I was reborn after cheating on the aloof and powerful man.

Chapter 58 Chase

"Fellow Daoist Ha Yin, you flatter me. The world thinks that as a woman, I shouldn't beat my husband just because he took a concubine. They only call me a jealous woman, and no one has ever praised me for being magnanimous." He Xiaolian never thought she had done anything wrong. Although her clansmen could understand her behavior, some people still said she wasn't like a woman, and some even advised her to humble herself and try to win back Tang Qifei's heart.

"I have heard that Miao women are known for their passionate love and hate, and their straightforward nature. After hearing what the Holy Maiden has said today, I believe that the Holy Maiden is not only as passionate as the Miao women, but also a woman of great integrity and character. How could demanding fidelity in a relationship be considered jealousy? It was Lord Tang who wronged the Holy Maiden, and the Holy Maiden's actions towards him were all justified. Furthermore, the Holy Maiden did not give up on herself because of a betrayed relationship. On the contrary, she was able to assess the situation and put the interests of the Nanpu tribe and Tang Family Fortress before her personal feelings. Such a character and magnanimity deserve my praise."

Yin Zhengyi's words were like a spring breeze, praising He Xiaolian to her heart's content. She couldn't help but smile happily:

"Are all members of the Qingcheng Sect so eloquent?"

"Ha, the Qingcheng Sect has always adhered to the principle of being spontaneous and natural."

The two exchanged a smile, and He Xiaolian couldn't help but laugh so hard she almost fell over. After a moment, she straightened up and said:

"Let's get down to business. My enemy always likes to use some underhanded and treacherous methods. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Yin still remembers the chase you and Yi'er encountered on the way to Jiangyou?"

How could Yin Zhengyi forget this?

Last month, on his way to the Heavenly Temple, he heard the Heavenly Drum of Nanxuan City being struck by disciples of the Qingcheng Sect. He immediately sensed something was wrong, bid farewell to the Iron Token, and rushed towards Nanxuan City without stopping.

Fortunately, he arrived in time and happened to run into Tang Huaiyi, the young master of Tangjiabao, who was about to take Xi Yatou back to Jiangyou for treatment.

Legend has it that Tang Huaiyi of Tang Family Fortress is the number one young master in the martial arts world, unparalleled in benevolence and righteousness. At the grand gathering of the three religions, he also witnessed the other's talent and found him to be truly deserving of this great reputation.

Even so, as Xi Yatou's elder, he absolutely could not agree to entrust her safety to a man who was neither a relative nor an acquaintance.

However, Xi'er's life hung in the balance, and he could still distinguish between what was important and what was urgent. Therefore, although he agreed to let Tang Huaiyi take Xi'er away, he demanded that he escort her all the way and stay by her side. Tang Huaiyi naturally had no objection to this.

Xi Yatou was infected with the plague. To prevent the plague from spreading from her and causing a great disaster, they traveled through wind and rain, sleeping in the open and trying to avoid cities and crowds. However, Xi Yatou's illness could not be delayed, and sometimes when passing through cities with important transportation hubs, they would take detours to save time.

That day, they arrived at a county town called "Yansu". Just as the carriage was speeding along the only official road in the county town, dozens of beggars suddenly surrounded the carriage and begged for money, even reaching their hands into the carriage.

Most of the beggars were young children. Faced with their hungry and innocent eyes, the beggars found it hard to be ruthless and could only wave them away.

But these beggars showed no fear; a minor fall couldn't stop them at all. And for some reason, they kept trying to squeeze into the carriage, as if some gold and silver treasures were inside. Seeing this, Tang Huaiyi acted decisively, swiftly striking the beggars away with his palm, and then drove off at breakneck speed.

But just as the carriage was about to leave the city gate, a group of soldiers suddenly appeared and insisted on impounding the carriage.

During the great war against the Wei Kingdom, Yin Zhengyi did not participate; he remained at Qingcheng Mountain. This was because Wei Xingjian forbade him to participate, fearing that if something happened to him, his lineage would be completely severed. Tang Huaiyi had never undertaken any missions to uphold justice, and naturally had no points for upholding justice; therefore, both of them were commoners.

Seeing that the soldiers were up to no good, the two men exchanged a glance and shouted in unison, "Excuse me!"

Tang Huaiyi struck out with his palm to repel the soldiers while driving the carriage ahead, while Yin Zhengyi led four guards to bring up the rear.

When Yin Zhengyi and his group caught up with Tang Huaiyi, they found a group of assassins in black attacking the carriage. To protect Fei Xi inside the carriage, Tang Huaiyi moved with incredible speed, doing his utmost to shield the carriage completely.

However, this resulted in Tang Huaiyi being hampered at every turn, and he inevitably suffered some injuries.

He had been traveling long and arduously, and hadn't had a proper rest. Today, he had been attacked repeatedly. Now, facing a relentless barrage of assassins, Tang Huaiyi was gradually feeling his strength waning.

As Tang Huaiyi once again channeled his inner energy to counter the assassins' killing moves, a flash of green light appeared, and a sword beam pierced towards the carriage before he could react.

With a "whoosh," came the sound of a sword blade piercing flesh.

Blood dripped onto the ground from the sword's edge. The assassin, who had just felt the sword strike and was about to withdraw it, was sent flying several meters away by a palm strike before he could even see clearly. He never got up again.

The people in the carriage were still unharmed. It turned out that in the emergency, Tang Huaiyi had grabbed the sword's edge with his palm and blocked the attack. The remaining assassins didn't even glance at their companions whose fates were unknown, and their even more ferocious attacks surged towards Tang Huaiyi like a tidal wave, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

Fortunately, Yin Zhengyi and his group arrived in time, and the six of them worked together to repel the assassins.

As Yin Zheng treated Tang Huaiyi's injuries, he took the opportunity to carefully observe the person in front of him. Not to mention that the other party had never overstepped any boundaries under his watchful eye, and had been taking care of Xi Yatou without complaint.

The fact that this person was willing to get hurt himself to protect Xi Yatou today was enough for him to acknowledge the other person's character from the bottom of his heart.

Unfortunately... Yin Zheng sighed silently in his heart. As elders, they would never agree to Xi Ya becoming a concubine.

No matter how good Tang Huaiyi is, they will not let Xi Yatou suffer the pain of two women sharing one husband.

Outsiders might not know the generational rules of Tangjiabao, but he was well aware of them. The wife of the lord of Tangjiabao could only be a member of the Nanpu tribe. Even someone as noble as "Princess Ruiyun" could only "marry" into the Tang family as a concubine of lower rank.

Night fell, the moon was dark and the wind was high. Yin Zhengyi and two guards sat by the campfire keeping watch.

The wind whistled, and a flash of fire appeared. Yin Zheng fanned away the flames with his palms, and where the fire landed, a group of lurking assassins suddenly appeared.

A cold glint flashed, and the assassins in black struck again. This time, there were more of them, and their attacks were even more ruthless.

Just as several assassins surrounded the carriage, an explosion rang out. The assassins around the carriage were all caught off guard and were blown to pieces.

The assassins then realized that their target had vanished without a trace!

"Want to leave? It's not that easy!"

With four guards by his side, and no one left to protect, Yin Zhengyi held nothing back, leaving the assassins who attacked them behind on this land forever.

He swept past the corpses scattered on the ground, his gaze lingering on the pale sky.

After being ambushed during the day, he and Tang Huaiyi realized that what had happened was not a coincidence, but that someone wanted Xi Yatou dead. Their whereabouts had clearly been exposed, and confronting the enemy head-on was not a wise move.

He now trusted Tang Huaiyi's character, so he sent Tang Huaiyi alone with Xi Yatou to Jiangyou. He, on the other hand, took four guards as bait to draw the assassins' attention.

Fortunately, before he even reached Jiangyou, he was greeted by the Nanpu tribe and learned that Xi Yatou and Tang Huaiyi had safely arrived at Butterfly Valley.

"I don't quite understand what the Holy Maiden is saying. Please enlighten me." Coming back to his senses, Yin Zhengyi was somewhat puzzled. Was the other party not after Xi Yatou?

"There's nothing in the Southwest, big or small, that I can't find out if I want to. The assassins chasing you this time are the same group that almost killed my Yi'er back then."

He Xiaolian still feels a lingering fear when she recalls what happened back then. When Princess Ruiyun first entered the household, Tang Qifei was unable to distinguish right from wrong. After several disappointments, she withdrew her affections from Tang Qifei and placed them on the Nanpu tribe. That vile woman only knew how to scheme and plot. Although she had bribed some people in Tang Family Fort, apart from Tang Qifei's occasional inexplicable behavior, the vile woman couldn't shake her in the slightest.

But from some unknown time, a mysterious force outside the fortress began to support this vile woman in her fight against her. In a moment of carelessness, she almost caused Yi'er to be killed by this vile woman.

"Speaking of which, if it weren't for that little girl saving my life back then, Yi'er would probably be long gone." He Xiaolian looked gratefully towards the wooden house in the valley.

"Such a thing is true? I've never heard Xi'er mention it before." Yin Zhengyi feigned surprise, but in his heart he already believed what He Shenggu said. He knew that this was something Xi'er would do.

“The young girl is of noble character and saves people without expecting anything in return. She has probably already forgotten about this incident and will not mention it to anyone else. But for me as a mother, she saved my Yi’er as if she had saved my life. Fellow Daoist Yin, please rest assured that my son and I are both grateful people. Like Fellow Daoist Yin, I will do everything in my power to protect Xi’er.”

He Xiaolian's promise left Yin Zheng speechless for a moment, only to hear her continue:

“My enemy knew my son was kind-hearted by nature. Every time she attacked him, she would drag some innocent people into it, thinking that even if she couldn’t kill my son, she could ruin his reputation. How ridiculous! What does reputation matter to us Jianghu people? Weakness is the unforgivable sin. Her unnecessary actions have only made my son’s reputation for benevolence known throughout the world.”

"Is the Holy Maiden referring to that group of beggars? Were they also arranged by the Second Madam of the Tang family?" Upon hearing He Xiaolian's words, Yin Zhengyi understood.

He found it strange at the time. He could understand the other side sending assassins to exhaust them, but what was the point of sending a group of unarmed beggars to block their way?

“Yes, it is her. Over the years, my enemies have always loved to stir up trouble with rumors. I am not afraid of her spreading rumors, but I have never been able to find out who the real mastermind is behind the group of assassins under her command.”

He Xiaolian gazed sharply into the distance, as if trying to see through everything. She knew all too well that a madman wasn't scary; what was scary was a madman wielding a knife. With Butterfly Valley's whereabouts exposed, she feared that peace would soon be elusive in the valley.