Chapter 545: Ye Qianning Is Very Annoyed
Sang Zhi stared at the box. He reached out, took the small box, and opened it. The sight within made his face drain of color. His hands trembled, and the box fell to the ground, a single finger tumbling out from inside.
"Th-this is..." His already fair little face was now utterly bloodless.
"I hear you and Miss Xiang are quite close. Surely you’d recognize her finger, wouldn’t you?" Chu Yue covered her mouth with a handkerchief, chuckling lightly.
Sang Zhi’s face was a mask of horror. He stared at the plump little finger. The more he looked, the more it resembled hers. ’The little fatty’s fingers are just like this...’
A lump formed in his throat, and his nose tingled as his eyes reddened. "You... you actually..."
"You want to see her? Don’t be hasty. For every day you refuse to give us your eyes, we will cut off another part of her and send it to you. From her fingers to her limbs, and then her head..."
Sang Zhi’s face was pale, his lips quivering. His eyes stung. Bending down with trembling hands, he picked up the finger, placed it back in the box, and clutched it to his chest.
"It’s better you don’t see her now. By the time you do, you’ll have enough pieces to assemble a corpse." Seeing that he believed her, Chu Yue pressed her advantage. "Just give us your eyes, and we’ll release her immediately. If you want to drag this out, we’re happy to play along—so long as you can bear the cost."
Sang Zhi’s lips tightened. He clutched the box tightly, his voice deliberate as he spoke each word. "If I give you my eyes, will you really let her go?"
"Of course. Would I, the grand Princess of East Shu, deceive you?" Chu Yue dropped her playful smile, her tone suddenly serious.
"Fine. I’ll give them to you."
Sang Zhi had given in.
Chu Yue was overjoyed.
...
Ye Qianning was speechless. ’Only a sheltered brat who knows nothing of the world would fall for such a low-level lie. He’s so gullible.’
He’d been convinced in just a few words, none of his usual cleverness in sight.
She quickly sized up the people in the cave. Besides Chu Yue and Qin Huai, there were six men in black, all of them skilled fighters. Qin Huai was just a scholar and could be ignored.
Chu Yue would be difficult to handle. An evil aura emanated from her, as if she cultivated some sort of dark art. Her presence was on par with a high-ranking Hidden Guard.
If she wanted to get Sang Zhi out of here, she had to strike fast and end it quickly. She couldn’t afford a prolonged fight.
"Men, hold him down."
A tremor of excitement was hidden in Chu Yue’s voice.
Qin Huai moved forward to restrain Sang Zhi.
Sang Zhi didn’t struggle, his pair of grey eyes fixed on Chu Yue.
"You’re giving them voluntarily, so be good and don’t move. As soon as we take your eyes, we’ll let her go." Chu Yue approached slowly, brandishing a knife.
Sang Zhi remained motionless, not a trace of fear on his pale little face.
Chu Yue was so excited that the undisguised greed in her eyes twisted her beautiful features into a horrifying mask.
The knife was just about to pierce Sang Zhi’s eye...
Suddenly, with a WHOOSH, the torchlight in the cave went out, plunging everyone into darkness.
CLANG!
The knife was knocked from Chu Yue’s hand.
"Who’s there? Guards!" Chu Yue shrieked.
Ye Qianning was small, and she had completely concealed her aura, making it impossible for the guards to pinpoint her location. She darted to Sang Zhi’s side, grabbed his hand, and pulled him toward the cave entrance.
Sang Zhi struggled at first, but when he felt the chubby little hand, he shuddered and let it pull him along.
Sang Zhi knew no martial arts, and his presence was unstable. The moment he moved, someone detected him.
In the darkness, the men in black relied entirely on their senses and their ability to discern auras, drawing their swords and attacking toward the sound.
Ye Qianning shoved Sang Zhi aside with one hand. With a reverse grip, she swung her large blade upward, putting all her strength into the blow. As their blades clashed, she stepped forward.
She forced her opponent back step after step. Then, she flipped her blade and thrust the pommel toward the man’s chest. As the pommel struck him...
The man in black hastily tried to block.
Ye Qianning made a slight movement. A sharp, triangular spearhead shot out from the end of the pommel, piercing straight into the man’s heart.
It all happened in less than a minute. The man in black fell straight backward.
He probably didn’t even realize what had happened before he died.
Ye Qianning had struck with her full power. After dispatching the man in front of her, she grabbed Sang Zhi and ran for the cave entrance.
Just as they were about to reach the entrance, Sang Zhi tripped on a loose stone and fell flat on his face. The box he was clutching smashed onto the ground.
The sudden jolt made Ye Qianning wince, but she quickly pulled him back up.
Sang Zhi bent down, fumbling on the ground with one hand. "The box."
"Forget the box! Let’s go!"
"Your finger..."
...
As they spoke, the torches in the cave flared to life again.
Light filled Sang Zhi’s vision, and he immediately spotted the fallen box. He scrambled to pick it up and hold it to his chest.
Utterly exasperated, Ye Qianning snatched the box from him and threw it far away.
"But inside that was—"
"It wasn’t mine," Ye Qianning replied coldly, her gaze fixed on the group opposite them.
Sang Zhi froze, then looked down at her hands.
Though her expression was icy, Ye Qianning instinctively wiggled her fingers, letting him get a clear look.
Only then did Sang Zhi let out a sigh of relief. He looked up, glaring furiously at the group ahead. They had tricked him!
Chu Yue was startled to see Ye Qianning too, but in the next instant, a hint of delight replaced her surprise. "Well now, the little one actually found this place. Heh, I was just wondering how I’d get my hands on you, and here you are, serving yourself up on a platter."
"Surely the Princess of East Shu isn’t getting her hopes up just because I’m by myself?" Ye Qianning sneered.
Chu Yue’s eyes darkened as she glanced behind Ye Qianning. "Don’t try to fool me. If you had people with you, why haven’t they shown themselves?"
"An ace up my sleeve," Ye Qianning said, her smile unwavering, her demeanor calm and composed.
Chu Yue couldn’t see through her, nor could she tell if she was bluffing. If they were to be trapped here by Beili’s forces, their entire group might never leave Beili alive.
"Princess, look." Qin Huai had noticed the dead man in black to their left.
Chu Yue’s eyes widened in surprise when she looked over. The man’s eyes were wide open, filled with horror, and blood was still seeping from his chest.
"You did this?" She looked up, finding it hard to believe.
Ye Qianning shrugged, the gesture saying it all.
Chu Yue, Qin Huai, and the other men in black were all stunned. In just the blink of an eye, she had managed to kill a high-level guard?
Seizing the moment while they were still in shock, Ye Qianning grabbed Sang Zhi’s hand, turned, and sprinted for the cave entrance.
She had only been able to kill the man in black because of her speed and familiarity with the dark. In a straight fight, with her current stamina, it would be a struggle.
Right now, she couldn’t take them all on. She had to escape as quickly as possible.
"After them! Don’t let them escape!" Chu Yue snapped back to her senses, and the group chased after them toward the entrance.
With Sang Zhi in tow, Ye Qianning’s movements were restricted. The cave was about a li away from the platform.
"Weren’t... weren’t you captured by them?" Sang Zhi asked, panting.
"Only an idiot like you would be tricked by them." If they weren’t in the middle of a desperate escape, Ye Qianning really wanted to punch him.
"Then... then... how did you... how..."
"Consort Yuan happened to summon me to the palace today. Du Yi found the note you left on the table. Have you read so many scholarly classics that your brain has turned to mush? You’d leave the palace just because someone gives you a note? Don’t you know to verify if it’s real first?" Ye Qianning was fuming.