Lady Helian exchanged a few words with the man hiding in the shadows before following him into the alleyway. Su Xiaoyu silently followed behind, her figure soon disappearing into the shadows.
No matter how mature she was, Su Xiaoyu was still a child. She didn't sense anything amiss until she reached the end of the alleyway when a group of black-robed men blocked her path.
Alarmed, she realized that she'd been exposed long ago.
"Lady Helian, just who are you?" Su Xiaoyu demanded angrily.
Unfortunately, neither Lady Helian nor the man in front of her turned around and kept walking. Soon enough, the black-robed men surrounded Su Xiaoyu.
Su Xiaoyu wanted to jump onto the roof, but there were men waiting to ambush her there as well.
She shouted loudly for help, but before she could shout twice, her mouth was covered tightly. She watched as Madam Helian's back gradually disappeared into the distance, and she herself slowly sank into unconsciousness.
"Why make things difficult for a child? Even if she recognized me, what would she know?" Lady Helian's voice was helpless.
The man's voice was heavy. "I'd rather kill the wrong person than miss the chance. Don't come to see me for the time being."
"The Duke of Qin's estate will definitely investigate if that child goes missing for no reason!" Lady Helian reminded him.
"Don't worry. As long as you do as you're told, they won't trace it back to you and your mother," the man smiled coldly.
Lady Helian was about to leave when she turned back. "Must we kill that child?"
"That's none of our business. Whether or not her life is worth keeping is up to the master," the man was already impatient. "Why aren't you going back?"
Lady Helian sighed softly before lowering her head and hurrying away.
When she emerged from the other end of the alleyway, everything was the same as before. There was no trace of what had happened just then.
That night, Zhao mama saw that Su Xiaoyu hadn't returned home, so she sent someone to ask around at Pill Fiend Pharmacy. Only then did she realize that Su Xiaoyu hadn't been there all day.
Zhao mama panicked and immediately went to the ancestral hall to find Chu Xifeng.
"Little Chu, little Yu 'er isn't a playful child. Ever since we moved to South Ning, that girl's either at the Duke of Qin's estate or Pill Fiend Pharmacy. She hasn't gone anywhere else. Something must have happened to her! "
A complicated look flickered past Chu Xifeng's eyes before he ordered, "Someone come, search the entire city!"
"Boss, should we conduct a secret search first?" The guard asked.
Chu Xifeng's voice was cold. "You're still trying to keep it a secret after losing her? Send someone to the South Central Commander-In-Chief's office to inform General Baili and ask him to send people to help. Everyone split up and search! Su Xiaoyu is the princess consort's favorite. If you don't bring her back, be careful of your heads! "
"Boss, what if the commotion is too big and the robbers kill Little Yu 'er?" The guard asked anxiously.
Granny Zhao was shocked when she heard that. "Yes, yes! Let's conduct a secret search first! "
"What are you worrying about?!" Chu Xifeng grew impatient. "Searching the entire city will only serve as a deterrent. You guys? "
Although the guards weren't convinced, they didn't dare to deny Chu Xifeng's claims. Meanwhile, Zhao mama didn't understand such matters, so she trusted Chu Xifeng completely.
"What are you waiting for? That's right, send someone to ask around at the Han Estate first. Maybe he went there! "Chu Xifeng said.
"He can't be there!" Zhao mama was certain. "Unless he went with esteemed wangfei, Little Yu 'er wouldn't go. This old one asked too, but he really wasn't there. "
Chu Xifeng nodded without a word. As soon as Zhao mama left, Gu Beiyue walked out with a cane in hand.
His leg had mostly healed, but he was still undergoing treatment, so he had to use a cane to help him walk. Even though he was leaning on his cane, his back was still straight.
This man, despite his ruined body, possessed an unyielding spirit. Beneath his light, carefree demeanor, he had deep feelings for his country.
"You're purposely causing an uproar in the city?" he asked mildly.
Chu Xifeng dodged the question with a question of his own. "How's esteemed imperial concubine's condition? We need to send a letter to Celestial Mountain in a few days. Let's report it together."
Gu Beiyue was a clever man. If Chu Xifeng didn't answer, he wouldn't press the issue. He took out a letter and handed it to Chu Xifeng. "Esteemed imperial concubine's condition is all in here."
As Gu Beiyue predicted, news of the Duke of Qin's servant girl's disappearance spread like wildfire throughout the city overnight. Everyone from high-ranking officials and nobles to the common folk knew about it.
Unfortunately, the Duke of Qin's guards and the south central region's commander-in-chief's estate searched for three days and three nights without finding anything.
Three days later, the news reached Han Yunxi's hands.
Han Yunxi had been cultivating in seclusion for days. As soon as she heard that Su Xiaoyu had gone missing and that her search was fruitless, her calm heart was filled with waves.
Why had Su Xiaoyu gone missing? Had she left of her own accord, or been kidnapped?
Su Xiaoyu had been loyal and devoted ever since she lost her memories. Why would she leave on her own? If she was kidnapped, who could it be? Why did they have to kidnap Su Xiaoyu of all people?
Han Yunxi worried about Su Xiaoyu's safety as well as the conspiracy behind her disappearance. If Su Xiaoyu had been kidnapped, then there had to be something fishy going on.
Han Yunxi immediately wrote a letter for Chu Xifeng to ask Chu Tianyin about the matter. Very soon, she received a reply saying that Chu Tianyin had no idea.
Han Yunxi thought that the two elders of the Chu Clan were still in Long Fei Ye's hands, while Chu Tianyin was busy with the war. There was no need for him to use a servant girl for a plot.
If Su Xiaoyu had recovered her memories and left on her own, then she would have gone to find Chu Tianyin.
Han Yunxi was almost certain that Su Xiaoyu had been kidnapped.
Long Fei Ye was in closed door cultivation, so she couldn't leave Celestial Mountain. She could only leave the matter to Chu Xifeng to deal with. Han Yunxi only hoped that Su Xiaoyu would be smarter. With her temper, how much suffering would she have to suffer if she talked back to the kidnappers?
Han Yunxi was about to destroy the letter when Lil Thing suddenly jumped up and snatched it up, then ran off to the side to gnaw on it.
Han Yunxi tilted her head and asked thoughtfully, "You can even gnaw on something like this?"
Lil Thing had been acting very strange recently. It wanted to gnaw on everything it saw. If Han Yunxi hadn't stopped it, it would've gnawed on everything in the room, including the wall of the secret room.
Han Yunxi wouldn't allow Lil Thing to break anything in the Abstinence Courtyard, so it could only grind its teeth with its claws.
It didn't take long for Lil Thing to gnaw on the letter into tiny bits. It gritted its two front teeth at Han Yunxi to show that it wasn't enough.
Han Yunxi scooted over and pried open its mouth for a closer look. "You don't have any teeth! Just what's wrong with you? "
"Awoo awoo …."
Lil Thing began to cry out instead of squeaking, as if to express its dissatisfaction. If she wasn't familiar with it, she really would've been scared by its cries.
It sounded like a wild beast in the forest.
"Shh, keep your voice down. It'll be over if you attract the attention of outsiders!" Han Yunxi warned.
Lil Thing didn't dare to cry out anymore, but pounced on her instead. It seemed to want to act spoiled, but it kept rubbing against her like crazy.
"You've eaten a lot today. If you keep eating, I'll go bankrupt!" Han Yunxi was serious.
Lil Thing didn't listen and kept rubbing against her. If it kept rubbing against her, Han Yunxi's clothes would definitely be torn apart. In the end, she had no choice but to put Lil Thing into the poison storage space and let it continue gnawing on the poisonous grass.
Not long after, the poisonous grass in the poison storage space decreased by a large amount. Han Yunxi's heart ached!
She thought for a long time and muttered to herself, "Could it be that ….. it's in heat?"
At this time, there was a sudden commotion outside. Han Yunxi was curious and walked into the courtyard to listen. The noise was even louder. It didn't sound like something was happening in the Abstinence Courtyard, but in the Heavenly Sword Hall.
Although she was curious, Han Yunxi didn't take a step out of the courtyard.
Long Fei Ye had already been in closed door cultivation for more than ten days. Other than going around after meals, she was always cultivating. Sometimes, she even forgot to eat three meals.
No matter how noisy it was, it was all Heaven Mountain and had nothing to do with her.
Han Yunxi was about to enter her rooms when a servant girl brought in a bowl of sweet soup. "Esteemed wangfei, the weather's been hot recently. This servant has made mung bean and lily soup for you to relieve the heat."
"Many thanks," Han Yunxi accepted the bowl without a word. The kitchens had never given her such benefits aside from three meals a day.
But the servant girl said, "Esteemed wangfei, your poison skills are so formidable. You must have heard of ice snakes, right?"
Han Yunxi's heart gave a start. Of course she knew about ice snakes. They were a rare type of poisonous snake that lived in the snowy highlands. Anyone bitten by them would be poisoned by cold poison and freeze to death.
"Never heard of them," Han Yunxi said mildly.
"Esteemed wangfei, a bunch of ice snakes suddenly appeared in the Heavenly Sword Hall. Some people were even bitten. I don't know how they're doing now," the servant girl added.
Han Yunxi didn't speak, but carried the bowl of sweet soup into her rooms and closed the door behind her.
They wanted to trick her out of the Abstinence Courtyard with such little tricks? Duanmu Yao and Cang Qiuzi had underestimated her IQ. Still, it had to be said that they'd paid a heavy price to find these ice snakes.
Han Yunxi enjoyed her mung bean soup as she stared at the closed stone door.
At first, she took her time tasting the soup, but as she stared and stared, she suddenly stopped eating and stood there in a daze.
Still, she quickly recovered her senses and sat down in front of the door to continue cultivating.
Long Fei Ye must be working very hard these days. She couldn't just sit there and do nothing. She had to catch up to him.
But Long Fei Ye wasn't working hard at all. He was risking his life!
The secret room was empty and dim. Long Fei Ye was half-naked as he sat on the floor. His features looked especially cold in the dim light. His eyes were shut, and even his eyelashes were damp with sweat.
He was quiet, but his body was telling the tale of the torment he'd endured over the past ten days.
What did it mean to be covered in cuts and bruises?
His naked, strong upper body was covered in whip wounds of varying depths. It was a ghastly sight. Han Yunxi would be wailing if she saw it.
What did it mean to be covered in cuts and bruises?
Day after day, injuries piled on top of injuries. Did that count?
Suddenly, a powerful force erupted from Long Fei Ye's body. It was shapeless yet tangible, but it pressed down on the walls of the secret room until they twisted.
At this moment, Long Fei Ye was extremely weak. All of his internal energy had been sucked dry, making him so weak that he couldn't withstand a single blow.
Still, he stood up resolutely and pulled out the whip from his waist. With a vicious flick, the powerful force gathered on the whip.
Even though Long Fei Ye held it tightly, the whip still began to stir uncontrollably.
After the Lustbite energy was released from the seal, there was only one way for it to return to the body and be controlled. And that was …
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