Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 105

Volume 4: The Perils of the Jianghu

Captured

After commanding her people to extinguish the majority of the fire, Ji Qingchi felt that the remaining disciples in the valley should be able to handle the rest. She pulled Feng Zhu aside and said, “You can manage the rest on your own.”

Feng Zhu was so grateful she didn’t know what to say. “Thank you so much, young lady.”

The Valley Master didn’t care if they lived or died, telling them to fend for themselves, yet Ji Qingchi, a stranger, had brought her subordinates to help them so much. How could they not be grateful?

“You’re welcome,” Ji Qingchi said hastily before turning to go find Su Yi. When she reached the carriage, she found it empty.

She assumed Su Yi was just getting some air nearby, but then she turned and saw the two guards she had left behind to protect her.

“Why are you here?”

The two guards, who were busy wiping sweat and black ash from their heads, were startled by Ji Qingchi’s sharp question and quickly knelt to explain what had happened.

“How reckless. It’s so chaotic here with all the people and commotion. What if she got hurt?”

Still having seen no sign of Su Yi and fearing that something had happened to her, Ji Qingchi was about to rush off to find her when she came face to face with Hua Bao, who was approaching with his hands clasped behind his back.

He reeked of blood, and his eyes were filled with a thick murderous intent, his gaze sharp. As someone long-seasoned on the battlefield, Ji Qingchi knew at a glance that this newcomer did not come with good intentions.

She had no desire to make an enemy of him and tried to step aside, but as she moved, he moved too, blocking her path and preventing her from budging an inch.

Ji Qingchi stopped moving and stared at him coldly. “What do you mean by this, Your Excellency¹?”

Seeing her beautiful, flower-like face, Hua Bao had a good idea of who she was. “You are the Ninth Imperial Daughter of the Yanxue Kingdom?”

Ji Qingchi gave a cold laugh. “Since Your Excellency already knows, why bother asking?”

Hua Bao grinned. “Since you put it that way, then there’s no mistake.”

The moment his words fell, a gust of palm wind struck at her. Ji Qingchi had been on guard against him from the start and quickly drew her flexible sword to parry.

The blow forced Ji Qingchi back several steps, but she was completely unscathed. Hua Bao said in surprise, “I didn’t expect you to be so skilled.”

“You’re courting death!” It was the first time Ji Qingchi had been provoked like this. After steadying herself, she charged forward with her sword. Hua Bao fought her bare-handed. He hadn’t realized it before the fight, but once they clashed, he discovered that the Ninth Imperial Daughter’s martial arts were truly as formidable as the legends claimed, perhaps even thirty or forty percent stronger. His own skills were already considered top-tier in the martial arts world, yet he had to use his full strength just to deal with this Ninth Imperial Daughter.

When the six reinforcing masters arrived, they saw the two entangled in a fierce battle, kicking up so much sand and stone that the situation within was unclear.

The second-ranked assassin rubbed his palms together. “Come on, let’s support the Tower Master.”

Old Fourth² hesitated. “Second Brother, is that a good idea? If we go up and help, will the Tower Master think we’re looking down on him?”

“The result is what’s most important. Isn’t that what the Tower Master always says? As long as we capture that woman, the Tower Master will be too busy praising us to blame us. You’re such a blockhead³!”

After smacking him on the head, the man eagerly joined the battle. The others exchanged glances and also began to move forward hesitantly.

As the only woman among the six masters, Jing You stood firmly in place, not moving.

Seeing this, Old Sixth turned back and pulled her. “Jing You, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up!”

Jing You hesitated. “But… the seven of us against one, and using hidden weapons at that. Wouldn’t that be an unchivalrous victory? The rules of the jianghu…”

“We’re assassins! To hell with the rules of the jianghu!”

The man dragged her over. “Help the Tower Master, quickly, or you’ll be in for it!”

Helpless, Jing You could only join the fray.

Hua Bao’s martial arts were already top-tier, and the six masters were no less formidable. With all of them wielding hidden weapons, Ji Qingchi, despite her world-class skills, was severely outnumbered. She gradually fell into a disadvantage, her movements slowing.

Spotting an opportunity, Hua Bao thrust his sword toward her shoulder blade. But unexpectedly, a burst of sword qi shot out from the side, deflecting his sword just enough that it failed to pierce her shoulder blade and only grazed her arm.

“Hiss…“

His sword was coated with a potent poison. Ji Qingchi felt half her body go numb, her vision swam, and she fought on for another moment before she finally couldn’t hold on any longer. Her limbs lost their strength, her pliant sword slipped from her grasp, and she collapsed to the ground.

An expert of Ji Qingchi’s caliber couldn’t be trusted just because she was poisoned. They would only feel at ease if her martial arts were completely destroyed or if she were gravely injured.

Just as the others were about to continue their attack, another burst of sword qi blocked them.

Several deep male voices rang out in unison, exasperated. “Jing You, are you crazy?”

Hua Bao also paused, narrowing his eyes at the woman shielding Ji Qingchi. Among his ten assassins, she was the most inconspicuous, with a reclusive personality who rarely spoke a word. He never thought she would dare to defy his orders now. “Jing You, what are you doing?”

“Tower Master… aren’t we supposed to capture her to trade with the Emperor of the Yanxue Kingdom?” Jing You stood before Ji Qingchi, her face pale but her stance resolute, preventing them from taking another step forward. “If she’s injured, how are we supposed to explain it to the Yanxue Emperor?”

Her reminder brought Hua Bao back to his senses.

He had come to capture Ji Qingchi alive, not to kill her.

It was all this woman’s fault for being too beautiful. The sight of her reminded him of his son, who was utterly infatuated with her. His good-for-nothing son was his greatest vexation, and in a moment of emotional turmoil, he had wanted to eliminate this source of trouble directly.

“You’re right. Men, tie her up.”

The second-ranked assassin shot Jing You a glare before taking out the special chains of Xuanji Tower and binding the dizzy Ji Qingchi tightly.

Just then, Ji Qingchi’s guards arrived.

Seeing the situation, they all drew their weapons and surrounded the assassins. “Release our Young Miss!”

The assassins immediately adopted killing stances. If these guards dared to approach, they would be reaped like grass and die to the last man.

Before they could move, Ji Qingchi called out weakly, “…Stand down.”

The guards were astonished. “Young Miss?”

“You… are not… their match. Coming here… is just seeking death.”

The guards stood their ground against the assassins, not retreating an inch. “Our duty is to protect you, Young Miss! Even if we die, it will be a worthy death!”

“Hahahahaha.” Hua Bao stroked his beard and laughed heartily. “Excellent, excellent. I can see you are all very loyal, and Her Highness your Imperial Daughter is very considerate of you, not wanting you to die in vain. A pity you are all stubborn fools who don’t understand your Highness’ words.”

One of the guards shouted, “Insolent ruffian! Since you already know our Young Miss is the noble Imperial Daughter, release her at once!”

“Tsk, This Seat is in a good mood today and doesn’t wish for more slaughter. I’ll be taking your Imperial Daughter.” Hua Bao smiled slightly and pointed a finger at Ji Qingchi. Jing You understood and lifted her up. “As for you, go back and deliver a message to your Emperor. Tell her if she wants this daughter of hers back, she must agree to This Seat’s demands. Of course, if she wants to negotiate, This Seat is willing to talk. She can come to Xuanji Tower for a personal visit…”

“Insolent—” The guards weren’t buying it. Before he could finish, the guards in the front row charged forward and were, without exception, killed.

Bodies littered the ground, the earth beneath their feet stained red with blood.

“Everyone, stop…” Ji Qingchi didn’t want to see any harm come to the guards who followed her. Her vision was already filled with golden stars, but she could vaguely make out the sea of red on the ground. She said weakly, “All of you… go back… cough cough… go back and report to my Emperor Mother…”

Ji Qingchi hadn’t brought many guards to begin with. A dozen had died in the forest on the back mountain last time, and another twenty or so had just perished. The few who remained exchanged glances. Her Highness was right. Rushing in to fight these people now was no different from an egg hitting a rock—a path to certain death.

Returning to the Imperial Palace to report to Her Majesty was the most important thing.

Seeing that the guards were no longer making the foolish move of rushing to their deaths, Hua Bao laughed loudly. “Good, you know what’s good for you. Let’s go!”

Jing You carried Ji Qingchi, and the other assassins followed behind Hua Bao. The group quickly vanished.

“Your Highness!”

“Stop chasing. We need to hurry back and report to Her Majesty.”

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Su Yi and Yue Ling were trussed up, gagged with cloth, and thrown into a carriage.

The carriage sped along rapidly. Through the curtain that flapped up and down in the wind, Su Yi recognized the familiar road outside and realized they were being taken away from Changsheng Valley.

Yue Ling was still unconscious, curled up in a corner of the carriage, motionless.

Imagining herself as a worm, Su Yi slowly wriggled her way to Yue Ling’s side. She used the tip of her tongue to push out the gag in her mouth. Once she could speak, she called out to her in a low voice, “General Lin, General Lin.”

Yue Ling’s eyes remained tightly shut, unmoving.

Su Yi was getting frantic. She gave Yue Ling a taste of her “iron head technique,” but she still didn’t wake up. Anxiously, Su Yi used her head to nudge her shoulder again.

“I’ve got it.” As she nudged her, an idea suddenly struck Su Yi. She contorted her body into a devilish shape and managed to pull out the gold hairpin from her hair. Using its sharp end, she slowly sawed through the hemp rope binding her hands.

Once her hands and feet were free, she quickly wriggled out of her bonds and then used the same method to untie Yue Ling.

“General Lin, General Lin, wake up.”

Su Yi frowned. She took out the injury medicine she carried with her and fed it to Yue Ling, then shook her for a good while before she finally came to.

Seeing Su Yi and their surroundings, she instantly guessed they had been captured.

“Are they taking us back to Xuanji Tower?”

“Probably.” Su Yi didn’t know where they were going either, but it certainly wasn’t a good place. “General Lin, can we escape by jumping from the carriage?”

To suggest jumping from a speeding carriage, one had to admit that Su Yi’s nerve was something even ghosts would have to kneel before and call her paternal grandaunt⁴.

Yue Ling looked at her with admiration. “Miss Su is truly courageous… Yes, we can jump, but the carriage is going too fast right now. If we jump rashly, we’ll either die or be seriously injured.”

“Then what do we do? Just let them take us back to Xuanji Tower to be tortured?” Su Yi thought of the torture methods of Xuanji Tower described in the book and couldn’t help but shudder with fear.

Yue Ling quietly lifted a corner of the carriage curtain. After getting a clear look at the terrain, she whispered to Su Yi, “I was memorizing the terrain on our way here. About one li ahead, there’s a river that runs very close to this road. When we get there, I’ll take you and we’ll jump into the river.”

Su Yi was hesitant. “Is the river deep? If it isn’t, won’t we be smashed to death when we jump?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve led people there to fetch water before. The river is deep enough.”

There was just one thing: the river’s current was quite turbulent, and there seemed to be an undercurrent. Once they jumped, there was no telling where they’d be swept off to.

However, jumping into the river offered a chance at survival, while entering Xuanji Tower might very well mean death. Comparing the two, the former was clearly the better bet.

“Alright, we’ll jump into the river then.”

Once their plan was settled, Yue Ling pressed herself against the carriage wall, her eyes fixed on the road outside. Five hundred meters, four hundred meters… two hundred meters… ten meters…

When they were close, Yue Ling struck the carriage wall with all her might, grabbing Su Yi. “Let’s go!”

The driver didn’t have time to react before hearing a loud CRACK as the carriage wall shattered.

The speed of the galloping carriage turned the flying wooden fragments into deadly projectiles. Countless splinters were blown into the driver, carving bloody gashes all over him.

“Ah!”

“Splash!“

The driver’s scream and the sound of something hitting the water rang out simultaneously. Hua Wushang, who was leading the way, quickly reined in his horse. He looked back to see the carriage with a huge hole in it and cursed, “Damn it!”

He led his men in pursuit to the riverbank, only to see ripples spreading across the water and a vortex formed by the current. There was no sign of anyone at all.

“Damn them! They actually let them escape!” Hua Wushang furiously ordered the assassins under him, “What are you waiting for? Go find them! I want them found, dead or alive⁵!”

“Yes!”

The moment Yue Ling pulled Su Yi into the water, they were sucked into a rapid current. A vortex had appeared out of nowhere in this perfectly normal river, spinning them around and around, pulling them deep beneath the surface.

Tossed by the current, Su Yi slowly lost consciousness. As for Yue Ling, the impact of entering the water had aggravated her internal injuries, and she had passed out instantly.

After an unknown amount of time, Su Yi became aware of a blinding light.

Slowly, she forced her heavy eyelids open. Her gaze fell upon a woman sitting gracefully in a chair.

The woman’s lips were as red as roses, yet her skin was as white as snow. Dressed in white, she sat with immense elegance, pouring tea.

Seeing her open her eyes, the woman set down the teacup and smiled slowly. “You’re finally awake.”

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