Teng Zijing said nothing, merely rolling his eyes at him.
Seeing that he refused to take the bait, Fan Xian thought nothing of it and laughed along.
The two rode side by side, their horses' hooves beating a brisk rhythm.
After they had traveled some distance, Teng Zijing suddenly spoke. "You said earlier that you were planning to return to Danzhou?"
Fan Xian nodded, looking ahead. "Yes. I'm going back after I marry Wan'er."
"That's probably for the best," Teng Zijing said calmly. "You're recklessly bold, and you've made too many enemies in the Capital. You're the first person who ever dared to poison even Prince Cheng."
Fan Xian chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "He threatened me with Ruoruo. I was furious."
He paused, his smile fading a little. "A shame, though. I wanted to teach him a lesson with that poison, but now it looks like... it didn't work. I wonder whether Prince Cheng's martial arts are stronger than we thought, or whether he has someone capable of curing the poison."
The smile on Teng Zijing's face faded slightly. He turned to look at Fan Xian, his tone more serious than before.
"When Prince Cheng told you to watch yourself yesterday, I felt it wasn't just an idle threat. Until you return to Danzhou, you must be careful."
Fan Xian nodded. Looking toward the increasingly dense rooftops in the distance, he sighed softly.
"Before I came here, I only wanted to find whoever was trying to kill me, learn about my mother's past, and find answers to a few questions along the way..."
He paused, the corners of his mouth curving into a smile that held both warmth and acceptance.
"Now I have people I care about more. I'm lazy by nature, too, and I don't want to force anything else. As long as I can live a good life, that's enough."
Teng Zijing fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a low, certain voice.
"Yes. Being alive is enough. People often don't live for themselves." He gazed ahead, his eyes distant. "I live for my family. That's all I want to live for."
Fan Xian nodded, then turned to him. "Why don't you come back to Danzhou with me? Our families could even be neighbors."
Teng Zijing did not answer immediately.
He thought for a moment, then said, "As long as there's money and land, and I can bring my family, it makes no difference where I go."
Fan Xian smiled confidently. "Once I return to Danzhou, Prince Cheng certainly won't trouble your family anymore. You can all move there, and then you can devote yourself entirely to being my bodyguard!"
Teng Zijing snorted and gave him a sidelong look. "My family is the only thing I'm entirely devoted to. Being a bodyguard is just a job. If danger comes, I'll be the first to run. You'll have to fend for yourself."
Fan Xian looked exasperated. "You're far too blunt!" He shook his head and feigned a sneer. "People who are too rigid snap easily. You'd better watch yourself."
Teng Zijing raised his chin dismissively. "You're even more stubborn and blunt than I am. With you out in front, what do I have to fear?"
He flicked the reins, and the blue roan beneath him picked up its pace.
The carriage continued onward. Pedestrians ahead gradually thinned out, and the shops lining the street grew less bustling.
Just as they were relaxing-
Whoosh!
Two arrows suddenly hurtled toward them from the side, tearing through the air with a piercing whistle!
Fan Xian and Teng Zijing reacted almost simultaneously! They twisted and sprang from their horses, somersaulting through the air and narrowly avoiding the first surprise attack!
Thunk! Thunk!
The arrows buried themselves in the carriage behind them, their fletching trembling violently!
Two white-clad figures suddenly appeared atop a high wall. Longbows in hand, they nocked their arrows and drew, sending a second volley right after the first!
"Assassins!"
Someone let out a desperate scream.
The crowd on the street erupted into chaos! People fled with their hands over their heads, screaming. Vendors' carrying poles were knocked over, and baskets rolled across the ground, but everyone was too busy running for their lives to care.
Teng Zijing moved nimbly, swiftly taking down one assassin with a hidden weapon. Fan Xian soon followed up and dealt with the other.
But the two blue roans pulling the carriage had already panicked, neighing as they bolted forward! The heavy carriage jolted violently over the stone paving, swaying from side to side. People fleeing down the middle of the street screamed and dodged, nearly getting knocked flying!
"The carriage!"
Fan Xian and Teng Zijing exchanged a glance and immediately sprinted after it!
They accelerated almost simultaneously, shooting forward like arrows. Barely catching up to the rear of the carriage, they leaped and vaulted inside together!
Just as they passed through the carriage, a mechanical crossbow trap suddenly appeared at the corner ahead!
A barrage of bolts shot out, killing the horses before they could even neigh.
The instant the bolts reached them, Fan Xian and Teng Zijing sprang upward, somersaulted through the air, and barely managed to land!
Fan Xian had only just steadied himself, with no time even to breathe a sigh of relief, when-
BOOM!!!
The wall behind him suddenly exploded!
Shattered bricks and dust flew like a torrential downpour. An enormous shadow lunged through the hole, seized Fan Xian with a hand as broad as a palm-leaf fan, and swung him up before smashing him into a roadside stall!
BAM!
The stall shattered, spraying splinters everywhere!
Having landed his first blow, the towering figure lunged again before Fan Xian could catch his breath!
Teng Zijing's pupils contracted sharply as he recognized the figure-Cheng Jushu, Northern Qi's peak eighth-rank expert in external body conditioning!
BOOM!!!
Startled by the distant crash, Ye Linger turned toward the window and saw a cloud of dust billowing into the sky above the streets!
"Assassins! They're killing people!"
Screams rose one after another as the crowd scattered like frightened ants. In an instant, all of Ox Pen Street descended into chaos.
Ye Linger frowned.
An assassination in broad daylight in the Capital, causing such an uproar and throwing the streets into chaos, was a rare sight indeed.
Judging by the commotion, extraordinary experts must have been fighting.
"I wonder who they're trying to assassinate..."
Ye Linger's heart quickened involuntarily. As a martial artist, encountering a scene like this without being able to witness it up close was sheer torture.
She wanted to go and watch! But...
"Want to take a look?"
A voice suddenly sounded beside her ear, languid and somewhat knowing.
Ye Linger nodded instinctively.
"Then let's go join the excitement."
"Huh?"
Ye Linger abruptly came to her senses and looked beside her, only to find Zhou Cheng already walking toward the door.
She froze for a moment, then hurried after him, unable to resist reminding him:
"Your Highness, you'd best stay here. There are assassins outside, and blades don't care whom they hit. If you get hurt, I can't shoulder that responsibility."
Zhou Cheng did not pause at all. He pushed open the door, and Chen Quan, who had been waiting outside, immediately followed.
"Unless I'm dead, you won't have to shoulder any responsibility."
He paused and looked at the hesitant Ye Linger.
"Do you still want to watch? If you do, hurry up."
Ye Linger said, "...Oh, right!"
She hurried after him, the hem of her clothes sweeping a fiery-red arc through the stairwell.
Zhou Cheng walked at an unhurried pace. He neither used his martial arts nor deliberately sped up, simply maintaining a pace slightly faster than an ordinary person's.
Ye Linger wanted to hurry, to fly across the rooftops and head straight there. But watching the unhurried figure ahead, she could only force down the impulse and hold in her frustration, obediently following behind.
After passing through two alleys and rounding several corners, they finally reached the heart of the disturbance several full minutes later.
What greeted them was a battlefield in ruins.
Most of the bluestone paving had been shattered, leaving rubble everywhere.
A large section of the wall on the left side of the street had collapsed, its broken bricks and stones piled into a small mound. Cracks left by a tremendous impact still marked the remaining walls.
Several roadside shops had suffered as well. Their doors hung crooked, their window frames were shattered, and their signs dangled precariously beneath the eaves.
This no longer looked like a mere assassination scene. It looked more like a battlefield.
Ye Linger swiftly scanned the area.
A massive figure, more than a head taller than an ordinary man, lay on his back amid the broken bricks, his fate unknown.
On the other side, a dozen or so paces away, another figure lay on the ground.
Beside him, a man knelt with his head lowered, utterly distraught.
"Well, well!"
A languid voice sounded beside Ye Linger.
"Isn't this Fan Xian?"
Zhou Cheng stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze settling on the kneeling figure, a faint, ambiguous smile on his lips.
"Instead of going to the Drunken Immortal Residence to meet the Second Prince, why are you here... begging?"
"Fan Xian?"
Ye Linger's expression shifted slightly.
She immediately took a closer look at the kneeling figure.
His face was pale, his eyes bloodshot, and his entire body covered in dust. His robes were stained with patches of blood, and his topknot had come loose, making him look as though he had just crawled out of the earth.
Come to think of it, this was her first time seeing Fan Xian in person. Before this, she had only heard Lin Wan'er mention him, describing his appearance, his temperament, and how well he treated her.
Now that she saw him, he was reasonably handsome, just far too bedraggled.
"This assassination... was aimed at Fan Xian?"
Before you continue