Su Ling’er watched the person emerge from the darkness, her expression complex. Surprise, anticipation, resolve… then, slowly, she returned to a state of calm.
She glanced around, grabbed Leng Feng, and with a swift movement, they flew to the most secluded corner of the annex. Only then did she push him away, fixing him with an icy gaze.
Leng Feng raised a hand, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He showed no surprise at Su Ling’er’s martial arts skills, merely looking at her with wounded, resentful eyes.
“If I were you, I’d flee the city immediately.”
“Flee? I don’t know what you’re talking about, Brother Leng Feng. Ling’er is just worried about you and wanted to check on you, to take care of you. Why are you so eager to send me away?” Su Ling’er’s tone remained gentle, but her expression was placid.
Flee! Where could she possibly flee? Wang Bingchang had given her a potent poison. Even if she escaped to another place, when the time came, she would still die from it!
Thinking of this, Su Ling’er’s gaze towards Leng Feng grew colder. It was all his fault! If he had been more affected by the love-inducing incense, he surely would have obeyed her every word.
At that time, not only could she have made Leng Feng send her to Huo Qiyuan’s bed, but she could have made him kill Huo Qiyuan, and he would not have been able to defy her command!
But now, she could do nothing, and had to escape like a stray dog, shamefully fleeing!
Leng Feng’s heart ached further. He looked up at Su Ling’er, his brow furrowed with conflict and deep affection. The woman’s voice sounded so familiar, yet her appearance seemed so strange. “Whatever your intentions, I am willing to let you go before you commit an unforgivable mistake.”
Seeing his display of deep emotion, Su Ling’er sneered. “Heh! Do I look like I care if you let me go? If you had really revealed me, do you think you could have survived? After all… you like the scent on me, don’t you?”
A man controlled by the love-inducing incense, who still couldn’t obey her, and who was now trying to ruin her plan. The reluctance displayed by such a man was not what Su Ling’er desired!
What Su Ling’er did not know was that after Leng Feng’s inner power was sealed, the love-inducing incense could not exert its previous effect. At least, in his feelings towards her, it was no longer solely due to the drug’s influence.
So it was her scent after all! Leng Feng closed his eyes, gritting his teeth in anger. Blood and qi surged within him. Restless emotions constantly battered his internal organs, subtly threatening to break through the suppression of his meridians and inner power.
Licking the rich, metallic taste in his mouth, Leng Feng used immense willpower to control the destructive urge that welled up within him. “You… you should go! If the Prince discovers you, you’ll only die in Sian Prefecture! Don’t say…”
Seeing Leng Feng’s pained expression, Su Ling’er was unfazed. Before he could finish, she stepped closer and closer to him, flirtatiously brushing aside the sweat-dampened strands of hair that fell across his eyes. She leaned in, her breath warm against his ear, and whispered, “I’m not afraid at all, because I know you won’t let me die, and you won’t bear to see me die, will you? Why don’t I guess when you figured out something was wrong with me?”
Leng Feng lowered his eyes, looking at this woman, both a stranger and intimately familiar, watching her lips move.
“If I’m not mistaken, you weren’t asleep at all last night… so you knew I’d drugged you! And this noon…”
Listening to her unravel her deductions one by one, Leng Feng felt as though his most shameful aspects were being ripped apart and paraded before the public.
He refused to admit that he would betray his lord, who had shown him immense kindness, and harm his sworn brother, with whom he had lived for decades, all for such a woman!
Unable to bear it any longer, Leng Feng roared, “Shut up! Hand over the antidote you have on you and leave quickly. If you don’t leave, then never leave…”
Worst comes to worst, I’ll die with you! Since I’ve betrayed the Prince and hurt my brother, I have no face left to live in this world! Leng Feng’s heart was filled with profound sorrow. He truly wanted to kill this woman, but he was utterly incapable of it.
“You aren’t poisoned, so where would there be an antidote? Besides, Ling’er likes Brother Leng Feng so much, how could she possibly poison you?” Su Ling’er’s tone didn’t sound like she was lying, but even if she were, Leng Feng no longer cared.
“This is all I can do. If you insist on going your own way, then come with me!” With that, Leng Feng turned and left.
Su Ling’er hesitated for a moment. Leng Feng had already discovered her. If she were to barge in now and drug Huo Qiyuan again, it was clearly unrealistic. It would be better to conserve her strength and return to Chehe City first.
She was unaware that the spiritual spring water had detoxifying properties. The previous two times she had secretly drunk Leng Feng’s medicine, she had felt very drowsy. In fact, at that time, the toxins in her body had already begun to clear, but Su Ling’er was completely oblivious.
Su Ling’er mused that, ultimately, this mission’s failure couldn’t be blamed on her. Who could have imagined that the top secret medicine from the Western Regions would have absolutely no effect on Huo Qiyuan?
Watching the retreating back that walked away step by step without looking back into the darkness, Su Ling’er’s gaze shifted from the cold mockery to affection and reluctance.
Su Ling’er’s lips parted, but the words “I’m sorry” and “Thank you” never left her mouth. As Leng Feng’s back disappeared, she seemed to make a decision, leaping over the high wall to the side and vanishing without a trace.
Leng Feng emerged from the shadows, his eyes vacant as he stared at the back that had long since disappeared.
“Do you know that what you’ve done makes things very difficult for me?” Huo Qiyuan’s voice suddenly rang out. Leng Feng’s body trembled. He turned and knelt before him, remaining silent.
“Follow me!” Huo Qiyuan turned and returned to the room. Leng Heng stepped forward, helping Leng Feng up as they followed.
“Second Brother, that woman… she’s not a good person. Why are you protecting her like this?”
“Stop talking! Let’s go!”
Seeing Leng Feng’s dejected state, Leng Heng, no matter how much he felt it was a waste of his efforts, did not want to provoke him further.
Huo Qiyuan sat on the main seat of the armchair, staring at the kneeling man below. “Leng Feng, you came to the Prince of Bipen’s residence at seven years old and have been by my side until now, twenty-five years, right?”
Leng Feng, who had kept his head bowed since entering, his lips trembled, and he finally choked out, “Yes.”
“Twenty-five years, it’s not long, not short… but today, I am truly disappointed in you!”
Huo Qiyuan’s words were like buckets of ice-cold water poured over him during the coldest part of winter. The kneeling Leng Feng’s lips began to tremble, and his body couldn’t help but shiver.
On the ground before him, several small wet patches had formed, a mixture of sweat and tears.