The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat

Chapter 555: Chapter 558: Unreliable

Hua Manman let go of the reins, twisted around to grab Li Yu by the collar, and barked an order.

"Jump!"

Before Li Yu’s mind could even react, his body had already followed her, leaping down.

The carriage was still moving at high speed, generating powerful momentum. Any ordinary person who jumped out at a time like this would surely be severely injured.

Hua Manman had already braced herself for injury.

Yet, her body suddenly became weightless, and she actually flew through the air!

She brought Li Yu with her, landing steadily on the ground.

Both of them were safe and sound, completely unharmed.

Li Yu looked at her in astonishment.

"Your Qinggong is that good?"

Hua Manman was just as shocked.

’What the fuck? Since when did I know Qinggong?’

Unfortunately, the situation gave her no time to dwell on it.

The horse’s hooves were viciously ensnared by a rope. The animal lost its balance, and the entire carriage tipped over, crashing onto its side.

The horse let out a pained whinny as the carriage slammed into the ground with a tremendous crash.

The assassins in black descended upon them, quickly surrounding Hua Manman and Li Yu.

The assassins seemed not to have expected two people to jump out of the carriage.

Furthermore, judging by their fine clothes and bearing, they were clearly not commoners.

For a moment, the assassins couldn’t tell which of them was the Princely Heir of the Yu Royal Mansion.

In the end, they decided to stop trying to figure it out and just kill them both. That was the only way to be certain.

Hua Manman and Li Yu were besieged.

Li Yu had studied the Six Arts of the Gentleman and knew some Fist and Foot Skills, but his martial arts were far inferior to Hua Manman’s. He was nearly run through by an assassin’s blade.

At the critical moment, Hua Manman acted and saved him.

But in doing so, she inadvertently left an opening, and an assassin’s blade slashed her shoulder.

Blood seeped from the wound, a startling red that spread quickly across her clothes.

Seeing this, Li Yu felt his heart clench. A complex mix of emotions washed over him.

He was touched and filled with self-blame, yet there was also a hint of joy mixed in.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something.

But before the words could leave his mouth, Hua Manman cut him off.

"Why aren’t they here yet?"

She clutched a dagger in one hand and pressed the other to the bleeding wound on her shoulder. Her face was pale from the blood loss, her brow knitted in an anxious frown.

His attention was diverted.

"Who are you talking about?"

When Hua Manman had left the Imperial Palace earlier, she had seen Ban Ren waiting at the gates.

Ban Ren was supposed to stay by her side, but she had sent him away.

She had instructed him in a low voice.

"Someone might try to harm me. Go back and get some men, then meet me on the road to provide backup."

And so, Ban Ren had followed her orders and returned to the Yu Royal Mansion.

That left Hua Manman and Li Xun to continue on to the Regent Prince Mansion.

They weren’t far from the Yu Royal Mansion. By her calculations, Ban Ren should have already arrived with men. Why hadn’t they appeared?

All sorts of possibilities flashed through Hua Manman’s mind.

But with the situation so tense and the assassins’ attacks continuing, she couldn’t afford to be distracted. She had to cast aside these thoughts and focus all her energy on fending them off.

A group of people lay prone behind the rooftops of the nearby buildings.

The ones in the lead were none other than Mr. Du and Ban Ren.

Ban Ren peeked out to carefully observe the situation below.

Seeing the Young Master injured, he grew anxious and couldn’t stop himself from asking.

"Aren’t we going to help?"

Mr. Du replied calmly, "Wait a little longer."

In fact, the trusted aides of the Yu Royal Mansion had long been lying in ambush nearby, but without an order from Mr. Du, none of them dared make a rash move.

Ban Ren was anxious. "How much longer do we have to wait?"

Mr. Du said, "We’ll make our move when the Young Master is in a truly desperate situation."

The Lu Man of today was not of one mind with the Yu Royal Mansion.

Mr. Du didn’t know the reason for this, but he had to make Lu Man understand that once she left the Yu Royal Mansion, she would no longer be its Princely Heir.

Stripped of the Young Master’s identity and without the protection of the Yu Royal Mansion, Lu Man would find it difficult to even survive.

Only by making Lu Man realize the importance of the Yu Royal Mansion would she become obedient.

And this was the perfect opportunity.

Lu Man was in peril, isolated and helpless. The Yu Royal Mansion was her only hope, her only support.

Dignity? Freedom? All would be crushed when her life was threatened!

And what Mr. Du was waiting for was the very moment her spirit would be shattered.

No matter how skilled Hua Manman was in martial arts, she was no match for so many assassins.

What’s more, she had the dead weight of Li Yu to drag along.

The number of wounds on her body grew. Her stamina was draining rapidly, and her breathing became ragged.

Large beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks.

Her vision began to blur.

Hua Manman gritted her teeth, the arm holding her dagger trembling slightly.

The people from the Yu Royal Mansion still hadn’t appeared. This meant one of two things: either they had been delayed and couldn’t make it, or they had already arrived but were choosing not to show themselves.

Whichever it was, it proved one thing to her—

The Yu Royal Mansion couldn’t be trusted.

No one in this world could be trusted.

The only person she could rely on was herself.

Li Yu’s hoarse voice came from behind her.

"I’ll hold them off. You take the chance to escape."

Li Yu’s condition was no better than Hua Manman’s.

He had several wounds, the most serious of which was a sword wound that had pierced his right thigh.

Blood was pouring out unabated, dyeing his entire pant leg red.

He wasn’t going to be able to walk away from this.

Hua Manman neither turned back nor gave a reply.

She knew these men were after her.

An injured man who could barely walk, Li Yu wouldn’t be able to hold back this group of well-trained assassins for even a moment.

There was no escape.

If that was the case, she would fight them to the death!

Facing the renewed assault, Hua Manman abandoned all defense, ready to risk everything for one last, desperate struggle.

If she were lucky enough to break through, that would be for the best.

But if she were to die here, she would take a few of them down with her!

On the roof behind them, Mr. Du, who had been observing the scene, felt his heart sink. This was bad.

’The Young Master plans to take them down with him.’

He was just about to give the order to attack when he heard the urgent thundering of hoofbeats in the distance.

Immediately after, the Regent King charged out from around the corner on horseback.

Behind him followed nearly a hundred fully-armored trusted aides.

The assassins, of course, also heard the hoofbeats.

They looked toward the sound, and the sight of the Regent King sent them into a panic.

The lead assassin shouted.

"Retreat!"

They knew their own limits. In terms of both skill and numbers, they were no match for the Regent King’s party. To stay meant certain death.

So, without a moment’s hesitation or a single attempt to fight back, they turned to flee.

Li Ji ordered Chen Wangbei, who was behind him, to take the men and give chase.

He, however, reined in his horse, leaped from the saddle, and strode quickly to Hua Manman’s side, calling her name urgently.

"Manman!"

This was not the first time the Regent King had called her Manman.

But only this time, she had the strange feeling that she was hearing it from across a lifetime.

It was as if, a long time ago...

Someone had once called her name with that same urgency.

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