The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

The bald-headed monk chuckled as he spoke, rubbing his face with his fingers.

Before Miaocui could even open her mouth to reprimand her, the young novice stepped forward and shooed her away.

"Go away, go away! Don't spread bad words in the place where worshippers rest, or the abbot will kick you out!"

The bald-headed monk scoffed and slowly left, leaning against the wall.

After everyone left, the young novice explained, "This person was not originally from the temple. The abbot said that he was not pure in his six senses and could not be considered a monk. But seeing that he was blind and pitiful, we had no choice but to take him in. I never thought that I would offend you today. I am really sorry."

"nothing."

Shen Hanyu instructed the young novice monk to continue leading the way.

After sitting down in the side room, Miao Cui brewed a pot of hot tea. Shen Hanyu took a couple of sips and felt a little better.

She had just put down her teacup when she suddenly said, "It's so quiet."

At times like this, there should be a few scattered worshippers coming to rest; it shouldn't be so quiet that it seems like only she and Miaocui are there.

Miao Cui pricked up her ears, and apart from the sound of rain and the occasional ringing of a bell, there was indeed no other sound.

"Girl, I'll go out and take a look."

Shen Hanyu nodded, but couldn't help recalling what the bald-headed monk had said earlier.

Bloodshed and disaster may befall you, but turning back is the only way out.

Miao Cui left, and the room became even quieter.

Shen Hanyu took a deep breath, her heart pounding.

A ding sounded outside, and Shen Hanyu shuddered, looking towards the window.

She got up and tiptoed to the front window. In the rain, several men holding large knives slowly moved towards her, seemingly not wanting to alert her and let her escape.

Shen Hanyu felt as if her blood was about to freeze. She didn't know whether Miaocui was alive or dead, and now she was being targeted as well.

Looking back at the back window, Shen Hanyu dared not delay any longer. She pushed open the back window, climbed over, and fell onto the stone floor with a thud.

Hearing the commotion, the thieves exchanged glances and headed towards the back window.

Shen Hanyu's limbs ached terribly, but she gritted her teeth and got up. She wanted to go to the front yard, but those thieves came from the front yard, so she had no choice but to run towards the back mountain.

Having finally been given a second chance at life, she didn't want to die in such a miserable way.

It's not worth dying here before we've avenged ourselves.

Shen Hanyu's will to survive unleashed astonishing strength in her frail body, allowing her to run wildly to the back of the mountain and shake off the group of people.

But the next second, a gleaming broadsword grazed her shoulder, blood splattering out and staining her clothes red with blood.

"Where did this evil wind come from? I thought it could pierce through my shoulder."

The thief muttered something to himself, then nimbly climbed the tree and leaped down, easily catching up with Shen Hanyu.

Shen Hanyu looked at the thieves who had formed a circle around her, her lips and body trembling uncontrollably, from pain and fear.

Judging from their attire, they seem to be bandits from the mountains.

"May I ask which mountain you gentlemen are from?"

They were not masked, and when Shen Hanyu asked them a question, they simply touched the tip of their nose and then came over with their knives.

"Save that question for when you get to hell and ask the King of Hell."

They were clearly intent on killing her, not for money or sex, but solely to kill her.

Shen Hanyu thought back to the people she had offended. Could it be Xiao Ran?

No, that's not right. Xiao Ran didn't have time to deal with her. In the past few days, Xiao Ran had found out about Xinghua Lane near Xinei Street and that Zhou Yurong and Lu Lingyue were having an affair, which was causing quite a stir.

Who else would it be?

Shen Hanyu really couldn't think of anyone suspicious.

These men seemed to think that Shen Hanyu could no longer escape, so they simply sent one of them to cut off Shen Hanyu's head as a token of their mission.

Shivering, Shen Hanyu's eyes were dark and unreadable. Suddenly, she lunged forward and rammed into someone, then jumped down the stone steps and rolled into the grass on both sides.

Because they were too close, and Shen Hanyu suddenly attacked, the man was knocked off balance. By the time he realized what was happening, Shen Hanyu had already rolled down the slope.

"Find them right now! Otherwise, how are we going to explain ourselves!"

The men who had just been about to kill Shen Hanyu rushed over. They trudged through the muddy grass, which had become incredibly slippery after the rain. Shen Hanyu, who had rolled down the grass, had disappeared somewhere.

Shen Hanyu felt as if all the bones in her body were about to fall apart. Her shoulders ached terribly, and she was covered in mud and grass clippings. She had never been so disheveled.

That's not quite right either. Shen Hanyu remembered an old incident, and Liang Ruoxue's sharp shout rang in her ears.

"Kill her if you must! She is the second daughter of the Marquis of Anping's household. I am just a relative from Suzhou seeking refuge. I am not important!"

Liang Ruoxue huddled to the side, her face filled with fear. Perhaps it was because her reaction was so inappropriate that those people actually believed her, and no matter how she explained or argued, it was useless.

Shen Hanyu saw her own memory of being punched and kicked, then collapsing to the ground like a lump of mud.

Boom!

Shen Hanyu's back slammed into the tree trunk, and she winced in pain. She finally managed to get up, but the thieves had already caught up with her by following the trail she had taken.

As the broadsword fell, Shen Hanyu instinctively closed her eyes, but then heard the piercing sound of metal scraping against metal.

The expected pain did not come; instead, a pungent smell of blood spread through the rain.

Shen Hanyu opened her eyes and saw the thief's corpse fall down, and Pei Du's figure appeared in her sight.

"Miss Shen, what a coincidence."

Pei Du put down his sword and walked towards Shen Hanyu.

Seeing Pei Du, Shen Hanyu was completely relieved.

"Why is Young Master Pei here?"

Pei Du squatted down. "We followed the thief all the way here and saw the traces on the road. I didn't expect it to be Miss Shen."

Shen Hanyu tugged at the corner of her lips, too pained to speak.

"The front yard is in complete chaos. A group of thieves came and started hacking people without saying a word. His Highness the Crown Prince dispatched the nearby city guards, but I don't know if they have arrived yet."

Upon seeing the wound on Shen Hanyu's shoulder, Pei Du tore off his own robe and used it to simply bandage the wound.

Shen Hanyu's lips were pale, and the mud on her hair had been washed away by the rain.

"I'll take you to the front yard."

Pei Du bent down, preparing to pick up Shen Hanyu.

Shen Hanyu did not refuse, "Please escort me for a while, then I'll walk down myself."

Pei Du knew her concerns, so he nodded in agreement.

"When I left, I saw that Miss Liang took a knife for the Third Prince. This knife did fulfill her wish."

Hearing Pei Du's words, Shen Hanyu raised her eyelids. This Liang Ruoxue was quite good at seizing opportunities.

"It really was you who sent me the message."

Pei Du didn't speak, but it was indeed him.

Without him saying anything, Shen Hanyu was already certain.

But since Pei Du saved her today, Shen Hanyu couldn't help but wonder if her life-saving grace had been offset.

As if he had read Shen Hanyu's mind, Pei Du said directly, "Don't worry about the debt being settled. Consider today's matter as you owing me a favor. If I need your help in the future, I hope Miss Shen will not refuse."

Shen Hanyu hummed in agreement: "Of course."

After safely escorting the person to the side room, Shen Hanyu got off and limped towards the front yard.

Pei Du followed from the shadows, and only after confirming that there was no danger ahead did he return via another route.