When Qin Shangwu first met Ji Bozai, he said that this man appeared gentle and harmless, but his inner resentment was extreme. Without proper guidance and suppression, he could bring disaster to Qingyun. Thus, he took him as a personal disciple, nurturing him with care.
For so long, Ji Bozai hadn’t shown any resentment even when facing tough opponents, so Qin Shangwu had let his guard down.
Unexpectedly today, just as he and Chu He reclaimed the beast carriage, they felt an exceptionally turbulent aura gradually enveloping the entire inner court. The guards who originally intended to pursue them felt chills down their spines, gradually stopping and looking up in confusion.
All fighters are particularly sensitive to the aura of those stronger than themselves, but no one could identify this powerful and resentment-filled aura. It was too unfamiliar.
The guards who realized this instinctively rushed towards the Imperial Court’s palace, fearing someone might harm their sovereign.
“Hurry!” Qin Shangwu boarded the beast carriage, leading Luo Jiaoyang and the others straight to the dock.
“Master, he seems to have lost control,” Luo Jiaoyang worriedly looked at the sky outside the carriage. “Aren’t we waiting for him?”
“Wait, he’ll come to the dock,” Qin Shangwu had Chu He drive the beast, running at incredible speed.
Luo Jiaoyang frowned.
Ji Bozai was formidable, but when out of control, he’d hardly be rational. How could he make it to the dock in such a state?
High-level fighters in the inner court began searching for the source of this aura. Ji Bozai still stood motionless on the palace path, his red robe almost dyed black, the surrounding dark mist gradually thickening.
A white light flashed, suddenly tearing open a gap in the gathering black mist.
Ji Bozai coldly turned his head, about to attack the newcomer, when his fingers were gently grasped.
“This Sunrise River Flower robe looks quite good in black too.” She chuckled softly, her soft lips just brushing his cheek, and then both hands hugged his arm, pulling him forward to run.
The scent of green bamboo filled his nostrils, clearing his mind somewhat. He finally saw the face of the person beside him.
“Shook off the pursuers?” His voice was hoarse.
Mingyi smiled with curved eyes: “Thanks to Your Excellency’s aura of resentment, my pursuers are gone, and even the sentries ahead have rushed to the Imperial Court’s main hall.”
Now was the best chance to escape.
Ji Bozai pressed his lips together, embracing her waist, and together they leaped over several sentry posts, heading straight for the highest courtyard wall.
Usually, this place would be guarded by divine artifacts and high-level fighters, but with a patrol finding the Concubine’s corpse outside another high wall, and the resentful aura causing chaos in the inner court, forces were being redirected inward, leaving only about ten guards here.
Ji Bozai carried Mingyi up, and she took out Starry River Sunset, deflecting all the hidden weapons flying from the wall. He landed, immediately killing four guards, then without lingering, turned back to grasp Mingyi’s outstretched hand, leaping down with her.
Facing the fierce wind, Mingyi clung tightly to his body, even her toes tensed.
Sensing her fear, Ji Bozai chuckled lowly, the last trace of resentment dissipating from his body, the river flowers on his robe once again red as fire.
“Is the Ming family’s direct descendant afraid of heights?”
“Usually not, but Your Excellency, this is at least a hundred zhang high.”
“Then I’ll let go.”
Mingyi:?
She grumbled, “How would my death benefit you!”
He raised an eyebrow, truly loosening his grip. She yelped, immediately using both hands and feet to cling to him tightly, her face bumping his jaw, causing her to grimace in pain.
It had been a long time since she’d been so close to him voluntarily. Ji Bozai looked down, even thinking it would be nice if this place were a bit higher.
Unfortunately, they reached the ground in an instant.
Using thick Yuan Power as a buffer, he rolled with her, dodging the hidden weapons flying from behind. He looked around, momentarily confused.
“Southeast direction,” Mingyi pointed.
He immediately sprinted in the direction she indicated.
Once out of the inner court guards’ sight, Mingyi wanted to get down and run herself, but Ji Bozai showed no intention of letting go, supporting her legs with one hand and holding her to his chest, their skin temperatures gradually merging through their clothes.
Her ear tips reddening, Mingyi turned her face away.
His pace was indeed faster, reaching the dock in the blink of an eye.
Chaoyang City had north and south docks. The beast carriage Lady Yan had provided earlier was at the north dock. By now, the inner court had likely realized Ji Bozai had escaped and sent pursuers, but they were all heading to the north dock.
The two arrived at the south dock, successfully boarding their original beast carriage.
“Thank goodness, a close call but safe,” Luo Jiaoyang sighed in relief seeing the board. Outside, Chu He immediately drove the carriage, flying across Qingyun.
“The Chaoyang inner court’s defenses are truly strict. How did you escape?” Fan Yao excitedly looked at Mingyi. “Quick, tell us!”
Her ear tips are still red, Mingyi sat down, fanning herself with her hand, uncomfortably saying, “Lady Yan has been in the inner court for years. Though demoted, she still has many loyal people. When she heard Ji Bozai was willing to eliminate Concubine Meng for her, she cooperated fully, arranging the guards near Qingyou Hall. Leaving from there wasn’t difficult.”
The difficult part was the path out afterwards, and that high courtyard wall. Fortunately, Ji Bozai’s loss of control attracted a large number of patrols, making it a close call but ultimately successful.
“Given Chaoyang City’s tyrannical nature, they’ll likely send pursuers now, even to Muxing City,” Mingyi glanced at the vast sea of clouds behind them. “We can’t take the route back to Muxing, they’d eventually catch up.”
“Then where do we go?”
“Cangxue City typically stays out of conflicts and doesn’t obey Chaoyang City’s orders. We can take refuge there,” Mingyi pointed in a direction. “It’s closer too.”
Qin Shangwu nodded, immediately having Chu He change course.
After the group rested for a moment to catch their breath, Qin Shangwu looked at Ji Bozai excitedly: “You child, to think you wouldn’t cling to the heir position of Chaoyang City, one of the top three cities!”
Ji Bozai snorted a laugh: “Whichever city I’m in will become one of the top three.”
Everyone was shocked. Luo Jiaoyang felt inexplicably fired up: “That’s right, what’s the point of being heir to one of the top three cities? It’s better to pull Muxing City into the top three.”
Fan Yao glanced at him: “You didn’t accept Master Ji as the team leader before.”
“That was before,” Luo Jiaoyang pouted, glancing at Ji Bozai. “When Xue Sheng died so suddenly before, though it might indeed not have been your doing, you didn’t even explain. How could I trust you?”
Ji Bozai pressed his lips together without speaking, but Mingyi beside him spoke up seriously: “In the Six Cities Tournament, your trust in the team leader is extremely important. In the future, you’ll face all kinds of opponents. Others will have plenty of ways to sow discord among you and frame him. He can’t always explain himself. You need to understand what kind of person he is to better win the competition.”