Lucian Vane’s sudden appearance made Ivy Shen feel like the end of the world was coming. How many is that now, huh?
It’s the fifth! Yep, every single one of them thought they were being clever coming here—this is number five!
“Little White Rabbit?” Lucian Vane was just about to wonder why Liam Willow was here, but when he saw the bandages wrapped around Ivy Shen’s shoulder and arm, he rushed over in a panic. “Xin’er, what happened? Seriously, what happened? Which bastard hurt you? I’ll chop him up!”
Smack! Ivy didn’t hold back and hammered him right on the head. “Damn it, why did you show up too?!”
Suddenly getting whacked, Lucian Vane pouted in protest. “I was worried about you!” Then, remembering what she’d just said, he got curious. “Wait, why’d you say ‘too’?" He turned to the stunned Liam Willow and started to put two and two together, grinning. “Looks like me and Little White Rabbit have something in common! We both care about you!” With that, he flashed Liam a dazzling smile.
“Hey, Snake! We meet again!” Out of nowhere, Ethan Chu popped his head out and greeted them. Hilarious—if anyone’s worried about her, he was actually the first one here!
“You… how come?” Next second, Lucian Vane grumbled, “Hey, why are you on Xin’er’s bed?” He grabbed Ethan Chu’s arm, trying to yank him off. “You jerk, get down now!”
Smack, smack! Ivy Shen angrily punched both their heads again. “Can you two quit messing around? This is the imperial palace—people are outside!”
Hearing this, both of them rubbed their heads, looking super aggrieved. Lucian Vane glared at Ethan Chu, furious that this guy had actually hidden in Xin’er’s bed—so shameless!
Ethan Chu glared right back at Lucian Vane. To be honest, he hadn’t wanted to show his face, but since he’d been hiding under the covers, Lucian would never have known. Still, remembering Lucian’s smug look from before, Ethan couldn’t help feeling annoyed and decided to take this chance to mess with him.
Hearing that, the three looked at each other, then lowered their heads. “We really were just worried about you. We had no idea the others would show up too…”
Excuses, all of you! Do you even realize how dangerous it is here? I’m seriously injured and can’t protect you, you know?” Okay, maybe that sounded harsh, but honestly, their martial arts really weren’t on her level!
“We can protect ourselves!” the three blurted out at once.
Seeing this, Ivy Shen sighed helplessly. “Fine, fine, there’s no reasoning with you. I was about to change my plan anyway, but now that you’re all here, we have to move it up.” She turned to Liam Willow. “Before Jude Song gets back, we need to talk fast. Liam, go bring Adrian Night in from outside.”
“What?!” The three cried out again. Adrian Night? Since when was he here? And if he was, how could he just stroll around outside like it was nothing?!
“Stop being shocked. We have to hurry, or Butterfly Rogue will definitely blow his cover. Oh, and Liam—Adrian Night is that maid from earlier!” Ivy was genuinely worried; as Lord Shangguan’s stand-in, he’d definitely want to sneak into the palace, but getting in is easy—getting into the inner court is a whole other story!
“Butterfly Rogue? You’ve seen him? Wait, is he here too?” Lucian Vane asked, wide-eyed.
“Saw him days ago. He’s just like you guys—everyone thinks no one else knows. Sigh.” Ivy Shen sighed, really worried. If the five of them managed to show up, then Caleb Miles and Eli Crane must be…
Liam Willow saw Ivy Shen fall silent and immediately understood what she was anxious about, so he quickly headed outside.
“Oh, Saint Willow, you’re out! How’s it going?” Official Gavin Gao hurried over, looking worried.
“Uh… The vengeful ghost is way too strong—we need someone with a super healthy body to lure it out.” Liam Willow blurted out, making up a reason on the spot.
“Huh? Really?” Official Gavin Gao was shocked and a bit worried. Wait, does that mean him?
Nina Xu jumped in, “I’m super healthy—I’ll help!”
“Uh, nope, no need. He’s fine, really.” Liam quickly waved off the offer, then turned to the odd ‘maid.’ “You, get in there!”
Adrian Night instantly got the hint and hurried inside.
“Can’t I go in?” Nina Xu asked anxiously. She was desperate to know what was happening inside.
“Nope,” Liam Willow shot her down. He was about to close the door when he caught sight of Luna and a tall man whispering in the dark corner. “What’s she up to?” he blurted out without thinking.
“Oh, I just heard there might be assassins in the palace, so General Du is bringing in three hundred thousand soldiers! Apparently, the Empress and Crown Prince’s palaces are each getting a hundred and fifty thousand.” Official Gavin Gao, who loved gossip and chatter, jumped in to explain.
Liam Willow frowned and quickly shut the door, then slipped around the curtain to Ivy’s bedside.
Meanwhile, Lucian Vane and Ethan Chu were trying really hard not to laugh at Adrian Night’s outfit. Liam glanced at Adrian and had to admit, the getup was kinda… something, but did it really deserve this much giggling?
“Shut up, you two!” Adrian Night shot them a glare. What the heck—just in that short moment, how did two more people end up in the room?!
“Wifey, they have to leave—right now!” Liam Willow suddenly remembered what he’d just seen. “If they don’t go now, they won’t get out at all!”
“What’s wrong?” Ivy Shen frowned, hearing the urgency in Liam Willow’s voice. She could tell things were serious.
Sure enough…
“Three hundred thousand soldiers are about to swarm in. The Empress is putting one hundred fifty thousand in Jude Song’s palace and the same in hers. The troops are heading this way—if they don’t leave right now, they’ll be totally trapped.” Liam Willow knew they were all super skilled, but this was one hundred fifty thousand elite soldiers. No way could they fight that many, especially inside the palace. If a fight broke out, guards would flood in like a tidal wave, and then…
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Liam Willow didn’t dare think any further—the more he imagined, the more terrified he got. These people were his family…
“What?” Ivy Shen was shocked by Liam Willow’s words. That Cao Wan’er really was cunning—looks like she’s scared now, so she’s sending all these soldiers to keep herself safe.
“All of you listen up! You have to leave the palace—right now, immediately!” Ivy Shen was seriously worried. If the guards showed up out of nowhere, the consequences…
“Xin’er…” Several people called out at once, their voices full of concern.
“Ethan Chu, when you get out, go to Lord Shangguan’s residence and look for Butterfly Rogue. He’s disguised as Lord Shangguan right now, so he’ll definitely find a way to come here.” She turned to the other two. “Lucian Vane, you figure out how to find Eli Crane—he’s bound to try sneaking into the palace too. Adrian Night, you go after Caleb Miles. Whatever you’re thinking, they’ll be thinking the same thing. Remember, absolutely do NOT let them enter the palace.”
“Wifey…”
“You all have to leave right now. Here—let’s meet at the north gate in five days.” Ivy Shen had no choice; only this way would they leave with peace of mind.
“Xin’er, I can’t bear to leave you,” Lucian Vane said worriedly.
“Me too,” Ethan Chu echoed.
“Xin’er…” Adrian Night didn’t know what to say—he was just as worried.
“I know, I worry about you all too. But if you don’t want to see my corpse, you have to do what I say. Five days—give me five days to recover, and then we’ll be ready to fight.” Ivy Shen said quickly.
“Okay!”
“You must find those three—please, I’m counting on you.” At this moment, Ivy Shen had unknowingly united all seven of them together.
“Go, hurry! Leave before the guards arrive!” Liam Willow urged, just as anxious.
The three nodded to each other and quietly slipped out the window. Less than a minute after they left, footsteps thundered outside like an earthquake—they knew, the hundred and fifty thousand troops had arrived!
Seeing this, Liam Willow wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at Ivy Shen. “Wifey, I’m sorry… Don’t blame them. They were just worried about you. I know they didn’t mean to cause trouble.”
“I know,” Ivy Shen took a deep breath. Of course she knew those fools were just worried about her.
“Wifey, do you blame us?”
“Silly rabbit, how could I blame you? Even if they hadn’t come, I was going to change the plan anyway.” Right now, Ivy Shen still hadn’t mentioned her sister. She had to change the plan—Flame Valley, yes, before attacking here, she had to rescue her sister. But the only way to save her was with the sword from Flame Valley!
But what Ivy Shen didn’t expect was that the three had slipped out of the Crown Prince’s palace and were now hiding nearby. Lucian Vane grinned wickedly, “I bet we’re all thinking the same thing, right?”
“Exactly. As long as Xin’er’s in here, we’re not leaving, even if it kills us,” Ethan Chu agreed.
“Good. If we’re agreed, let’s stay and protect her. But first, we each have a mission—if we made it in, the other three must have too. If I’m right, they’re already in the palace. So, let’s each go find one of them. Three nights from now, let’s meet back here at midnight and make a new plan!” Adrian Night said after thinking it over.
“Agreed!” Lucian Vane and Ethan Chu said together. The next moment, the three nodded and split up, each heading in a different direction.