That is—

The group instinctively looked towards the direction of the wind, and Shang Ruyi also turned back amidst the thunderous noise, disheveled hair swirling before her eyes, which nonetheless presented a scene that left her astonished!

On the other side of the main road, a group of riders suddenly charged out!

Each of them was as burly as a mountain, but instead of their usual thick clothing, they wore rough, rugged garments hastily sewn from animal skins, their sharp cries piercing the air, soaring skyward!

It’s the Turkic people!

Shang Ruyi’s eyes widened as she saw a horse and rider leading the charge. The man on horseback was tall and imposing, wearing a wolf head mask that hid the upper part of his face, revealing only a determined chin and tightly closed lips. Just as the magnificent horse was about to collide with her, the man suddenly leaned down, reaching out towards her!

"Ah!"

Shang Ruyi let out a short, urgent cry, but before she could react, she felt herself being lifted up into the air.

The next moment, she was scooped up by him, caught in his arms.

Even though she was already resigned to her fate, Shang Ruyi was frightened at this moment. She immediately tried to struggle, shouting, "Let go of me, who are you!?"

But just as she attempted to break free and jump off the horse, the man remained silent, grabbing her slender wrists with one hand and securing them together, while his other hand held the reins. In an instant, he bound Shang Ruyi’s wrists tightly by wrapping the reins around them a few times!

"You—!"

Shang Ruyi was alarmed, about to say something, but her voice was interrupted by the increasingly heavy sound of hoofbeats behind her. She hurriedly looked over the man’s shoulder, only to see the group of city guards that had been chasing her being thrown into disarray by this sudden appearance of Turkic soldiers. Some were trampled to death by the horses, while the few who survived fled hastily toward the city.

A sound of drums and gongs immediately resounded from within the city, followed by soldiers charging out on horseback.

But it was already too late.

This group acted swiftly. After capturing Shang Ruyi, they cast a glance at the city and then immediately galloped westward, soon leaving their pursuers far behind.

Shang Ruyi felt a chill all over her body.

She realized that this man was very adept at pursuing prey, and even more skilled at handling prey on horseback. It was virtually impossible for her to escape now, at least not at the moment.

She bit her lip, forcing herself to calm down, even though her thoughts were already shattered by the galloping of the magnificent horse.

Just then, a deep voice sounded above her—

"Princess Qin?"

Shang Ruyi’s heart trembled as she looked up to face the wolf head mask. She couldn’t see the eyes behind the mask, but she could clearly feel the icy sharpness of his gaze.

"Are you Yu Wenye’s woman?"

"...!"

Shang Ruyi’s heart raced uncontrollably.

But denying it now was pointless. After all, those chasing her had been calling out "Princess Qin," and these people clearly understood, charging out to capture her. Denying it would not only be useless but put her at a disadvantage.

Thinking of this, she took a deep breath, facing that cold wolf head mask calmly, "Who are you?"

The Turkic man paused for a moment.

Although the wolf head mask completely covered the upper part of his face and hid all his emotions, Shang Ruyi could sense that he seemed somewhat surprised at that moment.

Surprised that this woman could be so calm. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Dared to be so calm.

After a brief silence, he suddenly raised a hand and lifted the mask from his face.

At that instant, a handsome yet rugged face appeared before Shang Ruyi’s eyes.

This man seemed to be in his early twenties, although young, his skin was rough, with stubble covering his face. The corners of his eyes and eyebrows bore traces of time and hardship. Yet even these marks couldn’t mar his handsome features nor blunt his sharp eyes and high nose. Only the thin lips, pressed into a line, with one corner slightly raised, added a subtle gentleness to his rugged countenance.

Shang Ruyi held her breath, "You are—"

The man did not look down at her, his wolfish eyes still fixed ahead.

"Ashina Zhuxie."