On the official road outside Peizhou City, torrential rain poured down.
The wheels were stuck deep in the mud, and the horses neighed and struggled forward, the mud splashed up by their hooves staining the armor of the guards a dirty yellowish-brown.
Inside the carriage, blood seeped from Wang Xiuxiu's tightly clenched teeth.
The old doctor's gold needles trembled slightly in the candlelight, and as she breathed rapidly, tiny beads of blood condensed at the tips of the needles.
The golden needles sealed the vital acupoints of the heart, but also caused Wang Xiuxiu to lose sensation in half of her body.
The carriage curtain was lifted by a corner by the strong wind, and she vaguely saw the firelight of Peizhou Dam in the distance.
"Faster!" The captain of the guard lashed the horse's rump with his whip, and rainwater seeped in through the gaps in his armor, forming cold puddles on his chest.
Suddenly, a chilling sound of rocks cracking came from the distant mountains.
Suddenly, countless boulders rolled down the mountain path, the thunderous sound drowned out by the thunder and rain.
"Watch out for falling rocks!"
The two leading riders had no time to dodge and were hit along with their horses, the sound of bones shattering was enough to make one's teeth ache.
"There's an ambush! Protect the Empress!"
The remaining guards instantly formed a circular formation, protecting the carriage in the center.
A cold glint appeared in the dense forest—an arrow pierced the air, and three guards fell from their horses.
\"spread!\"
Before the captain of the guards could finish speaking, dozens of dark figures darted out from the dense forest on both sides of the official road.
The assassin in the straw raincoat possessed cunning swordsmanship, specializing in attacking the gaps in the guards' armor.
The guards fought desperately, hacking and slashing until their steel blades were dulled, then engaging in hand-to-hand combat, refusing to let go even when most of their fingers were sliced off.
Inside the carriage, Wang Xiuxiu struggled to sit up.
Through the gap in the carriage curtain, she saw the captain of the guard being pierced by three long swords at the same time.
The towering man roared in terror, charging forward with his chest against the blade, carving a bloody path for his comrades.
"Protect..." Blood gushed from his mouth, yet he clung tightly to the leg of an assassin until half his head was severed.
When the last guard fell, the rain had already washed the blood into a pale red stream.
The footsteps drew closer.
The moment the carriage curtain was lifted, a cold glint appeared!
\"bite!\"
Xiao Cheng's short sword was precisely parried, causing Wang Xiuxiu's hands to go numb.
"Your Highness, the concubine is truly skilled." Zhou Yun'an's voice came from behind.
He walked slowly closer, and under the blue oil-paper umbrella, the pale, ghostly face made Wang Xiuxiu's pupils shrink.
He's not dead! The fire at the mortuary was just a decoy after all!
"Surprised?" Zhou Yun'an chuckled. "I thought you were smart enough to have guessed it."
"What a pity! Your good husband is currently acting as a savior at Peizhou Dam."
He leaned closer, his voice like a viper's hiss, "Lu Jingze knew it might be a diversionary tactic, yet he still chose to save those lowly people. In his heart, you're not even worth those ants."
Wang Xiuxiu suddenly laughed, the black blood seeping from the corner of her mouth making the smile appear particularly poignant: "Lord Zhou was wrong..."
She suddenly raised her right hand, the wooden hairpin hidden in her sleeve aimed straight at Zhou Yun'an's heart, "He chooses the people, and so do I!"
Xiao Cheng's knife blocked the fatal blow again, but the hairpin tip still tore through Zhou Yun'an's clothes, leaving a deep bloodstain on his chest.
A silver bell rolled out from Zhou Yun'an's tattered clothes; the snake-shaped patterns on the bell were exactly the same as those on a poison needle.
"Interesting." Zhou Yun'an smiled instead of getting angry, picked up the silver bell and gently waved it in front of Wang Xiuxiu's eyes, "Does Your Highness know the wonderful use of this bell?"
The eerie sound waves caused the toxins in Wang Xiuxiu's body to suddenly boil over!
\"ah--!\"
Wang Xiuxiu curled up, black blood seeping from her seven orifices.
"Stop!" The old doctor lunged from behind, but was kicked away by Xiao Cheng.
The old man crashed into a tree, and the crisp sound of his spine breaking was clearly audible.
Zhou Yun'an grabbed Wang Xiuxiu's chin, forcing her to look at the corpses of his guards scattered everywhere: "These loyal dogs could have lived, but alas, their master chose to be a saint..."
"And saints always pay a price," he suddenly whispered in her ear, "Guess when he discovers you've fallen into my hands, will that mask of hypocrisy crack?"
Wang Xiuxiu's vision began to blur, but she still stared intently at the other person.
"Take him away." Zhou Yun'an's voice was as cold as ice. "Don't worry, I haven't had enough fun yet, and I won't let you die so easily."
Before Wang Xiuxiu was completely plunged into darkness, the last thing she saw was the mangled corpses of her guards scattered all over the ground, and the gradually dying embers of the fire at Peizhou Dam in the distance.
The rain fell harder and harder, washing away the bloodstains on the official road and the busy figures on the Peizhou Dam.
Lu Jingze stood atop the gate, sword in hand, when suddenly a sharp pain shot through his chest.
He looked back toward Minnesota, but all he could see was a dark curtain of rain.
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