counterattack
"Ugh...!"
Sun Yulin frantically twisted his body, trying to break free of control, while shaking his head violently at Xu Ruoyan.
The tiny pebbles on the cliff edge were kicked off the cliff by the tips of his shoes, as if foreshadowing his fate.
Xu Ruoyan and Pei Jue exchanged a glance, and Xu Ruoyan squeezed his hand.
Pei Jue nodded calmly.
She then turned to look at Sun Yutao: "Young Master Sun, do you really mean what you say?"
Sun Yutao flicked his folding fan open with a "whoosh" and slowly fanned himself twice in front of his chest.
"Of course, a gentleman's word is as good as his bond."
Xu Ruoyan really wanted to spit on him.
Who is the gentleman? The pig in front of her?
She took a deep breath, lifted one foot, and stepped onto the wooden bridge in front of her.
Swaying unsteadily, she seemed to return to the day she helped Pei Jue home. So much so that in such a dangerous situation, she even felt a moment of disorientation.
In a daze, she seemed to have returned to that quiet little courtyard. Although life was difficult, it was peaceful and happy.
Thinking this, a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on her face. But that smile vanished completely as Sun Yutao's face drew closer.
Anyone who dares to do that, she will send them on their way.
As Xu Ruoyan approached, Sun Yutao had to become wary. After the last time, he already knew how strong Xu Ruoyan was, but the assassins who came with him this time were even more skilled than before, which reassured him considerably.
He knew he was determined to win over Xu Ruoyan this time, as Qi Feng wouldn't let him have her again.
This is his last chance to make amends.
Just as Xu Ruoyan walked to within a meter of Sun Yutao, a sentence her father had taught her since childhood suddenly flashed through her mind.
In the world of martial arts, speed is the only way to break through defenses.
It can be broken quickly.
The instant she stepped off the bridge, two sharp knives slid out from her sleeves, heading straight for Sun Yutao's face. The assassins who came this time were no pushovers either; they reacted the moment she raised her hand, throwing out their knives to block the two projectiles while simultaneously attacking Xu Ruoyan's face.
Seeing that the two assassins beside Sun Yutao were about to force her off the cliff, Xu Ruoyan lightly jumped, her right toes landing firmly on the iron chain beside the wooden bridge, while her left foot was off the ground, stretching her body backward, and her right hand thrusting forward with her sword, decapitating the two men in an extremely difficult position to maintain her balance.
Seeing this, the assassins behind her all rushed out, their arrows flying straight towards Xu Ruoyan. She glanced to her left and, noticing that Pei Jue had already dealt with the two who had captured Sun Yulin using hidden weapons, knew she needed to finish the job quickly. Just as three arrows were about to pierce her body, she used the slight elasticity of the chains to leap forward, rolling onto the ground before plunging her sword into Sun Yutao's thigh.
"Aaaaaah—!"
The piercing cry pierced the sky and echoed through the empty valley.
Then, while still crouching, Xu Ruoyan stretched out her right leg and swept it, knocking down an assassin who was rushing towards her. In an instant, she stood up, her right hand, holding a sword, sweeping forward with the momentum—
Sun Yutao's head decisively separated from his body and fell heavily to the ground.
Xu Ruoyan kicked it again, sending the terrifying thing crashing down the cliff.
Taking advantage of the two seconds that the assassins and soldiers were stunned, she pushed off the ground with her foot, grabbed the absent-minded and limp Sun Yulin, and used her light footwork to send him flying to the side, leaving a group of enemies who had no time to retreat to receive the "greeting gift" from the Shadowless Pavilion.
Although Pei Jue had only taught her lightness skill for a short time and she hadn't practiced it much in actual combat, she was very impressed with her learning ability and felt that she had mastered the lightness skill steps perfectly.
At that moment, such an absurd idea popped into her head.
The Shadowless Pavilion's mechanisms were in an unquestionable suppressive position. In less than ten seconds, the assassins who were just moments before filled with murderous intent were now left with nothing but bones scattered on the ground.
Xu Ruoyan placed the dazed Sun Yulin on a tree root so he could lean against it, and then carefully examined her own hands.
It's alright, there's no blood on it.
Pei Jue also rushed over immediately. When he saw his wife's actions, he thoughtfully picked up the sword that had been thrown aside for her: "I'll ask Zhu Ying to take it to you to clean it."
Xu Ruoyan gave him a pleased smile and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Guard Zhu. Please thank him for me."
Pei Jue immediately felt that next time he should offer to clean her up himself.
Pei Jue's subordinates who followed him were busy cleaning up the scene. Seeing that Sun Yulin was still in a dazed state, Xu Ruoyan randomly pointed to two people and told them to carry Sun Yulin back.
Fearing that Sun Yulin might develop some health problems from the fright, Xu Ruoyan even took his pulse.
“There’s nothing wrong, he’s just been too frightened,” she said, pulling down Sun Yulin’s sleeve and pushing a cup of tea in front of him. “Have some water to calm down.”
Sun Yulin stared blankly as he picked up the cup with trembling hands. The cup rattled as he shook it, the lid hitting the body with a series of crackling sounds.
"Can't a grown man be a little more dignified?" Xu Ruoyan pouted. "It's just a matter of losing your life."
Hearing her "comforting" words, Sun Yulin finally couldn't hold back anymore, pouted, and was about to burst into tears.
But Xu Ruoyan was quick-witted and nimble; the moment he opened his mouth, she stepped forward and covered it tightly, leaving him speechless with despair.
So he blinked his pitiful little eyes, which were filled with tears, and looked at Xu Ruoyan.
"Cough cough cough." Pei Jue coughed very deliberately from the side.
Xu Ruoyan consciously lowered her hand.
"Tell me, what's going on?"
Sun Yulin managed to hold back his tears, but his voice still sounded like he was about to cry.
“I had just finished delivering the message to you when my brother suddenly burst in and knocked me unconscious!” he shouted angrily and sadly. “When I woke up, I was in a strange place, and then they brought me here.”
Well, no useful information was provided.
Xu Ruoyan sighed, her ten fingers tightly intertwined.
In short, Sun Yulin's kidnapping had already told them that Qi Feng couldn't wait any longer, and they couldn't afford to waste any more time. If they didn't take the initiative soon, she couldn't even imagine what the consequences would be. Moreover, the Shadowless Pavilion, which they thought was absolutely safe, had already been exposed, and it seemed that in all the world, they would find nowhere else to hide their lives.
Even though Xu Ruoyan was confident that she could kill Sun Yutao and save Sun Yulin, she had to admit that she was indeed panicked when she saw Sun Yulin being pushed to the edge of the cliff.
She can silently endure her own misfortunes, but she is also afraid when she sees her friends entering the center of the vortex.
“Let’s go back,” Xu Ruoyan said to Pei Jue, her eyes filled with an unprecedented determination. “I refuse to believe that we can’t take down a mere Qi Feng together.”
Now Pei Jue couldn't stop her no matter what.
So the group set off immediately, heading towards the capital without stopping. Because the journey was so long, Sun Yulin couldn't keep going halfway, so Zhuying stayed behind to take care of him. In the end, only Xu Ruoyan, with tears in her eyes, and Pei An, who was with her, continued on their way.
She had lost count of how many days and nights had passed. As the sun rose above the horizon, Xu Ruoyan finally stopped outside the capital city gates.
"We're almost there," she murmured.
“Mm.” Pei Jue stood beside her, and together they looked down at the entire capital city from the mountaintop.
“We’ll go in a bit…” Xu Ruoyan thought for a moment, “I’ll go in first. If we can sneak in and kill Qi Feng in one go, that would be the best. If not, I’ll pretend to be captured. Anyway, they want me to be beheaded and displayed to the public. They probably won’t kill me immediately after they capture me. This way, I can buy you some time.”
As they were talking, Pei Jue suddenly grabbed her hand.
"Don't rush, let's take a detour and go to the north of the city to find Zhang Zizhi and the others."
When Xu Ruoyan met Zhang Zizhi and the others in the north of the city, she finally understood what Pei Jue meant by "fifty percent".
There were very few people who came with Zhang Zizhi, at most three to five hundred. Even if all the members of the Shadowless Pavilion were mobilized, they might not be able to contend with Qi Feng's power, since they had no idea how much power Qi Feng had secretly accumulated.
"I'll go in first," Xu Ruoyan smiled at Pei Jue and Zhang Zizhi, "You two stay here and wait for my news. If everything goes smoothly, I won't even need you."
Although she spoke lightly, Pei Jue and the others knew how arduous the process of writing the poem was.
"I'll be right back." Xu Ruoyan smiled and waved to them, just like on countless ordinary mornings when she left home to go to the pharmacy.
It was daytime. Logically, it would be more convenient for Xu Ruoyan to infiltrate at night, but she simply couldn't wait. Besides, the defenses at night were no less than during the day, and the darkness might be filled with even more danger.
She didn't go through the main gate, but instead slipped in through a side path that Pei An had told her about.
Actually, Pei An told her about this a long time ago, saying that he had found a secret passage when he was a child and was afraid of being discovered, so he didn't tell anyone. Who knew that this little path would become Xu Ruoyan's powerful helper.
Once inside, she hid by the wall and quietly observed the scene. She found that the streets were still bustling with people, indicating that the lives of ordinary people had not been greatly affected.
This is a good thing, as the crowd can provide cover for her. But it could also be a bad thing, since the chances of her being recognized have increased considerably.
She thought for a moment, then squatted down and smeared a large patch of mud on her face. She then took out a veil from her pocket and put it on, followed by a straw hat she had grabbed. Finally, she took out a hair tie and tied her hair into a high ponytail.
This should make it more camouflage-worthy.
Then, seizing her opportunity, she darted into the crowd and successfully blended in.
Of course, she had also disguised the sword on her back beforehand, wrapping it in cloth to make it look like a zither, so that it wouldn't be so conspicuous.
Whether it was because she disguised herself so well or because so much time had passed and the soldiers patrolling the city had become lax, she actually managed to get close to the base of the wall.
Crouching against the wall, she was pondering how to sneak into the palace when she was suddenly startled by the sound of a tree branch breaking.
She barely had time to react before she quickly got up and pulled out a short knife from her sleeve. Upon closer inspection, she realized it wasn't an assassin, but a palace maid.
This palace maid looks familiar...
She was quickly trying to recall where she had seen her before when she heard the little palace maid speak calmly.
“Miss Xu, I have come to meet you on the orders of Consort Shu.”
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