The Empress's No.1 Lackey

Qi Yuchun appeared!

This Great Commander of the Kuangfu Society, ranked only below Zhuang Xiaocheng, had left the Capital last night and had lain in ambush in a valley near Yansuo Lake.

Hiding his presence and murderous intent, he evaded detection by everyone, including Eunuch Hai, resembling a mere rock amidst the wild grass of the mountains.

Only at this moment, as Duan Shuiliu engaged Eunuch Hai, did the assassin lying in the grass on the hillside by the lake reveal himself.

A breath before hearing the words "embrace death," Zhao Douan's Middle Grade Divine Chapter-induced senses had already vaguely alerted him to the source of the danger.

Thus, when Zhao abruptly turned around, he saw a Martial Artist, clad in a straw raincoat with a resolute face and green stubble, suddenly burst upward from the dry winter grass.

The moment Qi Yuchun leaped up, he drew a long spear in hand.

Wrapped in rags and straw, the formidable spear looked more like a stick to outsiders. As Qi Yuchun shook his arms, his wrist gave a "twist" at the end of the spear.

The camouflage on the spear tore apart, revealing a gleaming grand spear.

"Ah—"

Xu Junling and her maid almost screamed simultaneously, not just them, but also the lingering tourists by the distant lakeshores.

Many, who had just been driven ashore still feeling aggrieved, unexpectedly witnessed the incident on the river and belatedly realized what had happened.

Those scholars still by the shore, who hadn't climbed out yet, felt a chill up their spines. The curses they held against Zhao Douan abruptly ceased as a strong sense of fear overtook them.

Especially witnessing that Martial Artist dive down from the mountains like a fierce bird swooping toward the boat, they felt an intense relief.

"Meet the enemy."

Zhao Douan, unfazed by the screams nearby, spoke calmly.

Even before he spoke, Lang Shiba and Ji Yue had simultaneously turned and positioned themselves in front of Zhao Douan.

Almost instinctively, they assessed that this attacking Martial Artist was extraordinarily fierce, probably not much less so than Duan Shuiliu, and that it would take both of their efforts combined to ensure Zhao Douan's safety.

"Shang!"

Lang Shiba fiercely leaped up, his long blade swirling with ferocious Sword Energy to meet the attack, while Ji Yue, in flowing red robes, disappeared into the water, with whirlpools gathering on the lake.

With the old Tributor's prior assessment, Zhao Douan wasn't too worried about Qi Yuchun's attack.

He believed the two could at least fend off the enemy for a while if not fully repel them.

—Fortuitously, since the boat was in the middle of the lake, and the water was Ji Yue's forte, Qi Yuchun, despite his remarkable strength, found it difficult to set an ambush in the water, allowing the two guards to actively intercept and block this Great Commander outside.

After the initial shock, Zhao Douan turned his focus to another front.

When Eunuch Hai surged forward, he intended to play it safe to avoid capsizing, but sensing the assault from Qi Yuchun behind, he spontaneously changed his tactics.

He realized this assassination attempt was exceptionally high-profile, and if truly orchestrated by Prince Jing, all three guards would certainly be accounted for.

Therefore, to ensure safety, he decided to abandon the assassination and instead focus on quickly repelling Duan Shuiliu.

As this thought emerged, the cold frost sword in the hands of the old eunuch thrust forward.

With a "crackling" sound, frost formed on the blade as the surrounding temperature plummeted. A thin stream of deep blue Sword Qi spread from the tip of the blade.

A single famed strike!

When he struck, it was with a signature move!

Duan Shuiliu's expression changed, seemingly not expecting the old eunuch to act so urgently, yet a smile broke out on his face.

The so-called strong move was not just potent because of the technique itself but because of the built-up momentum from the initial exchanges.

Without the preparatory rounds accumulating strength and momentum, forcibly unleashing a signature move would cut its power by at least half.

Additionally, it would drain his energy and disrupt his rhythm.

"Is this old eunuch, already on the decline, so recklessly expending his strength simply to compete with me in vigor?"

Duan Shuiliu snorted. With a stomp of his foot, a wooden hairpin shot out like a sharp arrow, while he retreated. As he moved back, his grey-robed figure flickered, appearing now to the left, now to the right.

The deep blue Sword Qi, unstoppable like bamboo splitting, struck the hairpin, shattering it, then abruptly spread out, blocking any room for evasion, a testament to the old eunuch's mastery in controlling force.

With nowhere to dodge, Duan Shuiliu abruptly stomped on the water surface, creating a splash.

Leveraging the momentum of the water, he leaned forward, his hands joined as a Hand Blade, actively meeting the Sword Qi, slashing down repeatedly, almost creating afterimages, frantically cutting through eight or nine tenths of that swath of Sword Qi.

As Eunuch Hai thrust his sword, clashing countless times with Duan Shuiliu's steel-hard hands, the two combatants stirred up robust columns of water around them, the noise thunderous.

Even Hou Renmeng and the others fighting underwater had to surface, surrounded by blood red waters, with corpses floating around.

"Commandery Princess, quickly hide inside the cabin!"

The maid Lv Shui, pale as paper and terrified, pulled the young lady toward the cabin.

Xu Junling, although trembling, remained more composed and turned to look at Zhao Douan, her voice forlorn:

"Will you let me go inside?"

Zhao Douan withdrew his gaze from the intense combat between the old Tributor and Duan Shuiliu, his eyes already brimming with tears, a backlash from forcibly watching the exchange between combatants of vastly different realms.

His eyes reddened, and without any trace of emotion, he stretched out his hand to hold the Commandery Princess's shoulder, turned her in place, then stepped closely to her side, saying in a soft voice,

"Isn't it good to stay by my side?"

Xu Junling bit her lip and let out a sigh, showing no reaction to the flirtatious undertone of his words, only asking,

"Qi Yuchun, it's him, isn't it?"

Given her status, recognizing the Great Commander was not a surprise.

Unlike the equally fierce battle on Eunuch Hai's side, the fight here was clearly divided between offense and defense.

"Drunkard" Lang Shiba wielded his curved blade in an impenetrable fashion, concentrating solely on "defense."

Teamed with Ji Yue, who repeatedly utilized the power of water from beneath the lake, they firmly kept the Great Commander, dressed in a straw raincoat and wielding a speargun called "Shattered," outside the boundary.

This strategy was very rational; the two had been defending at the lake for years, accustomed to protecting against external threats and now considered Zhao Douan as a treasure to be safeguarded like the Yellow Register of the back lake.

One above the surface and one beneath, their positioning faintly resembled the defensive angles in a military formation.

Qi Yuchun was not old, not yet forty, but the blue stubble gave him a somewhat weathered look.

His earlier life had been illustrious, climbing to a position commanding the imperial guard, with his entire family deeply trusted by the Old Emperor.

Yet, because his family sided with the Second Prince, they faced utter ruin; during the coup by the Xuan Sect, Qi Yuchun was defeated by the Empress, escaping the Capital severely injured and hiding in a desolate area to recover.

Only after some recovery did he dare to enter the city to gather news, only to find out that dozens of members of the Qi family had been executed due to the coup, leaving only him and a few scattered relatives.

Qi Yuchun was confused for a long time, considering storming back into the Imperial Palace to assassinate the Empress in revenge, but realized it would be a meaningless suicide.

In his confusion, Zhuang Xiaocheng reached out to him to regroup the remnants and protect the widow and children of the Second Prince, attempting to "restore order from chaos."

Qi Yuchun then found a new purpose in surviving.

This assassination attempt on Zhao Douan was volunteered by Qi Yuchun. He felt that although he couldn't kill the Empress, if he could assassinate the Empress's favored man, it might also count as revenge.

"Hiss hiss hiss…"

At this moment, facing the solid wall-like sword energy in front and the huge water snake circling below, Qi Yuchun's brows furrowed tightly. His Overlord Spear continuously struck, forcing Lang Shiba to retreat repeatedly, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

He abruptly thrust his spear towards the bottom of the lake; Ji Yue grabbed the tip of the spear, pushed with both hands regardless of the spreading blood, and sank back to the bottom of the lake.

He was confident he could defeat these two, but whether he could do so before Eunuch Hai's reinforcements arrived was uncertain.

"Should I risk everything?"

Qi Yuchun hesitated internally whether to risk injury to assassinate Zhao Douan.

But recalling Grandmaster Zhuang's advice and his understanding of Prince Jing, he forcibly held back.

…

On the boat.

"It seems he can't break through."

Xu Junling spoke softly, perhaps knowing these people weren't targeting her, she became slightly more composed.

However, Zhao Douan slowly furrowed his brows, the martial artist's alertness suddenly giving rise to a bad premonition, a vague image emerging before his eyes.

"Hiss—"

From his right sleeve, the Golden Crow Flying Dagger transformed into a streak of dark light, beginning to circle and dance around him, ready to activate the Six Talismans Treasure Armor hidden beneath his clothing at any moment.

Yet, what other enemies were within his field of vision?

Zhao Douan's mind stirred, suddenly he roughly pulled Xu Junling in front of him, the sense of imminent crisis abruptly weakened.

"…" Zhao Douan adjusted his stance again, shifting his body, and the sense of crisis surged back.

It seemed as though he was just dragging the Commandery Princess around, but unobtrusively he switched their positions several times, finally pinpointing the exact source of danger.

"Is there still an assassin hiding there?" Zhao Douan murmured softly.

Xu Junling, roughly pulled by him, tried to struggle, crying out repeatedly:

"Let me go, I'm not your human shield!"

She guessed Zhao's sinister motive.

Zhao Douan looked at her startled expression, suddenly showing a meaningful smile, releasing his grip, and said with a smile,

"Did that hurt?"

Xu Junling was taken aback.

Meanwhile.

In the distance, within the slightly open mouth of the huge Earth God Statue, a large cave was hidden.

An archer, bow drawn and arrow set, aimed steadfastly at Zhao Douan standing far away on the lake surface, next to Xu Junling.