Such worthless people — why would the black-clad leader spare them any attention?

What mattered was the man now bearing down on him — the sheer force of his palm strikes was nothing short of terrifying.

The black-clad leader shoved Yu Niang out of the way, and no one paid Feng Junzhuo any further attention.

The moment the fighting broke out, every last bit of concentration went to the battle. What hostages? If the other side didn’t care, the hostages were a burden to those holding them.

Both sides had considerable numbers, and the battle erupted in an instant. Feng Junzhuo panicked and scrambled to flee, while Yu Niang managed to drag herself upright — only to be trampled underfoot several times before she was nearly stripped of the last of her breath.

The projectile wound in her chest was going to kill her. She was going to die, she was certain of it.

Who would save her? Anyone? She sobbed inwardly.

Suddenly, someone grabbed the back of her collar and hauled her straight up off the ground.

“Ahhh — put me down! I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die! Let go of me!”

She really was going to die — she had already been struck by the weapon, she was definitely going to die.

That person didn’t spare her a single glance. He grabbed her and hauled up Feng Junzhuo as well, then with a light tap of his feet, in an instant he pulled free from the midst of the melee.

With a thud, Yu Niang was thrown to the ground. As for Feng Junzhuo, his luck was marginally better — he was set down rather than dropped, sparing him at least the indignity of a face-first landing.

This man with the ugly scar on his face was truly detestable.

Yu Niang lay sprawled on the ground in a spreading pool of her own blood, and by now she had not even the strength left to curse anyone.

“My lord, my lord… save me, please — I’m hurt.” She no longer even knew what her condition was. She only knew she had bled a great deal — so very much blood.

If she kept bleeding like this, she was going to die.

Feng Junzhuo was not yet certain he was safe. The tall, powerfully built man before him was deeply frightening. The scar on his face was not without a certain rough quality, but his eyes — his eyes were absolutely terrifying.

He stood beside the carriage, and the battle ahead seemed to have nothing to do with him at all. He appeared to be… guarding the person inside the carriage.

Yet it seemed he and Yu Niang had just been rescued by this man as well.

Feng Junzhuo thought it over, and it came back to him — yes, this man had indeed been the one to save him.

He quickly said, “Thank you, hero — thank you, hero, for coming to our aid.”

Yu Niang also recalled in that moment that had this man not hauled her out of the chaos, she would likely have been trampled to death by now.

This person was clearly someone of extraordinary skill. Until she was safely on her way back, she absolutely could not afford to offend him.

What if he suddenly threw her back into the fighting? What then?

“Thank… thank you, hero, for saving us… thank—” Yu Niang already had very little strength left.

The wound in her chest was truly agonizing, and it was still bleeding without stop. What could she do?

“There is no need to thank me. Your wound was made by me.” Jiu Qing glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and after that paid her no further mind.

The wound… was made by him? Yu Niang jolted with shock, and the fright sent her into unconsciousness.

Ahead, those people were no match for Mu Mu and the rest at all. Within a brief moment, a large part of their party moved to retreat.

Before long, all but those too badly wounded to move had withdrawn.

“Bring her in. If she keeps bleeding, this life will probably not hold.” From inside the carriage, a young woman’s hoarse voice suddenly drifted out.

Both Feng Junzhuo and Yu Niang jolted at the sound.

The woman in the carriage — that voice… was so familiar! Could it truly be Jiu’er?

“Jiu’er, is… is that you?” Feng Junzhuo moved to go over and lift the carriage curtain — but Jiu Qing, standing beside the carriage, cast him a single glance, and he immediately froze where he was and drew back the foot he had already extended, not daring to move.

Jiu Qing then glanced down at Yu Niang, still lying on the ground, and abruptly bent down, grabbed her collar, and tossed her aside with one motion.

“Yu Niang!” Feng Junzhuo cried out in alarm.

Yu Niang was already this badly hurt — if he threw her around like that, could her life still be saved?

Yu Niang herself was so frightened she nearly lost consciousness again.

Feng Jiu’er truly had no idea what to do. Jiu Qing’s temper was no better than the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s — they were practically synonyms for volatility.

And he showed not even a shred of tenderness toward a woman.

Sigh — how was it that she had somehow thought of the Ninth Imperial Uncle again?

“Mmph—” Yu Niang landed, with uncanny precision, right at Feng Jiu’er’s feet. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but she could not catch her breath, and she very nearly truly fainted.

Feng Jiu’er looked down and began to loosen her collar.

Dazed and dizzy, Yu Niang finally managed to make out the face of the young woman before her — and the moment she did, she was so furious she wanted to leap up and scream.

“You… you’re actually really in here! You… you… ugh—”

The pain — the pain! The wound was getting more and more agonizing. Was she going to die?

But that was beside the point — Feng Jiu’er, that wretched girl! She had clearly been in the carriage the whole time, and she had truly left them there to die!

If it had been just her out there alone, that would have been one thing. But her own father had also been in those people’s hands!

She didn’t even care about her own father’s life? What kind of daughter was she, even existing in this world?

No wonder the master of the house had never been fond of Feng Jiu’er. It was truly because Feng Jiu’er had very little conscience.

“If you still have the strength to keep making a scene, I won’t mind having him throw you back outside to carry on for a while.”

Feng Jiu’er pointed toward the carriage curtain, where Jiu Qing stood on the other side, cold as frost.

At those words, Yu Niang immediately bit down hard and did not dare to make a single sound.

That man was simply too terrifying — tossing and hurling her around as though she were not a person at all.

If he threw her around one or two more times like that, she would truly be done for. She would actually die.

“You—” Yu Niang caught her breath, and looking at Feng Jiu’er again, though her whole body was wracked with searing pain, her mind was still turning quickly enough.

“You… are you truly Feng Jiu?”

The people outside had just said they were a merchant convoy of the Hall of Heavenly Secrets, and Feng Jiu’er’s position in this carriage was clearly that of the one everyone was protecting most heavily.

Who else but the master would be treated with such care?

Feng Qingyin had said it before — Feng Jiu was Feng Jiu’er. So it turned out to be true.

Jiu’er had no fear of being seen through. Since the news had already been let out into the world, everyone was going to know sooner or later.

What she was worried about right now was whether Xing Zizhou and Xiao Yingtao could handle the people in the imperial city, and whether Emperor Qiwen would make trouble for the people of the Hall of Heavenly Secrets.

Though that masked noble consort — who was neither friend nor foe — seemed to have no plans to move against their Hall of Heavenly Secrets.

Emperor Qiwen listened to the masked noble consort in all things, so for the time being, at least, he probably would not make a move against the Hall’s people either.

She took out the medicine pouch she carried with her, set the silver needles and medicine vials to one side, and looked down at Yu Niang with steady eyes. “I’m going to perform acupuncture. Don’t move.”

Yu Niang didn’t dare to move at all right now.

If she truly was Feng Jiu, then her medical skills were absolutely extraordinary.

She herself had bled this much, and without a physician to treat her, she feared she truly would not make it through.

“You… you’re going to save me? We are at least both of the Feng Family — and Qingyin is still your elder sister. You—”

“Say another word, and I will watch you bleed out and die.” Dragging Feng Qingyin’s name into this now — was that not just to disgust her?