Hua Manman had been uncomfortable from motion sickness during the day and was already exhausted. The moment her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.
Jiao Gui blew out the oil lamp, plunging the room into darkness.
The night was deep, and all was still.
Hua Manman was sleeping soundly when a hand suddenly reached out and covered her mouth and nose.
The shock jolted her awake!
Her eyes flew open to find a masked man dressed in black standing by her bed.
’Holy crap, an assassin!’
Hua Manman tried to scream for help, but with her mouth clamped shut, only a low whimper escaped.
Struck by a sudden idea, she kicked out toward the man’s lower body.
However, the masked man had already anticipated her move and dodged her attack.
Hua Manman seized the opportunity to scramble out of bed and scream with all her might.
"Guards! Help!"
The cry echoed through the post station.
The sound of frantic footsteps immediately arose from outside.
She thought the masked man would be scared off.
After all, he was alone, while there were nearly a hundred trusted aides outside.
But to her surprise, the masked man, far from fleeing, drew a dagger from his sleeve.
The blade glinted coldly as he viciously stabbed at Hua Manman!
His strike was incredibly fast.
An ordinary person would have no hope of dodging it.
Watching the blade rapidly approach, Hua Manman felt her heart stop.
Her mind hadn’t even processed it, but her body, driven by its survival instinct, had already twisted away.
The dagger grazed her arm.
It sliced a gash in her sleeve.
Hua Manman broke out in a cold sweat. She had been a hair’s breadth away from losing her arm.
Before she could recover from the shock, the masked man lunged at her again!
Someone started pounding on the door.
Mr. Du’s voice came through the door.
"Young Master, what’s wrong?"
Hua Manman shrieked at the top of her lungs while scrambling to evade the attacks.
"Help! There’s an assassin!"
The door was bolted from the inside. The people outside couldn’t open it and had to resort to ramming it.
Seeing that the door was about to give way, the masked man suddenly quickened his pace.
In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Hua Manman.
The masked man seized Hua Manman by the throat.
He lifted her clean off the ground, making it difficult for her to breathe.
In a life-or-death moment, not knowing where the strength came from, Hua Manman gathered her energy and slammed her palm into the man’s chest.
The masked man grunted in pain and was forced to release his grip.
Hua Manman took the chance to break free.
She wanted to run, but the masked man gave her no opportunity, thrusting his dagger at her.
Hua Manman sidestepped the blow and simultaneously struck at his waist.
The two of them began to trade blows.
’How do I even know martial arts?’ Hua Manman wondered.
She was moving purely on instinct.
Punching, blocking, sweeping...
Each move felt as if it were branded deep in her mind.
It was like riding a horse or writing.
Although she had no memory of learning these skills, they were undeniably part of her.
The feeling was both familiar and strange.
Seeing her fight back, a strange light flickered in the masked man’s narrow eyes.
He exploited an opening in her defense and pinned her to the ground.
Hua Manman struggled fruitlessly, her face turning red from the effort.
Just then, she saw the masked man lean in close and call out in a low voice.
"Hua Manman."
Hearing someone call her full name, Hua Manman instinctively froze for a second.
’Ever since I transmigrated to this ancient era, no one has called me by my full name.’
’But then again,’ she realized, ’how does he know my real name?!’
’And why does his voice sound so familiar?’
’It’s just like that damn man living in the room across from mine.’
The masked man stared into her eyes, his voice unconsciously softening.
"You’re still too weak. You must practice more diligently."
The next moment, with a loud BANG, the wooden bolt snapped, and the door was forced open from the outside.
Ban Ren and the trusted aides stormed in!
They saw the Princely Heir pinned to the floor by the assassin. Fearing the assassin would harm the Princely Heir, they were forced to halt.
Ban Ren roared.
"Villain, release the Young Master!"
Hua Manman raised her head and slammed it hard against the man’s forehead!
Caught off guard, the masked man was dazed by the blow.
Hua Manman seized the chance to free a hand and rip the black mask from his face.
An incomparably handsome face was exposed for all to see.
Ban Ren and the trusted aides were all stunned.
’The assassin is the Regent King!’
Having heard his voice, Hua Manman had already suspected he might be the Regent King.
But even though she was mentally prepared, she was still shocked to see Li Ji’s face with her own eyes.
’Earlier, I was so confidently complaining to Jiao Gui that there was no way the Regent King would show up in my room in the middle of the night.’
’And yet, here he is!’
’Talk about eating my words!’
Even with his identity exposed, Li Ji remained unruffled.
He rose calmly to his feet, then extended a hand to Hua Manman, who was still on the floor, offering to pull her up.
But Hua Manman didn’t appreciate the gesture.
She pushed herself up with one hand and slowly got to her feet.
However, just as she steadied herself, a large robe fell over her, covering her completely.
Hua Manman looked up in confusion, her eyes meeting the Regent King’s dark gaze.
Li Ji explained, "Your sleeve is torn."
During their fight, he had sliced her sleeve with his dagger, revealing a small section of her pale arm.
Hua Manman smiled. "Thank you."
She cursed inwardly.
’If it weren’t for this damn man and his midnight sneak attack, would I be in such a sorry state?’
’He’s clearly a big bad wolf, so why is he pretending to be the good guy?!’
Mr. Du walked in.
He froze when he took in the scene.
’Why is the Regent King wearing an assassin’s clothes?’
’Why is the Princely Heir wearing the Regent King’s outer robe?’
’Can someone please tell me what on earth happened between these two?’
The floor was littered with the wreckage of broken furniture.
When Hua Manman and Li Ji had been trading blows earlier, they had inevitably destroyed all the furniture in the room.
Jiao Gui, who should have been asleep on her floor pallet, was now slumped in a corner, her eyes shut, apparently still unconscious.
After Li Ji had slipped into the room through the window, the first thing he did was knock Jiao Gui unconscious.
She didn’t regain consciousness until Mr. Du had someone press the point below her nose to wake her.
Mr. Du asked solemnly, "Your Highness, why are you here?"
Li Ji bent down, picked up the dagger from the floor, sheathed it, and answered casually.
"This Prince couldn’t sleep and wanted to find someone to spar with."
Mr. Du said, "There are so many trusted aides. Your Highness could have sparred with any one of them. Why must you come here in the middle of the night to frighten the Young Master?"
Li Ji replied, "How could they compare to the Heir of Prince Yu?
"Years ago, Prince Yu helped the Saint quell the civil unrest. His military achievements were impressive and admirable.
"As Prince Yu’s successor, the Princely Heir’s skills must surely be far beyond those of an ordinary person."
Mr. Du pressed, "Even if Your Highness wished to spar with the Princely Heir, you should have proposed it openly. Why sneak in during the middle of the night and frighten him?"