Encountering danger halfway

Silver butterflies fluttered and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving only Fan Lingzhang's worried face in sight.

Fan Lingzhang held her in his arms, and she felt their hearts beat in unison.

The gauze curtains on the bed shrouded the two of them in a dreamlike mist, as if following the white mist in Zhixu's dream.

Did you have a nightmare?

His tender and considerate words reached her ears, and she gripped his clothes tightly, finally regaining a sense of reality.

Sui Zhixu shook her head. It wasn't a nightmare; she must have sensed Jiang Li's symbiotic Gu.

Moreover, the withered tree in her dream felt very familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.

She leaned on Fan Lingzhang's shoulder and looked out the window. "I'm fine. It's still early. I'll sleep a little longer."

A warm hand stroked her back, and the two lay intertwined. As Xu's gaze slid over his eyebrows and nose, a faint jasmine scent lingered in the air. Before long, she drifted off to sleep again.

Peaceful in the middle of the night.

The raindrops pattered on the windowpane, and the room was shrouded in mist. When Fan Lingzhang woke up, he saw Sui Zhixu sitting in a chair not far from the window.

"You're awake?"

"Why didn't you call me?" Fan Lingzhang sat up, put his hands on the quilt, and looked at her.

Sui Zhixu changed her posture so she could see his face better, and a smile unconsciously appeared in her eyes. Every time she saw his face, her mood would improve a lot.

"It's pouring rain outside, so there's no need to travel today."

The implication is that traveling in the rain near Luoshui is dangerous, so it's better to sleep a little longer.

He narrowed his phoenix eyes and raised the corners of his mouth, but she turned her head away indifferently, refusing to look at him.

"Get up and eat."

Sui Zhixu got up and walked towards the door, not giving him a single glance.

"Hey, my wife, wait for me!" Seeing that she had really left, Fan Lingzhang quickly dressed and went downstairs.

As soon as he opened the door, Fan Lingzhang's smile faltered for a moment. He turned around, closed the door, and leisurely walked downstairs to Sui Zhixu and the other two.

Sui Zhixu handed him a steamed bun, his eyes seemingly glancing casually at a table not far away next door.

"Have a meal."

Fan Lingzhang calmly sat down next to Sui Zhixu and took the white steamed bun from her hand.

"They came for you?"

She leaned close to his ear, her voice rising in pitch, her clear, almond-shaped eyes sparkling, making him think she was gloating.

Her dark blue eyelashes fluttered, as if to say, "It's finally your turn."

Fan Lingzhang smiled. Indeed, in the past two years, apart from Yungang Village and Jingzhou, he had been staying in Chang'an and had rarely encountered such things.

On the contrary, she was constantly being assassinated on her way from Luoyang to Yungang Village, making Jingzhou even more unstable.

"In that case, shall I rely on my wife to save my life?"

Fan Lingzhang clasped his hands in a salute, dispelling the worry in her heart. Her face remained expressionless as she calmly asked him, "According to the rules of the martial arts world, shouldn't there be some reward?"

"Hmm?" He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly leaned close to her ear.

"I am willing to offer myself in marriage and present my meager assets as dowry. Will you accept it, my lady?"

Sui Zhixu turned his head: "Glib-tongued."

His lips brushed against her ear, tickling her slightly. She unconsciously flinched back, appearing to outsiders as a newlywed couple.

During the meal, apart from countless glances directed at them, everything was peaceful.

After dinner, the group went upstairs.

"I was going to ask you if you really wanted to come with me to that land of tigers and wolves, but now it seems you have to come with me whether you want to or not."

Before Fan Lingzhang could respond, she muttered, "You seem to have quite a few enemies, at least two groups. No wonder you always take Alu with you when you go out. If it were Afu, I wonder who would protect whom."

Alu remained expressionless, but Fan Lingzhang laughed.

“That’s right. A-Lu learned martial arts from the martial arts masters that A-Ye knew since he was a child, while A-Fu couldn’t stand the hardship. He couldn’t even stand the first day of practicing the horse stance and ran back crying. He’s not as healthy as me. If I took him with me when I went out, I might have been killed by his blade eight hundred times over.”

She pursed her lips. "My reason was too obvious."

"That's my choice. Now everyone in Chang'an knows we're a couple." Fan Lingzhang said smugly, his arrogant smile making it seem as if he wasn't the one being assassinated.

Sui Zhixu and the other two silently polished their swords. She should know that while he did well in business because of his looks and words, a large number of people hated him.

"We'll have to travel through the night again."

As Xu's words were confirmed that night, a torrential downpour continued, with rain pouring down from the roof and large raindrops pattering against the windows.

After the lights were turned off, a bamboo tube pierced through the window paper and emitted thick white smoke. A moment later, as they opened the door, Sui Zhixu, wearing a straw raincoat, stepped on his back from above and kicked him into the room.

"You guys didn't faint?" He had barely finished speaking when his body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.

With a blank expression, Liu Lü knocked the person outside the door unconscious and threw him into the house.

"There's only one group of people, let's go!"

Perhaps he was planning to stalk the cicada from behind, so Xu took Fan Lingzhang's hand and led him out of the inn.

A-Lu had brought the horse to the door early, and the three of them came out and immediately mounted the horse.

The neighing of horses echoed through the night, and torrential rain pelted their raincoats. Through the rain, Sui Zhixu could hear shouts from another group of people.

"They're there! Go after them!"

The people mounted their horses quickly and lightly, leading Xu to deduce that this group was not only skilled in martial arts but also not as foolish as the previous ones, making them seem difficult to deal with.

According to their route, they needed to go east to Luoyang, and then travel south from Luoyang.

"Come with me!"

As Xu raised her whip, accompanied by the neighing of her horse, she rode ahead of the three to lead the way.

The Mo family's headquarters were in Luoyang; the mechanisms on the back mountain alone were enough to send them back to their hometown.

Outside Luoyang City, at the Mo Family compound, Xu dismounted, and the three of them followed closely behind.

Seeing the four men dismount, the men behind them stopped their horses. "Boss, that's where they ran off to."

He pointed to a small path beside the Mo family compound, which resembled Zhuangzi's, a path only wide enough for people to pass through, but not for horses.

"Dismount! This time, Fan Lingzhang only has one guard with him and two young ladies by his side. If we don't cut off his head now, when will we?"

"Boss, that young lady is no simple character. We need to play it by ear."

"Let's chase after them first, but don't disturb the people in the village."

"yes!"

The group, armed with swords and knives, cautiously moved forward.

A dark cave appeared in the distance, and the leader gestured for them to stop.

"Send two people to check."

Sui Zhixu pulled Fan Lingzhang aside and hid in the shadows, watching the henchmen go in and come out again.

"Boss! It looks like a tunnel, and it's very deep inside. They probably escaped through the tunnel."

"Chase after them!"

Xu secretly blocked the first mechanism, and once they were all inside, he swiftly closed the stone door and set off the hidden trap.

The heavy stone door slammed shut in just three breaths, startling the people inside the cave. They realized something was wrong, but then came a rain of arrows like a dark cloud.

Countless screams erupted. This was merely the first and simplest mechanism in the Mo Family compound. The subsequent mechanisms were even more daunting.

As soon as Xu clapped his hands and turned around, the lamps in the Mo Family Dormitory were lit up, and the place was instantly brightly lit.

Through the rain, she saw Lang Ning holding an umbrella and Sui Chuke looking furious.

Just a few steps away, Chu Ke saw the person clearly and was furious.

"What are you doing here? Why are you here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, causing trouble at my Mo Family compound?"

Chu Ke's strange gaze fell on Fan Lingzhang. "You didn't come to the back mountain looking for thrills, did you?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Sui Zhixu's throat tightened as he said, "It's raining so hard, why aren't you making way!"

He was completely unmoved by women, and instead used the nonsense that Chu Ke had learned from that remote corner of the world.

Upon entering the hall, Sui Zhixu took off his heavy raincoat, sat at the head of the table with practiced ease, and directed Lang Ning to prepare rooms for them.

"Hey, hey, hey, Sui Zhixu! Don't think that just because you're the young master you can order my people around, okay? Also, that's my seat, get up."

Just as Chu Ke was about to make a move, she looked exhausted and said, "Wait a bit before you cause trouble..."

She briefly recounted what had just happened, then leaned back in her chair, swaying her skirt.

“Look.”

Sui Zhixu waved his hand, "Remember to have someone collect the body."

"You two deserve it." Sui Chuke cursed and refused to let her get up. He turned to the people and shouted, "Where are they? Where did everyone go? Why are they working so slowly? Hurry up and take them downstairs. They're all filthy."

"Coming, coming, Master, don't rush me, it'll be ready soon." Lang Ning busied himself with errands and even took the time to comfort Sui Chuke.

After finally settling the four of them, Sui Zhixu and his companions, Sui Chuke instructed Lang Ning to go and adjust the mechanisms in the back mountain.

"If a few insects escape, wouldn't the Mo Family Compound become a laughing stock?"

"Understood, Your subordinate." Lang Ning hurriedly came out, his hair ornament and clothes crooked.

Sui Chuke couldn't stand it anymore. "Alright, alright, go back to sleep. I'll go by myself."

"Thank you for your kindness, Dormitory Head." Lang Ning awkwardly prepared his clothes and silently withdrew.

Following Chu Ke, we entered through another secret passage in the back mountain. Standing at the head of the passage, we could see them clearly. In just a quarter of an hour, only three or four of them remained.

He chuckled inwardly, watching helplessly as they writhed in agony as they were burned in the rollers, and ruthlessly pulled the handbrake, making the fire burn even brighter.

To ensure absolute safety, the number of blades in the next mechanism was doubled, and the speed was doubled as well.

After finishing everything, he covered his hands, yawned, and walked back, making sure to close the door to the secret passage tightly before leaving.

They are family members and no one should bully them.

The journey was simple, and tonight was the best night that the four of them, including Sui Zhixu, had ever had.

As Xu lay on the soft bed, he said, "Tomorrow the weather will be clear, and we still have a long way to go."

“They won’t let this go,” Fan Lingzhang said gravely, clearly knowing who the other party was.

"It's alright, the three of us are more than enough to protect you."

"Thanks to your protection, my wife."

Despite saying that, Fan Lingzhang was not at ease.

With the warm, fragrant, and soft body in his arms, he gradually relaxed and drifted off to sleep.

Since we're here, let's make the best of it.

The next day, the sky cleared and the sun shone brightly on the earth.

The people in the back mountain had long been wiped out, so Xu and the others continued on their way.

Chu Ke was shocked by their haste and asked, "What are you going to do now?"

"Private matter."

"Tch, once you leave Luoyang, the only place with the Sui family's manpower is Jingzhou. Don't let your men die halfway there."

Sui Zhixu mounted his horse, sat down, looked down at him, and said with a smile, "Don't curse me."

"Hmph, you'd better protect your own life. If you die, the young master will be mine."

Lang Ning, who kept tugging at his clothes from behind, wished she could cover his mouth.

"No, you won't have that chance. Let's go!" Xu Yang spurred his horse, his indifferent voice echoing through the mountains.

As Chu Ke watched their retreating figures, he grumbled and cursed. Lang Ning, who was beside him, easily coaxed him, and soon he turned back.

"Go to sleep, go to sleep. You woke me up in the middle of the night, and I have to take her to school this morning. I'm so sleepy!"

Lang Ning: "Yes, yes, yes."

They then proceeded all the way to Zhuling, where they remained quite safe and sound.

They then chose an inn at the foot of Zhuling to rest.

"It's getting late today. Tomorrow we'll cross Zhuling and be almost at Miao territory."

“The mountain roads of Zhuling are complex, connecting many mountain ranges and ridges in the north and east. We need to plan our route carefully to avoid getting lost.” Fan Lingzhang picked up the prepared map. He always carried a map with him when he traveled around.

Xu nodded slightly, "That makes sense."

At this moment, Liu Lü pushed the door open and came in. "Wife, I heard from the local people that wild animals have been appearing in Zhuling recently."

"A wild beast?" Sui Zhixu lowered his eyes. "We do need to be careful. Let me see how much Dan Hong's powder is left."

She divided the powder into four portions, saying, "Keep them with you, and try not to get separated."

"good."

Contrary to expectations, after a peaceful journey, they soon encountered someone who wanted to put Sui Zhixu to death after entering the mountains.

With Xu protecting Fan Lingzhang behind him, and facing a large and powerful enemy, they managed to separate Alu and Liu Lü from their group.

The map in Fan Lingzhang's hand had disappeared, so Xu had no choice but to lead his men up the mountain.

As they approached Miao territory, the mountains there were many poisonous insects. They had run out of medicinal powder along the way, so Xu had no choice but to keep swinging his sword, the silvery-white blade stained with the blood of the poisonous creatures they passed by.

Fan Lingzhang shot another hidden arrow backward, accurately piercing the throat of a person behind him. When he tried to nock another arrow, the hidden arrow was empty.