The noise of the crowd was suddenly silenced by his sharp command. The twenty or so masked individuals around him looked up, momentarily stunned before remembering to continue their assault.
“Get out of the way!” One of the closest masked men glared at him, a mix of surprise and anger on his face. “Don’t block us from delivering justice!”
Delivering justice? Jiang Xuanjin scoffed, turning his head slightly. “Disturbing a coffin is a grave offense.”
“Disturbing a coffin is indeed a serious crime, but what’s inside is a beast!” the man spat, his voice filled with hatred. “Jiang Xuanjin, you know how sinful she is; why do you stop us?”
They could even call out his name? Jiang Xuanjin’s brow twitched as he reached for the burning white silk on the coffin, swinging it horizontally to knock down the two masked men who were eager to climb aboard. When another attempted to join them, he kicked a nearby sword away with a swift motion.
“Clang—” The blade struck the bluestone ground, vibrating violently and emitting a low hum.
The would-be climbers stared in terror, frozen in place.
The leader was genuinely furious, pointing his sword at Jiang Xuanjin as he shouted, “You’re asking for trouble!”
Jiang Xuanjin met his gaze calmly, his voice steady and clear as he replied, “No matter what trouble you think you’re causing, if you can make me eat it, then come and try.”
The funeral procession had been split into three sections, with masked men blocking the front and back, preventing any support from reaching the coffin in the middle. With flames raging nearby and the opposing numbers overwhelming, Li Huaiyu couldn’t understand where Jiang Xuanjin found the confidence to say such things.
He had only one companion, after all!
The leader seemed to realize this as well, sneering, “You’re just a young master from a noble family who has learned a few martial arts. Do you think you can take on a hundred men? Since you insist on protecting this beast, don’t blame us for being rude. Attack!”
The last word was shouted to the side, and the masked men immediately charged toward the coffin without hesitation.
Li Huaiyu furrowed her brow in concern.
Don’t get her wrong; she wasn’t worried about Jiang Xuanjin. She was just concerned that if a fight broke out next to her coffin, it would surely be damaged. The golden nanmu wood was rare and difficult to replace. Today was a good day for burial; if they missed it, how would it affect her future fortunes?
Glancing at the masked men’s attire and then down at her dark robe, an idea struck her. She loosened her hair, quickly tied it up, tore a piece from her sleeve, and covered her face, crouching low to blend into the crowd.
Jiang Xuanjin was already engaged in combat. A masked man swung a blade at him, and he leaped off the coffin, deftly taking down two opponents before seizing a long sword and working with his companion to carve out a space for themselves.
Despite the throng of people around him, after several exchanges, no one had managed to draw blood from him.
The leader stared in astonishment at the figure in the turquoise robe, a mix of anger and respect in his eyes. “Your Highness, you’re a good person; why do you insist on wading through this murky water?”
“The country has its laws, and propriety has its rules.” Jiang Xuanjin replied, his sword slicing through one man’s knee. “Danyang has already faced justice; your actions are defying the court.”
“Is her death not enough?” the leader retorted. “Prince Pingling was innocent, killed by this woman without a complete corpse! Zhang the Eunuch was a loyal servant to the late emperor, dragged from the front hall to the palace gate and executed! She manipulated the court, disregarding the plague that ravaged seven counties, treating the common people as mere ants! A person like her deserves to be torn apart by five horses; how else can we appease the spirits above?”
Jiang Xuanjin’s expression shifted slightly as if he were swayed by the leader’s words.
The leader’s heart leaped with joy, and he stepped closer. “Your Highness is also a pillar of the nation; you delivered the poison to Princess Danyang. You…”
He wanted to say, *You must hate her too, right?*
However, before he could finish, a long sword, swift as a snake, was suddenly pressed against his throat.
“Let them retreat,” Jiang Xuanjin said coolly. “If this continues, you’ll only end up surrounded. As long as I’m here, you won’t touch that coffin.”
“You!” The leader’s face turned ashen. “You can’t tell right from wrong!”
Right and wrong? Jiang Xuanjin glanced at him and replied, “I understand it better than you do.”
With a cold laugh, the leader allowed himself to be held hostage, shouting angrily, “Everyone, attack! Tear that coffin apart; don’t worry about me!”
“Yes!” The others responded five of them surrounding Jiang Xuanjin and his companion, while the rest rushed to the other side, raising shovels to smash the coffin.
Jiang Xuanjin’s expression tightened, and he instinctively reached out to stop them.
However, the leader seemed to have anticipated his move, drawing a dagger from his palm and twisting his face as he shouted, “Since you want to protect this beast, then let’s die together!”
“Your Highness, be careful!”
A murderous aura surged toward Jiang Xuanjin, and he turned just in time to see a figure suddenly leap from the crowd, wielding a piece of wood they had picked up from somewhere, striking the leader on the back of the head with precision.
“Thud!” The sound echoed, and the leader’s dagger stopped just an inch from Jiang Xuanjin’s back, his body swaying unsteadily as he turned in disbelief to look behind him.
Jiang Xuanjin was momentarily stunned, also looking up to see a petite masked figure with wide apricot eyes staring at the leader. When she saw he hadn’t fallen, she quickly struck again.
“Bang!” The leader finally collapsed to the ground.
Li Huaiyu kicked him in frustration, annoyed at his lack of competence. Why was he so slow to act? She had been waiting to strike, hoping to kill two birds with one stone, but this man was too short and clumsy. Jiang Xuanjin had even sidestepped to avoid a fatal blow; even if he had stabbed him, it wouldn’t have killed him.
It would have been better if she had just done it herself.
“You…” Jiang Xuanjin looked at her in confusion, about to ask a question when a shovel aimed at the coffin came crashing down.
His pupils constricted, and Li Huaiyu reacted quickly, throwing the piece of wood to knock one of the shovels away, but there were still others coming.
“Quick, stop them!” she urged, giving Jiang Xuanjin a shove.
He stumbled back two steps, and with no time to think, he pushed himself over the coffin to continue fighting the masked men trying to smash it.
“Your Highness!” The Tiger Ben General leading the charge finally broke through the blockade, rushing over with his men. Seeing Jiang Xuanjin surrounded, his face turned pale, and he shouted, “Quick, save the prince!”
Li Huaiyu couldn’t help but roll her eyes, thinking how fortunate Jiang Xuanjin was to have such good skills. At the rate they were going, if someone less capable had come to save him, there would be another coffin to bury!
As the situation began to turn, the masked men were not foolish; they quickly hoisted their leader and began to retreat while fighting.
“Hey, hey! They’re trying to escape! Block the entrance to that alley!” Li Huaiyu shouted.
Jiang Xuanjin turned to look at her, finally recognizing her voice. “It’s you.”
Pulling down her mask, Li Huaiyu smiled and waved at him. “What a coincidence to meet again so soon; we are fated!”
Remembering her earlier reckless behavior, Jiang Xuanjin frowned.
He didn’t see this as fate; instead, he found her behavior strange, her gaze carrying an indescribable feeling. It seemed like hatred, yet she was smiling; if it were admiration or affection, it certainly didn’t feel like that.
Did she… know him?