Hearing her laugh, Ji Jinmo couldn't help but want to laugh too.
Nan Shiying walked to Ji Jinmo's side, took the long saber, and swung it twice. Finding the feel unsatisfactory, she tossed it aside. The long saber cut through the air, passing between the Empress Dowager and Ji Hong, and plunged into the soft couch behind them.
“Empress Dowager, I’d like to ask where those people you sent were trying to take me!” Nan Shiying stood beside Ji Jinmo, shoulder to shoulder with him, showing no regard for the imperial guards. The two of them alone exuded an imposing aura as if they were followed by thousands of troops.
The long saber grazed past her ear, the chill and sting it brought ultimately transforming into a deep fear that coiled in the Empress Dowager’s heart, then instantly spread throughout her entire body. Trembling, she tried to grasp Ji Hong’s hand for a modicum of comfort.
Seeing that the Empress Dowager remained silent, Nan Shiying did not press further. Instead, she said, “Empress Dowager, I see you have so many capable people in your palace. Could you spare me two?”
“This one, and…” Nan Shiying pointed at the person wearing a black cloak, drawing out her words, “this嬷嬷 beside you!”
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager’s expression changed drastically.
Before she could utter a “no,” Ji Jinmo raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over her, and the Empress Dowager’s拒绝’s words caught in her throat.
Qin Momo, who had been standing by the Empress Dowager’s side and utterly devoid of presence until now, slowly raised her head. Her ordinary and unremarkable face was marked only by a pair of eyes that shone with a dazzling brilliance.
“Princess Consort, you jest. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has shown me immense kindness. This servant would never leave Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.”
“Oh? You truly are a loyal and devoted dog-slave then!”
“This servant is unworthy of such praise!”
Qin Momo’s face showed no fear. She calmly met Nan Shiying’s gaze, a faint smile on her lips. In fact, she should be grateful to Nan Shiying; if not for her, how could she have waited for this perfect opportunity?
The opportunity to kill Ji Jinmo!
After speaking, Qin Momo glanced at the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager’s head shot up, her earlier timidity and fear gone. She sternly shouted, “Ji Jinmo and Nan Shiying have intruded into the palace with intent to assassinate. Their crimes are heinous and they deserve death!”
“Black Guards, obey my command! Kill them with all your might!”
At the Empress Dowager’s order, dark figures assailed from all directions. The palace maids kneeling on the ground felt as if a gale swept past their ears, their hair lifted by the cloaks. Before they could settle, the cloaked figures had already reached Ji Jinmo and Nan Shiying.
The twelve dark figures hidden within Jingren Palace moved in unison.
A faint fragrance spread from Nan Shiying’s body, the scent of irises growing increasingly potent. Qin Momo, however, seemed to have anticipated this and produced two stoppers to block her nostrils.
Ji Hong, catching sight of her actions from the corner of his eye, pulled down his sleeve, covering his mouth and nose, and also covered the Empress Dowager’s.
He then shouted to the imperial guards, “Hold your breath!”
However, it was too late. The moment the fragrance entered their noses, the toxin had already paralyzed all their nerves. Before the dark figures’ long swords could land on Ji Jinmo and Nan Shiying, the imperial guards began to fall one after another. The long sabers in their hands dropped. Ji Jinmo lifted his foot, kicked a saber into the air, and smoothly grasped its hilt. With his other hand, he grabbed Nan Shiying’s wrist, shielding her behind him.
The long saber moved like a dragon. As he swung it, it seemed to emit bursts of dragon roars. Alone, with a single saber, he withstood the pincer attack of the twelve dark figures, maintaining a stable advantage.
A sharp glint flashed in Qin Momo’s eyes. She picked up a long saber, sliced her wrist, and as the blood flowed, a foul odor seemed to spread. Ji Jinmo’s saber-wielding hand faltered slightly. A long sword attacked, and he failed to block it in time. Nan Shiying flicked out several silver needles, which struck the long sword, forcefully altering its trajectory.
With a ripping sound, the brocade split. The long sword cut through Ji Jinmo’s clothing, drawing droplets of blood.
Simultaneously, Ji Jinmo swung his saber horizontally. The dark figure’s mental alarm bells rang loudly. He quickly halted his movement and retreated, but it was still a step too late. The blade cut through his clothes, opening his abdomen.
“Kill Nan Shiying first!”
Seeing that the black guards were no match, Qin Momo shouted sternly.
Eleven black figures instantly changed direction, their swords aimed at Nan Shiying.
Ji Jinmo’s head snapped up. A surge of ferocity and killing intent, like a flood or an ancient fierce beast, erupted from within him, reaching for the sky. In that instant, the attacking figures abruptly halted. Qin Momo, staring at them, felt a world-ending terror.
Her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
In combat, the greatest weakness is losing focus. The moment the black guards froze, Ji Jinmo moved. In the blink of an eye, the two closest to Nan Shiying were decapitated, their heads flying, blood gushing into the air like pillars before plummeting down. Accompanied by the thudding sound of falling bodies, two bloody blossoms bloomed on the ground.
Upon regaining her senses, Qin Momo’s eyes widened in disbelief. She dropped her long saber and, disregarding everything, activated the mother worm within her. The mother worm roared, and her blood boiled, a flush of unnatural redness rising on Qin Momo’s face.
“Kill him! Kill him for me!”
She shrieked, blood slowly trickling from the corners of her mouth.
The蛊虫 within Ji Jinmo began to churn violently, crashing against his heart, gnawing at his flesh. An unbearable pain instantly spread throughout his body. Ji Jinmo swayed, and Nan Shiying quickly pressed her hand against his back. She turned her head to look; Ji Jinmo’s face was ashen, devoid of color, his jaw muscles bulging, and his jawline becoming increasingly defined, as if he were gritting his teeth and desperately controlling his facial expression.
He tightened his grip on Nan Shiying’s wrist, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. Every muscle, every inch of skin, every cell, every nerve was exerting its utmost effort to suppress the torment that could make the world wail.
Nan Shiying’s head shot up, her eyes spreading with blood until they were completely filled. She clasped Ji Jinmo’s hand holding the saber, and a monstrous killing intent surged from her body, a malevolence no less than Ji Jinmo’s, almost obsessively locked onto Qin Momo.
“Quickly kill them!”
Qin Momo, chilled by Nan Shiying’s gaze, her voice becoming increasingly shrill.
“Kill!”
The black guards, wielding long swords, attacked as one, their swords coming at Ji Jinmo from all directions. The flashing cold light formed a net, and Ji Jinmo and Nan Shiying were the prey caught within it.
Ji Jinmo’s wrist flicked and pressed down. Nan Shiying, understanding, crouched. Ji Jinmo placed his hand on Nan Shiying’s shoulder, pushed off the ground, and with a surge of strength from his palm, spun his arm in a circle. As his foot kicked outwards, he swung the long saber.
He forced them all back once more.