mansion…”

Mu Yunjin followed her gaze and indeed saw a mansion.

“Can you let me see my father? I haven’t seen him for five years. I don’t know how the old man is doing now.” Speaking of this, Xiao Yaxuan’s voice became choked. Her father had only her as a daughter, yet she had been so unfilial.

“Your father passed away three years ago. The Grand Tutor’s Mansion now has a new owner,” Mu Yunjin said with a slight frown.

Hearing this, Xiao Yaxuan stumbled, nearly falling again. Her eyes widened, and tears instantly flowed down her face. She couldn’t suppress her sobs.

At this moment, a squad of imperial guards suddenly ran from a distance. The leader held a torch and ran toward Mu Yunjin.

“Greetings, Princess Jinhua,” a guard bowed slightly to Mu Yunjin.

“I leave this person to you,” Mu Yunjin said, handing the rope to the guard.

The guard took it, nodded, and said, “Prince Ning has sent a verbal order to this humble one. He is waiting for you at the city gate.”

“Very well, I understand.”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin no longer concerned herself with this matter and hurried toward the city gate.

Upon arriving at the city gate, Chu Li and the Black Qilin were leaning against the wall, waiting for her. Chu Li was holding little Mu’er in his arms.

“Are we leaving now?” Mu Yunjin approached, first looking at little Mu’er. Seeing he was awake, she stroked his little face.

Chu Li looked at her, seeing she had only glanced at him, but continued to play with their son. He frowned slightly. “I was planning to leave, but now I’ve changed my mind.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

As soon as Mu Yunjin finished speaking, Chu Li hoisted her onto his shoulder and walked toward the nearest inn.

The next day, Mu Yunjin slept until noon without waking up.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that they arrived at Lonely Mountain City in Nanting Kingdom.

“You two, have you been on an autumn sightseeing trip?” As soon as they reached Lonely Mountain City, State Preceptor An couldn’t help but tease them when he saw the couple walking hand in hand.

“Who knew this sudden plague was a conspiracy? We weren’t idle in North Ming Kingdom,” Mu Yunjin looked at State Preceptor An, her right hand unconsciously rubbing her sore waist.

State Preceptor An raised his eyebrows. “That youngster Huang Yan has also captured Chu Qing and brought him back. He’s currently imprisoned in Nanting Kingdom’s dungeon.”

“Mm, how are the villagers here doing?” Mu Yunjin looked toward the direction of the village.

“After Hua Ying brought the Heshan Lotus, Qinghuan used it as a catalyst in the medicine. After trying several doses, there’s been some effect,” State Preceptor An said with satisfaction.

Mu Yunjin nodded slightly. “That’s good.”

“Speaking of which, these two young men are truly capable, even escaping from the North Border Secret Prison. It seems the dead are the least troublesome,” State Preceptor An sighed.

“Yes, indeed they’re capable. Not only did they get a female prisoner to help them, but after escaping, they also had a North Ming Kingdom commander waste a lot of manpower. Otherwise, with just the two of them, they couldn’t have collected all the Heshan Lotus from four kingdoms in such a short time,” Mu Yunjin said.

State Preceptor An didn’t know about this. “A female prisoner and a commander? How did they connect?”

“Mm, they’ve all been captured and detained now. According to the North Ming Kingdom’s laws, they’ll be tried accordingly,” Mu Yunjin smiled faintly.

“Interesting, you must tell me all about it in detail…”