CMWKSD -Chapter 276 Carrying a Lantern into the Latrine

It wasn’t until the Crown Prince saw Ji Chaomian standing among the soldiers, clad in a set of utterly mismatched armor, that he finally reacted.

It wasn’t that the armor itself was strange.

Rather, Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian were both scholars—civil officials through and through.

At a glance, that armor simply didn’t belong on them.

The Crown Prince also realized that he had panicked out of concern and, because of that, had overlooked the fact that Ji Chaomian never should have appeared here in the first place.

He took two deep breaths.

Since Jiu Yue dared to go alone, she must have made thorough preparations.

What’s more, they had rehearsed this countless times before.

Nothing had ever gone wrong.

So this time, nothing would go wrong either.

The Crown Prince wanted to step forward and tell Ji Chaomian to go back. But the moment he met Ji Chaomian’s eager, resolute gaze, he found himself unable to say a single word.

Their mindsets were probably the same.

Neither of them could sit idly by and watch Jiu Yue plunge into danger.

Thus, the Crown Prince only gave a couple of brief instructions, telling Ji Chaomian that he absolutely must protect himself.

Meanwhile, Ji Yiqing had already brought Shao Qing and caught up with Jiu Yue’s group.

There was no helping it—carriages were still just a tiny bit slower than riding on horseback.

And Ji Yiqing’s group had come too fast.

Even so, Ji Yiqing didn’t dare rush forward recklessly at this point.

He could only hide at a distance.

Because once they entered the forest, the densely packed crowd inside took both Ji Yiqing and Shao Qing by surprise.

For the sake of capturing Jiu Yue, Prince Hui had truly gone all out.

Who knew if these people had copied tactics straight from Jiu Yue’s special training camp?

The moment they entered the forest, all the peddlers, farmers, and old men shed their disguises.

A rough estimate put them at no fewer than one hundred and fifty people.

Although Ji Yiqing’s group had been sending out signals along the way, time had been far too tight.

Only about fifty people had made it here.

And who knew whether there were more deeper in the forest?

Moreover, it was obvious they weren’t stopping here to rest.

They simply didn’t dare take the main road and were preparing to cut through the forest instead.

Ji Yiqing followed the signals left behind by Ying Yi and the others, while reinforcing them with new ones for Ji Chaomian’s group.

This time, he also had to leave a message for Ji Chaomian.

The enemy’s numbers were likely at least three hundred or more.

They would need to bring even more people to retrieve Jiu Yue without suffering any losses.

Prince Hui was really giving Jiu Yue quite the grand “courtesy.”

The lead dark guard saw the contact waiting for them and ordered the carriage to stop.

In the next instant, the stench of blood flooded his nostrils.

He froze.

Only then did he notice blood steadily flowing from beneath the carriage.

They had been galloping at full speed the entire way, with no time to think about anything else.

Even if they caught a whiff of blood, they hadn’t paid it much attention.

After all, nothing seemed out of the ordinary—right?

But now, seeing the blood, the dark guard leader swiftly flung open the carriage door.

The instant the door opened—

Jiu Yue lifted her eyes and curled her lips into a wicked smile.

That smile alone made every pore on one’s body scream in terror.

The entire carriage was soaked in blood.

Jiu Yue lounged there lazily, staring straight at him.

On the floor lay a dark guard, eyes wide open, long since dead.

The dark guard leader was instantly on full alert.

When had the man died?

Why hadn’t he sensed anything at all?

Jiu Yue glanced outside and saw the people who had come to meet them.

She slowly stood up, her long fingers resting on the edge of the carriage.

The dark guard leader—and everyone behind him who saw the horrifying scene inside—

Shing!

All of them drew their weapons in unison.

Every blade was pointed straight at Jiu Yue, as if afraid she might suddenly erupt and slaughter them all.

It was nothing but her presence.

Her aura, and the killing intent that was almost tangible, made it impossible to ignore.

So much so that Ying Yi and the others, who were observing from the shadows, nearly rushed out.

Then they saw a pale, slender hand extend from the carriage door.

It was clearly a woman’s hand.

And that woman could only be Jiu Yue.

Jiu Yue raised both arms and stretched leisurely, utterly pleased with herself.

Then, with a haughty turn, she kicked the carriage door and complained, “Is Prince Hui really that poor? The carriage is so small.”

The dark guard leader swallowed hard.

Staring at the woman in red, smiling brilliantly before him, every bone in his body echoed with terrified screams.

He had been careless.

Just looking at Jiu Yue, who showed not the slightest sign of being restrained, everyone understood.

Jiu Yue truly was, as the rumors claimed, a rakshasa returned from hell.

Jiu Yue jumped down from the carriage and glanced at the towering forest.

Then she turned her head—

Shing!

The dark guards who had just sheathed their weapons instantly drew them again.

Jiu Yue: …

That really wasn’t necessary.

She just wanted to ask which way they were going next.

Hidden in the shadows, Ying Yi and Jiang Xunan exchanged looks.

Jiang Xunan even gazed at Jiu Yue with a hint of envy. “When do you think we’ll ever have this kind of ‘treatment’?”

Ying Yi shot him a speechless look.

He felt Jiang Xunan had truly been assimilated by Jiu Yue.

He still remembered Jiu Yue once saying that if she were acting as someone’s bodyguard, she’d simply kill all potential threats.

After all, if everyone who posed a threat was dead, then there were no threats left.

Wasn’t that just another form of protection?

Ying Yi’s current silence looked exactly the same as it had back then.

Jiu Yue smiled sweetly, wearing a picture-perfect, harmless expression as she looked at the people before her. “Don’t be nervous. I’m just asking how we’re supposed to go next.”

The dark guard leader saw that Jiu Yue’s hands were empty, with no weapon in sight.

She didn’t look like she could be hiding one either.

By all logic, he should have relaxed.

Yet every inch of his body—down to each individual hair—was screaming that the woman in front of him was extremely dangerous.

Remaining on high alert, he still stepped forward respectfully. “Princess, from here on, I’m afraid you’ll need to walk up the mountain.”

Jiu Yue clicked her tongue and sighed lightly. “Alright then. Let’s go.”

With that, she actually took the lead and walked straight to the front.

The very people who were supposed to be escorting a hostage instead followed behind her one by one.

It looked exactly like Jiu Yue was leading a group of underlings.

The dark guard leader: …

Once inside the forest, Jiu Yue’s relaxed pace surprised everyone.

Did this look like someone who’d been abducted?

This was more like she was out sightseeing.

The dark guard leader was full of doubts.

Could it be—Was this all going a little too smoothly?

So smoothly it felt like the princess had deliberately followed them.

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

But when he looked around and saw their people everywhere—And that woman in red, though conspicuous among a sea of black-clad figures, like a crimson flower blooming in the dark night—She was still just one person.

They had over a hundred.

No matter how high her martial arts were, there was no way she could escape unscathed from such an encirclement.

The dark guard leader convinced himself and gradually relaxed.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince’s group spotted the signals left behind by Ji Yiqing.

With so many people, entering the forest would definitely alert the enemy.

Fortunately, Ji Yiqing had also uncovered Prince Hui’s location in the outskirts of the capital.

Cutting through the forest was simply the fastest route.

But they could only take the main road.

Because no one knew how many weapons and men Prince Hui had brought.

So—

The Crown Prince brought along two cannons.

When Ji Chaomian saw them, he was utterly stunned.

Wasn’t that a bit excessive?

But thinking of Prince Hui’s unhinged nature, two cannons suddenly didn’t seem like enough.

Now there was only one option—full speed ahead.

The Crown Prince raised his hand and commanded, “Full speed ahead!”

The soldiers from the capital’s outer garrison immediately surged forward as if injected with adrenaline.

Don’t blame them for being excited.

Those soldiers who had returned from Pingtai County talked endlessly about fighting alongside Jiu Yue—

No, not fighting—going to war with Jiu Yue.

Whenever they spoke of fighting alongside her, their eyes sparkled with stars.

Their gaze was full of worship.

Two words summed it up perfectly: thrilling.

So every one of them wanted to hurry.

Otherwise, with Jiu Yue’s clean and decisive style, if they arrived late, they’d probably not even get a sip of soup—And might even end up washing dishes.

Yes, every single person present firmly believed that Jiu Yue being abducted alone posed absolutely no problem at all.

Some even silently lit a stick of incense in their hearts for that so-called Prince Hui.

Of all the people you could kidnap—Why did you have to kidnap Jiu Yue?

You kidnapped the King of Hell himself.

Isn’t that like carrying a lantern into the latrine—looking for death?