Chapter 57: The Princess' Assassination
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The Princess slept comfortably lying in the Young Master's arms, but the Young Master still could not fall asleep.
Originally, the Young Master's frustration from Bai Shuangyan's words gradually faded after seeing the Princess. However, with a beautiful person in her embrace, and the one she had missed for many days, no matter how hard she tried to act calm, her emotions were hard to settle.
While the Princess slept soundly, she stayed close to the Princess' hair, quietly inhaling the fragrance on the Princess' body, smiling as she gazed at the faint light that seeped through the window.
It was storming outside and the noise continued until dawn.
At the fifth watch, the rooster crowed.
It was supposed to be the time when the sky gradually brightened, but due to the heavy rain, the dark clouds still had not dispersed, making the sky even gloomier and more overcast, with no sign of daybreak at all.
At this hour, people often felt the most exhausted.
As dawn approached, the night guards who had patrolled all night without encountering any incidents inevitably relaxed their vigilance, taking turns leaning against the corridor to avoid the rain and dozing off.
Having stayed awake all night, Young Master Meng ultimately could not resist her fatigue and tiredly closed her eyes.
Unfortunately, there was no chance for the Young Master to fall into a deep sleep, as the sudden noise outside had already startled her awake.
"Assassin! There is an assassin!"
When Meng Chang'an woke up in shock, the Princess, who was lying in her arms, also opened her eyes.
The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the faint light filtering through the window was only slightly brighter than the night. The Young Master could not see the Princess' expression clearly, so she softly comforted her, "I will go out and take a look first."
Just as she finished speaking, another cry of alarm sounded outside.
"Quick! Help the Master quickly!"
Hearing this, Meng Chang'an's heart tightened. She immediately threw off the blanket, leaped over the Princess, and jumped out of bed.
Seeing her so anxious for others, Li Qiubai could not help but feel a bit sour. While the Young Master hurriedly put on her shoes, the Princess quickly sat up as well, picked up the neatly folded outer robe beside the bed, and temporarily put away her slight jealousy towards He Changping. She put on her robe as she spoke, "Do not rush. I will go with you to take a look."
After the sound of the door breaking next door, the sounds of fighting and screams outside became increasingly clearer.
The noise also startled Yuechu, who was sleeping outside. After quickly putting on her outer garment, she realized that the Princess and the Young Master had already walked hand in hand to the doorway.
Noticing their tightly clasped hands, Yuechu felt deeply comforted. But due to the commotion outside, she did not dare to get distracted. She quickly picked up the sword nearby for self-defense and rushed to catch up with the two, who had already dashed out the door.
The battle on the corridor was fierce. Several guards who had been patrolling the night were now lying dead in the curtain of rain, their corpses in horrifying conditions.
The bright red blood mixed with the rainwater, flowing towards the lower ground. The thick blood, with just one glance, sent a chill down one's spine.
Upon seeing this, Yuechu could not help but shiver. She instinctively turned around to glance at the Princess, only to see that the Young Master had already freed one hand to cover the Princess' eyes.
"The scene is a bit unsightly. Do not... be too afraid."
The Princess had been treated as if she were a delicate girl who had never witnessed such a sight by the Young Master several times before. She did not explain and only held a faint trace of sweetness, obediently leaning into the Young Master's embrace. She gently squeezed the Young Master's wrist and responded with a light smile, "It is alright."
Only then did the Young Master feel reassured and released the Princess, turning around to focus her gaze on the battle ahead.
He Changping, who was surrounded and attacked by several masked men in black, was only wearing his inner clothes. He had not even put on his outer robe before being forced to fight his way out from inside the house to the outside.
Under the rain curtain, He Changping's inner clothes were already soaked through. Although his disheveled appearance seemed rather wretched, his composed expression showed remarkable calmness.
The open space outside provided much more room to maneuver compared to indoors. Unlike when he could not fully utilize his skills inside the house, He Changping, the young swordsman known for his reputation, could now fully display his skills.
The Lightning Swan Sword in his hand swept out waves of sword energy, pushing back the enemies surrounding him one after another.
Even though he fought alone against many, without the aid of the fallen guards, he still handled it with ease.
Seeing this, the Young Master Meng finally felt slightly reassured and began to scrutinize the attackers closely.
The weapons these people wielded varied greatly, and their fighting styles bore no similarities. Although they attacked together, there was no coordination or mutual understanding in their assault.
Their chaotic attack allowed He Changping to occasionally find opportunities to strike at the weaker people beside him.
Such reckless killing did not seem like something a formal assassin group would do; it looked more like a fight among ordinary Jianghu people. The moves were clever, but they lacked the deadly skills for killing.
With this in mind, Meng Chang'an had no difficulty guessing the identities of those people.
Thinking of this, Meng Chang'an could not help but let out a cold laugh.
She did not expect that just a thousand taels of gold could push these people to fight desperately for their lives.
After a while, after that shout, the guards who had been sleeping began to rush out of the door, gathering in the corridors outside.
Before the fighting behind the rain curtain ended, Yu Jin had already rushed to Li Qiubai's side.
“Your Highness!”
Not seeing any injuries on Li Qiubai, Yu Jin withdrew his unspoken concern and asked, “How does Your Highness want to deal with those people?”
While Meng Chang'an focused intently on her twin brother’s situation, occasionally sending hidden weapons to help her brother escape, the Princess, standing behind the Young Master, confirmed that she could not see his expression and then turned to glance at Yu Jin, silently mouthing the word.
Kill!
After following the Princess for many years, Yu Jin noticed the coldness in her eyes and recognized her lips moving. He understood immediately.
He said no more, leaving a few guards beside the Princess, and immediately led his men into the fray.
“Kill!”
With Yu Jin's call, the others quickly drew their knives and joined the fight to help He Changping.
Most of the guards had military backgrounds and were well-trained. With their help, the situation shifted a bit, and He Changping could take a breath.
Unfortunately, it was not just them. As more guards came to help He Changping, those hiding in the shadows also rushed into the fray.
Meanwhile, a signal arrow shot up from somewhere, creating a sharp sound in the air.
Meng Chang'an wanted to go help her brother, but after seeing those black-clad figures jumping down from the rooftops, she could not guess how many forces were hidden in the dark.
After hesitating for a moment, the Young Master suppressed the urge to help and quietly stood in front of the Princess.
In that moment, the battle under the rain curtain grew even more intense.
The bodies that fell one after another made the blood flowing on the ground even thicker.
Meng Chang'an worried that the brutal scene would scare the Princess. Just as she was about to lead the Princess away, the Princess suddenly tugged at her sleeve.
"If you are worried, just go help your brother. You do not have to worry about me."
The Princess spoke calmly. Even standing in front of such a horrifying scene of slaughter, she remained composed and unafraid.
Meng Chang'an turned to look at the Princess. Just as she furrowed her brows, thinking about how to refuse, the Princess continued, "After all, these people are here for your brother. I have people protecting me, so I am fine. You can go without worry."
As she said this, the Princess still wore a gentle smile.
The Princess was so understanding that Young Master Meng did not know whether to be happy or worried.
Even though she understood that those people only sought her elder brother's head, in the face of such a violent scene, with most of the guards joining the battle, no matter how much Meng Chang'an worried about her elder brother, she could not feel at ease leaving the Princess behind.
Before the Young Master could refuse to speak, sudden cold arrows shot through the throats of the three guards protecting the Princess.
All three were shot through the throat and died on the spot.
Meng Chang'an's heart tightened, and she immediately protected the Princess and retreated.
In just a moment, several black-clad figures had descended from the eaves where they had been standing.
The cold wind, carrying rain, rushed in through the broken hole in the eaves, accompanied by a more intense killing intent.
As the two black-clad figures broke in from above, they did not hesitate and directly attacked in the direction of Li Qiubai with their knives.
That strong killing intent was frightening.
The remaining four guards standing on either side of the Princess quickly moved to meet them.
However, in just a few exchanges, even the guards with military backgrounds could not withstand the fierce assault of the two.
“Assassins!”
They were assassins coming for the Princess.
Watching the two people wield their knives with such viciousness and their seamless cooperation, Meng Chang'an did not hesitate. She immediately drew her sword and moved forward to engage them in combat, not giving them the chance to approach the Princess.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
He Changping, who was surrounded outside, had no time to care for his sister and the Princess. Yu Jin, who had already joined the battle, was entangled by even more black-clad figures, unable to escape. For a moment, only a few people remained on the eaves to protect the Princess, making the situation extremely perilous.
Another cold arrow shot through the heart of the surviving guard on the corridor, giving the two assassins an added advantage.
As a result, Meng Chang'an's heart sank even further. With a slight flip of her hand, she proactively swung her sword to strike at the two, taking the initiative.
The assassins were vicious, but Young Master Meng was even more ruthless.
“Quickly protect your Mistress and get inside to hide. Leave these two to me.”
Upon hearing this, the remaining three guards in the corridor did not hesitate to be polite to Meng Chang'an. They immediately withdrew and took the Princess into the house to retreat for the time being.
After all, the archery skills from the shadows were deadly, with every arrow hitting its mark, posing a significant threat to them.
Unfortunately, the guards did not anticipate that as they hurriedly brought the Princess and Yuechu into the house, what awaited them was the chilling flash of blades.
Inside the house, there were still assassins hiding—quite a few of them—who seemed to have been waiting for a long time.
As Li Qiubai expected, these assassins hiding in the shadows were not after He Changping. Instead, they waited for her and her skilled companions to be trapped before revealing themselves to attack.
It seemed this group of assassins would not let her go easily today.
Li Qiubai furrowed her brow and tightened her grip on her sword.
After witnessing the brutality of these true assassins, Yuechu knew her meager skills were no match. She quickly pulled the Princess to run outside again while shouting, “Miss Meng!”
At Yuechu's shout, Meng Chang'an saw the few knife-wielding assassins bursting out of the door, along with the Princess, who was dodging clumsily.
Seeing the knife about to fall on the Princess' head, Meng Chang'an's heart sank.
Author’s Note:
Seeing so many people compliment my new cover made me feel relieved! The two characters on the new cover are the Princess and the Young Master, drawn by a commissioned artist. If you want the original images, you can check my Weibo! @一只本命年最旺的仔 (a child who is lucky in his zodiac year)
(I haven't written martial arts scenes in a long time, so I felt a bit rusty. I deleted and revised it several times but still wasn't satisfied, which is why I was silent for a few days. Should I add an extra update tomorrow as an apology? How many extra updates do you want me to add?)
