The moment Xuanwei broke free of the army's encirclement, she bore down on a lone rider. With a flick of her sword, she pointed it at the rider leading the horse, frightening him into hastily releasing the reins and backing away.
Xuanwei seized the horse, grabbed the saddle, and, her skirts flying, vaulted onto its back in an instant. Pulling the reins with one hand, she turned the warhorse twice in place, then swung her sword toward the guards who had rushed out of Tianwei Manor with her and shouted sternly, "Go to every manor at once. Deliver my orders: summon all officials to the Imperial Palace immediately to see me!"
"Yes!" The guards accepted the order and promptly scattered, each seizing mounts from the encircling army. Warhorses neighed as pounding hoofbeats rapidly dispersed in every direction.
The commander of the encircling army had been beheaded by Xuanwei on the spot. With no leader in the ranks, no one dared issue an order. The army could only watch helplessly as Xuanwei's people took their horses and departed. Not one of them dared resist Xuanwei.
The sight moved Ximen Qingkong slightly. When he had learned that Tianwei Manor was surrounded, he had prepared to protect Xuanwei as she fought her way out of the encirclement. Who would have thought there would be no need for it at all?
Xuanwei had even told him to stand aside. Borrowing only Tang Yi's Precious Sword, she had cowed the chaotic army into immobility with one person and one sword.
Once the messengers had scattered, Xuanwei, covered in blood, pulled the reins and wheeled her mount around. She struck the horse with her sword, and the warhorse immediately broke into a wild gallop.
One person, one sword, one horse. Her robes and skirts fluttered in