At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

At dusk, on Yongle Street in Jinling City.

The sky over Jinling City was not completely dark yet, but the lanterns on both sides of the street had already been lit ahead of time.

One colorful lantern after another hung down from the eaves and pillars.

Temporary stalls had been set up in front of several shops, selling sugar figurines, dough figurines, lanterns, and small jewelry, all lined up close along the street, with shouts of vendors rising and falling.

Yongle Street was bustling with activity at this time.

Since tomorrow is the main day of the lantern festival, some people have already come out tonight to stroll around.

Young men and women crowded in groups of three or five in front of the stalls, selecting exquisite items.

Children weave through the crowd, clutching colorful kites, while their parents chase after them, yelling at them not to run too far.

The restaurants and teahouses along the street also had their doors open, with waiters standing outside the thresholds to greet customers.

The air was filled with the aroma of osmanthus cake and roasted chestnuts, which spread along the street from east to west.

Su Qingxue walked in the middle of the street, holding a string of candied hawthorns she had just bought in her left hand and a sword in her right.

Ever since she learned the Dugu Nine Swords, Su Mu required her to always carry a long sword with her when she went out shopping, in case any villains tried to harm her.

In this world, caution is the best policy.

Xiao Zhi Qiu walked to her left, holding a newly bought silver hairpin in one hand. The hairpin head was carved with a few plum blossoms. Although it wasn't worth much money, it looked quite pretty under the lamplight.

She examined it several times, turning it over and over, then waved it at Xiao Zhixia: "Sister, look at this! The stall owner said it was handmade by an old craftsman, do you believe him?"

Xiao Zhixia nodded and said, "What these small vendors say is three parts true and seven parts false; it all depends on whether you're willing to believe them."

"Sister Zhixia, look at that rabbit lantern!" Su Qingxue pointed to a stall in front of her, where the shelves were full of various lanterns, among which a snow-white rabbit lantern was particularly eye-catching.

She grabbed Xiao Zhi Qiu's hand and ran towards them, but after a couple of steps she turned back and waved to Xiao Zhi Xia, "Sister, come quick!"

The two squeezed to the front of the stall. Su Qingxue stood on tiptoe to look at the rabbit lantern, and Xiao Zhiqi also came over, pointing it out to the stall owner while asking the price.

Xiao Zhixia stood a few steps away, her gaze lingering on Su Qingxue and Xiao Zhiqi for a moment to make sure they were still within her sight before moving away and scanning the crowd on both sides of the street.

As her gaze passed around a corner, she immediately noticed a strange figure.

A young woman dressed in a light gray dress, with an ordinary face and the most common hairstyle, stood in front of the stall but did not look at the dough figurines. Instead, her gaze was fixed on the direction where Su Qingxue was.

She chose a good spot; half of her face was obscured by the shadow of the stall's canopy, making it difficult to see her features clearly.

When Xiao Zhixia glanced at the figure out of the corner of her eye, she did not immediately assume that it was being followed.

Yongle Street is crowded and noisy, so it's not unusual for a strange woman to stand still in front of a stall.

She withdrew her gaze and continued to follow behind Su Qingxue and Xiao Zhiqi.

The three of them strolled to a jewelry stall, where Su Qingxue was looking down at several knots made of colorful threads.

Xiao Zhi Qiu also squatted down, picked out a red one, and compared it to Qing Xue's wrist.

Xiao Zhixia stood to the side of the stall, turning her body as if picking out items, her gaze once again sweeping over the direction of that street corner.

The figure in cyan was about three steps closer than before, still looking down at something, but his eyes were fixed on Su Qingxue.

This time, Xiao Zhixia was certain that the other party was after Su Qingxue.

She didn't make a sound immediately, but walked closer to Su Qingxue and Xiao Zhiqi, put a hand naturally on Su Qingxue's shoulder, and whispered, "Keep moving forward, don't look back, someone is following us."

Xiao Zhi Qiu and the other person were stunned for a moment. She did not look up or turn around.

She simply put down the red knot and casually took Su Qingxue's hand: "Come on, let's go take a look ahead. It looks like they sell roasted chestnuts over there."

When Su Qingxue felt the pressure of Xiao Zhixia's fingers, she didn't ask any questions and simply followed the two of them obediently.

The three quickened their pace and turned into a slightly narrow side alley.

The alley was darker than the main street, and the eaves of the houses on both sides were closer together, leaving only a sliver of gray-blue sky overhead.

Xiao Zhixia stopped at the inside of the alley entrance, signaling Su Qingxue and Xiao Zhiqi to stand close to the wall, while she stood at the edge of the corner, turning to look in the direction they had come from.

Footsteps came from the alley entrance, light and short, as if afraid of losing them.

Soon, the figure in green appeared at the alley entrance.

As soon as she reached the corner, a long sword was already at her shoulder, no more than three fingers' width away from her neck.

Xiao Zhixia's longsword was half a step faster than her vision. Before she could even turn her gaze completely, she felt the coolness close to her neck.

"Who are you? Why are you following us?" Xiao Zhixia asked coldly, her voice filled with anger.

Xiao Zhi Qiu also drew his sword and approached from the other side, the tip of the sword pointing at the woman in green's waist and abdomen: "Speak quickly, or I'll stab you through the stomach with this sword."

The woman in green stood motionless, sandwiched between two swords.

Just as Xiao Zhixia was about to ask another question, three figures appeared at both ends of the alley.

They emerged silently from the shadows on either side, dressed in dark night clothes and masked, revealing only the outlines of their eyes and foreheads.

The group moved in unison and surrounded Su Qingxue and her two companions.

Xiao Zhixia's sword was still pointed at the woman in green, but her gaze had already shifted away from her and quickly scanned the positions and outlines of the three figures, rapidly assessing their attack positions in her mind.

Xiao Zhi Qiu pulled Su Qing Xue behind him, blocking her with his side, and adjusted the direction of his sword tip, aiming it again at the mysterious women directly in front of him.

"Who are you people?" Xiao Zhi Qiu roared angrily. "How dare you launch a sneak attack in broad daylight?"

No one answered her.

The leader merely raised his hand slightly, and the two behind him moved simultaneously. Their movements were swift and direct, without any hesitation. Their weapons were already drawn, and they lowered their stances to flank from both sides.

Instead of rushing towards Xiao Zhixia or Xiao Zhiqi, they pressed forward in the direction where Su Qingxue was.

"Zhiqiu, protect Qingxue!" Xiao Zhixia used her sword to force back the first attack from the person on the left, and at the same time moved sideways to block between Su Qingxue and the assassin.

Her sword movements were quick, and the transitions between moves were more compact. She anticipated her opponent's rhythm and adjusted her sword path accordingly.

The man on the left was forced back a step, then pressed forward again, his blade almost scraping against the back of Xiao Zhixia's sword, making a short and sharp scraping sound.

Xiao Zhi Qiu turned around to block the attack from the right, the sword blade drawing a bright arc in the night.

Her swordsmanship was light and agile, and very fast.

But the other party was clearly also specially trained, and each advance was precisely aimed at the angle where she was protecting Su Qingxue, looking for gaps around Qingxue to apply pressure.

Xiao Zhixia thrust her sword at the ribs of the man on her right, but he dodged it.

Just as she sheathed her sword, the masked man on her left had already closed in by half a step.

She couldn't back down; if she did, she would expose Su Qingxue.

Standing behind the two, Su Qingxue saw that Xiao Zhixia and Xiao Zhiqi were being held back by those people, and their every move was restricted.

She suddenly took a step forward.

"Sisters, you don't need to protect me."

"We can handle the snow removal."

She darted out of Xiao Zhixia and Xiao Zhiqi's protective circle, sliding a few steps along the wall to create distance from the fighting area.

She was still holding the rabbit lantern in her hand, but her other hand had already reached for the short sword hanging from her belt.

The woman in green's eyes lit up when she saw Su Qingxue leave the protective circle.

Without the slightest hesitation, she darted towards Su Qingxue, striking even faster than the three men from before.

In her view, the best opportunity to capture Su Qingxue had arrived...