Chapter 89: The Hunt

Capital City, Imperial Palace.

In the Imperial Study, Yuwen Jing quickly scanned the urgent report, and a look of elation immediately appeared on his face.

“Send people to Yinzhou at once! Wipe out that group of bandits and capture my dear niece alive!” However, just as the words reached his lips, he paused, his eyes flashing with a cruel glint. “No need to capture her alive—execute her on the spot. We can simply claim it was the work of the bandits. After all these years of her hiding, there can be no mistakes this time!”

“Your Majesty, the Northern Barbarians are advancing south, and the Qian people is also stirring. Most of our forces are already stationed at the borders, and the situation at the frontlines is dire. The Baihu Villa, along with its five subsidiary camps, hosts over a thousand bandits, each more ruthless than the last. Additionally, refugees from Jin Dynasty have been fleeing to that area. Since last year, Yinzhou has been pre-collecting taxes, and grain prices have risen four or five times. If the common folk join the bandits, their numbers could swell to two or three thousand. Without a strong general to lead, I fear the situation may spiral out of control.”

Yuwen Jing’s expression darkened like storm clouds. He let out a cold snort. “All the chaos in the kingdom stems from that wretch! If it weren’t for the demon monk’s letters inciting the masses back then, how would the people’s hearts have become so unsettled? Today’s turmoil is entirely her fault! As long as she lives, I can’t rest easy!”

“If we lack manpower elsewhere, send the Zhenfu Division. They always complain I favor the Beizhen Fusi. This will keep them busy instead of lounging around all day.”

“But—”

“Enough! Go now! Deploy 200 men from the Zhenfu Division and transfer 1,000 soldiers from the Hanyang Camp to Yinzhou. The Zhenfu Division will focus on eradicating the bandits, while Bai Yichun and the Beizhen Fusi continue their current mission. If the regular army cannot defeat a mere bandit rabble, then the commanders of both divisions can present their heads to me personally!”

---

Inside the mountain stronghold, Bai Choushen paced back and forth, hands clasped behind his back, his face etched with worry.

Li Shubi, the former deputy magistrate of Jinyang County, remarked from the side, “Why fret so much, Chief Bai? The court is already surrounded by enemies—either the Northern Barbarians advancing south or uprisings erupting everywhere. Local elites are declaring themselves kings. The Emperor has his hands full. If we can weather this storm, our name will spread far and wide. Then, who wouldn’t want to rally to our cause?”

Bai Choushen replied, “If it weren’t for those rumors that the Princess is hiding in our stronghold, we wouldn’t have to endure this storm. Although most of the forces are coming from the Hanyang Camp, I’m certain the Zhenfu Division’s captains are mixed in. Those men are no ordinary soldiers!”

Li Shubi chuckled.

Bai Choushen frowned. “What’s so funny?”

Li Shubi said, “I laugh because Chief Bai’s vision is too narrow.”

This angered Bai Choushen. “Li Shubi, I took you in out of kindness, and now you mock me? Are you not going too far?”

Li Shubi shook his head. “Chief Bai, haven’t you ever heard the saying, ‘Great wealth comes with great risk’? The stronger the storm, the more valuable the catch. The Princess may be a hot potato, but do you know how many people in the South and West are itching to use her name to start a rebellion? Yet, they all believe the Princess is here with us. Even the heavens are helping you!”

Bai Choushen was stunned.

“Do you know why the Emperor is so hell-bent on hunting down the Princess, wanting her dead? It’s all because of the prophecy from back then. Yuwen Jing is afraid it will come true and he’ll lose the throne. That’s why he’s chasing her relentlessly. If we can secure the Princess’s name as our banner, anyone dissatisfied with Yuwen Jing will come to us knowing she’s here. With that kind of support, achieving titles and ranks won’t be a challenge.”

“But the Princess isn’t here with us.”

“It doesn’t matter whether she’s here or not. As long as people believe she’s here, that’s enough. Even the Emperor believes it now. Do you think others won’t?”

Hearing this, Bai Choushen burst into laughter. “True, true. But, Uncle Bi, you’ve got to help me figure out how to survive this current wave first. Once we pull through, our banner will truly be known.”

Li Shubi heard this, and the wound on his severed right hand, inflicted by Bai Yichun, began to itch and ache faintly.

“Of course.”

---

The imperial troops arrived quickly, a clear sign that the Emperor was growing impatient.

However, Baihu Villa’s terrain was treacherous and easy to defend but hard to attack. The imperial forces had no choice but to advance slowly, inch by inch, up the mountain.

Recently, there had been an influx of refugees moving south, leading to uprisings. The bandits had gained nearly a thousand recruits just today.

On the imperial side, including the fifty-plus captains Bai Yichun had brought earlier, there were over two hundred elite soldiers. They could handle most of the refugees with ease, not to mention the thousand regular troops.

Yet, what puzzled Bai Yichun was that despite having the elite captains of Beizhen leading the charge, they still couldn’t conquer even the halfway point of the mountain. This was truly baffling.

Left with no choice, Bai Yichun personally joined the fray, leading the captains in a crawl forward.

As they advanced at full speed, a sudden scream echoed from behind. Turning around, Bai Yichun saw one of his captains struck in the throat by an arrow from the dense forest, killed instantly.

The scene was eerily familiar, reminding Bai Yichun of the Baoxi Village incident.

During the examination of the corpses of the Beizhen captains from that day, at least five of them had been killed with a single arrow through the throat. Even the commander, Lu Jin, had been shot through the thigh, the arrow piercing straight through the bone—a testament to the archer’s skill.

Today’s situation mirrored that day exactly: the same precise shots to the throat, the same arrows, the same materials.

Bai Yichun’s heart sank. Could this all be the work of the same person?

What’s more, upon closer observation, it seemed that only his subordinates were being targeted, while the regular soldiers and the two hundred captains brought by Murong Qingshan remained unscathed.

In an instant, Bai Yichun realized the truth: these arrows were aimed specifically at him!

No, they were targeting the Beizhen Fusi!

Someone was hunting down Beizhen’s men!

Who could harbor such deep hatred for the Beizhen Fusi?

A pair of furious, rebellious eyes flashed through Bai Yichun’s mind—eyes he had once stared into in Daliushu Village!

He had asked a surviving bandit if there were any archery experts among the mountain bandits, and the answer had been no.

Moreover, from the information gathered in Sitong Town about Xiang Dalang, it was said that on the day at the gambling den, a young noble had mentioned going to Baoxi Village to purchase incense wood. The villagers had confirmed this, but Bai Yichun had overlooked the clue and failed to investigate further.

Thinking back now, that young noble and the fake captain who had broken into Beizhen’s prison to rescue Magistrate Li were the same person!

She was none other than the unruly girl from Daliushu Village—Pear Blossom!

The girl the Princess had once saved with thirty taels of silver!

If so, everything Bai Yichun had seen and heard in Sitong Town was all part of her plan, a play staged for his benefit!

He was just another Lu Jin, and today’s bandit suppression would turn into another Baoxi Village disaster.

Realizing this, Bai Yichun, who had walked on the knife’s edge his whole life, trembled with rage. How could he have been outwitted by a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl?

Fury surged through him, and he wished he could tear the cunning girl apart. But the priority now wasn’t revenge—it was retreat.

Their target, Princess Mingyue, wasn’t on the mountain at all.

The girl’s plan was obvious: provoke a conflict between the court and the bandits, let them kill each other, and then use her exceptional archery skills to secretly eliminate Beizhen’s men, framing the bandits and profiting from the chaos.

What a venomous plan. What a venomous woman! Bai Yichun cursed inwardly as he retreated to find Murong Qingshan.

Without the Princess on the mountain, there was no point in fighting. It was better to save their forces and search for her elsewhere.

But before he had taken a hundred steps, the sound of an arrow whistling through the air came from behind. He spun around, only to see an arrow speeding toward him. Startled, he dodged just in time, the arrow grazing his nose before embedding itself deeply into an old pine tree.

Still shaken, Bai Yichun looked up to see a youth dressed as a bandit, holding a longbow and staring at him coldly, like a predator eyeing its prey.

Those eyes were all too familiar. It was none other than Pear Blossom, the girl he had encountered in Daliushu Village!

“You wretch! How dare you ambush me!” Bai Yichun roared in fury, drawing his sword and charging at Pear Blossom.

Pear Blossom sneered but said nothing. She simply raised her bow and loosed another arrow.

Bai Yichun deflected it with his sword, slowing his charge.

His mind raced in disbelief. This girl’s archery skills were extraordinary! He was confident he could take her down, but doing so would delay everything and cost him precious time.

Upon realizing this, he decided not to linger in the fight and turned to flee.

However, Pear Blossom had already anticipated his move. With a flash of her figure, she blocked his path.

“Trying to escape? It’s not that easy!” Pear Blossom snapped coldly. She abandoned her bow, raised her blade, and aimed it at Bai Yichun.

With no way out, Bai Yichun had no choice but to draw his sword and engage.

To his surprise, this young girl, despite her age, displayed immense strength. Her solid stance and powerful aura were almost on par with his, if not slightly superior.

Her curved blade seemed almost alive, relentlessly tracking his movements and targeting his vital points, leaving him no room to dodge.

Bai Yichun, a seasoned veteran of decades, had faced countless dangerous situations. As he turned and evaded, his wide sleeve swirled, launching a concealed weapon through the air, aiming directly at Pear Blossom’s back. Startled, Pear Blossom swiftly dodged. Though she evaded the attack, she was forced back several steps, narrowly escaping danger.

Seizing the opportunity, Bai Yichun counterattacked, charging at her with his sword.

In less than fifteen minutes, the two had exchanged dozens of blows in a fierce battle. Though Pear Blossom had the upper hand in strength, her combat experience was no match for Bai Yichun’s cunning. A concealed weapon grazed her right hand, creating an opening in her defense.

Bai Yichun saw his chance, launching a decisive attack to secure victory.

At that moment, a figure clad in red descended from above, landing in front of Pear Blossom.

Seeing this, Pear Blossom’s heart sank.

The leader of the bandit suppression mission this time was Murong Qingshan, Murong Jin’s uncle. As an official of the town magistrate’s office, like Bai Yichun, recognizing Murong Jin would implicate the Murong family.

Pear Blossom urgently shouted, “What are you doing here? Leave now!”

Though she might not be able to defeat Bai Yichun head-on, relying on the terrain and timing, she still had a chance to succeed or at least escape.

Murong Jin, however, remained silent, raising his sword and charging at Bai Yichun.

Seeing this, Pear Blossom had no choice but to follow with her blade.

Bai Yichun, upon seeing Murong Jin’s appearance, noted her red attire and recalled seeing a similar figure by Murong Qingshan during the expedition. He quickly deduced her identity. Initially thinking she was an ally, he was shocked when she attacked. Only then did he realize how many mistakes he’d made during this operation in Jinyang County.

This young girl in red, though similarly young, wielded her sword with exceptional skill and poise, clearly a formidable opponent.

Bai Yichun cursed his bad luck but had no choice but to press on.

He swung his sword at Murong Jin, hoping to strike first.

Murong Jin’s skills were not merely for show. Compared to Pear Blossom’s straightforward power, her moves were far more refined and sophisticated.

Pear Blossom soon joined the fray, and Bai Yichun’s heart sank. Dealing with one opponent had already been challenging; now, with two, his odds of survival looked grim.

He dared not hold back, unleashing the full extent of his swordsmanship in a desperate gamble.

What he didn’t know was that these two had trained together for months, developing a seamless rapport that few could match. One wielded a sword and the other a blade; their combined efforts were both robust and fluid, countering his every move. Each clash of weapons sent shocks up his arms, leaving his hands numb and his arms aching.

Under their combined assault, Bai Yichun found himself constantly on the defensive, unable to retaliate and quickly losing ground.

Panic welled up within him. He realized his fate might be sealed today.

Refusing to accept defeat, he mustered all his strength to break through, hurling a flurry of concealed weapons in desperation.

But at that moment, Murong Jin pressed forward, undeterred by the hidden weapons. She suddenly slashed upward, aiming directly for his upper torso.

Bai Yichun was horrified and hastily raised his blade to block. But pain seared through him, and he looked down to see a curved blade embedded in his abdomen.

“You…” He stared at Pear Blossom in terror, his eyes wide.

Pear Blossom gazed at him coldly. “When you struck me that day, did you ever think I’d one day plunge a blade into your stomach?”

Bai Yichun gritted his teeth, blood spilling from his mouth. “You… cunning… wench… where is the princess?”

Pear Blossom sneered. “Now you realize the princess isn’t here? Too late. But I should thank you. Without you, the Baihu Villa, this entrenched menace in Yinzhuo, might never have been uprooted. You’ve done something good for once!”

Bai Yichun, still gritting his teeth, glared at her and spat, “The… princess… where is she?”

Murong Jin interjected, “After you wiped out the bandits, Bai Choushen fled. Naturally, he would take the princess with him. Soon, your people will learn that Bai Choushen, the leader of Baihu Villa, has abducted the princess and is fleeing east to join the rebel Zhang Xiaoshi.”

“You—” Bai Yichun could no longer contain his rage. Blood gushed from his mouth as he collapsed to the ground.

Just then, a gust of wind swept through. Before the two could react, Murong Qingshan’s towering figure appeared before them.

Murong Jin urgently called out, “Uncle!”

Killing an imperial guard was a grave crime. Though Murong Qingshan had never explicitly chosen a side, he was still a magistrate’s officer.

Behind them, the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder, accompanied by a young voice shouting from afar, “Assistant Murong, have you seen Lord Bai?”

Murong Qingshan’s face darkened like a storm cloud. He glared at the two and barked, “Leave now!”

Hearing this, Pear Blossom and Murong Jin dared not linger. They turned and fled into the dense forest.

Murong Qingshan looked down at Bai Yichun, whose eyes still seemed to move. With a swift slash, the blade ended Bai Yichun’s life for good.