The leader's face changed. He was about to turn around when he sensed danger.
Swish!
The tip of the sword barely bypassed him. The leader's eyes narrowed as he looked at the small child in front of him. She was clearly alone, but she didn't show any fear, and her movement could catch up to them.
Wei Liuying's eyes were cold. She twisted her body, evading the attack from the other three men who tried to catch her. Their blades barely passed by her body as a lock of her hair was cut. However, her sword was ready as she trusted forward.
Jleb!
The man nearest to her had died.
"Boss?"
The leader had the chance to chase after Ji Xiaoli, but he stood there. His two men were stunned when they saw their leader didn't make any more.
"Stop."
With that order, the two of them moved back.
Wei Liuying frowned. She did learn qigong to enhance her movement's speed, but if the three of them were to go different ways, she wouldn't be able to chase them. Besides, the leader's martial arts were quite scary. Her borrowed sword was cracked, but it was still holding on well.
The leader looked at Wei Liuying and lowered his weapon. "Do you know that lady, Miss?"
"I know."
"Would you like to stop this here now?" the leader asked.
Wei Liuying's eyes flashed. "Alright."
The leader nodded. He scrutinized Wei Liuying from top to bottom before he waved his hand. His two subordinates were confused about what made their leader suddenly want to compromise. However, they didn't have the time to ask as they quickly carried their friends' bodies and ran away.
'As a leader, he's smart too.'
Wei Liuying threw the sword away and dashed to the direction where the guard was located. She had ordered Xiao Qing to directly leave after delivering Princess Ji Xiaoli as it was too troublesome if they knew their identity. Luckily, it was dark in the forest, so their identity shouldn't be known so easily.
She hoped that there wouldn't be a day when she would meet with the bandits again.
Even if the chance was slim, she didn't want to risk getting recognized by those people because it would surely tarnish her reputation.
Reputation was extremely important here, especially for unmarried ladies who were searching for potential husband. If they didn't have good reputation, it was hard to say whether they would be able to find good marriage partner or not.
She frowned slightly when she arrived near the entrance to the alley where they first came. Her eyes made out a figure who made her way to her direction.
"Miss," Xiao Qing said as she rushed over.
"Did you deliver her?"
"Yes."
"Good. Let's go."
Xiao Qing was stunned. Did her Miss only want to help the princess without asking for anything? Getting a connection with the Imperial Family would be very beneficial for her as it meant that she had a huge backing. However, she could see that her Miss genuinely didn't care about this, so she refrained from saying anything else.
…
Ji Xiaoli saw the guards not long after Xiao Qing brought her away. Xiao Qing didn't approach the guards, but she let Ji Xiaoli down on the ground.
"Princess, please go by yourself."
"Wait, who are you?"
Xiao Qing patted Ji Xiaoli's shoulder. "There's no need to know who we are. Miss only wish that you won't act so recklessly again."
"You…" Ji Xiaoli turned around, but Xiao Qing had left. She furrowed her brows, but she was not that knowledgeable about the servants. As for the Miss, she didn't see the face and only the small back.
In this kingdom, there were countless young ladies who were still between 10 to 15 years old. It would be hard to find them. And testing them all for martial arts was clearly impossible because many of them might end up getting injured because they have weaker bodies like her.
They would only end up hating her.
Besides, hiding martial arts would be easy as they could just pretend to not be able to dodge. As long as they could evade and let themselves got wounded, who would suspect them?
Ji Xiaoli frowned as she understood how tricky this situation would be if she tried to search for that mysterious helper.
"Princess!" A man called out when he saw Ji Xiaoli. "Why did you run away? Everyone is worried about you!"
Ji Xiaoli looked at the man with a placid expression, keeping her usual aloof expression. "You should have known that I don't wish to return back, Commander Huan."
Commander Huan was stumped. "Anyway, I can't possibly leave you here. What if there's someone who wants to take advantage of you, Your Highness?"
"A friend helped me on the way here. Check over there."
"Yes, Your Highness!"