The ten henchmen outside were all shocked.

If they weren't mistaken, the girl the boss led into the house was incredibly thin, with tears streaming down her face, looking pitiful and helpless.

But how long has it been? The boss has fallen into her hands. Who is this woman?

"Still not moving? Get out of here!" From the next room came the Second Master's angry shout.

The ten henchmen dared not delay any longer, fearing there might be an even bigger ambush, and that staying there would only lead to their deaths.

So they quickly scattered to inform their brothers to retreat.

Outside, only the sound of the burning fire and the cries of the people remained; there was no further movement from the bandits.

The leader still had his hands raised, his face ashen, but his tone remained relatively calm: "Miss, I've done as you said. Can you let me go now?"

"Okay." Ye Qingxue's tone was indifferent and cold, devoid of any emotion.

The man in front of her breathed a sigh of relief and began to think about how to kill Ye Qingxue, teach this woman a lesson, and make her grovel at his feet like a dog.

However, the dagger in Ye Qingxue's hand slit his throat.

A thin, deep gash gushed out, dripping onto his clothes, its scalding heat pushing the man into the abyss of death.

Ye Qingxue pushed him forward, and the man fell to the ground with a "bang," leaving Ye Qingxue with nothing under her arm.

Yun Zhuo, hidden in the shadows, witnessed everything before him, and his eyes calmed down.

—How can Ye Qingxue's actions not be considered letting go of that boss?

She did not promise to let him go while he was alive.

In the next room, Dongbai ended the second brother's life in the same way, pushing him forward so that he fell onto the body of the third brother, who had died a short time earlier.

Dong Bai didn't even glance at them. He picked up the trembling, mentally on the verge of collapse Princess Rongqing and went out to meet Ye Qingxue.

“The eldest, second, and third brothers are dead. The rest are no threat. Go and tell the townspeople that they are safe now and to prepare to put out the fire. I’ll be waiting for you up ahead,” Ye Qingxue said.

Dongbai asked her, "Will those people come back? The fourth and fifth brothers are still alive, and they have a leader."

Ye Qingxue: "These three leaders died very quickly. The remaining people will think that we have a powerful force backing us. Otherwise, how could a woman kill all three of them? So for them, turning back is just suicide. They dare not turn around!"

Upon hearing this, Dong Bai understood. After handing Princess Rongqing over to Ye Qingxue, he vanished in a flash.

Ye Qingxue carried Princess Rongqing on her shoulders. The little girl was trembling and couldn't utter a single word.

Ye Qingxue watched Dong Bai's figure disappear around the corner before speaking softly, "How long is Your Highness going to hide in the shadows? It's time to return to the capital."

Yun Zhuo pressed down on Qi Zai's head, shoving it into the darkness, and staggered toward Ye Qingxue, leaning on a bamboo pole.

The distant firelight illuminated him, revealing his tattered clothes and filthy face, making it impossible to discern his original appearance; all that was known was his tall and slender figure.

Ye Qingxue calmly withdrew her gaze, then carried Princess Rongqing out of town. The horse was tied to a tree two miles away from the town. When they arrived, she sat on a rock, let Princess Rongqing sit on her lap, and untied the bamboo tube to feed Princess Rongqing water.

Princess Rongqing resisted fiercely, struggling to roll out of her arms and onto the grass.

Ye Qingxue didn't make things difficult for her. After she had struggled, cried, and trembled, she said softly, "My name is Ye Qingxue. Dongbai and I rescued you from the bad guys. You are safe now. I will take you home, and you will see your parents soon."

Princess Rongqing was still trembling, curled up in a ball, but she waited for a long time and found that there were no slaps or whips on her body, no dirty hands of men moving around on her body, and her clothes were not lifted up.

She finally looked cautiously at Ye Qingxue. The moonlight was too dim, and she could only see a blurry shadow. But Ye Qingxue's gaze was gentle, piercing through the darkness and landing on her. That gaze was even gentler than the moonlight.

Ye Qingxue waved the bamboo tube in her hand: "Are you thirsty? There's water in here, and I put sugar in it, so it's very sweet. If you want some, come and get it yourself."

She placed the bamboo tube in front of Princess Rongqing, propped it up with a fist-sized stone to prevent it from falling over, then looked up at the crescent moon, waiting for Dongbai to come over.

She looked at the moon, and Yun Zhuo, who was lying on the ground not far away, looked at her, and occasionally glanced at Princess Rongqing, who was curled up on the ground.

The surroundings were quiet; the early spring night was cold, and there wasn't even a chirp of an insect.

Princess Rongqing remained silent for a long time before tentatively reaching out to touch the bamboo tube. Just as she was about to touch it, a gust of wind blew by, rustling the leaves in the forest. She quickly withdrew her hand, trembling with fear.

But after waiting for a while, the damage still didn't come.

She peeked at Ye Qingxue through her fingers, but Ye Qingxue remained seated on the large rock, gazing at the moon, without moving an inch.

Princess Rongqing reached out to the bamboo tube again. This time, she touched the bamboo tube. Her eyes were fixed on Ye Qingxue, but Ye Qingxue did not make any move.

She gripped the bamboo tube tightly, snatched it away, and pulled out the stopper beforehand. She put the tube into her mouth and drank quickly and greedily.

She didn't know if it was sweet; all she knew was that her whole body was parched and felt like it was on fire. If she didn't drink some water soon, she would crack like the parched earth.

The bamboo tube was small and could only hold a limited amount of water. Princess Rongqing drank it all in one gulp, but still felt it wasn't enough.

Ye Qingxue seemed to sense something. She didn't turn around, but said calmly, "We're running for our lives. It's not realistic to carry too much water with us. Once you're back with your parents, you can eat and drink whatever you want."

She suddenly spoke, startling Princess Rongqing, whose face turned deathly pale. But this time, she didn't shrink back; instead, she continued to stare at Ye Qingxue.

After a long pause, she finally asked in a hoarse voice, "Can I really go back to my parents?"

"Of course." Ye Qingxue finally turned around and smiled gently at her: "Dongbai will take you back. You will see them at dawn."

The crescent moon hung in the sky. Princess Rongqing looked at her and a faint sweetness welled up in her throat. Now she was sure that Ye Qingxue had not lied and that there really was sugar in the water. She could feel it now.

"May I touch your hand?" Princess Rongqing asked, her voice still childish, her face, covered in scars, filled with earnestness.

She crawled over to Ye Qingxue and touched Ye Qingxue's hand: "Your hand is so warm. Is this how a fairy's hand is warm? You must be a fairy, otherwise how could you have saved me from those bad people? They were very bad."

Ye Qingxue smiled and stroked her head: "I am not a fairy, Princess. Remember, my name is Ye Qingxue, and I am the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion."

The extremely tense string suddenly relaxed. Princess Rongqing was, after all, a child. She crawled to Ye Qingxue's side, rested her head on her lap, and fell asleep.

Dongbai returned around this time.