Do you know: I should be fat and you should be thin!

Zhou Ning wanted to roll his eyes. "I'm sixteen this year, and you still call me a kid!"

Indeed, one shouldn't be too amazing when young!

"Your Majesty! Time is of the essence, and there is no time for explanation. I am willing to deliver the imperial edict to request aid, and I will certainly not fail in my mission!" Zhou Ning knelt down and said.

Sheng Changbai said urgently, "Your Majesty! I have observed that nearly a thousand rebel soldiers are heading towards the Funing Palace. If we delay any longer, even Lord Zhou will find it difficult to get out!"

He had just counted carefully and found that eight hundred-man squads had chased after him and his two companions along the way. If he also counted those outside the Funing Palace, it did not constitute deceiving the emperor.

"Your Majesty, is he trustworthy?" Empress Cao asked.

The old emperor said, "He was the top scholar in the civil service examination in the fifth year of the Jiayou era. Because of his outstanding political achievements, I promoted him to the fifth rank after only two and a half years. He dared to impeach the prime minister on his first day back in the capital. He has quite the guts. We can trust him!" After saying this, he personally helped Zhou Ning up.

"Good, good, good! If you can get the letter out, you will be the one to save the emperor! I entrust everything to you!" Empress Cao also helped him up and handed the blood edict and tiger tally to Zhou Ning.

Zhou Ning tucked the blood edict and tiger tally into his robes, preparing to strike Sheng Changbai's acupoints!

Unexpectedly, during this time, Sheng Changbai had already taken away Sheng Minglan's Ruyi hairpin, put several steps away from him, and even pressed the hairpin against his own throat!

"What is your brother doing?" Zhou Ning asked, puzzled.

"Pengqi, listen! The rebels are numerous, and you are now burdened with heavy responsibilities. If you also have to take care of the two of us, your chances of survival are slim! Father is still in the palace. How can a son abandon his father and run away? I must stay here to protect His Majesty. You must quickly send an imperial edict to request reinforcements! I entrust my sixth sister to you. If things cannot be done, then you must personally escort her on her journey. If you can prevent her from being humiliated by the rebels, it will also fulfill our friendship! Let's go!" Sheng Changbai urged.

He knew Zhou Ning would definitely take him along, but then he would be without hands and nowhere to stand, and under the siege of thousands of imperial guards, the consequences would be unimaginable!

If only one can be taken away, he is the elder brother and has decided to give the chance of life to Minglan!

Seeing Zhou Ning make a move to step forward, Sheng Changbai stabbed him hard, causing blood to drip down and his face to turn red instantly, forcing him to stop!

"Second brother, don't...don't do anything foolish! Think of Tuan-ge'er, he's only one year old!" Sheng Minglan was terrified.

If my second brother were to die by my hairpin, would my wife and sister-in-law Hai go mad?

Zhou Ning knew his mind was made up, so he channeled all his inner strength into the Yongquan point on the soles of his feet, preparing to try and seize it by force...

Sheng Changbai understood Zhou Ning. If the hairpin were to go any further, blood would flow uncontrollably. He roared with difficulty, "Are you trying to force me to my death? Why aren't you leaving?" Even in this situation, his piercing gaze still carried the authority of an elder brother!

"I'm leaving!" Zhou Ning was scared.

Minglan was covering her face in worry when suddenly she felt a numbness under her arm, followed by a sharp pain in her chest. She cried out in surprise, her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground, her whole body numb and unable to move.

Zhou Ning picked her up with one hand and said, "Quickly save him!" As soon as he finished speaking, he had already flashed out of the hall. In a few leaps, he carried Minglan out of the Funing Palace!

Sheng Changbai fell to the ground, his face turning pale rapidly due to significant blood loss.

"Quickly stop the bleeding! Get some wound medicine, quick!" the old emperor ordered.

The palace maids rushed forward in a flurry, but none of them dared to remove the hairpin from Sheng Changbai's neck.

Empress Cao's trusted eunuch, though old, was bold. He found the best-quality wound medicine used by the emperor and decisively helped Sheng Changbai remove the hairpin, applied the medicine, stopped the bleeding, and bandaged him.

Outside the Funing Palace!

As soon as Zhou Ning darted out, he heard several whooshing sounds as several arrows shot rapidly toward the two of them.

With Minglan still in his left arm, he used his right hand to deflect the incoming arrows one by one. Realizing that the last arrow was from a master, imbued with some internal energy, he caught it, straightened his arm, and threw it back.

Just as the martial arts candidate was about to nock an arrow and shoot again, he was pierced through the chest and pinned to the ground!

Seeing that there were rebels all around him and nowhere to put his feet, Zhou Ning used his left hand to throw Minglan two zhang into the air. With a quick flick of his right sleeve, an extremely strong gust of wind surged out and pressed down from above. More than ten rebels lost their footing and fell backward at the same time, giving him a chance to land!

Zhou Ning landed and spun around like a dragonfly skimming the water, then quickly leaped back into the air, catching the falling Minglan with his right hand, and flew with her to a side hall in the east!

Two more arrows came hurtling towards them, the wind howling fiercely.

With a flick of his left hand, Zhou Ning used his superior internal strength to turn the two arrows around. The force was even stronger, and with two sharp cracks, the longbows in the hands of the two men who had fired the arrows in the distance snapped in two!

The two arrows, still powerful, pierced the ground with great speed, their fletchings still trembling. The dozens of rebel soldiers were all horrified.

As soon as the two entered the side hall, hundreds of people surged out from all around and chased after them!

"Are we going to die?" Minglan asked.

She thought she was going to die after falling, but Zhou Ning caught her. Seeing that her life was hanging by a thread, she was terrified and knew she shouldn't ask, but she still asked anyway.

Zhou Ning didn't answer, thinking that he had to determine the direction before charging in!

Seeing the rebel army approaching from the east, Zhou Ning unleashed two powerful palm strikes, sending the wind through the air to a distance of six zhang (approximately 33 meters). The dozen or so rebel soldiers facing him were sent flying backward, coughing up blood!

Taking this opportunity, Zhou Ning moved Minglan to the front of the body that had been cleared away!

Just then, several blades slashed at his back, arms, and legs, but the rebels only felt their blades hit an invisible wall of energy, stopping half a foot behind Zhou Ning and unable to advance any further. Then, a surge of force bounced back, causing them to stagger backward and bleed from their hands!

"Seal off his escape route! Kill squad, move in quickly!" someone shouted!

The Killing Group was the elite force of the Prince of Yan, consisting of one martial arts champion and eleven martial arts candidates!

The six of them were stacked on top of each other, each holding a large long shield, forming a shield formation. The twelve of them blocked out the sun, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere!

Zhou Ning dared not be careless. He tossed Minglan high into the air and unleashed both palms simultaneously. The powerful force slammed into the shield formation, causing all twelve shields to shatter and explode at the same time!

The entire group that killed the child was injured!

He suddenly rose several feet into the air, and when Minglan was halfway down, he was already pressed against her back and pulled her back into his arms!

"The west side is the closest!"

Zhou Ning scanned his surroundings, immediately determined the direction of the breakout, and used his right foot to propel himself up more than two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) with the back of his left foot, leading Minglan to break out to the west!

"You've got some tough guys! Kill that woman first!" the rebel squad leader shouted.

Upon hearing this, the martial arts champion of the "Killing" group scrambled to his feet and kicked him, angrily shouting, "Are you brain-dead? Can't you see that if it weren't for that woman, they would have run away long ago? Can you fly like him, or are you as fierce as him? It was that woman who helped us; he only wanted to leave, which is why he didn't kill us! No one's stopping you from dying, but first go report to His Highness Prince Yan and find out his identity! Then... *cough*!" As he spoke, he spat out a mouthful of blood, clearly suffering from severe internal injuries that he couldn't suppress any longer!

The squad leader was also frightened when he saw this. He was about to hit the target, but the blow actually cracked his own hand. He was so fierce that he was not human!

"I'll go right now!"

......