Su Rong looked at Nangong Yu.
Nangong Yu, too, was looking at Su Rong.
Although the Nangong family had obtained a portrait of Su Rong and Nangong Yu had seen it, the real her was far more spectacular than the portrayal.
Su Rong was fifteen, turning sixteen after the new year, in the bloom of her youth. It could be said that it was a time when a young lady was at the peak of her beauty.
She was like a fresh and delicate blossom, radiant amid the winter’s chill. Adorable and dazzling, she was undoubtedly a stunner.
Nangong Yu had seen countless beautiful women of all shapes and sizes, but he had never encountered anyone like Su Rong. Despite her delicate and tender appearance, she had a calm and unflappable demeanor. Even now, surrounded by thrice the number of assassins as her own party, her complexion remained unchanged.
She seemed unafraid.
Nangong Yu looked at Su Rong intriguingly and smiled, "The princess is quite bold, not fearing death. It makes me reluctant to strike. How about you try to charm me? Perhaps I’ll consider leaving your corpse intact."
"An intact corpse?" Su Rong laughed in return, "So, in your eyes, my ability to charm is only worth an intact corpse?"
Nangong Yu sighed, "There’s no other way. I am here on a mission. I can’t let the princess live. Even if I am reluctant, this is the furthest I can go."
Su Rong raised an eyebrow. "Is the Nangong family planning to overthrow the reign of Nanchu? Hasn’t the Nangong family always prided itself on its loyalty and patriotism? Since you know I am the princess, which country does your loyalty lie?"
"Your Highness, you’ve misunderstood." Nangong Yu shook his head, "The Nangong family naturally holds dear to Nanchu. It’s precisely because we don’t want you to ruin the current peace and stability that we can’t let you live."
Su Rong sneered, "It’s not Nanchu’s peace and stability you care about, but rather the Nangong family’s control, isn’t it?"
Nangong Yu nodded, "You could put it that way."
"The Nangong family sure is audacious." Su Rong commented.
"You, princess, are sufficiently arrogant. After all, prior to my arrival, the Nangong family sent out ten groups of assassins, all of whom fell at your hands yielding nothing," Nangong Yu noted, "Hence, why I am here."
"Could I ask how you got wind of my whereabouts?" Su Rong figured, given his confident demeanor, he would probably give her a straightforward answer.
"For that, we must thank Young Master Zhang. Rumors were abound that the secret agents in Nanping had been hunted down one by one. When Young Master Zhang lost contact with them, he deduced something had gone wrong. Who else would have such capabilities to take out the secret agents in Nanping overnight? Considering Lady Su Qi had escorted the Ning siblings to Nanping, it naturally assumed to be your doing," Nangong Yu seemingly, patiently, explained to Su Rong. "So, while Lady Su Qi was investigating the secret agents, someone else followed the same thread to pinpoint Lady Su Qi’s exact location."
It dawned on Su Rong, Zhang Yun’s visit to the Pingxi General Residence was specifically targeting her. No wonder Fu Zhou hadn’t been able to discern his motives in such a short time.
While they were talking, three more groups of assassins arrived, all dressed in black. Unlike those brought by Nangong Yu, the new arrivals were either masked or wore an emblem of a tiger’s head on their sword handles.
Behind them, Zhang Yun, with twenty or so men, also arrived.
After a brief glance at Su Rong, a look of astonishment flashed across his eyes, but quickly averted. He greeted Nangong Yu with a nod and said with apparent delight, "Young Master Yu, I have found the person you sought. Please, do not spare her life."
"Of course," Nangong Yu thanked him, "Many thanks, Young Master Zhang."
Zhang Yun shook his head, "No need for thanks. I’d rather not witness the cruel death of a beauty. I have some other errands to run. Until next time, Young Master Yu."
"See you!" Nangong Yu nodded.
With that, Zhang Yun, along with his group of over twenty men, rode away.
Faced with more than thrice the number of assassins, Su Rong pondered whether she was destined to meet her end here. In the face of death, all her cunning and scheming would be in vain.
"Princess, would you like to take your own life? I can guarantee you an intact body," Nangong Yu offered again.
Su Rong shook her head, "You sure talk a lot."
She had never met someone so languid.
Nangong Yu’s eyes darkened, and he said coldly, "Princess, do you have any last words? Once I give the command, you won’t have the chance."
"None," Su Rong drew the sword from her waist. Ever since Uncle Xie had given her the sword, she rarely used it because most of the time, she didn’t need to fight herself. Her secret guards took care of everything.
"You chose to forego the option of an intact body, so don’t regret it later," Nangong Yu waved his hand and ordered coldly, "Strike! Kill her, cut her into slices, one by one. The sight of a beauty’s flesh and blood scattered like snowflakes must be quite the spectacle."
At his command, the assassins sprang into action.
Fu Zhou turned deathly pale, but ambitiously shielded Su Rong, shouting, "Everyone, protect the mistress with your life."
Although the secret guards were surrounded and turned pale with fear, they immediately and unanimously agreed. Their mission was to protect Su Rong.
Su Rong and Fu Zhou were the most skilled among them, equipped with plenty of golden needles and poison. As the secret guards sent by the Nangong family had all met their deaths at the hands of Su Rong, with none returning, the Nangong family had no specific information about Su Rong’s techniques, martial arts, or methods of killing. All they knew was that Su Rong was extremely dangerous.
They only knew that Su Rong had previously used golden needles to kill someone in the Capital City, as for her other methods, they remained completely ignorant.
As such, when Su Rong proved to be formidable, ensuring no one came within ten meters of her, causing a large number of black-clad men to fall by her side, Nangong Yu couldn’t help but become angry, seeing as how they were so overmatched.
He hadn’t originally planned to take action himself, believing that three times the number of assassins should be more than sufficient to take care of a single woman. But unexpectedly, even with their overwhelming numbers, they couldn’t overpower her, unless, of course, they forced her to exhaust all of her golden needles and poison.
His face darkened as he focused on Su Rong, observing how she attacked, her modus operandi for killing, how the black-clothed men died at her hands. After a thoughtful observation that lasted as long as it took for a cup of tea to cool, he finally stepped in to join the fray.
His martial arts skills were clearly superior, as his presence hindered Su Rong significantly. He was able to timely defend against Su Rong’s attacks, effortlessly deflect her golden needles and even held his breath in order to avoid her poison.
Su Rong thought to herself, this man truly was the prized pupil of the Nangong family.
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