How could they possibly keep up?!
She was wearing a dress, but d*mn it, the young lady could ride sidesaddle!
It had been years since anyone had seen someone ride like this—she looked like she had grown up on horseback.
To put it bluntly, after all these years working under the Marquis and the Old Marquis, they’d seen some good riders—but not even those two could compare to her. Just where had the young lady learned such godlike riding skills?
Qi Yuan arrived at the estate like a storm, almost faster than the wind itself.
The estate didn’t belong to her personally—it was given to her by the Qi family, as compensation.
She had originally wanted to treat this place as her home.
But now, that home had been destroyed.
The front gate still had New Year’s couplets pasted up, the porch hung with lanterns, and red paper scraps littered the ground from firecrackers. The smell of gunpowder still lingered faintly in the air.
But now the gate stood wide open, and screams echoed from within.
It was the first day of the lunar year. In the countryside, it was tradition for tenant farmers to visit their landlords to pay New Year’s respects—even if the landlord wasn’t there, they’d still greet the steward.
So there were bound to be a lot of people inside.
For the first time in her life, Qi Yuan couldn’t suppress the killing intent surging in her.
When she had rescued Qingtao and Lihua, she could selfishly say it was like saving the past version of herself.
She didn’t expect them to repay her, didn’t want them to learn to fight or kill for her.
Was being skilled at killing something to be proud of?
That had been honed on the edge of death, over and over again.
She didn’t want the girls she had rescued to walk the same bloody path she had.
But now, it seemed she had been wrong.
To stop killing, one must kill.
By the time the guards arrived, breathless and nearly dead from the pace, Qi Yuan had already swept into the estate like a whirlwind.
This wasn’t poetic exaggeration—Qi Yuan was literally moving like the wind. All they could see were the fluttering ends of her robes.
She burst into the courtyard and immediately spotted several men rampaging through the estate.
Qingtao was curled under a windowsill, arms wrapped around her head, trembling in fear.
Like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
One attacker raised a blood-stained blade, preparing to strike.
But before he could bring it down, another blade—faster than his—sliced clean through his shoulder with brutal force. His entire arm, along with the weapon in it, dropped to the ground.
The pain made him scream like his soul was being torn apart.
And just like that, everyone noticed Qi Yuan, who had charged in like a phantom.
The moment Qingtao saw her, she was overwhelmed—there were no words for what she felt.
Like a goddess descending from the heavens—her young lady had come!
Her nose stung, tears poured out as she choked out, “Young Miss! They killed Aunt Zhang! They killed Aunt Zhang!”
Aunt Zhang—was that the teacher lady?
Qi Yuan didn’t answer. She rolled her wrist, and as if eyes had sprouted from her back, she drew her soft sword and drove it straight into the gut of the man behind her. She yanked it out with force and followed up with another thrust.
It had all happened in mere moments.
Her movements were so fast—whether the attackers or her own guards—everyone’s hearts trembled with fear.
But nothing could stop Qi Yuan now.
She hated things slipping out of her control.
She had predicted that after Liu Wangfei’s death, that eunuch Pu Wuyong would retaliate.
She had guessed that that madman Qi Wang wouldn’t accept his demotion willingly.
She had already imagined how they would die.
But what she hadn’t expected was that they’d be so impatient.
They had ambushed her on the road, and at the same time, stormed into the estate and started killing indiscriminately.
As she killed, she still had the mind to wonder—what exactly was that eunuch b*stard trying to do?!
Was it just pure slaughter to vent his anger?
No—eunuchs were always twisted. And the kind of eunuch who could control the Embroidered Uniform Guard was bound to be even more twisted.
There was no way this was just about destroying her estate or killing her people to teach her a lesson.
This estate…
Belonged to the Qi family.
A guard leapt down from the rooftop and lunged at Qi Yuan. She didn’t hesitate—raised her hand and fired a sleeve arrow, striking him to the ground. She then stepped on his wound, crouched down, and asked coldly, “Who sent you?”
If that eunuch dog dared to send people to kill in broad daylight on New Year’s Day, then he’d certainly make sure it was done cleanly.
There’d be no way to trace any of this back to him.
An incident this big—the Marquis’s household would definitely report it to the authorities.
That eunuch might have power, but so did the Marquis’s house—not to mention how close they now were to the Imperial Grandson.
So what exactly was the eunuch relying on, that he dared to act so wantonly?!
The man was clearly trained—he turned his head stubbornly, refusing to speak.
Qi Yuan, expressionless, turned to Qingtao, who had just run up. “Where’s Lihua? Go look for the others in the estate. With the guards protecting you, you’ll be safe. Go check how everyone is.”
The guards: “……”
Well… it wasn’t like they were being dismissed.
But it kind of felt like they were redundant here.
Fine. We’ll go.
As soon as they left, Qi Yuan leisurely patted the man’s face, then in one swift motion grabbed his jaw and dug out the poison capsule hidden in his mouth.
His eyes widened in shock, finally showing a change in expression as he stared at her.
“What’s so shocking?” Qi Yuan said coldly, staring down at him. “People like you, once the mission fails, you never leave survivors. Poison hidden in the mouth? That trick’s ancient. All these years and you still haven’t updated it?”
Her words were almost comical, but the killing intent in her eyes was fierce—it was like she was already looking at a corpse.
“I don’t like wasting time. I’ll ask you once: who sent you?” she said as she drew a dagger.
The assassin’s lips moved. “If you’re going to kill me, just do it! I’ve got nothing to say!”
“Is that so?” Qi Yuan raised the dagger—and drove it between his legs.
His scream pierced the sky.
D*mn it!
What kind of woman was this?!
Sweat poured from him in agony. Even with the arrow wound, he couldn’t help but thrash wildly on the ground.
Qi Yuan calmly kicked him back down, pinned his chest with her foot, crouched again, and raised a brow with no expression on her face: “Thought it through yet? I don’t like killing. Killing is the kindest thing I do. Just now, I stabbed the left side. You still have your right, don’t you?”
……
What the h*ll kind of human is she?!
No—what kind of woman is this?!
How could she say something so utterly shameless with such a calm face?!
Qi Yuan raised the dagger again.
After the last stab, the assassin no longer dared to treat her words as idle threats. Trembling with terror, he shouted, “We—we’re from the Qi family! We’re soldiers stationed in Jizhou—we’re under General Qi’s command!”
Want to show your support? Go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! Want to get early access to at least 20+ chapters in advance? Go to my Patreon to join now! :)
