Smile

The assassin had apparently planned this long ago. As he twisted his body to trap the blade, he did not pause for even an instant, stretching out both hands like an ape as he tried to lock Elder Yue in place.

Elder Yue reacted just as swiftly. Seeing the situation turn bad, he immediately released the sword hilt and retreated sharply.

Riiip!

The assassin tore off two strips of cloth. Failing to embrace Elder Yue, he settled for the next best thing, gripping Elder Yue's arm in a death grip.

Just then, the leaves rustled, and three more dark figures leaped down. Like ghosts, they charged straight at Princess Dongyang.

Elder Yue's expression changed drastically. In his urgency, he swung his palm at the assassin's head. The assassin had already resigned himself to death and did not dodge, instead wrapping both legs tightly around one of Elder Yue's. Unable to withstand more than a few blows, he was struck in the head by Elder Yue's palm.

Red and white matter splattered everywhere. Though the assassin was dead, his hands and feet remained locked tightly around Elder Yue.

Chaos had already erupted all around them.

The instant Bai Jianglan moved, two assassins who feared no death attacked him together. Their style was entirely one of trading life for life; even someone as strong as Bai Jianglan had to handle them with care.

Of the remaining five guards, two were pierced through the chest by crossbow bolts fired from the shadows and fell dead. The other three were alert enough to evade the hidden arrows. Back to back, they barely steadied their footing and held off the assassins' onslaught.

At this moment, Elder Yue, the one nearest to the County Princess, was restrained by an assassin, while Princess Dongyang had only just sat up from the ground.

Dragging the assassin's corpse with him, Elder Yue's movements were clumsy. He only had time to slam into the nearest assassin as he shouted, "Save the County Princess!"

Qin Sang had actually been the quickest to spot the danger, but this was his first time encountering such a vicious melee. Afraid that Yanwang's method of killing was too bizarre and would expose his secret before everyone, he hesitated.

He had not expected that after only that brief moment of hesitation, the situation would deteriorate to such a degree in the blink of an eye.

Qin Sang grabbed the ironwood staff. He vaguely heard a faint sound behind his head, then felt a gust of foul wind descend from above. He hurriedly rolled across the ground.

Pfft!

A crossbow bolt struck the ground where Qin Sang had been standing moments before.

Then a dark figure swooped down from the treetop like a great roc spreading its wings, a streak of icy sword light cleaving through the gloom.

Qin Sang hurriedly rolled again to evade the sword. Just as he summoned Yanwang, he heard Water Monkey shout beside him, "Brother Qin, hold him off! I'll save the County Princess!"

Qin Sang had no choice but to swing his staff and clash head-on with the assassin. Amid the chaos, he turned back to look.

Bai Jianglan had taken an injury to kill an assassin. Covered in blood and leaving a bloody trail behind him, he arrived at the County Princess's side at the critical moment and blocked one attacker.

Water Monkey arrived in time as well and stopped another.

The situation had barely stabilized. Once Elder Yue broke free, the overall situation would be settled. There was no need to hurry and have Yanwang kill anyone.

Unexpectedly, just as this thought flashed through Qin Sang's mind and he was preparing to slowly circle around the assassin, he suddenly heard a faint sound. It was so soft as to be nearly inaudible, yet highly unusual. His hearing was sharp enough to distinguish it even amid the chaotic battle.

"What is that..."

Qin Sang's heart stirred, and he suddenly remembered—it was the sound of a bowstring!

Qin Sang swiftly swept his gaze around and noticed something unusual about the shadows behind Princess Dongyang. Then he saw a faint glimmer shoot explosively out of them.

It was not a crossbow bolt, but a hidden weapon as thin as an embroidery needle. A dim blue light gleamed from the needle; it had clearly been steeped in deadly poison.

"County Princess, watch out!"

Qin Sang shouted, but Princess Dongyang still stood rooted to the spot, too frightened to move rashly. Elder Yue and Bai Jianglan could not turn back in time either. Without time to think, Qin Sang used all his strength and viciously hurled the ironwood staff in his hand.

With that throw, Qin Sang brought out every bit of his bird-hunting skill. The ironwood staff skimmed almost right past Princess Dongyang and struck the poisoned needle in time, knocking it flying.

At the same time as he raised his hand, Qin Sang triggered the sleeve crossbow aimed at those shadows.

The crossbow bolt shot into the shadows. A muffled thud sounded from within, followed by silence.

Only then did Princess Dongyang react. She raised her head and glanced at Qin Sang. A flicker of alarm appeared on her face, but it quickly settled, and she smiled radiantly at him.

"Commander Bai, end this quickly!"

Elder Yue had broken out in a cold sweat from the scene just now. He did not dare drag things out any longer. At the cost of taking a sword strike, he killed the assassin with a palm strike.

Qin Sang had shattered the assassination plan with a single swing of his staff. In an instant, every assassin became utterly frenzied.

Qin Sang fought a sharp sword with his bare fists. After several exchanges, he began to struggle. He hurriedly seized an opening and had Yanwang kill the assassin. In the instant the assassin's body stiffened, Qin Sang's fingers flashed like lightning, crushing the man's throat to conceal what had happened.

He had chosen his timing perfectly, leaving almost no flaw.

This was Qin Sang's first time using the Yanluo Banner to kill someone in front of others. Just as he had expected, he had done it flawlessly.

A faint smile had just appeared on Qin Sang's face when he suddenly heard several screams. His heart jumped—Water Monkey!

Shhk!

A severed arm flew into the air. Water Monkey's left arm was gone, and his face had turned deathly pale.

Elder Yue seized a sword and slashed away the burden clinging to him. Moving with the speed of eight steps chasing a cicada, he darted to Water Monkey's side and finished the assassin with one stroke.

Once the dust settled, only one of the five guards remained alive. Water Monkey had lost an arm. Bai Jianglan repeatedly tapped the acupoints around his severed arm with his fingers, using True Qi to seal his blood vessels and barely stop the bleeding.

Elder Yue had taken a sword wound to his left shoulder. With no time to treat it, he quickly searched the surrounding area before checking whether Princess Dongyang had been injured.

Princess Dongyang shook her head to indicate that she was unharmed. She personally walked over, picked up the ironwood staff, weighed it in her hand, and returned it to Qin Sang. "Thank you, Young Master Qin, for knocking away that poisoned needle and saving my life."

Neither servile nor overbearing, Qin Sang replied, "Your Highness overpraises me. What Qin Sang did was merely a trifling matter. This time, it was entirely thanks to Commander Bai, Elder Yue, Zhou Ning, and the guards fighting desperately and killing the assassins that I had the chance to throw that staff."

Princess Dongyang nodded, then turned to Elder Yue. "Elder Yue, once you have treated your wounds, see to the burial of the guards. Since they died for me, we cannot leave their bodies exposed in the wilderness. When we return to Dongyang County, have their remains brought back for a proper burial."

Elder Yue accepted the order and left.

Qin Sang crouched beside Zhou Ning and watched Bai Jianglan busy himself. He did not know whether this world possessed the medical arts to reattach severed limbs, but even if it did, it would surely be difficult to restore the arm as it had been.

For a martial artist, that was undoubtedly cruel.

Looking at Water Monkey's pale face, Qin Sang did not know how to comfort him. He took out the Healing Ointment prepared by the old Daoist from his robes and handed it to Bai Jianglan. "Eldest Brother Bai, try this. The prescription was passed down by a former Imperial Physician."

Bai Jianglan opened the bottle and sniffed it. He took some out and applied it to Water Monkey's severed arm. The blood that had been continuously seeping out truly began to stop little by little.

Bai Jianglan's eyes lit up. "Excellent medicine!"

Water Monkey gritted his teeth and painfully forced out a few words. "Thank you, Brother Qin!"

What a tough man!

Qin Sang silently praised him. Water Monkey had a lively personality and could chatter on endlessly, yet Qin Sang had not expected him to possess such resilience. Even after suffering this grievous injury, there was not the slightest trace of despondency on his face. While Bai Jianglan treated his wound, he did not utter a single sound.

"Brother Zhou, I'm still waiting to eat that nine-whiskered fish you caught!"

Water Monkey burst into laughter.