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

"Quick, go find your aunt."

Xie Yige's bedroom was connected to Xie Wanning's, right next door. They were assigned to a courtyard on the west side, near the back mountain.

"Okay." Before she finished speaking, Zhixia disappeared from the room.

Xie Yige clutched the corner of the blanket, curled up on the bed, and waves of heat surged within her.

Xie Yige heard urgent knocking coming from next door, one after another, which was particularly clear in the quiet night, but no one answered for a long time.

Xie Yige's heart sank.

Xie Wan Ning was either sent away or something happened to her.

Zhi Xia returned quickly, her face grave: "Miss, the room is empty."

Sweat dripped down Xie Yige's forehead. She gritted her teeth, trying to stay awake: "Carry me to find my grandmother."

Zhixia immediately grabbed the black cloak from beside her bed, wrapped it around her entire body, pulled the hood up to cover her face, and then carried her to the door.

The moment the door opened, Zhixia stopped in her tracks.

Two women in their thirties stood at the entrance. Although they were dressed in palace attire, Xia could tell from their posture and eyes that they were martial artists.

"Miss Xie, our master invites you," the leading woman in palace attire said, her tone filled with undisguised contempt.

"I'm not going," Zhixia replied coldly.

She quickly retreated into the room, settled Xie Yige on the bed, and then drew the goose-feather knife hidden in her boot. The blade reflected the candlelight, flashed with a cold light, and she placed it in front of the bed.

Without a word, the two women pounced forward, unleashing deadly attacks.

Zhi Xia's movements were agile and unpredictable, and her sword strikes were cunning. Before the two could regain their footing, the goose feather blade had already swept out.

With a sharp "swoosh," one of the men's forearms was swiftly sliced ​​open, and blood instantly soaked into his sleeve, spreading a dark red stain on his light-colored palace dress.

Both women were elite assassins. The wounded woman endured the excruciating pain and desperately clung to Zhixia, completely disregarding her own injuries.

Seeing that Xie Yige was powerless to defend herself, the other man seized the opportunity to pounce on the bed, intending to capture her.

She reached out with her hooked fingers to grab Xie Yige's arm.

Xie Yige suppressed the heat and weakness in her body. With her remaining clarity and determination, she waited until the woman's fingers gripped her arm and pulled hard.

Suddenly, her right hand emerged from beneath the black cloak, revealing a silver bone hairpin. She plunged it fiercely into the other man's waist, then abruptly pulled it out, causing blood to spurt out.

The woman never expected that the noble lady, who had no martial arts skills, would suddenly launch an attack. Her body went limp, her side stained with blood, and she staggered back two steps, her eyes filled with disbelief.

On the other side, Zhixia dodged a deadly attack by turning her wrist, a flash of cold light appeared, and she broke the attack by locking her throat, neatly ending her opponent's life.

She immediately turned around and stabbed the woman in front of Xie Yige's bed in the back.

The blade pierced flesh with a dull thud, and the woman, her eyes wide open, slowly collapsed to the ground.

"Zhixia..." Xie Yige's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, "I feel terrible, I'm about to die."

Her entire face flushed red, even the corners of her eyes had an unnatural crimson hue, and sweat on her forehead matted her hair into clumps.

"Carry me around to the back of the mountain, then throw me into the cold spring to cool off."

Zhi Xia glanced at the two corpses on the ground, and without time to clean them up, she put the goose-feather knife back into her boot, bent down and carried Xie Yige on her back.

The person on my back was frighteningly hot; I could feel the heat even through several layers of clothing.

Without stopping, Zhixia pushed open the back window, circled around the wall to the back of the house, and quickly ran along the path towards the back mountain.

The moonlight was half bright and half dim, the mountain path was rugged and uneven, and the shadows of the trees swayed.

Sure enough, a cold spring was found behind an ancient tree and rocks.

The spring water shimmered softly under the moonlight, and a cool mist wafted towards us.

Xie Yige slid off Zhixia's back and stumbled to her knees by the spring.

She dared not jump directly in, fearing the sudden cold would damage her body. She took a deep breath, braced herself with her hands on the pebbles on the shore, and submerged her head completely in the water.

The cold spring water felt icy and bone-chilling when it touched my skin.

The burning sensation in her mind subsided for a moment, and the world beneath the water was silent and cold, with only the faint sound of bubbles rising from her mouth and nose.

She held her breath until her lungs felt tight before suddenly raising her head.

Her mind gradually calmed down, and the heat in her body was temporarily suppressed, but it did not subside.

She knew that the cold spring could only temporarily relieve the heat on her body surface, but it could not counteract the effects of the medicine, and it might even harm her body.

Cui Yutang, where are you?

A wave of sadness washed over her, and her eyes stung; she couldn't tell if it was the burning effect of the medicine or her longing for him.

As she submerged her head in the water, she seemed to hear the sounds of fighting.

She quickly surfaced and saw Zhixia fighting with four men in black.

The clash of swords and the clanging of metal echoed through the night sky.

Beside her stood a man in a blue brocade robe, his gaze fixed on her, his eyes greedy and lewd, as if looking at prey that had fallen into a trap.

Xie Yige felt a chill run down her spine. She pulled her black cloak tighter, pulling the hood up over her head to cover half her face.

"Miss Xie, I didn't expect a weak woman like you to be so fast." The man's voice was mocking.

"Who are you?" Xie Yige asked as she retreated along the ancient tree, secretly clutching the silver bone hairpin in her hand. The hairpin still bore traces of the woman's blood.

"You don't need to know who I am," the man in the blue robe chuckled lightly. "Just come with me, and I'll cure you of the poison."

As he spoke, he suddenly sped up and reached out to grab the person.

Zhi Xia caught a glimpse of the sword shadow coming down at her, and took a direct hit, blood instantly blooming on her shoulder.

She grunted, and using the momentum, she spun around and kicked the blue-robed man in the side, forcing him back a few steps.

Then he stood in front of Xie Yige.

The two exchanged a glance and immediately understood each other.

run.

Zhi Xia grabbed Xie Yige's wrist, and the two turned and ran into the depths of the mountains.

The four men in black and the man hesitated for a moment, then immediately gave chase.

Half a cloud obscures the moon, creating a jumble of light and shadow in the mountains and forests.

The two fled without regard for their surroundings. Xie Yige was extremely weak, staggering and nearly falling several times, only able to continue running thanks to Zhixia pulling her along. They passed through a dense forest, pushing aside the last clump of bushes—ahead lay a cliff.

The abyss, shrouded in a faint mist under the moonlight, seemed bottomless.

I was suddenly overcome with despair.

The man in the blue brocade robe caught up and saw that there was a cliff in front of him. He leaned on his knees and took a few breaths, but a perverse pleasure rose in his eyes.

He licked his lips, his voice filled with the smugness of a victor: "Why run? No woman who falls into my hands can escape."

"Come with me obediently, and you'll be showered with wealth and honor." He took two steps forward, the moonlight illuminating his face, revealing handsome features that held a sinister air. "If you wish, I might even take you as a concubine."

"You are the Fifth Prince." Although Xie Yige had already guessed, she was now 100% certain.

The man in the blue robe paused slightly, neither leaving nor denying anything, his expression becoming impatient.

He waved to the four men in black beside him.

"Take him back."