There was no trace of Yan Weichi left in the room.
Yu Feiyan asked in confusion, "She just ran off like that? In such a storm? Why? Senior Brother, did you have a fight with her?"
Shangguan Xi did not answer. He walked around the room, then looked at the open window and the wet footprints beneath the sill. He frowned and said, "She didn't run off. She was abducted."
"What? Abducted?" Yu Feiyan looked horrified.
Steward Zhang nodded, adding, "This old servant has been in the front courtyard preparing the carriage the entire time; I truly did not see the Crown Princess leave. I was just about to come and request her presence when I realized she was already gone."
"Preparing the carriage? And why was that?" Yu Feiyan was completely bewildered.
Shangguan Xi had no mind to explain. To abduct a living person like Yan Weichi right under his nose—this was clearly no ordinary assassin. Could it be an expert from Shangguan Li’s side? But the Second Prince’s Mansion had just been engulfed in flames; they should have been too busy dealing with their own chaos to investigate Yan Weichi so quickly.
Who could it be? The Empress? Duke of Anguo? Her father, Yan Hanshan? Or her stepmother, Mingyang?
Shangguan Xi’s brow furrowed tightly. He realized he had so many enemies that he could not immediately pinpoint the culprit. Without further hesitation, he charged out into the driving rain.
Seeing this, Yu Feiyan chased after him, calling out, "Hey, Senior Brother, wait for me! Your injuries haven't fully healed yet, you can't be out in this rain!"
***
The next morning, inside a mountain cave.
When Yan Weichi awoke again, it was already bright outside. She opened her eyes slowly to find herself in a spacious, dry cave, with dried grass spread across the floor. She was lying on the grass, and not far away sat the man in purple, his breathing long and steady. Was he asleep?
The sight of him made Yan Weichi jump; she scrambled to a sitting position. As she did, she realized the acupoints on her body had been released—she could move. Why wait? Run!
Yan Weichi headed for the cave entrance without a second thought. However, she stopped dead in her tracks as she reached it.
"This... this is too high!" Yan Weichi looked down into the bottomless abyss. She realized then that the cave wasn't on the ground, but carved into a sheer cliff face. No wonder it had remained dry despite the heavy storm the night before.
Yan Weichi cautiously scanned the area outside for a path, but finding none, she turned back in resignation. She found the man in purple lying on his side, his head propped up by one hand, watching her with a playful smile.
Yan Weichi was so startled she nearly tumbled out of the cave.
"Hey! Don't step back any further, or you'll meet your end! If you fall from here, even the prettiest person will be smashed beyond recognition!"
Yan Weichi knew falling meant certain death. She carefully stepped deeper into the cave while maintaining as much distance as possible from the man.
"Why... why did you kidnap me?" she demanded, frowning.
The man in purple raised an eyebrow. "Little girl, you’re quite forgetful. You burned my clothes!" He shook his long robe.
Yan Weichi frowned. "It’s just a piece of clothing! I’ll pay for it—just let me go!"
"Oh, talk is cheap. This wasn't just any ordinary garment; my mother sewed this by hand. It holds great significance. Money can't fix this!" the man said, deliberately making things difficult.
Yan Weichi bit her lip, watching him. She couldn't understand his motive. Though he was handsome, there was an alluring, sinister quality to his features that made him seem untrustworthy.
Lowering her eyes, she whispered, "Then... what do you want me to do?"
The man in purple smiled, his eyes curving into crescents. "Simple. Give yourself to me!"
"Are you insane?" Yan Weichi rolled her eyes, clearly displeased.
The man looked at her, shaking his head with a sigh. "That little husband of yours clearly doesn't love you, so why pin your heart on the wrong person? Wouldn't it be better to fly away with me and live as a pair of immortal lovers?"
Yan Weichi ignored the remark. She didn't care whether or not Shangguan Xi loved her. They weren't together because of mutual affection, but because they had needed each other at the time. Thinking of this, Yan Weichi felt an inexplicable surge of anger. After all, she was his savior, yet he had discarded her the moment he was done! Now that she was recovered, he was so eager to chase her away. Even a dog has a better conscience than him!
"Hmph!" Yan Weichi kicked a stone over the edge in anger. The stone fell for a long time without hitting bottom, proving just how dangerously high they were.
Yan Weichi huddled back further into the cave. The man in purple smiled, observing her with great interest.
"What are you looking at? Don't think I'm easy to bully," she snapped, instinctively clutching her bracelet, which held the poison she used for self-defense.
The small gesture didn't escape his notice. His eyes darted around, and he said, "Since you won't marry me, how about we make a trade?"
"A trade? What trade?" Yan Weichi asked, guarded.
The man gestured toward her wrist with his chin. "You tell me where you got that strange bracelet, and I'll tell you my name."
Yan Weichi rolled her eyes again. "Are you mad? Who cares what your name is!"
"Hey, that’s not fair. If you know my name, we’ll be friends. And as friends, I won't hurt you—in fact, I might even help you."
Yan Weichi was about to say she didn't need his help, but stopped when she looked out at the cliff. She *did* need his help; how else was she supposed to get down?
After weighing her options, she said, "It’s just an ordinary bracelet, left to me by my mother. It’s not worth much." She wasn't lying; it had been with the original owner since she could remember. It just seemed to have merged with her storage bracelet now.
The man in purple scoffed. "An ordinary bracelet? Then tell me, what kind of ordinary bracelet grows with you from childhood to adulthood without cutting off your circulation?"
Yan Weichi froze, looking at him with surprise. He was right. She had worn it since she was a child, yet it had always fit perfectly. Could bracelets grow?
She looked down at the bracelet and tried to take it off, but no matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn't budge.
The man in purple stood up. "Don't waste your energy. If it could come off, I would have taken it last night!"
Yan Weichi’s mouth twitched. So this guy had wanted to steal her belongings? What kind of person was he?
"I don't have a habit of stealing property," he said, as if reading her mind. "I only like to steal hearts and beauties!" The comment left Yan Weichi stunned.
Seeing her blank expression, he chuckled. "Looking at that silly face, I suppose you really don't know what it is. Never mind, I won't make it hard for you."
"Are you going to send me back?" Yan Weichi asked, pleasantly surprised.
He smiled faintly. "I am Hua Yu. A pleasure to meet you, Miss."
Yan Weichi curled her lip. He hadn't been this polite when he kidnapped her last night. "I’m Yan Weichi," she replied perfunctorily.
"I know!" Hua Yu smiled, then suddenly lunged at her.
Yan Weichi’s eyes widened in terror. In the next second, Hua Yu grabbed her waist and jumped into the abyss.
"Ah—!" Yan Weichi’s scream threatened to burst his eardrums.
Hua Yu shook his head, looking uncomfortable. "Stop screaming, we've landed!"
Yan Weichi opened her eyes to find they had indeed landed. However, she was clinging to Hua Yu for dear life, wrapping her limbs around him.
She jumped off immediately, putting distance between them. Hua Yu put his hands on his hips, watching her awkwardness, and teased, "You’ve got quite a lot of strength in those little arms and legs; you nearly broke my bones."
Yan Weichi rolled her eyes. Why was he so mushy? She had just hugged him—it wasn't like he was made of paper! "Where is this? I need to go back!"
The area was dense forest; it was impossible to tell which way was which. Just as Hua Yu was about to answer, his ears flickered at a strange noise. A moment later, voices drifted toward them.
"Boss, he really came back last night, and he brought someone with him."
"Hurry! We can't let him get away this time!"
The sound of rustling footsteps approached deep in the woods. Hua Yu’s expression darkened. "Trouble," he muttered. He grabbed Yan Weichi’s waist and took off into the air again.
Caught off guard, Yan Weichi let out a cry. "Hey? Where are you taking me?"
"Shut up!" Hua Yu hissed.
Yan Weichi clamped a hand over her mouth; she had never seen him look so fierce. But it was too late. Their pursuers had already spotted them.
"Boss! There they are!" one of the men shouted.
The leader ordered, "Chase them!"
Within moments, a group of men in black surrounded Hua Yu and Yan Weichi. A man wearing a half-mask stepped forward, clearly the leader.
"You took a 'Heart-Piercing Spike' and still managed to run this far? You’re quite a man," the leader said in a low voice.
Hua Yu smirked. "You think some child's toy can hurt me? Keep dreaming!"
"Oh? Is that so? If it didn't hurt you, why were we able to catch up? Your lightness skills were much better when you escaped the Beiyin Imperial Mausoleum!"
Yan Weichi froze. What had she just heard? Beiyin? Imperial Mausoleum? Was this guy a tomb raider? And he robbed the Imperial Mausoleum? Wait... Beiyin Kingdom? Did that mean these men were from Beiyin? Were they spies infiltrated in Li Kingdom?
*I'm finished, I'm finished... are they going to silence me?* Yan Weichi panicked.
Hua Yu glanced at her, then spoke up. "I only took a burial trinket; I’ll give it back to you! Here, you let her go, and I'll take you to get the item. How about that?"
The masked man’s voice was cold. "Are you stupid, or do you think we are? Hand over the item, and she can go, and you can have a full corpse. If you don't, you can die as a pair of star-crossed lovers."
*What does this have to do with me? I was kidnapped by him too!* Yan Weichi felt miserable.
The leader ignored her, drawing his blade and pointing it at Hua Yu.
"Fighting and killing in front of a young lady... how rude! How lacking in decorum!" Hua Yu muttered. Without warning, he pulled a light purple scarf from his robes and tied it over Yan Weichi’s eyes.
She reached up to block him. "Hey, you—"
"Don't move!" Hua Yu said as he tied the scarf. "Did you ever play hide-and-seek when you were a child?"
Yan Weichi thought the question was bizarre and didn't know how to respond.
Hua Yu didn't seem to care about her answer. He chuckled, "Stand right there and count to one hundred, then come catch me. If you win, I'll send you home. If you lose, you come wander the world with me. If you take the scarf off, that counts as losing!"
Without waiting for her reply, Hua Yu turned toward the black-clad men. The playful, reckless light in his eyes instantly vanished, replaced by a cold, bloodthirsty killing intent that left the men shaken.
"Count loud!" Hua Yu commanded.
Yan Weichi jumped. "One!" she started.
As she counted, Hua Yu lunged at the men. A long sword thrust toward him, but Hua Yu caught the tip with his bare palm.
*Clang!* The sword pierced his palm, but instead of wounding him, the blade snapped into pieces!
What kind of martial art was this? Iron skin and stone bones? The men were terrified, but it was too late to run. Hua Yu grabbed one by the neck and crushed his windpipe with a single motion. A bloodbath followed.
One man hid behind the leader. "Boss, he has iron claws... could this be the Iron Claw technique of the Flying Eagle Sect?"
The masked leader gripped his blade, shaking his head. "The Iron Claw technique isn't this bloody."
Every strike Hua Yu landed tore away half the flesh from a man's neck, exposing the bone. If not for seeing it with their own eyes, one would think a wild beast had bitten through them.
By the time Yan Weichi reached thirty, only the masked leader and one lackey remained. Seeing the carnage, they turned and fled without looking back.
Hua Yu moved to pursue, but a sharp pain in his chest made him collapse to his knees.
"Damn 'Heart-Piercing Spike'... quite potent," he gasped, leaning on the ground. He looked back at Yan Weichi, who was still standing there counting. He smirked. "Stupid girl."
He walked to a nearby stream, washed the blood from his hands, and returned to her, hooking his arm around her waist.
Yan Weichi stiffened, ready to struggle, but Hua Yu warned, "Don't move. I’m sending you back. If you move, I’ll throw you back into that cave."
Yan Weichi’s hands, poised to rip off the blindfold, froze. She wasn't a fool; she knew what had happened from the sounds of battle and the metallic scent of blood. She didn't fear corpses, but she didn't want to see such brutality either. Since he had promised to send her back, she would be compliant.
However, they hadn't flown far before Hua Yu set her down. Was she back in the Capital? No, it was because Hua Yu could no longer carry her.
He looked at her. "Don't take off the blindfold. Keep walking forward. Once you count to one hundred, take it off. You’ll see the main road. Go, now!"
Yan Weichi didn't dare disobey. She walked slowly forward, but only after a few steps, she heard a heavy *thud* behind her!
She paused, wondering if she should look back. But he had kidnapped her, and this mysterious man had ties to Beiyin assassins—if she went back to check on him, wasn't she just asking for trouble?
She kept walking, but after a few more steps, she stopped again. The man hadn't seemed malicious. During the fight, he had intentionally covered her eyes. It was a small thing, but it proved he didn't want to harm her. And... he seemed to recognize that strange bracelet of hers.
"Are... are you okay? I'm... I'm leaving now!" she called out.
Only a long silence followed. After agonizing for a moment, Yan Weichi couldn't take it anymore and pulled off the blindfold. She turned around to see Hua Yu lying on the ground, unconscious, blood streaming from the corners of his mouth.
Yan Weichi’s eyes widened. She ran toward him, complaining, "Damn it, why must I have this accursed physician’s heart!"
She couldn't just let him die. When she reached him, she saw he wasn't fully unconscious, but every time he opened his mouth, more blood poured out.
"You... you were acting so tough, what am I supposed to say about you now?" she scolded, hurriedly grabbing his wrist to take his pulse.
"Injured this badly and you were still running around? Don't you know what pain is?"
Hua Yu tried to smile, but his eyes rolled back, and he slipped into a deep faint.
Yan Weichi looked around and struggled to drag him to a hidden spot. She unbuttoned his clothes and found seven bloody holes in his body. They weren't large—only the size of a baby's finger—but they wouldn't stop bleeding.
She checked his clothes and realized his undergarments were soaked in blood, while his outer robes were clean. This guy hadn't even treated his wounds; he’d just put on fresh clothes. Had he been injured before she even met him?
"Stubborn fool," she muttered. She pulled medical supplies and silver needles from her bracelet. "Who told you to go steal from a tomb? You really have no moral compass, do you? Prying open widow's doors and digging up childless graves—you truly are something else!"
As she cleaned the wounds, she realized the blood showed no signs of clotting. She frowned, dipped a finger into the blood, and sniffed it. Her expression hardened. "Blood-Thirsty Grass!"
Strictly speaking, it wasn't a poison, but it accelerated blood flow and prevented clotting. If one had enough of it in their system and sustained a wound, they would bleed until they died.
Yan Weichi recalled the black-clad men. "What was it they called it? A 'Heart-Piercing Spike'?"
Looking at the holes, she understood what had caused them. She pulled a magnet and silver needles from her storage bracelet, preparing to extract the spikes.
"Consider yourself lucky, kid. I was buying saltpeter the other day and happened to pick up a magnet. If I didn't have this, you'd be in a world of hurt!"