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Inside the carriage.

Cui Xijun and Hong Ling huddled together, their hearts pounding like drums, their nerves stretched to the limit.

Outside, the shouts and cries of battle grew fainter.

Amid the clash of blades, they kept hearing people fall.

One after another.

Then silence.

Complete silence.

That silence was more frightening than the fighting.

Because it meant no one from the Cui Family was left alive outside.

Otherwise, someone would surely have called out to her.

Cui Xijun gripped the Skirt-Pressing Blade tightly and scanned the carriage.

The rear wall had no window, the side panels were sealed, and only a layer of Soft Smoke Gauze covered the opening at the front.

If all the guards outside really had been dealt with, her only chance would come the instant her attackers opened the door.

Click.

Cui Xijun heard the mechanism on the carriage door release.

Were they about to open it?

Every nerve in her body went taut.

Cui Xijun immediately called out, "Guard Yin! Don't get drawn into a fight. Just protect the carriage! The Liu Family could arrive at any moment. We only need to hold out until they come! Not one of these thieves will escape."

She did not know whether Guard Yin was still alive.

She was speaking mainly for the thieves to hear, hoping the warning would make them hesitate and buy her a little time.

Hong Ling trembled uncontrollably, covering her mouth as she sobbed under her breath.

Guard Yin gave no reply. Instead, she heard an unfamiliar man speak in a kindly voice.

"It's all right now. The danger's over."

With a creak.

The carriage door was pulled open.

An unfamiliar man's face appeared outside.

Sunlight from the mountains rushed in behind him, gilding the edges of his silhouette pale gold.

Cui Xijun narrowed her eyes and instinctively held the Skirt-Pressing Blade across her body.

The man did not come in. He merely glanced around the carriage.

His gaze lingered for a moment on the blade clenched in Cui Xijun's hand.

Chen Ye was privately glad he had not acted rashly. If he had barged in, his attempt to help might truly have backfired and caused all sorts of misunderstandings.

He looked away. The carriage was a mess, with shattered porcelain scattered everywhere and a puddle of spilled tea on the floor.

A maid cowered in the corner, covering her mouth and shaking all over.

Chen Ye passed over her, his gaze finally settling on the richly dressed young woman.

Clearly, she was the one who mattered today.

The Cui Family's third miss, Cui Xijun.

She neither cried nor screamed. She simply knelt there on one knee, her back perfectly straight.

Beneath her delicate features lay an untamable streak that was hard to put into words, like a wild horse galloping across the grasslands, swayed by nothing around her.

Chen Ye did nothing more to unsettle Third Miss Cui.

He opened the carriage door and stepped aside, leaving the entrance entirely clear.

Sensing Chen Ye's goodwill, Cui Xijun turned the Skirt-Pressing Blade upright, tipped her chin at Hong Ling behind her, and slowly stepped out of the carriage.

The moment she emerged, a thick stench of blood struck her, making her cover her nose.

Hong Ling fared even worse behind her. She threw up on the spot.

Cui Xijun had no time to tend to her. She turned and looked around, only to find corpses strewn across the ground.

Only after a while did Hong Ling recover enough to hurry over to Cui Xijun. "Third Miss."

Cui Xijun did not let Hong Ling support her. Avoiding the blood on the ground, she found a level spot beside a rock wall, straightened her skirts, and looked at Chen Ye.

The young man before her was covered in bloodstains and reeked of blood. He had clearly been through a fierce battle.

Her gaze paused on the long blade at Chen Ye's waist. "Where are the thieves?"

"I killed a few," Chen Ye said calmly. "The rest grabbed the valuables and ran."

At that, Cui Xijun fell into thought.

Dignitaries from Capital City often took this mountain road to visit temples and burn incense. Her party had traveled it more than once.

Who would go to so much trouble for the money they carried for incense offerings, drawing blades right under the emperor's nose?

Especially when these were the carriages of the mighty Cui Family.

Once the Cui Family sent word to the Jianghu sects on good terms with them, the attackers would have no path to survival.

And judging by the roadblock they had set up in advance, they had obviously known her party's movements and come specifically for them.

Some other power had to be backing these desperate men!

The moment Cui Xijun reached that conclusion, her face darkened like a storm cloud ready to spill rain.

Hong Ling had finally calmed down enough to peek out from behind Cui Xijun, though her voice still shook as she whispered, "Miss, he... he's covered in blood..."

Following Hong Ling's gaze, Cui Xijun noticed that the man's black robes were spattered with blood and that a heavy stench of it hung around him.

She swiftly sifted through what she had seen of him.

His long blade was already back in its sheath, and there was no trace of tension on his face. Clearly, he was accustomed to killing.

For now, Cui Xijun could not make out what designs he might have.

Thinking it better to gain a friend than another enemy, she stepped forward and saluted him with cupped hands. "Thank you for saving us, sir. May I ask your name and where you live?"

"My surname is Chen, and my given name is Ye," Chen Ye said. "I'm staying in Osmanthus Ward in South City for now."

"Young Master Chen, do you know where these thieves came from?"

Chen Ye knew that the more he said, the more likely he was to slip up. He shook his head. "They seized a carriage of valuables just now and withdrew. Judging by their accents, they weren't from Capital City, but I couldn't tell where exactly they were from."

The answer was airtight, half true and half false.

"Thank you for your effort, Young Master Chen." Cui Xijun turned to Hong Ling. "Bring out the two horses from the carriage."

Hong Ling did as she was told.

Cui Xijun went to the carriage and swung herself onto one horse, then glanced at Hong Ling, signaling her to mount as well.

Hong Ling hesitated. "Miss, are we going back to the Cui Mansion now?"

"Yes."

Hong Ling mounted the other horse.

"The Cui Family always repays its enemies and its benefactors alike." Cui Xijun looked at Chen Ye. "There's another horse with the carriage behind us. Consider it a gift from me. Once I've dealt with this mess, I'll find you and thank you properly!"

With that, she squeezed the horse's flanks and rode away.

Hong Ling followed close behind, and the two figures soon vanished at the end of the mountain road.

With Cui Xijun's promise secured, Chen Ye watched their spirited figures disappear along the road, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

Dealing with clever people was easy. It saved him a great deal of trouble.

The hardest part was getting started. Once he had an opening, what came next would be simple.

A bond of obligation could be built from nothing, little by little.

He looked around, checked every corpse once more to make sure he had left no clues, then turned, took a horse by the reins, and headed down the mountain.

On the mountain road.

Hong Ling said, "Third Miss, that man must have killed quite a few people. How was he still so calm?"

"I don't know. He's no ordinary man, that much is clear. Once we get back, I'll have someone investigate him thoroughly. For now, we need to find out exactly who those vicious men were. Someone dared strike at the Cui Family. Some people must be tired of living. Hyah!"