Time travel, quick transmigration

Suddenly, a flurry of sword flashes and blood flew everywhere. Shi Yan glanced over and saw a man in black, who had his back to her, being slashed, thrust, and swept away by the sword. He fell to the ground unconscious.

Shi Yan thought to herself that the person was probably dead.

Without time to think, Shi Yan cried out. In the quiet night, apart from the sounds of fighting, her clear and soft voice stood out, immediately drawing the attention of the masked man, the square-faced man, and another Imperial Guard.

Upon realizing that the person who had suddenly appeared was Shi Yan, the square-faced man immediately cried out in alarm, "This is bad!"

"Go away! Don't come any closer, it's dangerous here."

Even in this critical moment, the other party was still concerned about her safety, which made Shi Yan even more determined to lure the man in black away.

"Who are you? Why are you wreaking havoc in this peaceful place?"

No sooner had Shi Yan finished speaking than the masked man, sword in hand, leaped toward her.

Upon seeing this, the square-faced man quickly stepped forward to stop him.

"Lady Taizhen, this man is here to assassinate you. Please leave quickly, we cannot hold him off for long..."

The masked man, though entangled, was not in a hurry. He glanced at Shi Yan and saw her face turn pale instantly, so his thick black eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"If you've come to assassinate me, why harm the innocent? If you have the guts, then take my life directly!"

With that, she slipped away as if she had oiled her feet, running with all her might towards the backyard.

Hearing Shi Yan's words, the masked man indeed shook off the square-faced man and another Imperial Guard and chased after her.

As Cangyu wandered in the dark, it saw a masked man dressed in black relentlessly pursuing Shi Yan. Its keen sense of danger, typical of eagles, prompted it to immediately spread its wings and fly into the sky to find Xiao Huanling.

Shi Yan could only hear the cold wind whistling in her ears. The biting cold of the night made her face stiff and cold. She even suspected that she had used all the strength she had in her life tonight. At the critical moment of life and death, her body also burst out with unparalleled potential. She ran forward, trying to leave the masked man chasing her far behind. But no matter how desperately she ran, she could clearly feel the murderous person behind her following her like a shadow.

Finally arriving at the dilapidated courtyard, Shi Yan ran skillfully to the back door, forced herself to remain calm, removed the bolt, and burst out. The moment she stepped out and ran into the bamboo forest, Shi Yan felt reborn, as if the light was right before her eyes. She dared not stop and continued running forward. The bamboo forest was dense, and only a few sparse specks of moonlight filtered through. Shi Yan groped her way forward, not caring even if she stumbled and scratched herself.

The masked man followed Shi Yan all the way to the backyard and then leaped into the dilapidated courtyard. With his intuition, he found the back door, which was hidden by green vines, with great accuracy. Seeing that the door was open, he crouched down and crawled in, then strode out. The excellent eyesight of a martial artist in the bamboo forest allowed him to search for Shi Yan's footprints very well.

Shi Yan had no idea where she had ended up; she just ran forward desperately to escape the danger, driven only by instinct.

"Little Eight, show me a way to escape!"

Shi Yan, panting heavily, spoke to 0884.

0804 is really anxious now, just like an ant on a hot pan.

"Yan Yan, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I wanted to help you but I didn't have the ability."

"I never expected that you didn't even enter the palace, didn't block those people's way, and didn't compete with them for favor. How could you possibly be an eyesore to others? Yan Yan, you absolutely must not let that assassin catch up with you. That person is Shang Jue, the notorious ruthless killer from the Thousand Machine Pavilion, who only knows how to do things for money and is cold-blooded and heartless. He's ranked number one on the Chang'an City assassin list. If he catches up with you, you'll only face certain death. You can't die. If you die, our trip to the Tang Dynasty to accumulate merit together will fail."

"If you fail, you will die in the real world."

Upon hearing how serious the situation was, Shi Yan dared not be careless at this critical moment. Since 0804 couldn't help, she could only rely on herself.

"Xiao Ba, is there anywhere nearby where we can hide?"

0804 did some searching.

"Yan Yan, run straight ahead along this road. After turning a corner, you'll see a river. Follow the river a little further and you'll see a cave. The cave is fairly well hidden. Hide there and wait out tonight."

"Quick! Yan Yan, that person is catching up soon."

Upon hearing this, Shi Yan dared not slack off and mustered all her strength to run towards the location indicated by 0804.

At the Xiao residence, Xiao Huanling, who was sound asleep, was awakened by a familiar eagle cry. His heart tightened for no reason. Ignoring his injuries, he quickly got up from the bed, grabbed his outer clothes, put them on, opened the door, and went out.

Upon seeing Xiao Huanling, Cangyu immediately swooped down and landed on his arm, letting out a few panicked cries.

Realizing something was wrong, Xiao Huanling's beautiful eyes suddenly turned cold, gleaming with a sharp and dazzling light under the moonlight.

"But something happened to her?"

Cang Yu spread its wings and flapped them twice.

Xiao Huanling's heart clenched upon seeing this.

"Take me to her."

With that, he quickly walked into the moonlit night to fetch his horse.

When Xiao Huanling arrived at the stable, Liuyun snorted at him, but he had no time to care about anything else. He led Liuyun out, leaped onto the stable, gave a soft shout, and rode towards the Xiao residence's main gate.

It was already past midnight, and everyone in the Xiao family was sound asleep; even the two guards at the gate were asleep.

"Open the gate right now, or I'll kill you all!"

The sudden, sharp shout immediately startled the two guards from their drowsiness. When they saw Xiao Huanling riding a white horse with bloodthirsty eyes, they immediately opened the door, trembling.

Xiao Huanling then rode Liuyun out of the Xiao residence like a shooting star.

"Liu Yun, she's in danger. I must go see her as soon as possible."

Liu Yun seemed to understand his words and moved with the speed of a gust of wind.

Cang Yu led the way, determined to bring Xiao Huanling to Shi Yan's side as quickly as possible.

Under the moonlight, Shi Yan followed 0804's guidance and finally arrived near the river. Just as she was about to look for a cave to hide in, she slipped and fell to the ground.

The area beneath me felt wet and sticky, and a sharp pain shot through my feet.

It turned out that he had accidentally stepped into a puddle.

Is it fate that is going to kill her?

Shi Yan struggled to get up, but before she could stand up straight, her right foot twisted and she almost fell to the ground again.

"Yan Yan, how are you?"

"Damn it! That guy's catching up."

As soon as 0804 finished speaking, the masked man in black who had been chasing after them was indeed less than five meters away from Shi Yan.

Shi Yan turned around and saw a man dressed in black, like a demon, approaching him. The man walked very slowly, as if victory was in his grasp, and he was not worried at all about his prey escaping. Shi Yan was like a fish on a chopping board, a lamb waiting to be slaughtered under the man's sword.

Shi Yan caught a glimpse of the cold light flashing from the longsword in the black-clad, masked man's hand, and her heart pounded. Shi Yan slowly retreated, her right ankle throbbing with excruciating pain, but her will to survive kept her from showing any fear.

"I see you have superb martial arts skills, why don't you use them to do something beneficial for the country and its people? You sell your conscience for a few stinking dollars. I bet countless lives have been lost under your sword. With your hands stained with blood, how can you sleep at night? What kind of man are you? You don't even spare a woman like me who can't even kill a chicken. I... I despise you. Even if I become a ghost, I will not let you go."