Chapter 5

The middle-aged man seemed to ignore the arrow heading towards him, but he stared intently at the arrow aimed at the young girl. His fists were tightly clenched, and he was more nervous than ever, but there was no time to rescue her.

Yang Xuan dismounted with the girl in his arms, his back facing the arrow. The girl struggled in his embrace, and her head, raised up, faced the incoming arrow. This was why the middle-aged man and the guards were momentarily stunned.

Jin Qiyi's face turned pale, and he wanted to stab himself.

As Yang Xuan was about to land, he felt a chill run down his spine, and his body twisted strangely.

This movement caused the girl to smash her forehead into his, her eyes brimming with tears.

The arrow grazed past her face.

Phew!

A sigh of relief.

Facing the incoming arrow, the middle-aged man raised his hand and flicked his finger. Just as the arrow was about to reach his face, he deflected it as if it were a water droplet, sending it flying.

The arrow exploded in mid-air, and the middle-aged man remained calm, "Kill them all!"

Arrows shot from all directions into the location of the assassins. If there were experienced soldiers present, they would have been amazed by the guards' archery skills, which managed to seal off all possible escape routes of the assassins in an instant.

Jin Qiyi, disbelieving, cursed, "Damn it! How did that kid do it?"

As he cursed, he led his men towards Yang Xuan.

Another group of guards, under the cover of the arrow rain, charged into the dense forest in groups of three, their formation and coordination so precise that even elite soldiers would have been envious.

Pfft!

The girl landed on her back, and the tears she had been holding back finally burst forth, "Why did you use me as a shield!"

Yang Xuan sprang up, his gaze sweeping over the forest, and said, "I can block the arrows if they come again."

He had already blocked the angle of the arrow aimed at the girl from above.

The girl, however, angrily said, "Why don't you turn around?"

She turned her head, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

How embarrassing!

The girl was really angry.

Jin Qiyi rushed over, anxiously asking, "Young lady, are you hurt?"

The girl sat on the ground, hugging her knees, and buried her face in them, shaking her head slightly.

The maids surrounded the girl, and the guards formed a protective circle around them.

Yang Xuan got up and prepared to leave.

As he passed a guard, he saw the guard raise his hand, puzzled.

The guard behind him pounded his chest.

Thump!

He passed another guard.

The guard pounded his chest behind him.

Thump!

One by one, the guards solemnly pounded their chests...

Watching Yang Xuan walk slowly ahead.

This was the highest praise a soldier could receive from his comrades!

Yang Xuan found his horse and gently stroked it.

It was a fine horse, and the Wang family was very generous, giving it to him without hesitation.

Yang Xuan never took anything from others without reciprocating, even if it was just a piece of dry bread he received in the mountains, he would find a way to repay it.

Huang Laoer came over, patting his back, and said with a smile, "Good kid, you actually saved the young lady. You can drink as much good wine as you want later."

The guards took turns drinking after each night's encampment. Yang Xuan, who had never tasted alcohol, was tempted by the smell. However, as a country boy attached to the Wang family's caravan, he felt embarrassed to ask for a drink. He didn't have the nerve to speak up, but the guards, being shrewd, had already noticed.

The middle-aged man was discussing matters with his advisor and glanced at Yang Xuan, nodding slightly.

This trip was not originally planned to include his niece, but she had pestered her eldest brother so much that he had no choice but to bring her along.

The Wang family's women held high status, and his niece was deeply loved by both his eldest brother and himself, making her the gem of the Wang family. If anything had happened to her earlier, he couldn't imagine what his eldest brother would do, or what he himself would do.

Yang Xuan!

The middle-aged man silently repeated this name and began to ponder who the mastermind behind the assassination attempt was.

They could not continue the journey that day, and everyone started setting up camp.

Yang Xuan quietly disappeared.

"Where is Yang Xuan?"

Someone asked.

"The horse is still here, so he must have gone to relieve himself."

Jin Qiyi then returned to apologize.

"Second Master, the bandits were well-prepared. After their first attempt failed, they quickly fled. We couldn't catch up to them. We only managed to kill a dozen or so of their rear guards."

Jin Qiyi was both angry and ashamed.

"This is a forest," the middle-aged man said calmly. "The Wang family has many mines, and we will have many more encounters with bandits in the forest. You must train harder."

This was a reprimand.

Jin Qiyi bowed his head, "Yes."

The advisor smiled, "The assassins knew they couldn't kill the Second Master, but if they could kill the young lady, the Eldest Master would surely be enraged. If the Eldest Master is enraged, the city of Chang'an would be in turmoil, and someone might take advantage of the chaos."

The middle-aged man's eyes darkened, "Recently, the Eldest Master sent someone. Chang'an has been unstable. Some people have suggested reducing the hereditary privileges by thirty percent, causing a lot of unrest."

The advisor was surprised, "This is the emperor's intention. The emperor wants to deal with the Five Great Clans?"

The middle-aged man nodded and shook his head, "It is the emperor's intention, but he sent someone to the Wang family beforehand. We will just watch and see."

"Perhaps the Five Great Clans in Chang'an have all received messages from the palace," the advisor stroked his beard and smiled.

"It was the Mirror Platform's people, under the command of the one-eyed dragon." When mentioning the Mirror Platform and the one-eyed dragon, the middle-aged man's eyes showed a hint of caution, but mostly disdain. He slowly said, "We don't need to worry about this. But if someone dares to attack us halfway... do they think I, Wang Douxiang, am a pushover?"

Everyone was solemn.

Wang Douxiang narrowed his eyes, "Send a message ahead, and surround them!"

Jin Qiyi responded, "Yes. But, Second Master, the assassins might be hard to catch."

The advisor stroked his beard and smiled, "Second Master, you are flushing them out. All that's needed is for people to know that someone tried to assassinate the Second Master. The Five Great Clans... the Wang family controls the mines. If the Wang family is angered, even the Tang Dynasty would tremble. The person behind this will be terrified, and if they show even the slightest hint, even if they are a royal relative, the Wang family will make them pay."

Wang Douxiang said calmly, "If someone can assassinate the Wang family and escape, who can kill those assassins?"

An invisible anger swept through the air.

The guards knelt, heads bowed.

Since the assassins had fled, it would be difficult to catch them.

Jin Qiyi was ashamed, "We are incompetent!"

Wang Douxiang waved his hand, "Xian'er."

The girl frowned and was escorted by the maids. The maids were all carrying sabers.

"Negligence!" Wang Douxiang turned and walked away with the girl, his voice lightly echoing, "Punishment!"

Shortly after, the maids were lying on the ground, and the sound of caning echoed through the camp.

...

Seven miles away in a dense forest, three men were resting on the ground.

The leader leaned against a tree, drinking water.

Water dripped from the corner of his mouth as he finished and shook his head, splashing water everywhere.

Someone ran up hurriedly, and the three men stood up, on guard.

The newcomer was in black and said, "The Wang family's pursuers have returned."

The leader removed his mask and laughed, "The Wang family is nothing, hahaha!"

His laughter was hearty, startling nearby birds.

The four men sat down to eat dry rations and spoke in low voices, but they didn't notice a young boy standing quietly behind a nearby tree.

They set out later, with one man scouting ahead, one man covering the rear, and two in the middle.

Yang Xuan closely followed behind.

The man covering the rear occasionally looked back, but after walking a mile, he relaxed and looked back less frequently.

The two men in the middle were talking, and their voices gradually grew louder.

"The Wang family's guards are skilled, but this is a forest..."

The man covering the rear smiled and turned back, but in an instant, he felt a chill run through his body, as if his bones were frozen.

A young boy stood behind him, grinning.

The boy reached out.

His not-so-big hand was calloused, and it grabbed the man's throat, tightening.

The two men in the middle walked one in front of the other.

The man in the rear was laughing, "If the Wang family dares to follow, killing a few of them would be a great achievement."

A hand landed on his shoulder.

It is said that wild wolves like to follow behind people, suddenly standing up and placing their paws on the person's shoulder, causing the person to turn around...

A slight sound was heard.

The leader was still talking in front.

"We have trained in the forest for years, who can match us?"

No one responded from behind, and the leader instinctively lunged forward, drawing his sword and swinging it in one fluid motion.

A shadow flashed behind him and disappeared into the forest.

The scout shouted, "It's the young boy from the Wang family's caravan!"

They had been watching the caravan for days and knew everything about it.

"It was he who saved the Wang family's girl!"

The leader stopped and called out, "Zhao Xie!"

His voice echoed in the forest.

But no one responded.

"That boy must be a new skilled hand of the Wang family!" The leader was alarmed, "Let's go!"

The two men alternated covering each other as they moved forward.

When they reached a large tree, the scout suddenly flew backward.

The leader leaped up, his eyes darting around, and swung his sword to cut the vine that had ensnared the scout's ankle.

Whistling through the air, a sharpened stick flew in and pierced the scout's chest, the end of the stick still trembling.

The leader swung his sword, but no second stick came.

He landed and shouted, "Come out!"

The forest was silent, with no birds or animals making a sound.

Creak!

The scout was hanging upside down from a tree, swinging gently.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Blood dripped from his chest.

The leader was drenched in cold sweat and turned around sharply, but no one was there.

"Who?"

He shouted hoarsely.

His voice echoed in the forest.

A voice responded.

"I just want to go to Chang'an."

The voice was young.

The leader roared, "Come out, let's fight!"

He suddenly felt his back hairs stand on end and turned around, swinging his sword.

But a sharp pain shot through his lower back.

His turn became slow motion.

A boy with a face painted in various colors stood behind him, "I'm here."

...

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