The Saintess was scorned again, and the fire in her heart grew. She glared, "I really don't know what you have to be proud of. Now you are just a prisoner with no hope of escape."
Lan Yan ignored her, fiddling with the rope in her hand.
"Lan Yan!" the Saintess called through gritted teeth, but received no response. Thinking of how Lan Yan cared about Jun Yelan, she smiled, "Oh, right, you don't know yet, Jun Yelan has fallen ill again, and it's worse than before."
This time, Lan Yan looked up.
The Saintess continued, "Actually, his condition has always been well controlled, but because of you, he has been hurt even more. You deliberately approached him, deceived him, and even wanted to kill him."
"Who exactly made him ill, you and I know clearly," Lan Yan said coldly. "As for the latter, I haven't done it, and I don't need to explain myself to you."
Seeing Lan Yan still so sharp-tongued, the Saintess was no longer in a hurry and stood before her. "Lan Yan, you want to kill him, and I want to kill him too. Why don't we join forces?"
Lan Yan glanced at the Saintess with cold eyes, showing no intention of agreeing. "Saintess, you raised Jun Yelan. You had so many opportunities, why didn't you kill him!"
She had always found it strange that this Saintess must be hiding something.
The Saintess's expression changed. Lan Yan was smarter than she thought. "Because when the old city lord died, I didn't feel any satisfaction from revenge. So this time I want to torment Jun Yelan slowly, and you are the key."
"As long as you are here, Jun Yelan will not have an easy time!"
Lan Yan understood now. The Saintess had transferred her hatred onto Jun Yelan. "I don't think that's the case." Being by Jun Yelan's side, she noticed he liked drinking flower tea, disliked red clothing, and often woke up a few times at night.
Jun Yelan was also very responsible for the city's affairs and understood the people here well. He knew about the beautiful scenery of the city river, took her to see it, and even gave her clothes and jewelry.
She felt that Jun Yelan had more warmth and was more human than before.
Seeing Lan Yan in thought, as if recalling something, the Saintess shouted fiercely, "Regardless, I'm telling you, you will affect Jun Yelan, you will harm him!"
"Saintess, I find that your actions have no meaning!" Lan Yan said speechlessly. "You don't want me to be a traitor, so you want me to give up the present out of fear of the future, and become a traitor yourself."
She would not do that. Jun Yelan didn't know the reason, wouldn't that be too pitiful? Even if he knew later, the suffering he endured in the meantime would not disappear, so it was meaningless.
The Saintess had not expected such a reply from Lan Yan and was momentarily speechless.
Lan Yan continued to shout, "Saintess, aren't you tired? Why haven't you left." She stretched, having not slept all night and feeling extremely sleepy now.
She climbed directly onto the bed, pulled up the covers, and went to sleep, too lazy to bother with the Saintess anymore.
The Saintess was completely ignored. Clutching her chest, which was surging with anger, she left indignantly. She truly couldn't understand how Jun Yelan had taken a liking to such a woman; she was completely unmanageable.
No, since she couldn't get to Lan Yan, she would start with Jun Yelan. She looked at Jun Yelan's medicine in her hand and had a good idea.
After a day and a night, Jun Yelan woke up. He instinctively looked at the bed opposite, where the person was not there. He remembered what had happened yesterday, that Lan Yan was a spy sent by Alliance Leader Li.
He clenched his fist slightly and called out to Lü Qi, "Where is she?"
Lü Qi looked at Jun Yelan's indifferent demeanor and knew who he was asking about. "Lan Yan is in the next room. Does the City Lord want to see her? This servant can see that she cares deeply about the City Lord."
Jun Yelan shot a cold gaze at her, causing her to kneel on the ground, not daring to say more.
"Lü Qi, you are the eyes of this dead city, yet you are blind. You've been with Lan Yan for so long and haven't discovered her identity!"
Lü Qi cried out, "City Lord, it is this servant's oversight. This servant still has to say, Lan Yan is absolutely loyal to the City Lord." She initially treated Lan Yan well because of her sister, but now she genuinely liked Lan Yan.
Listening to these words, only Lan Yan came to Jun Yelan's mind. Yesterday, when facing the Saintess, he had kept believing in Lan Yan. He believed Lan Yan was not a spy and would not truly transmit information.
But Lan Yan admitted to everything; she was Alliance Leader Li's daughter.
He looked at his bleeding palm and smiled self-mockingly, "We both understand who is truly staying in this dead city. We shouldn't have trusted anyone, yet we both trusted Lan Yan."
"If she were truly an unintentional spy, how foolish we would be. But neither of us is foolish, and she is not unintentional."
Hearing these words, Lü Qi realized the City Lord was speaking up for Lan Yan. It seemed like nothing would happen between these two. "City Lord, this servant will take her leave." She departed.
Jun Yelan remained lying in bed, looking at Bai Hu, who walked over. Seeing Bai Hu's low spirits, he murmured, "It seems you miss her too. When I recover, we'll go see her. Otherwise, she'll worry again."
Bai Hu let out a whine and rested its head on Jun Yelan's body, closing its eyes.
Jun Yelan stroked Bai Hu's head, recalling how Lan Yan had also stroked his head, and a slight smile curved his lips. He had fallen into nightmares last night, and later dreamt of Lan Yan.
He dreamt that Lan Yan was in trouble, and he went mad. Although it was a dream, he felt lingering fear upon waking, realizing how deep his feelings for Lan Yan were.
That was why he still believed her.
The Saintess entered uninvited from outside. Seeing that Jun Yelan had recovered, she was displeased. "Jun Yelan, you are awake. How do you plan to deal with that little maid?"
Jun Yelan sneered, "Why should I deal with her! Everything that happened yesterday was instigated by you, Saintess. I read those letters, and they were all one-sided orders from Alliance Leader Li. Lan Yan didn't reveal any important information."
"And just because Lan Yan is Alliance Leader Li's daughter, does that make her a spy! Then what about your child, Saintess!"
The Saintess froze, her eyes burning with anger. She hated hearing the latter sentence. She stared at Jun Yelan and shouted fiercely, "I have no child. If I did, he would not be a good person."
"According to the city's regulations, Lan Yan is to be executed by fire. If you cannot bear to do it, City Lord, I can do it on your behalf, in front of everyone in the city."
Jun Yelan's eyes turned cold, "I said, I will not punish her."
"It's a pity that everyone in the city now knows she is a spy. Jun Yelan, you cannot keep her by your side anymore." The Saintess laughed loudly, "If the entire city rebels, it won't just be her, you will be in trouble too."
"Also, while you were unconscious, I checked your pulse. You don't have much time left!"