The blade came down, and Wei Liang's hand closed around the rider's wrist a half-second before it landed.
"No," Wei Liang said, and threw the man backward hard into the broken doorframe.
Cixi did not move, did not flinch, still standing exactly where she'd been when the door burst open. "You saved an old woman who serves the man who killed your family's freedom for three hundred years."
"Talk later," Wei Liang said, pulling her back from the doorway. "Fight now."
The other two riders pressed in fast. Garrow met one, blade against blade, driving him back through the splintered door. Liu Che took the second, disabling him with a hard strike to the arm before he could swing again.
"Clear," Liu Che shouted, breathing hard.
Wei Dong moved to the broken door, checking the courtyard. "More
