He Zhiran stopped her actions and looked towards Mo Jiuye.
After all, the original owner was not clear about the deceits in the royal court. They still had to let Mo Jiuye determine the authenticity of this matter.
Mo Jiuye took a step forward, "You said that Prince Heng sent you to assassinate me. Do you have any evidence?"
The man in black was seeking death at this moment so he naturally did not conceal anything.
"The person who died in front of me just now was the team leader. He had Prince Heng's token."
Upon hearing this, He Zhiran flashed out of the space and searched the few black clothed men that she had just killed.
Sure enough, she found a silver token on one person with the character "Heng" clearly engraved on it.
She took the token back to the space and handed it to Mo Jiuye.
Mo Jiuye took the token and examined it before nodding towards He Zhiran.
He Zhiran immediately understood and pulled the man in black out of the space again.
Despite facing an enemy, He Zhiran was true to her word and directly ended the man's life with one strike.
Returning to the space again, she asked Mo Jiuye, "Do you also have a grudge with Prince Heng?"
Mo Jiuye smiled self-deprecatingly.
"Everyone in the royal court knows that I have had a deep friendship with Nan Qi since we were young. Naturally, the other princes see me as a thorn in their side.
Prince Heng doesn't know that a rift has grown between Nan Qi and I. It's understandable that he worries I'll return to court one day and wants to get rid of me while I'm weak."
After this explanation, He Zhiran understood.
The Mo Family's property confiscation and exile probably didn't happen without this Prince Heng's push.
"If that's the case, since Prince Heng's first assassination attempt failed, he will surely continue sending assassins. It looks like we really can't let our guard down in the future."
This was also Mo Jiuye's worry.
He alone was easy to deal with. At worst, he could perish together with those people.
But with the Mo Family's women and children, and now a woman he wanted to protect for life, Mo Jiuye didn't want to die and couldn't die.
"Right now, the best way to stop Prince Heng from taking action against me again is to spread word that Nan Qi and I have fallen out."
He Zhiran nodded.
"That is indeed a good method. Prince Heng is only concerned because of your relationship with Nan Qi. If he believes you've broken ties with Nan Qi, he'll surely lower his guard against you.
Moreover, he lost so many assassins this time. He'll surely weigh things carefully before sending people out again."
The logic was sound. But both felt some difficulty. How could they make Prince Heng believe that he had truly split from Nan Qi?
After thinking it over, neither could come up with a reasonable method.
Considering that their family still didn't know to worry for them, they decided leaving here first was more urgent.
Given Mo Jiuye's injuries preventing him from moving, He Zhiran decided to let him stay in the space temporarily while she went out alone to find a way out.
At first, Mo Jiuye didn't agree. He worried He Zhiran would encounter danger without help in the wilderness.
He Zhiran assured him that she would immediately retreat into the space if danger arose.
Reassured by the space's magic, Mo Jiuye felt somewhat more at ease.
After exhorting her to be cautious, he finally let her leave.
He Zhiran exited the space and searched the few black clothed men's bodies again, taking all of their sparse belongings before heading in the direction they had come from.
She believed there must be a way out to the outside world here, otherwise how did these black clothed men get here?
He Zhiran took out a Swiss army knife from the space to clear a path. She defended against scratches from the thorns while watching for snakes and bugs underfoot...
The time returned to dawn.
The Mo Family had almost not slept the entire night.
When Peng Wang beckoned for most of the group to continue on, Old Lady Mo was the first not to leave.
"Officer Peng, my son and daughter-in-law are still of unknown life or death. I cannot leave."
The sisters-in-law and Mo Hengyao saw this and also expressed their determination to stay and wait for Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran to return, even if it meant being whipped to death here.
Considering Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran, Officer Peng's attitude towards the Mo Family was still decent.
"I've already told the Eighth Old Zhou to go search for them and meet up with us after three days. In three days, whether they're alive or dead will surely be determined. You waiting here is of no use. It'd be better to hurry on the road."
But his words had no deterrent effect on the Mo Family's women.
Led by Old Lady Mo, the women insisted on not leaving.
Even as the guards' whips were raised to fall on them, it did not make them retreat.
Fang Chuanzhou and Xie Tianhai looked at each other before walking over to the Mo Family.
The two first respectfully saluted Officer Peng.
Fang Chuanzhou then righteously said, "Officer, the Mo Family has shown our Fang Family much benevolence on this journey. I once said I would look up to them for life. Now that this couple's life or death is unknown, we will accompany the Mo Family to wait together."
Xie Tianhai also stepped forward to declare, "Officer, our Xie Family will also share the Mo Family's fortunes."
Peng Wang had been an escort officer for many years but this was still his first time encountering something like this.
His anger was immediately provoked. He snatched the whip from Zhang Qing's hand and fiercely lashed Fang Chuanzhou and Xie Tianhai.
Seeing them punished for her family's matter, Old Lady Mo immediately ran over to stand in front of them.
The Mo Family's other women closely followed Old Lady Mo's footsteps, uniformly shielding Fang Chuanzhou and Xie Tianhai behind them.
At the same time, the Fang and Xie family members also ran over, prepared to jointly confront the officers together.
The He Family watched this scene from afar with aloof disinterest.
Peng Wang knew these prisoners were serious. Even if he ordered all the officers attack together, it likely wouldn't shake their determination to stay and wait.
Although he knew they couldn't continue on, he couldn't lose face as an officer either.
He raised his whip and fiercely lashed the Third Sister-in-Law, who was closest to him.
The Third Sister-in-Law didn't even shout in pain or have any intention of dodging. Her gaze was firm with resignation to her fate.
Seeing this, the other women rushed up to protect the Third Sister-in-Law.
Even with his anger, Peng Wang was still shocked by the Mo Family women's resignation to their deaths.
He had to admit that whether it was the Mo Family's battle-scarred men or these powerless women, they were admirable enough.
With a sigh, Peng Wang threw away the whip in his hand.
"Wait then! Three days. If they still haven't returned, even if I have to drag you, I'll have people drag you away."
"Thank you Officer Peng for your consideration. Three days is enough," Old Lady Mo solemnly saluted Peng Wang.
She was clearer than anyone that if her son and daughter-in-law were still alive, they would surely be able to catch up and meet them within three days.
If not, they were likely doomed.
For now, Old Lady Mo could only pray to heaven that they were still alive.
