Yi Xiao stood frozen, hunched over. After a moment, she suddenly let out a laugh, as if unaware of the dagger at her neck, and slowly straightened up. “I wondered who it was, turns out it’s just a drowning dog.”
The Holy Emperor didn’t fly into a rage as she had expected. He merely tilted his head slightly, looking at Feng Xiyang on the bed. “Tsk, she’s quite tenacious, isn’t she? If I remember correctly, it was two stab wounds at the time. How is it that Feng Suige didn’t settle accounts with you? Or perhaps I underestimated your fox-like charms?”
Yi Xiao gritted her teeth as she listened, discreetly observing her surroundings, trying to find something within reach that could serve as a weapon. Unfortunately, she found nothing.
Suddenly, a low voice came from the doorway, “Your Majesty, we shouldn’t linger here…” The Holy Emperor made a sound of acknowledgment and was about to step back, but Yi Xiao’s feet remained firmly planted on the ground, not moving an inch, even as the blade dragged a bloody line across her neck. The Holy Emperor pursed his lips and chuckled, “Such stubbornness. If you won’t leave, that’s fine—go, kill the one on the bed first.” The last part was directed at someone outside.
As that person agreed, Yi Xiao cried out, “Don’t hurt her, I’ll go with you.”
“That’s better,” the Holy Emperor smiled faintly, pulling Yi Xiao towards the door.
Outside, about ten people were scattered around. Seeing them emerge, they immediately came forward to bind Yi Xiao and push her toward the bamboo grove beside the house. When they had gone some distance from the cottage, Yi Xiao suddenly stopped and laughed, “I bet you won’t kill me here!” Taking advantage of the Holy Emperor’s momentary surprise, Yi Xiao took a deep breath and shouted, “The Holy Emperor is here! Feng Suige, save me!”
The previously quiet clinic suddenly erupted into chaos, voices rising in a clamor. The Holy Emperor clenched his jaw in anger but was smart enough not to waste time arguing with her. He ordered his men to carry her, and the group quickly ran towards the courtyard wall.
Hanging upside down over the man’s shoulder, Yi Xiao struggled and cursed all the way, causing him to stumble. The Holy Emperor finally lost his temper, reversed his dagger, and brought the handle down hard on Yi Xiao’s head.
When Feng Suige burst into the small cottage, he hadn’t had time to put on his upper garment properly, his long hair still wet and scattered over his bare shoulders and back. Seeing the room empty, he let out an angry roar and turned to leave. Almost simultaneously, he heard a faint moan, “Royal Brother…”
“Xiyang!” He abruptly halted his charge and rushed back to the bedside in a few steps. “You’re awake. Where’s Yi Xiao?”
“The Holy Emperor was here,” Xiyang struggled to sit up, pushing away his supporting hand as she breathed unsteadily. “Quickly…”
Feng Suige nodded firmly. “Rest well! I’ll call someone to watch over you.”
As he rushed out of the room, Xiao Weiran came running from the other side, panting, “I heard Yi Xiao calling…”
Feng Suige nodded with a grim face, “The Holy Emperor was here!”
Xiao Weiran was stunned. From the bamboo grove to the side, someone shouted, “Prince Feng, there are traces of blood here!”
Feng Suige, both shocked and anxious, pushed Xiao Weiran aside and sprinted towards the bamboo grove.
Yi Xiao had been missing for exactly two days. She seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving nothing behind except for the sparse bloodstains in the bamboo grove. When Xia Jingshi arrived at the small town with his elite cavalry, Feng Suige’s eyes were already red from exhaustion, and Xiao Weiran looked haggard. Xia Jingshi ordered the Biao Qi scouts skilled in tracking to search in all directions, while he stayed at the clinic to discuss strategies with Feng Suige and Xiao Weiran.
“In the end, it was my negligence,” Xiao Weiran sighed regretfully after a fit of coughing. “If we had assigned more men to guard the courtyard, they wouldn’t have been able to sneak in, and Yi Xiao wouldn’t have been kidnapped.”
“It’s not your fault,” Feng Suige said glumly. “I didn’t expect the Holy Emperor to return either—I shouldn’t have left her alone in the room.”
Xia Jingshi unconsciously tapped his fingertips on the table, then suddenly looked up at Feng Suige. “The Holy Emperor probably hasn’t gone far!”
“What did you say?!” Feng Suige immediately jumped up. “You mean…?”
Xia Jingshi tugged at the corner of his mouth, but there was no trace of a smile. “He will come to us on his own. All we can do is wait patiently…”
“What about Yi Xiao?!” Feng Suige couldn’t help but shout. “Yi Xiao’s life hangs in the balance, and you’re telling me to wait patiently?!”
“She’s a bargaining chip,” Xia Jingshi lowered his eyelashes and said calmly. “He won’t harm her.”
“Bullshit!” Feng Suige angrily slammed his fist on the table, almost right in Xia Jingshi’s face. “How do you explain the bloodstains in the bamboo grove? The Holy Emperor was with you the whole time, yet you didn’t even know when he escaped! If anything happens to Yi Xiao, I’ll kill you first!”
Faced with his surging anger, Xia Jingshi just lowered his head in silence. Xiao Weiran stepped forward and said in a low voice, “Prince Feng, His Highness is right. The Holy Emperor kidnapped Yi Xiao to make an exchange with us. Although we don’t know his condition yet, His Highness will surely do his best to ensure Yi Xiao’s safety. His Highness is also distressed about Yi Xiao’s abduction—please be more understanding, Prince.”
Feng Suige snorted coldly, angrily shaking off Xiao Weiran’s hand on his shoulder, and walked towards the door without looking back. As he reached the doorway, he heard Xia Jingshi’s sigh from behind, “If anything happens to her, I won’t forgive myself either.”
Outside the town, in an abandoned temple in the forest, several Yu Lin soldiers were either squatting or sitting, eating dry rations and talking in low voices. The Holy Emperor sat on the cleaned altar, leaning against the broken statue, coldly examining the still unconscious Fu Yi Xiao in the corner.
He had seen her before, but at that time, he had only thought of her as a woman who was infatuated with Xia Jingshi at all costs. If it weren’t for Xia Jingshi’s various unusual behaviors after Su Sha’s grand wedding, he would have almost believed that Xia Jingshi had no interest in her. If he had noticed her importance earlier, perhaps he would have revised his plans…
Fu Yi Xiao…
This woman, if one only looked at her appearance, it would be easy to overlook her. But once those eyes opened, they would radiate the owner’s strength like light, without reservation, fierce as a beast. Perhaps it was because of these eyes that Xia Jingshi fell in love with her—that cold-hearted man, who loved Fu Yi Xiao with near reverence.
The Empress Dowager had also said that Xia Jingshi had another huge secret in her hands.
So, he would not lose. He must turn this situation around with his own hands!
In her dazed state, she wanted to turn over, but her limbs felt numb, and even her head ached terribly. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw a strange place, a dusty floor, and broken utensils. Looking up, she met a pair of scrutinizing eyes not far away.
The Holy Emperor! Yi Xiao almost jumped in shock. Seeing her awake, the Holy Emperor raised his eyebrows in surprise and jumped down from the altar, walking towards her.
Altar… Yi Xiao instinctively moved, realizing she was tightly bound. Suppressing the intense dizziness, the events of the day she was kidnapped spun through her mind like a lantern slide, with the last memory being a sharp pain at the back of her head.
“Awake?” The Holy Emperor came close, grabbing her hair to lift her. The movement aggravated the wound on the back of her head, making her grit her teeth in pain. “You slept quite soundly. Did you have any good dreams?”
“I dreamed of killing a despicable scoundrel,” Yi Xiao grinned maliciously. “He looked exactly like you.”
“Such a fierce mouth, it makes one both hate and love it,” the Holy Emperor coldly let go, and Yi Xiao fell back to the ground.
“Cut the nonsense,” Yi Xiao said scornfully as she awkwardly rolled over. “If you have the guts, just kill me!”
The Holy Emperor smiled slightly, stood up straight, and suddenly kicked her. Yi Xiao curled up in pain. “Shut your mouth. I don’t have Xia Jingshi’s patience!”
There was a faint sound of footsteps outside. A Yu Lin soldier near the door looked out and opened the door a crack. A figure slipped in—it was the person sent earlier to gather information.
“Your Majesty, Xia Jingshi has arrived,” the man bowed neatly and reported in a low voice. “He brought several hundred Biao Qi cavalry and has joined forces with Feng Suige and Xiao Weiran!”
“Good,” the Holy Emperor glanced at Yi Xiao curled up on the ground, and sneered, “Let’s see how much he’s willing to concede for you!”
Yi Xiao closed her eyes and spat, “Keep dreaming. You won’t succeed!”
“Is that so?” The Holy Emperor chuckled. “You underestimate yourself. Besides Xia Jingshi, I’m also looking forward to seeing Feng Suige’s reaction!”