At this time, Yu Xiaocao had already rested for a good while. She smiled wanly at her two good friends and said, “Junyang…Older Cousin Junyang had once instructed me for a period of time on how to use guns. With that added onto my natural talent, I can’t say I will hit every single thing I aim at but I’m sure I can hit it ninety percent of the time!”
Yu Xiaocao wasn’t bragging. She truly was more talented in this area compared to other people as she had been infused with spiritual energy from the little divine stone. Thus, it only took half of the time and effort for her to learn how to use a gun well compared to other people. Zhu Junyang had even repeatedly complimented her for being so talented.
Ning Donghuan slung an arm around her neck and flatteringly said, “Royal Prince Guo, can you lend me a gun to play with for one day ah? I just want to play with it for one day, alright?”
“Not okay! This young maiden hasn’t had enough either! Thus, it absolutely cannot go to you first!” He Wanning glared at him fiercely and then smiled fawningly at Xiaocao, “Young Royal Prince, don’t you have two guns ah? Just let me play with one of them for a few days, alright ah~”
“Blarghhhh——” Ning Donghuan mimed vomiting, “Surnamed He, ah, you’re a woman with a fiancé. Is it really alright for you to fawn over a young master who is in his early teens without that fellow Lu Hao knowing about it?”
“Why do you care ah? You’re just a dumb schmuck——mind your own business ,okay!” He Wanning snarled viciously at him, “This young maiden is considered maternal cousins with Royal Prince Guo ah! What’s wrong with asking one’s younger cousin to lend me something? Is that something I need to hide from others? If that fellow Lu Hao dares to voice a complaint, just watch me put him in his place!”
Ning Donghuan repeatedly shook his head and felt some pity towards his good friend, “Such a good youth yet he has such a shrew at home…”
“If you dare to speak more nonsense, then I’ll let you have a taste of just how strong this gun is!” He Wanning pointed the gun in her hands in the direction of Ning Donghuan with a threatening look on her face.
“Both of you stop! This gun isn’t a toy, so you need to be careful to not harm someone! For the sake of fairness, neither of you are allowed to borrow it. Give it back!” Yu Xiaocao felt much better after taking the calming pill. She took the gun from He Wanning and locked the safety catch on it before putting it away on herself.
He Wanning had a deflated expression on her face and she turned her head around to glower angrily at Ning Donghuan. Ning Donghuan shrank his head down as he muttered quietly, “It’s not as if I was the one who told you that you’re not allowed to play with the gun. Why are you glaring at me ah?”
“If you didn’t butt in, perhaps Royal Prince Guo would have lent me the gun to play with for a couple of days. It’s all your fault! You’re the one who ruined everything for me!!” He Wanning didn't want to admit her own fault when there was a perfectly good scapegoat here. Why not vent her temper on an easy target?
Ning Donglan quietly advised Xiaocao’s two maidservants, Chunhua and Qiushi, to keep a close eye on their master that evening. That night, when they had hunkered down in a farmer’s house, Yu Xiaocao ran a high fever. Fortunately, they had brought along some fever reducing solution. In addition, the little divine stone stayed by her side the entire night, helping her to process through these complex emotions. After tossing and turning for an entire night, she was finally able to settle herself by the next day.
The other people saw her pale and listless looking face and felt pity rise in their hearts towards her. Thus, they decided to rest for another day in the farming village before heading out the subsequent day. By doing that, they were now behind ‘Royal Princess Jinan’s’ carriage train again.
By the time they arrived at the site of the next ambush, Wild Wolves Slope, the battle had already finished. Although the enemy had the advantage of numbers, their warriors were not as skilled. The soldiers within the Jin Wu troops were all seasoned veterans who had undergone hundreds of battles. Furthermore, there were a few hidden guards within them who were highly skilled, so even the hidden guard disguised as Xiaocao didn’t need to come out. Within the bleak environment, the soldiers had also hidden themselves, which hindered the enemy. In addition, Xiaocao had given them some paralyzing poison, so it made victory quite easy for them.
Long before Xiaocao and her group arrived at Wild Wolves Slope, they could smell the distinct scent of blood in the air. Ning Donglan was afraid that Xiaocao would become ill from fright again, so he had her and her two friends wait at the side as he went forward to check on the situation.
Ning Donghuan quipped foolishly, “Little Royal Prince, obediently stay here in order to avoid getting scared out of your pants again! Argh~you’re such a sissy that you’re giving a bad name to all men!”
He Wanning frowned immediately and strode forward in large steps and began to quarrel riotously with Ning Donghuan. Suddenly, she revealed a crafty smile on her face and stretched out her tiny claws. She forcefully scratched down on Ning Donghuan’s wounded hand. Everyone could only hear him howling in pain and it was loud enough that even Lu Hao, who was cleaning up the battle, was startled.
“Weren’t you just bragging about how manly you were? You can't even endure a little bit of pain, so how manly can you possibly be?” He Wanning smiled proudly. Ning Donghuan was in so much pain that he wanted to hit her but he had been raised since birth that he wasn’t allowed to hit women. The expression on his face twisted, which made He Wanning grin even wider.
“Third Younger Brother!” Ning Donglan had already seen things for what they were. His younger brother would never be able to gain an advantage over these three maidens, so he hurriedly called him over. Otherwise, that fool would end up just getting even more hurt over the tricks of these three girls.
Although the battle at Wild Wolves Slope had been won by them, they had still been outnumbered so it was unavoidable that they had some casualties. Out of the five hundred Jin Wu Troops, there were around twenty who had been seriously injured and seven who had perished. The seriously injured ones were able to stay alive thanks to the special medicine Yu Xiaocao had made. Even those who had only one breath left in their bodies were brought back from the brink of death. Otherwise, they would have lost more people.
When he found out that Xiaocao’s group had also encountered danger, Lu Hao came over to inquire about everything after he finished cleaning up his area and making sure the fake Xiaocao was okay. Naturally, he spent most of his time making sure his bold and impetuous fiancée, He Wanning, was alright since she only had the most rudimentary skills at defending herself. He was afraid that she might have lost her temper in the midst of battle and rushed forward, injuring herself. He Wanning did her best to convince him that everything was fine. It was only after he saw that the person he needed to protect and his fiancée was safe and sound did he finally leave anxiously.
For the rest of the journey, the main group had been ambushed a few more times. However, these attacks were all much smaller than the attack at Wild Wolves Slope. The crafty enemy even began to use poison. Luckily, Xiaocao had refined a large batch of detoxifying pills. Thus, although there were people who had gotten injured, no one had ended up dying during these attacks.
With Lu Hao and the others as the bait, Xiaocao and her group were able to swimmingly get closer to the stud farm. Unfortunately, when they were about twenty kilometers away from their destination, they had gotten intercepted by a group.
The leader of the enemy group was a handsome fellow with a pretty face and elegant demeanor. However, an evil aura could be sensed from him and it was easy to tell at a glance that he wasn’t a good person. Furthermore, he was able to immediately spot the disguise on Xiaocao’s face. He grinned confidently as he said, “Royal Princess Jinan, it’s quite difficult to get an audience with you ah!”
“If I’m not remembering incorrectly, I’m pretty sure we’ve never met before. Why do you want an audience with me?” Yu Xiaocao knew that the hidden guards she had brought with her had already gone ahead to the stud farm. As long as they stalled for an hour, the stewards and guards at the farm would notice that they hadn't arrived and would absolutely send people to look for them. Furthermore, the stud farm even had a squadron of special soldiers from the firearms barracks guarding them.
The man smiled faintly and replied, “Although you have no knowledge of me, this lowly one has admired you for a long time. I don’t have any ill intentions in inviting you over. This one is interested in concocting medicines and is considered talented in this area. When I found out that Your Highness was also proficient, I wanted to invite you over to my residence so we could compare notes!”
“Then I will have to disappoint you. This young maiden only has a shallow knowledge of the medicinal arts and only knows how to make the most ordinary of medicines. If you want to find someone to compare notes with, our Central Plains has quite a few talented people, such as Young Master Xu from Medicinal King Valley. His abilities are much better than mine!”
The little divine stone had the ability to read people’s minds, so he had told Yu Xiaocao that the person in front of her was the traitor from Medicine King Valley, Lei Tengfeng. This guy had once competed against Xu Ziyi for the status of the future master of the sect. However, because the current leader didn’t like his personality, he ended up losing to Xu Ziyi. That was the reason why she deliberately mentioned Xu Ziyi earlier.
As expected, the expression on Lei Tengfeng’s face changed as he couldn’t keep the smile on his face anymore. He asked, “Your Highness truly is learned and has a good memory. You even know about the hidden and secretive Medicine King Valley. Perhaps you’ve had some contact with the young master there?”
“We can’t be considered to be very close. However, the last time when I was here, I ended up saving Young Master Xu’s life while I was deep within the mountains. That’s all.” Yu Xiaocao smiled slightly as she spoke in a calm and collected manner. It was as if she didn’t think much of what had happened in the past.
The expression on Lei Tengfeng’s face changed again. It was important to realize that Medicine King Valley was a sect that repaid its debts and grievances in a strict manner. The young maiden in front of him had actually saved the young master from the sect, which meant that Medicine King Valley owned her an incredible favor. If he ended up kidnapping her, that meant the people from the sect would never let him go!
However, after thinking a bit, he realized that he had been living incognito ever since he fled from Medicine King Valley. Even if he didn’t kidnap her, the sect would never let him go either. As long as he was able to obtain what he wanted from this maiden surnamed Yu, then the people from the sect wouldn’t be able to do anything to him either!
Lei Tengfeng frowned deeply as he said, “Your Royal Highness, now that you mention it, this one is also related to Medicine King Valley. In fact, Young Master Xu is considered my younger martial brother ah! Since you’ve saved him, that means you’re my benefactor too. This one has a residence in a nearby town. If you don’t disdain it, then please come back with me to allow me to toast some good wine to thank you…”
“I will have to refuse!” Yu Xiaocao immediately pushed away his offer, “You say that this wine is good, but can the wine here in the middle of nowhere compare to the wine that my Yu Family makes? If you want to invite me for food, do you really think the food at your place can compare to the food at Zhenxiu Restaurant? Since you’ve already investigated me before, then you must know that many of the recipes at Zhenxiu Restaurant are related to me as I was the one who gave them their recipes. Thus, don’t mention bringing me over as a guest to your residence anymore. I still need to finish my journey, so please stop blocking me!”
“Your Royal Highness, I’m afraid that I cannot let you go!” Lei Tengfeng clearly didn’t expect Yu Xiaocao would reject his offer so directly. He was unable to keep the fake smile on his face as he continued, “Your Highness, this one will have to advise you to obediently go with me. Don’t refuse my good intentions now, otherwise you’ll regret it later!”
“Since this princess has no interest in drinking a toast with you, I naturally have no desire in drinking a forfeit either!” Yu Xiaocao crossed her arms around her chest and stubbornly stood her ground. This demeanor paired with the male clothing on her made her seem quite heroic, causing He Wanning’s eyes to shine in admiration.
Lei Tengfeng sneered coldly, “Your Royal Highness, do you truly believe that you will be able to prevail against all of my brave soldiers with just those two puny guns on you?” After he spoke, he blew a loud whistle. Not far from where they were, a dozen horses appeared from a small glade of trees, galloping over at high speed. There was a strong warrior seated on each horse.
“Psh——” Yu Xiaocao’s confident expression didn’t change one iota as she chuckled icily. She asked casually, “Did you forget just whose domain you are standing on now?”
“Are you talking about the Tuha’erhanbu Tribe? They just finished quelling internal unrest, so how would they have the time to meddle in other matters? Let me advise you to stop trying to stall for time as it’s all in vain. Obediently come with me to avoid suffering more in the future!” An evil expression surfaced on Lei Tengfeng’s face.
