“You lot dare to spout such arrogant words—have you lost your minds?”
The man by the fire spoke with clear contempt and ridicule. Although there were only about twenty of them, each one was carefully trained. They were not something a few random nobodies could challenge.
“Hahaha, is that so?”
The speaker was a masked man in black. He laughed carelessly and waved his hand toward the people behind him.
Ren Jingshu looked up and saw rustling movements from the forest opposite. Branches snapped loudly, and one group after another of black-clad figures emerged. A rough estimate—there were nearly two hundred of them.
“Then what about adding them?”
As soon as they appeared, they formed an encirclement around the group.
The man by the fire gritted his teeth, saying coldly:
“Who exactly are you? You’re determined to oppose us like this?”
“Since you already know I won’t tell you, why bother asking?”
The black-clad man toyed with the sword in his hand and said amusedly:
“We’re all just following orders. I can spare your lives if you want. If you want to live, leave the people in the carriage and run.”
“Heh. If we fight, we fight. What’s with all the nonsense?”
The man by the fire exchanged a look with his companions, and the others immediately understood.
They were long-time comrades. This was not their first time facing such a situation.
They already had a plan in place.
They split into groups and quickly engaged the black-clad attackers.
Ren Jingshu felt somewhat anxious. These people looked highly skilled; the fight would not end anytime soon.
She did not know how the Ren family was doing now, and she could not afford to delay any longer.
Looking at the tall horses under the trees, she clenched her teeth and quietly moved toward them.
You can fight all you want. I’m just a weak woman—I won’t waste time with you. I’ll borrow a horse first.
She thought through many things. If she rescued the Ren family and these people ended up dead afterward, she would at most help bury them as repayment for borrowing the horse.
If they were still alive afterward, then of course she would return the horse.
Borrowing and returning—it’s only polite.
A shameless idea, but she had no other choice.
As she got closer to the horses, a faint smile appeared on her face.
She looked at the leading horse, its coat glossy and smooth, reflecting firelight like polished black obsidian.
A desire to claim it for herself rose in her heart—but she quickly suppressed it.
This was not the apocalypse. People here didn’t live by strength alone.
Just borrow it for one night. I’ll return it tomorrow.
Convinced herself of this, she reached out toward the horse.
“Hey! There’s someone over there! Don’t let her escape!”
Several black-clad men standing on the perimeter spotted her immediately.
She froze.
She lowered her head and looked at her pale pink dress, silently regretting it.
Careless. She should have changed clothes before coming out.
Seeing someone charging toward her with a sword, she gritted her teeth and pulled out a sharp dagger from her sleeve.
“Oh? A pretty little girl. Looks like she’s the Prince Consort’s woman.”
The black-clad men exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with excitement.
They had been ordered to humiliate the so-called Prince Consort before sending him to the barren southern borderlands.
As for whether he arrived intact—no one cared.
“You’ve got the wrong person. I was just passing by and wanted to borrow a horse.”
Ren Jingshu tried to explain.
“Heh, this girl thinks we’re idiots.”
The man waved his hand casually.
“Brothers, take her down. Let’s see if that Prince Consort will still behave.”
They charged at her with swords drawn.
“Brother advises you not to move. Otherwise, if we ruin that pretty face of yours, it’ll be a pity.”
They sneered as they closed in, mocking her small dagger.
In their eyes, such a weapon was only fit for playing around—not real combat.
A cold glint flashed through Ren Jingshu’s eyes.
I didn’t want to get involved, but since I can’t avoid it… I’ll use you as practice.
She rushed forward with her dagger.
A brief clash of weapons rang out.
The black-clad men froze.
Then they fell straight to the ground, lifeless.
Before dying, the same thought flashed through all their minds:
That little dagger really did cut throats.
Just that this time—it cut theirs.
“Tch. With skills like that, you still dare act like assassins? You were already dead the moment you showed up.”
She wiped the blood off her dagger and muttered in disdain.
A scream suddenly rang out.
She turned and saw a black-clad man with one arm severed, rolling on the ground and howling in pain.
The fighters by the fire were outnumbered, but each was highly skilled. Even though they were not yet at a disadvantage, they could not break free.
At this rate, over time, they would be exhausted and eventually killed.