wanton
"This way!" Xiao Diting made a quick decision, grabbed Pei Wenjin's sleeve and ran. Pei Wenjin reacted quickly and followed her pace. Before leaving, he didn't forget to slam the wooden door of the accounting room shut to block the assassin's attack.
The sound of boots crushing porcelain shards echoed from the wooden corridor of the post station. The Imperial Guards searching nearby came running at the sound. Ji Chuan led his men forward and reported loudly, "My lord, the surprise attack came prepared. We will stay here to buy time. You and His Highness should retreat first and rendezvous with Lord Song and the others!"
Pei Wenjin pondered for a moment, then quickly made a decision: "Granted. Do not linger in battle. Protect yourselves!"
The situation was urgent, so Pei Wenjin beckoned Xiao Diting to follow him downstairs. Xiao Diting's suspicious gaze darted back and forth between the two of them, but before she could think it through, assassins had already scaled the walls of the inn. Ji Chuan stood behind her, drawing his sword—
"Your Highness, let's go quickly!"
The sounds of swords clashing were incessant. Xiao Diting looked back at the chaos behind him with concern, only to have Pei Wenjin press his head down to dodge a stray arrow.
"Watch where you're going!" Pei Wenjin warned in a low voice, taking the opportunity to grab Xiao Diting's shoulder. "Don't worry, they'll catch up soon."
Unfortunately, Xiao Diting was not one to sit idly by and wait for death. Taking advantage of the moment when Pei Wenjin cleared a path for her, she fumbled for the short knife that she had been hiding in her sleeve and used the hilt to pry open Pei Wenjin's hand that was holding her.
Pei Wenjin reached out and grabbed at empty air, his fingertips only having time to be lightly brushed by her fluttering clothes. Xiao Diting's eyes were incredibly firm amidst the chaos. She took a few steps back: "These people are all coming for me. Someone has exposed my whereabouts... Besides, leaving this post station means certain death."
Pei Wenjin reached out and grabbed her, pleading with her amidst the chaos, "You can't get hurt, come with me quickly."
Xiao Diting shook his head, gripped the knife in his hand, and pointed it at Pei Wenjin: "My mind is made up, don't interfere!"
Pei Wenjin's eyes darkened with anger, and he shouted, "Xiao Mingzhao, how dare you!"
Xiao Mingzhao certainly dared to do it. Without looking back, she stepped into the heart of the conflict and effortlessly parried the attacks aimed at her.
Xiao Diting has always had his own ideas, and this is the second time he has been hunted since he came to this world.
She mocked herself, saying her life seemed a bit too bitter. She kicked over the assassin who pounced on her, ducked to avoid a horizontal slash aimed at her face, and used her short sword to deflect the man's weapon from below. As the man staggered, she slammed her heel into his knee—the sound of bones breaking was drowned out by the surrounding shouts of battle.
Song Pingzhang, who was searching the area, could not have been unaware of the commotion at the post station. He was most likely facing the same situation and unable to provide assistance. Therefore, it can be concluded that the number of people sent to assassinate her was not small.
This is a truly extravagant move, determined to kill her.
Unlike the previous childish assassination attempt, this one was a real attempt to take her life. The fact that the assassination attempt had changed so drastically before she did anything outrageous meant that at least two groups of people were involved.
After all, there's no need to "cut off all contact" right after telling yourself "don't contact me."
The identity of the person who wanted to kill her is almost certain. Such a large-scale assassination attempt is no longer something that can be covered up by using domesticated assassins.
It's practically like keeping a private army right under the emperor's nose; they're incredibly audacious, and if discovered, their entire family could be executed.
The other party was willing to expose their secrets in order to kill her, so what did she do to be so targeted?
There must be only one answer: she joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard, or rather, she obtained the right to participate in the draft of the Huaizhou grain decree from the emperor.
However, considering Pei Wenjin's occasional mention of the princess's past adjudication at the Dali Temple, and the original owner's own invincible talent, it's clear that the other party believed that as long as the princess was around, the truth would come to light sooner or later.
Xiao Diting was very happy to see this happen. The more tricks the other party made, the more flaws they had in their defenses. She hoped that more of these things would happen so that she could analyze the situation more easily.
After all, she wasn't as omniscient as the original owner, who could send her away simply by listening to her "heart's voice".
She deliberately kept her distance from people. In the current situation, she couldn't casually trigger her "Listening" talent, otherwise she would be doomed.
But it doesn't matter. Xiao Diting sneered. Anyway, she's tough. If things don't work out, she can always drag Pei Wenjin down with her.
If the princess really has an accident, Pei Wenjin will naturally be the first to be held accountable.
They were all there for her; Xiao Diting had already observed the surrounding terrain before entering the post station.
Fortunately, the great commander was very farsighted and brought enough men. Although the number of assassins left at the post station was unknown, they should be more than enough to hold out until Song Pingzhang came to their aid.
Running out rashly is tantamount to suicide.
Xiao Diting narrowed her eyes slightly. If she could figure it out, Pei Wenjin certainly couldn't not.
Then there's only one possibility—that Pei Wenjin wanted to use her as a moving target to draw fire in order to protect the rest of the Imperial Guards.
Pei Wenjin clearly valued his subordinates more than her own life, which truly made Xiao Diting grateful.
Xiao Diting dodged the dagger aimed at her, and with a skillful deft touch, deflected the weapon with her own short knife. The assassin's blade tip veered off course, severing a strand of her flowing hair.
While parrying the relentless attacks, she considered her retreat route.
Because the original owner was martial, her clothes were neat and simple. Xiao Diting had gotten used to this outfit as she raised her arm to block. The accessories on her head had long been torn off and thrown away somewhere. Her long black hair was just loosely tied up.
The girl's slender figure moved nimbly and steadily through the flashing swords.
There weren't many Imperial Guards left at the post station, and they were clearly no match for the assassins' attack. Pei Wenjin, who had been following them, was nowhere to be found.
Xiao Diting found Ji Chuan, kicked the assassin who had attacked him from behind, pulled up the dusty curtain, waved it at the assassin, and shouted in the chaos, "Where is your commander?"
Ji Chuan was too busy to take care of himself. Half of the boy's face was covered in blood, but he looked to be in good condition, so it probably wasn't his.
Nevertheless, compared to Xiao Diting's leisurely stroll, he still looked far too disheveled.
Ji Chuan didn't hear what Xiao Diting said. Taking advantage of the brief respite Xiao Diting gave him, he managed to squeeze in a questioning reply: "Your Highness—why are you still here—"
Xiao Diting frowned: "I said—you and the others retreated southwest—where is your commander—"
What a waste! Xiao Diting didn't want to fight, and the assassins mostly attacked from the southeast. The northwest corner was clearly unguarded and a better direction to retreat.
But Xiao Diting knew that the post station was surrounded and there was no way such an obvious oversight could exist. If he went through the seemingly safe northwest corner, he would likely be trapped like a turtle in a jar.
Ji Chuan finally understood Xiao Diting's meaning and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone, don't linger in battle—follow me and retreat from the southwest corner—quickly!!"
The scattered Imperial Guards quickly gathered together. Xiao Diting dodged the sneak attacks of hidden weapons and thoughtfully blended into the Imperial Guards' protective circle. Then, she deliberately slowed down and kept a certain distance from the Imperial Guards.
Ji Chuan broke through the assassins' encirclement first, and her first reaction was to turn back to look for Xiao Diting. Seeing the Third Princess holding a short knife at the end of the group, she was extremely anxious: "Your Highness, come quickly!"
Xiao Diting shook his head: "I'll stay behind to cover the rear—you all go down this way and head to the stables!"
Ji Chuan understood what she meant. There was an abandoned pavilion in the southwest corner. Climbing up it would allow one to follow the outer eaves directly to the stable.
Ji Chuan regretted that he should have thought of it sooner. The assassin came suddenly, and the Imperial Guards could only fight and retreat. Ji Chuan was still young and could not quickly sort out his thoughts in the chaos like the adults.
Moreover, he had received an order before coming here—not to leave the post station at will.
With the princess now in charge of directing the situation, the Imperial Guards have no reason not to cooperate.
Ji Chuan felt remorseful for a long time after Xiao Diting took his knife last time.
Not only that, after Pei Wenjin found out, he stared at him quietly with a very painful expression. Even Song Pingzhang, who was usually protective of his own, pretended not to see it, patted him on the shoulder as a form of comfort, and allowed Pei Wenjin to punish him by making him copy the Tao Te Ching ten times.
They call it "strengthening wrist strength."
This ridiculous reason was actually proposed by Lord Shangguan, the governor of Nanzhen.
Ji Chuan's feelings towards Xiao Diting were very complicated. Xiao Diting said he would cover the rear without any hesitation. He quickly pried open the partition leading to the attic with his knife and stepped onto the broken staircase to go upstairs.
The other Imperial Guards followed suit, while Xiao Diting guarded the rear. Only when he saw that most of the Imperial Guards had gone up did he approach that side.
Perhaps she was just incredibly unlucky. As the last Imperial Guard landed safely, Xiao Diting reached out to grab the escalator, but before she could get a firm grip, the dilapidated escalator simply broke down, shattering into pieces with a "crack".
Just like Xiao Diting's path to survival was quickly blocked.
Xiao Diting cursed, looked up and briefly met Ji Chuan's gaze as she lay prone at the entrance of the pavilion. Her expression was cold: "Give me your sword, I can leave. You go and meet up with Lord Pei first."
Himekawa threw down her sword, still unwilling to give up, and tried to reach out and pull her back.
But Xiao Diting nimbly dodged the attacks of the two assassins, precisely caught Ji Chuan's sword, his clothes fluttering as he twirled the blade, drawing a line of blood. In the blink of an eye, one of the assassins' heads fell to the ground.
Blood splattered, staining half of Xiao Diting's face. This was the first time she had used a blade to kill someone. Previously, she had mostly fought in close combat, aiming to render her opponent unable to move.
However, the series of unexpected events today made her somewhat impatient.
She was more than just impatient; if she didn't have to calmly seek a way to survive, she would have used the hilt of a knife to knock everyone unconscious.
She controlled the tip of her blade, aiming straight for the throat of the remaining assassin, intending to kill him. Her move was ruthless. Ji Chuan tried to struggle, but then saw Xiao Diting rush towards the half-open window in the southwest corner.
There were assassins there too. At this moment, Xiao Diting was struggling on the verge of losing control. She couldn't care less about so-called moral standards anymore, and the voice in her mind was becoming clearer and clearer.
"Live on."
“Kill them.”
She had to survive. She knew there was nothing outside the window to catch her; a broken bone would be the least of her worries, not to mention the unknown dangers lurking around the edges. But nothing could be worse than this.
Xiao Diting protected her vital organs, crashed through the window, fell onto the extended brick and tile floor and rolled around. She hooked her five fingers tightly around the moss-covered eaves and hovered at the very edge.
With most of her body exposed, she was incredibly lucky to survive. Xiao Diting scrambled to her feet, and the assassins, like maggots clinging to her bones, attacked again through the window she had smashed open.
Xiao Diting gripped her sword tightly, her panting breaths fading in the wind. She ran along the eaves, but the eaves, long neglected and slippery, were not the only problem affecting her speed. The most important issue was that the tiles were loose, and she was in danger of falling at any moment!
The goddess of fate seemed to have never been kind to her. Bad luck struck again, and Xiao Diting lost her footing, plummeting straight down.
Xiao Diting tried helplessly to grab onto something to prevent herself from falling, but to no avail. As she fell in panic, her hand caught on the roof tiles, but unfortunately, they were too slippery.
The edge of the tile left a deep bloody mark on her palm. She tried to grasp at this last straw, but the assassin's long knife was also aimed straight at her pupils.
Xiao Diting closed his eyes in despair.
The neighing of horses pierced her eardrums, but the expected sensation of her spine hitting the ground did not occur. Instead, a pleasant fragrance lingered around her nose, and Xiao Diting fell into a familiar embrace once again.
Pei Wenjin used one arm to hold her waist and pulled her with difficulty, putting Xiao Diting firmly on the horse. He then pulled the reins and threw Xiao Diting into her arms.
Temporarily out of danger, fear and cold sweat overwhelmed Xiao Diting like a tidal wave. Helplessly, she tugged at the reins, her voice trembling, "Where did you just go?"
Pei Wenjin pressed his chin against Xiao Diting's blood-stained, moss-covered hair, holding her in one arm and wielding his knife with the other to fend off the attacking assassins.
Faced with the princess's almost condemnatory accusations, he remained calm, but he clearly looked disheveled. Compared to after the two separated, Pei Wenjin had also encountered a lot of harassment.
Her gentle breath fell on her head, and she heard him say calmly, "Since Your Highness insists on living and dying with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, as the commander, I naturally have to show some sincerity—"
The wind whistled past his ears, and the rest of his sentence vanished into the gale.
Xiao Diting asked, feeling wronged, "What?"
The girl tilted her head back slightly, half of her face covered in blood, which splattered from her chin to the corner of her slightly reddened eye.
Pei Wenjin lowered his eyes for a moment, the strange feeling in his heart lingering, and he unconsciously softened his tone: "After we separated, I couldn't keep up with your pace, so I broke through the encirclement to find Song Pingzhang and the others... Be careful!"
Pei Wenjin, alone with Xiao Diting, rode through the mountains and forests, where many people were lying in ambush.
Xiao Diting gripped the reins tightly and reined in his horse in time. The horse's hooves rose high, kicking up clouds of dust, and he barely avoided the ropes that were meant to trip him up in the bamboo forest.
Xiao Diting was forced into Pei Wenjin's arms by inertia. Now that she had finally recovered from the pressure of the crisis, she simply reached out and hooked her arms around Pei Wenjin's neck so as not to slip off the horse.
"Where are Lord Song and the others?" Xiao Diting looked behind Pei Wenjin. There were only pursuers behind them, no other Imperial Guards.
Pei Wenjin tightened his grip. The princess was extremely thin, almost malnourished. He avoided answering Xiao Diting's question, saying, "Now it's just you and me."
Xiao Diting, not understanding, followed his lead: "What does Lord Pei mean?"
Pei Wenjin took the reins from her and sheathed his sword at his waist. Suddenly, he had another idea: "In folk festivals, grand events are held to invite talented people to participate... I wonder if Your Highness has ever played the game of 'hunting'? I remember that you are not good at riding horses. Why don't you give it a try today?"
Xiao Di heard the carefree tone in his voice, which reassured her. She forgot all about the assassins chasing after her. At that moment, she only had eyes for Pei Wenjin and readily agreed: "I will do whatever you say today, Young Master Pei!"
Pei Wenjin lifted Xiao Diting slightly, supporting her back with one hand: "Your Highness, we're counting on you from now on!"
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