Who said the eldest daughter is crazy? She's clearly a woman of high rank and influence in the

The man in the white hood suddenly turned around, his movements tense for a moment. His gaze fell on the black-robed man standing in the moonlight. The hood covered his face above his brow bone, revealing only the lower half of his face and a pair of clear, dark eyes.

The two guards behind him both placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, but neither of them drew them.

The white-robed man's gaze lingered on Xi Yueli for a moment. He took half a step back. In the moonlight, every feature of the black-robed man matched Fu Yuan perfectly, down to the smallest detail—the center of gravity of his stance being an inch to the left, a detail only the most familiar attendants would notice.

"...Your Excellency, the Imperial Preceptor, are quite skilled." A voice, slightly more effeminate than before, came from beneath the white hood. "It seems the Empress's dosage of medicine for the Imperial Preceptor was a bit too light."

Xi Yueli tilted her head slightly. "I remember that Bai Shi never does anything without being certain. Fifteen years ago, you confirmed the case three times before reporting it. Now you're making a judgment after just one glance at me?"

The white-clad, hooded man's back stiffened. Fifteen years ago, that case was the first dirty thing he had done for the Empress. The case file had long been destroyed, and all the survivors had been wiped out.

Even the Empress herself no longer mentions this matter, because it is an old scar that will kill anyone who touches it.

Fu Yuan discovered the case and reminded the Empress three times to get rid of him, but each time the Empress just waved her hand and said to wait.

"Grand Preceptor," the voice in the white-robed hooded robe finally changed, from soft and gentle to taut and strained as if its vital point had been seized, "Her Majesty the Empress's patience is limited."

"I know," Xi Yueli replied, her tone still cool and indifferent. Her gaze swept over the two guards behind him, whose grip on their swords was beginning to loosen. "But I don't need her patience anymore."

The moment Xi Yueli uttered those words, the two guards behind the white-clad hoodie simultaneously drew their swords.

He stood in the moonlight for three breaths in his white hooded robe, then slowly raised his hand. His white sleeve slipped down to reveal a thin, pale wrist, his fingertips pointing towards Xi Yueli, and he gently pressed down.

"Grab her. Alive."

The two guards behind him moved at the same time, their iron blades gleaming in the moonlight as they slashed towards Xi Yueli.

But Xi Yueli had already taken half a step back when he gave the order. Just as her toes reached the edge of the earthen wall, a whooshing sound suddenly came from deep within the withered grass.

Three hidden arrows were fired simultaneously from three different directions. The arrowheads turned into three thin silver lines in the moonlight, accurately embedding themselves half an inch in front of the blades of the two guards.

The hidden arrow was buried in the ground, its fletching still trembling slightly, like three warnings nailed to the air.

The two guards stopped in their tracks at the same time. Their white-clothed hands were still raised in mid-air, but their gazes had already passed over Xi Yueli's shoulder and landed deep in the withered grass behind her.

The moonlight cast a pale grayish-green hue on the withered grass, and the blades of grass swayed gently in the night breeze. There were people in the grass, more than one.

Xi Yueli had retreated to the edge of the earthen wall. Under the moonlight, her face beneath the black robe and hood carried the composure unique to Fu Yuan, as if she had already anticipated everything.

"The White Envoy has been a secret agent for the Empress for fifteen years, but has he ever considered that some secret agents go even deeper than those he has?"

The white-clad, hooded man's back stiffened even more. His fingers clenched sharply, veins bulging on the back of his pale hands. His two bodyguards beside him had already drawn their swords, but the position of the three hidden arrows pinned to the ground prevented either of them from taking another step forward.

"Send the signal." The white-clad man uttered three words through clenched teeth. Immediately, a figure in the shadows behind him turned and rushed toward the stone corridor, but the figure tripped over something after only two steps.

A very thin tripwire lay across the entrance to the stone corridor, almost invisible in the moonlight. Liu San Niang stood up from the withered grass.

Today she was dressed in a dark green outfit, her long hair tied up high, and a thin, long sword hanging at her waist.

The black jade pendant on her earlobe swayed slightly in the moonlight. As she stood up, the long sword in her hand was already drawn. The blade was thin and narrow, and its surface gleamed with a cold blue light under the moonlight.

Behind her, fifteen shadowy figures rose one after another from the withered grass. They were all dressed in black, with dark masks covering their faces, and each held a different weapon. However, all of them were looking in the same direction.

Liu San Niang took a step forward, the tip of her long sword pointing downwards. Her gaze swept from the white-robed hooded figure to the two guards whose hands holding the swords were already trembling, and then back to the white-robed hooded figure.

"White Envoy, you just said you wanted to capture them alive, but did you ask the Dark Pavilion for their consent?"

Standing in the moonlight, clad in a white hood, the hem of his white robe fluttering slightly in the night breeze, he faced fifteen assassins from the withered grass, each positioned perfectly to block all escape routes.

The two guards behind him had already retreated to his side, but he knew in his heart that the two of them alone could not break through. What chilled him even more was that the people from the Dark Pavilion had actually appeared in the wasteland outside the Ci'en Temple.

With the leader of the Dark Pavilion missing and the organization splitting and fighting amongst themselves, he thought the Dark Pavilion was already a half-crippled piece. But the positioning, coordination, and aura of these fifteen people standing up at this moment clearly showed that they were elites who had undergone long-term training and coordination, and were not at the end of their rope.

"People from the Dark Pavilion." A voice, hooded and dressed in white, came from beneath the brim, a crack finally appearing in its otherwise effeminate tone. "When did Grand Preceptor Fuyuan get involved with the Dark Pavilion?"

His gaze returned to Xi Yueli, the woman in the Fu Yuan black robe standing in the moonlight. From the moment he cornered her at the well to the moment the Dark Pavilion's elite troops appeared to provide support, she had not shown the slightest sign of panic.

Her posture was even more relaxed than before, as if she had known someone would come and was just waiting for him to finish his performance.

"Fu Yuan," the white-robed man in the hood spoke, his voice even deeper than before, "Who exactly are you?"

Xi Yueli stood at the edge of the earthen wall, the moonlight pouring down from behind her, casting her as a backlit silhouette. She tilted her head slightly.

"I am Fu Yuan. I am also a member of the Dark Pavilion." She paused, a sharp edge appearing in her voice, almost nonchalant. "White Envoy, go back and tell the Empress that she has been chasing me for so many years, but she has never chased in the right direction."

The white-clad, hooded man's fingers clenched tightly. The two guards behind him, under the pressure of the fifteen members of the Dark Pavilion closing in step by step, had retreated to his shoulder. Their knuckles were white from gripping the hilts of their swords, and the sweat on their foreheads reflected the fine light in the moonlight.

The White Envoy knew he couldn't take anyone away today. He wasn't even sure if he could escape unscathed. He remained silent for three breaths, then took half a step back.

"National Preceptor Fu Yuan, there is still a long way to go."

He turned and walked towards the stone corridor, the hem of his white hooded robe fluttering. His two guards followed behind him, and the three figures quickly disappeared along the stone corridor, turning a corner and vanishing completely.

The grassy area in the backyard of Ci'en Temple was once again bathed in moonlight. Liu San Niang sheathed her long sword, the blade scraping against the scabbard with a very faint metallic sound.

The fifteen assassins behind her simultaneously sheathed their weapons, scattered into the withered grass to stand guard, and returned to their positions, disappearing into the night.

Liu San Niang walked up to Xi Yue Li, knelt on one knee, bowed, and then looked up at her.

Under the moonlight, she saw the light in Xi Yueli's eyes beneath her hood. It was still that clear, cold gaze, like black jade, but beneath that coldness lay something new, like a calm and certainty that had been honed over a long period of time.