Chapter 8: How exactly did he come to be rumored to resemble Zhong Kui...?

Night fell over the narrow mountain path. The burly men dressed as bandits took advantage of the narrow terrain to cut off the Imperial Guards piecemeal, dividing them up and gaining the upper hand.

With reinforcements unable to arrive, the bandits relentlessly closed in on the carriage. Cold sweat mingled with blood splattered on his face as the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard cursed under his breath in frustration. He had thought this would be an easy task, a simple trip that would be a success upon his return. Why did these insolent bandits have to harass him? If anything were to happen to the princess here, their heads…

"Don't let her get away! Chase her!"

Hearing the sound, the deputy envoy of the Imperial Guard turned around and saw a figure wearing a bright red crane cloak riding a horse, galloping up the mountain without looking back. The wind howled and whipped the crane cloak, making it flutter like the fiery red wings of a bird.

Before the deputy envoy could even react to who it was, another figure stumbled and ran up to him. He recognized her as Liu Ying, the maidservant who served the princess.

Liu Ying had no time to be afraid of the bloodstains and corpses all around her. She ran wildly to the commander without taking a break and shouted in a trembling voice, "The princess said she went to lure away some people. I beg the deputy commander to quickly lead men to pursue and surround them!"

Was that the princess who just ran past?! The deputy envoy's eyes quickly swept around the carriage. The curtain was torn, the shaft was broken, the harness was snapped, and the horse was nowhere to be seen. It was clearly the one the princess had ridden away on.

The human wall of Luan Yi Guards that had been divided into sections loosened, and the Luan Yi Guards at the rear finally rushed forward. Although the deputy envoy was eager to gain merit, he was not entirely stupid. He instantly understood Feng Mian's intention and immediately ordered a portion of the Luan Yi Guards to turn around and surround most of the bandits, while he led his team to chase after the direction Feng Mian had left in.

Before leaving, he heard Firefly hurriedly say, "There's a sentry post a few hundred meters away; Mist Willow has already gone to report!"

The deputy envoy could hardly help but admire the princess. All along the way, she had been sickly and delicate, nestled in the carriage, yet in this crisis, she displayed such courage. He, a grown man, had panicked and momentarily forgot to arrange for someone to break through to the sentry post to report the danger—he should be ashamed.

The howling wind carried the sounds of clashing weapons and shouts of battle to the official road where bandits were robbing travelers.

The gleaming spear pierced the throat of the last bandit. Baili Xunzhou dodged the splattering blood and had a chance to turn around and look at the Luanyi Guards who had suddenly appeared to provide support on the other side.

He had observed the fighting style of these men during the battle; none of them seemed to have been on the battlefield, yet they showed signs of military training. Their weapons were also standard issue for soldiers from the capital, suggesting they came from the capital.

At this time, could the elite troops arriving from the capital be...?

"Thank you all for your help. My name is Baili Xunzhou. May I ask who you are?" Baili Xunzhou asked.

The commander of the Imperial Guard hurriedly dismounted and bowed: "This humble official is Lu De, here to escort the princess's entourage. Greetings, Your Highness."

Hearing the answer he least wanted to hear, Baili Xunzhou pursed his lips unhappily and asked dryly, "You are here, but where is the princess?"

The commander confidently replied, "There is another path at Wolf Bone Ridge. We abandoned our baggage, and the princess has already left safely, escorted by the deputy commander."

Since the man was unharmed, there was no need for him to do anything. Baili Xunzhou nodded slightly, too lazy to be polite, and reined in his horse to leave. A trembling caravan worker suddenly knelt down and stopped the horse, tears streaming down his face, saying, "Sir, please save my master! He just now..."

"I know." Baili Xunzhou quickly turned his horse around, narrowly avoiding stepping on the reckless fellow.

During the fierce battle, several bandits, seeing they were outnumbered, kidnapped the caravan master and several other hostages and headed into the mountains, presumably intending to keep them alive while demanding ransom. This loyal servant was still concerned for his abducted master.

"If you don't move aside, your master will truly become a skeleton."

The men scrambled to make way, and with a command from Baili Xunzhou, Shan Yi and the rest of the Jiyu Camp rushed into the mountains with him, only to disperse in all directions.

He was just trying to scare people. The moment the caravan master was kidnapped, someone tracked him down and left traces so that they could rescue him after the battle was over.

He had already figured out and deployed defenses for half of the bandits' strongholds in Wolf Bone Ridge.

A month ago, he dealt with a small raid by the Alna tribe in the river bend, and since then he has been lured into several similar minor disturbances. Each time he leads his team there, the other side always fights for a couple of rounds and then runs away, as if they are deliberately leading him there.

He sensed something was wrong and secretly sent people to investigate. They discovered that some members of the Alna tribe had taken advantage of his distraction to sneak into the northern frontier and head towards Wolf Bone Ridge, where they were colluding with the bandits.

He remained inactive for several days, figuring out the bandit strongholds connected to the Alna tribe, and secretly mobilized troops, waiting to wipe them out in one fell swoop today.

*

The moon danced among the clouds, its occasional rays casting glimpses of light that illuminated figures moving swiftly through the woods.

Feng Mian rode her horse at full speed, the wind whistling in her ears. She felt the cold wind penetrating her chest, bringing a chilling pain.

She untied her cloak with one hand and hung it on the intertwined branches, making it look as if it were caught on a branch, before spurring her horse in the opposite direction.

Using clothing to create misleading illusions was a skill Feng Mian learned when she was five years old, while fleeing for her life in the mountains. When you can't outrun someone, you have to find a way to shake them off. Even if the pursuers are only temporarily confused, it can buy you time to be caught.

The mountains and forests have countless natural cover. As long as Feng Mian can keep using the surrounding environment to create various illusions to confuse the bandits, and hold out until the deputy envoy leads his men to eliminate them, or Wu Liu brings reinforcements from the sentry post, everything will be fine...

Suddenly, the horse neighed and reared up. Feng Mian, startled, tightened the reins and turned the horse around. The moon, hidden in the clouds, peeked out from the edge with a sliver of clear moonlight, faintly illuminating a narrow valley shrouded in darkness before them.

With the road ahead blocked, Feng Mian immediately turned his horse around to change direction. However, the bandits behind him, who had been misled by the cloak and followed the wrong way, heard the horse's neighing and angrily chased after him.

Without turning his head, Feng Mian fired two hidden arrows, delaying the situation for a couple of breaths.

The approaching, rapid, and powerful sound of horses' hooves seemed to strike Feng Mian's frantically beating heart.

She learned horsemanship in the palace's riding and archery classes. Emperor Jiayu did not like her to learn too much of this, firstly because it was not ladylike and elegant enough, and secondly because he was afraid she would get injured. So he only let her learn some basics to exercise her body.

She could only say she knew how to ride a horse, but she wasn't very skilled. In this urgent situation, she was almost entirely relying on instinct to urge the horse on, her two hands, which were numb from the cold, pulling hard on the reins, just hoping not to be thrown off the horse...

The moon disappeared behind the clouds again, plunging my eyes into deeper darkness as they were suddenly deprived of a ray of light. The approaching hoofbeats, the frantic pounding of my heart, and the rapid breathing filled my sleepy ears.

Suddenly, the sharp whistling sound of an arrow piercing the air rang out, and a bright, cold light tore through the darkness.

A sharp arrow flew towards Fengmian's direction.

A scream rang out, startling the slumbering birds. A sharp arrow pierced through the barrier and struck one of the bandits who had caught up with her, causing a chaotic scene of men and horses falling to the ground.

"Go." The cold, sharp voice was like black iron that had been soaked in ice water for a thousand years. A tall, handsome young man rode into Feng Mian's line of sight, swiftly passing by Feng Mian like a shooting star. Sharp eyebrows and eyes were faintly visible beneath the hood, staring at the direction of the bandits like a hawk, drawing his arrow and nocking it, without even glancing at Feng Mian.

Reinforcements have arrived?! Just as a hint of joy rose in Feng Mian's heart, he heard a mournful cry. His horse had been shot through the leg by an arrow from the bandits, and in pain, it reared up and kicked wildly.

This was just an ordinary horse, and Feng Mian was not its familiar owner. Under these circumstances, it went crazy and tried to throw Feng Mian off the horse.

Feng Mian skillfully used both hands to protect her head, curling her body up like a shrimp to protect her soft abdomen.

During her riding and archery lessons, she was startled by Zhao Ning's horse and learned from the imperial physician that when she fell off her horse, she should first protect the most vulnerable parts of her body to avoid falling or being trampled by the horse's hooves.

The moment the scent of cold, hard earth hit her face, Feng Mian felt a tightness in her lower back. After a moment of dizziness, she was back on the horse, a warm body pressed against her.

Feng Mian opened her eyes in fright, only to see a dark figure behind her. Then she heard the boy's clear voice: "Sit still."

It turned out that they had been rescued by "reinforcements." Feng Mian breathed a sigh of relief, reached out and firmly grabbed the robe at the waist of the person in front of him, and huddled up behind him like a little ball.

Baili Xunzhou, wielding his spear, single-handedly defeated three bandits who had surrounded him.

He was puzzled. He was chasing after the bandits who had fled with hostages, when suddenly a bunch of unfamiliar bandits appeared, chasing after a girl and shouting threats to kill her.

Several Swift Feather Camp soldiers rushed up from behind. The bandits who had been chasing Feng Mian saw that something was wrong and retreated in panic. Baili Xunzhou and his group had other important matters to attend to and did not pursue them. However, the retreating bandits happened to run into the pursuing Luan Yi Guards. The deputy envoy led his men to deal with the bandits, but they did not see Feng Mian. They were immediately disheartened.

Could it really be such bad luck, that something unexpected happened...?

Feng Mian, who was also taken away by the "accident," also sensed something was wrong and silently gripped the dagger at his waist.

These people seemed familiar with the terrain of Wolf Bone Ridge and appeared to be heading straight for a specific location...

In a moment of trepidation, the horse suddenly stopped, and the group surrounded it, forming a standoff with the front.

Feng Mian peeked out from behind the horse and saw a group of people blocked at the bottom of a cliff. The man in the lead, with a scar on his face, grabbed a fat man dressed in fine silk and held him in front of him, holding a knife to his neck.

The scarred man threatened menacingly, "Young Master Baili, if you let us go, these people can return alive, otherwise..."

The knife held across his neck was slightly tightened, and a drop of blood stained the blade.

Feng Mian was stunned by the scarred man's words. What did he just call this person? Prince Baili? There is only one Prince Baili in the Northern Frontier, and that is Prince Baili Xunzhou of Dingbei.

This person is actually the heir of the Prince of Dingbei?

Feng Mian stared blankly as he looked up and down at the person sitting on the horse in front of him. The person had a high ponytail that looked dashing, and his chin and profile were incredibly handsome. The lines of his neck and shoulders were neat and strong, and his back was straight. He was slender but not weak. He was clearly a refreshing and handsome young man.

How exactly did he come to be portrayed as a barbarian with a face like Zhong Kui and fangs?