Chapter 31

Beside the official road, there was a dense forest covered in glistening white snow on one side and a rushing river on the other. The only sounds on the road were the dense clattering of hooves and the grinding of wheels.

Suddenly, a faint rustling of startled birds sounded from the woods.

“Huh.” Xifeng cautiously pulled on the reins, signaling the team to halt.

Traveling north and south, encountering bandits was common, but in weather like this, where the road would barely see a soul all day, if there were bandits lying in wait, it was unlikely they’d find any prey.

Moreover, with such a large escort, who would dare to rob soldiers of the court?

As soon as Xifeng raised his hand, everyone gathered the carriages at the center, remaining vigilant of their surroundings.

The horses became restless, seemingly sensing danger.

Deep in the mountains, a person hid behind a large rock. “It seems we’ve been spotted. What do we do?”

What else could they do? They had planned for so long; if they didn’t try now, it would be even harder to strike after Xie Tingzhou returned to the capital.

A masked man beside him glared fiercely. “The farther south we go, the flatter the terrain. If we don’t strike here, we may not find such a good opportunity again. Let them move forward a bit more before we act.”

A gust of wind blew, lifting the lower edge of his face mask, revealing a horrifying scar from his right cheek to his chin.

Aside from the earlier rustling of startled birds, there was silence all around.

Xifeng scanned the surroundings and then turned back. “It might have been just a bird. Let’s go, but be careful.”

The procession continued, and the convoy ahead was about to turn a corner.

On the mountain peak, Scarface gritted his teeth and raised his hand. “Attack!”

Boom! A deafening explosion sounded.

Shen Yu lifted the curtain suddenly, her head jerking up. Snow mixed with debris cascaded down from the mountain, followed by a hail of arrows.

She heard Xifeng shout sternly, “Protect the Crown Prince!”

“Your Highness, hold on tight.” Shen Yu opened the door without looking back.

Xie Tingzhou had already grabbed the sword under the cushion, but upon hearing Shen Yu’s words, he released his grip. Then, he heard Shen Yu say, “Put on your clothes first.”

He raised an eyebrow. Good, even the Crown Prince wasn’t calling him anymore.

The carriage suddenly sped up. As the curtains swayed, Xie Tingzhou saw that the original coachman was nowhere to be seen, and Shen Yu had replaced him.

Shen Yu hacked away several arrows that flew towards them. Hearing the dense “click-click” behind her, she turned to see that the carriage had been pierced like a hedgehog.

Another deafening roar, and a larger boulder rolled down from the mountain, blocking their path in an instant.

Four spirited horses pulled the carriage swiftly. Shen Yu tightened the reins with all her might, feeling like her bones were about to snap. Finally, with a neigh, the horses changed direction sharply.

The carriage lurched towards the cliff edge. Below was a raging river, and the two rear wheels hung in mid-air, scraping past, before crashing back onto the ground.

Xie Tingzhou was violently thrown around inside the carriage, hitting the wall. Just as he stabilized himself, the carriage suddenly accelerated again, throwing him to the back.

He grabbed the window frame. If he weren’t so composed, he might have kicked Shen Yu out in anger.

He had never seen a Royal Guard with such poor driving skills, volunteering to take him to safety.

Xie Tingzhou was impressed.

Outside, the battle raged. Xie Tingzhou lifted the curtain and looked out.

Many masked bandits rushed down from the mountain. Judging from their skills, they were not ordinary mountain bandits.

The other party must have spent a lot of money. With so many people and such boldness, they not only wanted to silence Liang Jianfang but also aimed for his life.

Xie Tingzhou sneered and walked out of the carriage to Shen Yu’s side. “I’ll drive.”

Mainly because Shen Yu’s driving skills were simply indescribable. If they continued like this, he might vomit his lunch.

“No need. It’s dangerous outside. You go in first,” Shen Yu said, then she braced herself with her sword against an assassin.

These people were all skilled, and several of them surrounded the carriage, entangling her.

Shen Yu thought for a moment, then threw the reins to Xie Tingzhou, who hadn’t left.

Finally, she could fight freely. She wielded her long knife and quickly forced back two assailants.

As the blades clashed, her long knife was nicked.

Xie Tingzhou seemed not at all nervous, driving the carriage while occasionally glancing at her.

“There’s a knife under the mat in the carriage.”

Shen Yu threw the broken knife at one person, quickly rolled into the car, and pulled out a knife from under the mat.

Before she could see what kind of knife it was, she swung it in a sweeping motion. With a “clang,” the opponent’s sword was snapped in half.

The opponent froze, and so did Shen Yu.

Upon closer inspection, she realized it was the reddish-blade knife that Xie Tingzhou had been testing that day.

The blade was so thin yet so sharp, truly a good knife.

To a martial artist, weapons were an extension of themselves. Having a good weapon was like adding wings to a tiger.

Shen Yu fought fiercely, becoming more and more courageous, driving back more than a dozen attackers.

Another reckless assailant charged forward. Shen Yu clashed blades with him, and suddenly her eyes lit up as she found an opening.

Her thin blade sliced through the air without a sound, aimed to sever the opponent’s throat.

The man widened his eyes in despair, and everything before him seemed to slow down. He clearly knew that in the next moment, he would be decapitated.

But the blade suddenly moved away, taking the person holding it with it.

Shen Yu was even more shocked than the person she was facing. She felt the carriage suddenly jerk and tilt to one side. Her swing missed the person, and she almost fell off the carriage herself.

She abruptly turned around, only to find the entire carriage tilting off the mountain road. The four wheels were almost hanging off, with only a few horses still struggling to drag the carriage back to its original position.

Finally, she saw a different expression on Xie Tingzhou’s usually composed face.

He frowned slightly, looking somewhat troubled. He raised the whip and struck the horse’s flank. The spirited horse, feeling the pain, exerted even more effort and kicked its hind legs forcefully.

Just as they were about to pull the carriage back up, unexpectedly, one of the front horses let out a painful neigh and collapsed to the ground, a deep gash on its neck.

With one less horse pulling, the carriage slid back further.

“We can’t rely on the carriage anymore,” Shen Yu thought.

With just a little effort, she could leverage herself up.

She reached out to Xie Tingzhou, “Your Highness, grab my hand, I’ll help you up.”

Xie Tingzhou hesitated, looking at the hand she extended.

Such a small hand, thin arms, and legs, and she wants to pull him up?

He dropped the whip, preparing to climb up on his own.

Seeing that the carriage couldn’t hold on any longer, Shen Yu, seeing he remained calm, lifted her foot, preparing to grab and hoist him up.

But as she moved, so did Xie Tingzhou.

He jumped onto the carriage shaft, and the two collided. In a moment of shock, they both looked at each other, then plummeted into the raging river below.

In Shen Yu’s mind, there were only two words.

“Oh no!”