"Big Brother, let's talk this over, please, let's talk!"
Yun Feiwan craned her neck, forcing a smile that looked worse than crying as she tried to soothe the assassin. "My father is Minister Gu. He has both money and status. Whatever grievances you have, I can take you to seek justice, alright?"
The assassin clamped his left hand around her neck, thrust the dagger forward by another two inches with his right hand, and snarled, "Shut up and don't move! Come with me!"
It was a semi-deep voice, sounding like a young man deliberately lowering his tone—he didn't seem very old.
What the heck!
Yun Feiwan felt like swearing. Why did every piece of bad luck have to fall on her?
Good grief, it was only the second day!
Though she was the heroine of a tragic novel, she shouldn't be this unlucky, right?
This was purely looking for misery when there wasn't any!
"Hey! Don't, don't, don't! Big Brother, please don't be rash!"
Yun Feiwan was on the verge of tears, pulling her neck back until the back of it pressed tightly against the assassin's shoulder, and squeezed out a flattering smile. "I'll definitely cooperate and won't hold you back! As long as you let me go later, don't worry, my lips are sealed about today!"
"You'd better—ah, hiss!"
The male assassin drew in a sharp breath, tightened his grip on Yun Feiwan's neck, and raged, "How dare you bite me?"
Taking advantage of his lapse in attention, Yun Feiwan had actually bitten down hard on the man's bare wrist!
Looking down, there was a neat row of two small teeth marks on his skin, right alongside Yun Feiwan's frantically flailing hands.
Fresh blood still lingered at the corners of her mouth, and her two small canine teeth flashed in and out of view as she struggled.
"Wuwuwu, why did you grab me then? Big Brother, Hero, I was wrong! P-please loosen your grip a bit, I'll be completely obedient this time! Cough, cough..."
Plan A having failed, Yun Feiwan rapidly adjusted her state and entered Plan B.
Her eyes welled with tears as she pitifully coughed and conceded defeat. "Think about it, Big Brother—if you kill me now, I'll just be dead weight holding you back! It's better to keep me as a hostage, cough, cough... that way your chances of escaping will increase a bit..."
The man let out a cold snort, and the pressure on her neck eased slightly. "I'll trust you this time!"
Amidst their conversation, a faint, cold, and serene scent drifted over, miraculously calming one's mind a little.
This scent...
Before Yun Feiwan could ponder it, the man locked her in his grip and retreated at lightning speed.
In the distance were pursuers wielding long sabers, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Miss, trip him up quickly so he can't run fast! Besides, he's wounded and is a very important criminal! As long as you cooperate with us, you'll definitely be heavily rewarded afterwards!"
Feeling the pressure around her neck tighten once more, she genuinely feared she would be crushed to death by the person behind her!
So Yun Feiwan mustered every ounce of strength she had and roared back at them, "Are you out of your gourd?! What the heck, is there anyone who just shouts that out directly?! Ah!"
Dragged along by the assassin, she loudly vented her frustrations. "You guys really don't care about my life at all! You're completely unafraid that the assassin will silence me!"
"Please!!! He has ears, too! HE can hear what we're saying!"
Shouting out the truth at the top of her lungs, Yun Feiwan took a long breath of relief, feeling the depression in her chest instantly vanish.
For this bunch to openly conspire with her right in front of the assassin, weren't they deliberately trying to get her killed?
"Pfft..."
At this tense and thrilling moment, a low chuckle suddenly sounded right beside her ear.
This wretched assassin was actually laughing at her!
Catching the look Yun Feiwan shot him, the assassin cleared his throat, quickly wiped the smile from his face, and hauled her along as he darted down deep into the alleys.
Clearly, the guards outnumbered them, but in the crowded streets, they had become nothing more than stumbling blocks.
Just like that, within a few breaths, the two of them vanished from the guards' sight...
It wasn't until they reached a secluded, abandoned wooden shack that the assassin in black finally set Yun Feiwan down, his dagger pointed forward. "Go inside by yourself. You don't need me to carry you, do you?"
"No need, no need! Big Brother, I can walk on my own!"
With a gloomy little face, Yun Feiwan cautiously pushed open the wooden door. The "creak, creak" sound seemed exceptionally eerie in the quiet alley.
The house was small, consisting only of a dust-covered little courtyard and a dilapidated main room.
Right now, she was still wearing the thin, breezy outfit she had worn while performing at Yihong Brothel that morning.
As a gust of cold wind blew past, Yun Feiwan couldn't help hugging her arms and shivering, whispering, "So, Junior Prince, could you maybe move the dagger away now?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the dagger moved an inch closer.
The man in black furrowed his brows, his masked lips moving beneath the black cloth. "What did you just say?"
Yun Feiwan lifted her chin and pushed the back of the blade away with a single finger. "Oh, put the knife away before we talk. We're old acquaintances, what's with all the killing? I said you are Xuan Junheng, Junior Prince Ying, right?"
Dropping her previous cowardly demeanor, she walked over to a wooden chair on her own, brushed the dust off the seat, and sat down.
"You won't hurt me, I know that."
Yun Feiwan smiled as she looked up, meeting the man's eyes directly, her own filled with confidence.
Silence was her answer.
The span of a cup of tea later, the assassin in black finally put away his dagger and reached up to tear off his mask, revealing a handsome, bewitching face. His thin lips parted. "How did you figure it out, Miss Fei... wan?"
"It really is you."
Seeing the familiar face, Yun Feiwan crossed her legs and proudly lifted her chin. "The scent. It's the unique cedar fragrance belonging to the Prince, oh~"
The moment she pressed close to the assassin's neck, that familiar, fresh scent had aroused Yun Feiwan's suspicions.
After thinking carefully, she realized this was the exact smell Xuan Junheng had worn last night!
Since she could be considered half a savior to him, surely he wouldn't return kindness with enmity?
At that thought, Yun Feiwan asked with a puzzled air, "The Prince certainly leads a colorful life. You're either being assassinated or on your way to assassinate someone else."
"Miss Feiwan is as amusing as ever, except..."
Xuan Junheng's body suddenly leaned in, his high, straight bridge of a nose pressing directly against Yun Feiwan's delicate tip of a nose as he breathed softly, "There's no time like the present. Why doesn't this Prince repay the Miss's lifesaving grace today? How about paying with my body?"
Warm breath wafted across her face, and looking at the handsome visage inches away, Yun Feiwan felt her heart race with tension.
In such a nerve-wracking situation, even someone as prone to wild daydreams as her found it hard to conjure up any romantic notions.
Yun Feiwan swallowed hard and frantically waved her hands. "No need, no need! Paying with your body or whatever can wait for another day! After all, it's the first time, we need to have some sense of ceremony, right? Besides, you're so handsome, doing it just once isn't enough! This young lady wants to take a good, long look!"
The moment the words left her mouth, she immediately clapped her hands over her mouth, her cheeks burning red as she almost bit her tongue.
Pui, pui, pui! She had clearly meant to say, "No need, no need, it was just a small effort and I expect no reward!"
Damn this broken Truth System!
"So you've seen right through that, too. Miss Feiwan, you truly are exceptionally clever."
Who would have thought that Xuan Junheng would politely step back, clutch his chest, and sit down, his face plastered with the word "admiration"?
Wait, what on earth had she just exposed?!
Looking utterly bewildered, Yun Feiwan pointed at her own nose. "Huh?"
"Paying with my body was indeed a joke. This Prince has actually been poisoned with the Bliss of Joy, and right now, only you can save me."
True to his words, two blushes very obligingly drifted across Xuan Junheng's face.
"What?!"
Yun Feiwan didn't even dare to draw a full breath, her dark eyes wide as saucers. "The Bliss of Joy poison? Don't tell me it's the kind of poison that requires a man and a woman to mate in order to be cured!"