Chapter 26

The assassin seemed to have planned this all along. Without a moment's hesitation, as he twisted his body to block the sword, he stretched out his hands to try to lock onto Elder Yue's body.

Elder Yue reacted very quickly. Seeing the situation turn dire, he immediately let go of the sword hilt and retreated hastily.

*Swish!*

The assassin tore off two pieces of cloth but failed to grab Elder Yue. As a second choice, he clung tightly to Elder Yue's arm.

At this moment, the leaves rustled, and three more black shadows leaped down, their figures like ghosts, directly targeting the Lady of Dongyang.

Elder Yue's face changed drastically. In a panic, he swung his palm to strike the assassin's head. The assassin, determined to die, did not dodge, instead wrapping his legs tightly around Elder Yue's leg. After a few futile attempts to resist, Elder Yue's palm struck the assassin's head.

Red and white splattered. Although the assassin was dead, his limbs were still tightly clamped onto Elder Yue.

The surroundings were already in chaos.

Bai Jianglan, upon making a move, was immediately attacked by two assassins who were willing to die. They fought with a desperate, life-or-death strategy, and even someone as strong as Bai Jianglan had to be cautious.

Of the remaining five guards, two were killed by crossbow bolts that pierced their chests, falling to the ground. The other three, being alert, dodged the bolts and formed a defensive circle, barely holding their ground against the assassins.

At this moment, Elder Yue, who was closest to the Lady, was restrained by the assassin, while the Lady of Dongyang had just sat up from the ground.

Elder Yue, dragging the assassin's corpse, moved clumsily and only managed to collide with the nearest assassin. He shouted loudly, "Quickly save the Lady!"

Qin Sang actually reacted the fastest, but it was his first time encountering such a dangerous and chaotic battle. He was also concerned that Yan Wang's killing methods were too bizarre and might expose his secret in front of everyone, so he hesitated.

Unexpectedly, his brief hesitation led to the situation deteriorating to this extent in an instant.

Qin Sang grabbed the ironwood staff and faintly heard a subtle sound behind him. Then he felt a gust of wind coming from above and quickly rolled to the ground.

*Thud!*

A crossbow bolt shot into the ground where Qin Sang had just been.

Then a black shadow, like a great bird spreading its wings, pounced from the treetops, a cold sword light piercing the darkness.

Qin Sang rolled again to dodge the sword, just as Yan Wang appeared. He heard Shuishouzi shout, "Brother Qin, stop him! I'll go save the Lady!"

Qin Sang had no choice but to swing his staff and engage the assassin in a fierce battle, glancing back in the midst of the chaos.

Bai Jianglan, trading injuries for injuries, killed one assassin, covered in blood, and dragged his wounded body to the Lady's side, blocking an attacker at the last moment.

Shuishouzi arrived just in time and blocked another attacker.

The situation was barely stabilized, and they only needed to wait for Elder Yue to break free. There was no need to rush into using Yan Wang to kill.

However, just as this thought flashed through Qin Sang's mind, he suddenly heard a faint sound, almost inaudible but unusual. His sharp hearing allowed him to distinguish it amidst the chaos.

"This is..."

Qin Sang's heart stirred, suddenly remembering it was the sound of a string!

Qin Sang quickly scanned the surroundings and noticed something odd in the shadow behind the Lady of Dongyang. Then he saw a faint, dark light burst from the shadow.

It was not a crossbow bolt but a fine, needle-like projectile, gleaming with a dark blue light, clearly laced with poison.

"Lady, be careful!"

Qin Sang shouted, but the Lady of Dongyang remained standing, not daring to move. Elder Yue and Bai Jianglan could not turn back in time. Without thinking, Qin Sang used all his strength to smash the ironwood staff, almost touching the Lady, and just in time, the staff hit the poisoned needle, sending it flying.

As he raised his hand, Qin Sang triggered the mechanism of the sleeve arrow, shooting it into the shadow.

The arrow hit the shadow, and a muffled sound came from inside, followed by silence.

The Lady of Dongyang finally reacted, looking up at Qin Sang with a hint of fear on her face, but quickly regained her composure and smiled at him.

"Commander Bai, finish this quickly!"

Elder Yue, drenched in cold sweat from the previous scene, dared not delay any longer. He took the risk of being stabbed and struck the assassin down with his palm.

The assassination plan was shattered by Qin Sang's staff, and in an instant, all the assassins became incredibly frenzied.

Qin Sang fought with his bare hands against the sharp swords, feeling the strain after a few moves. He quickly found an opportunity to let Yan Wang kill the assassin. In the moment the assassin's body stiffened, Qin Sang's fingers moved like lightning, crushing the assassin's throat to cover up the act.

His timing was perfect, leaving no room for error.

This was Qin Sang's first time using the Yan Luo Banner to kill in front of others, and it went as smoothly as he had expected.

Just as a smile appeared on Qin Sang's face, he suddenly heard several惨叫声, his heart jolted, Shuishouzi!

*Swish!*

A severed arm flew into the air, Shuishouzi's left arm was empty, his face pale.

Elder Yue grabbed a sword, cut off the burden on his body, and in eight steps, reached Shuishouzi's side, killing the assassin with one strike.

...

When everything settled, five guards were dead, leaving only one. Shuishouzi had lost an arm, and Bai Jianglan used his fingers to press on the acupoints of Shuishouzi's severed arm, using his true qi to seal the blood vessels and stop the bleeding.

Elder Yue had a sword wound on his left shoulder, which he did not have time to treat. He quickly searched the surroundings and then checked if the Lady of Dongyang was injured.

The Lady of Dongyang shook her head, indicating she was fine. She walked over to pick up the ironwood staff, weighed it in her hand, and returned it to Qin Sang, saying, "Thank you, Master Qin, for deflecting that poisoned needle and saving my life."

Qin Sang replied modestly, "Lady, you flatter me. What I did was a minor act. This time, it was all thanks to Commander Bai, Elder Yue, Zhou Ning, and the other guards who fought to the death to kill the assassins, giving me the chance to throw this staff."

The Lady of Dongyang nodded and turned to Elder Yue, saying, "Elder Yue, please treat your injuries and bury the guards. Since they died for me, they should not be left to rot in the wilderness. When we return to Dongyang, I will have their bodies brought back for a proper burial."

Elder Yue accepted the order and left.

Qin Sang squatted beside Zhou Ning, watching Bai Jianglan work. He wondered if this world had the medical techniques to reattach severed limbs, but even if they did, it would be difficult to fully recover.

For a martial artist, it was undoubtedly cruel.

Qin Sang looked at Shuishouzi's pale face, not knowing how to comfort him. He took out the golden wound medicine from the old Taoist and handed it to Bai Jianglan, "Brother Bai, try this. The formula was passed down by a former imperial physician."

Bai Jianglan opened the bottle, sniffed it, and applied some to Shuishouzi's severed arm. The bleeding, which had been continuous, gradually stopped.

Bai Jianglan's eyes lit up, "Good medicine!"

Shuishouzi gritted his teeth and managed to say, "Thank you, Brother Qin!"

What a tough man!

Qin Sang inwardly praised him. Shuishouzi, who was usually lively and talkative, turned out to be so resilient. Despite his severe injury, he showed no signs of despair and remained silent as Bai Jianglan treated his wound.

"Brother Zhou, I'm still waiting for you to catch those nine-antlered fish!"

Shuishouzi laughed heartily.