Chaos erupted inside the Puji Temple! The awakened refugees and beggars screamed and cried in terror, and the scene instantly descended into chaos!

Xin Jiuwei's heart leaped into her throat, her gaze fixed on the direction of that bungalow! Qi Huaiyu! You can't escape!

In the chaos, the door of the bungalow was suddenly kicked open! Several fierce soldiers rushed in! Immediately afterwards, short, intense sounds of fighting and breaking objects came from inside!

Xin Jiuwei's heart clenched! Had she caught him?

However, the sounds of fighting lasted for less than ten breaths before abruptly stopping! Immediately afterward, a soldier rushed out of the room, waving his arms anxiously in the direction where Xiao Xun was hiding, as if reporting something.

Xiao Xun's brows furrowed instantly! An ominous premonition gripped Xin Jiuwei!

"What's going on?!" Xiao Xun's voice was as cold as ice.

A messenger immediately rushed downstairs, knelt on one knee, and said in disbelief and astonishment, "Your Highness! Inside the room... there was only a vagrant who had been knocked unconscious and stripped of his outer garments! 'Accountant Li'... is gone!"

"What?!" You Ye exclaimed in shock.

Xin Jiuwei felt a chill instantly run through her body from the soles of her feet! Gone?! How could this be?! Surrounded by so many enemies, how could he simply vanish into thin air?!

"Search! Dig three feet into the ground! Search for me!" Xiao Xun's voice was filled with thunderous fury as he slammed his palm against the window frame, sending splinters flying!

The entire Puji Hospital instantly turned into a boiling sea! The soldiers went berserk, ransacking the place, smashing walls and breaking floors, even cleaning up the latrines! The torchlight illuminated every corner, leaving no place to hide.

Xin Jiuwei's heart sank to the bottom. Qi Huaiyu... he escaped again! Right under their noses, amidst all this encirclement! This is impossible! Unless... there's an inside man? Or... there's a secret passage they don't know about?!

Her gaze, sharp as a hawk's, swept across the chaotic courtyard, her mind racing. Puji Hospital…the kitchen…the coffin shop! That's it! The coffin shop! The one Qi Huaiyu frequented! There's a secret room there! Puji Hospital and the coffin shop are only separated by an alley! He must have used some method, in the chaos before the operation began, to slip away and infiltrate the secret room in the coffin shop! Or…a secret passage connects the two places?!

"The coffin shop!" Xin Jiuwei suddenly grabbed Xiao Xun's arm, her voice sharp with urgency. "Your Highness! The coffin shop! He might be there! Or there might be a secret passage connecting to it!"

Xiao Xun's eyes flashed with a sharp light! Without the slightest hesitation, he ordered in a stern voice, "You Ye! Take a team and immediately surround the coffin shop! Break down the door for me! Search!"

"Yes!" You Ye accepted the order and led a team of elite soldiers down the small building like a whirlwind, rushing towards the coffin shop diagonally opposite!

Xin Jiuwei's heart pounded like a drum, her eyes glued to You Ye and the others. This time, she couldn't let him escape again!

You Ye kicked open the door of the coffin shop! Soldiers swarmed in! Inside came the sounds of searching and shouting. Xin Jiuwei's palms were sweating with nervousness.

Sudden!

"Boom—!"

A deep, muffled thud came from the backyard of the coffin shop! Immediately afterward, a thick plume of black smoke, mixed with the acrid smell of sulfur, shot into the sky!

"Oh no! Gunpowder!" came the terrified shouts of soldiers from downstairs!

"Protect His Highness!" You Ye's roar rang out!

Before Xin Jiuwei could react, she felt a tremendous force suddenly knock her to the ground! It was Xiao Xun! He used his tall body to shield her completely beneath him! Almost simultaneously!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"

Several sharp, piercing sounds tore through the air! A few poisoned crossbow bolts, gleaming with a chilling blue light, shot like venomous snakes towards the window where they had just been hiding! They thudded into the window frame and wall! The fletchings still trembled!

Immediately afterwards, several short screams came from downstairs! Clearly, soldiers had been hit by crossbow bolts!

"Ambush! Protect His Highness!" Intense shouts and the clash of weapons erupted from the surrounding darkness! Clearly, Qi Huaiyu had not only prepared an escape route but also arranged assassins to meet him and ambush him near the coffin shop!

Xin Jiuwei was pinned down by Xiao Xun, her cheek pressed against the cold, rough floor, her nostrils filled with the strong scent of pine resin and a faint smell of blood. She could feel his taut muscles and the rage about to erupt like a volcano! The sounds of fighting, screams, and chaotic shouts after the explosion downstairs flooded her ears like a tidal wave!

Qi Huaiyu! You're ruthless!

Xiao Xun suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with an extreme murderous intent! He grabbed Xin Jiuwei and pulled her up, his voice as cold as the wind from the depths of hell: "Stay close to me!" He no longer cared about hiding, drawing his sword from his waist, a flash of cold light!

"Charge out! The coffin shop's backyard!" He shouted the order downstairs, then grabbed Xin Jiuwei, and with You Ye, Xin Kui, and several assassins protecting them, they charged down the small building like tigers released from their cages, rushing towards the smoke-filled backyard of the coffin shop amidst the chaotic battlefield and whistling arrows!

Xin Jiuwei's wrist was gripped tightly by him, causing her to stumble. A tearing pain shot through her chest from the intense running, but she gritted her teeth and remained silent. Her gaze was fixed on the chaotic battlefield and the rising black smoke ahead, her mind filled with only one thought: Capture him! Kill him!

Along the way, assassins constantly emerged from the darkness, their blades flashing and their attacks relentless. Xiao Xun's personal guards and You Ye's men fought valiantly, forming a bloody barrier with their bodies. Xin Kui, like a mother leopard protecting her cubs, wielded her short daggers, fiercely shielding Xin Jiuwei from incoming arrows and blades.

They finally reached the coffin shop's backyard! It was a scene of utter devastation. A large hole had been blasted in the backyard wall, from which black smoke billowed. Several corpses of black-clad assassins and soldiers lay on the ground. You Ye and his men were engaged in a fierce battle with the remaining assassins near the hole's entrance.

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