Ni Ke's face looked very ugly.
Zhang Ze'an's punishment of her maid was undoubtedly a slap in her face.
Martha was dragged away screaming and struggling. Nic just watched, speechless for a moment.
She knew clearly that Zhang Ze'an's words and deeds represented her father's attitude. No matter how arrogant she was, she would never challenge her father's authority in public.
The atmosphere suddenly became silent.
Mu Lin nodded calmly to Zhang Ze'an, her expression showing no emotion. She looked at Ni Ke and said calmly:
"Please make yourself at your own convenience, my lady."
Xiao Muyun also nodded, and left with Mu Lin, passing Ni Ke and Zhang Ze'an. Martha's shrill scream could be heard faintly in the distance.
"This is a distinguished guest from the Jingsheng Mu family." Zhang Ze'an explained to the little princess in a low voice.
Ni Ke almost bit her teeth and looked up at Zhang Ze'an pleadingly. She couldn't just watch this couple leave!
Zhang Ze'an nodded slightly. After all, she was the prince's favorite, and it was a day like this, so as long as it wasn't excessive, it would be fine.
Ni Ke immediately chased after them and blocked their way.
Xiao Muyun took a step forward and protected Mu Lin behind him, looking at her without much emotion in his eyes.
"What else does the princess need?"
Ni Ke suppressed the bitterness in her heart, stared at him and said with a smile: "Xiao Lang, Miss Mu, since you have received the invitation, why don't you move to this princess's dinner?"
"Thank you for your invitation, Princess. We should follow your wishes. However, Miss Mu and I have not seen each other for twelve years. I would like to have more time to be alone with you. I hope you will forgive me."
The gentle and tactful refusal left no room for criticism and no scope for rebuttal.
Ni Ke finally couldn't stand the cold words of her lover. She looked at him stubbornly with red eyes, and actually laughed in anger: "Okay! Fine! Just stay with her!" After that, she waved her sleeves and left. Her red back looked like a ball of fire, burning others and herself.
Xiao Muyun and Mu Lin didn't react.
We haven't seen each other for twelve years. Should we focus on these unimportant things
"You can let me go now." Mu Lin was not used to physical contact with others, and he did that just now purely to piss off the princess.
"Then you will disappear in front of me again, without any news from you." Xiao Muyun let go of his hand, his eyes dimming little by little like the starlight covered by clouds.
Mu Lin didn't say anything, not only because of guilt, but also because she discovered a fact - what he said was right.
Maybe it's shorter than twelve years, or maybe it's longer than twelve years... But what's the point
The world was changing rapidly, and she could never make a promise to him.
Xiao Muyun whispered, "Lin'er, how many twelve years do we have left?"
Mu Lin suddenly felt a little sad. She stared at his face and read a hint of helplessness and sigh in his smile.
She suddenly realized that he really liked her. From the age of three to fifteen, a span of twelve years, she appeared in front of him. Then, he said he had been waiting.
He asked her when she could marry him...
Mu Lin couldn't bear it any more.
She thought that she had appeared in front of the master and made a better choice for him, changing his originally unfortunate fate, but it didn't happen. After many twists and turns, he still lost his beloved mother and got a fiancée that he couldn't get. Was she his brother... Wait!
Xiao Muran!
Mu Lin's pupils constricted. Xiao Muran hasn't come back yet!
Without bothering to sort out these emotional entanglements, Mu Lin hurriedly grabbed Xiao Muyun's sleeve and asked anxiously: "Is there anyone protecting Xiao Muyun?"
"No." Xiao Muyun noticed her anxious expression and realized something almost immediately. His expression suddenly changed, "Let's go find him!"
He roughly knew where his brother would go, and took Mu Lin there without hesitation.
Mu Lin said as he walked: "Don't people in the Southern Region know your identities?" Although it was a question, the tone was certain.
Because of Zhang Ze'an and Ni Ke's attitude towards him, at most they suspected that his identity was not simple and were not cautious enough.
"Yes, it's just my brother and I who came to Nanmo to relax."
The implication is that there are no guards following him, and if someone is deliberately targeting him, Xiao Muran's situation will become dangerous.
Mu Lin looked at him with some doubts about life.
Relax
This reason is perfect!
Just because they wanted to relax on a whim, she traveled thousands of miles to the South Desert to help them resolve the crisis!
Let them die here, and she will have less worries.
Xiao Muyun felt that Mu Lin's smile was a little dangerous. After thinking for a while, he said, "Brother knows some martial arts and has brought self-defense weapons. Lin'er, don't worry too much."
He had already walked out of the crowd and headed towards a remote place. Mu Lin ignored him and stopped to call out, "Lily of the Valley!"
"Master, I am here."
"Hei Cha is following not far away. Tell him to be ready. If anyone gets close, kill them all."
"Yes." Lily of the Valley said nothing, and her graceful figure quickly disappeared into the night.
It seems that his fiancée is no ordinary person.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, Mu Lin became a little uncertain, "Are you sure Xiao Muran will go in this direction?"
"Although my brother is easy-going, he doesn't like crowds. He will definitely go in the opposite direction of the North Star."
"That's Zhengnan, will he leave the city?"
"I'm more inclined to think he'd sit on the wall and drink."
"Well, the city wall is right before our eyes, let's look around."
"Lin'er, follow me closely."
To prevent her from refusing, he held her wrist.
Mu Lin was slightly startled, and a soft yet firm touch came on his wrist, like the licking of a warm flame, penetrating and raging bit by bit, gradually becoming hot.
The desert night wind is cold, and sparks are flying from my heart.
In the hasty search, for the first time, Mu Lin did not deliberately suppress her flustered heartbeat, even though it fluctuated uncontrollably. She smiled unconsciously at the corners of her lips, quietly blooming in the night.
The ochre-colored city wall seemed to be built of mud and sand, with light moonlight flowing through it, and a dark shadow formed where it met the ground.
As the two of them walked under the city wall, Xiao Muyun's eyes suddenly focused, and he almost subconsciously pushed Mu Lin into the shadow.
At the same time, a sharp arrow came from above through the air!
If the master and disciple had not been reincarnated as mortals, they would have been able to capture with their naked eyes the arrow that was charging forward, the tip of the arrow having a cold blue-gray luster and overflowing with murderous intent.
It was aimed at Xiao Muyun's vital points under the city wall!
It was too late to dodge after pushing Mu Lin to a safe place. Just when Xiao Muyun was facing a death dilemma, a white-tailed feather arrow rushed over from behind at an even more fierce speed, hitting the falling feather arrow with incredible accuracy, splitting it in half!
The two fell to the ground one after another, and Xiao Muyun had the opportunity to react at the same time. He held Mu Lin tightly in his arms. The figures of the two fell into the shadows, silently, making it difficult for the enemy to find them.
Several more arrows whizzed in from the north, like white lightning, but they shot upwards. When the arrows flew into the top of the wall, three assassins fell from the sky, their abdomens showing the tails of the arrows, and the white feathers trembled slightly.
Several assassins were shot down by arrows that suddenly came from the south at once, and their lives or deaths were unknown.
Mu Lin was held in Xiao Muyun's arms, with her head resting in his warm embrace. The faint and distant fragrance of orchids wafted from her nose, and her cheeks flushed slightly at an inappropriate time.
Now is not the time to savor these details, Mu Lin quickly came to her senses and signaled Xiao Mu Yun to let her go. Xiao Mu Yun also naturally noticed the rapidly changing situation, and presumably the person who helped them with the archery was Hei Cha, Mu Lin's subordinate.
Yes, a man in black with a bow and arrows came closer and leaned slightly in their direction. Mu Lin looked at Hei Cha and nodded slightly.
"Thank you, sir." Xiao Muyun nodded slightly to Heicha.
If Heicha's arrow hadn't been fired in time, the two people under the city wall, especially Xiao Muyun, would never have been unscathed.
"This is what I should do." Hei Cha glanced at Mu Lin and quickly returned a salute to their future son-in-law to show his respect.
Xiao Muyun and Mu Lin looked at each other, both with solemn expressions. At this time, Linglan in blue also appeared. After saluting them, she squatted down and carefully examined several black-clad assassins who were either shot or fell to death.
After a moment, Linglan stood up and whispered, "Master, these assassins are from Tianlan."
The two looked normal, obviously not surprised.
"It seems your brother was assassinated."
"I'd like to trouble you to continue to help search."
"nature."
The two of them exchanged a few brief words, then took two secret guards and carefully searched for Xiao Muran along the city wall.
The moonlight was as cold as frost, and the night gradually became darker and darker. The four searched for a long time but found nothing.
Suddenly, Mu Lin paused and tugged at Xiao Muyun's hand. Xiao Muyun stopped and followed her gaze to notice a dark pool of blood in the corner. The smell of blood had long been blown away by the wind. Its shape was very much like a dried rose petal that was about to wither, gorgeous and ominous.
Xiao Muyun pursed his lips tightly, very worried about his brother's current situation.
"The arrow is poisonous, he can't get far. Let's look for him nearby..."
"That group of men in black should have split into two groups. One group went after your brother, and the other group waited on the city wall for you to come over."
Xiao Muyun knew in his heart that her analysis was correct, and his eyes were filled with apology, "I have caused you trouble."
It seemed like every time he saw her, she was being hunted.
"Who made me your lucky star? I'm here to clear the obstacles for you." Mu Lin smiled and said half-truthfully.
Xiao Muyun also pulled his lips slightly and smiled in cooperation. However, he couldn't feel at ease because his brother's life or death was uncertain.
Mu Lin understood what was on his mind and said no more, and started searching seriously with him.
Searching all the way back to the bonfire party, the lively scene is now very quiet, with only a few people left lingering at the Dusk Moon Lake.
It was late at night and the banquet had already ended. Most of the important people had left halfway through the banquet, and the birthday girl, Princess Ni Ke, who had drunk a lot of wine, was also helped by the maids to go back to rest.
After searching around, there was still no news about Xiao Muran.
"Relax, no news is good news at this time..."
Mu Lin felt extremely remorseful. If it hadn't been for her momentary negligence, Xiao Muran would not have left their sight. She just hoped that the Prince of Hengyang was safe and sound.
Never repeat... the tragedy that has already happened.