Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

The item the assassin used to lure Qin Ji into a trap, ostensibly auspicious, naturally looked very appealing; at first glance, it even had a somewhat mystical appearance.

Qin Ji wasn't particularly interested in auspicious omens, but many people believed in them, and throughout history, many emperors used them to glorify themselves.

Bian Yushu truly believed it, holding the seven-colored deer as if it were the Queen Mother of the West's peaches, her eyes filled with awe.

Overwhelmed with shock, he forgot all about killing the assassin. He cleared his throat and said to Qin Ji with pride, "Your Majesty is exceptionally wise and a sage ruler; even Heaven has bestowed auspicious omens upon you!"

After saying this, as if afraid of disturbing the divine deer in her arms, she lowered her voice slightly and whispered, "Truly, Heaven has eyes."

After being flattered again by Bian Yushu, which made him feel completely comfortable, Qin Ji looked at the two pairs of doe eyes in front of him, one big and one small, and snorted softly.

The seven-colored deer stuck out its tongue and licked Bian Yushu's face at just the right moment. Bian Yushu exclaimed in surprise and almost dropped the little deer in her arms.

Could this divine deer be reminding him of something?

Bian Yushu suddenly had a flash of inspiration, as if she had remembered something, and grabbed Qin Ji's wrist, "Your Majesty, Fu Lu and the assassins are in cahoots!"

Qin Ji: "..."

Was he with the assassins?

He was afraid you'd cause me trouble like this, you fool!

Qin Ji ignored him and led his divine steed "Liuyue" along the stream.

Bian Yushu also hurriedly went to fetch his horse. His horse was probably being temperamental because he had whipped it the whole way, or it was just too tired to pull it with one hand.

Bian Yushu tucked the fawn into his clothes and pulled on the reins with both hands, barely managing to drag the horse forward.

Qin Ji didn't urge him, and just walked slowly ahead.

Bian Yushu struggled to keep up, and perhaps because he was being dragged along, the horse suddenly mischievously trotted forward a couple of steps.

The reins in his hand suddenly gave way, and Bian Yushu sat down in the stream with a thud. The stream was not deep, just covering his shoes, but it was enough to soak his clothes.

Bian Yushu protected the seven-colored deer in his arms, while he himself was thrown around and felt dizzy. The cool stream water brought him back to his senses.

He was stunned for a long time, then, filled with rage, he wanted to get up and settle accounts with that bastard. Just as he turned over and knelt down, he saw the beautiful colors floating on the water.

Bian Yushu, his face filled with terror, cried out, "Your Majesty!"

Qin Ji turned around.

The boy knelt in the stream, holding the soaking wet divine deer, and exclaimed in alarm, "Your Majesty, the divine deer... the divine deer has lost its color!"

Qin Ji: "..."

The deer dyed by the assassin, what else could it be?

Seeing the boy's panicked expression, a barely perceptible smile appeared in Qin Ji's eyes. "Hmm, while you were reading, you knocked off the color of my auspicious ornament."

Sure enough, it was he who threw the divine deer, and Heaven took its anger out on him, right?

Bian Yushu, looking bewildered, knelt in the stream, clutching the divine deer, unsure of what to do. Just as he was about to kowtow and beg for forgiveness, he heard His Majesty say, "Never mind the horse, men, follow."

Bian Yushu quickly got up, head down, holding the wet, colorful fawn, and followed closely behind Qin Ji, a wave of sorrow welling up in her eyes.

Before Jin Doudou could even fall, she bumped her head into His Majesty's back.

Bian Yushu rubbed her sore nose and tried to apologize to His Majesty with a sob in her voice, but Qin Ji flicked her forehead instead.

"You protected the divine deer, and those colors are a blessing it bestowed upon you."

Bian Yushu rubbed her forehead, her eyes sparkling with tears because of Qin Ji's words.

"Then let His Majesty have a share too!"

...

The two walked along the stream for a while. With His Majesty present, Bian Yushu's mind completely relaxed. The pain from the horse's chafing on his legs intensified, and his feet felt like they were filled with lead. Gradually, he couldn't keep up and fell behind.

With only the last rays of the setting sun remaining, it would soon disappear into the horizon. Even if Qin Ji continued to wander around as bait, he might not be able to lure out any new assassins. Moreover, the threat posed by wild beasts in the hunting grounds at night was no less than that of assassins, so there was no need to risk one's life.

Qin Ji mounted his horse and watched as Bian Yushu slowly approached.

Suddenly, the sound of approaching hooves and the clatter of armor were particularly clear in the quiet night. The newcomer was dressed in the uniform of the Imperial Guard. He nimbly dismounted and knelt beside Qin Ji's horse. "Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your aid. I beg your forgiveness."

Qin Ji looked at this person; he recognized him, but couldn't recall his name for a moment.

The other party quickly and voluntarily announced his name: "Guo Jian, Hundred-Household Commander of the Imperial Guard, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

The Imperial Guard commander found this place alone, without a single soldier by his side. Was it a coincidence, driven by his eagerness to gain merit? Or...?

If any assassin who slipped through the net were to decide to take a desperate gamble, then the best opportunity to assassinate them would be when they encounter the Imperial Guards and lower their guard.

"Get up." Qin Ji showed no sign of abnormality, holding the reins with one hand and stroking Liuyue's mane with the other.

"The main force of the Imperial Guards is not far away. Commander Qian sent me to scout ahead. Heaven has blessed me so that I have encountered Your Majesty here."

Guo Jian rose to obey the order and asked, "Shall I lead the way for Your Majesty?"

The moment his knees left the ground, his right shoulder tensed up strangely, a preparatory move before a hunter's explosive burst.

"Lead the way." In the darkness, Qin Ji's hand, as he stroked Liu Yue's mane, inadvertently touched the quiver.

The glint of the dagger flashed in his eyes, and as Qin Ji had predicted, the Imperial Guard commander, who was standing nearby, suddenly launched an assassination attempt.

"Your Majesty, be careful!"

But a figure who had just approached and was only a few steps away from the two of them rushed forward without hesitation to block Qin Ji and the assassin.

Bian Yushu didn't have many complicated calculations in his mind. He was able to react almost instantly and rush to the rescue because he was close enough to hear Guo Jian's voice.

That was the voice of the assassin he had heard while hiding in the tree hollow.

With almost no time to react, Bian Yushu's body had already lunged forward on its own, even forgetting the sleeve arrows strapped to her arm.

At that moment, protecting the emperor with his own body was his instinct.

Bian Yushu was almost pierced through by the two sides. Qin Ji quickly stopped the arrow in his hand, but the assassin's dagger was extremely ruthless and showed no hesitation.

Bian Yushu was about to die on the spot, and Qin Ji's heart tightened.

With a "whoosh," an arrow flying from afar pierced through Bian Yushu's trouser leg and pinned him to the ground. He moved forward, but his leg remained in place, causing him to fall head over heels. The little deer in his arms was, by sheer coincidence, propelled forward by the momentum.

A painful cry of a deer pierced the sky.

Bian Yushu fell face-first to the ground, sprawling out like a starfish.

The assassin clearly hadn't expected this turn of events. He stared wide-eyed as he pulled the dagger from the deer's rump, drawing a trail of blood.

With a bloodstained dagger, Qin Ji attacked again in a desperate move, driven by the assassin's resolve to die.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh." Four arrows pierced through the air at the same time, instantly piercing his arms and knees. The enormous force caused the arrow fletchings to vibrate continuously in the air.

With a "thud!" the assassin fell to the ground, his fighting ability completely destroyed, blood gushing from beneath him, and he howled in agony.

In the darkness, a man rode up on horseback, dressed in short riding clothes. He leaped off his horse, a cool night breeze blowing, and walked straight to Qin Ji's horse, stepping on Bian Yushu's shoes without looking to the side.

Shang Jingming knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a fist and pushed forward, his posture upright and his eyes like stars. "This humble subject has arrived late to save Your Majesty, please forgive me."

He was like a pine tree striving upwards in the darkness, full of vigorous and indomitable vitality.

Bian Yushu cried out in pain as Shang Jingming stepped on her, and scrambled to her feet.

The first thing he did after getting up wasn't to settle accounts with Shang Jingming, nor to pull out the arrow that had grazed his calf and was stuck in the ground, nor was it out of fear for almost dying.

Instead, holding the unfortunate fawn that had been used as a live target, its hind legs pierced by a dagger, and crying incessantly, it cried out to Qin Ji, "Your Majesty, the divine deer... the divine deer is dying!"