Chapter 228: Assassins
Chapter 228: Assassins
"If this is how we are going to travel, it will probably take us as long as two weeks to reach Dongzhi City. We wasted nearly three hours today because of that-"
A hand covered Xiang Ling’s mouth before she could have voiced out her chosen word for the Crown Prince of the Mortal Realm. She had been feeling extremely angry ever since he stopped to take a break hours before sunset, wasting unnecessary time just because he felt tired after traveling for a couple of hours.
"Want me to take care of him?" Xin Cheg offered while picking up his sword.
"Stop joking around." Wei Guang told the man and watched as Xin Cheng shrugged and once again closed his eyes to return to his sleeping state.
Zhang Xuan finally removed his hand from Xiang Ling’s mouth and spoke, "We all need to stay calm. The journey has barely begun and most of us are already forgetting that it’s the Crown Prince of the Mortal Realm we are talking about here. Don’t forget that his identity holds the most power here." He was reminding Xiang Ling of her own words.
"Why I never knew that you are close friends with the Crown Princess?" Wei Guang directed his question at Xiang Ling. He had been having a hard time believing that his wife had such a high-profile friend.
"I didn’t know either." Xiang Ling whispered in response, not really caring that her reply only made Wei Guang more confused about the situation. She heard Zhang Xuan clearing his throat and quickly amended the slip of her tongue. "What I’m saying is that I didn’t know my friend will marry the Crown Prince and will become the Crown Princess. We just met a couple of times throughout years of my traveling. That was all."
Wei Guang nodded his head in understanding. Right at that moment, a powerful wind pushed open the window, attracting everyone’s attention toward it.
Xiang Ling stepped forward to close the window but stopped in her tracks right as her hands reached out for it. But she was not the only one who was on high alert, Zhang Xuan and Xin Cheng were also focused on whatever had caught all of their attentions.
"What is it?" asked Wei Guang as he noticed their unusual behavior.
"Something isn’t right."
Xiang Ling answered and her words received nods of agreement from both Xin Cheng and Zhang Xuan.
"Xin Cheng, have a look around the Inn. Ah Xuan, go and look for the Crown Prince’s army. I will go and find the Crown Prince and Crown Princess." Xiang Ling distributed their work and the two men nodded their heads in agreement without voicing out a single word of protest.
Zhang Xuan and Xin Cheng were out of the room in no time. As Xiang Ling started making her way toward the door, she was stopped by a very confused Wei Guang.
"Ah Guang, I want you to stay here and wait for my return. You can do that, right?"
"But Xiang’er-"
"Trust me. I will be back in no time." She promised and planted a soft kiss on her husband’s forehead. Though reluctant to let her go, Wei Guang slowly nodded his head in understanding and stayed behind while Xiang Ling left their room.
She made her way to the opposite end of the hallway where the Crown Prince’s guest room was located. She first listened to some sort of movements inside the room but heard nothing. She then knocked on the door and waited. But when no one opened it even after five long seconds had passed, she pushed the door open and stepped inside without any care in the world.
The sight that met her eyes froze her in her tracks. Sitting on the bed was the Crown Prince while Su LiangLin was on her way to wrap up the makeshift bed that she was using to sleep on the floor.
"H-how dare you step inside?"
Wu Tian finally pulled himself out of his shocked state and shouted at Xiang Ling. However, his tone was filled with more panic instead of anger.
"Apologies, Your Highness. But I just felt some sort of unexpected presence near the inn and came here to make sure of your safety." Xiang Ling quickly explained.
"What unexpected pre-"
The Crown Prince didn’t get the chance to finish his question as his attention was pulled in the direction of the arrow that was coming straight toward him. He didn’t move, nor he said anything, and right a few seconds before the arrow could have penetrated his shoulder, a sword slashed it into two pieces.
While he wasn’t fazed by the sudden appearance of the arrow, his eyes went huge in shock when he saw that it was none other than Chen Xiang Ling who just saved his life by cutting the arrow into two.
"What is going on here?" Su LiangLin asked and even her voice sounded calmer despite the situation.
"Assassins." Xiang Ling replied right before her ears caught the noise of the faintest footstep on the roof and she used her cultivation powers to pull the person down. The ceiling broke as a man, clad in all black and his face hidden behind a mask, fell from the roof.
Xiang Ling wasted no time as her sword slashed across his throat, ending his life before he could have done as much as regaining his balance.
Next moment, five more assassins jumped into the room from the roof and Xiang Ling immediately planted herself between them and the two royals.
The fight broke out inside the room as the assassins attacked Xiang Ling, trying to kill her so that they could finish of the Crown Prince as well. However, no one was prepared to face the powerful woman who used her cultivation and sword in perfect balance and sync, sending each of the five men to death.
As soon as the fifth man landed on the floor, the door of the room flew open and rushed inside the personal guard of the Crown Prince.