Chapter 121: Protect 

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. And check out other stories too. 

Within the borders of Yuzhou, on the official road, a long line of carriages moved in a grand and mighty procession.

On the leading carriage that opened the way, the flag of the Kingdom of Qi's envoy delegation was flying.

Relying on just this one flag alone, this convoy had made its way unimpeded from the capital to Yuzhou. If they continued onward, they could even swagger right through the battlefield and return to their homeland.

Among the people accompanying the convoy, there were not only the Kingdom of Qi’s soldiers, but also some guards dressed in the distinctive attire of Nanjiang.

At this moment, atop the largest carriage in the middle of the convoy, two men were seated facing each other, sipping wine and chatting at ease.

One of the men wore intricate silver ornaments. When he raised his cup in a toast, the silver rings on his body clinked and jingled along with his movement.

“This time we truly have Brother Wei to thank. You fiercely crushed Great Chang’s arrogance and helped us win back some dignity... Once I return to court and report to His Majesty, we will surely prepare generous gifts to visit your country and offer our thanks!”

“Lord Gu, you are too polite. We are neighboring states—helping one another is only natural. There is no need for those worldly gifts. However, I do indeed have one matter to ask of you. I need you to deliver a message to your ruler on my behalf...”

Seated opposite him was Wei Xianren, the envoy leading the Kingdom of Qi’s delegation on this trip. He smiled leisurely and drank the cup of wine in his hand. Seeing that the Nanjiang envoy did not refuse, he continued speaking:

“I heard that the Nanjiang imperial family commands an army made up of Gu Masters*, undefeated wherever they go. Back then, it was by relying on them that you seized three cities from Great Chang. I, Wei, though unworthy, wish to seek your country’s support on behalf of my court—to borrow that army of Gu Masters to fight against Great Chang together. Once the deed is done, we will help your country reclaim the cities you lost. What do you think?”

*蛊师 (gǔ shī) -gǔ is a legendary venomous insect. Gu masters (gǔ shī) were practitioners of ancient Chinese sorcery, often associated with manipulating poisons, insects, and supernatural forces. They were feared for their ability to cast curses and influence fate.

“This…”

Nanjiang’s Gu poison was famed throughout the land. In the past, it was through this that they defeated many with few and won battle after battle for Nanjiang.

If it had been back then, such a proposal would have required no consideration. The Nanjiang envoy could have agreed on the spot.

But the present was not like the past. Even now, when that envoy recalled the scene of someone wreaking havoc during the Gu Master assessment in Nanjiang’s imperial capital, he still felt lingering fear.

“Your Excellency may not know... it is not that we are unwilling to lend out the Gu Master army… but back then, someone caused a great disturbance during our Nanjiang Gu Master assessment conference. This person possessed highly advanced poison arts and ruthless methods. In just one night, she caused all the mother and child Gu painstakingly cultivated by nearly a thousand Gu Masters to die completely… That day, she even threatened that if our court dared to deploy the Gu Master army again to invade Great Chang and cross the border, then next time, it would not be just the Gu that die…”

Nanjiang Gu Masters depended on the mother and child Gu in their hands for their livelihood and survival. If the Gu died, the Gu Masters themselves would suffer backlash—if not death, then injury.

Wei Xianren did not believe it. He simply thought this was an excuse from the Nanjiang envoy and feigned surprise to test him: “What? There was such a thing? How have we never heard of it?”

“Otherwise, what did Your Excellency think? If not for our Gu Master army being unable to act, how could Great Chang have taken back those three cities?”

The Nanjiang envoy spoke with a bitter smile. “Luckily, those Gu Masters have mostly recovered from their injuries now. Otherwise, if not for that, this kind of disgraceful matter—how would we dare let Your Excellency know?”

Hearing this, Wei Xianren could not help but take it seriously. With suspicion, he asked, “A single person could escape safely from your Nanjiang? Lord Gu, do not jest with me.”

“Your Excellency may not know, that person had many powerful fighters at her side, each one at grandmaster level. Even our imperial palace’s elite guards were no match…”

Recalling the bloody scenes when those few plagues of misfortune wreaked havoc in Nanjiang, the Nanjiang envoy still felt fear.

He did not want to say more and only sighed, “Fortunately, later our emperor personally came forward to negotiate peace with them and formed an alliance. Unless others invade lands that rightfully belong to our dynasty, we will never again send the Gu Master army to the battlefield. Only then were those few plagues sent away…”

Seeing his expression, Wei Xianren only half-believed it and asked again, “Who exactly is so arrogant?”

“I heard… she is from the Demonic Sect of Great Chang…”

Before the Nanjiang envoy could explain in detail, a sudden danger cut off their conversation.

An arrow pierced through the carriage wall and shot toward them at high speed. No matter how fast their reactions were, they still could not dodge the hidden arrow in time.

The arrow brushed past Wei Xianren’s ear, and when the arrowhead embedded itself in the wooden pillar of the carriage, it still had a strand of his black hair attached.

Wei Xianren instinctively touched his neck. With trembling hands, he looked at his palm. Seeing no blood, he suddenly let out a deep breath of relief, but he had already collapsed in fear, slumping to one side.

In just an instant, both envoys were drenched in cold sweat.

At the same time, outside the carriage came the cries of alarm from the guards.

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!”

The guards quickly drew their shields and blades, forming a defensive line outside the carriage. The general in charge of the envoy group's safety for the Kingdom of Qi had the surname Cen. He had not expected that someone would dare to block their path so brazenly in broad daylight.

Yet, none of the hidden ambushers showed themselves.

On the wide official road, there was only a single woman in red, riding her horse and blocking the way.

General Cen did not dare take it lightly. After ordering his men to guard Lord Wei well, he lifted his long spear and stepped forward alone to meet the enemy.

“I wonder why this young lady is blocking the road?”

Meng Chang’an lazily swept a glance at him.

The man before her had a beard that nearly covered half his face. Though his appearance looked fierce, his words were surprisingly polite. The Young Master did not act rashly either, and instead greeted this big-bearded man courteously.

“This mountain is mine, this tree I planted. If you want to pass, leave a toll!”

Hidden nearby in the shadows, Leng Shaoying, Shu Yao, and the others could not help twitching at the corners of their mouths when they heard this, sighing helplessly and holding their foreheads.

It seemed they really ought to hide all those storybooks the Young Master loved reading.

As for General Cen, he did not think much of it. Upon hearing those words, he actually let out a slight breath of relief.

A robbery?

If that was the case, then things would be much easier...

He did not wish to waste words with a mere bandit, so he directly pulled off a pouch of silver from his waist and threw it toward the Young Master.

"Please, make way, Miss."

"Just this?"

The Young Master did not open the pouch after catching it, merely weighed and played with it in her hand, tilting her head and smiling at him. "This is not even enough to stuff the gaps between my teeth. What about the rest of our brothers?"

With that, who could not tell she had come to stir up trouble on purpose?

"So you refuse a toast and insist on punishment instead!"

That General Cen no longer feigned politeness. He directly wielded his spear and charged forward.

He had thought this was merely a common bandit, surely not a match for them—veterans who had once bathed in blood on the battlefield.

However, before his spear could even reach the red-robed girl before him, it had already been snared by a whip that came flying across from the side.

It was Leng Shaoying, who had been watching for a while, that made her move.

“Young Master, your wound just got better, so rest for now. Do not move around.”

After saying that, Leng Shaoying threw her whip straight at General Cen.

At the same time, nearly a hundred Blood Flame Sect fighters hiding in the dark all came out.

In just a few moments, the place turned into a bloody fight.

The Young Master stayed quiet and did not fight. She stayed on her horse, calmly riding through the fight, heading straight to where the envoys were in the middle of the convoy.

Many weapons tried to strike her, but the Blood Flame Sect people blocked all of them.

Not even a drop of blood touched the edge of her clothes.

When the Young Master rode to where the two main envoys were, they were already forced to kneel on the ground, with blades pressed to their necks by the Blood Flame Sect fighters.

Even with a blade at his neck, the envoy from the Kingdom of Qi still refused to lower his head. He tried to look calm, raised his chin, and shouted at the Young Master on horseback.

“We are envoys of the Kingdom of Qi. I warn you not to take a path you will regret. If it is money you want, take it. Let us go now, and I will not hold this against you!”

“Not hold this against us?”

The Young Master laughed at how proud he still looked. As she got off the horse, she picked up her whip and pointed at the dead Qi soldiers around them.

She asked with a puzzled look, “Sir, can you please open your eyes and look clearly? Your men are almost all dead now. Should you not be the one crying and begging us to spare you?”

The bright red blood dyed Wei Xianren’s eyes red.

At this moment, the woman in front of him was still smiling, even while surrounded by dead bodies. In his eyes, she looked terrifying.

He fought off the chill in his body and said in a shaky voice, “Y-You people of Chang treat your guests like this? Are you not afraid that my country’s army will break through your gates?”

“You just said it yourself—guests should be treated with courtesy. But for people like you, who are nothing but thieves, should we still treat you with respect?”

The mockery in the Young Master’s words was so strong that Lord Wei could not help but start to doubt her connection with the court.

“Y-You… who exactly are you…”

If she was someone from the imperial court, then once he returned to his own country, he would report this to the world. How shameless of the Great Chang to even dare attack envoys—

“In the Jianghu, they call our sect the Demonic Sect, I am the Young Master of that sect.”

Just as she said this, the envoy from Nanjiang, who was also being held down and forced to kneel, gasped and said in fear, “It is you people again!”

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. And check out other stories too. 

Meng Chang’an did not know what he meant by “again” and did not bother with him. She looked at the envoy from Qi and asked, “I heard it was you, back in the imperial palace, who wanted to ask for our Second Princess’ hand on behalf of your emperor?”

“So what if I did? A fair lady is a proper match for a gentleman—”

Before he could finish, her whip lashed across his face, snapping his head to the side.

“With someone like him? He is not worthy.”

That cold laugh made Wei Xianren feel a chill in his bones.

After linking this ruthless and vicious Young Master of the Demonic Sect with the person the Nanjiang envoy had just spoken of—the one who used demonic insects to poison nearly a thousand Gu masters—Wei Xianren finally came to his senses. Maybe that Nanjiang envoy had not lied to him just now…

He thought about how he used to argue with scholars on the golden hall with sharp words. If it were in the past, he would have stood his ground and talked back, mocking this person and saying that their emperor offering a princess who was already married and whose country was about to fall a noble title like consort was already a great honor.

But now, the burning pain on his face, and the fear that would not leave his chest, had crushed the pride he used to hold.

Wei Xianren slowly bent down, taking the initiative to back down. “W-What do you want…”

After all, this was the Demonic Sect that even the Great Chang court could not control. Why would they care about his country at all…

Thinking of this, he could only swallow his pride and beg in a low voice, “As long as you are willing to let us go… anything can be discussed…”

The Young Master was very satisfied with how quick he was to yield. With a wave of her hand, she stopped the one-sided slaughter carried out by the sect’s masters.

This group of nearly two hundred was now reduced to less than thirty, including some of the people from Nanjiang.

“Nothing much. I just want you to pass on a message to your emperor. If he dares act blindly again and tries to marry one of our Great Chang princesses, then every time I see a Qi official, I will kill one.”

Such arrogance!

Wei Xianren silently swallowed the hatred in his heart. Seeing that this girl really foolishly let them go, he did not dare cause more trouble with her. He only pretended to be obedient and agreed, then quickly led the rest of the guards and officials to run away.

Unfortunately, they had not even run past the space between two carriages when they heard that girl speak again with a bright smile.

“But, only one person is needed to deliver a message, right?”

The group was forced to stop, their trembling legs unable to move forward.

Wei Xianren turned back angrily and shouted, “What do you mean by this?!”

The Young Master smiled without answering. She waved her hand again, and the people below her immediately understood. They threw a few knives down by the feet of the Qi officials.

“It means, whoever survives will be the one to deliver the message.”

Among those present, Wei Xianren held the highest rank.

He thought the guards would risk their lives to protect him. But before he could say anything, someone had already picked up a knife and stabbed him in the stomach.

The one who stabbed him was the colleague closest to him, also the deputy envoy who had come to assist him on this mission.

“You…”

Wei Xianren could not believe it. The first person to stab him was actually the one he trusted most.

“Brother Wei, I have old parents above and children below. I must go back and take care of them… Since it was you who brought all this trouble upon us, do not blame me for being cruel…”

When the bloodstained knife was pulled out, Wei Xianren had already fallen to the ground.

But the deputy envoy who stabbed him did not live much longer either.

He quickly became the second Qi official to be stabbed from behind.

Then came the third, the fourth...

That scene of them killing each other made the Young Master sneer with mockery.

She no longer paid any attention to the people of Qi and directly turned her head to look at the envoy from Nanjiang.

Before the Young Master could even speak, that Lord Gu had already rushed to distance himself from the people of Qi and lowered his head in surrender.

“We have nothing to do with them… I beg all of you, please show mercy. We will return to court and tell our emperor to give up on the idea of marrying your princess…”

However, this time, the Young Master did not let him off. She drew her blade and sliced through the artery in his neck.

Before he completely lost consciousness, he only heard a cold laugh beside his ear.

“Too late. Who told you people to go too far? You came once back then, and now you come again.”

“Just this one slash is not enough to pay for the suffering our Third Princess had to endure because of you.”

Not a single person from Nanjiang was spared. All of them fell into a pool of blood.

As for the people of Qi, only General Cen had not taken part in that bloody chaos of turning on one another. No matter how he tried to stop them, it was useless. He could only stand frozen, watching his fellow countrymen lose their minds and turn their blades on one another.

So, the Young Master left that sole messenger's life to him.

Before leaving, she casually fired a flaming arrow, setting alight the Qi flag they had used to clear the path.

The blazing fire devoured the large “Qi” character.

The Young Master walked through the firelight toward where Shu Yao and Shen Lingyun were standing.

Shu Yao no longer trembled at the sight of flames like she had on the night of the Lantern Festival. She only stared blankly at the ground full of corpses.

“The fire from now on will only burn them. So, you do not need to be afraid anymore.”

Meng Chang’an raised her hand and placed it on Shu Yao’s shoulder, speaking with solemn intent, “If this is still not enough to vent your anger, I will go burn another fire in Nanjiang for you!”

Shu Yao came back to her senses in a daze, and her eyes shimmered with a thin layer of tears.

“You…”

Before Shu Yao could finish her sentence, the Young Master quickly cut in to comfort her, “Do not be polite with me! If your imperial sister were here, she would definitely do the same! I am only doing what she would have wanted to do!”

Shu Yao: “…”

“I just wanted to say, your hand is covered in blood, and you have dirtied the new clothes Lingyun made for me!”

Meng Chang’an: “…”

This rotten little sister!

The Young Master glared at Shu Yao angrily, about to turn and leave, but then saw Shen Lingyun standing beside Shu Yao pull on her sleeve.

Since waking up, her childhood friend had not spoken to her for a long time. Now, unexpectedly, she spoke to her and handed her a handkerchief, even showing a faint smile for the first time.

“Wipe it off.”

The Young Master was surprised and took the handkerchief quietly. Then she heard Shen Lingyun say again,

“Thank you.”

What the Young Master wanted to do was also something she had thought about for a long time but could not bring herself to do.

After hearing the meaning behind her words, Meng Chang'an felt a bit embarrassed.

She awkwardly said “Mm” to accept the thanks. After taking the handkerchief and wiping her hands, she looked at Shu Yao.

“I am going to find your imperial sister. Do you want to come?”

Shu Yao replied excitedly, “Yes!”

Then she took Shen Lingyun’s hand.

“I will not return to the capital. So, does that mean... you can forgive me now?”

Shen Lingyun sighed and glared at her. “You fool...”

But their hands, tightly held, never let go.

Seeing the gentle smile in Shen Lingyun’s eyes, the Young Master also smiled with relief.

Mm, too bad the Princess is not here, or she would surely be happy for her little sister.