Puchi!
A deep cut opened across Gao Ming’s chest as the blade sliced through him. Groaning in pain, he stumbled back again and again.
In his panicked retreat, he caught a glimpse of the eight guards surrounding the carriage—and his heart went cold.
Six of them had already been cut down.
The two who remained were struggling desperately. Their movements were frantic and uncoordinated. Clearly terrified, they’d lost all will to fight.
Gao Ming was horrified.
How long had it been?
Just a few breaths—and the eight guards were being slaughtered like vegetables.
If those last two fell, he’d be next—surrounded and overwhelmed.
That meant certain death.
All for a counterfeit prince?
No.
Not worth it.
Better to live and fight another day.
Gritting his teeth, Gao Ming made a decision—abandon Wei Ran and save himself.
“Watch out for hidden weapons!”
He feinted an attack.
Lu Baishuang instinctively leaned back to dodge.
But with her sharp instincts, she quickly realized—there was no weapon coming. He’d bluffed.
Before she could react, Gao Ming had turned and bolted.
Infuriated at being tricked, Lu Baishuang’s cheeks flushed. She shouted in anger, “You dare deceive me? You’re dead!”
She tapped the snowy ground and soared like a swallow, chasing after him relentlessly.
The sound of a sword slicing air reached Gao Ming’s ear, sending chills down his spine. He turned his head mid-run, narrowly dodging the strike.
The blade passed so close it nearly scraped his skin.
Just that one blow left him drenched in cold sweat.
Behind him, two more dull thuds sounded. The remaining guards had collapsed into the snow.
Both had been killed instantly—clean sword strikes to the throat.
It was obvious that Yun Rou’s swordsmanship far surpassed Lu Baishuang’s.
Seeing her disciple chasing too hard, Yun Rou called sharply, “Baishuang, come back! Don’t pursue a cornered enemy.”
“We’ve completed the mission. The priority now is to retreat.”
Lu Baishuang understood the urgency and pushed aside her frustration. She quickly sheathed her sword and turned back.
Gao Ming didn’t even dare look back. He just ran with all his might, fleeing for his life.
Seeing Lu Baishuang retreat, Yun Rou finally sighed in relief.
She lightly sprang into the air and swung her sword in a horizontal arc.
BOOM!
The gilded carriage roof was split clean open.
Wei Ran looked up at the gash above him and gave a bitter smile.
Two days after transmigrating, and before he’d even had six full meals, he was about to die?
Was this his fate?
Just as Yun Rou thrust her sword downward, her body suddenly stiffened.
She spun her sword around just in time to block something.
CLANG!
A deafening clang of metal rang out.
Yun Rou landed weightlessly on the driver’s seat and looked down at her blade—her eyes wide in shock.
If her blade hadn’t been a famed weapon, it likely would’ve been shattered or pierced clean through.
She looked up.
Down White Tiger Street, a man was slowly approaching.
A hunched old eunuch in a dark red robe and black gauze hat, face pale and beardless.
He walked steadily, even though he was still a hundred steps away.
Yun Rou’s pupils shrank. “Grandmaster?”
“Master, what’s wrong?”
Lu Baishuang returned, puzzled by her master’s reaction.
Yun Rou whispered, “Baishuang, I’ll hold him off. You finish the kill and head to the meeting point.”
“Got it.”
Without hesitation, Lu Baishuang thrust her sword toward Wei Ran.
Whoosh, whoosh—
Two more steel beads came whistling from afar.
Yun Rou’s face paled. She swung her sword furiously and barely blocked them both.
The eunuch held his left hand over his abdomen, and with the right hand plucked another steel bead between his fingers—
Whizz!
Like a bullet, the bead screamed through the air.
Yun Rou’s eyes went wide. “Baishuang, watch out!”
Thud!
The bead pierced straight through Lu Baishuang’s right shoulder.
Her sword dropped into the snow.
Blood spurted from the wound, exiting through her back.
Lu Baishuang stumbled, nearly collapsing.
“Baishuang!”
Yun Rou dove to her, trying to grab her and flee.
But the old eunuch made his move.
He bent slightly, then shot forward like an arrow.
In an instant, he crossed ten meters and tossed a handful of steel beads.
Faced with the barrage, Yun Rou had no choice but to retreat from Lu Baishuang’s side.
Clutching her wounded shoulder, Lu Baishuang gritted her teeth.
“I’m fine, Master. Hold on. I’ll kill that bastard first!”
She snatched her sword from the snow and lunged at Wei Ran again.
Inside the carriage, Wei Ran sat calmly, like an emperor in his throne—unmoving.
He knew, if these two were truly determined to kill him, there was no escaping.
“Stop, Baishuang! You can’t kill him! Run!” Yun Rou cried.
She deflected another steel bead flying at Lu Baishuang, but the eunuch was already upon them.
He raised his arms—pale, skeletal hands gripped both swords mid-blade and squeezed—
With terrifying force, he lifted both women and flung them several meters away.
The shock in their hearts was indescribable.
He caught our swords barehanded?
Not only was he unscathed, he hurled them like rag dolls?
Before they could catch their breath, the old eunuch closed in again. His arms whipped through the air like iron lashes, making snap-snap sounds.
His red robes billowed with no wind.
CLANG! CLANG!
His palms struck the sword blades like metal hammers.
“Baishuang, look out!”
Yun Rou saw a palm flying toward Lu Baishuang’s face. With a scream, she shielded her. The source of this chapter is g.com.
CRACK!
A sound like a firecracker burst out.
Yun Rou spat blood as she was flung backward, red drops splattering the snow like plum blossoms.
One palm almost shattered her organs.
That single blow sent both master and disciple flying.
Yun Rou seized the chance to push Lu Baishuang far away and cried out with everything she had:
“Go! Don’t let me die for nothing!”
“Don’t seek revenge. When you return to the mountain, change your name and never descend again!”
“Go! Run!”
She screamed as she turned, sweeping her sword in a wide arc.
The eunuch leaned back. Yun Rou’s blade rained down like a storm.
Knowing she was doomed, she gave it everything she had—strike after strike, no defense, no hesitation.
Incredibly, she held her own—for a moment.
But everyone knew it was her last desperate stand.
“Master!”
Tears filled Lu Baishuang’s eyes. Her cries echoed through the alley.
“Run! Don’t waste my death!”
Pfft!
Blood gushed from Yun Rou’s mouth.
Seeing this, Lu Baishuang didn’t hesitate any longer and fled toward an alley exit.
In a blink, she was gone.
Only then did Yun Rou allow a bitter smile.
The old eunuch struck her crown—
—but Yun Rou’s eyes rolled back, and her body crumpled into the snow.
Just as the eunuch raised his hand to finish her—
A calm voice called out from behind: “Eunuch Wen, leave one alive.”
The eunuch slowly lowered his hand.
He turned, approached the carriage, and smiled with a bow.
“Is the Heir unharmed?”
“No harm.”
Wei Ran smiled faintly. “Are you Eunuch Wen from the Empress Dowager’s side?”
Eunuch Wen nodded, then praised him without hesitation.
“Prince Min is a true hero, and the Heir remains calm even under death’s shadow. Truly, the son of a tiger will never be a dog.”
Wei Ran chuckled. “Because I knew they couldn’t kill me. As the Heir of Prince Min, how could I not have methods to stay alive?”
Eunuch Wen was momentarily surprised, then nodded in appreciation.
Wei Ran pointed in the direction Lu Baishuang had fled.
“Father always taught: ‘If you don’t remove the roots, the weeds will grow back.’”
“Eunuch Wen, I’ll trouble you to handle it. And please—leave one alive.”
Eunuch Wen hesitated. “But the Heir has no one left at his side…”
Wei Ran smiled. “Didn’t I just say, how could the Heir of Prince Min not have survival methods?”
Eunuch Wen thought for a moment, then nodded and gave chase in Lu Baishuang’s direction.
Wei Ran stood up, craned his neck, and after confirming Eunuch Wen was gone, leapt from the carriage.
He grabbed Yun Rou’s sword and began dragging her by the leg toward a side alley.
A bodyguard who could hold her own against a Grandmaster-level fighter for dozens of moves?
How could Wei Ran possibly let her go?