Zu An sighed when he laid his eyes on that figure. There’s no way he wouldn’t recognize this person! Even if she was wearing scraps, she still wouldn’t look anything like a commoner!

From those charming facial features to those voluptuous curves, they all betray your identity!

Quite a few men were sneaking subconscious looks in her direction, and even a few, harboring unkind intentions, pretended as though they were being squeezed towards her by the crowd.

Whenever someone was about to make contact with her, though, an invisible wall pushed them away, preventing them from getting close to her.

Zu An knew that Pei Mianman was holding back in order not to draw too much attention to herself. Otherwise, there would have been no way that these men would be able to get within even a zhang of her.

If they’d been out in the wilderness and she was in a bad mood, her black flame would have burned them up instantly, with no traces left over.

Pei Mianman smiled sweetly in Zu An’s direction when she noticed that she’d been found out. “I thought that you would’ve been mistreated after being arrested, but look at you now! They gave you such a luxurious carriage, and even a beauty to keep you company. How enviable!”

Zu An knew that she was speaking to him through voice transmission, but his ki was sealed up, so he couldn’t reply in the same way. He decided to speak out loud instead. “It would be even better if I had big Manman to keep me company.”

She should be able to hear him, given her cultivation.

Sure enough, Pei Mianman’s face turned red. “You just love to give others ridiculous nicknames! I really should get Chuyan to discipline you properly. Oh, I almost forgot, the two of you are no longer husband and wife.”

Zu An gritted his teeth.

Does this woman really have to sound so happy about my misfortune? Aren’t you supposed to be Chuyan’s close friend?

“Big manman? What is a ‘big manman’?” Huang Huihong turned around and asked. Zu An’s comment clearly hadn’t escaped his ears.

Zu An was just about to tell him that it was none of his damned business, but Pei Mianman sent him a sudden, alarmed warning. “Be careful!”

Just as she said this, Zu An saw a streak of black light fly towards him from within the crowd.

This streak of black was traveling extremely fast. An instant after it first appeared, it seemed to already be in front of Zu An.

In that split second, it seemed as though he could even smell the metallic aura and killing intent emanating that streak of darkness. He had no way to describe the sensation of this killing intent. It made chills run through his entire body, and all of the hair on his body stood on end. He felt as though he was facing an imminent death.

There was no time to think. He immediately used Grandgale, grabbing Zheng Dan and blinking a foot away .

The instant he moved, that trace of black light struck his afterimage. It practically brushed right past the tip of his nose.

Zu An’s heart was pounding. Even though he’d already faced the threat of death many times over, this was the first time he was experiencing danger like this while unprepared.

Only then did he discover what that streak of blackness was. This was a special arrow! It had stuck itself in the carriage wall, managing to burrow a hole even into the walls of this sturdy carriage. Its tail feathers were still shaking. He could well imagine what it would have been if this arrow had really landed. Half his body might have exploded on the spot!

“Ah Zu!” Zheng Dan finally reacted to what happened. Her face was deathly white. She immediately reached out her hands to check his body for injuries.

Another black streak flew towards them. The assassin wasn’t planning to give him any time to breathe.

Huang Huihong had reacted by this time. He’d been momentarily distracted earlier when he asked Zu An a question, and the hidden archer had seized this opening to strike. How could he possibly let this assassin get his way?

With a roar of anger, his Soul-reaping Chains whipped forward to meet that streak of black.

With what sounded like a loud slap, the black streak was smashed to pieces. Huang Huihong’s entire body trembled. Even he had found it difficult to handle the tremendous power within that arrow.

The Embroidered Envoy and Imperial Guard reacted instantly, rushing towards the direction from which the black arrow had been fired.

“Ah!!!” Wild, panicked screams erupted among the common people in response to this unexpected assassination attempt. They had only come here to enjoy the atmosphere. Absolute chaos broke out, with the onlookers all running in different directions.

Pei Mianman smiled in his direction when she saw that he was fine, then left together with the crowd. She wanted to avoid the inevitable complications that would arise when the Imperial Guard began their investigations and interrogations.

“We’ll meet again soon,” Pei Mianman transmitted to him before leaving, her tone full of ambiguity.

Although it was a completely normal phrase, the way she spoke always made the imagination run wild.

Zu An’s expression was rather strange. He had a sudden feeling of déjà vu… This was exactly what Snow had said to him after she’d been exposed and had to leave the Chu clan. He wondered how she was faring in the capital now.

“What happened?” King Liang and Liu Yao rushed over when they heard the news, accompanied by Sun Buqi and several others from King Qi’s manor.

“A scoundrel within the crowd tried to assassinate Zu An…” Huang Huihong gave a rough explanation of what happened. Fear still lingered in his mind. The enemy had seized upon the one instant he’d been distracted! If Zu An really was killed while under his watch, there was no way he could escape blame.

“Where is the assassin?” King Liang’s face was overcast. He’d been in a good mood just now, thinking about how he was going to find a hot spring and have some lovely young maids dance for him. However, all of this had ended up happening. Didn’t all this spell the end of his dreams?

“My subordinates have already gone after him, but the current situation is rather chaotic, so I fear…” Huang Huihong’s voice was hedged with hesitation.

The embroidered envoys that had taken off earlier quickly returned. “The assassin possessed a very quick movement technique, and he blended into the crowd as well. We lost him.”

Sun Buqi was quick to speak. “Pass down my order immediately! Seal up the city gates! We must find that damned assassin!”

Liu Yao said coldly, “How could your measly city gates stop an assassin who eluded the pursuit of both the Embroidered Envoy and Imperial Guard?”

King Liang nodded. “Indeed. There is no need to disturb the people. It’ll only lead to further chaos.”

“I understand. Thank you, respected king, for your advice.” Sun Buqi had no choice but to call back his men.

Liu Yao snorted. “This happened in your North Order City, so you all owe us an explanation. I can’t help but feel like we were set up. You were sent to hold us up, while an assassin waited for a chance to strike.”

This accusation greatly alarmed Sun Buqi, who replied in a panic, “What is General Liu saying?! My king has always remained faithful and true to His Majesty! He would never dare to commit such a disgraceful act! Ignoring all that has happened today, it has always been understood that King Qi would suffer punishment if something happened to a criminal in our territory. How could we dare make such a foolish decision? This is our territory, and the assassin acted in broad daylight! I believe that someone is framing us on purpose, to drive a wedge between King Wu and His Majesty.”

Liu Yao said with a sigh of admiration, “It is common knowledge how capable King Wu’s subordinate by the name of Sun is. It seems you really are capable of eloquent speech as well.”

Sun Buqi smiled bitterly. “I’m not just trying to talk my way out of this. This is the truth of the matter. I hope King Liang upholds justice today!”

King Liang gave no reply. To be honest, he believed what Sun Buqi said was true. Just how stupid would King Wu have to be to do something like this?

Even Liu Yao probably understood this as well. He’d only said what he said to scare the other party a little.

However, now that this event had occurred, there had to be an explanation for it.

Huang Huihong’s voice cut in at this time. “The assassin is a dark elf.”

He held a special arrow in his hand, an arrow with black feathers. This was none other than the arrow that had pierced the inside of the carriage.

“This arrow belongs to a dark elf! No wonder it was so hard to detect.” King Liang took it from him. “Those damn foreign tribes!” he cursed. “They are all evil and vicious.”

“Dark elf?” Zu An muttered to himself. One of Shang Liuyu’s classes had mentioned the dark elves. Unlike other elves who were peaceful and loved nature, dark elves lusted after battle. They enjoyed the sight of blood and slaughter, and were one of the races that excelled in assassination.

Countless important figures had been assassinated by them, be it from the foreign tribes or from the human race. He hadn’t expected to be granted the honor of personally experiencing it for himself.

King Liang’s voice suddenly rang out. “A dark elf wouldn’t make a move unless they are sure they will draw blood. How did Zu An avoid this arrow?”