Perhaps it was the comfortable bed she was sleeping in, or perhaps it was the ease she felt after leaving the city these past few days, but she slept very well that night. Even when someone lifted the curtain in the middle of the night and leaned in close, only inches away from her, she still didn't notice.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her chest, jolting Shu Yao awake. She opened her eyes wide. Although the room was pitch black, the eyes that were staring at her were like those of an eagle, gleaming with a sharp light even in the darkness. It seemed as if they could effortlessly and accurately capture their prey, leaving no place for the prey to hide.

She tried to dodge, but found herself completely immobilized. She wanted to question him, but couldn't make a sound. That bastard! He actually used acupressure on her!

"There's been an emergency, I'm sorry." Qi's voice came from the darkness.

The next moment, she felt his hand on her collar, and with a "whoosh," he opened her collar completely, exposing a large expanse of her chest to the air, bringing a chill.

Damn it! He's taking off her clothes!

You Shuyao glared at him resentfully. So, he rejected her advances and preferred to force himself on her in the pitch black of night? He was utterly perverted!

She simply closed her eyes, refusing to look at his shameless behavior, and could only silently curse him as he forcibly stripped off her top.

Later, Shu Yao learned that Qi wasn't exaggerating; there really was an emergency. A large number of Imperial Guards appeared and instantly surrounded the entire inn, blocking it so tightly that not even a fly could get out. The clattering of horses' hooves woken everyone staying in the inn from their sleep.

The Imperial Guards arrived without any warning, all riding fast horses. Their torches illuminated the inn brightly, revealing every dark and obscure corner.

The innkeeper and his young assistants were huddled together in fear when a line of Imperial Guards burst in. They dispersed in an orderly fashion, each taking their place, and led everyone from each of the guest rooms upstairs to the lobby on the first floor. They checked each person carefully against the check-in list on the counter.

The shopkeeper rushed forward, so terrified he could barely walk, stumbling and nearly falling. The people were dragged from their beds, their faces filled with panic, their sleepiness long gone. They were frightened by the sudden arrival of the Imperial Guards, unsure what had happened, but they could guess that being surrounded and interrogated by them couldn't be a good thing.

Holding the check-in list, the Imperial Guard asked the innkeeper, "Is everyone recorded?"

"It's been recorded, it's been recorded," the innkeeper replied repeatedly, bowing. "Everyone who checks in at this inn is recorded without exception."

"Are they all using their real names?" the Imperial Guard asked again.

The shopkeeper was taken aback and stammered, "Uh... I can't guarantee whether it's the real name or not, but the name is always correct. You can check it against the household registration stickers one by one, and then it will be clear whether it's real or fake."

The Imperial Guard nodded, agreeing with his point, and indeed, the innkeeper did not have the authority to check guest registration information.

"Do we have to post notices to every household?" The merchants and commoners gathered on the first floor all looked at each other in bewilderment. They didn't know who the Embroidered Uniform Guard was going to such lengths to investigate, let alone what kind of criminal was being hunted that would require the Embroidered Uniform Guard to mobilize so many troops to chase them hundreds of miles from the capital.

All the Imperial Guards, each holding a brocade spring knife, stood in two neat rows, expressionless, seemingly waiting for some important figure to appear and take charge of the mission.

Sure enough... the important figure appeared shortly afterward. He was also dressed in the Jinyiwei's flying fish uniform, but the material and style were exceptionally luxurious, with gold thread embroidery and a python pattern on the front, symbolizing the emperor's trust and favor, and also indicating that this person's official rank was definitely not low. He was tall and upright, with a steady and calm gait, and walked step by step to the front of the Jinyiwei's ranks.

With his arrival, the temperature in the originally "overly popular" lobby instantly dropped several degrees, and the atmosphere became even more solemn and stern. No one dared to raise their heads, and the entire inn was shrouded in an invisible pressure.

In particular, a thin man in the corner of the lobby shrank back almost imperceptibly, as if he wanted to press his chin to his chest and disappear completely from everyone's sight.

The thin man was You Shuyao in disguise. She was dressed in men's clothes, and her face had been changed. Her skin was dark and yellow, and she had stubble on her lips. The person who helped her change her appearance was Qi, who was standing next to her.

It wasn't until the Imperial Guards stormed into the inn that You Shuyao suddenly realized that his sudden rush into her tent in the middle of the night to tear off her clothes was to change her makeup, and that pressing her pressure points was to prevent her from screaming or moving around and hindering his disguise.

She guessed that Qi had probably heard the sound of horses' hooves in the quiet night, but it was too late to run, so he used the remaining short time to quickly change his appearance and identity to avoid being questioned by the Imperial Guards.

You could just say it directly. Tell her that Huo Jingsha is chasing after her. If she knows the reason, she will definitely cooperate fully because she doesn't want to be taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Why make such a fuss by striking her acupoints and tearing her clothes?

Qi seemed to understand the resentment and doubt in her eyes, and replied in a low voice.

"To prevent you from escaping in the chaos." That's why he abruptly pressed her pressure points, rendering her unable to speak and unable to move.

You Shuyao cursed inwardly. It turned out that in addition to preventing Huo Jingsha from catching her, Qi also had to prevent her from escaping. This man was indeed meticulous and could come up with a way to guard against two things in a hurry.

His act of silencing her was also for a specific purpose. One reason was to prevent her from screaming, and another was that while he could change her appearance, he couldn't change her voice…

It must be said that Qi's disguise skills were indeed superb, able to transform her into a male face in less than a quarter of an hour. When she accidentally glanced at herself in the bronze mirror, she was truly startled, because the person in the mirror was a complete stranger who didn't look like her at all. Now she could only hope that this appearance could fool Huo Jingsha's discerning eyes.

Just as she and Qi were exchanging glances, the Imperial Guards in the main hall made a new move. They ordered everyone to stand in a line, intending to interrogate each and every one of them without leaving a single one behind.

You Shuyao's heart was pounding rapidly. She pursed her lips and couldn't help but look at Qi beside her.

Qi remained expressionless and calm, showing no sign of panic. But for some reason, this time her heart just couldn't find peace.

The mere fact that Huo Jingsha had traveled a hundred miles to chase her here filled her with wave after wave of fear.

She had been gone for five or six days, and she thought that by leaving the capital and his territory, she could finally escape to a distant land. She had barely relaxed when this man, seemingly oblivious to the meaning of giving up, chased her all the way here, catching her completely off guard.