The Chronicles Of New Havens

Back with Princess Xiuying and Ming, the two girls lingered on the balcony a bit longer, watching over Guanhuang. Xiuying smiled bitterly and murmured, "Our uncle is going to be furious with us. Did you think of the excuse we're going to use yet?"

Ming nodded. "I do, but our uncle isn't a dumb person. He'll figure it out quickly enough."

"I guess that's true too," the girl laughed. Facing the city again, her face turned serious. "We don't need to worry about them. Our Protectors might seem unreliable, but together… they're capable of incredible things. We just need to wait patiently."

"…Although what you say makes sense, for some reason, I feel uneasy. Something is wrong."

"What is?" Xiuying grew confused.

"I…"

"Get down!" Xiuying suddenly shouted, grabbing her sister, and leaping to the side.

A split second later, a crossbow bolt pierced through the room and disappeared into the wooden ceiling. As a young martial genius herself, becoming a Half-Perception Realm at her young age, her instincts were on point to sense killing intent! However, the second attack came faster, timed perfectly to ensure a relentless ȧssault. The sisters were still on the ground when the second crossbow bolt came. They were in trouble! Ming anticipated it ahead of time and pushed her sister off, giving a tiny bit of space for it to land between them. It was too close for comfort. A bit slower and Xiuying would be skewered! However, Ming did not lose focus. She could sense a strange smell coming from the bolthead. It was an extremely potent poison!

"Cover your nose and mouth!" Ming shouted and without hesitation, Xiuying responded. The two girls were about to draw their weapons, when the third final volley came. They were in no position to defend!

Snap! A hooded figure emerged right in the nick of time and snatched the crossbow bolt out of the air. Well, it was not a human that stopped the attack, but rather a snake! Its sleek body retracted like a spring, back to its owner's shoulders. Despite its small size, the creature was deceptively fast, striking as fast as lightning. Everything happened in the fraction of a second, while in mid-flight. That was right; the pet and owner were in the middle of leaping through the air, right in front of the princesses' balcony! The snake intercepted one of the bolts, and as for the others… The owner pulled a jet-black dagger from underneath their cloak and threw it. Silent, invisible, and unbelievably fast, the dagger accurately nudged the first crossbow bolt, causing it to deviate off-course, and then, like magic, it collided with the others to perfectly defend the princesses!

The figure elegantly landed on the balcony in front of the Imperial Princesses. As Xiuying and Ming came to their senses, they realized their helper was the Blind Snake! A mysterious and powerful personage under the Loon Family, they stood near the apex of power in the empire as a Perception Realm Master. Of course, they had to be at that level to obtain such a monstrous sensory ability, spatial awareness, and self-confidence to perform a high-speed defensive maneuver in the air, much less on a moonless night. The Blind Snake absolutely had the potential of being titled as one of the empire's greatest ȧssassins!

"Stay back, Your Highnesses," a gruff voice came out. "This may get ugly."

The two girls nodded and retreated to the back of the room when more than a dozen people charged into the room. Standing at the front was their uncle, Imperian Qiang, surrounded by the Four Dragons of the Loon Family! Although there were other formidable Perception Realms present, the Four Dragons were on another level entirely. The 'weight' of their combined aura was enough to stifle everyone in the room, including the princesses. It was a stark difference to the emperor's Four Cardinals. The Four Cardinals were subtler and calmer, capable of concealing their overwhelming presence to a near-perfect degree. They could fool a person into thinking they were harmless! On the other hand, the Four Dragons were fiercer and more unbridled, lacking the delicate control that the Four Cardinals possessed. Both sides constituted Perception Realm Masters, but the difference was apparent!

During that time, Chang and Tai rushed back as fast as possible and arrived at the princesses' side. "What's wrong with Her Highness?" Chang half-shouted with a cracking voice, seeing the unconscious girl on the bed.

"Her Highness inhaled a tiny bit of this poison," the Blind Snake presented the crossbow bolt that their snake caught. On the bolthead was a dark red substance, close to blood, that glistened under torchlight. It was like a liquid ruby. "This is an extremely rare poison found in the southern plains called Sever Vermillion Gu."

"This is the Sever Vermillion Gu?" one of the Li Family physicians was astounded. "It's the first time I've seen it with my own eyes. I always thought it was a legend."

"It should turn a brilliant blue when it meets wax, right? I have some right here," another physician said. The second the wax touched the poison, it turned into an azure sky-blue color. There was no doubt that it was the Sever Vermillion Gu!

"We're extremely fortunate that Her Highness only inhaled a tiny bit… According to the stories, once afflicted with the poison, it would invert normal and abnormal. They wouldn't die, but they would experience unimaginable pain and torment. Sever Vermillion… Severance of fate, an impossible to cure poison!"

"Then stop talking and help her!" Xiuying snapped furiously.

Shrinking their heads, the physicians hurried to prepare the antidote. As they said, since Ming inhaled a small amount, it would not be potent enough to leave lasting damage, and the girl should awaken by herself in a matter of days. Everyone released their breaths and the tension in the room dropped. Xiuying remained by her sister's bedside, while Qiang directed his attention to Chang and Tai.

"Why were you absent when the fighting started?" he interrogated. The tone of his voice was so threatening that these two Perception Realms felt sweat rolling down their backs. "I heard about Cardinal Hui Wai-Wing's appearance too, and how he helped you escape from the Humming Swordsmen. I would like to understand why that is."

Cardinal Hui Wai-Wing's appearance was something that Qiang could not ignore. That man was the empire's strongest sentinel! He once stood alongside Prime Minister Pon-Wai as Emperor Lianghu's right-hand man. Putting it frankly, Cardinal Hui was a monster that transcended human limits and common sense. Both he and Sir Winstin would have defined the current power ceiling of the human world, were it not for Protector Avin or the Sword King's return. While the Li Family was certainly peerless and strong beyond belief, their top combatants were far from reaching Cardinal Hui's level. Therefore, his appearance to help Chang and Tai, the Imperial Princesses' Protectors, was enough cause for alarm. A wary Qiang signaled for the Four Dragons to surround them.

"We might be in trouble here," Tai laughed nervously. Normally, the talking would be handled by Ming, but she was currently unconscious.

Chang said slowly, "I can promise Your Excellency that it wasn't our intention to expose Her Highness to any danger. We had no knowledge about this attack, nor do we know why Cardinal Hui ȧssisted us."

Qiang's eyes gleamed ominously. In the first place, allowing the younger brother of Prime Minister Pon-Wai Jian, the Imperial Council's leader, to be Princess Ming's Protector was already a questionable decision. Tai Shui was also a problem as the son of Lord Daiyuu Shui, one of the three Great Nobility Families fighting against the Li Family. As the saying goes, blood ran thicker than water. Who could say where their true allegiances laid? Always staying by their side, ȧssassinating the Imperial Princesses would be trivial! The only reason that Qiang never made a move against them was because the princesses vouched for their loyalty. However, he would not hesitate to show them the true meaning of suffering if they really betrayed the princesses!

"Uncle, this is all a misunderstanding. We asked them to do something, so they left our side temporarily. They didn't betray us," Xiuying said softly.

The man stared at her deeply and then at Chang and Tai but did nothing else.. It was unknown what he was thinking.