“The Tang army is truly despicable. It seems the ambushers on the ancient path were indeed assassins dispatched by them. Prepare the sedan chair immediately, and watch me crush them utterly until they flee in terror.” The prince finished speaking, and the leader immediately came forward to support him.

Zhong Yueping released her hold on the prince and smiled radiantly, saying, “Prince, remember your promise. A great man must keep his word.”

Yang Shao had already taken a few steps, but hearing Zhong Yueping speak, he turned his head to look back, nodding faintly. He then turned to Su Lianyun and said, “Brother Su, I know you are a renowned hero in the martial arts world who looks down upon the various factions. However, I must remind you that while the masses cannot defeat you openly, they might strike in the dark. As the saying goes, an open spear is easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow is hard to defend against. I hope you will exercise caution and ideally move away from here as soon as possible, lest disaster should befall your wife and child.”

Yang Shao spoke at length, but only the final sentence reflected his true thoughts. He was merely worried that Zhong Yueping would be dragged into trouble, as he did not wish to see the tragedy of a beautiful woman dying young happen to the lady of his heart.

“My family are just ordinary commoners. Thank you for your concern, Prince. I only hope you will prioritize the well-being of the people, so as to prevent enemy troops from invading the Sui State and causing the citizens of the world to lead lives of displacement, starvation, and misery.” Su Lianyun was genuinely reluctant to move away from this place, but since it was difficult to reject the prince’s good intentions directly, he could only shift the topic in this manner.

Yang Shao did not say anything more after hearing Su Lianyun’s words. He simply turned and departed. As his steps moved alongside those supporting him, a sinister, dark smile emerged on the corners of his mouth.

Time marched forward, and the arrival of another winter was soon upon them. The first snow of this year seemed to arrive even earlier than it did the previous year.

Once the snow stopped, the entire landscape was blankets of pristine white stretching as far as the eye could see. Icicles hung from tree branches and roof eaves, reflecting glimmers of silver cold light. The world was wrapped in silver and cloaked in jade, presenting a magnificent winter scene.

Zhong Yueping was complaining, “Don’t you find this weather strange? A month ago, we could still wear thin autumn skirts, and in the blink of an eye, we have to put on thick cotton coats. Last year, it hadn’t even snowed at the start of winter, but this year, the moment winter began, the snow just wouldn’t stop. If it keeps snowing for a few more days, I’m afraid our small cabin will be buried beneath this heavy snow.”

Su Lianyun acted as if he had not heard a thing, busy building snowmen with Nan’er. They built three snowmen in a row, one small and two large, looking just like their family of three.

“It’s finally done. We can go back inside to warm ourselves by the fire now.” Su Lianyun said to Nan’er.

Nan’er shook his hands, which were frozen bright red, and said, “Daddy, we aren’t finished yet.”

As he spoke, he scooped up a clump of snow from the ground and gently pressed it onto one of the large snowmen. His expression was very serious and his movements were highly cautious, as if he were terrified of breaking the snowman. He then pressed another clump of snow onto it before saying in a leisurely tone, “Mommy’s chest is bigger than ours. Now it is truly finished.”

Looking at the snowman with two small mounds of snow stuck to its chest, Su Lianyun could not help but burst into laughter. He then turned his gaze to his wife behind him to see how she would react.

However, Zhong Yueping seemed not to have heard Nan’er’s words at all. There was not the slightest expression on her face as she stared fixedly ahead, looking exactly as if she had turned into a snowman herself.

“Yueping, Yueping.” Su Lianyun called her several times in succession before she finally snapped out of it. Su Lianyun then asked, “Are you alright?”

Zhong Yueping shook her head and said in a low voice, “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Having lived with his wife for so many years, Su Lianyun could clearly tell that something must be bothering her. Yet since she did not speak of it, it was not appropriate for him to press further. Therefore, he took Nan’er’s hand and walked to his wife’s side, using his other hand to take his wife’s hand, intending to go home to warm up by the fire and sleep on the hot earthen bed.

Yet the moment he grasped his wife’s hand, he felt her hand suddenly exert a massive amount of force, slipping right out of his grip. He then saw his wife pointing in a certain direction, crying out in alarm, “Lianyun, there’s someone over there.”

Ever since the battle on Jiutou Mountain, the martial arts world seemed to have been thoroughly intimidated by his name, and not a soul had come to cause trouble or challenge him for an entire year. He seemed to have completely forgotten that chaotic martial arts world, gradually blending into the peaceful life he truly desired.

Now hearing his wife say there was someone, he was quite skeptical, yet he turned around to look with half-believing eyes. Under the distant pine and cypress trees, there was indeed a black shadow running toward them. However, the figure fell down from time to time, only to get back up and run wildly again, looking as though they were injured.

How could an injured person run into such a secluded and hidden place?

“Who goes there? Please leave immediately, otherwise do not blame the merciless blade of Su.” Su Lianyun truly did not want anyone to disturb them, so he used his profound internal energy to project his voice, warning the person to leave quickly.

The black shadow acted as if they had not heard a word, continuing to stumble toward them. Su Lianyun hurriedly said to his wife, “Quickly take Nan’er back into the house.”

Seeing that the newcomer was merely a single injured person, Zhong Yueping felt complete confidence in her husband. Thus, she hurried inside with Nan’er and peeked outside through the crack in the door.

“Mommy, Mommy, let me see too!” Nan’er cried, pulling at Zhong Yueping’s slender legs while poking his little head out from between her thighs.

Zhong Yueping quickly pinched his ear, twisting him to the side before delivering a lecture, “Nan’er, how many times has Mommy told you that a real man should stand tall and proud, and must not constantly crawl under other people’s clothes, especially a woman’s clothes, do you understand?”

“Mommy, can you lecture me later? The good show outside is about to end!” Nan’er did not listen to any of that at all. Or perhaps he had understood those principles long ago, but a person who understands the rules cannot always follow them perfectly.

Seeing that her son was being disobedient, Zhong Yueping said with a mix of anger and amusement, “You are simply spoiled rotten by your father. As a punishment, you are not allowed to sleep next to Mommy tonight. Go to the guest room to reflect on your actions after dinner, understood?”

“Hehe, I understand!” Nan’er grinned and laughed, then ran toward the door, shouting as he ran, “I’m going to have a little brother soon, I’m going to have a little sister soon!”

Hearing these words, a blush instantly flushed across Zhong Yueping’s face. She never imagined that her four-year-old son would already understand her underlying intention in punishing him to sleep in the guest room.

By this time, the situation outside the door had begun to grow complicated. The black shadow had already reached Su Lianyun. This black shadow turned out to be a heavily wounded, masked person clad in black, and behind him followed a group of black-clothed people who seemed to be hunting him down.

Su Lianyun swept his gaze over them and could clearly see that there were seven black-clothed individuals in total. Every single one wore a black robe, a black hood, black boots, and black leather gloves, with a black bag tied around their waist inside of which live creatures were faintly moving. The only part of them exposed to the outside was their faces. Their skin was pitch black, yet from the contours of their facial features, it was evident that they were all women.

Seven unmasked women pursuing one masked person would make anyone assume the masked person was the villain. Yet Su Lianyun bellowed at the seven women, “Get out of here right now, otherwise this Su will show no mercy.”