assassination

The two walked and stopped frequently, and three days passed by in the blink of an eye.

The two were now leading their horses at a slower pace through the woods, enjoying a rare moment of rest. They walked silently, neither speaking. Surprisingly, they were in sync in this respect, both cherishing the time spent relaxing with loved ones.

They walked for a long time without seeing any signs of human habitation. Xu Ruoyan looked up and glanced at the blinding sunlight.

Have you thought about what you would do if we succeeded?

Having not spoken for so long, she cleared her throat, feeling a sharp pain from the words.

Pei Jue was also taken aback upon hearing this. He picked up his water bottle, pulled out the stopper, and handed it to her.

Why did you suddenly ask that?

Xu Ruoyan gulped down two mouthfuls of water and sighed contentedly. She wiped the water from the corner of her mouth and said loudly, "It's nothing, I just suddenly wanted to ask."

Pei Jue turned his head to look at Xu Ruoyan, while Xu Ruoyan stared straight ahead at the quiet road.

"I have no plans. I'll go wherever Madam goes," he said gently.

Xu Ruoyan chuckled and turned to look at him with a leisurely air: "You're an adult, how come you don't have any opinions of your own?"

Pei Jue pondered silently for a long time what the term "adult" meant.

“My wife is my opinion.” He looked up again and said earnestly.

Xu Ruoyan pouted, but felt inexplicably happy inside.

She flicked her sleeves and handed the water bottle back to him.

"If I said I wanted to retire to the mountains, would you come with me?"

Pei Jue nodded hurriedly, afraid that if he hesitated even a second, Xu Ruoyan would abandon him: "Of course, I will follow Madam wherever she goes."

Xu Ruoyan's lips, which she had just suppressed, curled up again.

"Why are you like a shadow?"

Pei Jue pursed his lips, turned his head away, and remained silent.

"Hey, hey, I didn't dislike you at all." Xu Ruoyan hurriedly tried to coax him when she saw his expression was off.

Don't let his seemingly good temper fool you; he gets upset if Xu Ruoyan says anything that displeases him. And he doesn't vent his frustrations on others; he keeps it all bottled up inside, which gives Xu Ruoyan a real headache.

Pei Jue held the reins in one hand and stroked the horse's mane with the other: "I mean it. If I could escape to a secluded paradise with my wife and live a peaceful life together, I would be more than happy to do so."

"Then why did you go to all that trouble to seize the throne? You might as well just find a place to retire," Xu Ruoyan said, a blissful expression on her face. "I really can't believe how happy it would be to start a retirement life at the age of twenty."

Pei Jue was silent for a few seconds, then said, "I don't have much of an obsession with the throne. I just want revenge. I don't care who gets the throne."

Xu Ruoyan gave a skeptical "Oh": "Are you sure? You'd actually give that to someone as useless as Pei Huai?"

"...I will find him a suitable owner."

Xu Ruoyan nodded thoughtfully.

"Hey, what do you think of me?"

She leaned closer and winked mischievously at Pei Jue.

Pei Jue touched his nose, lowered his head, and smiled.

“Of course. Madam is very suitable,” he said.

Xu Ruoyan was taken aback for a moment, seemingly not expecting Pei Jue to actually agree to her, and to agree so readily.

Pei Jue didn't sense anything amiss, since that was truly what he thought. In his eyes, his wife was not only resourceful and skilled in martial arts, but also far-sighted and decisive—perfect for being emperor.

He didn't care whether there was a precedent for a woman becoming emperor; he only knew that his wife was born to be emperor.

Moreover, Xu Ruoyan deserves the most credit for seizing the throne, so the throne should be given to her no matter what.

While Pei Jue was having a mental battle, Xu Ruoyan was already fantasizing about the wonderful life she would have as emperor.

A magnificent palace, countless subjects kneeling at her feet, endless delicacies, fine wines, and handsome men...

She snapped out of her daze and guiltily wiped away non-existent drool from the corner of her mouth.

I really shouldn't think about handsome men; Pei Jue will cause trouble.

"So you want to go—"

Before she could finish speaking, Pei Jue suddenly covered her mouth.

Xu Ruoyan blinked in confusion, watching Pei Jue tighten the reins to stop the horse, then leaned closer and whispered, "Someone's here."

Xu Ruoyan's gaze sharpened in an instant. She listened carefully and indeed heard an unusual rustling sound, which seemed out of place in the quiet forest.

She turned her gaze back to Pei Jue and they exchanged a glance. The two of them, without prior arrangement, quietly reached for the swords on their backs.

The next second, a loud rustling sound came from the treetops above their heads. Crows were startled and flapped their wings and fled. Thirty people dressed in black jumped down from the treetops in unison and surrounded the two of them.

"broken."

The two men tacitly shifted into a defensive stance back to back, simultaneously drawing their swords from behind their backs with a "whoosh." The clanging of the two swords rang out in harmony, like hunters rubbing their hands together, ready to strike.

Xu Ruoyan gripped the sword hilt tightly, her gaze sweeping over each of the black-clad assassins before her.

They look professional; they shouldn't be easy to deal with.

She held her breath, carefully observing their movements, ready to draw her sword at any moment.

"Long time no see, Miss Xu."

A somewhat familiar voice emerged from behind the assassins.

Xu Ruoyan's pupils trembled violently as she slowly raised her head.

It's Sun Yutao.

At this moment, Pei Jue stopped his attack and turned around to stand with Xu Ruoyan.

"You two know each other?"

He stared coldly at the man in front of him, and the temperature around him instantly dropped to freezing point.

Xu Ruoyan scoffed from the side, her grip on the sword unwavering: "Not familiar with it."

"Oh? Is that so?" Sun Yutao continued fanning himself with his paper fan, giving Xu Ruoyan a rather gentlemanly smile: "I have admired Doctor Xu for a long time."

Xu Ruoyan rolled her eyes at him without any attempt to hide it, and said in a voice loud enough for everyone around to hear, "What a show-off."

Sun Yutao's smile clearly faded. He snapped his fan shut and said expressionlessly to the two men, "I am here on Lord Qi's orders to see you off."

It really was Qi Feng.

Xu Ruoyan stared at him intently, subconsciously gritting her teeth.

"They're a den of snakes and rats."

Pei Jue echoed her sentiments, saying, "Who gave you permission to admire my wife?"

Xu Ruoyan looked at him in shock.

Is this the important point?!

Sun Yutao hadn't expected him to say that, and the smile he had managed to muster froze.

However, it was only a brief moment before he skillfully put on that same face again: "Miss Xu, I still advise you not to resist. These people were all personally selected by Lord Qi, and you are definitely no match for them. If you obediently do not fight back, I can let them give you a quick death."

After saying that, he narrowed his eyes and smirked, "Now that you're done here, I still have to go and deal with my good-for-nothing brother."

Xu Ruoyan couldn't help but laugh at his confident demeanor.

"You're nothing but Qi Feng's dog," she said disdainfully, raising her chin at Sun Yutao. "You really think you're a human being? Who gave you that confidence?"

Sun Yutao's face darkened completely. He turned and walked away from the encirclement.

"Charge them!"

Xu Ruoyan lowered her eyebrows and raised her sword to meet the attack.

After practicing swordsmanship for so long, it's time to take the test.

The thirty men in black split into two groups the instant Sun Yutao gave the order, each rushing towards the two men. Although Pei Jue was highly skilled in martial arts, his body had not yet fully recovered, and although Xu Ruoyan had also practiced for a long time, she was still a step behind Pei Jue. Therefore, neither of them had time to pay attention to the other, and they each found an open space and started fighting.

Seeing two men in black rushing towards her from both sides, Xu Ruoyan flicked her wrist, lowered her body, and squeezed between them. Then, with a kick of her left foot and a flick of her right, she slit the throat of the man on the right with a sword. She glanced around, quickly bent down to dodge an oncoming blade, and simultaneously swung her left arm, taking down another man.

Pei Jue was not to be outdone. He moved with incredible speed, his sword flashing like afterimages. As he charged forward, those who attacked from the left and right fell to his blade. His technique was exquisite; each person only had a thin scratch on their neck, which from a distance appeared to be just a little blood, but in reality, it had pierced their trachea, leaving them utterly defenseless.

Within minutes, more than half of the assassins present had fallen. Sun Yutao, who hadn't gone far, turned around and saw this scene, and his refined and gentle demeanor completely crumbled.

"Let's go first." He quietly boarded the carriage and urged the driver to hurry up.

After killing another person, Xu Ruoyan took the opportunity to look up in Sun Yutao's direction. When she caught sight of his fleeing figure, she cursed him in her heart.

It was during that split second that someone took advantage of the opportunity and slashed her arm hard.

Xu Ruoyan hissed suddenly, her eyes becoming even fiercer.

"You dare hurt your great-aunt?!"

Seeing that everyone else was closing in, she pushed off the ground, almost touching it to the side, and dodged all the attacks. Then, she turned and threw the sword. As if it had a mind of its own, the sword spun a few times and cut the throats of everyone in front of it before obediently returning to Xu Ruoyan's palm.

Xu Ruoyan let out a long sigh, turned around and sheathed her sword, frowning in disgust at the blood on her hand.

Pei Jue dealt with the situation quickly as well, sheathing his sword almost simultaneously with Xu Ruoyan. After confirming that no one was left alive, he immediately looked at Xu Ruoyan and, seeing a shocking patch of red on her arm, rushed over and took her hand.

"I'll go bandage you up."

Xu Ruoyan watched him run away, then looked down at her wound and felt even more pain.

Pei Jue quickly ran back with a burlap sack, helped Xu Ruoyan sit down on a large rock nearby, carefully pulled her arm over and placed it on his lap, then unfolded the sack and slowly wrapped it around her wound.

Xu Ruoyan looked away and bit her lower lip tightly.

Those people were very ruthless; the knife almost reached the bone. But she didn't want to upset Pei Jue, so she stubbornly endured it without uttering a sound.

"Okay." Pei Jue tied a knot, then held her hand tightly.

When Xu Ruoyan turned her head, she met Pei Jue's gaze, which was filled with tears.

"Hey, no, don't cry." She frantically tried to wipe Pei Jue's tears, but accidentally aggravated her wound, causing her to hiss in pain.

She was holding up her arm, wanting to see how well Pei Jue had bandaged her up, when Pei Jue hugged her.

Xu Ruoyan was taken aback for a moment, then her stiff hand slowly touched his head.

"I'm fine, aren't I?" She gently patted Pei Jue's head, trying to reassure him.

Pei Jue buried his head and wiped his tears onto her shoulder.

"I'm very scared."

This was the first time in his life that he had so frankly admitted another side of himself to others.

But at this moment, saving face and nothing else matters.

I can't lose you.

That's all he thought.