He had commanded battlefields and dominated all beneath the heavens, always perched at the very pinnacle of existence. When had he ever been so humiliated?

A little slip of a girl — pressing him to the ground and humiliating him at will!

Summoning his formidable willpower, Zhan Qingcheng raised his hand, clamped onto Feng Jiu’er’s ankle, and yanked with force.

Feng Jiu’er let out a startled cry, and with a loud slap, she came crashing down heavily onto him.

When the two bodies collided, Zhan Qingcheng merely furrowed his brow slightly; Feng Jiu’er, however, felt the impact twist her expression in pain.

It hurt!

This man looked breathtakingly beautiful — enough to stun anyone who saw him — yet his body was entirely hard, packed solid with muscle.

Crashing into him was like slamming straight into a wall of bronze and iron.

But in that excruciating moment of impact, she finally saw clearly the thin thread of blood sliding down the corner of his lips.

He hadn’t only been drugged — he was also gravely injured!

A thought sparked in her mind. She shoved a hard palm squarely against his chest.

Zhan Qingcheng ignored the blow entirely. With a single roll, he had her pinned beneath him — the consequence of forcing his way through the sealed pressure points was that his reason had been entirely overtaken by the drug’s influence!

He lowered his head and bit down into her shoulder.

“Mmph…” That hurt! Damn it — he had actually broken the skin at her shoulder!

Beast!

Feng Jiu’er’s five fingers shaped into a striking palm, ready to come down upon Zhan Qingcheng’s fatal pressure point.

But in the very instant before she struck, she suddenly hesitated.

He was already gravely injured, and now drugged on top of it. His actions right now were not born of his own will.

Yet if she brought this palm down on his fatal point, given the severity of his wounds, even if it didn’t kill him, it would very likely cripple him completely!

It was that single moment of hesitation — a sharp pain bloomed at the back of her shoulder. This man… he was drinking her blood!

A stinging pain spread through her body. Gathering what little strength she had managed to reclaim, Feng Jiu’er shaped her hand into a blade and chopped down hard at the man’s neck.

But she had no chance of succeeding. The man casually caught both her hands and pinned them above her head.

His strength was terrifyingly immense. Feng Jiu’er couldn’t find even the faintest opportunity to resist.

“Mmm…”

His thin lips trailed lower, seemingly consumed by an endless craving for her blood.

Her blood could suppress the Gu Poison coursing through him!

Feng Jiu’er quickly realized this in despair — she had become his living, breathing antidote.

Damn it! If he wanted to use her as a cure, shouldn’t he at least ask whether she was willing?

“Ah! Don’t touch… you… bastard!”

Feng Jiu’er bit her lip. She had only just crossed over, and her consciousness had not yet fully adapted to this body.

A surge of pent-up frustration rushed to her heart, and with her head falling to one side, she passed out.

The man on top of her remained under the Gu Poison’s control, pinning her small body beneath him, doing as he pleased without restraint…

……

No one knew how much time had passed before the crimson in Zhan Qingcheng’s eyes gradually faded.

The full moon emerged from behind the clouds. Midnight had long since come and gone.

“My lord, after the assassin fled into Feng Manor, he vanished without a trace…” Yu Jingfeng stood at the mouth of the cave, not daring to cast even a single glance inside.

On the cold ground beside the pool within the cave lay a sleeping woman, draped in a man’s outer robe — and beneath that robe, her body was clearly bare.

The lord had taken this girl, but her face… it seemed not particularly attractive.

Zhan Qingcheng said nothing. He took hold of Feng Jiu’er’s slender left foot, and fastened something onto her ankle.

Then he rose to his feet and walked out of the cave.

Yu Jingfeng followed quickly, his manner respectful: “My lord, she is Feng Jiu’er, the Ninth Miss of the Feng Family. The one who administered the drug last night — it was not her.”

Feng Jiu’er… Zhan Qingcheng’s fine, thin lips moved almost imperceptibly.

He turned abruptly and walked away.

That tall, slender silhouette, bathed in the gentle light of early dawn, carried a presence so graceful and otherworldly it struck awe into the heart.

No wonder he had become the object of nearly every woman’s dreams across the entire capital. Ninth Prince’s beauty was enough to drive any woman to madness.

Yu Jingfeng stood staring, dazed as always. Every time he looked at his own lord, his attention wandered without fail.

Fortunately, he managed to pull himself back.

Seeing that the Prince had already walked far ahead, he hastily reined in his thoughts and hurried to catch up.

“My lord — and as for this Ninth Miss Feng… what are your instructions?”

Zhan Qingcheng said nothing. Yu Jingfeng continued: “Last night the Crown Prince visited Feng Manor. It is believed he was there to discuss with the Feng Family patriarch the matter of taking a Feng daughter as his consort — and the intended party is, by all accounts… the Ninth Miss.”

Zhan Qingcheng’s pace slowed. His eyes narrowed.

A woman he had held and kissed — to become a Crown Prince’s consort?

He let out a cold, cutting snort: “Have them withdraw the betrothal!”