After breakfast, the group set out.

Lin Zichan continued to drive the horse carriage.

An Ning and An Youyou sat inside the carriage.

Guan Yu and the other three rode their horses alongside.

At this moment, they traveled in the countryside wilderness, and the road was deserted.

An Youyou couldn’t sit still inside the carriage, fidgeting restlessly, as if sitting on needles.

She kept wondering why her mother hadn’t gone to sleep yet.

Once her mother slept, she could go outside and sit with the guard Lin.

Muttering in her heart.

An Ning was really speechless.

An Youyou’s look of dissatisfaction was too obvious towards her.

"Go out," An Ning couldn’t stand it any longer, feeling irritated.

An Youyou widened her eyes and looked at An Ning.

"Don’t you want to go out and sit with the guard Lin? If not, forget it."

"I will," An Youyou hurriedly replied.

Still wondering how her mother knew she wanted to sit outside.

Whatever, it didn’t matter.

An Youyou climbed outside again.

Lin Zichan glanced over and steadied the carriage a bit.

An Youyou happily sat beside Lin Zichan, "I’ll sit with you; mother agreed to it."

Lin Zichan tightened his grip on the reins.

His eyes seemed to glance inside the carriage.

Then he smiled slightly.

"Then sit tight, Princess."

"Mhm," An Youyou obediently nodded.

The weather today was a bit gloomy, without yesterday’s brilliant sunshine.

But the air in the countryside was fresh, making one feel refreshed.

"If you leave the Imperial Palace, where will you go?" An Youyou suddenly asked, "When mother takes me out again, can I come find you to play?"

Lin Zichan was slightly stunned.

In such a vast world, he suddenly didn’t know where he could go.

He said, "Wherever fate takes me, I suppose I’ll be without a fixed place."

"Oh," An Youyou looked a bit disappointed.

Lin Zichan pursed his lips, saying nothing more.

The carriage followed the road, turning around a curve.

Once they turned.

"Whoa!" Lin Zichan suddenly brought the horse to a halt.

Guan Yu and the others quickly halted their horses as well.

The people who suddenly appeared ahead were clearly not friendly.

Lin Zichan looked back once.

While considering if they could turn back, he saw a group behind them also appear, trapping them entirely.

An Ning also noticed something was wrong.

She opened the curtain and saw the people in front and behind.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Lin Zichan quietly whispered in An Youyou’s ear, "Go inside first, don’t come out."

An Youyou also sensed something amiss.

She quickly climbed back into the carriage.

Meanwhile.

The group of horsemen ahead, the leader shouted loudly, "Robbery!"

Turns out they were bandits.

However, in this area, with no villages or inns nearby, encountering bandits was not too surprising.

Lin Zichan looked around, about thirty people in total.

There were five of them; with one person needing to protect An Ning and An Youyou, that left four.

Four martial arts experts against thirty ordinary bandits shouldn’t be difficult.

The concern was if any expert was among them, it might not be so certain.

Compared to possessions, safety was more important.

Lin Zichan quickly thought it over and said to the carriage, "Miss, they’re after money. To avoid you and the little miss getting hurt, I suggest we give them our valuables."

"Okay," An Ning agreed at once.

With that.

She handed Lin Zichan some gold, silver treasures, and silver notes from inside the carriage.

Lin Zichan gave them to Guan Yu, "Give them the money and let them clear the path."

"Alright."

Guan Yu held the box, rode over, "We’ll leave the money behind, clear the way for us!"

The leader appeared a bit surprised.

This went too smoothly.

Without further thoughts, he instructed his men, "Go and take it."

"Wait," Guan Yu interrupted.

"What now?"

"Let them move aside first," Guan Yu stated, "The money is in my hands; I won’t go far!"

"Open the box and let me see," the leader commanded.

Guan Yu opened it.

Inside, it was full of silver notes and jewelry, making the leader’s eyes widen.

It was the first time seeing so much money.

"Let us go, and all this is yours," Guan Yu negotiated.

The leader consulted with some of his men beside him.

His men gave him advice, and he said to Guan Yu, "Alright."

With a gesture, he cleared a path.

Lin Zichan wasted no time and quickly drove the carriage through the group.

The other three continuously protected the carriage’s sides.

Seeing them go far,

Guan Yu tossed the box to the leader.

Then quickly rode to catch up.

The leader grabbed the box and laughed arrogantly at the gold and silver treasures inside, then gave a fierce command, "Chase! There must be more valuables on the carriage!"

As the words fell.

The two groups quickly pursued them.

Guan Yu’s face darkened.

Never thought these bandits would pull such a trick!

Lin Zichan also saw the bandits chasing from behind.

He immediately decided, telling the others, "You go help Guan Yu hold them off; I’ll take Her Majesty and the Princess away first!"

The other three looked towards An Ning in the carriage.

An Ning nodded.

Only then did the three leave to help Guan Yu.

By now, Guan Yu was already fighting the bandits.

"Hold on tight!" Lin Zichan shouted.

"Okay," An Ning responded, tightly holding An Youyou in her arms.

"Hyah!"

Lin Zichan drove the carriage madly forward without looking back.

They did not stop until the pursuers were left far behind, and darkness fell.

Lin Zichan stopped the carriage.

An Ning also opened the curtain and asked, "Where are we now?"

"I don’t know," Lin Zichan admitted directly, "I was afraid they’d catch up, so I didn’t look at road markers and just kept going. I just turned around and didn’t see any village or town; we might have to camp out temporarily tonight."

An Ning also looked around, "Find a place to shelter from rain; it looks like it’s going to rain. Let’s wait for Guan Yu and the others too."

"Alright," Lin Zichan said, already getting down from the carriage, "You wait here, I’ll see if there’s a place nearby to stay. Horses can’t see the road well at night; it’s inconvenient to move.

"Are you leaving us behind?" An Youyou suddenly asked excitedly.

"I’ll be back shortly."

"Can’t you take us with you? It’s so dark here, I’m scared," An Youyou said pitifully.

"It’s because it’s too dark, I’m afraid you might fall," Lin Zichan explained, "I’ll be back soon."

"But..."

"Youyou," An Ning called her.

An Youyou bit her lip, "Okay, then come back soon."

"I will."

Lin Zichan promised, and then he left.

In the wild countryside, there were no stars or moon; when it really got dark, you couldn’t see your hand in front of you.

Besides that, it was eerily silent.

An Youyou shivered in An Ning’s embrace, "Why hasn’t the guard Lin returned yet? Mother, I’m so scared."

An Ning didn’t really feel so calm inside either.

It was so dark and desolate here; if any real danger came...

It would be manageable alone, but with An Youyou here, it actually made her feel less safe.

If Youyou got hurt...

"Mother, do you think the guard Lin might just leave us here?" An Youyou suddenly asked again, "He said he didn’t like the Imperial Palace; he wouldn’t just leave given the chance..."

An Ning’s heart trembled.

She held An Youyou tighter.

"Boohoo, it’s so dark, I’m scared...," An Youyou thought more and more frightening thoughts and suddenly started to cry.

"He won’t," An Ning comforted, "He won’t just leave, I believe he won’t..."

Speaking, not knowing if she was comforting Youyou or herself.