A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

She didn't hesitate or ask why; she simply nodded and uttered a single word.

"it is good."

Nie Yinniang gritted her teeth and reached out to grasp the arrow shaft in her right shoulder. She didn't pull it out because if she did, the blood would spurt out even faster, and she would die sooner.

She simply snapped the exposed arrow shaft in two with a forceful bend.

The excruciating pain made her vision go black, and she almost fainted.

It's almost dawn.

The light in the woods began to turn grayish-white.

Shen He, along with the remaining three assassins, followed the trail of blood on the ground and finally found Nie Yinniang.

The four people spread out, surrounding her in a fan shape.

Nie Yinniang did not dodge; she stood in the middle of the official road leading to Jianmen Pass, blocking their way.

Her black clothes were soaked with blood, dripping down her body. Her left hand hung limply at her side, while her right hand gripped a tightly bound dagger. The wound on her back was gaping open, a horrifying sight.

She was like a lone wolf driven to the brink of despair; though she was covered in wounds, her eyes remained chillingly cold.

"Nie Yinniang, you alone cannot kill us all." Shen He raised the long sword in his hand, pointing the tip at her, and sneered.

Nie Yinniang did not answer.

She was not good with words and couldn't be bothered to waste her breath on a dead person.

She had only one thought in her mind: as long as she was still standing here, these four people would never be able to cross this line and touch Wei Zhao.

"Look at you now, you can't even hold a knife steady, can you?"

Shen He took a step closer, his eyes filled with malice.

Nie Yinniang stood in the middle of the road with her bare hands—and behind her was the direction leading to Jianmen Pass.

Shen He raised his sword and pressed it down in mid-air just as it was about to strike.

……

On the official road, the vanguard of the Wei family army was galloping at full speed.

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from behind, and a rider in red dust broke through the marching ranks.

Wei Zhao heard the rapid sound of horses' hooves coming from behind.

Looking back, a fast horse charged towards them like a madman, its gray cloak billowing in the wind.

Flowers can speak.

Didn't she leave early? She hadn't finished her work on the covert operation, so why is she back?

Wei Zhao's heart skipped a beat.

Hua Jieyu is the kind of person who is always fine when she's being charming and alluring, but the more she seems to be in a rush, the bigger the problem is likely to be.

"Whoa—"

The flower understood the meaning and reined in the horse, whose hooves dug two deep grooves in the mud.

Her movements as she dismounted were so swift and graceful that they didn't seem like those of a woman in a red dress. Her rouge was smeared with sweat and dust, her lips were chapped, and her eyes were bloodshot.

"Something terrible has happened!"

Three words.

Wei Zhao handed the map to his personal guard, then turned and walked up to her.

"explain."

Hua Jieyu didn't smile first before speaking, as she usually does.

She took out a wax-sealed bamboo tube from her bosom and handed it to Wei Zhao.

"My men intercepted a batch of intelligence: the Seven Kill Tower has dispatched nine top assassins, and your target is you."

She was breathing heavily, her voice so urgent that it lacked its usual languid tone.

Wei Zhao opened the bamboo tube, pulled out the slip of paper, and glanced at it.

The Seven Killings Tower.

He knew this name; it was the largest assassin organization in the martial arts world, accepting jobs without regard to right or wrong, only recognizing money.

The top assassins are their elite group, each of them being a master of around the first rank.

nine?

Wei Zhao stuffed the note back into the bamboo tube and twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Come on then."

He spoke casually, as if he were talking about what to eat today.

Hua Jieyu was stunned for a moment, then became anxious.

"Let me finish!"

She took a step forward, her voice low, but each word was emphasized.

"I'm not worried about you."

Wei Zhao's brows twitched.

Hua Jieyu's tone suddenly lowered, and she sighed softly.

"I'm afraid of... Sister Yinniang."

Hua Jieyu pursed her dry, chapped lips.

"Sister Yinniang used to be a member of the Seven Kill Tower."

Hua Jieyu continued, "After escaping from the Seven Killings Tower, she married into the Wei family and has been retired from the criminal life for many years."

She looked at Wei Zhao, her voice carrying an indescribable bitterness.

"Lu Song is using the Seven Kill Tower to kill you this time. The old lady doesn't have many cards to counter it."

Wei Zhao's breathing slowed down slightly.

He understood immediately.

The only person the old lady had who could hold her own against the Seven Kill Tower assassins was Nie Yinniang.

She was originally from that area, so she knew the methods and techniques well, and might even know the other party.

"You mean—"

Wei Zhao's voice had lost its previous ease.

"She's already gone?"

Hua Jieyu nodded, the urgency in her eyes impossible to conceal.

"Given the old matriarch's personality, she must have made arrangements in advance. Sister Yinniang has likely already set off to intercept and kill those people, and—"

She paused for a moment.

"one person."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhao understood. This sister-in-law, whom he had only met once during the wedding ceremony, had probably gone to intercept the other side's nine top assassins by herself. Wasn't that just suicide?

His mind raced; anyone who could escape alive from the Seven Kill Tower must be incredibly skilled.

Even if she's strong, she can't possibly take on nine opponents at once, right?

The other side isn't made of mud either!

Wei Zhao suddenly remembered the look in the old lady's eyes when she looked at him in the mourning hall.

In those cloudy old eyes, there was expectation, calculation, and something he hadn't understood at the time.

Now he understands.

The old lady was truly generous.

They were willing to push Nie Yinniang out, sacrificing their lives for his safety.

Because in the eyes of the old lady, Wei Zhao was the last male member of the Wei family, the backbone of the 300,000-strong Wei family army, and the core of the whole game.

Was Nie Yinniang's life important? Yes.

But on the other side of the scale lies the survival of the Wei family.

The matriarch chose the Wei family.

Wei Zhao clenched his fists.

He didn't blame the old lady. If he were in her position, he might have made the same choice.

But he did not accept this result.

Do you know the exact location?

Hua Jieyu shook her head.

"I don't know. The people from the Seven Kill Tower came from the capital, so they definitely didn't take the official road. But if they were to ambush you, they would only do so by setting up an ambush on your only route."

She thought for a moment, then pointed north.

"If Sister Yinniang wants to stop them, she's probably heading north. If you walk back the way you came, you'll run into her."

Wei Zhao did not ask any further questions.

He turned and strode toward his warhorse.

"Young Marshal, should we deploy the cavalry? —" The personal guard caught up.

"Need not."

Wei Zhao mounted his horse and grabbed the white wax spear.

More people actually slow things down. A large cavalry unit can't operate freely in the forest, and assassins can hide in the dense woods. Even if tens of thousands of people spread out to search the mountains, they might not be able to find them.

He went alone, making him a small target and allowing him to move quickly.

Wei Zhao pulled on the reins.

"The army continues towards Hangu Pass. The infantry will be under the command of Sister Jingshuang. I'll be right back."

He didn't say anything more, and suddenly spurred the horse's belly.

With a neigh, the warhorse broke into a gallop and headed north.

The white robe fluttered in the wind, the white wax spear was slung across his back, and the horse's hooves crushed the mud and stones, leaving a trail of dust in the air.

Wei Zhao stared intently ahead.

in time.

There must be enough time.

A thought kept flashing through his mind—

The woman who stood in the corner during the wedding ceremony and didn't utter a single word from beginning to end is now in a dense forest, risking her life to shield him from a knife.