"Little one, are you referring to the Ninth Princess of Nanyang?" the guard asked Xi Jing in confusion.

"What else?" Xi Jing gave him a look, and the guard hurriedly went out to do as Xi Jing instructed.

...

Yun Duoduo and her group had already escaped from the territory of Western Chu. Fearing that Xi Jing would be hostile to Nanyang if he discovered that she was still alive, she sent someone out to deliver a message.

The messenger sent to Xi Jing returned and told her that two young men were burning paper money for her at the entrance of the palace where she had lived.

They also burned her clothes and calligraphy and paintings.

Yun Duoduo was stunned for a moment.

"Burn paper money for me?" Yun Duoduo couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Why can't those two old fools ever wish me well?

[Oh my god, she's so hardworking and dedicated, I'm really a loyal friend!]

Thank you all...

It's just a pity for those calligraphers and painters; their works are worth a lot of money! It's truly heartbreaking.

...

She had a smooth journey, successfully obtaining the defense map of Western Chu and successfully exiting the city gates of Western Chu.

But to my surprise, on the way back to Nanyang, they were still caught up with.

Looking at the masked man in black who had suddenly appeared in front of her, Yun Duoduo whispered to Zheng Ningxiang, "We've already left the territory of Western Chu, and we're already in Nanyang. How come we've still been caught?"

"Logically speaking, the Western Chu army should not be allowed to enter Nanyang territory," Yun Duoduo said, puzzled.

"Besides, with so many roads, how does Xijing know which one we're on?"

Yun Duoduo frowned. She pulled the reins tightly. She could feel that the horse was very uneasy and kept neighing, trying to break free from Yun Duoduo's control and escape for its life.

Zheng Ningxiang looked at their clothes and shook her head: "This is not the army of Western Chu, but people from Zuoguitang."

"Zuoguitang?" Yun Duoduo scratched her head; this was the first time she had ever heard of such an organization.

"Whether alive or dead, one can find the person."

"Zuo Guitang has such abilities."

Yun Duoduo chuckled self-deprecatingly. Xi Jing really went all out; he even bribed people in the martial arts world just to capture her.

The leader of Zuoguitang glanced at the leaders of the various cavalry squads, clapped his hands lightly, and instantly the cavalry split into two squads, forming an encirclement that surrounded Yun Duoduo and her group in the center.

"Wow, this looks like quite a big operation!"

She gripped the poison in her sleeve and removed the stopper from the poison bottle.

When she escaped from the palace of Western Chu, she carried with her a poison made from Tripterygium wilfordii, Strychnos nux-vomica, and Oleander. The amount she carried should be enough to barely keep these people in check for a while.

[Xi Jing, if you want to trap this princess, you'll have to cultivate for a few more years!]

She secretly calculated the amount to use and the order of the attacks.

But just as she was making her plans, several hooded men in black suddenly emerged from the woods behind her.

What's going on here?! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten...

As more and more people gathered, forming a dense, dark mass, a sense of oppression immediately arose.

Waaaaah, I can't count them all! There are so many people, there's definitely not enough poison!

Yun Duoduo felt that she was about to die here.

Without batting an eye, she took the poison bottle in her hand and shouted, "Do you know who I am? If you offend me, you can forget about living in Nanyang!"

Yun Duoduo didn't know if saying these words would be useful at this moment, but she had to try and deflate the other party's arrogance.

"Hmph, if we didn't know who you were, we wouldn't be here." The leader of Zuo Guitang sneered, not taking Yun Duoduo seriously at all.

"Now that you're here, we don't intend for you to go back!"

"Make your move!" The leader waved his hand, and the people surrounding him immediately swarmed over like clouds.

Yun Duoduo scattered poison powder, then brandished a long whip, lashing out at everyone in Zuoguitang who tried to approach her.

Zheng Ningxiang and the sisters of Plum Blossom Pavilion also protected Yun Duoduo, drawing swords or daggers from their waists, boots, and sleeves, and stabbing at the people who were gathering around them.

In an instant, swords clashed, producing a series of clanging sounds.

However, there were simply too many of them, and they were no match for them.

"Master, leave this place to us, you should leave quickly!"

Zheng Ningxiang shoved Yun Duoduo, trying to push her out of the encirclement, but the leader of Zuo Guitang noticed the commotion and thrust his longsword at Yun Duoduo.

For a moment, Yun Duoduo was so blinded by the reflection of the swords that she could barely open her eyes, and she had some doubts.

Did Xi Jing order them to kill me?

[Given his personality, shouldn't he have captured me alive, taken me back, and tortured me properly?]

Just as she was in a daze, a person suddenly appeared in front of her.

The silver mask on the man's face emitted a faint, dark luster.

Beneath that silver mask were a pair of angry, sinister eyes.

He held up his bow and arrow, the arrow aimed at the leader of Zuoguitang. His figure flashed by, appearing like a god in the moonlight.

Is this... Sumire's older brother?

Although the mask concealed his face, Yun Duoduo was certain that this person was Jin Jinzhi based on her intuition and his figure.

[It's him! He's come to save me!]

Yun Duoduo was overjoyed and was no longer afraid, because her support and her guardian angel had come to save her.

Behind Jin Jinzhi, Cao Canjun and his small group of men, carrying crossbows and broken blades at their waists, unleashed a volley of thousands of crossbow bolts, killing most of the Zuo Guitang members surrounding Yun Duoduo.

...

The night sky was dotted with stars, the dense clouds dispersed, revealing the bright and flawless moon, whose bright yet gentle light illuminated the earth.

After a fierce battle, Yun Duoduo and her group were finally safe.

Their hair was disheveled, their faces and heads were covered in dust, and their clothes were tattered; they all looked disheveled.

Fortunately, the group was finally safe.

"Ningxiang, take the sisters back quickly to heal their wounds."

Yun Duoduo looked at Zheng Ningxiang with heartache, noticing the blood flowing from her shoulders, legs, and hands.

"Oh, right, you can take this."

Yun Duoduo bent down and took a bottle of ointment from the medicine box on the ground: "This is very effective in treating wounds. We shouldn't stay here any longer. You should leave quickly and find a safe place. We'll meet up in Nanyang, the capital city."

"Sect Master, you..."

Zheng Ningxiang took the bottle and looked at Yun Duoduo with concern.

Yun Duoduo patted Zheng Ningxiang on the shoulder: "Don't worry, they'll escort me back, I'll be fine here."

"You should take them to get treatment quickly."

Yun Duoduo and Zheng Ningxiang were talking on the side, while Jin Jinzhi and Cao Canjun were searching for clues in the pile of corpses and did not pay attention to their conversation.

Yun Duoduo originally intended to heal the wounds of the Plum Blossom Pavilion members, since they had been injured because of her.