"Bei, protect Ming Yue while you retreat with the others."

King Ming was indeed an iron man. Despite being faced with a situation of being outnumbered by his enemies, he was still determined to fight for his children's life.

"Father, please retreat with Ming Yue and let me fight side by side with Qinghan!"

Before King Ming could say no, Hu Tianbei had grabbed a sword from his guard and dashed out of the tent.

All the ladies in the tent were shaking like leaves, while Lin Mengya was the only one who maintained her composure.

"What should we do now, Master?"

Baiji tugged at Lin Mengya's sleeve and asked with panic in her large eyes.

"Don't panic yet. Let's check out the situation first. Prince Yu has gone out to fight and together with the guards, they'd manage for the moment."

The first thought that came to Lin Mengya's mind was that these were the killers of Peach Blossom Dock. If only Qinghu was around, he could tell Long Tianhao the weaknesses of these killers.

Unfortunately, she had sent Qinghu away to investigate the matter regarding Mrs. Yue's identity.

"Your Highness... the Crown Prince! It's not time to go out yet!"

The Crown Prince was struck with fear and trepidation when he realized the state of chaos outside the tent. He had the urge to flee right away but was fearful of possible ambushes.

"Your Highness, judging from the situation, we can't possibly continue with this confrontation. How about we all go back to our tents and start packing, so we could descend the mountain?"

As Lin Mengya offered her suggestion, the Crown Prince was in no mood to be bothered about her. By this time, he had already gone into a panic state.

"Alright, let's do as you say."

The Crown Prince responded without thinking. The fear for his life was foremost in his mind, so much so that he was in no mood to obstruct whatever Lin Mengya was planning to do.

Apart from Lin Mengya, some of the ministers also went back to their tents to provide assurance to their families.

All the tents were guarded by their own guards at the entrances at this moment.

Not far from the tents, the imperial guards surrounded the campground, forming a human wall to protect the tents in it.

Lin Mengya remained standing at where she was as she lifted her eyes and looked afar.

Although she felt that something was amiss, she could not put a finger to it.

Upon her return to the tent, Baisu was on high alert. When she realized that it was Lin Mengya who was approaching, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Master, the entire place outside is in chaos. Young Master has instructed me to bring you to a safer place."

As she reflected on her words, Lin Mengya realized that she had not seen Lin Zhongyu since this morning.

"Where is Xiaoyu? Is he safe and sound at this moment?"

Under such a tumultuous situation, it was likely that Lin Zhongyu would meet dangers. For this reason, Lin Mengya could not help worrying about him.

"Rest assured, Master. Someone is protecting the Young Master. There was no way he could even get slightly hurt."

In reality, Baisu had not told the entire truth. Her Young Master had been temporarily held in detention under protection, which in fact was making him very upset!

"That's great. Let's pack up our belongings and leave immediately."

The Peach Blossom Dock killers were highly skilled when it came to fighting alone. However, they were rather inexperienced in fighting as a group. Compared to the imperial soldiers who trained as a group every day, the killers were at a disadvantaged position.

For this reason, Lin Mengya thought it would be better for all of them to retreat. In this way, it would be easier and faster for the imperial soldiers and Long Tianhao to retreat without having to worry about the families.

In a war situation, fighting could become indiscriminating, and she did not wish that anyone be injured.

"Yes, Master. I saw that the ministers have gathered where the Crown Prince is, many of which are carrying their belongings with them."

Because of the prestigious status of the Crown Prince, he was obviously the most heavily guarded person.

For this reason, all the people gathered around him, seeking protection.

After a moment of pondering, Lin Mengya decided to follow closely behind the Crown Prince as well. In this way, the guards from all the families would be gathered and their concerted power would become rather significant.

Nevertheless, she was perplexed as to why the killers of Peach Blossom Dock were here. What was their motive?

Could it be that they planned to massacre all the ministers in the court, including the Crown Prince?

It was a great act of treachery to overthrow the current dynasty. The strange thing was she had not even heard rumors about any plan to revolt!

What was this unusual move all about?

Lin Mengya continued retreating while following behind the Crown Prince. The situation where Long Tianhao was did not look hopeful.

"Third Elder Brother, if this continues, I'm afraid we might die of exhaustion."

Long Qinghan's face was dotted with bloodstains, although fortunately, they were not his own.

At this moment, he was no longer looking like a nobleman's son, rather, he was looking more like the Slain God, who was a reaper of life.

No one would have expected that the usually lackadaisical Long Tianhao was actually highly skilled in martial arts.

"Let's hang on a while more, help is on its way."

Steadily, he pulled out his sword which was plunged into an enemy's chest.

Warm blood gushed out like a fountain instantly. Before Long Tianhao could clean off the bloodstains, another man in black charged towards him with his sword.

"Prince Yu, I'd never have expected that one day, the three of us would fight alongside each other under such circumstances!"

Hu Tianbei was also fighting side by side with the other two. Although the weapon he was using was a large steel knife and his movements were big and wide, he still looked formidable and was seamless in his moves.

"There are still many things you would not expect. For example, you may lose your life while in Dajin."

Long Qinghan and Hu Tianbei were close friends, which explained why they could talk easily in a casual tone.

The three of them were the most highly skilled in martial arts among the rest, therefore they had subtly become the leaders.

"I suppose our families had all retreated by now."

Long Tianhao asked with indifference in his voice. At this moment, every bit of his energy was used to combat the enemies, so it was not possible for them to even bother about what was happening back in the tents.

Although the families made up a huge number, they were thankful that there were many guards who helped to guide them, so that they should not take long to retreat.

"It's about time we ourselves start to retreat slowly. This place is too open and it's not ideal if we want to find a place to hide."

Long Qinghan was stationed at a more strategic and flexible location, therefore he had a better idea of the situation behind him.

"Alright, Qinghan, can you please go and find out when help is arriving?"

Although the imperial guards had the advantage of numbers, their martial art skills were inadequate if they were to be confronted by the highly skilled killers of Peach Blossom Dock.

Fortunately, there were fewer Peach Blossom Dock killers. Otherwise, no matter how many guards there were, they would not be able to defend against the killers.

"Erm."

For the two blood brothers who were fighting alongside each other, they were able to communicate even by exchanging looks.

Under such circumstances, Long Qinghan leaped up and brushed away the numerous swords and weapons directed at him, dashed outwards and broke the siege.

Long Tianhao and Hu Tianbei could immediately feel the great pressure on them. They gave it their all and was eventually able to defend against the enemies' powerful attacks.

"Are you alright, Third Sister-in-law?"

The familiar voice that sounded familiar made Lin Mengya's heart skip a beat.

Thank goodness Long Qinghan's eyes were astute but controlled, despite being splattered all over with the enemies' blood.

He was apparently not injured at all.

"How is the situation where you came from? Is anyone hurt?"

By now, Lin Mengya was already some distance away from the campground, riding in a horse carriage. The fact that Long Qinghan was able to catch up with her was because of his skill in light footwork.

"Rest assured since Third Elder Brother is such a highly-skilled martial artist, he'll be alright for sure. Moreover, there are Bei and I assisting him! Don't worry, military aid is on its way. When they catch up with you, you will be out of danger."

After giving his lengthy instructions, Long Qinghan left without further delay.

Fortunately, Long Tianhao was unscathed and it seemed that military aid was not far.

"It's great to know that Prince Yu is safe and in one piece, now you can be at ease, Master."

Although her maidservants were relieved to learn that Prince Yu was unharmed, Lin Mengya could feel a certain uneasiness that crept up on her like the tendrils of a plant.

It seemed that things would soon be under control.

No matter how highly skilled those enemies were, once the military aid arrived, the killer would be overpowered.

However, what was the real purpose of the Peach Blossom Dock killers? Did they come all this way just to fight a losing battle?

"Ah--- Master!"

Suddenly, a shriek of dismal echoed from outside the carriage. Lin Mengya looked out and saw that a horse carriage ahead of them had come to a stop.

The cry of dismal was precisely coming out of that horse carriage.

"Let's go and have a look at what had happened."

Lin Mengya sent some men to investigate the matter and they returned shortly afterwards.

"Princess, the horse carriage belongs to the family of the Assistant Minister Zhong of the Ministry of Appointment. I heard from the people that Lord Zhong was chatting casually with his wife just now, and the next moment, his head was mysteriously separated from his body."

"What? How was that even possible?"

Lin Mengya knitted her brows into a frown, while her four maidservants were deeply shocked.

They, including Baisu, who was a skilled martial artist, did not hear any fighting whatsoever.

It was an appalling thing for the head of a person to be suddenly separated from his body.

"All of us have to be on high alerts and strengthen our preparedness. Baisu, follow me to have a look."

"Yes, Master."

The usually strange method employed by the killers was like a dark cloud that shrouded Lin Mengya's heart.

Strangely, she was following right behind Lord Zhang. How did she miss his bizarre death?

Lord Zhang's family members were trembling with fear as they looked at his dead body in the horse carriage.

The guards were like birds that had been startled by the mere twang of a bow. They exchanged wary looks. They were deeply fearful of becoming the next unfortunate casualty.

"Mrs. Zhong, this is Princess Yu. She has come specially to pay you a visit."

Baisu had witnessed such bloody scenes numerous times so much so that she was not alarmed by the bloody sight.

"Sob, Master--- Master---"

Mrs. Zhong was hiding by the corner of the wall, crying, but she could not bring herself to go near her husband to retrieve his body.

Lin Mengya, on the other hand, went up to the corpse without trepidation.

The horse carriage belonging to the Zhong family was spacious on the inside and its floor was overlaid with bamboo.

However, a big patch of blood had stained the greenish-yellow bamboo flooring.

Old Master Zhong was a medium built man. By reasoning, he must be quite strong. How on earth did he die without any struggle?

His decapitated body was lying prone on the floor of the horse carriage, while his head had rolled to a corner.

Lin Mengya studied the cross-section of his neck and the cut appeared smooth and clean. She did not suppose even the sharpest steel sword would be able to achieve such a clean-cut effect.

"Mrs. Zhong, did anything unusual happened just before your husband died?"

Lin Mengya's gentle voice had a comforting effect on the bereaved.

She sat in front of Mrs. Zhong and gently stroked Mrs. Zhong's arm with her small hands.