That scar?
Hearing Yanzi’s words, Xuanyuan Lige’s entire body trembled violently, and it was a long while before he could compose himself.
Seeing his reaction, Yanzi grew all the more pleased with herself. She arched her phoenix-like eyes coldly, looking down at Xuanyuan Lige like a queen surveying her subject. “Of course, if you truly insist on seeing her, this young lady could certainly wake her up for you.”
Xuanyuan Lige said nothing, only glaring at her coldly.
Yanzi leaned in closer. “What, are you dumbstruck? You don’t even know—Jun Beiyue saw her like that and didn’t even recognize her!”
Yanzi went on, sighing repeatedly with exaggerated delight. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, so hideous, so utterly hideous! Even I nearly lost my soul from fright, and there’s more, too…”
“What exactly do you want!” Xuanyuan Lige suddenly erupted in fury, cutting her off sharply.
Yanzi’s smile froze for a moment. She slowly rose to her feet, crossed her arms, and looked at Xuanyuan Lige coldly. “I already told you—I want the secret of Lishang, I want to find the Lone Island, I want to find the other person immune to all poisons!”
“If you want Lishang’s secret, come after me for it! What do you want with her?” Xuanyuan Lige roared. Normally cold and silent, he was now as furious as a maddened lion!
“Will you tell me?” Yanzi sneered.
“Cure her face, release her, and I’ll tell you,” Xuanyuan Lige answered at once, without hesitation.
But Yanzi burst out laughing. “Xuanyuan Lige, do you honestly think you’re still in any position to bargain with me?”
“What do you mean?”
“No particular meaning.”
Yanzi’s voice turned cold, and she turned to give an order. “Bring him along!”
Down a dim, winding passage, deeper and deeper into the secret chambers, the iron shackles on Xuanyuan Lige’s hands and feet dragged against the floor with a clanking, rattling sound, all the way to another hidden chamber!
This chamber had no lamp lit. Only when Yanzi’s own lantern cast its light did it become faintly visible—this was clearly a prison cell.
Xuanyuan Lige was thrown down at the doorway, with Yanzi standing beside him. In the silence, by the faint light, Xuanyuan Lige strained to see, only able to make out a small, slight figure sprawled within—beyond that, nothing was clear at all.
He knew there was someone else lurking in the shadows of the cell; he also knew this woman Yanzi was no simple creature. But he was certain that Yanzi alone, no matter how capable, could never have snatched Ziqing away from Jun Beiyue’s hands!
Could that person hidden in the shadows be Yanzi’s accomplice? And who could that person possibly be?
But at this moment, he had no room to think of such things—all he wanted was to see Ziqing!
That scar on her face—he had seen it before. On the road when he had abducted her from the capital to the Three Realms, he had discovered it—that scar was the very emblem they had been searching for all along!
And yet, he could not imagine, could not begin to fathom, what Yanzi’s words truly meant—the poison spreading across her entire face—just what would that even look like?
Seeing the gleam in Xuanyuan Lige’s eyes in the dim light, the corner of Yanzi’s lips curved into a cold smile. She deliberately withdrew and sat down lazily nearby, moving the lantern further away, dimming the light even more so that nothing at all could be seen clearly—yet she generously declared, “She’s right there inside. Go ahead and take a good look. You have all the time in the world to look your fill!”
Xuanyuan Lige clenched his jaw tightly. Had he not been grievously wounded by the Yu clan’s Thousand Hawk Formation, he could never have tolerated such tormenting humiliation. For the first time in his life, he found himself wanting to strike a woman, wanting to slap this woman across the face as hard as he could!
But he forced down all his fury and said, “I can tell you everything—but at least let me see whether it’s really her first.”
At this, Yanzi immediately laughed, thoroughly satisfied. “No problem at all, of course you may!”
With that, she clapped her hands three times, and the lamps all around instantly lit up one after another. In no time at all, the entire room was as bright as day!
There, in the filthy prison cell, lay Ziqing in her purple robes, collapsed on the ground, still unconscious. Her back was to the door, so no one could see her face!
Xuanyuan Lige slumped down beside the bars, watching in silence. His hands, pressed against the ground, were slowly clenching into fists, the veins on the backs of his hands bulging as if they might burst free at any moment—a startling sight.
“I want to see her face.” His voice suddenly grew flat, devoid of any trace of emotion.
Yanzi crossed her legs and snapped her fingers. A servant immediately came forward to open the door—with a clanking sound, the door swung open. But at that very moment, Xuanyuan Lige suddenly threw a punch at the guard’s leg, flipped himself into the cell, and was about to reach for Ziqing when a hand suddenly clamped down on his shoulder from behind!
In an instant, all movement stopped dead. Only Yanzi, lounging lazily outside, curled her lips in a faint, contemptuous smile!
He was only a single step away from Ziqing, yet Xuanyuan Lige knew that if he moved even a fraction more, the force gripping his shoulder would surely crush his shoulder blade to powder.
“You’re the real culprit here—a grown man resorting to such despicable means to harm a woman. What kind of man are you?” Xuanyuan Lige spat out every word with fury.
Yet the man behind him remained utterly unmoved by the accusation, not uttering a single word. Without warning, he kicked Xuanyuan Lige out of the cell and vanished back into the darkness.
Only then did Yanzi rise to her feet herself, strolling over to Xuanyuan Lige’s side with obvious relish, sighing, “It really is difficult just to arrange a meeting, isn’t it? Why don’t I do this instead—shall I send her to see you?”
“That’s enough!” Xuanyuan Lige shouted furiously!
This woman’s methods of torment were simply outrageous, beyond all reason!
If Ziqing ever woke up, there was surely no one she would want to see less!
“Heh, I know you’re dying to see her. Tell me everything you know about Lishang’s secret, and I’ll bring her to see you,” Yanzi said with a smile.
“I’ll tell you everything I know—but I won’t see her!” Xuanyuan Lige finally lost his composure.
“But I want her to see you—that’s the whole point! Hahaha!” Yanzi laughed heartily and had Xuanyuan Lige dragged away, paying no heed at all to however much he shouted.
Her stunningly beautiful, coldly elegant face gradually darkened with malice. “Someone, wake her up!”
She wanted to pry Lishang’s secret out of Xuanyuan Lige—but what she truly wanted was to torment Han Ziqing.
“Splash—” A great basin of ice water was poured over Ziqing’s head. She finally stirred, curling up from the cold, her head pounding as she groggily opened her eyes. But it didn’t take long for alertness to return, and just as she moved to act, she discovered that both her hands and feet were bound in heavy shackles!
The instincts of a mercenary—even as a captive, the moment she came to, her entire body immediately went on guard, entering a combat-ready state, her mind racing at full speed to find a way to break free of the restraints on her hands and feet!
She fixed her eyes on Yanzi like a leopard ready to pounce at any moment, watching her coldly from outside the cell.
“It seems your strength has returned,” Yanzi said with a smile, and personally wheeled out a massive bronze mirror from the side, slowly, slowly pushing it directly in front of Ziqing!
For a moment, Ziqing froze, feeling every single hair on her body stand on end and tremble.
The reflection in the mirror reminded her of everything that had happened at the Flower Queen Gathering. Her hand, unconsciously, crept closer and closer to her cheek, and touched it—the real, physical sensation making her hands tremble uncontrollably.
“Hahaha, take a good look first, a really good look. Once you’ve looked your fill, we’ll have a nice, slow chat,” Yanzi said with a smile, lifting her teacup to sip at her leisure…