A few dozen brothers against several hundred Feng Clan soldiers—though many were injured, it wasn’t a fight without any chance of victory.

Feng Jiu’er never strayed from Zhan Qingcheng’s side, doing everything she could to keep him from unleashing his full power.

Qiao Mu and Hanying had only exchanged two rounds before Qiao Mu was struck down to the ground. She spat out a mouthful of blood, clutching her chest, and rose to her feet with an unwilling expression.

But Hanying paid her no further attention, leaping into the air and rushing toward Zhan Qingcheng and Feng Jiu’er instead.

Jian Yi, sword in hand, closed in and blocked Hanying’s path, and the two of them began fighting atop their horses.

Mu Mu, whose internal injuries had not yet fully healed, fought dozens of rounds against Feng Jin without either gaining the upper hand.

Suddenly, five men in black appeared, their moves vicious and merciless. Watching more and more brothers fall wounded, Feng Jiang could bear it no longer. Sword in hand, he rode his horse toward the men in black.

Having already fought Feng Li earlier, Jian Yi had also suffered internal injuries, and now, facing Hanying, he quickly found himself at a disadvantage.

Hanying sent a fierce blast of palm force toward Jian Yi, then leapt again toward Zhan Qingcheng and Feng Jiu’er.

“Jiu’er, watch out!” Jian Yi called out in a low voice, having barely dodged Hanying’s strike.

The two people seated on the horse sensed the killing intent closing in on them at the same moment.

Feng Jiu’er pressed lightly on the back of Zhan Qingcheng’s hand, then suddenly leapt up from the horse’s back like a whirlwind.

Hanying hadn’t expected that the one rising to meet her would be Feng Jiu’er—and why did her movements look so familiar? In a moment of distraction, Hanying found herself forced to take Feng Jiu’er’s palm strike head-on, her body plummeting downward. Just before hitting the ground, she pressed off forcefully with both legs against a horse’s back and landed steadily on the back of another empty horse.

“Where did you learn that technique?” Hanying asked, looking at the girl standing on the horse not far away, the killing intent in her eyes deepening.

“My father taught it to me,” Feng Jiu’er said, meeting Hanying’s gaze and clasping her hands together in a gesture of thanks. “It seems you’re the one who let my father go. Thank you for that.”

Seeing Mu Mu return empty-handed from searching for the source of the poisoned arrows, Feng Jiu’er had guessed that the enemy had set up some kind of mechanism here. The poisoned arrows had come from a device, not from a person. Since the enemy had made so many preparations in advance, they likely also knew that her father, Aunt Xue, and Long Shiyi would be passing through this area. With Hanying’s skill, even if she couldn’t capture Aunt Xue and Long Shiyi alive, there was no way she would have let them get away with taking her father. So the only possible explanation was that the woman before her hadn’t been able to bear seeing her father die at Feng Qiongcang’s hands, and had let them go.

Looking at Feng Jiu’er, Hanying’s brow furrowed even more deeply.

“No wonder he looked so weak—it was for your sake.”

Hanying’s words, laced with killing intent, confirmed exactly what Feng Jiu’er had suspected.

Being good-looking really wasn’t such a bad thing—judging by this woman’s age, she was very likely one of her father’s admirers. For her father’s sake, she had been willing to defy Feng Qiongcang’s orders, and that kind of devotion wasn’t shallow. It was a pity, though—her father could only belong to her mother. No other woman had any business hoping for more.

“That’s right,” Feng Jiu’er said, nodding with a touch of smugness.

Even if she didn’t admit it, this woman already knew her identity—wasn’t that obvious? Otherwise, she wouldn’t have just given the order “kill without mercy anyone who resists.” If things were as she suspected, the reason Hanying wanted to eliminate her was obvious enough. Who would want to watch the love child of their rival and the man they loved parading around in front of them? Especially a woman like Hanying.

A distant horn suddenly sounded from far away.

Having just cut down the last man in black before him, Feng Jiang turned to shout at the brothers, “The pursuers are coming! Don’t keep fighting—everyone get out of here now!”

He knew Jiu’er’s temperament well; with the brothers still here, there was no way she would abandon them and leave. So now he had more than just one little girl to protect.

The words had barely left his mouth when Feng Jiang pulled out a short flute and put it to his lips. A long, drawn-out note rang out, and everyone who knew Feng Jiang’s true identity couldn’t help but glance at him.

For a prince of the Feng Clan to be willing to deploy venomous creatures against his own father’s guards—what kind of resolve did that take? Even Qiao Mu, looking at Feng Jiang again, felt a newfound respect in her eyes.

The moment her gaze swept past Feng Jiang, Feng Jiu’er felt a thick wave of killing intent rushing toward her. She instantly stepped back, narrowly dodging Hanying’s attack.

Not long after the flute’s call rang out, a great swarm of small black creatures came rushing closer at incredible speed from not far away. And that wasn’t all—five enormous venomous beasts accompanied them.

“Eldest imperial brother!” Feng Jiu’er suddenly called out loudly, standing atop her horse.

Hanying tried to close in with her sword, but Jian Yi had already arrived before her in an instant.

“Eldest imperial brother, stop for a moment!” Feng Jiu’er’s voice continued to ring out across the battlefield.

“Eldest imperial brother, what’s approaching now are poisonous creatures—creatures raised by a mysterious organization in the Black Lands. Their venom is extremely potent.”

“If you don’t want your own soldiers to be poisoned to death, you’d better have everyone retreat immediately.”

Feng Jiu’er’s voice, carried by her internal energy, rang out across the entire grassland. Not only could everyone present hear it, but even the soldiers approaching on horseback from the other side could make out parts of it.

The guards who had been fighting all paused and turned to look in the direction of the approaching creatures.

Feng Jiu’er gave her own brothers a single look, and everyone immediately snapped back to attention, mounting their horses and riding off.

The area covered by the venomous creatures was vast, which meant their numbers were enormous as well. Even with several hundred pursuing soldiers closing in, Feng Jin still hesitated.

Watching the group of Beimu Kingdom people get away, Hanying found herself unable to break free to pursue them.

“Zhao Yusheng, take the injured brothers and go ahead first,” Feng Jiu’er instructed, seated in Zhan Qingcheng’s arms, looking at the man on horseback.

“Don’t waste time arguing. The injured staying behind would only become a burden to everyone, understand?”

“However many of us came, that’s how many must board the ship today. No more dawdling—go now!”

Feng Jiu’er’s voice was loud and commanding, carrying an authority that made it impossible to ignore.

The injured brothers looked at Zhan Qingcheng, and seeing no objection from him, nodded and turned to leave.

“Jiu’er, you’re my wife. There’s no way I can—” “Make sure the brothers get away safely. Go.”

Feng Jiu’er glared at Zhao Yusheng, cutting him off before he could finish.

Meeting Feng Jiu’er’s sharp gaze, Zhao Yusheng took a deep breath and turned his horse to gallop off.

“Brothers, move!”

“Don’t let them get away!” Hanying shouted.

Mu Mu and Jian Yi were both locked in combat with her, and breaking free to chase after the others wasn’t easy. Glancing once more at Zhan Qingcheng’s retreating figure, Hanying’s expression darkened. She leaned forward and leapt up, her palm charged with true energy, aimed at Jian Yi.

But she hadn’t expected Mu Mu’s palm strike to come at her from behind. Hanying could only dodge swiftly, abandoning her attack on Jian Yi.

In an instant, the three of them were locked together again, palm strikes flying in every direction, kicking up clouds of dust and dried grass. From the outside, it was impossible to make out what was happening within.