The Raid

Inside Huawu Tower, Yuwen Hu furiously berated his subordinates,
"A bunch of useless trash! Not only did you fail to assassinate Prince An, but we also lost five of our men. Is this how you do things?"

He slammed his teacup onto the table, causing it to shake violently and spill over.

*This can't go on. 'That person' is in a great hurry right now. If I don't handle this properly, I'm afraid... my little life won't be spared. I must find a way to retrieve the military tally. But Prince An is indeed difficult to deal with. Last time in the suburbs, he wiped out my men barehanded; luckily, I escaped in time. Sneaking into Prince An's Manor, we were discovered and almost caught. This time, the assassination failed again...! Damn it, he's a tough nut to crack!*

While he was lost in thought, a loud noise erupted outside. Before he could investigate, the door was kicked open. Shi Yi, Prince An, and the Eighth Prince appeared simultaneously. With a loud "BANG," she kicked the door to pieces. Amidst the swirling dust, the three of them emerged like gods of war.

Seeing Prince An, Yuwen Hu panicked. *I didn't expect him to find this place.* He ordered his men,
"Charge!"

A dozen or so subordinates rushed forward. The three fought together, coordinating seamlessly and easily dodging the attacks. The Eighth Prince took the left wing, Prince An took the right, supporting her as she fought Yuwen Hu. The situation was highly favorable for their side. Yuwen Hu's men fell one after another, quickly defeated. Holding his fan in his left hand, the Eighth Prince moved gracefully, fighting with elegant poise. Prince An, with the true bearing of a general, knocked the rest of the crowd to the floor with a single strike, beating them to a pulp.

After a few basic moves, Shi Yi successfully delivered a painful kick to him. As he tried to resist, she grabbed his arm and snapped it with a loud crack. Following up with a few knee strikes, blood gushed from his nose and mouth like rain, splattering all over his clothes. Finally, with a swift spin, she threw him over her shoulder. It was a beautiful knockout. After that blow, he lay sprawled on the ground, spitting blood. Weakened, he clutched his chest, kneeling on the ground and begging,
"Hero, spare my life! Hero, spare my life!"

Only then did Shi Yi stop, saying sarcastically,
"Oh my, we didn't even do anything. Why did you suddenly gang up on us the moment we walked in?"

"Hero, I was blind not to recognize Mount Tai and offended the three of you. I hope you noble gentlemen will not hold a grudge against a lowly person like me."

She chuckled,
"That won't do, because we came here specifically to capture you. Do you know how much trouble I went through to find you?"

Yuwen Hu slowly backed away. Taking advantage of their distraction, he threw some powder, creating a dense cloud of white smoke. She covered her nose. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished.

"Where did he go?! Damn it! He escaped again!" she grumbled. Prince An ran to the window to check. "He jumped down from here."

Annoyed, Shi Yi was about to jump out of the window to chase him, but the Eighth Prince stopped her,
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?"
"Capturing him, what else?"

The Eighth Prince waved his fan and replied proudly,
"He won't escape. This prince has already made arrangements."

Zi Lin smirked with a deep, mysterious smile. Just as planned, the moment Yuwen Hu jumped down, he was immediately captured by the Eighth Prince's men. With a blade at his throat, he had no choice but to surrender.

A moment later, the three walked downstairs. The Eighth Prince's guards had bound him tightly and brought him over, bowing respectfully,
"My Lord, we have captured the target as you commanded."

Folding his fan, the Eighth Prince replied with satisfaction,
"You did well."

Then he turned to Shi Yi,
"Well? This prince is still the one who thinks of everything, right?"

Shi Yi was truly impressed,
"The Eighth Prince indeed opens one's eyes. You are so thoughtful, quite different from your usual playful self. Impressive!"

Zi Lin said with satisfaction,
"Of course."

The two kept praising each other, oblivious to Prince An standing behind them, looking highly displeased. After a moment, he spoke up,
"Since the target has been captured, I will take him back for interrogation. I, An Dinglun, will remember today's favor and will personally express my gratitude when the opportunity arises."

"No need to be polite. Besides, I only helped Prince An because Shi Yi asked. If anyone should thank me, it should be her."

Prince An seemed to ignore the Eighth Prince's words, saying nothing more. Shortly after, the Bei Guards arrived with several men to escort Yuwen Hu back to the manor. Soon, only the three of them were left. Prince An walked away, dragging Shi Yi along,
"Hurry up, what are you still standing here for?"

She wanted to say something to the Eighth Prince, but before she could, she was dragged away. Zi Lin followed behind them. After walking a short distance, she slipped and fell. Before Prince An could react, the Eighth Prince rushed over, pushing him aside,
"Are you alright?"

Zi Lin gently helped her up. Dinglun was furious at being beaten to the punch. She was clearly walking with him just a moment ago, and now Zi Lin had blatantly snatched her away? Who wouldn't be angry?

"I think I sprained my ankle... It hurts so much!" clutching her foot, she cried out. Seeing this, the Eighth Prince wasted no words and immediately pulled her over. Bending down, he lifted her onto his back. Carrying her on his shoulders, he said gently,
"Let me carry you."

"No... there's no need for that." Her face flushed red with embarrassment. She quickly refused, squirming to get down. "Put me down, put me down. This... this isn't appropriate."

But the Eighth Prince had already anticipated this and replied calmly,
"If you keep struggling, you will only draw more attention. Be good, stay still."