Facing the black-clad man's swift blade, Cheng Shuwei reacted extremely quickly and heavily snorted at Meng Duojuan: "Cheng Shuwei, you're too despicable! To survive, you've actually framed me for injustice. Don't believe her, she's the real Cheng Shuwei!"

  "What are you talking about! Cheng Shuwei, how can you be so treacherous and deceitful? Don't believe her, she's really Cheng Shuwei!" In the face of the black-clad man's questioning dagger, Meng Duo Jiao cowered and hid behind Dongfang Niangzi.

  Cheng Shuwei calmly faced the black-clad man's scrutiny: "If she wasn't Cheng Shuwei, what would she be afraid of!"

  The man in black thought it made sense. Li Ruo pointed at Meng Duo Jiao behind Dong Fang Niang's back, scaring her so much that she almost cried, and Dong Fang Niang hastily said, "She is not Cheng Shu Huan!"

  "Then tell me, who is Cheng Shuwei!" The man in black shouted impatiently.

  Dongfang Niushuang could only desperately shake her head, tears of panic welling up in her eyes, as another black-clad man coldly laughed and said: "Just kill them all, anyway one of the girls who came to fetch wine must be Cheng Shuwei."

  He Le'an clearly saw that the black-clad man in front had a hint of hesitation in his eyes, as if he was hesitant, but after scanning them all around, he didn't get the answer he wanted and steeled himself. He raised his sword and was about to strike towards Dongfang Niuxiang, who was being used as a human shield by Meng Duo'ou. Just then, Dongfang Niuxiang exclaimed in surprise, "She is Cheng Shuwei!"

  Xue Huiyu and Cheng Shuwei looked at her in disbelief as she raised her hand, pointing to... He Le'an.

  "Really you!" The black-clad man looked at He Le'an with a sinister gaze, and his voice had a hint of icy amusement.

  "No!" Xue Hui saw a man in black walking towards He Le'an, gritted her teeth and said: "I am Cheng Shuwei!"

  Dongfang Niur and Meng Duojuan were shocked to look at Xue Huiyu, only to hear Cheng Shuwei admit her identity at this time: "No! I am Cheng Shuwei!"

  Either no one acknowledges it, or they fight to acknowledge it. The man in black only feels that he has been fooled by them and glares at them angrily: "Enough, now you all have to die!"

  "Look! I'm really not Cheng Shuwei! I am the legitimate miss of the Zhenxi General's Manor! If you spare me and my cousin, we won't pursue this matter! Let's just pretend nothing happened today! They can admit that you killed them, okay?! Or I'll give you money, waaahhh... Don't kill us!"

  "Haha, look at her, so afraid of death and eager to live, yet she's from the General of Western Quelling's mansion!" A man in black clothes laughed, "Your grandfather isn't that powerful, is he?"

  Meng Duo Jiao cried out: "As long as you let me go, the Meng Xi General's Manor will definitely not pursue it, will definitely not pursue it!" She tightly grasped Dong Fang Niang's arm and said: "My cousin and I are both innocent, neither of us is Cheng Shu Wei, if you want to fight or kill, find them instead!"

  "Hmph, how ugly! Stop arguing, if you continue to argue, I'll be the first to kill this stinky woman!" The black-clothed man said coldly, his sharp long sword sweeping across Xue Huiyu and Cheng Shuwei, his gaze then turned to He Le'an, "You three, I'm giving you one more chance, who is really Cheng Shuwei? If you tell the truth now, I can spare the lives of the other two. But if you continue to deceive me..."

  His threatening words were left unspoken, but everyone knew what he meant. He Lian'an discreetly wiped the sweat from his hands and cast a glance at Xue Huiyu and Cheng Shuimei before saying to the black-clad men, "Actually, Cheng Shuimei went back to the mansion to get something."

  "Hahaha!" A man in black clothes seemed to have heard a funny joke, "Little girl. You tell lies with a straight face, without even blinking your eyes. If she really wasn't among you, you would have been eager to clear things up from the start, why wait until now? We are still kind and don't kill innocent people easily, we are willing to let everyone go except for Shu Mei, but don't exhaust our patience..."

  "It's true!" He Le'an said even more sincerely, "Gang Tai was too scared. I hadn't realized she had returned to the mansion yet, now that I know you didn't intentionally kill her wrongly, I've calmed down. If I were to deceive you, heaven would strike me with lightning today and I wouldn't have a good death!"

  The people in black looked at her with suspicion. After glancing around the courtyard, the leader of the black-clad men pointed his sword at Dongfang Niuxia and Meng Duojuan, saying: "After looking around, it seems that you two are the least likely to tell lies. Tell me, who are you both? Otherwise, I'll kill you first!" Before he finished speaking, the blade had already left a faint red mark on Dongfang Niuxia's neck!

  Dongfang Niuniang's suppressed fear collapsed in the face of the fierce threat, and she said: "She is Xue Huiyu, she is Cheng Shuwei, she is He Le'an!" Meng Duojuan behind her hurriedly nodded in agreement.

  The man in black at the front sneered coldly: "Didn't you just say she was Cheng Shuwei?" He pointed with his chin wrapped in a black cloth at He Le'an under the eaves, "I think you people don't cry until you see the coffin—" He turned his hand to heavily slap Dongfang Niang's neck, but unexpectedly a sharp stone suddenly struck his hand with lightning speed, accompanied by the sound of shattering bones, and the long sword clattered to the ground. Immediately after, a deep blue smoke descended from the sky!

  Xue Hui's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the man, a cry almost bursting from her throat, but she forcibly suppressed it when she saw the four black-clad men around them who had become alert. No one knew if there were any other hidden dangers, so she could only tightly grasp Cheng Shuwei's hand beside her. Her panicked heart slightly calmed down.

  However, when everyone was paying attention to the deep smoke blue in the courtyard, a pure white figure slowly walked in from the main gate. He smiled lightly and lazily, saying: "I didn't expect my Apricot Blossom Garden to be so lively today. Even the killer of Lianyao Platform has arrived."

  The man in black looked at him suspiciously, "What's this about a Jade Platform assassin—"

  "You're just a small fry, not even qualified to talk to me." In the blink of an eye, the leader of the black-clad men had a flash of bright red on his neck, and his tall body suddenly fell to the ground like a wooden puppet with its strings cut. The rest of the black-clad men looked at him as if they had seen a ghost, while he seemed to be smiling but not quite, looking towards one of the masked black-clad men closest to He Le'an.

  It was the man in black who had just called He Lian'er a little girl, he suddenly flew up and landed on the eaves of the house to his left. With a gentle push, he jumped into the air and laughed wildly: "Xu Shaozhu, Xue Shizi, we will meet again!" Before he finished speaking, he had already disappeared in the blink of an eye. But strangely, his laughter still echoed in the air without stopping!

  Xu Xi frowned, lowered her head in thought, ignoring the remaining black-clad men around her, and walked straight towards He Le'an. She looked him up and down, left and right, saying: "An'er you——"

  "Hurry, hold me!" He Lan didn't wait for him to finish, that calm and composed appearance collapsed, tension exposed without a trace, fear unreservedly turned into faintness. Dependent and trusting, she fell back into his arms.

  He looked at her with a smile, thinking she was just being playful, but when his hand touched her back and felt the dampness of her clothes from sweat, he realized that the fear in her eyes wasn't fake. He patted her back soothingly and said softly, "It's okay, sorry I'm late."

  "Hmm." He Lianan sniffed the light scent on him and responded with a sense of relief. She had been uncharacteristically scared just now, first because she had teammates like Meng Duo who were as useful as pigs, and second because she now had love and friendship and things she wanted to protect, making her especially afraid of dying.

  In the courtyard, Xue Shizi's knife rose and fell, knocking out the remaining black-clad men with ease. Xue Huiyu's heart, which had been frightened, finally calmed down. She rushed towards her brother like a bird in flight, "I was so scared to death!" Even now, her heart was still racing wildly, and she couldn't help but burst into tears, sobbing.

  Xue Shizi held his own sister, and with one swift step, he caught Cheng Shuwei's legs which had gone soft and was almost about to collapse to the ground. Although she looked calm and composed, in reality her heart was also racing with fear, especially when Meng Duojuan accused her, she felt like her heart was going to jump out of her throat. "Cheng Yi, are you okay?"

  "I'm fine." Cheng Shuwei's gaze shifted from Xue Shizi's arm to the white figure under the eaves. She looked a bit dazed, but immediately smiled faintly at Xue Shizi, "Thank you, Brother Shizi."

  At this time, Dongfang Niang seemed to have been forgotten, and she sat on the ground with Meng Duojuan, wiping away her unstoppable tears and choking back sobs: "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I was so scared, that's why..."

  Xue Huiyu looked at her, afraid and sad, yet desperately wanting to make up for something. Her heart felt like it had been pricked by a needle, just a slight pinch, but it hurt terribly. She didn't know how to believe Dongfang Meixiang's apology, even if it was sincere, after she had betrayed them in their time of danger. "Just now... why did you have to accuse..."

  "Woe is me... Among us, only she was born out of wedlock. If something happens, the consequences will be severe..." Dongfang Niushuang covered her face and said.

  Xue Huiyu only felt a chill from her toes to the top of her head, "Today is a matter of life and death, you weigh the pros and cons of being legitimate or illegitimate, in times of crisis, are you also...?" She thought it was better for others to die than for herself to die, and then again... She suddenly smiled palely, "Niangui, I don't blame you, people are all afraid of death, they're all selfish, it's just that maybe from now on, I won't have a chance to play with you together anymore."

  At these words, Dongfang Niang's tear-stained face lifted up in disbelief, and she heard Xue Hui say: "I'm also afraid of death."

  Dongfang Niurou cried even more sorrowfully, and in this courtyard, she felt increasingly ashamed of herself. She got up stumblingly and left dejectedly, with Meng Duojuan following closely behind her, crying all the way until their sobs were gradually dispersed by the spring breeze.

  In the sudden stillness, He Le'an's emotions subsided, and he smiled lightly: "I'm a bit thirsty, let's have some wine!"