Clang!
Sparks flew as Xie Lanzhou's black sword collided with the leader's heavy blade.
The assassin leader's eyes widened in disbelief. He had put his full strength into that strike—enough to split a boulder—yet this sickly Prince blocked it with one hand, his expression as calm as a still lake.
"You... you are not sick!" the leader stammered, his arms trembling from the impact.
"I never said I was," Xie Lanzhou smiled, his eyes curving into crescents. "I only said I like to cough."
With a flick of his wrist, Xie Lanzhou deflected the heavy blade. His movement was ghostly, sliding past the assassin's defense like smoke.
Slash.
A thin red line appeared on the leader's throat. He gargled, clutching his neck, and collapsed.
"Boss is down! Attack together!" the remaining assassins shouted, rushing forward like a pack of wolves.
"Wanyin, six o'clock!" Xie Lanzhou called out, not looking back as he engaged three enemies at once.
Ji Wanyin didn't need the warning. She had already sensed the movement behind her.
She didn't use a sword. She didn't have the brute strength to parry steel. Instead, she danced.
Her figure swayed like a willow branch in the wind, narrowly dodging a blade that aimed for her head. As she spun, her sleeves fluttered, releasing a cloud of fine, glittering pink powder.
"Poison!" one assassin yelled, covering his nose.
"Too late," Ji Wanyin whispered.
The powder was 'Drunken Petal Dust'. It wasn't lethal instantly, but it numbed the nerves.
The assassins who inhaled it stumbled, their movements slowing down as if they were moving through water.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Three silver needles from Ji Wanyin's ring found their marks—right between their eyebrows.
"Good timing," Xie Lanzhou praised, cutting down the last standing enemy with a fluid backhand strike. He flicked his sword, sending droplets of blood splattering onto the fallen autumn leaves.
In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the dozen elite assassins were all dead.
The forest returned to silence, save for the rustling of leaves and the heavy scent of blood.
Xie Lanzhou sheathed his sword. He walked over to the corpse of the leader and used his foot to flip the body over. He crouched down, searching the body until he found a token made of dark metal.
He tossed it to Ji Wanyin.
"Cold Iron Token," Ji Wanyin caught it. She inspected the intricate carving of a hawk on the back. "This is the private army of the Third Prince. He didn't even bother to hire outsiders. He is arrogant."
"He thought killing a cripple and a woman wouldn't require hiding his tracks," Xie Lanzhou sneered. "This arrogance will be his downfall."
Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed through the forest again, closer this time.
"Ahhhhh! My face! My face!!"
"Help! Someone help!!"
Xie Lanzhou and Ji Wanyin exchanged a look.
"That voice..." Xie Lanzhou tilted his head. "It sounds like a pig being slaughtered."
"It's my sister," Ji Wanyin corrected calmly. "Shall we go take a look? We need an alibi for where we were while these assassins were attacking us. 'Running away from bees' sounds like a plausible excuse."
"Lead the way, wife."
A few miles East.
The scene was chaotic.
Ji Qingqing was no longer the graceful beauty who had entered the forest. Her hair was a bird's nest, her pink riding outfit was torn by branches, and she was running frantically, flailing her arms.
Behind her, a dark cloud of angry wild bees—larger than thumbs—was pursuing her relentlessly.
"Your Highness! Help me!" she screamed, running towards the Third Prince, Xie Yun, who was nearby hunting a deer.
Xie Yun turned around and his face paled. "Don't come over here! You idiot!"
But Ji Qingqing was panic-stricken. Seeing her beloved Prince, she instinctively ran to him for protection.
The bees, attracted by the powder on Ji Qingqing's clothes but agitated by the horse's movement, split their forces. Half of them continued to sting Ji Qingqing, while the other half swarmed Xie Yun and his guards.
"Damn it!" Xie Yun cursed, swinging his bow to swat the insects. "Guards! Fire! Burn them!"
But arrows were useless against a swarm.
One bee managed to sting Xie Yun right on his noble nose.
"Argh!" The Third Prince roared in pain and fell off his horse.
In the midst of this chaos, two figures rode slowly out of the bushes.
Xie Lanzhou had put his white fur cloak back on. He looked pale and terrified (acting). Ji Wanyin looked disheveled, as if she had been fleeing for her life.
"Oh heavens!" Ji Wanyin covered her mouth in mock horror. "Sister! Third Prince! What is happening?"
Xie Yun, whose nose was already swelling up like a red tomato, glared at them with one eye swollen shut. "You... where have you been?!"
"We... cough... we heard buzzing and got scared, so we ran the other way," Xie Lanzhou said breathlessly, clutching his chest. "Are you alright, Third Brother? Your face looks... very swollen."
Ji Qingqing was rolling on the ground, sobbing. Her face was covered in red bumps. The beauty she prided herself on was completely ruined for at least a month.
"Save me... Sister, save me..." Ji Qingqing wailed.
Ji Wanyin looked down from her horse. Her eyes were cold, but her voice was filled with concern. "Oh dear. Someone, quickly bring water and mud! Mud helps with bee stings!"
She watched as the guards frantically scooped up mud from a nearby swamp and plastered it all over the arrogant Third Prince and her sister.
Looking at the Third Prince covered in mud and pig-swill, and Ji Qingqing looking like a monster, Xie Lanzhou had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing out loud.
"Third Brother," Xie Lanzhou said with deep concern. "The hunt is dangerous indeed. Perhaps... you should go back to the camp?"
"Go back?" Xie Yun spat out some mud. "I haven't caught the White Tiger yet! I will not—"
ROAR!
A thunderous roar shook the ground, interrupting him. The birds in the forest took flight in mass panic.
A massive beast, white as snow with black stripes, slowly emerged from the dense thicket behind Xie Yun. It was huge, at least twice the size of a normal tiger. Its golden eyes were fixed on the group covered in mud and smelling of bee venom.
The White Tiger King.
It was attracted by the commotion.
Xie Yun froze. His bow was on the ground. His guards were scattered. And he was injured.
The Tiger crouched, ready to pounce on the nearest prey—Xie Yun.
"Shoot it! Shoot it!" Xie Yun screamed, scrambling backwards.
But the guards were too far.
Just as the Tiger leaped into the air, jaws wide open aiming for Xie Yun's throat...
Whiz—!
An arrow flew from behind Xie Lanzhou.
It wasn't shot by Xie Lanzhou. It was Ji Wanyin.
She held Xie Lanzhou's bow, her posture perfect, the string still vibrating.
The arrow didn't hit the tiger. Instead, it hit a beehive hanging on a branch right above the tiger's head.
The beehive fell, crashing onto the Tiger's nose.
The White Tiger, confused and suddenly attacked by angry bees, roared in annoyance and changed its target, swiping at the air and turning away from Xie Yun to run back into the forest to escape the stinging insects.
Silence descended on the clearing.
Xie Yun sat in the mud, panting, alive but utterly humiliated.
Ji Wanyin lowered the bow slowly. She looked at the Third Prince with a faint smile.
"You are welcome, Your Highness. I missed the Tiger, but... at least I saved your life."
She didn't kill the Tiger. She didn't want the glory.
She wanted Xie Yun to owe her a life debt in front of everyone. A debt that would weigh heavier than any chain.
Xie Lanzhou looked at his wife, his eyes shining with pride.
'She didn't just save him,' he thought. 'She just humiliated him so thoroughly that he will wish the tiger had eaten him.'
"Let's go, Husband," Ji Wanyin said. "It smells like mud here."
They turned their horses and rode away, leaving the Third Prince and the White Lotus sister broken, battered, and defeated in the mud.