Xie Yutang and Lu Chengxiao had already ridden after her, along with several Imperial Guards.

But they hadn’t returned yet, and no one knew what was happening.

Xie Yu Hua was still shaken, anxious and terrified that something might happen. She was on the verge of tears, surrounded by acquaintances from various noble families, who were trying to comfort her.

“Fourth Miss Xie, don’t worry, many Imperial Guards have gone after her. Accidents happen during hunts every year. The Imperial Guards are skilled and excellent horsemen, they will surely bring Third Miss Xie back safely.”

“Yes, yes, nothing will happen. Fourth Miss Xie, don’t be too nervous. Let’s wait here, they’ll be back soon.”

Xie Yu Hua, having a quick temper, looked around and said loudly, “I don’t know who shot the arrow, so careless to aim in this direction! My third sister is precious to our parents, if they knew, they would be so worried and angry!”

The ladies around her shook their heads, exchanging worried glances.

Earlier, there were many people, everyone chatting and laughing, no one knew who shot the arrow. When the horse bolted, everyone was panicked, several young men skilled in archery and riding chased after them, the ladies were shaken, so no one paid attention to where the arrow came from.

No one saw, and no one admitted it, making it an unsolved mystery.

On the other side of the woods, many people were chasing a frightened horse.  The woods were not suitable for riding, obstacles everywhere, the wild environment making rescue extremely difficult.

Just as everyone was anxious, they saw the person on the horse tightly holding the reins, and as they passed under a tree, quickly grabbed a hanging branch, using its momentum to swing off the horse’s back.

Yu Ning held the branch tightly, swinging in the air twice. She steadied herself, and when the branch swung her forward again, she let go, rolling on the ground to safely stop.

The pursuing crowd stopped behind her and dismounted to rush over.

Only Xie Yutang and Xie Yuke were Xie family members and related to Yu Ning by blood.  They were the first to rush over and help Yu Ning up.

Although Lu Chengxiao also wanted to help Yu Ning up, there were many people present, including many noble youths and Imperial Guards, so he could only suppress his worry, asking Yu Ning if she was hurt.

“I’m fine.” Yu Ning raised her hand, looking at the scrapes on her palms, and smiled indifferently, “This is pretty good, it was a close call.”

“Let’s go back, Third Sister, ride my horse, Yuke and I will share one.  Your hand is quite badly scraped, you need to see a doctor quickly.” Xie Yutang pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and led his horse over.

“Sixth Brother, you saw Third Sister’s injured hand, how can she ride a horse?” Xie Yuke pointed at Yu Ning’s injury, helpless.

“Right, right, I was careless.” Xie Yutang was flustered with worry and forgot that riding a horse requires holding the reins.

Yu Ning smiled and shrugged, “It’s really not that painful. You forgot what I said, I often ran around in the mountains as a child, this little injury is nothing, it’s just a surface scrape, it will heal in a couple of days, it’s nothing serious.”

“Let’s walk back slowly then.” Lu Chengxiao led his horse over, “Third Miss Xie, sit on the horse, I’ll lead the reins back.”

Yu Ning thought for a moment and nodded at Lu Chengxiao.

Her mother had said that Lu Chengxiao’s family was good, and he was a good person.  After spending these few days with him, she felt that he would make a good husband. Since Lu Chengxiao was so attentive and caring, she didn’t refuse.

It was a false alarm, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and slowly walked back.

After the shock subsided, they began to marvel at Yu Ning’s martial arts skills.

“Third Miss Xie’s escape from the horse was truly amazing, eye-opening.” A noble youth who had participated in the rescue exclaimed.

“Yes, Third Sister, I didn’t know you were so skilled, I’m ashamed.”

Even Xie Yutang, her own brother, didn’t know. When he saw Yu Ning leap from the horse, his heart had leaped into his throat, he was terrified.

But in a moment, Yu Ning landed safely.

His heart had been a rollercoaster, a mix of fright and surprise. Who would have thought that his Third Sister, who appeared bright, delicate, and weak, was so skilled in martial arts, so agile and nimble, putting most of the noble youths present to shame.

“When I was young, I was adopted by a bodyguard, so I learned martial arts for several years. It’s just a little skill, nothing to mention.” Yu Ning lied calmly.

Actually, the person who adopted her was the leader of the Cloud Mist Mountain bandits. Her adoptive father’s surname was Yu, and he was not a kind bandit leader.

Her adoptive father was cold to outsiders, showing no kindness, but he was good to his own people.

During the war on the border, her adoptive father led the villagers to become bandits, robbing wealthy merchants passing through Cloud Mist Mountain.

The war raged, the border was chaotic, protecting the people in the village was already difficult. Yu Ning couldn’t judge whether her adoptive father’s actions were good or bad. He had done bad things, but he also had kindness. Now the village was disbanded, and the past was gone.

Yu Ning didn’t want to mention these past events, not even to her relatives in the Yongning Hou Mansion. Being a bandit wasn’t something glorious, she wouldn’t bring it up to cause trouble for herself.

Yu Ning humbly responded to the young men’s praise.  The pampered young masters in the capital rarely had such skills, so their surprise was understandable.

Lu Chengxiao had been to battle and wasn’t surprised by such skills, but if the person possessing them was Yu Ning, it was a great surprise.

“Such skills must have been trained from a young age. Third Miss Xie truly amazes me, I’ve underestimated you.” Lu Chengxiao’s voice was low, only Yu Ning beside him could hear.