With her delicate face and slender waist, the royal uncle lost control.

"action."

Qin Jiuchen uttered two words, turned around first, and his figure disappeared into the darkness like a ghost.

The elite guards followed silently.

Qin Senyao also composed himself, signaling Yun Nian to follow closely, and led his men quietly toward the front of the village gate.

The night was thick.

Inside Tiger Roar Village, the faint sounds of drinking games and occasional clappers could be heard, indicating that most of the bandits were unaware of the danger.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle came from behind the village, followed by the clanging of weapons and several short screams.

"Enemy attack!"

Finally, someone on the stockade wall cried out in anguish, but it was too late.

The heavy gate was suddenly pushed open a crack from the inside, and flames and shouts of battle poured out from inside like a flood bursting its banks.

"Rush!"

Qin Senyao drew his longsword and charged towards the open gate of the village.

Yun Nian was behind me, her heart pounding like a drum.

The village was in complete chaos.

The bandits, startled awake from their sleep, were disheveled and hastily engaged in battle, no match for the elite guards.

The flashing of swords and the flickering of spears were illuminated by the torchlight.

Screams and roars rose and fell.

Qin Jiuchen was like a demon god descended to earth. He wielded a long sword so powerful that water could not penetrate it. Wherever he went, the mountain bandits were either killed or injured.

The dark red splattered on his black robe added to the grim atmosphere.

With a clear goal in mind, he headed straight for the largest wooden house in the village, the residence of the village chief, Zhao Lihu.

However, when the guards kicked open the door of the wooden house, there was no one inside.

"Your Highness, we have searched everywhere, but we have not found Zhao Lihu."

A guard rushed in to report.

Qin Jiuchen remained expressionless as drops of blood dripped from the tip of his sword and fell to the ground.

"Move everyone to the open space in front."

Soon, the surviving bandits were driven to the open space in the center of the village, where they knelt down in a dark mass, their cries and pleas for mercy filling the air.

The torches illuminated the open space.

Yun Nian followed Qin Senyao, anxiously searching through the crowd. Terrified faces flashed by, but Qi Luo was nowhere to be found.

Her heart grew colder and colder, and she couldn't help but run to Qin Jiuchen's side, asking urgently, "Your Highness, is there any news of Chen Sha?"

Qin Jiuchen glanced at her, then shook his head with a serious expression.

Yun Nian's tears welled up instantly. "Your Highness, could something have happened to Qi Luo?"

Just as Qin Jiuchen was about to speak, a louder commotion and terrified screams suddenly came from the direction of the dilapidated wooden shed on the east side of the village.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw five burly men with ferocious faces, holding seven or eight trembling children and women hostage, and retreating step by step toward the open space.

They were all Zhao Lihu's loyal confidants, accustomed to a life of danger and peril.

Although they were surrounded, their eyes were filled with a fierce glint of desperation.

The "shield" they pushed to the front was a pregnant woman with a high belly.

A gleaming steel knife was held against her vulnerable neck.

The leader, with a leopard-like head, bulging eyes, and a face full of fierce flesh, was none other than Zhao Lihu, the chieftain of Tiger Roar Village.

His eyes were bloodshot as he roared hoarsely, "Prince Ningxiang! Tell your men to back off! Release my brothers from Tiger Roar Stronghold! Otherwise, I'll slaughter them all right now! Leave no one alive!"

The guards drew their swords and stood ready, but hesitated to advance for fear of harming the innocent.

Qin Jiuchen's gaze was icy, and he shifted his feet slightly, seemingly searching for an opening.

"Stop right there! Try taking another step!"

Zhao Lihu immediately became alert, and the blade moved even closer. The pregnant woman trembled with fear, and her cries were choked in her throat.

Qin Jiuchen stopped in his tracks, his icy gaze locking onto Zhao Lihu: "Release them, and I will grant you a complete corpse."

"Pah!"

Zhao Lihu spat, his expression crazed, "A whole corpse? If I don't survive, I'll drag all these bastards down with me to the Yellow Springs! That's enough!"

Qin Senyao leaned closer to Qin Jiuchen and lowered his voice, "Father, they're just a few women and children. Those who achieve great things don't concern themselves with trifles. The imperial order is paramount; eliminating the bandit leader is the top priority. Why not order the archers to prepare and shoot the bandit leader and the hostages together! Let's eliminate this threat forever!"

Although he spoke in a low voice, Yun Nian, who was nearby, heard him clearly.

A chill ran through her, and without thinking, she blurted out, "No!"

Qin Jiuchen and Qin Senyao both looked at her at the same time.

Yun Nian's eyes were resolute. "Your Highness, those are innocent civilians! Their lives matter too!"

She looked at the trembling, weeping children and women under the blade, her eyes filled with genuine sorrow.

Qin Jiuchen's cold gaze returned to Zhao Lihu.

Zhao Lihu and his men were very cunning. They held the women and children firmly in front of them, making it almost impossible for them to kill them with a single blow without harming the hostages.

Qin Senyao grew impatient, feeling that Yun Nian was being overly sentimental, and whispered again, "Father, you must be decisive!"

Yun Nian suddenly said, "Your Highness, I have an idea."

Qin Jiuchen looked at her.

"Your Highness,"

She looked back at him. "This time, you trust me."

Qin Jiuchen's eyes were deep, and his thin lips were tightly pressed together.

Before he could speak, Yun Nian called out, "Chief Zhao!"

A clear, crisp female voice pierced the tense atmosphere, drawing everyone's attention.

Zhao Lihu narrowed his eyes and looked at the woman who had suddenly spoken.

Yun Nian straightened her back, her voice calm and firm: "I am Yun Nian, the fiancée of the Crown Prince of Ningxiang. I suppose my status carries more weight than any of the hostages you hold."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.

Qin Jiuchen's body tensed instantly, and his fingers under his black sleeves clenched into fists.

"Yun Nian! What's wrong with you?!"

Qin Senyao shouted it out even faster than Qin Jiuchen.

Does she even know what she's saying?

That's practically suicide!

Yun Nian suddenly turned her head, her gaze sweeping over Qin Senyao like a cold lightning bolt, causing Qin Senyao to catch his words halfway through his shout and subconsciously shut his mouth.

Zhao Lihu, who was opposite, was also taken aback and looked Yun Nian up and down.

The woman was slender, and although her clothes were somewhat disheveled, they were made of luxurious fabric. She was extremely beautiful, and standing there, she looked so fragile that she seemed as if she would break at any moment.

A sudden inspiration struck him.

Isn't this the woman the employer made him kidnap?

The person in the portrait is clearly her.

Didn't she run away?

Why did they come to me again?

Zhao Lihu was filled with doubt and uncertainty, and quickly weighed his options.

The reward for kidnapping this woman is five thousand taels.

He originally thought the deal had fallen through.

If they could capture her, they could not only escape, but also perhaps extort money from the employer again, or demand a huge ransom from Prince Ningxiang.

Seeing the shift in his expression, Yun Nian knew he was wavering. Seizing the opportunity, she pressed on, "Chief Zhao, think carefully. These children and pregnant women in your hands will only become a burden on your escape. Do you really want to drag them down with you? What good will that do you?"

Her voice softened, "Why don't we switch? At least my life is more valuable. Use me to exchange for all of them, and you can use me as a hostage to break through. Wouldn't your chances of survival be much greater?"