The Yu family guards conducted regular patrols of the surrounding area every night. Today, they found a pile of wrinkled, greasy paper used for wrapping pancakes in the alley across the street.

The guard found it suspicious and immediately reported it to Yu Huanchen.

“Someone has been watching day and night, the target is probably me,” Yu Huanchen rubbed the greasy paper, removing crumbs from his fingertips. “Search the surrounding area carefully.”

The guard obeyed, and results came in less than a cup of tea’s time.

Seven or eight zhang away, at the end of the alley hidden among scattered debris, there were two or three droplets of blood.

“The blood is still fresh, not more than half an hour old,” the guard reported. “However, there are no signs of fighting in the area, nor any wounded or bodies.”

Yu Huanchen frowned, his heroic eyebrows knitting together.

Did they escape, or were they cleaned up thoroughly?

Was it the Eastern Palace or the eunuch faction who made the move?

Regardless of which faction acted, their intentions were malicious…

Thinking of his wife and youngest sister who had happily departed in the carriage, Yu Huanchen’s expression changed.

“Not good,” he suddenly stood up and strode forward. “Prepare a horse immediately!”

The sun had not yet completely set, and a wave of heat greeted them when they went out.

Su Wan pulled Yu Lingxi to the Ice Pavilion to sit for a while, enjoying two bowls of plum ice drink and papaya pastry. Only when the sun rolled behind the rooftops and the evening breeze began to stir did they board the carriage to return home?

Inside the carriage, a bronze ice chamber emitted cool air, freezing a freshly made grape curd.

The grapes Ning Yin often bought were very sour; he ate them without changing expression, but Yu Lingxi found them painfully sour to look at.

As luck would have it, the Ice Pavilion’s grape curd was in season, sweet and milky, much more delicious than what he bought. She casually picked up a portion, planning to bring it back for him to taste.

“Suisui, do you think this jade looks better with a light green tassel or this dark blue one?” Su Wan brought over several tassel samples, looking quite hesitant.

Yu Lingxi closed the ice chamber with her delicate hand, took the two tassels, and compared them. “Light green is fresh, but my brother is after all a military officer, so dark blue is more steady…”

Before she could finish, the carriage driver let out a “whoa!” and the carriage suddenly stopped.

Yu Lingxi and Su Wan bumped into each other, both letting out a soft groan.

“Young Madam, Miss,” Qingxiao said from outside the carriage, “A peddler’s cart has overturned ahead, blocking the road. I’ve ordered people to clear the scene. Please wait a moment.”

Yu Lingxi lifted the carriage curtain and looked ahead.

About a zhang away, a melon seller’s cart had collided with an ox-cart loaded with yellow beans. Melons and beans had spilled red and yellow all over the ground, attracting a group of children and beggars scrambling for them, creating chaos.

The Yu family carriage was blocked on the stone bridge connecting Xuanping Street and Yongning Street. The bridge was narrow, making it difficult for vehicles to turn around.

Below the bridge, willow branches hung like smoke along the canal bank.

The Xue family’s servant boy wiped sweat from his chin and looked around. “Young Master, the bridge is blocked. Let’s take another route.”

Xue Chen sat upright, his handsome face showing no impatience, gazing at the Yu family carriage stopped on the bridge.

The servant boy understood that his master’s lovesickness had struck again. He couldn’t help but sigh heavily, leaning against the carriage to wait for the road to clear, fanning himself with his sleeve.

The sunset reflected on the Yongning Canal, the floating light dancing gold.

Unknown birds skimmed across the water, perching on the willow trees by the bridge.

Seeing Yu Lingxi continuously looking at the arguing melon vendor and ox-cart owner at the head of the bridge, Su Wan reassured her: “Don’t worry, the bridge will clear soon. It won’t delay our return time.”

Yu Lingxi’s eyes caught the warm light of the sunset, exceptionally rich and beautiful, as she thoughtfully said: “I’m not worried about that.”

She just found something strange.

A cart of melons and a cart of beans were not important cargo, so why did they need five or six strong men to transport them?

They argued at the bridge, seemingly unconcerned about the melons and beans rolling on the ground, only casting sidelong glances toward the Yu family carriage.

And in such hot weather, ordinary peddlers would roll up their sleeves and open their clothes, but these people were dressed completely covered…

In an instant, Yu Lingxi was struck by an extremely ominous intuition.

She lowered the carriage curtain and shouted: “Qingxiao, quickly! Get off the bridge!”

But it was too late. An arrow pierced through the curtain with a twang, embedding itself at Yu Lingxi’s feet.

With the arrow serving as a signal, the melon farmers and peddlers who had been pretending to argue suddenly revealed murderous intent, drawing blades hidden under their carts. They first cut down two guards in front of them, then charged toward the carriage!

Qingxiao immediately drew his sword and shouted: “Protect the Miss and the Young Madam!”

The solid carriage wall was damaged by eight-pronged copper hooks, with wooden pieces suddenly flying everywhere, exposing Yu Lingxi and Su Wan to the assassins.

The crowd witnessing this screamed and scattered, some fleeing for their lives, others reporting to officials.

Ten zhang away on the bank, the Xue family servant was scared stiff, his legs trembling as he stammered: “Y-young Master, assassins are attacking… Young Master?!”

The carriage was empty, with no sign of Young Master Xue.

…

Assassination attempts were commonplace for Ning Yin in the previous life. Even his carriages were specially modified—just pressing a mechanism would raise copper and iron walls around the carriage, leaving only a small opening for air, sufficient to block all blade and assassination attempts.

Back then, Yu Lingxi often complained that the Regent Prince’s carriages were like coffins.

Now, how she longed for Ning Yin’s “coffin” that was impervious to weapons.

Seeing two women in the carriage instead of Yu Huanchen, the assassins were somewhat surprised, but there was no turning back now.

The arrow was already nocked; they could only kill to silence witnesses.

When the sound of arrows cutting through the air came, Yu Lingxi instinctively reached out to protect the frightened and frozen Su Wan, pushing her down to the carriage floor.

Immediately, a heart-piercing pain shot through her left arm, and fresh blood gushed out, soaking her smoky pink shawl.

“Suisui!” Su Wan immediately widened her eyes, so frightened her voice broke into tears. “You’re hurt!”

“The arrow just grazed me, it’s nothing,” Yu Lingxi signaled Su Wan not to move, her beautiful almond eyes clean and calm as she endured the pain and said softly, “Don’t be afraid, Sister-in-law.”

Su Wan was the happiness that her brother had missed in the previous life and had only managed to fulfill in this one. She would not allow anyone to harm her.

“Take the Miss and Young Madam away!” Qingxiao fought desperately to block the continuously emerging assassins, shouting at the driver.

Just as the driver grabbed the reins, the horses were struck by arrows and panicked, neighing as they reared up.

The carriage shaft broke, and everything inside the carriage was thrown out by a great force.

Su Wan, protected by Yu Lingxi, rolled to the ground and was quickly pulled up by the few remaining Yu family guards.

But Yu Lingxi’s injured arm had no strength to hold on. She was thrown out of the carriage, falling straight toward the canal below the bridge.

“Suisui!”

“Second Sister!”

That moment seemed frozen. Xue Chen, trapped in the fleeing crowd, struggled upstream like a fish, desperately reaching out toward the falling Yu Lingxi.

But it was too far, much too far.

He could only helplessly watch as Yu Lingxi fell like a butterfly with broken wings, disappearing into the splash of water.

Xue Chen froze for a moment, then recklessly rushed toward the canal embankment, only to be grabbed by his servant boy who had arrived just in time.

“Second Young Master, you mustn’t!” The servant used all his strength, fearing he would jump into the lake and risk his life, shouting, “You can’t swim, remember!”

“Let go!” Xue Chen, an ordinarily refined and elegant noble young man, somehow found the strength to push away the servant and jump into the canal.

He closed his eyes, fighting his fear of water, stiffly moving his legs, wading through chest-deep water toward where Yu Lingxi had fallen.

“Young Master… Young Master, open your eyes and look!” The servant also jumped in, grabbing Xue Chen’s moon-white sleeve. “You don’t need to go. Someone has already rescued the Second Miss!”

Xue Chen opened his eyes to see the black-clad youth appear out of nowhere, jumping from the bridge to lift Yu Lingxi out.

He appeared so timely, and so without hesitation.

In the remaining glow of sunset, the soaking wet Yu Lingxi clung to the youth’s shoulder, leaning on him in an extremely trusting posture, like a pair of mandarin ducks with necks entwined amid wind, frost, blood, and rain.

Xue Chen stood frozen in the water, pale-faced. The rippling waves lifted his expensive moon-white brocade robe like a diffusing mist.

He had known Second Sister for ten years, but it seemed he was always one step too late.

“Young Master?” the servant cautiously supported him.

Xue Chen’s lips moved, and he said hoarsely: “Let’s go.”

He turned with difficulty, supporting himself on the embankment, then suddenly slipped back down.

His hands were empty and thin; in that brief moment, he didn’t even have the strength to climb ashore.

Someone intervened, and the arrow rain that had been lying in ambush behind the rooftops suddenly ceased.

Then the bodies of three archers rolled from behind the rooftops, falling heavily to the ground, silent.

Ning Yin carried Yu Lingxi ashore, gently setting her down against a willow tree.

“Wei Qi,” Yu Lingxi’s clear blouse was soaked, becoming even more transparent, revealing skin as delicate as condensed snow.

Her appearance was disheveled, but her eyes looking at him were smiling, as if seeing him meant she feared no swords or arrows, full of gentle trust.

Water dripped from Ning Yin’s chin as he stared at her sparkling curved eyes for a long time before taking off his outer robe and draping it over her.

“Why didn’t you swim?” His voice was low and gentle, a sign of his simmering anger.

“I… forgot…” Yu Lingxi hugged the wooden box in her hand, which contained the jade she had selected for Ning Yin.

When the horses were startled earlier, many things had been thrown out. With nowhere to anchor herself, she instinctively grabbed this box containing the black jade.

“And the grape curd…” Thinking of the overturned ice chamber, her voice was full of regret.

Her arm was numb and without strength; the wooden box slipped from her grasp and rolled to the ground.

Yu Lingxi tried to pick it up but felt dizzy and pitched forward.

Ning Yin caught her in time, frowned, and tore away the troublesome shawl from her left arm, revealing the wound that was still seeping blood.

The blood’s color was wrong—purple mixed with red.

“How were you injured?” Ning Yin’s voice suddenly deepened.

“Grazed by an arrow…” Before Yu Lingxi could finish, she saw Ning Yin tear a strip of thin fabric from her arm and tie it above the wound to stop blood flow.

Then he bent down and pressed his pale lips to her wound.

Her wound was burning hot, making Ning Yin’s lips seem ice-cold in contrast.

She didn’t remain dazed for long before a sharp pain brought her back to her senses. Ning Yin sucked forcefully and spat out a mouthful of purple-red blood.

Yu Lingxi’s breathing quickened. From Ning Yin’s excessively cold expression, she guessed that the assassin’s arrow must have been heavily poisoned.

Ning Yin didn’t give up, immediately moving to a second, then a third mouthful…

The poisoned blood splashed one mouthful after another onto the black jade that had spilled from the wooden box. The ink jade absorbed the blood, creating strangely beautiful red patterns.

Yu Lingxi remembered how in her previous life, after her death, Ning Yin had gone to exterminate the entire Zhao family.

Faced with the ancient jade treasure her uncle had tremblingly offered, he had just smiled lightly and said: “I’ve heard that jade nurtured with human blood is considered the rarest treasure.”

So it was true after all.

“Jade nurtured with human blood truly looks beautiful,” Yu Lingxi still had the mood to joke, raising her finger to gently touch the blood spatter at the corner of his eye.

Her hand was shaking too much; a small drop of blood the size of a red bean—the more she wiped, the messier it became.

She simply gave up, resting her forehead on Ning Yin’s shoulder, asking breathlessly, “Wei Qi, am I going to die?”

Ning Yin’s half-lowered eyelashes fluttered, and then he looked up.

Against the shimmering waves, his cold lips were stained with deep purple blood, and his eyes, like the piece of jade, were black, cold, and deep, with an eerie dark red.

Yu Lingxi no longer had the strength to see what was churning in his eyes.

The numbness spread up her arm, invading her consciousness.

“Ning Yin, I have never asked you for anything…” The evening breeze gently brushed her eyelashes, which trembled as if extremely sleepy. She softly continued, her voice breaking, “If I die, could you not… hide me in a secret room? I’m afraid of the dark.”

“Shh, be quiet,” Ning Yin suddenly pressed a finger to her lips.

His lips touched her ear, stubborn yet gentle: “Miss will not die. No one can let you die.”

Yu Lingxi disliked bloodshed; he hadn’t killed anyone for a long time.

But…

“Close your eyes,” Ning Yin raised his hand to cover Yu Lingxi’s eyes, saying gently, “I’m going to clear the path.”

Yu Lingxi’s feather-like eyelashes lightly brushed his palm, then she obediently nodded: “Alright.”

Ning Yin tucked her wet hair behind her ear, rose, and walked toward the flashing blades on the bridge.

Yu Lingxi secretly opened her eyes. In her blurry vision, she saw the assassins’ bodies falling from the bridge one after another like blooming dumplings, plunging into the water.

Everything happened in an instant.

For someone like Ning Yin, the more out of control he was, the calmer his face appeared.

He left the assassin with the poisoned crossbow for last, raising his sword from the ground, and pointing it at the terrified man’s nose.

“Which hand injured her? Left arm?” The assassin tried to run but felt a chill in his left arm.

He opened his eyes wide to see his arm, along with the crossbow, flying through the air, drawing a bloody arc in the dying sun.

Ning Yin walked slowly forward, pinning the man under his foot, moving the sword tip to the right: “Or, right arm?”

Screams echoed at the bridge, followed by the left leg, right leg…

The blood-colored flower splashed onto Ning Yin’s cold white, handsome face, blooming in the depths of his black eyes, beautiful and mad.

For the first time, he felt no pleasure in killing, only venting his anger.

And the anger in his heart stemmed from the panic of almost losing Yu Lingxi.

He once thought death was the most insignificant thing in the world. Even for things he couldn’t bear to part with, freezing them after death seemed no different from being alive.

But when Yu Lingxi asked “Am I going to die?”, he, a heartless villain, could only awkwardly conceal his panic with silence.

Her eyes were clear and beautiful, her voice soft yet firm, and when she smiled, it was as if even her hair glowed…

If she died, all of this would be gone.

A fallen star is nothing but a burnt, black, worthless stone. Only living in the night sky can it radiate light.

Ning Yin thrust his rolled-edged sword into the already motionless, broken corpse and smiled.

He finally understood something: Yu Lingxi was different.

Even if everyone else died and turned to ashes, she must forever live proudly and brightly.

In less than half a cup of tea’s time, only Qingxiao remained standing on the bridge.

Ning Yin turned his handsome face to look at him, his eyes against the light stained with the red of fresh blood.

Even this loyal guard who had experienced many battlefields couldn’t help but step back half a pace under the killing intent before him, swallowing as he said: “Wei Qi, you…”

Qingxiao’s vision darkened, and he collapsed to the ground unconscious.

The sunset withdrew its last ray of light, and darkness invaded from the northwest.

When Yu Huanchen arrived at Yongning Bridge with his guards, this was the scene he witnessed.

The remnants of a fierce battle stood everywhere, the Yongning Canal rippling, with corpses soaking in it, spreading a crimson color deeper than the setting sun.

And throughout the street and bridge, not a single living being stood.

The youth called Wei Qi carried his unconscious, injured youngest sister, walking steadily towards him. The wind brushed his neat, dark clothes as if he had not crossed mountains of corpses and seas of blood, but a beautiful field of flowers.

He was both a deity and an asura.

Such a sense of oppression was impossible for an ordinary guard to possess.

Yu Huanchen quickly dismounted, first finding Su Wan who had fainted at the end of the bridge. He reached out to check her breathing, sighed with relief, and said: “Wei Qi, put Suisui down, I will take her…”

Ning Yin didn’t even pause his steps. Carrying Yu Lingxi, he mounted a horse, slapped its rump, and galloped away.

Yu Huanchen, holding his wife, couldn’t pursue. He frowned: where was he taking Suisui?!