At the beginning of the Hour of Hai (around 9 p.m.),
it wasn’t particularly late for the bustling royal capital.
There was no curfew, and every night people were out enjoying themselves.
Even from some distance away, one could still hear music, dancing, laughter, drinking, and merrymaking.
The city was lively as ever.
At a corner of a narrow alley,
inside a smoothly moving carriage, Shang Changge rested her chin on one hand, half asleep.
Suddenly, she heard something.
Immediately perking up, she sat upright and reached toward a hidden compartment.
“It should be here…”
She rummaged around.
“Why decorate it with so many flashy gemstones?”
A pause.
“But it’s very sharp. Nice.”
Knock knock.
Hearing her muttering to herself, Qingyao lightly tapped on the carriage wall.
“Your Highness? Is something wrong?”
Shang Changge lifted the curtain and excitedly waved a dagger at her.
“Assassins are coming for us.”
“Draw your swords!”
It was time.
Awaken, my hunting instincts!
Back in the apocalypse, there hadn’t been a single day when she wasn’t out killing zombies.
After transmigrating into a novel and suddenly having nothing to fight, she honestly wasn’t used to it.
“What?”
Before Qingyao could react, a cold gleam flashed through the darkness.
An arrow shot down from above.
Qingyao’s expression changed dramatically.
She immediately drew her sword and knocked it aside.
But the attackers had clearly come prepared.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
More than a dozen arrows rained down.
Several struck the horses.
The wounded animals let out agonized screams in the darkness.
The carriage, riddled with arrows like a porcupine, began rocking violently from side to side.
The injured horses panicked and bolted forward uncontrollably.
“Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!”
The coachman desperately pulled on the reins.
It was useless.
Finally, he drew his sword and severed the harness entirely to stop the carriage.
Killing intent erupted.
The clash of steel filled the night.
The coachman was fairly skilled, managing to hold off two attackers by himself.
But the assassins had come in force.
Soon he was completely tied down.
A black-clad man who appeared to be their leader ripped open the carriage curtain.
His sword flashed coldly in the moonlight as he thrust downward.
SHLK!
The sound of steel piercing flesh.
The assassin leader looked down.
Disbelief filled his eyes.
A dagger had been driven straight through his chest.
“T-That’s impossible…”
How could a pampered princess—
someone who had probably never done manual labor in her life—
possess such strength?
And strike so decisively?
So ruthlessly?
She was more vicious than people who spent their lives walking the line between life and death.
Shang Changge twisted the dagger deeper into his flesh before violently pulling it out.
Watching blood rapidly soak his black clothing, she smiled in satisfaction.
Her voice remained as lazy and mocking as ever.
“What’s impossible about it?”
“This is what I’m best at.”
Not “This Princess.”
Just “I.”
As she spoke, she casually tossed away the dagger.
Then she snatched the assassin’s sword.
Since he was no longer useful, she kicked him out of the carriage without hesitation.
Stepping outside, Shang Changge quickly surveyed the battlefield.
Apparently, none of the assassins had considered the possibility that the man sent to kill her would fail.
The area around the carriage was practically empty.
Meanwhile, Qingyao and the others had been forced back and drawn into separate fights.
The two sides were locked in fierce combat.
Clang after clang echoed through the night.
“Being a princess really isn’t easy.”
She sighed.
“Especially when your role is a short-lived, evil villainess princess.”
Beneath the bright moonlight,
she charged straight into battle with her sword.
And while cutting her way toward the fighting—
she somehow found time to think about drafting a military training program for the Princess Estate’s guards.
Qingyao and the others really weren’t strong enough.
Throughout the royal capital,
patrol soldiers normally passed through the streets at regular intervals, day and night.
Especially in districts where nobles lived.
Yet tonight—
whether by careful planning or some other reason—
the patrols never appeared.
The soldiers didn’t arrive.
But someone else did.
Xiao Ji.
By the time he appeared, the fighting was already over.
Shang Changge was sitting beside the arrow-riddled carriage interrogating the surviving assassins.
As for Xiao Ji—
he still had the same coachman, the same carriage, and the same intimidating presence.
The two groups stared at each other in the moonlit alley.
“Hi.”
Shang Changge—the woman whose motives were questionable and whose social confidence bordered on outrageous—raised a hand and waved cheerfully.
Her eyes curved into crescents.
As if nothing unusual had happened.
As if they were simply meeting by chance at a tea house.
“General Xiao.”
“We meet again.”
“What a coincidence.”
…
…
Silence.
The long alley fell silent once more.
Xiao Ji’s coachman had worked under him for many years.
Under his master’s influence, he had learned to keep his emotions hidden.
Yet even so, as he watched the smiling Princess greeting them, the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Over the years, he had accompanied the General to countless events.
He had met the Princess several times before.
She had always seemed perfectly normal.
So why was she acting so strangely today?
If Xiao Ji’s subordinate found her odd,
then Qingyao—who spent every day by her side—was even more shaken.
Under the pale moonlight, she stood silently behind Shang Changge like a guardian deity.
Outwardly calm.
Inwardly in turmoil.
The image of her mistress casually killing a trained assassin with ruthless precision refused to leave her mind.
“Not a coincidence.”
Xiao Ji had somehow already left his carriage.
Walking steadily forward, he stopped before Shang Changge.
Then—
to everyone’s surprise—
he dropped to one knee.
“Your servant followed the sounds of battle here.”
“I arrived too late.”
“Was Your Highness injured?”
The mention of injury made Shang Changge’s lips curl upward.
Her mood instantly improved.
Her gaze drifted over her flawless, unblemished wrist.
Then she answered brightly:
“Not at all.”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
Technically, she had suffered a few minor wounds.
But they had already healed.
She still didn’t understand why the abilities she awakened during the apocalypse had followed her into this new body.
Still—
it was wonderful news.
The only question was whether her poison immunity had come with her.
No matter.
She could simply drink some poison later and find out.
“Oh, right. General, stand up.”
Without waiting for a response,
she grabbed Xiao Ji and physically hauled him to his feet through sheer force.
She was still immersed in the joy of regaining her powers.
The smile on her face nearly reached her ears.
“This matter has nothing to do with you.”
“So don’t blame yourself.”
“You can pretend you saw nothing.”
She paused.
“Or stay and watch the show.”
Xiao Ji chose to stay.
What followed completely broadened his horizons.
The most exalted princess of Qingyan Dynasty
held a dagger whose handle was encrusted with dazzling multicolored gemstones.
Using it, she repeatedly patted the faces of the two surviving assassins.
First she threatened them.
When that failed—
the smile on her face gradually became…
strange.
Very strange.
Her gaze slowly traveled downward.
Lower.
Lower.
Until it settled squarely on a certain vital area.
She casually twirled the silver dagger.
Then abandoned threats altogether.
“You two are loyal little watchdogs, huh?”
“Refusing to talk?”
“Fine.”
Her smile turned sinister.
“I’ll just castrate you both to vent my frustration.”
A flash of silver.
A bloodstained sword embedded itself directly between one assassin’s legs.
The entire alley fell silent.
Everyone watched helplessly as the assassin instantly wet himself.
A spreading stain soaked his trousers.
Caw! Caw!
Somewhere in the darkness, a night bird let out an ugly cry.
The sound shattered the silence.
Immediately, Shang Changge retreated two steps with visible disgust.
The jeweled dagger was still in her hand.
And no, before anyone asked—
there was a reason she hadn’t thrown that dagger.
The handle was covered in colorful gemstones.
It looked expensive.
And expensive things shouldn’t be wasted.
This wasn’t the apocalypse anymore.
In this world—
money was still very useful.