After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

"Feed—Lord Ning!"

Seeing that he was in a daze, Shangguan Xiu curled the corners of her mouth slightly, but then immediately suppressed her smile and called out in feigned dissatisfaction.

"Go on!"

"call……"

Ning Nan stared at the gold medal for a long time until his eyes started to sting, then he let out a long breath and solemnly accepted it.

"Xiuxiu, please thank the Grand Tutor for me," he said in a slightly hoarse voice.

You should thank Prince Xin... Shangguan Xiu thought to herself, but suddenly raised an eyebrow, noticing the way the other person addressed her... Hmm? ...Xiuxiu?

"Whoa whoa whoa—"

Just as Shangguan Xiu was wondering who the name "Xiuxiu" was referring to, the carriage suddenly stopped, and Qian Sijin lifted the curtain from the outside.

"Lord Shangguan, we're being watched."

"Hey!"

Shangguan Xiu burst out laughing and jumped out of the carriage.

Ning Nan solemnly put the gold medal into his pocket, narrowed his eyes... suppressing his shock, and even some emotion, and pulled his thoughts back to reality.

He was being watched... A hint of hostility flashed in his eyes.

Immediately, the curtain was lifted, and the big black horse in front snorted and pawed at the ground, while the coachman tightened the reins.

Ning Nan stepped down from the carriage.

Shangguan Xiu was dressed in a red flying fish robe, while Qian Sijin and the other ten men were dressed in black flying fish robes and were all riding horses.

How could such a team be targeted in Nanjing?

Ning Nan's lips twitched... Ha, I just got out, and you guys actually delivered yourselves to my doorstep.

This place is quite nice; it's an alleyway by the water, with a waterway to the south and houses to the north. There aren't many people in the alley now; it's very quiet.

The setting sun cast a shimmering glow on the water's surface. A breeze blew by, causing the neat rows of weeping willows along the water's edge to sway in the wind. Ning Nan even felt a long-lost sense of coolness.

Qian Sijin and the others dismounted to prevent the horses from being startled and falling into the water.

About a hundred paces behind them, there was a corner leading to another alley.

Xiuxiu said that this alley is called Huaishui Alley, and then pointed to the alley where someone seemed to be following them and said that it was Taolu Alley.

Qian Sijin ordered Xu Cheng to take two Imperial Guards to investigate.

Xu Cheng and his men grinned maliciously and immediately responded.

Clang!

Without exchanging a word, the three drew their embroidered spring knives and formed a pincer movement, pressing towards Taolu Lane.

After walking about a hundred steps, the three of them turned a corner and disappeared from their sight.

"Be on guard!" Qian Sijin removed the two sections of the spear from his back, snapped them together, and shouted.

The other six immediately drew their swords and looked around.

Shangguan Xiu smiled at Ning Nan and said, "Don't worry, they're probably just some kind of spy. Xu Cheng and the others are all veteran captains; they'll be fine."

Ning Nan nodded, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Just then, several banging sounds and shouts suddenly came from Taolu Lane ahead, roughly like "Who is it?!" and "Stop!"

Qian Sijin gripped his spear tightly.

His eyes narrowed with anxiety. He considered sending three more men to investigate, but then worried that this might be a diversionary tactic by the enemy. He feared that if his forces were scattered, the enemy would seize the opportunity to attack.

But soon, in just a dozen breaths, he no longer needed to worry.

Xu Cheng and his two companions have been kidnapped by the other side.

A burly man wearing a black mask walked out from the entrance of Taolu Alley, holding a knife to Xu Cheng's neck and binding Xu Cheng's hands behind his back.

However, he used the back of the blade, so Xu Cheng could not kill himself.

Besides this burly man, there was another man of slightly smaller stature, wearing a red demon mask, who was holding two other Imperial Guards by the waist and closely following behind the burly man.

Xu Cheng and his two companions were filled with shame and cried out things like, "Kill me if you want."

"Grass!"

Shangguan Xiu cursed.

"Qian Xiaoqi, how do you usually train people?!"

Qian Sijin blushed instantly, and the other six also looked embarrassed, their eyes filled with resentment as they glared at Xu Cheng and the other two… How could they have been captured alive so quickly?!

But seeing that Xu Cheng and the other two were at least alive, everyone was somewhat relieved.

Shangguan Xiu stepped forward, slightly raising his chin, and shouted, "Who are you? How dare you kidnap the Emperor's personal guards right under the Emperor's nose! Believe me, this commander will report to the Emperor and have your entire family executed!"

The burly man with the black mask raised his knife, lifted Xu Cheng's chin, and said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, my brother and I have come to your esteemed place only to seek revenge. After we have done so, we will naturally return these three Imperial Guards to their rightful owners unharmed, without daring to harm them in the slightest."

Shangguan Xiu narrowed his eyes: "Revenge?"

The burly man with the black mask nodded towards Ning Nan and said, "To be honest, my brother and I are from Yunhu. We were once greatly indebted to Meng Hao, the leader of Black Tiger Stronghold. We have come here today to personally kill the Fire Thieves and avenge Leader Meng!"

Shangguan Xiu immediately glanced at Ning Nan.

Ning Nan stared at the black-masked giant in front of him, then looked at the red-masked giant behind him. His brows furrowed, and his expression gradually became strange.

The man with the black mask said, "Lord Shangguan, as long as you are willing to hand over the bandit Ning Nan to us, we will immediately return these three Imperial Guard brothers. In any case, the bandit has committed a capital crime. It seems that the court will not lose out by exchanging his life for the lives of three imperial guards."

"Ha, you dare to negotiate with me?" Shangguan Xiu drew his embroidered spring knife from his waist and sneered. "Xu Cheng and his two companions have long enjoyed the emperor's bounty. Today, they have sacrificed their lives for the country, their bodies wrapped in horsehide. I, the commander of a thousand, will personally report to His Majesty and reward their clan. You two traitors dare to threaten the court?!"

The black-faced man chuckled softly, "I've long heard that the seventh young master of the Shangguan family impulsively joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard and made countless contributions. Seeing him today, he is indeed extraordinary... Stepping on the corpses of low-ranking officers, how could he not rise quickly? In my humble opinion, sir, your promotion is a bit slow."

Hey! He's even trying to sow discord... Shangguan Xiu narrowed his eyes slightly. This scoundrel is really something else. I wonder what kind of reputation he has on Yunhu Lake.

Meng Hao is truly remarkable; even after being dead for so long, he still has brothers willing to fight their way to the capital for him.

A strange smile appeared on Ning Nan's face as he looked at the black-masked giant with great interest.

Shangguan Xiu's eyes darkened: "Gentlemen, you'd better not play these tricks. Let's not beat around the bush. This time, we Jinyiwei have been defeated. As long as you two release Xu Cheng and the other two, I, Shangguan Xiu, guarantee that I will not hold your actions against you and will even send you out of Nanjing."

"If they still dare to threaten the imperial court like this, then I really won't care about Xu Cheng and the others' lives." Shangguan Xiu's voice turned cold.

At this time.

Clang!

A tile fell from the roof of a house next to the black-faced giant and shattered on the ground!

Everyone looked up and saw a dark gun barrel extending down from above.

Everyone's pupils contracted.

The man with the black mask said, "Young Master Shangguan, you don't need to doubt it. That gun barrel is aimed at you. Xu Cheng and the other two's lives are naturally insignificant, but now, with your life added, I'm sure it's enough to exchange the fire thieves for us."

Shangguan Xiu's face immediately darkened. His eyes twitched, and then he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Qian Sijin!"

"Yes!" Qian Sijin immediately responded.

"After Laozi and Xu Cheng are dead," Shangguan Xiu sheathed his sword, his face turning extremely ruthless, "you send men on horseback to take Ning Nan away...and," he pointed across the way, "...kill them all!"

Qian Sijin's face turned pale, and his eyes immediately became panicked.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

At that moment, a somewhat helpless voice rang out.

Ning Nan waved his hand helplessly, glanced at Xiu Xiu... This girl spoke very coolly, but in reality, she was so scared that her legs were trembling.

Ning Nan turned his head and called out softly to the black-faced ghost, "Big Black."

...As soon as he saw this person's figure, he felt that he was familiar. Although the other party was wearing a mask and had deliberately changed his tone, he could naturally recognize him after a few words... There was nothing he could do. Dahei and the others did not know the inside story and thought that he was going to die this time. They were definitely thinking about getting him out of there.

Given Dahei's cunning and ruthlessness, Ning Nan felt that Dahei might actually be capable of killing Shangguan Xiu and rescuing him. If he didn't speak up soon, it might be too late to salvage the situation.

Ning Nan shouted at the red-faced ghost again, "San Zhuang!" The red-faced ghost immediately trembled.

Finally, he looked at the gun barrel on the roof and called out helplessly, "Li Xing!"

Ning Nan waved his hand and said, "Put your weapons down, all of you!"