Realizing this, Lu Qingwan was instantly furious.
She, Lu Qingwan, had always been the one protecting others. When had she ever needed someone to sacrifice their life for hers?
Looking at the withered trees and plants under the eaves, she suddenly thought of something and shouted loudly, "All of you, get out of the way!"
Silently reciting the incantation for her wood element ability, she unleashed poisonous needles from the Myriad Phoenix King like they were free, shooting them towards the men in black.
Casually drawing her handgun, she fired a volley of shots at the men in black. Caught off guard, one of them was actually hit.
After the first bullet lodged in his shoulder, the man in black reacted quickly, dodging with practiced ease. Lu Qingwan's subsequent attacks failed to harm him further, but he had already landed on the eaves.
A smirk played on Lu Qingwan's lips. "Thank you for your cooperation!"
As the words fell, a multitude of menacing vines and incredibly large plants, like a spreading virus, wrapped around the man in black's legs and limbs, dragging him to the ground.
Lu Qingwan snatched a sword from a Xuanjia Army soldier and, with a downward slash, aimed for the man in black's chest.
The sword tip had already pierced the man in black's skin when she felt a searing heat from the side.
Grabbing a vine, she abruptly dodged aside, only to see a dark, spherical object explode precisely where she had been standing.
While not as powerful as gunpowder, if she hadn't dodged, her fate would have been no better.
However, in the time it took her to dodge, the man in black had already broken free from the vines and was being carried away.
The Xuanjia Army soldiers were about to give chase, but Lu Qingwan stopped them. "Don't pursue. You are no match for them. Don't incur further casualties."
While instructing them, Lu Qingwan was still contemplating how to explain the vibrant green, unnaturally large vines and flowers that had appeared in the middle of winter.
To her surprise, the soldiers acted as if they had seen nothing, only anxiously asking, "Princess Consort, are you alright? Did that man in black injure you?"
"No, I'm fine."
As she spoke, Lu Qingwan guiltily glanced behind her. The trees in the courtyard were still in their withered, lifeless state.
It was as if her wielding vines to attack the man in black and using plants taller than trees to save herself had been nothing more than an absurd hallucination.
Recalling how Yue'er had acted completely oblivious when she first put things into her spatial dimension, Lu Qingwan suddenly harbored a bold guess.
In front of them, she retrieved a steel whip from her spatial laboratory and held it high, feigning nonchalance. "How is the front courtyard? Shall we go take a look?"
A group of Xuanjia Army soldiers escorted her to the front courtyard. The men in black were still fighting with the Prince's Mansion's hidden guards. Upon seeing Lu Qingwan, someone shouted, "Lu Qingwan is there! Capture her!"
Both sides were already locked in a chaotic melee, rendering gunpowder and thunderous explosives useless.
This was the moment Lu Qingwan had been waiting for. She charged forward, cracking her steel whip.
The five-foot-long steel whip, tipped with a triangular spike absent on ordinary whips, whistled through the air.
With a single lash from Lu Qingwan, she could leave a bleeding gash on the men in black.
The quality of the Xuanjia Army's Heaven-tier battalion was even superior to that of the hidden guards. Shen Qingzhou had also returned from the backyard. Seeing that they could not gain an advantage, the men in black attempted to escape.
Lu Qingwan raised her voice and shouted, "Li Su, trap the tiger in a cage!"
At her command, the Prince's Mansion's hidden guards swiftly retreated. With a whoosh, a thin yet resilient net was cast overhead, ensnaring most of the men in black.
The few who escaped were already being watched. Their captors, wielding ropes, entangled them in a flurry of movements, leaving them like pigs awaiting slaughter, bound and unable to move on the ground.
"Xuanjia Army Heaven-tier battalion, secure the perimeter. Hidden guards, continue defending."
"Li Su, take them away for interrogation."
Issuing orders decisively, Lu Qingwan rallied, "Su Shang, come out and tend to the wounded."
Wu Ying, standing stealthily behind her, asked, "Master, what about us?"
Before he could finish, a hidden guard rushed in. "Reporting to Princess Consort, Bai Xing Lin has been attacked. Ying Yi requests reinforcements."
"Alright, work to do."
Lu Qingwan tilted her head and said to Wu Ying, "Ensure the safety of the personnel. As for the rest, save what you can, but it's alright if you can't."
After all, the medical equipment was inexhaustible, and the medicinal herbs could regenerate.
At worst, Bai Xing Lin could be rebuilt. Besides, now that Lin Sa's disguise was shed, if it weren't for the need to accumulate spatial transaction volume, she wouldn't have been keen on going to Bai Xing Lin anymore.
Wu Ying immediately led his men away. Shen Qingzhou stepped forward proactively. "Princess Consort, Miss Wu Ying's identity cannot be revealed. Should I send more people?"
"I was indeed negligent. Fine, send a few people to assist. Don't expect them to do any substantial work, just be conspicuous enough to cover Wu Ying's identity."
Shen Qingzhou: ...
He couldn't shake the feeling of being underestimated by the Princess Consort.
Lu Qingwan paid no mind to his thoughts. In front of everyone, she retracted the steel whip into her spatial laboratory before standing up.
"Xiao Er, bring all the injured to the pharmacy. Those who understand pharmacology and basic bandaging skills, come and help."
The others acknowledged her command, and they all moved to the pharmacy.
As expected, everyone seemed to act as if they hadn't seen the steel whip appear and disappear out of thin air.
Lu Qingwan was delighted. This cheat was simply unbelievable.
In the future, if she encountered danger, she could even hide herself within it!
After all, for anything related to the spatial laboratory, the spatial laboratory would activate its automatic defense system. It was truly an all-purpose cheat!
This surprising discovery filled Lu Qingwan with immense joy. Even after enduring a thrilling assassination attempt, it couldn't dampen her good mood.
However, looking at the direction the men in black had fled, Lu Qingwan wondered if Little Sparrow had followed them.
A seasoned Level Seven martial artist, who knew of the Myriad Phoenix King and that Feng Xiwu valued her, thus necessitating her death.
She had a nagging feeling that this person was not part of the same group as the other men in black tonight.
If her suspicions were correct, did it mean that the powerful enemies Feng Xiwu feared so much had already found him?
But for some unknown reason, Feng Xiwu was not yet aware of their presence?
A suppressed groan interrupted Lu Qingwan's complex thoughts. Looking at the wounded filling the room, her heart ached.
"How many brothers did we lose tonight?"
Ying Er, who was by Lu Qingwan's side, immediately replied, "A total of seventeen died: seven hidden guards, six from the Xuanjia Army Heaven-tier battalion, and four from Buye Zhou.
Thirty-two were wounded, twenty-one severely. They are all here."
He pointed to a soldier closest to Lu Qingwan. "This is the most gravely injured. I don't know if we can save him.
He is only sixteen years old and just joined the Heaven-tier battalion this year..."
"Enough talk, all of you, retreat."