Ambush at Ten‑Li Cliff, Debts Must Be Repaid

Caleb Wang never expected that his usually gentle elder brother could also radiate such sharp, cold intensity. But then, remembering how William Wang Jinling had handled the entire Wang clan, it made sense.

Without real means and only the softness of a woman, how could anyone hold the position of Wang Clan Patriarch? If Southlyn’s Prince Damien thought he could threaten William, he was dreaming!

As long as William Wang Jinling remained Wang Clan Patriarch, Prince Damien of Southlyn would not dare make a move against Serena Feng lightly, lest William uncover it and end up helping Damien’s rivals—or someone else entirely.

In certain circumstances, William Wang Jinling had the power to decide who would sit on the Southlyn throne.

Of course, that didn’t mean William could do nothing. After all, Serena Feng was still in Prince Damien’s hands. No matter what, he had to get her out first.

William Wang Jinling sat in his chair, pondering for a moment. Just as Caleb thought he might stay seated forever, William stood up. “Jinhan, I’m leaving the Wang clan to you for now. I need to go to Southlyn.”

“What? Big Brother, you’re going to Southlyn now?” Caleb Wang jumped up, looking completely disapproving.

The rest of the Wang clan might have been cowed, but that didn’t mean they had no ulterior motives. With William gone, who knew what schemes they might hatch again.

Besides, the Eastlyn Emperor would never allow the Wang clan to get too close to Southlyn. After all, they were once one family.

“Serena Feng is in Prince Damien’s hands. She may not be in mortal danger, but I don’t trust him. I have to get her out. Even if Serena could escape on her own, I need to crush this Southlyn trouble so the royal family stops using her as a bargaining chip against me.” Going to Southlyn was the simplest solution—if he didn’t pressure Prince Damien, there was no telling what schemes he’d try next.

He didn’t want Serena Feng to be snatched by Prince Damien every other day, nor did he want anyone else using her as leverage against him.

Caleb Wang thought it over and realized that, aside from this, any other solution would only be temporary. Though he was reluctant, he finally agreed.

“How will you explain things to the Emperor?” Caleb worried that the Emperor was already dissatisfied with the Wang clan.

Although the Wang clan hadn’t been blatant, the Emperor surely saw that they sided with Prince Nolan. With William heading to Southlyn now, it was hard to believe the Emperor wouldn’t get suspicious.

“Does my Wang clan need to explain anything to him? When the Wang clan first established itself on the Nine Provinces Realm, the Eastlyn royal house didn’t even know which mountain gully they were in.” With those words, William Wang Jinling strode away, leaving Caleb Wang speechless and torn between laughter and tears.

“So Big Brother can say such biting things too.”

On one side, William Wang Jinling ignored Prince Damien’s threats and went straight to Southlyn, ready to negotiate with the royal house. On the other, Prince Nolan and Serena Feng arrived at their agreed meeting place—only to find Dorian Owen and the others missing.

“If we wait half the day and they don’t show, we’ll go look for them.” Prince Nolan circled the area, confirming there were no traces of Dorian and the others.

“Alright. Let’s rest at the teahouse across the street first.” Standing out in the open was too conspicuous.

The three of them entered the teahouse and waited half the day, but Dorian and the others still didn’t arrive. Prince Nolan decided to stop waiting and prepared to leave the city to search for them.

"Should we wait a bit longer? Maybe they’ll arrive soon. Dorian doesn’t know the way—he might be lost. If we wait, maybe they’ll find us." The elder, like most people, felt reluctant to leave after waiting so long without result, always wanting to wait just a little more.

"No waiting. There are shadow guards along the way—he doesn’t need to know the route." Unless it was about Serena Feng, Prince Nolan never hesitated.

"It’s better to search outside the city anyway. Us standing here is too conspicuous and suspicious." After all, this was still Southlyn territory, and Serena Feng didn’t want any more trouble.

Prince Nolan and the elder stood out in the small county town—their bearing was far too unusual, and plenty of people were already watching them.

"Alright," Serena Feng said. The elder never argued back against her.

So the three of them left the city once more. Luckily they did—otherwise, Dorian and his group would have been in real danger.

As luck would have it, just as Serena Feng and Prince Nolan left the city, they ran into a shadow guard racing toward them. Spotting the trio, the guard looked as if he’d seen his saviors and tumbled off his galloping horse.

"Ten-Li Cliff—ambush." Covered in blood, the shadow guard said these words and died on the spot.

The elder vanished like a whirlwind at the news. Prince Nolan said nothing, only gazed deeply at the fallen guard. He gently closed the guard’s staring eyes, carried the body to the grass, and carefully concealed it before leading Serena Feng toward Ten-Li Cliff.

By the time Serena Feng and Prince Nolan reached Ten-Li Cliff, the elder was already fighting a group of men in black. Dorian Owen shielded Zed, while the shadow guards protected the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley. The whole group was in dire straits.

"They’re not Prince Damien’s men." Serena Feng gripped her pistol and rushed forward.

Her pistol’s range was limited; she had to get closer to use it.

"Old Man Mu, we of the Red Blood Hall are here for Dorian Owen’s life today. You coming here is just asking for death." snarled the leader of the men in black, his sword strikes growing more vicious.

Serena Feng nearly stumbled at those words.

So it was Dorian’s enemies. Apparently, not all assassins were united, and not everyone in the assassin world was willing to submit to the Assassin Alliance and its six old monsters.

"If you want my disciple’s life, you’re dreaming. Red Blood Hall is nothing but a small-time group with a few jobs under its belt. To think you can challenge our Six Halls—you’re far too naive." The elder really was Dorian’s master.

"If you two stayed in the Assassin Alliance, Red Blood Hall wouldn’t dare touch you. But you came out, and now you’re alone. Taking your lives won’t be hard." The leader kept fighting the elder, but his eyes were fixed on Dorian, searching for an opening.

"A man and a woman are approaching." The fight was fierce, but that didn’t mean no one noticed Serena Feng and Prince Nolan. In fact, the Red Blood Hall members spotted them as soon as they drew near.

Dorian and the shadow guards saw them too—their eyes lit up, and they fought even harder.

They knew that with Prince Nolan and Serena Feng here, they were safe. After all, they’d seen firsthand how formidable the pair could be.

"Be careful." When they were still fifty meters from the fight, Serena Feng hung back while Prince Nolan gave a brief warning and charged in, sword raised.

Prince Nolan’s martial arts were far superior to Dorian’s—he could even fight the elder to a draw. With Prince Nolan joining in, the battle shifted, and the Red Blood Hall fighters were no longer at ease.

"This kid’s martial arts aren’t weak—everyone, be careful." The Red Blood Hall leader realized this fight was getting tougher and grew increasingly anxious.

They’d chased Dorian Owen all this way and still hadn’t killed him. Now they faced strong opponents—the job was turning out to be a bad bargain.

"Kid? It’s been a long time since anyone dared call me that." Prince Nolan smiled coldly, eyes flashing with deadly intent.

The Red Blood Hall fighters froze. Hearing Prince Nolan’s self-introduction, their leader quickly demanded, "Who are you?"

They certainly didn’t want to offend a royal prince by accident and bring imperial troops down on their heads…