It’s Luo Shenyuan.

"Junior Brother, you're still too soft-hearted." Daoyan's voice was strangely cold. He didn't retract the dagger, but instead pressed it closer to the back of Luo Yining's neck. Yining saw the auspicious knot on the Buddhist beads swaying, and she found it a little ridiculous. A compassionate hero, etched in history, actually wanted to kill her.

"Master, a renowned general who fought against the Japanese invaders, whose Buddhist teachings saved all living beings," Yi Ning said calmly. "Although I don't know him personally, I've long admired him. Seeing him is believing."

Daoyan's tone remained calm: "You know my past, and you must understand that these words are useless to me."

Daoyan was a cultivator and accustomed to not interacting with women, let alone one from such a prominent family. In his opinion, Luo Yining was too delicate and too troublesome. Lu Jiaxue had brought her here personally, simply to read her fortune, which must have been something more than simple. Therefore, for the sake of his own career, Luo Shenyuan should stay away from her and, ideally, give her over to Lu Jiaxue.

He hadn't really meant to kill her just now; he was just acting it out to see when Luo Shenyuan, who was guarding outside, would lose his patience. As soon as he said something about the danger, Luo Shenyuan's men broke in through the window. He wanted to kill Luo Yining, but this guy couldn't wait to come in himself.

Daoyan put the dagger into his sleeve and returned to his calm and composed appearance as a monk.

Luo Yining always felt a burning pain on the back of her neck. She secretly touched it with her hand and found blood on her fingers.

When Luo Shenyuan came over, Yi Ning put her hand into her sleeve. He stared at her for a long time before reaching out to stroke her hair and whispering, "Are you okay?"

"Thank goodness you came to save me." Yining breathed a sigh of relief. She looked outside and saw that Luo Shenyuan's men were all outside.

Yi Ning felt a little dazed and unreal. How could he kill all of Lu Jiaxue's men so easily?

"Lu Jiaxue," Luo Yining said after a moment's hesitation, "is very cunning. I'm afraid this is a trick to trick you. It would be best if we leave quickly."

"We are making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. It seems that we are robbing the car for Zeng Yingkun, but in fact it is to save you." Luo Shenyuan said.

"We can't stay here for long." Dao Yan said suddenly with his eyes closed. "How long can your people hold out? Hurry up."

"When Lu Jiaxue arrived, he sent people to surround Daci Temple. I also sneaked in with my men. He won't let his guard down so easily." Luo Shenyuan looked up and said, "I still have things to do. Let Daoyan take you out. When Master taught us, Daoyan practiced martial arts and I studied literature. If he can lead you out of the encirclement, Lu Jiaxue will definitely not use heavy hands."

Luo Yining had known for a long time that Daoyan and Luo Shenyuan knew each other, but this was the first time he knew that they were brothers from the same school.

He stayed alone? Let Daoyan send her away?

Yining couldn't help but glance at Daoyan.

He lowered his eyes and recited the sutra. The sunlight from outside filtered through the window paper, illuminating his face, which looked like a sculpture. His eyebrows were slightly curved, his eye sockets were deep, and there was a look of compassion between his eyebrows and eyes.

Daoyan suddenly said, "Why, are you afraid that I will kill you again?"

The wound on the back of his neck still ached slightly. Luo Yining smiled slightly and said, "Since the master just let go, he probably won't kill again. It's just that the master is so gentle and refined, he doesn't seem like a martial artist."

"Buddhism is compassionate, it helps others and oneself. Force is inferior, and I do not like it." Daoyan said lightly.

Yi Ning did not say anything more to Dao Yan, but instead said to Luo Shen Yuan: "... Third Brother, Daci Temple is in danger now, and there is chaos in the back mountains. Why don't you leave with us? We can do anything later."

"Don't worry about me, just leave with Daoyan. I'm bringing quite a few people with me this time, and I'll be back as soon as I'm done." Luo Shenyuan pressed her shoulder and said, "Let's go quickly, Lu Jiaxue might be back soon."

If she left alone and Luo Shenyuan stayed, who knows what Lu Jia would learn.

Yining was feeling uneasy, feeling that this matter was not that simple. "Third brother..." she murmured to him.

Luo Shenyuan frowned and said, "You're wasting my time here. Don't be so willful."

"Let's go." Daoyan put down his rosary and picked up a three-foot-long dagger and quiver placed in the corner. Luo Yining wanted to say something to Luo Shenyuan, but Daoyan led him out of the yard. A carriage was waiting outside. Daoyan went up first. Seeing Luo Yining still looking back, he slowly said, "Although Lu Jiaxue is cruel, he is also a very smart person. Killing my junior brother will not benefit him. Besides, my junior brother is now the Minister of Works, and he is not someone who can be killed casually. How about you stay here? My junior brother will be even more restricted. Once he rescues Zeng Yingkun, he will leave naturally."

Luo Yining was always afraid that he would be implicated by himself.

She sighed inwardly and followed him into the carriage. The carriage raced along the mountain road at a rapid pace. Unlike the road they had taken, this one was even more remote and difficult to navigate, and she felt unsteady in the carriage. Daoyan, however, sat cross-legged, eyes closed, his body swaying ever so slightly. He muttered something, and Yining listened carefully, realizing it was the Heart Sutra, a Buddhist scripture she recognized.

She didn't ask any more questions until the carriage creaked, the driver groaned, and then Yining saw blood splattered on the curtains, and the carriage swerved sideways out of control.

Yining suddenly fell backward, expecting to hit the car wall. But Daoyan suddenly moved, and Yining felt a hand grip her waist, holding her upright. Luo Yining began to believe that this man was truly a martial artist; his hand held her steady. Daoyan didn't say anything more, but grabbed his gun.

A hoarse voice outside said, "Master! Leave the carriage behind, and we won't make things difficult for you!"

Daoyan was respected in the army and had a battle cry. His ancestral hall is still enshrined in the fishing villages along the Fujian coast.

"I don't kill people, but now I have to kill to save you." Daoyan glanced at her and said suddenly.

Yining didn't know what to say, Daoyan had already left.

She parted the curtain and saw through the gap that Daoyan had drawn his bow. The men blocking them were holding embroidered spring swords, ill-suited for such an attack. Daoyan's arrows were almost always accurate, and he slapped his horse's rump, causing it to accelerate as if provoked. Yining had to pull on the carriage frame to steady herself, but the carriage, careening forward, quickly broke free from the encirclement.

The carriage was running down the wide lane. Daoyan still had one last arrow in his hand. He had his hand on the hilt and was about to put it down when he suddenly said, "Lu Jiaxue's men are here."

Dust was rising on the official road, and a group of people came on horseback. In the distance, they were from the Shenji Camp, about forty of them.

Daoyan's arrow was aimed at the leader. Yining's heart skipped a beat and he quickly grabbed his arm to stop him from drawing his bow: "Master, you can't do that!"