Chapter 176: Peeping, a guilty conscience (2/2)

Long Feiye and Gu Beiyue sat atop their mounts as they stopped by the city gates. One was dressed in black, the other in white; one was cold and mysterious, the other warm and scholarly. They were practically a painting together. As for Han Yunxi…she was dressed nimbly in casual dress as she rode behind them, hands tightly clutching the reins. Her expression was stiff, her body wobbling left and right as she caught up to them with effort. She could ride a horse, but her technique was nothing to write home about. They only had three days’ time, but it took a day of fast riding to reach Pill Fiend Valley. That meant their round-way trip would take two days, so time was too tight for delays of any kind.

Gu Beiyue revealed an expression that was a smile yet not a smile. He didn’t urge or press her on, but looked at her gently. On the other hand, Long Feye’s face was ice-cold as he pursed his lips. Suddenly, he rose into the air before landing behind Han Yunxi’s back. The sudden appearance of another person not only startled Han Yunxi, but her horse as well. It abruptly raced forward as Han Yunxi gave a shrill exclamation. She couldn’t help but crash into Long Feiye’s lap. The latter’s eyes remained expressionless as his feet found the stirrups while his hands took the reins from Han Yunxi. Somehow, he managed to work them so that the horse calmed down and turned docile. A trick like that was something only expert horsemen could understand.

Han Yunxi was clueless. She’d broken out in cold sweat from her fright and didn’t even notice that she was in Long Feiye’s arms.

“Let’s go,” Long Feiye said placidly to Gu Beiyue.

“Your Highness first,” Gu Beiyue replied, neither haughty nor humble.

Long Feiye kicked his heels into the horse’s flank. The animal shot forward like an arrow at a speed that Gu Beiyue admired wholeheartedly. He immediately gave chase. As the horses sped along, gusts of wind buffeted them from both sides. Han Yunxi finally realized her unfavorable plight–being completely trapped by a certain someone. There was limited space on a horse’s back, so her own was completely plastered against a certain someone’s chest. At the same time, that person’s arms were reaching past her waist to hold the reins, which tightened and slackened in degrees as the scenery flashed past them.

When she accompanied him to Pill Fiend Valley last time, he’d held her in his arms the entire way. That time, she’d hidden herself inside his cloak, but this time they were closer than before.

This…wasn’t so good, was it?

Han Yunxi felt restless. She couldn’t resist lifting her head, only to catch sight of Long Feiye’s alluring Adam’s apple. Once she saw that, she couldn’t move her eyes away. She never knew a man could have such a perfect, mesmerizing body part!

Right at this moment, Long Feiye lowered his head, assaulting her senses with his virile masculinity. His movements carried with him a certain fragrant scent that tempted one to jump him. With a start, Han Yunxi turned flustered. She even forgot that she was riding a horse and attempted to turn around and flee, only for Long Feiye to grab her by the waist.

“Sit still!” he said coldly.

The horse is going so fast. Does this woman want to die? Why did she start struggling out of the blue?

Han Yunxi was brought to full alert by his lecture and sat still, her head bowed.

“What were you doing?” Long Feiye interrogated.

“Nothing…” Han Yunxi replied in a low voice with a guilty conscience.

“If it’s nothing, why were you moving around?” Long Feiye asked again.

“It was an accident.” Han Yunxi secretly congratulated herself. Fortunately, this guy didn’t catch her peeping on him just then. Otherwise, she’d die from shame!

Long Feiye didn’t ask her anything else, but the image of her hazy gaze rose in his mind again. He’d seen all sorts of lovestruck eyes in his lifetime, but he felt like this woman’s eyes were different from other people. As to where she differed, he couldn’t quite say. He released Han Yunxi’s waist and took the reins again. In a flash, the speed of the horse increased. Behind them, Gu Beiyue had seen everything with his eyes. Although Long Feiye’s speed kept increasing, he kept up without falling behind.

They finally reached Pill Fiend Valley late at night.

Even though it was late, the place was still lively. His Excellency Pill Fiend’s courtyard was dark, but everything outside of the courtyard was as bright as day. All of the people who’d came to beg for medicine had brought their own lanterns. From a distance, the points of light looked like a swarm of fireflies. Han Yunxi and company had come once with the poison python snake dan to exchange for medicine. This time though, they’d arrived empty-handed.

The three of them stopped by the gates. Gu Beiyue was a little worried and finally expressed his doubts. “Your Highness, it’s not easy to get medicine from Pill Fiend Valley.”

Long Feiye didn’t reply, but Han Yunxi was amused. She leaned in towards Gu Beiyue to whisper something in his ear. Last time, when she competed against Duanmu Yao to hunt for medicinal plants, she hadn’t revealed the location of the Wall-Hitting Ghost before the Duanmu siblings admitted defeat. His Excellency Pill Fiend was very anxious to know whether she’d found the plant, enough to chase her all the way out of his courtyard to question her. Today she was bringing back her answer as a condition for negotiations. Gu Beiyue couldn’t resist a laugh when he learned the facts.

“Shhh…be careful, don’t let that old man hear.” If His Excellency Pill Fiend knew that Han Yunxi was making fun of him this way, they probably wouldn’t be able to exchange a thing. Gu Beiyue immediately turned silent to smile soundlessly with Han Yunxi in tacit understanding. Long Feiye watched them from the side for a long time before shifting his eyes away to pound furiously at the door.

Nobody answered his knocking. Long Feiye’s gaze turned heavy before he increased his strength and pounded the door again. It was enough to attract the attention of everyone else in the courtyard. Finally, the old steward’s angry voice called out.

“Who is it? It’s late night, who dares to knock on the door?”

The door opened to an old steward ready to lose his temper until he saw the familiar faces of Han Yunxi and Long Feiye. He was immediately scared speechless. …it’s them again! After these two left last time, Pill Fiend hadn’t eaten his meals or drank his tea for the next three days. Then he left on a journey and never came back!