“A woman?” Zu An murmured, stunned.

Even though the figure was masked, her wonderful curves still revealed that she was a gorgeous woman. He really couldn’t figure out which girl would constantly remain hidden like this to rescue him. Yun Jianyue? But that can’t be. If the Devil Sect Master herself came out here, she could immediately blow these people to smithereens.

Zu An suddenly felt his vision blur. The familiar buildings and clean streets disappeared. 

...

The surroundings had been replaced by a tattered courtyard. The tavern containing that siege crossbow had also turned into a tattered ruin. Zu An had been nailed to an earthen wall by that siege crossbo’s bolt, but now, the wall was almost completely in ruins as well.

Why am I here? Wasn’t I on the way to the palace? I should already be close to the foot of the imperial city!

In that instant, Zu An was horrified. He thought back to what had happened. He had been shot down by that siege crossbow because it felt as if his head had been stabbed by a needle. That was why his movements had been slowed slightly for a moment.

He eventually concluded that it was probably a cultivator proficient in the spiritual element who had created this illusion and brought him here.

Huh? Wait… Then,why does this courtyard look so familiar? He saw familiar fields, spinning wheels, and the like. He suddenly realized something. Wasn’t this the home of Xin Rui’s mother and younger brother, which he had investigated earlier? Why had the other person decided to bring him here?

But now wasn’t the time to think about such things, because several black-clad individuals leaped out from the shadows, surrounding the mysterious woman.

Three over there, five over there, seven over there… There were fifteen black-clad individuals in total. Two of them were already lying listlessly on the ground. Their lives had likely already been ended by the mysterious woman.

Three people stood at the very front. One was a stout and stocky man carrying a hammer, who seemed to focus on brute strength. Another was tall and slender, carrying a red-tasseled spear. His posture was as straight as a javelin, so he was likely quite skilled with his weapon. The third person’s weapon was unique; he wore a ring around each wrist, one gold, one silver.

Zu An paid more attention to these three because, judging from the auras that had erupted from them, they were likely seventh ranked experts. However, their weapons were so special, it likely wouldn’t be hard to find out their identity through the Embroidered Envoy's intelligence network. Of course, all of that was dependent on the premise that he could return to the Embroidery House alive first.

The remaining seven black-clad men wielded shining blades, and had cold and emotionless gazes. Their expressions were the sort that only deathsworn who often engaged in slaughter could have. They looked to be around the sixth rank. Furthermore, judging from their coordination, they definitely used formation tactics and the like.

Sending such a powerful force, and even attacking me with a siege crossbow… These fellas really are showing me quite a lot of respect, aren’t they? Zu An thought self-deprecatingly. It was probably because of the news that he had defeated King Qi’s heir that they didn’t dare to look down on him.

However, these individuals had also been misled by Zu An; they believed that some mysterious expert had helped him out, not that he had won all on his own. That was why they hadn’t assigned any higher level cultivators.

Hm? Wait, where’s the spiritual element cultivator who created that illusion? Zu An quickly borrowed the eyes of the nearby small creatures. Unfortunately, most of them had run away in fear after the disturbance. He barely managed to get a hold of some small birds to get a better look. Unfortunately, there were still many places he couldn’t see, so he wasn’t able to find anyone else.

“Who are you?” asked the expert with the gold and silver rings. The other black-clad individuals watched the mysterious woman vigilantly.

The mysterious woman remained silent. She took the opportunity to quickly observe the people around her, searching for a good opportunity to attack.

The man with the rings frowned and waved his hands, commanding, “Kill her! Her corpse is yours to play around with afterward.”

The seven sixth ranked, blade-wielding deathsworn behind him were no longer emotionless. Instead, their expressions became fierce and… lustful.

Zu An was speechless. Judging from how excited those deathsworn looked, this was definitely not the first time they had done something like this. What the hell, what kind of disgusting fetish is this? They actually like to play with corpses!?

The deathsworn brandished the shiny blades in their hands. They rushed at the mysterious woman with excellent coordination. The three seventh ranked experts watched indifferently without lifting a finger.

What Zu An had never understood when he watched TV was why the villains would always send their lackeys first. That gave the main character several chances to level up and get stronger. Wouldn’t the situation be easily solved if they went at the protagonist themselves from the start? It would be as easy as swatting a fly.

But after he arrived in this world of cultivation, he realized that for cultivators, unless there was truly a huge difference in cultivation, it was easy to lose due to lack of knowledge about the other party’s trump cards and skills.

By having one’s subordinates test the enemy out first, one would be much more prepared. As for the lives of subordinates, well, it was their fault for being subordinates.

As the deathsworn men attacked, the mysterious woman dodged gracefully. Then, she struck the blade of the one in the middle, sending it toward his chest’s vital areas.

Zu An nodded approvingly. Whether in terms of cultivation or combat experience, she was first rate. Which of the girls he knew had fighting ability and stealth capabilities on this level?

Just as the woman was about to take care of another deathsworn, two blades suddenly shot out from under his arms. One was aimed at her stomach, while the other flew toward her legs. Both blades had been shot out from tricky angles.

These individuals were clearly skilled at coordinated battles, and could cover for their comrades with their attacks. Still, the mysterious woman seemed to have anticipated that, and didn’t panic at all. With a tap of her feet, she leaped into the sky, where their formation was weakest.

Just as her palms were about to break several individuals' skulls into pieces, two of the men in the back suddenly raised shields to protect themselves. The mysterious woman frowned, but ultimately still decided to follow through with her attack.

The two shields flickered with runes. They were clearly top quality goods from the military. However, they were blasted to pieces in mere moments. Even though the mysterious woman looked delicate and slender, her palm strikes were definitely frighteningly powerful.

The deathsworn groaned as blood flowed from their mouths and noses.

The three experts who were watching exchanged a look. They could sense the graveness in each others’ eyes. The mysterious woman’s cultivation was actually this high! The key was that they had no idea who she was. Why was she interfering with their plan?

The mysterious woman suddenly rushed into the sky. As it turned out, the instant the shields shattered, the deathsworn had suddenly fired crossbows mounted on their wrists. These military-grade crossbows had special runes carved on them, and their power up close was nothing to scoff at. Not even she dared to face them head on.

The woman frowned. She had originally planned to use this chance to kill them, but she hadn’t expected them to be so sinister. As such, she gave up on her plan and instead rushed over to Zu An’s side. She sealed the wound on his chest, pulling out the giant crossbow bolt and asking, “Ah Zu, are you okay?”

It was her? Zu An was moved. When he smelled her familiar scent and heard her melodious and soft voice, he finally realized who she was. This was the wife of King Wu whom he had previously spent a night with, Yun Yuqing!

Who are those people that want me dead anyway? Why is she here in the capital? Also, why did she show up with such great timing? Zu An had countless questions. Furthermore, he wanted to give that spiritual element expert who was hiding in the shadows a nice surprise. That was why he pretended to be unconscious and didn’t reply to her.

“Ah Zu, don’t scare me like that…” Yun Yuqing’s voice trembled when she saw that he didn’t respond. Her fair white hands gently caressed his wounds. A faint purple light shone from them, helping Zu An heal from his terrifying injury.

“Stop her!” The short and stocky fellow with the large hammer barked, having seen how powerful the woman was. He could no longer hold back. He rushed out, his thick and sturdy calves even making the ground split apart under his feet. Then, he brandished the giant hammer in his hands.

But before he even arrived, a terrifying gust of wind swept over him. A spinning wheel nearby was tossed to the side and blasted to pieces. If the hammer had hit Zu An and Yun Yuqing, however, their bodies would have been pulverized instantly.