“Not good — the Yin Yang Sect’s people are nearby!” Qiao Mu glanced up at the signal arrow bursting in midair, and after forcing White Wuchang back with a spear thrust, she immediately strode over to stand before Feng Jiu’er.

Though she hadn’t clearly heard what Qiao Mu said, Jiu’er had already grasped the meaning of the signal arrow.

With a slash of her short blade, she forced Black Wuchang back, and seeing Qiao Mu beside her, she said at once: “Retreat!”

Qiao Mu’s footsteps shifted, immediately falling in step with Feng Jiu’er, and the two swiftly sped away from the mountain ravine.

The Black and White Wuchang exchanged a glance, their expressions twisted and ugly. White Wuchang gave chase at once, while Black Wuchang threw out another signal arrow and chased after as well.

Two little girls daring to slip away from their grasp — how could that be allowed?

The Yin Yang Sect’s people were indeed nearby. The Black and White Wuchang were merely two masters under the sect — by the time the other experts caught up, Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu found themselves trapped in the middle of a battle formation.

This time, even Qiao Mu’s forehead beaded with sweat, growing tense.

The two stood back to back in defense, while more and more Yin Yang Sect disciples arrived. At this point, a complete escape was already impossible.

“I’ll hold off the Black and White Wuchang for a moment — you run first on your own,” Qiao Mu said in a low voice meant only for the two of them to hear.

Feng Jiu’er answered calmly: “My lightness skill isn’t as good as yours. Leave the job of holding them off to me instead.”

With a whoosh, the short blade in Feng Jiu’er’s hand carved a streak of silver light through the air!

This girl had actually charged straight at the Black and White Wuchang alone!

Though they were surrounded inside and out by Yin Yang Sect members, it was clear the other experts hadn’t yet arrived — the Black and White Wuchang were still the strongest fighters here.

But how could Qiao Mu possibly watch Feng Jiu’er get cornered to death like this?

They had come together, and when it came time to leave, they would leave together too!

With a ring of metal, the Dragon Tongue Silver Spear sliced through a streak of chilling light, aiming straight for White Wuchang’s back.

Unexpectedly, several men swung their swords at her at once, forcibly holding her steps in place.

Qiao Mu’s heart burned with anxiety, knowing full well that Feng Jiu’er alone was no match for the combined strength of the Black and White Wuchang.

But helplessly, more and more Yin Yang Sect members tangled her up — even leaving was difficult, let alone going to help!

“Jiu’er, watch out!” Suddenly, Qiao Mu saw that as Black Wuchang held Feng Jiu’er’s attention, White Wuchang had snuck up behind Jiu’er for a sneak attack.

White Wuchang’s icy sword plunged straight into Feng Jiu’er’s back.

In an instant, Qiao Mu’s eyes turned bloodshot. She let out a roar, swept her spear to force back the two men in front of her, and charged forward without caring that she’d been wounded.

“Jiu’er!”

Feng Jiu’er’s back had indeed taken the blade. White Wuchang’s strike, carrying inner force, hit with a blunt, crushing pain that threw her breathing into chaos, nearly making her cough up blood.

But — blunt force? Why would a sword piercing her body feel like a blunt blow rather than a tearing, searing pain?

Feng Jiu’er was sent flying by White Wuchang’s strike, landing on the ground with a thud.

Qiao Mu’s Dragon Tongue Silver Spear blocked in front of her, her body shielding Jiu’er.

The Black and White Wuchang landed before them, their gazes falling on Feng Jiu’er, their faces full of shock.

Jiu’er had thought that being struck so viciously in the back surely meant her life was over, but instead, after a wave of intense pain, she found she could leap right back up from the ground.

Her outer robe had indeed been sliced open by White Wuchang’s sword, but underneath the robe, there was still a small silver-white garment.

“The Heavenly Silkworm Garment?” White Wuchang stared at Feng Jiu’er standing there, then looked at the icy sword in her own hand, still unable to recover from her shock.

The Heavenly Silkworm Garment? This girl was wearing the legendary garment that had vanished for so many years!

This Heavenly Silkworm Garment was one of the three great treasures of the martial world. Rumor had it that it was impervious to blade and spear alike, but very few had ever truly witnessed it.

Now, the Black and White Wuchang had finally seen it with their own eyes — the icy sword had plunged straight in, the robe had been sliced open, yet Feng Jiu’er remained completely unharmed!

Qiao Mu turned back, equally shocked: “If you were wearing the Heavenly Silkworm Garment, why didn’t you say so sooner? Were you trying to scare me to death?”

She had really been terrified just now, did Jiu’er even know that? This girl — would it have killed her to give a heads-up earlier? Scaring people like that could actually kill someone!

Heaven knew, watching White Wuchang’s icy sword plunge into Jiu’er’s back, her own heart had nearly stopped beating!

“I…” She hadn’t known either!

Feng Jiu’er looked utterly dazed as well — how was she supposed to know she was wearing some so-called Heavenly Silkworm Garment?

Earlier, after the encounter with the Snow Lotus Beast, her clothes had been torn, and as she was leaving, Granny Xue had given her two garments — one was the outer robe just now sliced open by White Wuchang’s blade, and the other was this little vest underneath.

Who would have known that was a Heavenly Silkworm Garment — she’d only worn it because Granny Xue insisted, reluctantly putting it on.

Goodness! Without even realizing it, she’d stumbled onto a great treasure!

Why was Granny Xue so good to her? Being this kind for no reason at all was a bit much! Could Granny Xue be some relative of hers?

Otherwise, how would she know not just her name but her whole background, and treat her so well — teaching her cultivation methods and even giving her a priceless treasure?

For now, no matter how many doubts filled Feng Jiu’er’s mind, she couldn’t afford to let her guard down — the Black and White Wuchang were still watching her like hawks.

Besides, Granny Xue’s existence couldn’t be revealed to anyone right now — she had promised that much.

No one cared how she explained where the garment had come from; what mattered was that the Heavenly Silkworm Garment had truly appeared.

Greed flickered in the depths of White Wuchang’s eyes: “Old Black, I want that Heavenly Silkworm Garment!”

“Fine, I’ll snatch it for you right now!” Black Wuchang’s face lit up with excitement too!

The Yin Yang Sect disciples behind them kept growing in number, and in the blink of an eye, several dozen had gathered.

With so many Yin Yang Sect members gathered here, they were likely planning to enter the imperial city in batches to assassinate Zhan Yuheng.

The imperial city was too vast, with too many entry points — it was impossible to completely block all these people from getting in.

They had a hundred ways to disguise themselves as ordinary commoners, and could even find ways to obtain ordinary travel permits.

If this went on, the imperial city would surely suffer a great catastrophe!

Feng Jiu’er had only a short blade in hand — at a time like this, weapon length mattered greatly, and she had already lost that advantage.

Even with Qiao Mu’s long spear, defending herself alone would already be difficult enough — protecting another person on top of that would be far too hard.

“Move in! Capture the woman in grey, dead or alive — there will be a heavy reward!”

“Yes!” At Black Wuchang’s order, several dozen men brandished their weapons and closed in on Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu.

With the Black and White Wuchang here as well, Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu had no chance at all. Just as the two gripped their weapons tightly, preparing for a desperate last stand, suddenly a fierce, cold gust of wind swept through the ravine, biting and bone-chilling, sending a piercing cold across everyone’s faces…