Chapter 24: Rescued Through the Dog Hole

"Hmph! A bunch of cowards! Get out of here before you soil my territory!" Zhao Erdong frowned. She was on the verge of collapse, her legs trembling uncontrollably. Had it not been for her long skirt concealing them, she would have already made a fool of herself before the crowd.

Her words acted like a decree of amnesty. The group hoisted Zhao Erqin up and scrambled away from the derelict courtyard as if fleeing a disaster, not daring to linger for even a second, fearing they might be the next to suffer.

Baihe had long sensed something was wrong with Zhao Erdong. Though her words were sharp, she lacked her usual vigor, and her forehead was beaded with sweat. On such a freezing day, and dressed so lightly, how could she be sweating?

Zhao Erdong collapsed to the ground, her vision blacking out as she fainted. Had she circulated her internal energy to stabilize herself immediately after taking the Sky-Splitting Palm, she would never have ended up in this state of total exhaustion.

An hour later, Zhao Erdong finally regained consciousness. The first thing she did was sit cross-legged to assess her condition.

Damn it! The golden orb of energy was gone. The golden energy she had painstakingly refined over three and a half months had vanished.

Wait, what was this? Something as golden as the purest gold in the world, no larger than a grain of rice.

Was this her energy orb? Why had it become so small? Yet, its color had shifted from a pale gold to a true, vibrant gold. What could be the reason?

She opened her eyes and attempted to channel her energy using her Divine Eye. Two golden flames ignited in her pupils, dancing and flickering with brilliant intensity.

With the Divine Eye activated, all barriers became illusions. Her gaze pierced through the door and the courtyard walls. Outside, a dashing man, surrounded by a crowd, was rushing toward the derelict courtyard in a fury, his expression malicious, with a faint intent to kill emanating from him.

"Oh no, that scumbag Zhao Tianjiang is here," Zhao Erdong thought. She suppressed the flames in her eyes, jumped off the bed, grabbed Baihe, and rushed toward the backyard. The backyard led directly to the prime minister's estate wall; if they could just climb over and vanish into the city, the scumbag would not be able to find her for a while.

"Young Miss, you should go by yourself. With me, we won't get far," Baihe said. She knew Zhao Tianjiang would never let them go; Zhao Erqin had always been the apple of his eye, and now that the young miss had nearly taken her life with a single strike, how could he show them any mercy?

Zhao Erdong ignored her, continuing to pull Baihe along. Over the past three and a half months, she and Baihe had been inseparable day and night, and she had long since come to view her as her own sister. How could she abandon her at such a critical moment?

The two soon reached the high walls of the prime minister's estate, only to be daunted by their height.

Faced with such a towering wall, and without any martial techniques—possessing only brute strength and the burden of another person—she could not possibly climb over in time.

Was this her fate, Zhao Erdong's destiny?

Just then, a large yellow dog, carrying a bone in its mouth, darted past. It was clearly in high spirits and never noticed Zhao Erdong and Baihe as it sprinted along the base of the wall like the wind.

A light sparked in Zhao Erdong’s mind. She grabbed Baihe and hurried to follow the dog.

A moment later, the dog dived into a patch of weeds and disappeared. Zhao Erdong rushed forward, parted the thickets, and revealed a hidden dog hole. Without a second thought, she grabbed Baihe and shoved her through the opening.

As a servant, it mattered little for Baihe to crawl through a dog hole, but the young miss—she was the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister, the beloved granddaughter of Duke Yuan! Her status was so noble; to be forced into such humiliation today was truly an injustice of the heavens.