Chapter 45 A strange sense of exhilaration welled up inside me.

Mingyue ignored him, simply picked up her teacup and took a sip; no one knew what she was really thinking.

"Oh, by the way, how's the situation in Yejing?"

"They're very patient, testing whether I'm really about to die."

The teacup was placed heavily on the table, and a few water droplets spilled out, splashing onto the wooden table and being absorbed, leaving only a small patch of color that was darker than the rest.

"...If Your Majesty requires..."

Seventeen poked his head, feeling a bit of a headache. His Majesty was no ordinary person after all. If he wrote something too intimate, it would make him seem disrespectful and negligent in his duties. But if he wrote something too official, he would worry that His Majesty would think he was having a great time outside.

After a long while, he finally put down his pen, blew on the still-wet ink, and couldn't help feeling a little anxious.

This was the first time he had ever written a letter to His Majesty, and he didn't know if His Majesty would...

A knock sounded at the door, and Mingyue's voice came from outside: "Seventeen, have you finished writing the letter? Lingwu is here."

"Ah! It's finished! I'll be right there!"

Seventeen responded and quickly folded the letter, carefully placing it into the envelope.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Lingwu knelt on the ground. Shiqi came in and greeted him briefly, nodding to each other as a greeting.

"Take this letter back and give it to His Majesty."

Long Zhaoming took the letter from Seventeen and handed it to Zero Five. Zero Five paused for a moment after receiving the letter, then calmly accepted it and replied, "Yes."

"How is His Majesty doing?"

"Everything is as usual."

Long Zhaoming nodded: "Go down."

Zero Five disappeared from the room in the blink of an eye. Although Seventeen had questions in her mind, she didn't ask them.

In fact, he could vaguely guess from the attitudes of His Highness and Yue Ge towards His Majesty's serious illness that His Majesty might be fine at all, but for some reason, he was keeping it from him.

This thought made Seventeen a little sad, but then she comforted herself, thinking that perhaps His Majesty just didn't want her to worry?

It's unclear whether this reason convinced Seventeen, but his expression didn't betray him.

"Take a rest this afternoon, there's a big battle tonight."

Long Zhaoming patted Seventeen on the shoulder and said, while Mingyue, who was standing to the side, asked, "Has His Highness notified the yamen?"

"We've notified them, and we've reminded each and every household."

Seventeen looked at the bright sunshine outside. The weather was getting hotter and hotter. He wondered if they could make it to Jiangnan before summer officially arrived.

In the dead of night, the moon hangs high in the dark sky, casting a cool, serene light upon the land it protects, a scene both tranquil and mysterious.

The residents of Fenglin Town went to bed early, and the only sounds occasionally could be the not-too-annoying chirping of insects and birds outside.

Seventeen crouched outside the bandit camp. The garrison had already arrived in Maple Forest Town and quietly set up camp outside the town.

He was sent to keep an eye on the situation and see if he could take the opportunity to rescue Xie Qingyan.

The bandit camp was also quiet at this time, with only the guards at the gate and a few dim yellow lights. The bandit guarding outside yawned, and the man next to him, holding a spear, also yawned: "How many more points are there? I'm so sleepy."

"Soon."

Both of their heads were practically drooping to the ground when a plump white pigeon fluttered up to Seventeen. He unfolded the note he had pulled out of the letterbox, tore it up, and threw it on the ground.

The pigeon tilted its head and looked at him. Seventeen stuck out a finger and poked the fluffy little head, whispering, "Let's go back."

The troops have arrived at the foot of the mountain. To prevent these people from discovering and reporting the situation, we must first deal with the guards outside.

Long Zhaoming had already given the order, and Seventeen did not hesitate any longer. He observed the positions and silently marked them in his mind.

There are two gates on the left, two on the right, and one person on each of the other two watchtowers.

A group of six.

Seventeen silently climbed to the middle of the watchtower. At that moment, the snoring from the tower was deafening. This was an excellent opportunity.

Without disturbing a single insect, Seventeen appeared behind the snoring bandit. With a flash of cold light in the moonlight, the bandit lost his life in his sleep.

Seventeen, carrying his sword and ignoring the bloodstains dripping from it, looked around to make sure he wasn't being discovered, then quietly descended from the watchtower and went to another one.

Perhaps they had been living in comfort for too long, for this group was completely oblivious to danger, and Seventeen easily ended the lives of the bandits on the two watchtowers.

He casually grabbed the clothes from the dead bandit, wiped the sword on them, and looked at it with some disgust.

The smell of blood spread quickly, especially in this increasingly hot weather.

Standing atop the tall watchtower, his view was much wider, and he could see the twinkling lights below the mountain in the distance. If these two watchtowers hadn't been fast asleep, they would have been discovered long ago.

Seventeen remained silent, turned and climbed down from the watchtower, leaving behind the stench and bloodshed.

The two at the door are not easy to deal with at the same time. They are close together, and if one dies, the other will be discovered as soon as he makes a sound.

He pondered for a moment, then picked up a small stone from beside him and threw it at some kind of bird in the tree.

The bird flapped its wings and made a sharp cry, attracting the attention of the two guards.

What's that noise?

One of them instantly became alert, gripping his spear tightly and staring intently in the direction of the bird.

"It looks like a bird."

Why would a bird be startled and fly away for no reason?

Not entirely stupid. Seventeen chuckled, quietly awaiting their next move.

The two guards exchanged glances, hesitant: "Shall we go and check?"

"But......"

"I'll go check it out, and if things aren't right, I'll give a signal."

"Okay, be careful."

One of the guards, holding a spear in one hand and a signal flare in the other, cautiously walked toward that direction, while the other kept a close eye on him, completely unaware that the King of Hell was already behind him.

With a soft "plop," blood gushed out. He didn't even make a sound before collapsing to the ground, his body limp. Seventeen reached out and caught him, gently placing him on the ground. He shook the blood off his sword, then, seeing the other person already deep inside, used his lightness skill to quickly catch up.

"Nobody's here? Maybe I'm mistaken—"

Before he could finish speaking, a gleaming sword was already pressed against his neck. The rustling of leaves masked the stench on the ground. Seventeen looked down the mountain, where the twinkling stars were gradually approaching.

Without hesitation, he immediately slipped across the outer wall to the other side and quickly dealt with the remaining two guards using the same method.

Just as the blood from the Bright Moon Sword fell to the ground, a loud bang shook the entire bandit camp.

Before many people could react, they were overwhelmed by the swarming troops, and some who resisted fiercely were executed on the spot.

Seeing the commotion in the camp, Seventeen turned around and slipped directly into Xie Qingyan's room.

"Walk."

Xie Qingyan had already tidied up and was standing quietly inside the house waiting, undisturbed even by the sudden disturbance outside.

His eyes lit up when he saw Seventeen. He quickly walked to Seventeen's side, coughed twice, and said, "I don't have much stuff. Let's go."

Seventeen turned her head to look at him. Although Xie Qingyan was in poor health, he was quite tall and thin, like a bamboo pole.

"Can it still hold on?"

"no problem."

Since Xie Qingyan spoke with such certainty, Seventeen no longer hesitated. Considering that the other party was currently unable to use his martial arts, he simply grabbed the person's waist and flew swiftly towards the forest behind the mountain.

Everything in the camp was no longer their concern.

Xie Qingyan felt a strange sense of exhilaration, unsure whether it was from the long-lost feeling of speed or something else.

When they arrived at the large tree stump where he had previously directed Yu Huixin, Seventeen put her down, muttering a few words as he did so: "You look quite thin, how come you're so heavy?"

Xie Qingyan was amused by him, and upon closer inspection, she realized that seventeen years old was not that old, but rather seemed to be only a teenager.

"No matter what, I am a grown man and I have the weight to bear. I was impolite before and forgot to ask your names. I wonder if I could make up for it today?"

Having spent so much time with Long Zhaoming and Mingyue, Seventeen disliked such flowery language, but she didn't express it.

"Seventeen, the other one is called Mingyue, we are people of the King of Huainan."

Mingyue had told him these things before he set off, and he should answer truthfully if Xie Qingyan asked.

Xie Qingyan's eyes lit up, but then, as if remembering something, he paused and asked, "Prince of Huainan... do you also want to win me over?"

Seventeen looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Why would I want to win you over?"

As the two chatted, the commotion from the bandit camp grew louder and louder. Seventeen stopped talking, frowned, and said, "Let's go down the mountain first. We shouldn't stay here any longer."

Xie Qingyan nodded, took out a white jade bottle from his small bag, poured out a few small white pills and swallowed them.

After watching his entire procedure, Seventeen asked, "Is this your medicine?"

"Yes, I don't know if I can make it down the mountain without taking some medicine. Let's go."

Since that was the case, Seventeen no longer hesitated and walked quickly down the mountain with Xie Qingyan. When they got there, Seventeen thought he was too slow, so he simply put his arm around him and used his lightness skill to fly down the mountain.

Xie Qingyan had a strange feeling in his heart; this little guard was quite skilled in martial arts.

When the two returned to the inn, Seventeen took Xie Qingyan back to his room, where the bedding had been changed to a new set: "You can rest here for now, it's all new."

After saying that, he sat down at a table and poured himself a cup of tea. The aroma of the tea dispelled the lingering smell of blood.

Xie Qingyan looked around and realized, "Is this your room?"

"Yes, I can't let you live alone now; I need to keep an eye on you."

Seventeen's blunt words didn't annoy Xie Qingyan; instead, he smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Seventeen."

They say it's a rest day, but who can sleep in this situation?

Xie Qingyan sat on the bed with his eyes open, looked at Seventeen beside him and asked, "Seventeenth Guard, may I ask how old you are this year?"

Seventeen waved her hand: "No need to be so polite, just call me Seventeen. I'll be seventeen after the New Year."

"Oh, that's quite a coincidence. His name is Seventeen, and he's seventeen years old this year."

Seventeen looked at Xie Qingyan, who suddenly started laughing, somewhat puzzled. What was so funny? Who hasn't been seventeen?

"May I ask how His Highness the Prince of Huainan discovered this group of people?"

Seventeen tilted his head and thought for a moment. These things didn't seem like secrets, so he said truthfully, "When we came here, we found that the people of Maple Forest Town were a bit timid. After asking some people, we found out that there were bandits. Just then, Master Yu found us and found your bandit camp."

Although it was all the truth, Seventeen still concealed the fact that the magistrate of Pu County had been threatened. He wasn't sure if Xie Qingyan knew about it, but he felt that it was somewhat shameful for an official of the imperial court to be threatened by bandits.

Xie Qingyan suddenly realized: "When this campsite was chosen, a lot of effort was put into making it hidden. It's really impressive that you were able to find it."

Seventeen took a sip of tea, glanced at Xie Qingyan, and seemed to be genuinely sincere, not lying.

Did he not know that Magistrate Pu was being threatened?