Daji instinctively wanted to evade, but unfortunately, she only had five ranks of cultivation. How could she avoid someone who was already close to reaching grandmaster rank?

Zhuxie Chixin immediately grabbed her shoulder. He was worried that he might hurt her when he saw her beautiful facial features, so he subconsciously used less strength. “Ma’am, I apologize in advance!” he exclaimed.

However, he still didn’t forget his duty. He reached out his hand and prepared to pour his ki into her body to seal up her vessels.

Suddenly, there was a flash of white light. The ridiculously beautiful woman vanished without a trace.

Zhuxie Chixin was bewildered, and turned around with difficulty. He looked at his own subordinates, asking, “Was there a woman here just now?” His reaction was completely normal. After all, with his cultivation, not even Yun Jianyue would’ve been able to escape after being restrained by him.

And yet, someone with a trifling five ranks of cultivation had vanished into thin air? Could it be that this woman cultivated the rare spatial element? But after he had seized her shoulder acupoint, not even a cultivator with the spatial attribute should have been able to escape! What the hell was going on?

The other Embroidered Envoys subconsciously rubbed their eyes as well. They all looked at each other in dismay.

“I think there was a woman here.”

“It was a really pretty one, too.”

“I’ve never seen a girl that pretty in my life.”

…

They began to chat among themselves, but they became more and more unsure. After all, that woman had vanished in front of so many people’s eyes! Surely she couldn’t have been a ghost?

They truly lost their confidence after witnessing something so weird. Meanwhile, Zu An sighed in relief. Fortunately, he had been able to recall Daji in time. He had been worried that he might have been unable to do so, but thankfully, his keyboard system was still as reliable as ever.

He and the crown princess had already been brought out of the quarantined area in the meantime. Zu An knew that it was almost time. From his previously limp state, he suddenly attacked, striking the closest Embroidered Envoys with his fingers. How could they have expected this sudden development? They were immediately knocked out.

The other two Embroidered Envoys were shocked, drawing the blades at their waists and charging over. However, Zu An was extremely fast. He rushed forward and pushed the blades back into their sheaths. The two Embroidered Envoys realized that Zu An’s cultivation was powerful and not something they could deal with. They immediately reached toward their waist tiles so they could issue a warning to the others.

But the two of them suddenly fell limply to the ground right as their hands began to reach down. Zu An raised his head and saw the crown princess’ complacent expression.

“Hmph, I have some cultivation too, you know?” the crown princess harrumphed, her eyes sparkling with pride.

Zu An was just about to say something, but his expression suddenly changed. He squatted down to examine the two Embroidered Envoys. “You killed them?”

The crown princess gave him a surprised look. “What, should I have invited them to my new year’s party or something?” She picked up their blades and finished off the two Embroidered Envoys Zu An had knocked out earlier.

Zu An’s breath quickened. “We had no choice before, but these two are innocent! It was enough for me to just knock them out, so why did you need to take their lives?”

He was also a member of the Embroidered Envoys, after all. Furthermore, he had his personal code of not killing people he didn’t have to kill. After all, they were all people, and it wasn’t easy making a living. It was one thing killing the guards from before, since they were part of the scheme, but these Embroidered Envoys clearly hadn’t participated in that plan. They were really being wronged here.

“Innocent? I’m freaking innocent! Who’s going to defend me?” The crown princess’ expression turned cold. “If we left them alive, they’d immediately find out that we were the ones who attacked them. Zhuxie Chixin would definitely suspect our identities.

“By killing them, at least I prevented Zhuxie Chixin from knowing how they died. They might have been silenced by a passing expert. Maybe we were also captured by that expert… Factors like that can help mislead their judgment. Isn’t that something good?”

Zu An knew that the crown princess was making sense here. However, he still couldn’t accept the fact that she had taken lives like nothing.

The crown princess’ tone softened when she saw his unhappy expression. “I didn’t have a choice either, you know? If this matter gets out, both of us will be done for. Furthermore, it isn’t just us; even our clans will be wiped out. I don’t think you want to bring down the Chu clan and harm Chu First Miss, right?”

Zu An’s face was expressionless. “Enough already. You don’t need to explain these things to me. We’ve already broken free, so let’s part here. Let’s just return and do what we need to do,” he said as he turned around to leave. The crown princess’ eyes swirled with inner conflict, and she ran over and grabbed his sleeve.

“What are you doing?” Zu An looked at her with a frown.

The crown princess looked wronged. “The palace is in chaos, and there are guards everywhere. How can I move around the way I look right now? Can you bring me back to the eastern palace?”

She was wearing Chu Chuyan’s clothes right now. If someone found out that she had left, and that she had then changed clothes, then wouldn’t rumors fly everywhere? She really would be done for then.

Zu An had been able to somehow avoid danger ahead of time again and again earlier. Even though she didn’t know how he had done it, she knew that this man was reliable. With his protection, there was a much higher chance of her making it back to the eastern palace.

Zu An also knew that she was speaking the truth. After a long sigh, he said, “Fine, I’ll bring you back. I’m leaving as soon as I do.” The crown princess was already dressed, so he didn’t need to carry her anymore. He held her hand, then used the jade badge to search the vicinity for danger.

The crown princess looked at her hand. She could feel the heat coming from his hand. Her cheeks turned a bit red. After a bit of hesitation, she decided not to let go and allowed him to just hold her hand.

As they traveled, they were able to avoid all of the guards. They could already see the outlines of the eastern palace.However, Zu An suddenly stopped. “The Eastern Palace’s security is extremely strict. It’ll be very hard for me to get past them.”

“We obviously can’t go in from the front. Follow me,” the crown princess said gently. Then, she grabbed his hand and walked toward a well. “Is there anyone nearby?” she looked around and asked uneasily.

Zu An shook his head. “The closest is thirty meters out, and there just happen to be courtyard walls and trees blocking his sight. He can’t see anything.”

“That’s good then.” The crown princess sighed in relief. She held Zu An’s hand and said, “Jump down with me.”

Zu An was a bit confused, but the crown princess had already jumped into the well, so he followed her. Right when he was about to fall into the water, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed him. He then noticed that there was an inconspicuous platform embedded into the wall, and the crown princess was standing there.

“This is the Eastern Palace’s secret escape path. It can be used to quickly get away when there’s danger.” The crown princess gently twisted a mechanism after pulling him up, opening a stone gate.

Zu An nodded along to himself. He had seen similar things in the shows of his previous world. He couldn’t help but become curious as he asked, “Then why didn’t you guys try to run away during the attack last time?”

The crown princess replied, “That attack happened too suddenly. The crown prince and I just happened to be out, so we didn’t have time to come back inside.” Zu An’s curiosity was assuaged.

As they walked, he noticed that the pathway was about as tall as a person. There were luminescent beads embedded deep into the walls, so it wasn’t too difficult to see. He felt the path wind upward, and the two of them continued as they had prior.

The crown princess suddenly stopped and said, “Up ahead is where I sleep.”

Zu An cupped his hands. “Since I’ve already safely escorted you here, I’ll be leaving.”

But the crown princess reached out and grabbed him. “I need you to come with me inside. I have something I need your help with.”

Zu An was confused.