Almost in that very instant, a large net suddenly sprang up from the ground, shooting upward and completely trapping the figure mid-air—dragging them straight into the archway.
Pu Wuyong had followed close behind and witnessed it all clearly. He couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Good!
Everyone he met always said how capable and formidable this girl was.
And though he had always believed deep down that he would emerge victorious, for some reason there was still an inexplicable tension in his chest—an unshakable worry that something might go wrong.
That d*mn girl had actually sensed the ambush ahead in advance…
Pu Wuyong narrowed his eyes, and his heart clenched as he thought of his nephew.
Yes—a woman who could deduce the possibility of an ambush ahead just by surveying the terrain, and react without a single visible cue… How could his poor, naive nephew have stood a chance against someone like her?
But it didn’t matter now. If Cishan couldn’t handle her, then he would!
His expression twisted with fury as he shouted, “Take her alive!”
His voice pierced sharply through the night air.
At the same time, the black-clad figures leapt into the air without hesitation. In their hands, their Xiuchun Blades came slashing down toward the person caught in the net.
But just as they were about to strike, the net suddenly snapped apart.
Qi Yuan—no one could tell how she had done it—had already broken free from the net, and in the next moment, landed on the ground.
Her movements were lightning-fast—the fastest any of these Embroidered Uniform Guard had ever seen.
The very instant she hit the ground, she moved like a hunting leopard, springing back onto her horse and dashing toward the northwest.
Pu Wuyong shrieked furiously from behind, “After her! Go after her! If she escapes, all of you can bring me your heads!”
The Embroidered Uniform Guard dared not delay and immediately used their lightfoot skills to pursue Qi Yuan.
Just as she dashed into a narrow mountain path—its sides flanked by steep cliffs—they caught up.
Pu Wuyong followed closely behind and, seeing that his men had finally cornered her, let out another breath of relief.
What could she do now? Struggling was pointless. With this many people, Qi Yuan was merely a trapped beast fighting back out of desperation.
But at that very moment, Qi Yuan suddenly raised her hand to her mouth and let out a sharp, piercing whistle.
The battle-hardened Embroidered Uniform Guard were instantly overwhelmed with dread.
An ambush!
It’s an ambush!
She had deliberately fallen into their trap… only to turn it against them and lure them here!
But by the time they realized it, it was already too late to react.
Suddenly, massive boulders tumbled down from the cliff walls above.
Even with their high-level martial arts, the Embroidered Uniform Guard were powerless against the sheer weight and unpredictability of the falling rocks. In an instant, they were battered and bloodied, thrown into chaos and disarray.
Pu Wuyong was struck squarely on the forehead—blood streaming down his face.
He was absolutely furious.
A lifetime spent hunting geese—and now his eye was pecked out by one! He had actually been played—completely toyed with—by a lowly girl!
He thought he was the one setting the trap for her.
But who would’ve guessed… The mantis stalks the cicada—only to be watched by the oriole!
He immediately roared at the Embroidered Uniform Guard, “Kill on sight! No mercy—kill them all!”
No need to make her into a living stake anymore.
Just beat her to death!
Even if she’s pounded into a pile of bloody flesh, send her down to accompany Cishan in the grave!
The Embroidered Uniform Guard had previously been holding back because Pu Wuyong had ordered her captured alive, but now, hearing this, they no longer hesitated. One of them ran across the mountainside wall, leaping horizontally to grab Qi Yuan by the shoulder.
But before his hand could even reach her, a blade appeared from midair and sliced it clean off, sending him crashing to the ground in screams of agony.
Pu Wuyong didn’t spare a glance for the fallen Embroidered Uniform Guard—but a look of utter shock spread across his face. His eyes locked tightly onto the one who struck—Xiao Yunting—and he let out a cold, sinister tsk: “So it’s His Highness the Imperial Grandson, after all!”
He’d always worn powder, and his face was already ghostly pale—but with his twisted, savage expression under the moonlight, he looked more like a demon from hell, jaws ready to devour the living.
Then he burst into laughter.
Just moments ago, when the Embroidered Uniform Guard were locked in deadly battle with Qi Yuan, he had been shrieking in fury.
But now, seeing Xiao Yunting enter the fray, he suddenly found something even more delightful.
This Imperial Grandson—the one who always appeared meek and harmless in front of others, the one who claimed to have spent over a decade in Mao Mountain due to poor health—so it turns out he had such formidable skill.
No—more importantly…
He was even willing to go this far for Qi Yuan!
Today was the Lantern Festival. The Emperor had brought the ministers and noblewomen to Baiyun Temple, yet the Imperial Grandson had scandalously gone missing.
So where had he gone?
When Qi Yuan dies today, the Imperial Grandson would clearly die alongside her—for love.
Pu Wuyong had already begun planning how to silence all the elite guards who witnessed this.
But at this moment, he simply gave a cold order:
“Kill.”
Xiao Yunting’s presence only made it better. Now he could eliminate two major threats at once!
The Embroidered Uniform Guard held nothing back anymore. In truth, once Xiao Yunting had shown up, they knew there was no turning back.
They began throwing everything they had into the fight.
Qi Yuan’s flexible sword moved so quickly it left only faint afterimages. But just then, Pu Wuyong suddenly shouted to her: “Miss Qi, what were the names of those maids at your estate again? And that little brat—he’s four years old, isn’t he?”
In a fight between masters, life and death are decided in a split second. Qi Yuan dared not lose focus, yet the words rattled her just enough to break her rhythm.
An Embroidered Uniform Guard immediately seized the opening and stabbed a concealed weapon into her shoulder.
Qi Yuan staggered.
That pause was enough. The attacker exhaled sharply, lunging forward to press the advantage.
But Xiao Yunting, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, reached out mid-battle, wrapped an arm around Qi Yuan’s waist, and in the same motion, swung his blade at the attacker’s shoulder.
The man bent backward in an evasive dodge but still took a hit—and a nearby Daoist soldier immediately shot him dead with an arrow.
No one knew if the concealed weapon had been poisoned. Xiao Yunting turned toward Qi Yuan, his expression tight with worry—but she coldly pulled the weapon out from her shoulder and tossed it aside.
It had barbs on it, but she acted like it was nothing, only frowning faintly.
Then she fixed her gaze firmly on Pu Wuyong in the distance.
At her private estate were Lihua, Qingtao, Shen Mama, and many innocent tenant farmers.
And there was also her newly acknowledged younger brother, Shen Jialang.
She was weighing the truth of Pu Wuyong’s filthy words.
Pu Wuyong raised an eyebrow at her, taunting brazenly without a care: “You know me—I doted on my nephew most. Since he’s dead, the funeral should be grand, don’t you think? The girls should go. The servants too. Oh—and that little brat of yours? He’d make a perfect cheap replacement son for my nephew…”
