In the Qi Palace.

At midnight, a carriage ran out of the palace to the Di army’s barrack. You Qingcheng looked out of the windows occasionally, and her heart had flown to the military camp. Shui’er was kept in suspense, because the Queen was too bold to refuse to bring any guard. The carriage galloped so quickly that You Qingcheng’s stomach twisted with acid. Seeing the Queen’s pale face, Shui’er asked the carriage to stop immediately. The horse neighed and stopped. You Qingcheng threw back the curtain and ran to the forest. Shui’er trotted behind, her brocade handkerchief swinging in the night wind. She thought the master must feel sick in the carriage. You Qingcheng could not stop coughing, and her stomach churned ferociously. She covered her mouth with the brocade handkerchief and took a deep breath. Until her lung was full of fresh air did You Qingcheng feel better. Shui’er helped her master to soothe the breath, hoping the master would feel better soon. After all, it was unsafe for two women in the desolate place outside the palace. Shui’er cleaned for the master. And then, they walked out of the forest one after another. The coachman was so patient that he was puffing on a pipe on the roadside and he hurried to put the pipe out at the sight of the two female passengers. Shui’er looked at the coachman, wondering why the man still did such drudgery at his old age. The coachman unveiled the curtain carefully. Shui’er got on first so as to help the master up. You Qingcheng breathed heavily for the fear that she might get sick again halfway. The coachman was waiting for them patiently, as he had been accustomed to the scene.

“It is going to snow. Get on the carriage quickly.” Shui’er muffled herself up and poked out her head. You Qingcheng held the corner of her dress and entered the carriage.

“Sit well…” The horse reared up after a shout. Afraid the female passengers might get sick, the coachman slowed down the carriage in a hurry. The curtain was half-covered. You Qingcheng leaned against the window, sleeping. Shui’er put a cushion behind her master in order to make the master feel comfortable. The sun had risen three poles high when You Qingcheng woke up. And her stomach grumbled. You Qingcheng was a lady of an influential family, so she was too tender to bear the fatigue of a long journey and insisted on taking a rest. They passed three streets and found a clean restaurant finally, and then, You Qingcheng felt satisfied. Shui’er was so experienced that she looked around the restaurant and felt reassured after checking there was no danger around. The coachman fed forage to the horse and found some clean water. When things were settled, he entered the restaurant. Shui’er ordered a grand meal, and asked the old man to sit with them when seeing him looking for an empty seat. But You Qingcheng felt uncomfortable to sit with the servant on the same table, since she had never done it before. The old man was very conscientious, knowing that the female passenger did not like the tobacco pouch.

“There should be someone to finish the dishes on the table…” Shui’er had a quick tongue and always talked with her master straightforward. You Qingcheng thought Shui’er was right and that they could not waste the food. Otherwise, she would appear too mean. The coachman was invited to sit with them on the same table. As he had never seen such abundant dishes before, he enjoyed the food fervidly, even drinking one more soup after finishing the meal. Shui’er was dumbfounded, as she had just taken a few mouthfuls of dishes, and the old man had eaten up the rest. The three were about to leave the restaurant when they were blocked. Two burly brutes stared at the woman pruriently. In such a desolate place, there was a beautiful woman as pretty as a flower. The brutes came up to molest You Qingcheng, but the old man stepped in her front. It was too late for You Qingcheng to regret. She thought she should have taken two guards with her. Although Shui’er was not so powerful as Ni Shang, she did know some personal defense skills. The brutes totally ignored the old man and slapped at him. Since the old man had been driving the carriage for years, his strength was so great that he could take the slap bluntly. Seeing the old man did have some skills, the brutes turned to jointly attack him, thinking that as long as they could handle the old man, the beautiful woman was theirs. More and more people gathered around to see the fun, as if they were looking at playing-monkey tricks, but no one stepped out to offer a hand to save them from the ruin. The people’s hearts were as hard as flint. Shui’er was also ready for a fight, as she hoped to handle the brutes as quickly as she could. The old coachman was defeated only after a few rounds and knocked off by the brutes. Shui’er knew that she was not the brutes’ match, so she called the master to run away quickly. But just after a few steps, You Qingcheng was tripped by her floor-length dress and fell down. The brutes came to lift You Qingcheng up. The old coachman thrust himself to the brutes, but failed to hit them. The brutes looked corpulent but agile. They leaped up and stabbed to the coachman’s back. Then, one more stab! The coachman vomited blood and fell to the ground. Shui’er stalled the two brutes till You Qingcheng rushed into the crowds, and Shui’er felt a bit relieved.

“What a pretty thing…” But the brutes still felt pity for the escaping beautiful woman who was as charming as a fairy maiden. The brutes’ yellowish teeth stunk, and Shui’er covered her nose. The brutes looked at her lasciviously. Shui’er was also defeated after a few rounds and seized by them easily.

You Qingcheng kept running till her feet were numbed. She ran madly with her heart beating fast. When she stopped, she found she hand run out of her strength. You Qingcheng thought of Shui’er: what could Shui’er do when You Qingcheng herself could get away from the trouble? So You Qingcheng struggled to her feet and ran back. She just took a few steps when a carriage galloped across the street. It was too late to dodge. And You Qingcheng was knocked away. The horse got frightened and rushed to a shop. The man jumped on the horse and pulled the reins with his hands to stop the horse. Then, he jumped down the horse and walked to the injured woman who was lying on the opposite road. His mood was ruined, as he encountered such an accident for his first time to the Qi Kingdom. The woman did not move as if she was dying. The man stretched his hand and could still feel the woman’s breath. The man picked the woman up. However, You Qingcheng struggled to get down, because she wanted to save Shui’er.

“You don’t want your life…” The man stopped the woman, because she was badly hurt by the carriage and needed a place to wrap the wound. Why did she leave in a hurry? You Qingcheng did not care about it and just ran to the restaurant. The gate of the restaurant was clogged with lookers-on. You Qingcheng squeezed her way in, but got furious at the scene where the two brutes were molesting Shui’er. Her collar was pulled off. The lookers-on burst out laughing, but no one offered a helping hand. You Qingcheng took up a stool and hit at the brutes. She thought either she or the two brutes would die today. She had exhausted all of her strength to hit the brute so desperately that the stool was smashed into pieces on the brute’s back. You Qingcheng had never hated a person like now before. She darted again like an angry lion. The man thrust out a slap over the crowds. The brutes were thrown meters away. You Qingcheng stabbed her knife into the brutes. With widened eyes, the brutes could not understand till death what they would end up with to offend the woman.

“Shui’er, don’t be afraid…”

You Qingcheng held the woman tightly. When seeing the master again, Shui’er’s eyes brightened.

“Lady, you came finally…” You Qingcheng burst into tears. Thinking about the humiliation that Xu Xi once insulted her in the military camp, You Qingcheng showed more hatred to the brute. Because for women, the pain would torture them through the lifetime. Even if the perpetrator was hacked to death, the hatred was still unable to be vented out. Therefore, You Qingcheng took more pity on Shui’er.

It turned out that the woman ran back to save the girl. And the brute who tried to flee away was killed by the man with a palm. You Qingcheng tried to stand up, but her mouth and nose bled suddenly. The man knew that something terrible happened. It was the sequela of the crash. And she needed to see the doctor as soon as possible. Until then did Shui’er realize that her master was covered in blood. How great the master had to endure the pain in order to save her! The man held the woman up and flew in the wind hurriedly for fear of delaying her treatment.

“Give the lady back.”

Shui’er kept in step with the man. When arriving at the medical clinic, the man got off the clinic hurriedly. The clinic was full of patients. The man squeezed his way in it agilely. The owner saw someone barge in, and thrust out a palm at the undisciplined man. But the man took that just with one hand. Shui’er gaped at him and found the man was really imposing. Her heart beat quickly and her face turned red. Being aware that the master was hurt dragged Shui’er into reality, and she was annoyed her anthomaniac to the man. A girl of 13 years old had her own passion aroused. The man’s momentum stunned the owner to find the best doctor to see the patient. Shui’er cleaned the master well. The blood had clotted. The doctor was startled at the woman’s pulse, because the pulse was too weak. The man looked sterner.

If the woman died, the man would feel guilty for the rest of his life. The doctor inquired what had happened and knew the cause of the woman’s injury, and then, he said that only by drawing out the blood in the woman’s intracalvarium could she have a hope to live. But the success rate was just 50%. Shui’er burst out crying upon the doctor’s words. How could the Queen fall into this plight? Since the Queen just wanted to see the Emperor, why was she doomed to encounter that? The doctor stopped the little handmaiden, because she was just stirring up more trouble. But Shui’er did not leave there firmly. Then, the man threw her out of the room. Then, the door was closed. Shui’er kept knocking at the door, and the noise disturbed the doctor to keep a calm mind. The filmy surgical knife shook in his hand. Outside the room, pounds on the door rang again. The man stepped out of the room and tied her up. Shui’er struggled.

“If you want your lady to be alive, wait obediently…”

The door was closed again. The doctor could finally calm himself down and gained more strength. When things were ready, he began to draw blood from the woman’s intracalvarium. The man had sealed up the woman’s acupoints in advance for fear that the woman might feel hurt. And if it bled again, she would not die. In fact, it was the first time for the doctor to perform a craniotomy, so the doctor felt a bit timid because if anything went wrong during the operation and the woman died, the man would not let him go undoubtedly. The doctor cut the wound open, and blood streamed down. He clamped the blood vessel with a hemostat, and the hemostat had been disinfected over the fire. Then, he wiped the blood with a clean cotton swab. When the cerebral congestion had been exsanguinated, the doctor began the last step. His fingers flexibly moved on her scalp and sutured the wound neatly. Every move was taken with great caution in order not to leave any scar on her. Until the doctor tied the thread with the last needle could he let out a sigh of relief. Although the doctor performed the craniotomy for the first time, his medical skills were certainly perfect. Then, the man wanted to hold the woman up to leave, but was stopped by the doctor. The doctor thought the man was too impatient to neglect the risk that any postoperative infection could take the woman’s life away. Shui’er was waiting anxiously as the bad hat dared to tie her up. But the more Shui’er struggled, the more ached she felt.

“To take care of your master…” The rope loosened up. Then, Shui’er gave the man a kick, leaving a dusty print on his instep. She ran straight to the bed and found her master’s head was bound with gauze with the eyes closed. The master looked even worse.

“If the Lady died, I will not want to live, either.” Shui’er fell on the ground, with her nose running. The man frowned at her.

“Your master will die of your curse…” The doctor prescribed some antiphlogistic drugs and had medicinal herbs to be decocted for the woman. The owner arranged accommodation for them. Shui’er sat up with the Queen and was still in a panic because of the accident. Thanks to the man, the Queen could be saved. Shui’er knelt on the knees to express her gratitude, but she did not know that the benefactor in front was actually the peacebreaker.

Two days later, You Qingcheng regained her consciousness. The man left taels of silver to the owner, because the man had something urgent to do in the Qi Kingdom, and he could not mess things up. Before leaving, he said goodbye to You Qingcheng. And Shui’er learned from the master that the man was the peacebreaker, so she came up to argue with him in rage. However, You Qingcheng did not blame the man, instead, it was she who ran across the street and frightened the horse. But Shui’er still pressed hard. So the man had to let his attendant stay with them.

The man came to the Qi Kingdom to find his elder brother. His brother had gone to the Qi Kingdom for three years, but there was no news of him. Their father was seriously ill and wanted to see the man’s elder brother. But out of the man’s expectation, he would encounter such thing on the way. The man was nobody but Lin Xiaosa’s younger brother, Lin Feiyang.

Until Lin Feiyang arrived in the capital did he know that his elder brother was Commander-in-Chief. Lin Feiyang headed to the military camp directly. But a soldier blocked the way in the military way. Lin Feiyang was desperate to see his brother. As it was getting dark, he had no way but to put the soldier into a coma with sorcery. Lin Feiyang learned the sorcery from his elder brother since childhood. Although he was not good at techniques, it was still an easy job to subdue a little soldier. Lin Feiyang followed the watchman secretly, and understood that he must take action cautiously in the heavily-guarded military camp instead of storming around like a headless chicken. The bonfire in the distance dyed the military camp red. Soldiers surrounded the bonfires, and a man in armor stood out of the crowds. Lin Feiyang recognized the man immediately, because he was none but his elder brother, Lin Xiaosa. The brother who had been missing for three years was there in front of him. Lin Feiyang ran toward his brother.