In a hidden, dark little room in Nanlong Prefecture,
"This is a secret letter from the Capital City. Lord Zhang Yi was killed unexpectedly, angering His Majesty who has sent Lord Li from the Ministry of Justice to thoroughly investigate this case."
"This Lord Li is famously ruthless and uncompromising, and his background is not trivial."
"I said from the beginning not to touch Zhang Yi. Now that Zhang Yi is dead, a monster has come instead."
"Sir, you must think of something."
"Why are you all so panicky? Look at your useless selves. Don't worry, I have reliable information that Lord Li is secretly on guard this time. I have already hired assassins to rob and kill him mid-journey."
"As expected, you are wise, Sir."
"Don't get too happy too soon. I heard that Lord Li has several experts by his side, one of whom even defeated the garrison commander of the imperial palace."
"So I warn you, keep a low profile these days. Keep your men in check. If I find out you have caused more deaths, don't blame me for not showing favoritism."
"Yes, Sir."
"Alright, dismissed."
"Your subordinate will take his leave."
When there were only two people left in the room, the man still standing said, "Lord Prefect, trouble is coming. We need to prepare an escape route for ourselves."
"Don't worry. The letter from the Capital City is not the only one. At worst, he can be sacrificed."
Gong Xiaohua and the others had traveled for three or four consecutive days and were exhausted, both people and horses.
When they were two days away from Nanlong Prefecture, they stopped to rest in a mountain valley.
Suddenly, the horses grazing by the roadside began to become restless one after another, whinnying loudly.
The guards went up to hold the reins and comfort the horses.
Gong Xiaohua stood up and looked around the valley. Not far ahead, there were no birds flying in the sky, strangely quiet.
Gong Xiaohua said to Yu Wei standing beside her, "Head Yu, something is happening, and the other party is probably not friendly."
"What makes you say that?"
"Look, during previous encounters with ordinary bandits, there would always be some movement in the surrounding area regardless, but look here - not to mention no insect sounds, there is not a single bird in the sky. It shows the other party has strong murderous aura."
"You're right."
"Please ask His Lordship to get on the carriage. I will have the brothers escort the carriage slowly while staying on guard. We must leave this place quickly."
"I'll go notify His Lordship."
Gong Xiaohua came to Lord Li who was resting by the roadside. "Sir, something has come up. Please get on the carriage."
"Bandits again?"
"Possibly so, but more dangerous this time."
Lord Li's expression also became solemn as he got on the carriage without another word. Before getting in, he said, "Xiaohua, be careful."
"Don't worry Sir, leave it to us."
"All set. Everyone be vigilant and ensure His Lordship's safety. Move out."
"Yes!"
The carriage started moving slowly. This time, Yu Wei rode a horse at the very front while Gong Xiaohua was at the back of the carriage with several other guards on both sides.
After advancing about 200 meters, the carriage stopped in a gorge, where around twenty black-clothed masked men stood.
Gong Xiaohua and the others knitted their brows with grave expressions. The other party had come with lethal intentions.
"May I ask which party you belong to? We are escorts for our master traveling south on business and passed by here, so I hope you can give us some leeway." Yu Wei said.
"Our target is the man in the carriage. The rest are irrelevant. If you want your corpse kept intact, put down your weapons now." The masked man at the very front said.
"I wonder who wants to put us to death. If you fine fellows can let us go, my master is willing to offer double the reward."
"There are rules in the jianghu. Less nonsense, hand over the man."
"That would be difficult."
"Very well." After speaking, he signaled to his men behind him, "Attack, leave none alive!"
"Yes!"
With that, over a dozen pounced over. Gong Xiaohua's group engaged them in battle.
Gong Xiaohua's main task was to protect the carriage and not let the enemies get near.
The enemies' attacks were vicious, each blow meant to take a life. They were clearly well-trained jianghu killers.
Although the people they brought out this time were elites hand-picked by the Ministry of Justice, the enemies still outnumbered them by far.
The longer they fought, the more disadvantageous it would become for them. Looking further ahead, Yu Wei who was battling the boss also showed signs of falling into disadvantage.
This would not do. They had to finish this quickly. And the most direct way was to slay their leader.
But she was currently surrounded by several killers and had to protect the safety of the other guards at the same time, unable to break free for the moment.
So she no longer held back, fiercely slaying several killers around her in quick succession. She called out to the guards, "Protect His Lordship. I'm going to slay their leader."
But before she got too far, the killers noticed her formidable skills and swiftly came to surround her in a group, preventing her from escaping again.
Yu Wei at the front was seriously outmatched in skill. His body already showed multiple injuries, some of which bled nonstop, looking extremely miserable.
"I heard you brought your top expert this time, but he doesn't seem like much. This is the end." The boss killer said as he raised his sword.
Yu Wei was prepared to die when, with a crisp "dang", the sound of weapons clashing rang out.
Yu Wei opened his eyes. Two weapons were inserted to his left - one was the sword just about to stab his heart, the other was Xiaohua's short dagger.
Gong Xiaohua had thrown one of her short daggers to block the opponent's attack and saved Yu Wei's life the moment the boss killer thrusted out with his long sword.
Gong Xiaohua once again swiftly slew the killers surrounding her, only to have more come to trap her.
This time, the killers became wary of Gong Xiaohua's skills. They only surrounded her without attacking, trying to restrain her to prevent her from saving the others.
The boss killer looked at his sword knocked to the ground and sensed the numbness in his tiger's mouth.
"So you are the top expert. Tsk tsk, incredible martial skills at such young age."
"That's right, your opponent is me." Gong Xiaohua said.
"No matter, once I dispose of him, it will be your turn. None of you can escape today."
"You cannot kill me. If you don't want more of your men dead, you had better deal with me first."
"Xiaohua, protecting His Lordship is most important!"
The boss killer glanced around. The ground was covered with his own men while not one from the other side had died.
"Arrogant. Since you are so eager to die, I shall grant you your wish."
