The carriage was utterly destroyed, naturally beyond any further use. Princess Lingmeng leaped onto a horse held by a guard and slowly made her way back, though her heart felt extraordinarily heavy. |//| Murong Qianjun hastily commanded the Imperial Guards to follow, keeping Princess Lingmeng securely shielded in the center. Riding his horse, he glanced back as they departed, thinking: That scoundrel Jun Moxie looked so gravely injured, I wonder if he'll die?

If he does, that’s certainly for the best. Just looking at him makes me want to land a punch; he’s standard beat-worthy trash! With that sort of demeanor, he actually thinks he can pursue Princess Lingmeng? He truly doesn't know his own limits.

He snorted under his breath, riding forward. Gazing at the graceful figure of Princess Lingmeng ahead, he became instantly captivated, his senses reeling, his mind filled with endless fantasies. For a moment, his spirit soared far away, and he completely forgot about sending someone to notify the Jun family... “Hey, old man, you’ve been trailing me like a clinging ghost for three days.

Don’t tell me it’s because your Young Master is devastatingly handsome, and you, you old rogue, have taken a liking to me?!” Jun Xie was held tightly in the old man’s arms, much like an infant. The old man was withered like sun-dried jerky, possessing almost no flesh, which made Jun Xie intensely uncomfortable, as if he were lying on a bed of pebbles. Knowing the old man wouldn't truly harm him, Jun Xie dropped all pretense and unleashed his sarcasm! “Hah!

You think I want to follow a prodigal like you? Why do you keep flitting about erratically, (inconsistently)? I don't know what wicked trick you used to slip out of my sight. Well!

Now you’re getting what you deserve, aren't you? If it weren't for your grandfather spending a massive amount of silver... Wait? How did you know I’ve been following you for three days?” The old man looked indignant, feeling it was beneath his dignity to shadow such a spoiled brat.

Just as he was about to launch into a tirade, he suddenly noticed something amiss. This was no minor shock. How did this useless little punk know he’d been following him for three days? Had his invisible tracking technique regressed to such a degree?

Startled, he immediately stopped in his tracks. He didn't even register Jun Xie’s disrespectful address of “old man”! “Idiot! You ask such a simple question—of course, someone told me.” Jun Xie’s thoughts spun, and the words slipped out casually.

While this old man’s tracking skills weren't on par with what Jun Xie could perceive now, even in his previous life, they were top-tier. With the original Jun Moxie’s level of cultivation, he wouldn't have noticed even after another hundred or eighty years of training, let alone slipping out of this man's sight. “You’re the idiot! You couldn't possibly have detected me on your own...

Hmm? Who told you? Was that person the one who helped you escape my sight!?” The old man was suddenly aghast. To think his tracking skills had been countered without him even realizing it?

Moreover, that person possessed the ability to make a piece of trash like Jun Moxie escape his surveillance on his own—this... this was terrifyingly profound. What level of strength was required for that?! If this person were an enemy...

“How would I know who that person was,” Jun Xie continued to bluff. “I’ve never met him.” “Oh... Naturally. A master of that caliber is not someone a piece of trash like you should ever meet.

So, it was that person's idea for you to evade me? A little suggestion they gave you?” The old man, operating under a fixed assumption that the dandy had no inkling of his capabilities, asked naturally. However, a sliver of desperate hope remained, as he had absolute faith in his own tracking and counter-tracking mastery. Suspicion churned within him: Could it be the Supreme Divine Profound (Zhi Zun Shen Xuan) targeting me?

No, could it be... The more he thought, the more panic began to creep in. In truth, the old man’s methods were indeed formidable; otherwise, even the skills of an assassin king like Jun Xie would not have required three days to maneuver around him! “Of course.

Say, old man, are you ever going to stop? Why are you spouting all this irrelevant nonsense? Where exactly are you taking me? You should just send me home already, that’s the proper thing to do.” Jun Xie felt miserable, cursing internally: Hurry up and send me home so I can use the Hongjun Pagoda to heal!

What if I expose myself elsewhere? “Nonsense! You are injured to this extent; if I don't fix you up, you’ll kick the bucket before we even reach home.” The old man was annoyed. To be counter-tracked by someone using my level of martial arts!

Damn it all! If I returned him directly to the Jun residence, your family’s elder would only blame and depress me to death! How could I return at such a moment of disgrace without properly patching this kid up first? Saying that, the two arrived at a low, humble dwelling.

The old man bent down, swiftly carrying Jun Xie inside, and gently set him on the ground before beginning a thorough examination of his wounds, working from top to bottom. He couldn't help but gasp in amazement! On Jun Xie’s chest, a sword had nearly passed clean through, and there were two distinctly clear, purplish-black bruises, obviously the result of two feet kicking him simultaneously in the chest. Given the skill level of those Silver-rank assassins, either of those blows alone should have been fatal.

Yet this boy survived a stab to a vital area and two kicks! That wasn’t even the most astonishing part. What was truly outrageous was that not a single rib was broken! The old man carefully channeled his Xuan Qi into the meridians for inspection; his internal organs showed no damage, and there was no internal bleeding either.

He couldn't help but widen his eyes. This sword thrust was aimed too perfectly! It struck right into a gap! Has this brat’s luck become too absurd?

“Kid, you didn’t invite those assassins yourself, did you? Why would they treat you with such delicate care? Looking at these injuries, I highly suspect you colluded with them. Were you trying to play the hero saving the beauty to win the favor of that pretty little girl?!” The old man stroked his beard, squinting sideways, his expression as lewd as possible.

Jun Xie was nearly choked by this sudden, bizarre speculation, caught between laughter and tears: “Old man, you really dare to imagine things! I almost lost my life! Is this how one plays hero saving the beauty?... Are you just going to stand there?

Hurry up and tend to my thigh! Can’t you see it’s still bleeding?” Jun Xie was speechless. This old man, despite his age, seemed so haphazard in his actions, completely off-the-mark! Why would his own grandfather hire someone like this to follow him?

“Hmph, you insolent brat, do I need you to teach me how to do my job?” The old man puffed out his beard. “You’ve got luck, kid—you won’t die! Nor will you be crippled!” Saying this, as an act of petty revenge, he slapped his thigh and declared, “It’s nothing.” Jun Xie’s thigh had just been pierced by a sword. Although the bone was intact, the muscle was completely pierced through—literally a case of one sword strike creating two holes.

Now, after the old man’s slap, a thousand agonies converged, piercing his very core. He gritted his teeth, sucking in sharp breaths, sweat beading on his forehead, and managed to hiss through clenched teeth: “Old man, do you have a granddaughter?” The old man instantly became wary, his eyes snapping wide: “What are you trying to do?” He had forgotten why the boy was suddenly asking him about his thigh! After all, that sword wound on his chest was far more critical than his leg! If you have a granddaughter, I’ll assault her first and then kill you!

That’ll teach you, you heartless old fossil, to cause me so much pain! Jun Xie cursed inwardly. Didn't he see I’m severely injured? And he’s hitting my wound!

“Oh, I meant that this sort of delicate work is better suited for a woman.” When you are under the eaves, you must bow your head! “No way!” The old man shook his head vigorously. “You, kid, are a known lecher throughout Tianxiang City! Everyone knows it!” Jun Xie was utterly defeated.

Who said I was a lecher? The lecher was Jun Moxie, not me... It was already deep into the night when the old man finally finished treating Jun Xie’s injuries. One of them was anxious to use the Hongjun Pagoda to heal and recover as quickly as possible, growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of opportunity.

The other was obsessively pondering the identity of the supreme master who could detect him and, moreover, counter-track him. These two unconcerned souls never once thought of sending word back to their families first. And Murong Qianjun, who had sworn a solemn oath to Princess Lingmeng to report back to the Jun family, had more directly cast this "minor matter" into the far reaches of the heavens... What neither of them suspected was that, before the old man even arrived, Princess Lingmeng had already dispatched someone to send a message to the Jun family, announcing the news of Jun Moxie’s disappearance (or death)...

They failed to realize that this very delay would ignite the rage of the venerable Elder Jun Zhantian, causing him to nearly wash the capital city in blood!! Just as night fell and the assassins launched their sudden assault on Princess Lingmeng’s convoy, the Tang family courtyard was similarly thick with tension and the drawing of swords.