On the dimly lit street, the Princely Heir and Bai Li were fleeing Red Garnts Lane with heads bowed low, first running north, then veering west.
The two no longer maintained their calm and composure; their clothes had several tears, and their hair had beco disheveled.
Panting heavily as they ran, they suddenly heard a loud explosion behind them, and imdiately after, all of Luocheng City seed to jolt awake as if alard, with every household’s guard dogs barking furiously.
Bai Li stopped, turning back with a worried expression, "What’s happening? What could have made such a noise?"
The Princely Heir pondered for a mont, "It sounds like soone used firearms... when I accompanied my father to watch the Divine chanism Camp practice with the gunpowder cannons, it was this kind of commotion."
"Gunpowder cannons?!" Bai Li was shocked and spun around, ready to head back toward Anxi Street.
The Princely Heir’s face turned pale as he hurriedly grabbed her arm, "Ancestor, where do you think you’re going? We’ve barely managed to escape!"
Bai Li turned back and replied urgently, "Could the gunpowder cannon be targeting the man who just saved us? That kind of firepower is enough to make the Grand Officials retreat; how could he withstand it?"
The Princely Heir too was conflicted, "Logically, the Divine chanism Camp is a hundred miles away; they would never enter Luocheng City unless it was a matter of utmost urgency. Moreover, even if the Divine chanism Camp did co, they wouldn’t dare to use gunpowder cannons within the city. I suspect it might not be the gunpowder cannons; perhaps it was sothing else... Should we go back to save him? That knight saved us; we can’t be so heartless."
"How can we save him?" Bai Li asked.
The Princely Heir contemplated briefly, then gritted his teeth, "If we just run back like this, we definitely won’t be able to save him. Follow to the Thousand-year Army camp to ask Uncle Wang to dispatch troops to surround Red Garnts Lane. As long as you and I can convince Uncle Wang to send the Thousand-year Army, even if the Jiefan Guard is elite, he only has five hundred n!"
"Do you think we can convince Uncle Wang? He won’t move without my father’s Tiger Talisman," Bai Li said, worried.
"I’ll kneel down to Uncle Wang, I’m sure it’ll work!"
Bai Li: "..."
Just then, the sound of horse hooves approached from a distance. The Princely Heir quickly pulled Bai Li into a dark alley and found an abandoned bamboo basket to cover them both.
Monts later, five hundred riders of the Jiefan Guard passed by outside the alley, their conical bamboo hats and straw coats, lit by the moonlight falling on the stone pavent, looked particularly stern and authoritative.
Beside Lin Chaoqing, a young man reined in his horse and asked, "Sir, do you think Jin Zhu will suffer a defeat this ti?"
"No," Lin Chaoqing said flatly.
"He moved our ngjin Camp’s Jiefan Guard on his own initiative and returned without success, not capturing a single Jing Dynasty traitor. Why don’t we take this opportunity to seize him and bring him back to the capital?" the young man wondered. "Even if we bring this matter before the Lord Pri Minister, we would be in the right. The Twelve Signs of the Spy Departnt are arrogant and domineering; capturing them would be ridding the people of harm."
Lin Chaoqing’s gaze remained fixed ahead, sitting stiffly upright on his horse like a long spear, "Jiao Tu and Yun Yang have no foundations within the Spy Departnt; if they are dealt with, so be it. Jin Zhu is different; he has been loyally devoted to the Lord Pri Minister over the years, and he has the backing of Heavenly Horse. Based on just this slight event, he cannot be touched."
As they spoke, the Jiefan Guard gradually moved away.
After an unknown duration, the Princely Heir made sure there was no one outside the alley and then removed the broken basket covering himself and Bai Li, "They don’t seem to have caught anyone, so we don’t have to go rescue him. This person is impressive; he actually managed to escape from the Spy Departnt and the Jiefan Guard’s grasp?"
Bai Li hesitated before asking, "Brother, did you recognize the person who saved us? Did he seem at all familiar?"
The Princely Heir awkwardly replied, "At that mont, I was only thinking about how to escape; I really didn’t observe closely... Could it have been one of the Jianghu figures I’ve befriended before? Perhaps seeing us in danger, he ca out to risk his life for us?"
Speaking of these Jianghu figures, Bai Li imdiately retorted irritably, "The kind of people you befriend! They all ran away at the sign of danger. It definitely wasn’t any of those Jianghu figures; they are all fake friends!"
"There are so good ones..."
"Forget it; I won’t be paying for their drinks anymore," Bai Li declared angrily. "When they’re drinking, they spend money like it’s water, choosing only the best to eat and drink. They talk a great deal about food, wine, and won, but when it cos down to the wire, not one of them is reliable. It’s not that I begrudge the money; I just despise their hollow chivalry."
The Princely Heir scratched his head, "Alright alright, from now on, no more paying for their drinks... By the way, you ntioned the knight who saved us looked familiar; did you recognize him?"
Bai Li was silent for a mont, "No, I didn’t recognize who it was."
In her heart, she actually had a suspicion, but she ultimately did not voice her guess, choosing instead to bury it quietly within and resolved to verify it herself with caution.
Bai Li took down her hairpin, raised her arms, and retied her hair before setting off again.
The two sneaked their way back to Anxi Street, and when they finally saw the guards and the plaque of Prince Jing Mansion from afar, they breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Li didn’t return to the mansion through the back garden. She suddenly said to the Princely Heir, "Brother, let’s go back through Taiping dical Hall; they have a ladder there."
The Princely Heir, propping himself up on his knees and gasping for breath, said in surprise, "You said tonight when you went out that you would never go through Taiping dical Hall again and never let Chen Ji the little thief earn your toll fee. Why the change of heart?"
Bai Li rolled her eyes, "Can’t I just not want to climb the wall? It’s so much more convenient with a ladder."
The Princely Heir rolled his eyes as well, "Won are so fickle."
They quietly slipped to the door of Taiping dical Hall, about to pull it open, only to find it bolted from the inside.
Bai Li thought for a mont and then called out, "Chen Ji, Chen Ji, we’ve co to pay your toll fee!"
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