While fighting, Ru Ping looked at Xuan Yuan Jue and said with a smile, "What a coincidence, Young Master Xuan Yuan. We meet again. I just saw someone trying to attack you. It's him!"
Xuan Yuan Jue squinted his eyes. After a moment of hesitation, he was about to step forward to help. But the next second, Ru Ping made a powerful strike but missed. Taking this opportunity, the black - clothed man escaped.
Jiao Yue looked at Ru Ping with a frown. "Why did you let the man go? One might even think you were in cahoots with that black - clothed man!"
Since Ru Ping had already offended Jiao Yue once, Jiao Yue didn't care about offending her even more. Ru Ping no longer had that proud and cold look she had when facing Jiao Yue the other day.
Instead, she looked coquettish, with her eyes looking as if they were soaked in tears. "Brother Xuan Yuan... I... I didn't do it on purpose. I just got injured a few days ago, so I didn't hold my sword steady just now."
Jiao Yue felt a chill run down her spine. She pulled Shen Li aside and murmured, "Calling him Brother Xuan Yuan. She sure knows how to get on familiar terms! I'm not kidding. I even suspect this woman came here to stage a heroic rescue."
This time, Ru Ping really couldn't hold it back. She gave Jiao Yue a sideways glance. "I don't know when there's such a rule in the Western Yue Kingdom that a maid can talk so boldly!"
Shen Li was afraid Jiao Yue would say something more. She didn't want to have any entanglement with this woman named Ru Ping. So she protected Jiao Yue behind her. "She pretended to be a maid when we went out because I was worried about my little sister's safety. I hope you won't insult her again and again."
This remark made Ru Ping a bit embarrassed.
She could only toss her sleeve and look at Xuan Yuan Jue. "Brother Xuan Yuan, what's your relationship with them? Why did you take the risk to come to this mountain? Just now, there were people trying to assassinate you..."
Just as Shen Li was about to explain that they were cousins, Xuan Yuan Jue suddenly replied, "This is my little wife. I'm just taking her out to enjoy the scenery."
Saying that, Xuan Yuan Jue took a step back and naturally put his arm around Shen Li's waist. Shen Li tried to push him away but found his hold tightened. She had no choice but to give in. Jiao Yue was about to rush up and scold, but seeing Shen Li silent, she stepped back and pretended to be obedient.
Ru Ping was so angry that she almost fainted when she saw this scene. She stamped her foot. "Brother Xuan Yuan, this... this is impossible! You don't look like a man with a wife at all. A young talent like you, how could this woman be worthy of you!"
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew. A copper coin grazed past Ru Ping's ear, cutting off a wisp of her hair. Ru Ping was so frightened that she stood there stunned, unable to speak or believe it.
Xuan Yuan Jue just smiled. "You'd better stop prying into my affairs. If I say she's my wife, can it be false? I think perhaps the affection between Miss Ru Ping and me ends here."
After saying that, Xuan Yuan Jue led Shen Li forward. Suddenly, Ru Ping shouted, "Wait! I know how to get to Heishui Village because I used to come from there!"
Xuan Yuan Jue looked back at Ru Ping with obvious disbelief. After all, she looked like a spoiled young lady. How could she be related to a poor village in the mountains?
Ru Ping could only explain reluctantly. "I was lost when I was a child and lived in that village until I was found and taken back later. So if you want to go to Heishui Village, I know it better than anyone."
Xuan Yuan Jue didn't want to listen to her childhood story. He just scratched his ear and was about to leave. Shen Li thought for a while and decided to play along. She smiled. "Then please lead the way, Miss Ru Ping."
The four of them had their own thoughts. Ru Ping walked far ahead and cast a few flirtatious glances at Xuan Yuan Jue from time to time, but Xuan Yuan Jue pretended not to see them.
Jiao Yue was sweating profusely from walking. She couldn't help asking, "Miss Ru Ping, how much longer until we get there?"
Ru Ping gave her a sideways glance as usual. "You really have a young lady's temper. I don't know if you have a young lady's fortune. It's just up ahead." Jiao Yue had originally wanted to be polite to her regardless of the past, but who would have thought she would be so rude. Jiao Yue tossed her sleeve and walked forward angrily by herself.
When Jiao Yue walked so far that Shen Li could only see a tiny figure of her, Jiao Yue suddenly collapsed without any sign.
Shen Li quickened her pace and used her light - footed skills to rush to Jiao Yue's side. She felt Jiao Yue's breath and was relieved to find that she was still alive. But the next second, she smelled a strange odor. She quickly covered her nose, but it was already too late. Her nerves gradually numbed, and her body began to go limp and was about to fall.
Xuan Yuan Jue caught her and whispered softly, "Play along." Then he stuffed a pill into her mouth.
Just like that, the three of them fell to the ground, while Ru Ping stood behind them with a smile on her lips.
She pulled Xuan Yuan Jue's hand away and dragged him to one side, then hugged him herself.
"Do you know that from the first time I saw you, I knew I was hopelessly in love with you. But... just when I was about to change my mind and not harm you, you lied to me."
Ru Ping's eyes suddenly turned sinister. She took out a dagger and scratched it back and forth on Xuan Yuan Jue's face, as if thinking about where to start.
The black - clothed man who had been chased before suddenly appeared again. He looked at Ru Ping coldly. "I just told you to stop them. What are you doing now? How dare you try to steal a man behind my back?"
The man's voice almost made the knife in Ru Ping's hand fall. She quickly knelt down. "My lord, I was wrong. Forgive me. I was wrong."
The man waved his sleeve and was about to take these people away. But the next second, Xuan Yuan Jue and Shen Li suddenly woke up. Xuan Yuan Jue struck at the black - clothed man's face with his palm and tore off his mask. The face under the mask was full of stubble and scars, looking rather hideous.
The strong man quickly covered his face again. He roared at Ru Ping, "Didn't I tell you to drug them and knock them out? How did you do your job?"
Ru Ping, who was now entangled by Shen Li, could only keep apologizing. "Sorry, my lord. I don't know. I don't know..."
Jiao Yue was also given the antidote and slowly woke up and joined the fight. Seeing that Ru Ping was about to be defeated, the masked man's plan had gone awry. He had no choice but to escape first. Thanks to his excellent light - footed skills, Xuan Yuan Jue couldn't catch up with him.
The remaining Ru Ping was quickly controlled by Shen Li and Jiao Yue. Jiao Yue took out the rope she always carried and tied up Ru Ping. "What on earth is going on? You'd better tell me the truth!"
Ru Ping turned her head away, looking as if she didn't care whether she was killed or not. Seeing that she couldn't get any information for the time being, Shen Li took two more steps forward. She found that everything in front of her was dark and dilapidated. It could be seen that there should have been a village here before, but it had been burned to the ground.
Shen Li tightly clenched her hands. Could it be that these people had massacred the entire village just to prevent her from finding clues about her parents?