Although Xie Jiuan and Ji Yunsheng's actions only took a split second, the five people hiding nearby seemed to be quite skilled. Seeing that Ji Yunsheng and Xie Jiuan were about to attack them, they no longer concealed themselves and dashed out in a flash.
Meanwhile, Xie Jiuan had already condensed his internal energy into a tangible form on a tree branch. He whipped up a sword-like arc and slashed at the tree. Although he missed, the near-tangible internal energy on the branch still caused considerable damage to the person hiding behind the tree.
That person recognized Xie Jiuan almost at a glance. Immediately, confusion clouded his eyes, as if he couldn't understand how Xie Jiuan could also know martial arts.
Xie Jiuan didn't give him time to hesitate. He charged forward again. Without any cover this time, the man had no time to dodge. Xie Jiuan's tree branch pierced through his body directly. The man's eyes widened in horror as he stared at the branch. Black blood gushed from his mouth, and he could hardly speak clearly.
"You... How could you..."
Gu Yi's carriage was approaching fast. Xie Jiuan was too impatient to listen to his nonsense. He kicked the man to the ground. Ji Yunsheng was entangled with three others. He was like a cat playing with mice, lashing them with his whip from time to time and then quickly running away, making them unable to hit him but reluctant to let him go.
"You can't even hit me. Are you idiots? Hahaha..."
Ji Yunsheng was tickled by their clumsy moves and burst into laughter. He continued to toy with them like a dog chasing its tail.
Xie Jiuan had no time to worry about Ji Yunsheng. Another man, seeing how powerful Xie Jiuan was, no longer wanted to fight him. He dashed straight towards the carriage not far from Gu Yi, attempting to kill Gu Yi directly and ignoring Xie Jiuan. But how could Xie Jiuan let him succeed?
Xie Jiuan lightly activated his lightness kung fu and rushed forward in three quick steps. He slightly closed his eyes and reached out to catch a green leaf falling from the tree. Infusing it with internal energy, he then opened his eyes and threw it towards the man's chest.
Right on target! It hit the man's heart precisely, knocking him heavily to the ground.
Xie Jiuan looked at Ji Yunsheng. Ji Yunsheng was still laughing heartily. Gu Yi's carriage was getting closer. Xie Jiuan lost his patience. He caught another falling leaf and threw it at Ji Yunsheng.
"Had enough fun? Kill them."
Ji Yunsheng whipped up his whip to block the leaf. He turned his head to look at the approaching carriage. It was really about to arrive. Disturbed by Xie Jiuan, Ji Yunsheng lost his interest. He directly raised his soft whip and lashed out forcefully. The three men had already been exhausted by Ji Yunsheng's teasing and had no strength to dodge. The whip landed on them solidly.
They lay on the ground, wailing in pain. Xie Jiuan gave Ji Yunsheng a look. Ji Yunsheng understood. He waved his hand, and white powder fell on these people. Along with their wails, their bodies gradually disappeared.
In a short while, everything returned to calm, and the corpses on the ground had disappeared completely.
"I can't tell anything."
Xie Jiuan had noticed the clothes of those people when fighting with them earlier. They were just ordinary black clothes. There was nothing special about them.
Gu Yi's carriage was not far away. The coachman looked up. He had vaguely seen many figures before, but when he looked closely, he found there were only two left. The coachman thought he was seeing things and didn't suspect anything.
The carriage stopped in front of Xie Jiuan and Ji Yunsheng. Gu Jiangyue had already sent a message to Gu Yi saying that someone would pick him up.
"You're here."
The coachman greeted them with a kind smile.
Ji Yunsheng nodded and stood beside the carriage. Smiling playfully, he reached out and lifted the curtain of the carriage.
Gu Yi was sitting inside. As the curtain was lifted, his face was revealed. He was dressed in a blue robe, looking handsome but with a sickly pale complexion. His facial features were somewhat similar to Gu Jiangyue's, but there was less of the youthful vigor between his eyebrows and more exhaustion. Standing close, Ji Yunsheng could even smell the faint scent of medicine on Gu Yi.
Seeing Ji Yunsheng, Gu Yi showed no expression on his face. He just looked at him indifferently, which made Ji Yunsheng feel a bit embarrassed.
"This is Xie Jiuan, your brother-in-law."
Ji Yunsheng turned to introduce Xie Jiuan. Hearing about his sister, Gu Yi this time turned to look at Xie Jiuan.
"Oh."
Gu Yi only said one word and then fell silent. He stretched out his pale hand, snatched the curtain from Ji Yunsheng's hand, and covered it again. Then he said softly,
"Let's go."
"You! Do you believe I'll tell Gu Jiangyue about this?"
Ji Yunsheng was a bit dissatisfied. He had been so nice, but this kid couldn't even say a few more words.
The coachman seemed to know Gu Yi well. He smiled as if to apologize and then explained,
"This kid doesn't like to talk much. I'm sorry. Let's go."
Ji Yunsheng didn't say anything more. He followed Xie Jiuan angrily.
The Western Hill was not far from the capital, but it was sparsely populated. This might be the reason why they chose to ambush here. Xie Jiuan wasn't angry about Gu Yi's coldness. It was normal for a kid to be shy. He was still speculating about who didn't want Gu Yi to return to the capital.
Escorted by Ji Yunsheng and Xie Jiuan, they soon arrived at the Gu Mansion.
The carriage stopped steadily. Gu Yi was about to get off. As he lifted the curtain, he saw Xie Jiuan smiling gently and reaching out his hand in front of him.
"Get off."
Although Gu Yi was surprised, he didn't say a word. He took Xie Jiuan's hand and got off the carriage.
As soon as Gu Yi stood still, he saw Ji Yunsheng sulking aside. He walked forward and pulled at Ji Yunsheng's sleeve. Gu Yi was only thirteen years old. Due to his weak constitution, he was only as tall as Ji Yunsheng's chest. Ji Yunsheng had to lower his head to see him.
Ji Yunsheng was still angry and said grumpily,
"What?"
Gu Yi's voice was softer. He lowered his head, and Ji Yunsheng could only see the top of his head.
"Can you not tell sister what happened just now?"
Ji Yunsheng wasn't really that angry. His words before were just a joke. Since Gu Yi had apologized, he wasn't going to pursue it anymore.
"Fine, but in the future..."
Before Ji Yunsheng could finish his sentence, the main gate of the Gu Mansion was pushed open. Seeing this, Gu Yi immediately let go of Ji Yunsheng's clothes, and his face returned to its previous expressionless state.
Ji Yunsheng looked at the slightly opened door and then at the expressionless Gu Yi. He felt that he shouldn't have forgiven this little liar.
Just as Xie Jiuan was also a bit curious about why Gu Jiangyue didn't come out to pick up Gu Yi today, Zhi Yuan rushed out from the opened door.
Zhi Yuan ran towards them in a flurry, shouting,
"Something's wrong! Miss is in trouble!"