When the menacing pursuers caught up with Lin Fei, Wen Mingtang immediately crouched down on the spot. The girl, petite and agile, swiftly dodged the attackers. The assailant, unable to retract his knife in time, swung it towards Lin Fei. Catching a glimpse of the slashing blade, Lin Fei instinctively crouched down like a girl.

With a crisp “clang,” the sound of weapons clashing echoed. The blades of two assailants collided head-on, creating a gap where the sharp edges met, locking their weapons in a stalemate.

The weapon was stuck, and the time for taking action was delayed.

Amid life and death, this brief pause was enough! Lowering her body, Wen Mingtang thrust forward with the long knife she held in both hands. The blade cut through flesh and, from bottom to top, pierced into the assailant’s body.

Lin Fei, who was on the opposite side, naturally did not miss this rare opportunity. The soft sword in his hand pierced the assassin’s chest.

The soft sword was slender and could be easily pulled out with one strike. However, Wen Mingtang was in trouble. When she was about to pull out the long sword, she suddenly found that her sword was stuck between the murderer’s ribs.

Life and death fights often only last for a moment. Seeing that Wen Mingtang did not pull out the long knife, Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu not far away exclaimed “No!” and their expressions changed drastically.

Wen Mingtang was much calmer than them. The knife got stuck and she didn’t want it anymore. The girl’s petite and agile figure rolled on the spot again and changed positions with Lin Fei.

Lin Fei, who sensed something was wrong with Wen Mingtang, casually put the soft sword in the girl’s hand. Taking advantage of the change of position, he kicked out the murderer with the long knife stuck in his ribs. With this move, with great strength, he held the handle of the knife with his backhand and pulled out the long knife stuck in his ribs.

The flexible sword, relying on skill, and the rigid long knife, based on sheer strength, fell into the hands of those more suited to each weapon.

This wave of position changes was truly dangerous and exciting. With just that blow, the two of them killed two assassins in an instant, leaving four of them left.

Lin Fei, who was holding a long knife, covered the girl’s figure. The slender soft sword popped out from under the cover of the long knife from time to time, slashing and stabbing, which would inevitably draw blood.

But in the blink of an eye, more than a dozen moves had passed. Liu Yuan picked up the boning knife that the girl had dropped on the ground and took it in his hand. He looked over there blankly. After a long pause, he suddenly said: “Bai Zhu, don’t you think Master Wen’s actions look familiar?”

Bai Zhu held two chopped wooden sticks in his hands and said, “I noticed earlier. Looks like Master Wen learned some moves from the mixed Ganzhiwei¹ division in the palace.”

Compared with head-on combat on the battlefield, the reputation of the Ganzhiwei had always been bad because it was not “honest and fair” in its actions. The people in the Ganzhiwei team didn’t care either. After all, there were mostly women on the team, and not every woman was as strong as a man. What was wrong with using skills that were more suitable for women?

However, in the eyes of many people, this cleverness was a bit “sneaky” and could not be considered elegant.

But seeing Master Wen showing up from time to time under the cover of Lin Shaoqing with her “sneaky” skill, even Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu were a little itchy and couldn’t help but sigh: “For people like us who are not strong enough, if you can learn the moves, maybe you can save your life!”

Just like just now, the two of them came forward with a wooden stick, originally thinking that the handsome man would block the girl, but in the end, instead, Master Wen saved their lives.

The slender soft sword made a bloody gash on his neck. A tall man’s eyes widened and he cursed. After a few short breaths, he fell down.

There were only three left, and the anxious situation collapsed instantly. The soft sword seemed to be in a deserted place in the light of the long knife, hitting the vital point with one blow. Liu Yuan subconsciously glanced at the boning knife in his hand: The move was just like the knife that penetrated the back of the neck and penetrated the brain stem. Either you don’t make a move, or you make a move, it can take away the life of a murderer.

In the blink of an eye, only the last murderer was left, and the girl fell to the ground in a state of exhaustion, breathing heavily. She had studied with the Ganzhiwei people for several years, and her strength was much stronger than that of ordinary girls, but she was still not as strong as these murderers who specialized in licking blood with their swords.

The last one didn’t need her help. Under the sunlight, Lin Fei slashed at the assassin’s back with a long knife. The blade was drawn out, and the bones were visible. The big man cursed “Thief” and fell to the ground.

Wen Mingtang breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Lin Fei, who held the knife with one hand, the tip of the blade against the ground, his chest gently rising and falling as he regained composure, the handsome face appeared unscathed in the sunlight. The crimson official attire, if not for a closer inspection revealing a few drops of blood splattered on it, did not indicate of the intense skirmish moments ago, where he faced multiple opponents.

Indeed… the true experts keep a low profile!

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu had also walked over at this time. Lin Fei said: “Go to the Yamen to find someone to come and deal with these corpses.”

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu looked at each other and met Liu Yuan’s eyes that kept squeezing. Bai Zhu sighed helplessly and turned around to go to Dali Temple.

After Bai Zhu left and they had rested for a while, the girl, who had regained some strength, stood up and handed the soft sword in her hand to Lin Fei.

Lin Fei did not take the soft sword immediately, but looked at her and asked, “Who are those two people?”

She knew she couldn’t escape. Wen Mingtang gave a wry smile and faced the two people, she did not hide anything and said directly: “I went to see my zújiě today.”

Meeting the looks of the two people, she briefly talked about Wen Xiutang’s matter: “She was one year older than me and entered Yeting with me, but her sign was quickly removed from the palace. I thought she was gone, but I didn’t expect to see her in Sushan Shop a few days ago. She was dressed as if she had entered the Jiaofang. So, I went to the Jiaofang today to try my luck, but I didn’t expect to see her. When I came out, I was chased.”

Liu Yuan broke into a cold sweat after hearing the short explanation. He couldn’t believe it and said, “Such a coincidence? It can’t be that your zújiě wants to harm you, right?”

Wen Mingtang smiled bitterly, and before she could say anything, she saw Lin Fei’s eyes falling on Liu Yuan holding the boning knife in his hand and asked her: “Do you take the boning knife with you when you go out?”

It was probably because of what he said just now that Liu Yuan felt a little sympathetic. When he heard Shang Feng’s words, he subconsciously wanted to help Wen Mingtand and said: “Master Wen is a cook. She brought a knife out maybe because she wanted to sharpen it or because she thought it was easy to use, so she bought another one or something.”

She glanced gratefully at Liu Yuan who was speaking for her. This was also the reason she had originally thought. If she had not met Lin Fei and his group, she would have said this when she reported to the government.

But now… Wen Mingtang lowered her eyes and was silent for a moment, gave up his original plan, and said frankly: “I think the timing of my zújiě’s appearance is too coincidental, and she appeared in the wrong place. I can’t trust her!”

(End of Chapter)

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Footnote

1. From what I could understand, this is a special force within the palace made up of both male and female who I think provides security to harem. The women provide security to the harem because men are not allowed there.