"Changle."
"Hmm?" Zhu Changle turned her head.
Zhu Changning wanted to say something about what happened earlier, but the words caught in his throat. Instead, he asked, "Tonight, will they..."
"Yes." Zhu Changle cut off her second brother's words. "They no longer distinguish between day and night. Waves of men arrive and come for our lives. It's been days now, haven't you gotten used to it yet, second brother?"
Zhu Changning looked towards the tightly closed door. "Your sister-in-law is already frightened. If they come again..."
"I can't stop them from coming. I can only prevent them from getting close," Zhu Changle replied.
"That's not what I meant." Zhu Changning turned back with a wry smile. "It's fine, don't worry about it. Go on with your tasks."
Zhu Changle walked closer and hugged her second brother, patting him reassuringly like an elder. "Don't be afraid, it's alright."
Having been protected by his little sister all along the way, Zhu Changning felt touched hearing these words without giving it much thought. By the time he realized something was off, the girl had already run off out of sight. He couldn't help but feel both amused and exasperated, yet strangely, his heart felt more at ease than before.
Food was sent in, water was sent in, and what came out were basins full of bloody water.
Zhu Changle lay on the rooftop, basking in the moonlight. For the first time, she cursed her excellent hearing. Even though the cries of pain were muffled to conserve energy, she could still hear each agonizing groan clearly. She shuddered, thinking it sounded terribly painful. She decided then and there that she would never go through childbirth.
"Miss, we found the horse. It was a needle."
Zhu Changle raised her head. "A needle?"
"Yes."
The needle, about an inch long, gleamed silver. Zhu Changle held it up to the bright lamplight for a closer look, unsurprised to find no trace of evidence left behind.
"Keep it safe. We'll take it to the Exquisite Pavilion later to inquire about it."
"Understood." Aunt Feng carefully put away the needle, angry that someone had managed to pull off such a trick right under her nose.
"It's not your fault," Zhu Changle consoled. "If they came at you head-on all at once, they wouldn't last a few strikes from you. But they scattered and used underhanded methods. You can't fight off four hands with just two fists." She sighed, "That's why when Master asked me what I wanted to learn, I said swordsmanship without hesitation. It's both impressive and has a wide attack range. Right now, my sword energy is still a bit weak, but once my skills deepen, I'll be able to defeat enemies without even moving from my spot."
"You're getting ahead of yourself, Miss."
"Sooner or later, it makes no difference. I'll definitely be able to do it."
Aunt Feng had no rebuttal to this. The young miss always followed through on her words. If she couldn't do something, she never claimed she could.
"Dark night, high winds, perfect for killing," Zhu Changle sat up. "But tonight the moon is bright, and this young lady is about to have her monthly visitor. I'm not in the mood for killing."
Her words were answered by black-clad figures converging from all directions. After a quick count, she smiled. "What a grand setup. Father must be worth a lot!"
"You take the high ground, I'll take the low."
"Understood."
Zhu Changle leapt down. "Father, all of you go back inside. Don't come out."
Zhu Maonian's hands clenched into fists behind his back. "Are there many?"
"Quite a few," Zhu Changle stretched lazily. "I'm not afraid of facing them head-on, but I worry they'll use dirty tricks, just like earlier today."
"Changle." Lady Zhang came out of Madam Xu's room, looking at her daughter with unspoken concern written all over her face.
"Don't worry, Mother." Zhu Changle raised her sword with a flourish. "This is the life I'm most familiar with, much more than being a pampered young lady."
Without giving them more time to speak, Aunt Feng had already engaged the enemy. Lady Zhang quickly closed the door, not wanting to distract her daughter. She leaned against it for a moment before returning to the bedside. Looking at her daughter-in-law, whose face was contorted with pain, she suddenly felt overwhelmed with grief and began to weep. Inside, her daughter-in-law was fighting for her life in childbirth, while outside, her daughter was risking her life to protect the whole family. Just a few days ago, they were living comfortably in the capital, her husband a high-ranking official. How, in just a matter of days, had they come to a point where even their lives were in jeopardy? It's not as if enemy troops had invaded the capital! Those people, those responsible for this, would surely be cursed for generations to come!
In the courtyard, Zhu Changle stood with her sword at the ready, embodying the spirit of "one man guarding a pass, ten thousand unable to break through." Her demeanor was no longer that of the spoiled girl who whined and acted coy in front of her family. Now she wore a cold smile, showing no mercy.
The Tidal Sword technique used softness to overcome hardness. It appeared weak and ineffective, but like water, it could penetrate any defense. Once caught in its sword moves, there was no escape. It took lives with elegance. The Zhu family members watching through the cracks couldn't fully appreciate its power, but seeing Changle appear to handle the situation with ease eased their worries somewhat.
Aunt Feng, however, knew the reality was different. The enemies' strength was far beyond what they had faced before. Not only had they formed a formation, but it was a formation within a formation. With so many to protect behind them, the enemies only needed to feint an attack towards the rooms to tie up Aunt Feng's movements. If she was so constrained, the young miss would be even more restricted, unable to fight freely.
"Ugh!" Zhu Changle flew backwards, but as the enemy pursued, she suddenly changed direction and rushed forward. The attacker, not expecting her to counterattack after being wounded, couldn't dodge in time and was run through by her sword.
Seeing Zhu Changle injured, the black-clad attackers intensified their assault, each strike aimed to kill.
Zhu Changle laughed heartily, "If you think you can take advantage of my weakness to end my life, you'd better check what kind of weakness it is first. Take this!"
"You do have a condition—it's called 'can't-live-without-bragging disease'."
"Dingding!" Zhu Changle looked up at the figure standing on the roof with hands on hips, grinning as she mock-scolded, "That's clearly your condition. How did it become mine?"
The appearance of an ally made the black-clad attackers increase their ferocity. Dingding squatted down, resting his chin on his hands. "Say something nice."
Zhu Changle chuckled, using her toes to propel herself onto the roof and hide behind Dingding, sticking to him like a shadow. Naturally, the black-clad men now targeted Dingding as well.
"Zhu Changle, have you no shame?" Dingding swung his dog-beating stick, aiming for the attackers' backsides one by one.
Zhu Changle caught her breath, now the one with hands on hips. "Other people's dog-beating sticks aim for the legs, but yours specifically targets butts. Why don't you ask them to judge who's more shameless, you or me? You think you got the nickname 'Butt' for nothing?"
"Wasn't it thanks to you that I got this name?" Dingding swung his stick backwards, catching Zhu Changle off guard and landing a hit on her bottom. She jumped away, clutching her rear, momentarily forgetting about the enemies. Her Tidal Sword changed direction, heading straight for Dingding.
"How dare you take advantage of this young lady? Take my sword!"
"Bring it on, I'm not afraid of you!"
"You're already a grandson, your grandfather's grandson. Hurry up and call me grandpa."
Lady Zhang, listening from inside, gritted her teeth. What kind of talk was this? It was... it was improper!
The black-clad men, suddenly finding themselves without opponents, looked at each other in confusion. Should they wait for these two to settle their dispute first?
The two who were fighting more enthusiastically suddenly turned their attention back to the enemy. The dog-beating stick attacked the lower body while the Tidal Sword targeted vital points above. Their coordination was impeccable. In one move, they broke through the outer formation of their opponents. Then they switched, with the Tidal Sword attacking low and the dog-beating stick striking high, shattering the inner formation.
"How about that? Your grandpa has made quite some progress these past two years."
"That's right, your grandpa has indeed made great progress these two years." Zhu Changle wasn't one to be outdone, whether in words or actions. She kicked Dingding to the left while she went right, dividing to conquer.
Dingding, though fuming, had to focus on the task at hand. After ten years of friendship, he could tell his companion was in a foul mood.
