Chapter 96 – As Long As She’s Standing on the Ground, She’s Unbeatable

Prince An’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes hazy, and he staggered as he walked—he looked about seventy percent drunk.

“Prince Chen, you nearly died reclaiming the southern border. Hic! I drink to you!”

Qi Yanzhou knew full well what Prince An’s tolerance was like.

Though he’d had quite a bit to drink, he was at most thirty percent drunk—he was absolutely still sober.

Raising his cup, Qi Yanzhou replied, “One must fulfill his duty when in his position. His Majesty trusts me; naturally, I won’t let him down.”

“Cheers! Hic!”

Prince An hiccupped as he downed the wine in his cup.

Qi Yanzhou used his internal energy to silently evaporate the alcohol in his body.

Prince An plopped down next to him and even nudged him over a bit.

“Prince Chen, scooch over. Hic! I’d like to discuss the details of the disaster relief silver that the officials have been gathering.”

Qi Yanzhou knew Prince An was stalling.

Once he was done dealing with Ye Chutang, he’d come for him next.

But Qi Yanzhou didn’t dare make any sudden moves—he feared it would raise suspicion and worsen Ye Chutang’s situation.

“Please, go ahead.”

As he spoke, he subtly signaled Qin Muyun.

Qin Muyun understood. Once Prince An and Qi Yanzhou were deep in conversation, he turned to a servant and said, “I’ve had too much to drink and need to relieve myself.”

“This way, Eunuch Qin.”

There were four restrooms in Prince An’s residence—two in the inner courtyard and two in the outer.

The ones in the outer courtyard were located in the rear rock garden and the guest quarters.

The servant had already been instructed: once the banquet started, no one was allowed into the guest quarters without permission from the prince or princess.

Seeing that the servant was leading him to the rear garden, Qin Muyun pointed toward the guest quarters and asked, “Isn’t that closer?”

“Replying to Eunuch Qin, the wind is blowing from the east today, so the guest quarters’ restroom is out of use.”

In ancient times, due to poor deodorization, restrooms were designed according to wind direction to avoid spreading unpleasant smells.

Since the guest quarters were on the eastern side of the outer courtyard, they wouldn’t use that restroom today.

Unable to argue, Qin Muyun followed the servant to the rock garden.

Then he “accidentally” wet himself so he could use that as an excuse to head to the guest quarters and change clothes.

Meanwhile, Ye Chutang had already entered the guest quarters.

At the center of the courtyard stood a tall apricot tree, lush with branches and leaves, bearing clusters of green fruit.

The foliage shaded the area from the blazing sun, casting a gloomy dimness over the yard.

It was also eerily quiet—too quiet.

Miss Fang had lost so much face she might as well be buried in shame—it made sense for her to stay silent.

But Lady Liu’s left foot was shattered—there was no way she wouldn’t make a sound.

Ye Chutang stayed on high alert. She took a miniature bomb out from her storage space and gripped it tightly in her hand.

If she encountered any danger she couldn’t handle, she’d throw the bomb and take refuge in her space.

As long as there were no witnesses, no one would ever discover her secret. Afterward, she could pin everything on the “Ghost Thieves.”

This was the confidence behind her daring leap into this trap.

A maid led Ye Chutang to the innermost private room.

“Miss Ye, please wait inside. I’ll go fetch a change of clothes for you.”

“No rush. Pour me a cup of tea first.”

“There’s herbal tea inside. Would you like it cold or hot?”

“Cold is fine. Open all the windows, please.”

Ye Chutang wasn’t after the tea. She wanted to check if there was any poisonous gas inside the room.

“Yes, Miss.”

The maid, face calm, pushed the door open and walked to the round table to pour the tea.

Afterward, she opened all the windows, letting more light into the room.

Once she finished what Ye Chutang had asked, she left to fetch the clothes.

Ye Chutang didn’t enter the room. Instead, she walked to the center of the courtyard and leaned against the apricot tree.

Using her earth-type ability, she sensed a trap mechanism under the private room’s floor. With a surge of power, she crushed it.

A loud bang came from inside the room.

A thick iron cage, about the width of a wrist, dropped from the ceiling beam and smashed onto the floor behind the screen.

Right where one would’ve changed clothes! Ye Chutang knew this was only Prince An’s first move—he definitely had more tricks up his sleeve.

Whoosh!

The sharp whistle of a blade cutting through the air rang out. A man dressed in black burst from the room, sword in hand.

The blade, brimming with killing intent, shot straight for Ye Chutang’s face.

She quickly raised her right hand, shifted her angle, and fired several poisoned darts from her sleeve.

The man was highly skilled and dodged some of the darts with swift twists of his body, deflecting the rest with his sword.

He didn’t slow down one bit. His footwork was agile to the extreme, and he closed in on Ye Chutang at lightning speed.

She didn’t dodge.

Her red lips curled into a smirk, lipstick vivid against her pale skin.

At some point, the bomb in her hand had been swapped out for a silenced gun. She aimed at his chest and pulled the trigger several times in rapid succession.

The man was riddled with bullets, looking at Ye Chutang in disbelief.

In his dying moment, he gathered his inner power and flung his sword with all his might.

As he fell, he saw what should’ve been a direct hit to Ye Chutang’s shoulder shift an inch—she teleported—and stood there, unharmed.

His inner-powered sword pierced the thick trunk of the apricot tree.

At the same time, a hidden arrow shot from the private room and embedded itself into the tree’s base.

If Ye Chutang hadn’t teleported, she would’ve not only been hit in the shoulder but in the leg too.

The shadow guard hidden in the private room, who had launched the arrow, went pale seeing Ye Chutang dispatch his companion with ease and even dodge his sneak attack.

He had thought it overkill for the emperor to send them to capture a mere noblewoman.

Turned out they’d run into a monster instead.

Ye Chutang stared at the private room and said coldly, “Come out. Let’s end this quickly.”

As long as she stood on the ground, she was invincible.

There was no way she would rush into that room and give up her advantage.

The shadow guard feared the hidden weapons beneath Ye Chutang’s sleeves.

But if he failed the emperor’s mission, death awaited him anyway.

He took out several drugged throwing darts from his belt, aimed for her key acupuncture points, and launched them with inner power.

At the same time, he pushed his agility to the limit, constantly changing position while hurling more hidden weapons toward her.

“Come out!”

Just then, another master, one arranged by Prince An, attacked from the guest courtyard.

Ye Chutang teleported to dodge the darts.

She yanked off a decorative ornament from her jade pendant.

What looked like a bell was something she had swapped after entering Prince An’s residence—a miniature storm-needle launcher.

Before the shadow guard could even recover from the shock of her teleportation, his senses screamed danger.

He immediately retreated. “Everyone, get back!”

But just as he shouted, the storm needles activated.

Silver pin-like needles shot out in all directions, sparing only the spot where Ye Chutang stood.

The courtyard was small. As the ten or so attackers retreated, they couldn’t all avoid the storm of needles—two lower-level martial artists were hit.

The needles were poisoned—just a scratch would seal the throat.

They staggered back a few more steps before collapsing, foaming at the mouth.

Before Ye Chutang could even catch her breath, she sensed a surge of killing intent from above.

There was another master hiding in the apricot tree!

Her body tensed, and she vanished again—this time reappearing behind the tree.

A hooked claw slammed into the ground with immense force.

Grass and dust flew everywhere, leaving behind a pit three inches deep.

The shadow guard in the tree had watched Ye Chutang vanish in an instant, his claw striking only empty air.

He was so stunned he nearly fell from the tree.

That terrifying movement technique—she could actually teleport!

The guard recovered quickly from his shock.

He yanked hard on the chain to retrieve the claw—but it wouldn’t budge.

It was as if someone was holding onto it, tugging back with equal force.

He poured inner power into his arms.

But not only did he fail to retrieve the claw, he was actually pulled down from the tree by a tremendous force.

He let go of the chain just in time, barely avoiding a face-first collision with the ground.

Ye Chutang was just about to seize the opportunity to strike when—

Qin Muyun burst into the guest courtyard, cursing loudly.