In a moment of impulse, I forcibly kissed my brother's best friend.

They numbered at least twenty, and every move they made was a deadly attack, all aimed at Cui Yutang.

"Protect our master!" Six Xuanling Guards immediately surrounded the man in black and engaged him in battle.

They were all elite assassins carefully trained by the Cui family, with superb skills and perfect teamwork. However, their opponents outnumbered them by many times, and for a time they were suppressed and forced to retreat.

Cui Yutang also instantly drew the soft sword from his waist.

It was a soft, silver-white sword, usually wrapped around his waist like a belt, but now it danced in his hands like a serpent. The sword light was like a bolt of lightning, drawing silver arcs in the sunlight, so fast that no blood was drawn, and it instantly killed the three men.

The pressure on the Xuanling Guardian was greatly reduced.

Cui Yutang's martial arts were taught by the monk Xuanling and the commander of Xuanling Guard. He was extremely talented, possessing both the elegance of Taoism and the compassion of Buddhism, as well as the speed and mystery of a secret guard.

"Who are you? Who sent you?" Cui Yutang's eldest son, Cui Shiliu, asked as he retorted.

"When you get to hell, ask Yama, the King of Hell," the man in black sneered.

No sooner had he finished speaking than six more men pressed forward.

This group was clearly more skilled in martial arts; the clanging of their swords echoed across the riverbank, making one's eardrums ache.

One Xuanling Guard was killed and two others were injured immediately.

Cui Yutang felt a chill in his heart. He suddenly noticed a tall, strong man in black standing there without making a move.

The man stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze calm, like a lurking beast, coldly observing the battle.

Cui Yutang then knew that this person was the leader of this group.

He swayed, dodging a slash, and with a feint, his soft sword instantly closed in on the man. The blade flashed like lightning, aimed straight for the man's throat.

The man reacted quickly, leaning back to narrowly avoid a fatal injury, but his clothes were still torn open.

"Interesting." The man's voice was hoarse and unpleasant. "Too bad, someone doesn't want you alive."

"You kill people for nothing more than money," Cui Yutang said in a deep voice, his sword tip slightly lowered, his gaze fixed on his opponent. "Whatever price he paid, I will pay you double."

"I'm very interested in your proposal." The man tilted his head, as if he was thinking seriously. "But we don't have a rule against breaking a contract."

After saying that, he raised his hand and waved it.

The other seven men in black then formed a strange formation to cooperate with him.

They worked in pairs, two to four, four to eight, their sword shadows piercing from all directions simultaneously, dense and impenetrable, like a giant sword net. In an instant, Cui Yutang was covered in three sword wounds, his flowing white robes instantly stained red with blood, like blooming red spider lilies.

"Master!" Cui Shiliu shouted anxiously, but they were entangled and unable to break free to rescue him.

It was actually a trapping and killing formation.

Cold sweat beaded on Cui Yutang's forehead. He defended himself while trying to regain his composure and find a weakness in the formation.

Every stacked array must have a root, every pair must have an axis, and the center of the array should be the vacuum position where the pairs connect.

His gaze swept quickly across the positions and movements of each man in black, his brain working at high speed, calculating every possible breakthrough—that's it!

He abruptly withdrew his sword, crouched low to the ground, and slid out like an eel, instantly rushing into the very center of the formation. The sword shadows attacking from all directions suddenly all restrained each other, unable to strike.

The formation was immediately broken, and the three people in the innermost circle could no longer stop their moves. Their internal energy backfired, and they spat out blood.

"No wonder you're the top scholar." The leader's voice carried a hint of admiration and annoyance. "I hate fighting with scholars like you the most; you're treacherous and cunning."

As soon as he finished speaking, the leader suddenly pulled out a snake-shaped short blade from his body. The blade was curved like a snake, and its edge gleamed with a strange blue light, reflecting an eerie luster in the sunlight—clearly, it was coated with a potent poison.

He stabbed at Cui Yutang from behind, who was entangled in a fight with others, with incredible speed, immediately creating a dangerous situation.

It was about to pierce through—

Suddenly, a black, square, hard object flew from a distance, piercing through the air and striking the leader's hand precisely, causing the blade to deflect.

"Who goes there?" he shouted angrily, turning his gaze to the distance.

"It seems the Silent Killing Pavilion is really desperate for money, daring to take on any order." A lazy voice came from afar, tinged with coldness.

"Who are you? Why are you ruining my plans?"

"Of course, I also took the job to protect his person." The voice was full of temptation. "My patron is offering too much. How about we make a deal? I'll give you ten thousand taels, and you tell me the identity of the person who gave the order?"

The leader stopped abruptly, cursing under his breath—that employer was so stingy, only giving him two thousand taels!

What a huge loss! His ears twitched, and he suddenly heard the sound of galloping hooves in the distance, getting closer and closer, more and more frequent.

Oh no, their reinforcements are coming.

"Though we, the Silent Killing Pavilion, are poor, we have rules!" the leader declared righteously, though a pang of pain shot through his heart—his hard-earned silver! "Don't even think about insulting us with this worthless junk!"

"I'll let you off the hook today because we're in the same industry."

"Retreat!" he shouted.

Damn it, if we don't leave now, it'll be too late.

A group of men in black vanished into the reeds in an instant, carrying away even the bodies of their companions.

Only Cui Yutang, pale from excessive blood loss, and five wounded Xuanling Guards remained.

Cui Shiliu hurried to Cui Yutang's side and asked anxiously, "Master, how are you? Quickly bandage me up!"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was drowned out by the ever-approaching sound of horses' hooves.

In the distance, dust billowed.

A troop of people was rushing in, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

In the middle was a carriage, with two majestic black horses whose manes were trimmed into three prominent braids—it was the very carriage that Cui Yutang had given to Xie Yige. Behind them followed a dozen or so iron-clad black-clad cavalry guards, each with a lithe and agile physique.

"Master!" Bao Yu's horse was faster and was the first to jump down, rushing anxiously towards Cui Yutang.

But Cui Yutang didn't hear his voice at all. His eyes were fixed on the approaching carriage, and he could hardly believe his eyes.

The carriage stopped, and the curtain was lifted.

The face he had been longing for appeared immediately.

"Cui Yutang!" The woman cried out, her delicate figure rushing towards him, pulling the surrounding wind into her arms. Like a wad of cotton wool, like a dream.

"Yige...why are you here?" His voice was as soft as a snowflake.

"Get in the car first, let me see your injuries." Xie Yige looked at his blood-stained white clothes and couldn't help but tremble all over, her heart aching.

After getting into the carriage, Cui Yutang took off his shirt at Xie Yige's insistence.

A male body, with distinct blocks, smooth undulating lines, and perfect like a work of art, was exposed to Xie Yige's view.