Chapter 118: Unforeseen, the master appears (2/2)

Why would Long Feiye come? Why would he save her?

The weather was so cold that he was probably spending his time in a hothouse by the fire, patiently waiting for these kidnappers to come knocking on his door.

Or maybe he’d allow them to kill the hostage without feeling threatened by them at all.

The empress dowager bestowed their marriage, the emperor forced them to marry. If there wasn’t sufficient reason, he couldn’t divorce her. Even if she died, the Duke of Qin’s residence would still have to provide an adequate reason to convince everyone else.

Wasn’t this the perfect chance?

Right at this moment, Qingyi suddenly landed on the ground. Han Yunxi’s feet hit the dirt hard, causing her ailing right foot to send a wave of pain that stretched her nerves taut. At this pain, Han Yunxi’s derisive smile turned into soft laughter. All that fellow did was massage her foot a few times. How could she forget the awkwardness of her identity and really treat herself as someone special?

Why did she climb the south mountains? Why go harvest Red South Peak?

“What are you laughing about?” Qingyi asked guardedly.

Han Yunxi glanced at her, her smile turning cold as she refused to answer.

This woman’s smile was determined and decisive, carrying with it a fierceness to rival a man’s. Qingyi couldn’t help but suddenly feel a sense of dread as she snagged Han Yunxi by the collar. “What are you smiling for?”

The silent Qingyi had finally opened her mouth to speak. Han Yunxi looked at her coldly, her smile turning even more intense. She just wouldn’t open her mouth.

Qingyi grew even more anxious as she jostled her collar. “Talk, why are you smiling?”

Yet right at this instant, a low, fierce voice suddenly rose from behind them. “Qingyi, you idiotic woman, you’ve been tailed!”

Qingyi gave a start and turned her head, only to see a masked figure had suddenly appeared behind her. His figure was tall and lofty, the wind whipping through his dark cloak. A ferocious-looking mask obscured his face, only revealing his mouth. His gaze was cruel and vicious enough to distract viewers from his mask so that they only saw his eyes.

“Master!” Qingyi blurted out.

Master!

Han Yunxi’s chest heaved. She knew that this masked figure had to be the official leader of the Northern Li spies and the high-level poisons expert she was curious about. All of a sudden, the masked man pressed closer, mysterious and dark, his fiendish eyes staring straight at Han Yunxi. Frightened, she wanted to back away but found that Qingyi was holding her in place so that she couldn’t budge a step.

“You were the one who released the Mosquito Incense, right?” the masked man asked, voice so low that it might have come from the depths of Hell.

Han Yunxi shivered involuntarily. But despite her fear, she was more interested in the words he’d just said. Qingyi had been followed? It couldn’t be that someone had really chased them here by following the mosquito swarm?

But who?

Seeing that Han Yunxi hadn’t answered, the man seized her roughly by the chin, enough to make Han Yunxi feel like her bones were about to break.

“Answer your lord’s question!” his voice was filled with killing intent, enough to turn Qingyi timid.

But Han Yunxi firmly wrenched her chin aside with a cold voice. “So what if I did?”

The masked man’s hand turned stiff. He was about to rage when Han Yunxi spoke again. “You and your quibble with Long Feiye are your own business. Aren’t you ashamed of kidnapping a weak woman like me to threaten him?”

“Impudence!” Qingyi exclaimed, raising her hand for a slap. No one had ever dared to be so presumptuous with the master.

Yet the masked man actually moved Qingyi aside, voice cold. “Worthless, you can get lost.”

So speaking, he tugged with his hands to forcibly drag Han Yunxi from Qingyi’s arms into his own. Han Yunxi’s face smashed against his chest so hard that her face hurt, almost enough to make her tear up. Such an embrace was filled with his overbearing, tyrannical air, both unfamiliar and terrifying. Han Yunxi indignantly raised her head and snarled, “Let me go!”

But the masked man only smiled coldly. “Han Yunxi, you’ve misunderstood. Your lord didn’t kidnap you to threaten Long Feiye. Rather…you’re the one I want!”

He wanted her?

She didn’t understand what his words meant, but just by looking into his eyes, Han Yunxi could sense the strong possessive desire hiding within those pupils.

Now, she was truly afraid!

-o-

[1] li (里) – Chinese unit of measurement equivalent to approximately 500 meters.

[2] a mantis stalking the cicada while being unaware of the oriole behind (螳螂捕蝉, 黄雀在后) – tanglang buchan, huangque, zaihou, a Daoist idiom from the classic Zhuangzi. It means (in the case of the mantis) to pursue a narrow gain while neglecting a greater danger.