Xiao Xuan steered the horse with one hand at great speed, while his other hand tightly protected Ning Yin, fearing that she might fall off the horse if he wasn't careful.

He sped along the mountain road, quickly leaving the thieves far behind.

However, it would take another two hours to ride back to Kyoto via this route, and I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to reach Kyoto before dark.

As Xiao Xuan walked along the bridge, he sensed something was amiss. If Marquis Wuding and Xiao Ling wanted to take this opportunity to eliminate him, they wouldn't have set up an ambush only on the other side of the bridge.

They deliberately destroyed the bridge that was the only way back to Kyoto, simply to force themselves onto another road.

This road is sparsely populated and in extremely poor condition, making it much easier to kill someone and cover it up.

However, Xiao Xuan's journey was smooth, and there were no bandits lying in ambush nearby.

As the sun gradually set in the west, Xiao Xuan felt that his and Ning Yin's clothes were still too eye-catching, so he thought of asking a nearby farmer to buy some clothes for them to change into.

Before Xiao Xuan could make a move, a dozen or so masked men in black suddenly appeared from not far away. They were carrying long knives and looked fierce.

The man at the head was Shen Yun. He was tall and imposing. His gaze swept over Xiao Xuan and Ning Yin opposite him, and the ferocity in his eyes increased by three points.

"stop!"

A thin man in the crowd shouted and stepped forward, threatening someone with a long knife.

"You two dismount immediately, or don't blame me for being impolite."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xuan let out a cold laugh, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, knowing that he wouldn't be allowed to return so easily.

But these few bastards are probably not enough for me to kill.

Shen Yun had already recruited more than a dozen skilled martial artists for this operation, all to ensure its success. Even if he couldn't kill Xiao Xuan, he had to take Ning Yin away.

After seeing Yang Shuhuan last time, he thought of bringing Marquis Wuding into the picture. Marquis Wuding doted on Yang Shuhuan, his only daughter. When he learned that Xiao Xuan had abandoned her in the slave camp, he wished he could immediately overturn the palace.

Those bandits were all spies of Marquis Wuding and the Chu people. Marquis Wuding wanted to kill Xiao Xuan here, but he didn't expect that Xiao Xuan would bring so many guards when he went out of the palace to worship. This was something that neither he nor Shen Yun had expected.

The Eastern Palace's secret guards and the Azure Feather Guards are among the most powerful in the entire Great Qi Dynasty; they are not so easy to deal with.

Although Marquis Wuding's forces had the numerical advantage, they were ultimately somewhat incompetent. Despite outnumbering the Qingyu Guards by three times, the battle was still evenly matched.

Marquis Wuding watched helplessly as Xiao Xuan rode away on a fast horse, his fists clenched in hatred.

He was now hoping that Shen Yun would intercept and kill the person.

Xiao Xuan was all alone with Ning Yin, a weak woman. It would be easy for him to deal with her. No matter how skilled he was, he was just a cornered beast fighting desperately.

At this moment, the dozen or so men in black led by Shen Yun were eager to try their luck. Shen Yun told them that as long as they captured Xiao Xuan, he would give them ten thousand taels of gold.

He really went to great lengths to win back Ning Yin this time.

These people, who value money over life, had never seen so much money before, and each of them wanted to take Xiao Xuan's head.

"Hey you two on horseback, are you deaf or scared out of your wits? Surrender obediently, and I'll leave you with a whole corpse!"

Xiao Xuan's hand holding the reins twitched slightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, and his brows were filled with a sinister killing intent.

He suddenly burst into a contemptuous laugh, and with his other hand deftly drew his sword from his waist, his tone cold: "A bunch of good-for-nothings, you're asking for death!"

His tone undoubtedly insulted the group opposite him, especially Shen Yun, who clenched his fists, his eyes surging with dark emotions.

Even as death looms over him, Xiao Xuan remains arrogant, believing himself to be the supreme Crown Prince wherever he goes, with everyone bowing before him.

Shen Yun coldly glanced at the two of them. The way Ning Yin was being held tightly in Xiao Xuan's arms pierced his heart even more.

The one who should hold Ningyin is yourself, not him. Who does he think he is?

After today, Xiao Xuan will be nothing more than a dead soul under his own blade. Thinking this, Shen Yun chuckled sinisterly.

He raised his hand to the dozen or so men in black, and they rushed over like madmen, carrying their long knives.

"Ah Ning, hold on tight!"

Before Xiao Xuan finished speaking, Zhui Feng had already sped towards the group of people like lightning. The sword in the man's hand swept through the wind and swung towards the crowd opposite.

With a sharp clang, Xiao Xuan's longsword, like a divine weapon, instantly severed the head of the loudest shouter.

The head, like a ball of blood, rolled off the man's neck with a thud, dripping with blood, and quickly rolled to Shen Yun's feet.

Shen Yun narrowed his eyes, completely unconcerned. Even if this group couldn't defeat Xiao Xuan, he still had himself to rely on.

He had fought on the battlefield for many years, so how could he possibly be no match for Xiao Xuan, who lived a life of luxury in the palace?

Although the severed head did not intimidate Shen Yun, the group of arrogant men in black instantly became much more subdued.

How come his teammate was killed in less than a minute?

Although those people were not afraid of death, witnessing the scene of people dying on the spot made them feel inexplicably uneasy.

If you lose your life, what use are ten thousand taels of gold?

"Go! Kill this man, and I'll give you fifty thousand taels!"

Seeing the group's fear, Shen Yun raised the price, determined to take Xiao Xuan's life today.

As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the others gleamed with gold. Fifty thousand taels of gold—they couldn't spend it all in several lifetimes.

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