"Miss Jiang…" Lu Zhen's voice trailed off as he suddenly felt that something was amiss. The street, which was previously bustling, went completely silent. Although this street was relatively secular from the memories of the previous host, it wasn't supposed to be this eerily silent to this extent.
Before he could make sense of the situation, his heart pounded in terror as a deadly arrow shot forth with lightning speed. The arrow seemed to materialize from the shadows, heading straight for the carriage. Its black color allowed it to blend seamlessly with the surroundings, making it nearly impossible to detect until it was too late.
Lu Zhen's mind raced, but he couldn't react in time. The arrow whizzed past him with deadly accuracy, heading directly for Jiang Xue's head.
Panic and fear gripped Lu Zhen's heart as he anticipated the worst. However, the horrifying scene of the arrow piercing Jiang Xue's head and coming out the other side, with her brain matter stuck to the arrow and blood splattered, didn't unfold.
Instead, to his astonishment, a barrier seemingly materialized out of thin air, protecting Jiang Xue. The arrow collided with the barrier, creating a resonating clang that echoed through the carriage. The arrow created a ripple in the barrier before losing its momentum, but the barrier held strong, stopping the arrow in its tracks, leaving Jiang Xue unharmed.
Lu Zhen didn't think too much about it as there were more pressing matters at hand right now. After all, the assassins wouldn't give up easily. Attacking the only young master of the Lu family in the city was akin to signing their own death warrant. The attackers must have been prepared for the consequences.
As expected, this was just the beginning. Arrows rained down on them with lightning-fast speed, filling the air with deadly projectiles.
However, the arrows were useless now; they were only effective when catching someone off guard. Any normal martial trainee could easily dodge and deflect the arrows if they were prepared.
"How dare you try to attack the young master? Are you courting death?" Yu Bai said with anger. He casually waved his hand, and all the arrows, as if on command, halted their momentum and fell to the ground.
Yu Bai couldn't respond in time previously because he, too, was caught off guard. The arrow was incredibly fast, and he feared that any harm to the young master would lead to the madam's unforgiving wrath, not to mention the guilt he would feel himself. Fortunately, the arrow was aimed at Jiang Xue, sparing Lu Zhen from harm. As for jiang xue it was none of his business.
Lu Zhen couldn't help but be surprised by Yu Bai's technique. After all, technically, he was also a third-stage martial artist, but he couldn't pull off this feat due to his meager Qi, even though he was technically at the same stage.
It wasn't only because of this that Lu Zhen was surprised; it was also because Yu Bai could almost materialize Qi outside his body, a clear sign of a peak third-stage martial artist.
He didn't expect Yu Bai to be a peak third-stage martial artist. After all, from the memories he got, Yu Bai was a frail old man and barely a third-stage martial artist.
"Oh, I didn't expect a peak third-stage martial artist to be a mere coachman," a deep, cold tone resounded throughout the place, showing no emotion in its tone.
Although the voice was clearly heard, it seemed to come from all directions as if it were spoken by four different people with the same voice.
"Hmph, petty tricks," Yu Bai snorted, punching to his left side.
Suddenly, a person wearing a black ninja dress with an elephant mask appeared right where Yu Bai had punched. The man barely managed to block Yu Bai's punch, taking a step back to regain his balance.
"Dammit, this old man is strong," the assassin thought to himself as he stepped back to a safe distance before swiftly drawing the black sword tied to his waist.
The slight delay that it took to draw his sword was enough time to let Yu Bai close in on him as Yu Bai delivered a second punch with full power.
"Elephant punch."
The assassin felt a terrifying fist descend upon him. Luckily for him, his survival instinct kicked in as he used a sword technique to attack. After all, the best defense was offense.
"Silent Death sword strike," the assassin muttered in his mind.
The sword emanated a black aura, rendering it almost invisible to the naked eye as the masked man counterattacked the old man.
As the masked man's sword clashed with the old man's fist, a unique and unsettling combination of sounds filled the air. A sharp "clank" echoed as the cold, unforgiving metal of the sword collided with the old man's hardened fist. Accompanying it was a dull "thud," signifying the extraordinary force behind the old man's strike.
Clank! Thud!!
Yu Bai took a step back, while the masked man retreated two steps.
"Looks like this won't be an easy fight. I should let my subordinate carry out the assassination of the young miss from the Jiang family," the masked man thought, refusing to back down as he continued to fight the old man with all his might.
The old man also fought with full power, taking the masked man's attack seriously.
Meanwhile, five men dressed in black ninja attire, each wearing identical monkey masks, surrounded Lu Zhen, Jiang Xue, and Little Lily.
"Young master Lu, please step aside. We are here to assassinate Miss Jiang, and you shouldn't get involved," one of the men said in a seemingly respectful manner, but his tone carried a hint of rudeness and mockery.
"Oh, then assassinate the Jiang family miss. It doesn't concern us. Let's go, Little Lily," Lu Zhen calmly instructed, stunning both the assassin and Jiang Xue.
"Miss Jiang, our interactions may have been friendly during this chat, but in reality, we are still strangers. I respect the choice you've made to annual our marriage, and I believe it's best if we part ways now. Goodbye," Lu Zhen said respectfully as he prepared to leave with Little Lily.
The five masked men glanced at each other, then one of them wearing a monkey mask spoke up, "What about the old man then?" He pointed in the direction the intense battle between their leader and Yu Bai.
"I will allow him to withdraw from the battle," Lu Zhen replied in an emotionless tone.
As he left with Little Lily, she hesitated for a moment but ultimately followed Lu Zhen's orders. His commands were absolute for her, and she trusted his judgement completely.