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Inside the carriage.

Cui Xijun and Hong Ling huddled tightly together, their hearts drumming against their ribs in extreme tension.

The sounds of shouting and killing outside the carriage grew increasingly sparse.

Amidst the clashing of blades, the thud of bodies hitting the ground echoed repeatedly.

One after another.

Then, silence.

Absolute silence.

This silence was far more terrifying than the sounds of battle.

Because it meant there were no living members of the Cui Family left outside.

Otherwise, someone would surely have called out to her.

Cui Xijun gripped the Skirt-Pressing Blade in her hand tightly, her gaze sweeping across the interior of the carriage.

The rear wall had no windows, the side panels were sealed shut, and only the opening at the front was veiled by a layer of Soft Smoke Gauze.

If the guards outside had truly all been eliminated and the enemy charged in, her only chance would be the split second the door opened.

Click.

Cui Xijun heard the sound of the carriage door's latch being triggered.

Was the door about to be opened?

Her nerves tightened instantly.

Cui Xijun immediately shouted toward the outside: "Guard Yin! Do not get bogged down in the fight, just protect the carriage! The Liu Family will arrive at any moment; we only need to hold out until they get here! None of these bandits will be able to escape."

She did not know if Guard Yin was still alive.

These words were meant primarily for the bandits, to make them hesitate and buy herself a little time.

Hong Ling trembled incessantly, covering her mouth and sobbing in a low voice.

There was no response from Guard Yin outside, but instead, she heard the well-intentioned voice of an unfamiliar man.

"It's over outside."

Creak.

The carriage door was pulled open.

The face of a strange man appeared outside the carriage.

Sunlight from the mountain wilderness surged in from behind him, gilding the edges of his silhouette in a pale gold.

Cui Xijun narrowed her eyes, subconsciously holding the Skirt-Pressing Blade horizontally in front of her.

The man did not enter, merely glancing into the carriage.

His gaze lingered for a moment on the hand with which Cui Xijun gripped the Skirt-Pressing Blade.

Chen Ye secretly felt relieved that he hadn't acted rashly; if he had barged in, he might have truly made a mess of things and caused a great deal of misunderstanding.

He shifted his gaze to see the carriage in disarray, with broken porcelain scattered everywhere and a puddle of tea stains on the floor.

A maid was huddled in the corner, covering her mouth and shivering all over.

Chen Ye bypassed her entirely, his gaze finally resting only on the gorgeously dressed young woman.

Clearly, this was the main person of interest today.

The Third Young Lady of the Cui Family, Cui Xijun.

She was not crying or screaming; she was simply kneeling quietly on one knee, her back held straight.

Beneath her delicate features lay an indescribable streak of defiance, like a wild horse galloping across the grasslands, unswayed by external forces.

Chen Ye did not further provoke this Third Young Lady of the Cui Family.

He opened the door fully and stepped aside, yielding the doorway completely.

Cui Xijun sensed Chen Ye's goodwill; she shifted the Skirt-Pressing Blade from a horizontal to a vertical grip, tilted her chin toward Hong Ling behind her, and slowly stepped out of the carriage.

The moment she exited, a thick, pungent scent of blood rushed toward her, forcing her to cover her nose.

Hong Ling, behind her, fared even worse and immediately began to retch.

Cui Xijun had no time to attend to her; she turned and looked out, seeing corpses strewn across the ground.

After a moment, Hong Ling recovered and hurriedly came up to attend to Cui Xijun: "Third Young Lady."

Cui Xijun did not let Hong Ling support her; she avoided the bloodstains on the ground, found a flat spot by a rock wall to stand, smoothed her skirt, and looked at Chen Ye.

She saw that the young man before her was covered in blood and reeked of the battlefield, clearly having just emerged from a fierce struggle.

Her gaze lingered on the long blade at Chen Ye's waist as she asked: "What about those bandits?"

Chen Ye said calmly: "I killed a few, and the rest took the valuables and fled."

Hearing this, Cui Xijun fell into deep thought.

This mountain path was a frequent route for the high-ranking officials and nobles of the Capital City to travel to offer incense and pray, and they had traversed it more than once.

Who would be willing to go to such great lengths, brandishing blades right under the Emperor's nose, just for the sake of the incense money in their hands?

Moreover, they were the carriages and horses of the prestigious Cui Family.

It could be said that if they were moved, the Cui Family only needed to send a word to the martial arts sects with whom they had good relations, and these people would have absolutely no path to survival.

Furthermore, looking at the roadblocks they had set up in advance, it was obvious that they had mastered their movements beforehand and were coming specifically for them.

This group of desperate outlaws must have had other forces supporting them from behind!

Cui Xijun thought of this layer, and her face instantly darkened, looking as if water could drip from it.

Hong Ling's emotions finally calmed down, and she poked half her face out from behind Cui Xijun, her voice still trembling as she whispered, "Miss, he, he is covered in blood..."

Cui Xijun followed Hong Ling's gaze and only then noticed that the man's black robes were splattered with blood, the scent of which was incredibly thick.

She quickly sifted through her impressions of this person in her mind.

She saw that his long blade had already been returned to its sheath, and his expression held no tension; he was clearly someone who killed often.

Cui Xijun could not yet discern the calculations behind this man.

Holding to the idea that it is better to have one more friend than one more enemy, she stepped forward, cupped her hands in a salute, and said, "Many thanks for your rescue, Young Master. May I ask your name and where you reside?"

Chen Ye replied, "My surname is Chen, my given name is Ye, and I am currently staying at Osmanthus Ward in South City."

"Young Master Chen, do you happen to know the origins of this gang of thieves?"

Chen Ye knew that saying too much leads to mistakes, so he shook his head and said, "They just took a cart of valuables and retreated immediately. Judging by their accents, they don't sound like locals of the Capital City, but I cannot discern exactly where they are from."

This answer was watertight, half-true and half-false.

"Thank you for your trouble, Young Master Chen." Cui Xijun turned to Hong Ling and instructed, "Lead the two horses out from the carriage."

Hong Ling did as she was told.

Cui Xijun walked to the side of the carriage, mounted a horse, and then glanced at Hong Ling, signaling for her to mount as well.

Hong Ling hesitated and asked, "Miss, are we returning to Cui Mansion now?"

"Yes."

Hong Ling mounted the other horse.

"The Cui Family always repays debts and rewards kindness." Cui Xijun looked at Chen Ye and asked, "There is another horse in the carriage behind; consider it a gift to you, Young Master. Once I have dealt with the current mess, I will seek you out again to properly thank you!"

After speaking, she squeezed the horse's flanks with her legs and galloped away.

Hong Ling followed closely behind, and the two figures soon disappeared at the end of the mountain path.

Having obtained Cui Xijun's promise, Chen Ye watched the two spirited figures vanish into the mountain path, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

Dealing with smart people is easy; it saves a lot of trouble.

The beginning of all things is difficult, but as long as one can open up the situation, everything that follows becomes simple.

Human favors can be built from nothing, bit by bit.

He looked around, checked each corpse once more to ensure no traces were left behind, and then turned to lead his horse down the mountain.

On the mountain path.

Hong Ling said, "Third Miss, that man must have killed many people; how could he remain so calm?"

"I don't know, but he certainly doesn't seem like an ordinary person. When I return, I will have people investigate him thoroughly. For now, we must first get to the bottom of this vicious gang. For someone to dare to strike at the Cui Family, some people must be tired of living. Giddyap!"