Su Mu was still a bit dazed. Why had this Villain suddenly pulled her away?
She turned her head and saw a sharp crossbow bolt embedded right in the spot where she had been standing moments ago.
She tossed the fish in her hand aside and hurriedly hid behind Chen Qing.
Chen Qing’s gaze was locked deadly on the woods across from them. She scooped Su Mu up, circulated her lightness skill, and placed her behind a large tree beyond arrow range.
“Hide well.”
With that, Chen Qing drew her long sword and swiftly charged toward the woods opposite.
Crossbow bolts continuously shot out from the woods. The originally relaxed Caravan fell into chaos as people kept getting struck by arrows.
Another arrow thudded heavily into the tree where Su Mu was hiding. Although the crossbow bolt couldn’t pierce the sturdy trunk,
Su Mu’s heart was still pounding nervously. If that arrow had hit her, it would have hurt like hell.
Judging from the dense rain of arrows, there were quite a few ambushers in the woods opposite.
Though this Villain was pretty formidable, getting ganged up on and beaten with swords would still be too much for her to handle.
Su Mu’s mood was conflicted right now. If the Villain couldn’t beat those ambushers, she would finally be free.
But the Villain had just saved her life, and if the most powerful Villain got taken out by those people, she herself might be doomed too.
Whatever. No point overthinking it—she couldn’t influence the outcome anyway.
For now, she needed to hide well and preserve her life. That was the priority.
Su Mu crouched down on the spot, minimizing her profile as much as possible.
In less than half a minute, the arrow rain had completely stopped.
Chen Qing withdrew her sword from the neck of the last ambusher. Her blood-red eyes swept over the surroundings.
Corpses lay scattered every which way.
Mu Qiuzi’s enemies packed some serious punch. This ambush included over twenty Second-Rate Warriors and two Half-Step First-Rate Warriors.
That level of strength could establish a small Jianghu sect.
Even with the Departing Cloud Merchant Association’s wealth, training that many warriors would cost a fortune.
And their equipment—military-grade refined steel and crossbows—was not only pricier,
but it also revealed something else: the Departing Cloud Merchant Association had indeed started infiltrating the military.
These people had some real guts. If the higher-ups found out, the Departing Cloud Merchant Association would likely vanish from history.
Chen Qing just reflected on it briefly. After all, in the future, not only did the Departing Cloud Merchant Association survive, it became the most prosperous merchant group in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
She had no interest in the details of what happened in between. But after this attack, the rest of the journey should be much safer.
If Mu Qiuzi hadn’t run into her along the way, even First-Rate Shen Ling alone couldn’t have withstood this assault.
Mu Qiuzi’s enemies had banked on her having only Shen Ling as her sole expert.
But Chen Qing’s unexpected arrival had foiled their plans.
After disposing of the obvious corpses, Chen Qing returned to the tree where Su Mu was hiding.
Su Mu was still crouched there, body huddled tight, her rosy soft lips mumbling something nonstop.
As a Grandmaster, Chen Qing’s hearing far exceeded that of ordinary people.
So Su Mu’s faint mutterings reached her ears clearly.
“God, Buddha, Jesus, System—protect me! Don’t hit me, don’t hit me!”
Seeing Su Mu’s timid yet somewhat foolish look, black lines popped up on Chen Qing’s forehead.
This person was at least a Second-Rate Warrior. Against crossbow bolts, she might not charge head-on, but dodging them should be no issue.
But she looked this pathetic right now.
Chen Qing grabbed Su Mu’s wrist. Seeing that it was Chen Qing looking for her,
Su Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Though she wanted to counter-kill this Villain, if the Villain got taken out by the ambushers,
her own life would be in jeopardy. The Villain had said she still had some use, so at least her life could be spared.
But staring at this beautiful face that bullied her every day, Su Mu couldn’t muster any joy.
Ignoring Su Mu’s complicated gaze, Chen Qing sent a strand of True Qi into Su Mu’s body.
Her True Qi was domineering. When it encountered Su Mu’s True Qi, the latter scattered in panic like mice fleeing a cat.
The rampaging True Qi made Su Mu’s chest feel stuffy.
After a brief probe, Chen Qing withdrew her True Qi.
This Traitorous Shizun was undoubtedly a Second-Rate Warrior, but Chen Qing could sense that Su Mu’s control over her True Qi was very weak.
What was going on? She remembered that by this point, the traitor had been a Second-Rate Warrior for some time—her control shouldn’t be this poor.
Looking at the clear-eyed Su Mu before her, Chen Qing knew questioning her wouldn’t help, so she released her wrist first.
“Next time, just hide properly. No need to mutter prayers.”
Chen Qing’s words made Su Mu’s cheeks flush faintly.
Having her fearful praying seen by someone else sent her shame through the roof.
Luckily, it was Chen Qing—they’d already been intimate—so the embarrassment wasn’t overwhelming.
“Grandmaster Chen, Miss Su, are you both alright?”
Shen Ling approached, Silver Spear in hand, asking with concern.
“Sister Shen, she’s fine, and so am I. Don’t worry.”
Su Mu patted her chest proudly, acting as if she’d taken out the ambushers herself.
“Good to hear. Grandmaster Chen, your great kindness is beyond words. Miss is calming everyone down right now and will come thank you personally later.”
Shen Ling gazed at Chen Qing with admiration. Clearing that many ambushers in just half a minute.
Such terrifying strength was the greatest she’d ever witnessed—even her master couldn’t match that speed.
After a few more concerned questions, Shen Ling headed back to tend to the panicked Caravan.
The arrow barrage had injured quite a few people; they needed urgent bandaging.
Su Mu wanted to follow Shen Ling and check on things, but Chen Qing grabbed her.
“W-What’s up?”
Faced with Chen Qing’s eerie gaze, Su Mu felt goosebumps.
Chen Qing’s face drew gradually closer to Su Mu’s, her warm breath caressing Su Mu’s smooth, delicate cheek.
The encroaching pressure made Su Mu’s eyes dart away instinctively.
“I’m hungry. Grilled fish.”
“Grilled fish?”
Su Mu was speechless. At a time like this, still obsessing over grilled fish? Greedier than her.
And why stare so creepily while demanding it, and get this close?
“You don’t want to grill for me, so you’ll go find that Sister Shen instead?”
As she said this, a flicker of inexplicable gloom flashed in Chen Qing’s eyes.
It was over in an instant, so fleeting even she barely noticed.
“I’ll grill it! I’ll grill it!”
A chill ran down Su Mu’s back as survival instinct kicked in full force.
She didn’t know why, but when Chen Qing mentioned Sister Shen, it felt incredibly dangerous.
Like being eyed by some horrifying beast of desire.
Su Mu broke free from Chen Qing’s grasp and went to retrieve the fish she’d tossed aside earlier.
Chen Qing eyed Su Mu’s slender back and let out a cold snort.
