Hua Zhi lifted the curtain at the window. The carriage had stopped in the middle of a mountain path between two low hills — small hills though they were, they made an excellent spot for an ambush.

This was the only road to the manor and yet not the main thoroughfare. Foot traffic was sparse as a rule.

Both sides held their positions for a moment. Then Hua Zhi spoke abruptly: “Move.”

Wang Rong leaped onto the driver’s seat and took the reins himself. The carriage moved slowly forward — and within a few steps, the way ahead was blocked.

Black clothing, covered faces. Hua Zhi smiled. The arrangement was exactly the same as that time at the Yinshan Pass.

“There are more behind as well.”

Hua Zhi looked back. The same — ten people.

Gazing at the shadowy outlines moving within the forested hills, Hua Zhi had the vague sense that more people were concealed inside.

Wang Rong drew close and said quietly: “In a moment, abandon the carriage and ride ahead first.”

“And how do you know there are no traps laid ahead?” Besides which, Bao Xia, Nian Qiu, and the driver Li De were still with her. She could not simply leave them behind.

“Miss, you go first.” Bao Xia was nearly biting through her own lip. Every time danger came, she was the one the young lady shielded behind her. If she dragged her mistress down, she might as well end it all right here.

“You have all sparred with me long enough. Today you will test yourselves against a real opponent. Without facing genuine combat, your skills will never be anything more than an elegant display.” Hua Zhi pushed up the carriage curtain and stepped out. Sitting inside the carriage was simply waiting to be a target — one thrown torch and she would have to scramble out in a thoroughly undignified manner regardless.

Bao Xia and Nian Qiu both followed her out. Li De’s legs were shaking, yet he did not show his fear, gripping his horsewhip tightly and staying close beside the young lady.

Hua Zhi already had her dagger in hand — save for when she entered the palace, it had never left her person.

Wang Rong was about to say something more when the figures in black moved as one, their strikes aimed straight for vital points. Wang Rong had only time enough to call out a warning before he charged forward to meet them. His two companions moved to cut off the group closing in from the other direction, and both sides instantly fell into fierce combat.

The attackers were no amateurs. In close quarters, Wang Rong could not use his whip effectively, and he was unable to hold all of them at once. Two broke through and came straight for Hua Zhi. She gave a quiet sound of disdain and moved to meet them herself, locking the two of them in front of her.

Nian Qiu was faint of heart, and right now her entire body was shaking with fright. But when she saw her mistress rush forward to shield them, her fear suddenly ceased. Her body was still trembling, yet she drew herself into a fighting stance. More than a year of persistence was not for nothing — one glance at her opening form made that clear.

Bao Xia had more nerve than her; she gritted her teeth and threw herself forward, driving her fist at one of the men pressing in on either side of the young lady. The man found her a nuisance and moved to deal with her first, but though her strength was insufficient, the technique they had learned was built on subtlety and leverage. And with Nian Qiu joining in, plus Li De wielding his horsewhip in the manner of a man driving horses, the three of them managed to pin down one attacker between them — and were actually holding the advantage.

One man alone could not stop Hua Zhi. She dispatched her opponent quickly, then saw they were managing and went to Wang Rong’s side to lend her strength.

When the last of the black-clad figures had fallen, Hua Zhi was entirely unsurprised to see two more squads emerging from the hills above.

This time, the effort required was noticeably greater. Bao Xia dropped to the ground with a thump.

Before they had a moment to catch their breath, a sharp sound split the air. Nian Qiu, who stood nearest to Hua Zhi, threw herself over her mistress without thinking. Hua Zhi reacted faster still — she caught Nian Qiu and rolled clear with her, and the arrow that would have struck dead center in her chest missed them both.

But this was only the beginning.

More figures appeared on both hillsides, each armed with a bow, arrows already drawn to full tension.

Hua Zhi was close to the carriage. She pulled Nian Qiu with her as she rolled toward it, cut the harness free with her dagger, then drove the blade into the horse’s flank. The horse screamed with pain, reared up on its hind legs, and bolted forward.

The sound of arrows cutting through the air rang out again, the shafts chasing the horse as it fled. In the moment of distraction this created, Wang Rong got Bao Xia safely through; the two men with Li De shepherded him across as well. Looking back, the ground where they had just been standing was bristling with arrows.

Hua Zhi looked at the shafts still vibrating at their ends and gripped her dagger tighter. “Be careful.”

Wang Rong risked a glance out, then pulled back even faster than he had leaned out — an arrow grazed his ear as he did. He pressed his hand to it, pulled it away bloody, and said in a low, flat voice: “That accuracy is not something an ordinary person can possess.”

“No surprise.”

Wang Rong calculated the time. “Allow me to go clear out some of them.”

“Wait.” Hua Zhi shook her head. “With their marksmanship, you would be a target the moment you stepped out. Make a show of going — both sides. Draw out their arrows.”

The others understood. Every so often someone would lean a head out for a look; every so often someone else would take a half-step forward. Arrows came in response without ceasing. This went on for roughly a quarter of an hour before the sound of clashing weapons drifted down from the hillside.

Hua Zhi exhaled and let herself sink back against the ground, releasing the tension held in her body.

Though she had prepared herself for this, no one could say in advance what surprise a situation still in motion might bring. That it was now settling was a relief.

The sounds gradually died away. Footsteps approached. “Is the First Young Lady here?”

Chen Qing. Everyone let out a breath at once. Hua Zhi rose to her feet — and before she could make another move, an arrow came screaming toward her chest, fast and fierce. Even with Wang Rong right beside her, there was no time to intercept it. Hua Zhi fell.

“First Young Lady!”

“Miss!”

Chen Qing rushed over, all other considerations gone — he moved to lift her and carry her to the carriage. Hua Zhi stopped him. Under the anxious eyes fixed upon her, she slowly lowered the hand pressed to her chest. There was no torrent of blood where there should have been. The arrow was held neatly between two of her fingers.

The opponent had left one final hidden strike in reserve — but so had she.

“Yanxi had a soft armor made for me. As it happens, I had it on.” Hua Zhi’s voice, kept deliberately low, held a note of laughter. She pressed the arrow back to her chest and arranged herself into the posture of someone gravely wounded. “Go back. Release word that I have been struck by an arrow.”

Chen Qing did not know what the First Young Lady intended. He did not need to know. He would follow her orders.

As for the one who had struck from the shadows just now — Chen Qing’s expression turned savage. “Rest easy. That person will not get away.”

“Follow them and see which gate they enter. Whoever wants my life will not have done the deed personally — every loose end will have been tidied away before now. There is nothing to trace back to them. Since that is so, we will settle with the people they put in plain sight. We will cut away their arm.”

“Yes.” Chen Qing drew a slow breath. “First Young Lady, forgive the discourtesy.”

Hua Zhi gave an unhurried nod, then closed her eyes and arranged her expression into one of faint, barely-there breathing.

Chen Qing lifted Hua Zhi and carried her to the carriage. Bao Xia and Nian Qiu called out to their mistress again and again. The others all wore dark, heavy expressions. The captives bound on the hillside watched this scene and felt a quiet surge of satisfaction — an unexpected complication had arisen, but the matter had ultimately been accomplished.

Wang Rong whistled to call the horse back, secured the reins, and drove at a gallop back the way they had come.

Inside the carriage, Hua Zhi sat up and rubbed at her chest. The arrow just now had carried tremendous force — even with the soft armor protecting her, the pain was excruciating.

She looked down at the tear in her outer robe, turned the arrow over in her hand, and a plan began to form in her mind. She always made one more preparation than was strictly necessary. Even when she had to endure some suffering, in the end she never came out the worse for it.

Author’s note: The second update required substantial revision, which left the third update unable to follow naturally. I can’t finish the revisions today — tomorrow, then, so tomorrow there will probably be… four updates? I hope I can manage it. The plot has felt a little slow lately, but it will pick up soon.