The man in black stared at her in terror, unable to utter a word.
Terrifying.
So terrifying.
What kind of noble lady knew martial arts?!
"Speak, were you followed?"
The blade sliced through his flesh, a pain, a soul-tearing pain.
"Ah—"
His mouth was forcibly pried open.
"What—what did you feed me?"
Ye Luan flicked his head away and spoke faintly, "The antidote. As long as you answer my questions, I will let you go."
The man in black swallowed in fear.
"No one, no one followed us."
It was true, Madam Gao had only sent these few useless people; they couldn't kill her.
Confirming no one was following, she breathed a sigh of relief.
She feared Xiao Chi Zhan would track her down by any clue.
"Miss, Miss—"
Nanny Fang and Fudai chased after her.
Ye Luan lowered her eyes, the silver saber glinting.
The man in black was greatly alarmed; he couldn't escape and was instantly killed, blood splattering everywhere.
When Fudai ran over, she saw her young lady sheathing her saber. She was surprised but also inexplicably relieved.
"Was it the Madam who sent them?"
Nanny Fang quickly examined Ye Luan from head to toe. Seeing she was unharmed, the worry in her heart finally subsided.
Ye Luan nodded, "It was probably the old man at the back gate who leaked the information. Madam Gao found out we went out and sent people to kill us."
Damn it, if she weren't returning, she would definitely avenge this.
"Deal with these corpses, then we'll leave."
Absolutely no trace should be left behind.
This delay wasted another hour.
The carriage had several holes poked in it, and the cold wind was biting.
Ye Luan directly hitched the horses the men in black were riding to the carriage, replacing their previous old horse.
With two good horses pulling the carriage, the speed increased considerably.
Upon arriving at Qizhou County, Ye Luan sensitively noticed that the inspection at the city gate was extremely strict, with soldiers searching very thoroughly.
She craned her neck to look a few times, seeing that the inspecting soldiers were all holding several portraits and searching.
Her heart skipped a beat.
A bad premonition rose within her.
"Miss, why is it suddenly so strict? Did something happen?" Nanny Fang asked, lifting the other side of the carriage curtain to look.
Ye Luan sat in the carriage, squinting slightly. As they passed a searching soldier, she leaned out to get a good look at the portrait.
She looked at the woman in the portrait, her lips twitching.
The drawing was truly hideous.
Nanny Fang also saw it, and in her fright, she quickly closed the curtain, gripping Ye Luan's hand nervously, "Miss!"
"Relax, they won't recognize us looking like this."
Ye Luan lazily withdrew her gaze, suppressing the emotions in her heart.
Before entering the city gate, they underwent several waves of inspection; they might as well have been turned inside out.
Fudai was anxious, "Miss, why are the soldiers in Qizhou County all searching for you? Could it be the Prince's doing?"
"Yes, that bastard, he never does anything right."
Ye Luan sneered!
How could a dignified Prince have such a small stomach? She just ran away.
Did he have to make such a big fuss to capture her?
"Alright, never mind him. We'll go to the dock tonight, take a boat, and head to Jiangzhou County."
The waterway was the fastest; traveling by carriage was too slow.
After entering the city, Ye Luan found that there were even more patrolling soldiers, almost searching house by house.
She couldn't help but touch her face, luckily she had disguised herself.
"Miss, Miss, there's a notice posted over there, many people are looking at it. Should we go see?"
Ye Luan waved her hand, "It's probably looking for me. Don't bother, let's go straight to the dock."
Her mood was somewhat heavy.
She had witnessed the terrifying obsession of Xiao Chi Zhan, actually searching the entire city for her.
If she were really caught and brought back, she would surely lose her life.
Escape.
She had to escape.
With such strict searches in Qizhou County, other prefectures and counties would be even more so. The farther she was from the capital, the safer it would be.
She needed to hurry south.
She absolutely could not be found by that madman.
She couldn't imagine how furious he would be, nor what her fate would be if she were caught and brought back.
It was too terrifying.
But when she went to the dock, Ye Luan discovered that all the docks were sealed, and departure was strictly prohibited!
She stood by the dock, feeling the cold sea breeze, her gaze blank. Gritting her teeth, she uttered word by word, "Holy—shit—."
"What can we do? The waterway is blocked, we can't take a boat, how do we leave?"
Now, inside and outside the city, there were soldiers searching for Miss everywhere; it was too unsafe.
Fudai supported Nanny Fang and chimed in, "Yes, Miss, what should we do?"
Land travel was strictly checked, and the waterway was blocked.
At this moment, Ye Luan was so angry her eyes were a little red.
She clenched her fists, looked at the blue sky and sea, and mentally cursed Xiao Chi Zhan's ancestors eighteen generations back.
Shameless!
Utterly shameless!
After a long pause, she took a deep breath and turned.
"Let's find an inn first."
It was already dark. If they hadn't intended to take a boat, they wouldn't have entered the city.
Now that the waterway was impassable, she had to leave the city and take the official road south.
The searches within the city were particularly strict, and even inn registrations were meticulously detailed.
After going upstairs and entering the room, Ye Luan removed her makeup. She didn't even eat and slept soundly until noon.
After traveling by carriage all day, she was truly exhausted.
The next day, she woke up very early.
Nanny Fang brought in breakfast and saw an old woman, so startled that her hands almost dropped the tray.
Where was Miss?
"Nanny, it's me."
"Miss, your disguise is so realistic." Fudai, who had followed in, smiled and touched her skin.
Ye Luan corrected her, "Call me Old Madam."
"Hehe, okay."
After eating, Ye Luan disguised the other two before taking her bundle and going out.
As soon as they left the inn, they saw many troops entering the city, each riding tall horses, advancing menacingly.
The citizens within the city were panicked, thinking a war was about to break out, and they murmured amongst themselves.
They didn't dare to delay and hurried towards the city gates, only to be told.
Currently, all prefectural and county offices in the capital were only allowed to enter, not exit.
"We have no choice. The higher authorities have issued an order to search for Northern Qi people. Don't make a fuss, go back and wait quietly for news."
"Yes, maybe in a couple of days, passage will be allowed."
There were many citizens at the city gate, all noisy and complaining.
Ye Luan frowned.
This scoundrel, he was truly ruthless.
This was clearly a case of trapping her like a turtle in a jar.
"Let's go, we'll go back first."
They waited for several days.
That day, when she went out to inquire, she heard people say that a high-ranking official from the capital was coming this way.
"It seems to be some Great General. The prefect himself received him."
Ye Luan was startled. Could it be Tantai Ye?
"I heard from my cousin that this general is going south by warship to catch some Northern Qi people."
"What Northern Qi people? According to reliable gossip, they are chasing the General's wife, a femme fatale."
"I heard that the wife ran south, so all the counties and prefectures to the south are cooperating with the investigation."
Another gruff voice sounded, "No wonder. All prefectures and counties are sealed now, and the searches are very thorough. It's impossible to get out."