[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-was-forced-to-marry-the-phoenix-empress":3,"chapter-i-was-forced-to-marry-the-phoenix-empress-i-was-forced-to-marry-the-phoenix-empress-chapter-75":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},402917,669,"Chapter 75: Late Night Intruder","i-was-forced-to-marry-the-phoenix-empress-chapter-75",75,"\u003Cp>\"Is there a matter, Brother Chen?\" Zhou Mei asked when she noticed the frown on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, it’s nothing. Something just got inside my eye,\" Yi Chen said while rubbing his eye with his finger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I hate it when that happens...No, I hate bugs in general!\" Zhou Mei declared with disgust apparent in her voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They indeed are hateful creatures,\" Yi Chen nodded as he eyed the person from the corner of his eye while they were making their way back to the Inn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while, it became clear that this person had no intention of attacking at the moment and was only observing them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Looks like they’ll be attacking tonight,’ Yi Chen thought to himself as they safely entered the Inn with Zhou Mei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A while after they had finished their dinner, Yi Chen approached the two guards who had planned to guard Zhou Mei’s door tonight in shifts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Greetings, Young Master,\" The two of them bowed with respect and gratitude apparent in their voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes,\" Yi Chen nodded at their greetings and continued, \"I’ll be standing guard outside her door tonight, and the two of you can go to the room and rest a little.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Young Master, this...\" They showed an uncomfortable expression and wanted to refuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ve already talked with Guard Bai, so you can relax,\" Yi Chen added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, Young Master.\" Hearing this, the two of them nodded and went to their room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’It would be troublesome for our journey if they get injured by getting caught in the attack,’ Yi Chen thought to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were the only ones, apart from Guard Bai, who knew how to handle those first-grade horses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Guard Bai severely injured, if they too get injured, then it would definitely delay the journey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this thought, he turned towards Zhou Mei’s door and knocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Chen?\" Zhou Mei soon opened the door and asked inquisitively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was in her regular night robes and was just getting ready to sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll be standing guard outside your door tonight, so don’t close the door from inside. If there’s anything you need, you can call me,\" Yi Chen told her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you, Brother Chen,\" A grateful expression formed on Zhou Mei’s face when she heard him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just doing what I promised.\" Yi Chen said with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Still...you have my gratitude, Brother Chen,\" Zhou Mei bowed her head lightly towards him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knowing that he would be standing outside her door made her feel at ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then, good night,\" Yi Chen responded with a nod and seeing this, Zhou Mei too reciprocated and went back inside her room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this, Yi Chen sat cross-legged on the floor outside her door with his sword resting on his lap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be more practical to stay inside her room so that he could prevent any sudden attacks immediately, but Yi Chen didn’t want to make Zhou Mei panic needlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Although she’s hiding it well, she must be worried. It’s only natural when there are people who are after your life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I won’t be taking even a wink throughout the night, so even with being outside, I can still take care of intruders at a moment’s notice.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yi Chen thought to himself. He had full confidence in his hearing ability, which he had honed after several encounters with bandits and thugs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time passed gradually, and it was soon nearing half past two in the morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Occasional snores could be heard from the nearby rooms, but Yi Chen’s focus was entirely on the room behind his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A loud noise alerted Yi Chen the very next moment, and without a second thought, he pushed open the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A burly-looking man smashed through the room’s window and was currently standing motionless inside the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes first fell upon Zhou Mei, who was sitting with her legs curled up on one corner of her bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her whole body was shivering with fright as she looked towards Yi Chen, who had just rushed in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"B-Brother Chen...s-save me...\" Zhou Mei’s trembling voice reached Yi Chen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just at that moment, both Yi Chen and the burly man’s eyes met for the first time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While the burly man was looking towards Yi Chen with interest in his eyes, Yi Chen was looking at his status panel with a hint of excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that he wasn’t afraid. It was just that he had learned to make his fear feel like excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Such a young man dares to block my way? Even that Fifth Meridian Refinement guard with his legs broken would pose more hindrance to me than a chick like you,\" the burly-looking man snorted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike Guard Bai, who was in his early thirties, Yi Chen was a young adult. So, such a statement was only normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut the crap and fight me,\" Yi Chen said as he pulled out his sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The burly man in front of him was at the Fifth Level of [Meridian Refinement Stage], just like the bandit leader from earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier, Yi Chen was able to win easily because of a sneak attack, but now that the situation was different, he didn’t dare to take it easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you taking me lightly, boy?\" the man glared, and the very next moment, his right fist was laced with a red Qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eat this!\" The next instant, the man rushed towards Yi Chen, ready to strike his face to smithereens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this attack, Yi Chen immediately dodged it using his leg strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wall behind him was broken through and disintegrated to dust the next moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’!!!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yi Chen couldn’t help but hold his breath when he saw this scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’It was the right call to dodge it,’ he thought to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tightening his grip on his sword, he rushed towards the man’s neck to land a fatal strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’The quicker I end this, the safer it would be,’ he thought while clenching his teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the burly man was fast enough to anticipate it, and the next moment, the sword and the Qi-laced fists met!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chik!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two of them rebounded a few steps back because of the force. A serious expression on both their faces.\u003C\u002Fp>",1032,"2026-05-30T07:17:55.322Z","2026-06-01T04:30:37.594Z",1,"novelbin.me","c71aa8f862ff1fc5bc9271d2f47e630a3ab5b343b9dfdc6db93c6420141f57fa","i-was-forced-to-marry-the-phoenix-empress-chapter-76","i-was-forced-to-marry-the-phoenix-empress-chapter-74",282,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-was-forced-to-marry-the-phoenix-empress-cover.jpg"]