At this moment.
After running for a long time, the sky gradually brightened.
Da Zhuang, Old Bai, Xiao Shuai, and Xiao Mei arrived at the city gate.
"Thanks to the training earlier, our stamina is comparable to professional athletes," Da Zhuang panted.
"Yeah, otherwise we never would have made it here," Xiao Mei said thankfully.
Old Bai, however, looked worriedly at the towering city gate.
The bronze gates glimmered with a blood-rust sheen in the dawn, their twelve gate studs like congealed drops of blood.
"Open the gate!" Xiao Shuai slapped the gates.
Yet the gates truly did not budge.
Then came the repeated sound of steel spears dragging across stone slabs from behind them.
The four turned around.
The Princess was seated atop a tall horse, holding a bloodstained steel spear.
At some point, she had changed outfits.
"Looks like someone was helping her. She really wasn't acting alone!" Old Bai said in shock.
The Princess looked coldly at the four. She released the reins and lowered the Kingfisher Feather Steel Spear. Droplets of blood falling from its tip embroidered a string of red plum blossoms across the blue bricks.
The spearpoint aimed directly at Da Zhuang.
"Your Highness!" Da Zhuang's throat bobbed beneath the spear blade.
This man, who was said to have "strangled a fierce tiger from the Western Regions to death with one hand," now shook like a leaf—at least, that was how his character background had described him.
Unfortunately, the description did not live up to reality.
"We were only ordered to investigate. Spare us—"
"Unfortunately, you know too much," the Princess said lightly.
The next moment, the spear blade sliced into his thick neck.
All three heard the crisp scrape of steel against bone.
His head rolled to Old Bai's feet, its clouded eyes