Chapter 110 Binding the Immortal "Does it still hurt here?"

Qin Yuqi had drunk a few more cups today, and there was a hint of drunkenness in his eyes and brows.

He doesn't usually drink much, but today, because the person next to him kept pouring him drinks, he would drink every glass she poured.

The new maid is unruly and acts rashly, even her personality is like hers.

Qin Yuqi held the maid's hand tightly and did not let go.

That slightly defiant look on her pursed lips was exactly the same as the person he remembered. Over the years, he had seen countless imposters, looked at her countless times, and confirmed her identity countless times, making her image clearer and clearer in his mind.

Among those who came, some had similar features, but none could imitate her demeanor so vividly, so closely that they seemed like the same person.

But this face is so different from his Xiao Jiang's.

Qin Yuqi led his men into the camp.

The maid kept her head down, looking as if she dared not look at her surroundings, much less at him.

Qin Yuqi found it somewhat amusing; he clearly hadn't seemed so timid just moments before.

He dismissed everyone else, including the immortal guard who had been disguised as his maid for many years.

Qin Yuqi lifted her chin with his fingers, and the two were very close. He stared at her face almost scrutinizingly, scanning every corner of her face inch by inch. He even rubbed her jawline a few times to make sure she wasn't wearing some kind of human skin mask.

But it's obvious that this is a real face.

Jiang Yuhuo lowered his eyes, his peripheral vision falling on the tent door, where the female cultivator had already left.

"What's your name?"

"Li Yu".

Which two words?

"This servant is illiterate."

"..."

Jiang Yuhuo clearly sensed a moment of silence from the person in front of him. He released her face and tucked his hand back into his sleeve. Jiang Yuhuo saw a faint scar on that hand—the tooth mark she had left when she bit him.

Her bite wasn't deep, so why hasn't it healed after all these years?

Something just feels off.

From the moment Qin Yuqi took her hand, Jiang Yuhuo sensed something was wrong, but she didn't believe that Qin Yuqi would still recognize her now that she had changed her appearance.

Qin Yuqi asked many more questions, which Jiang Yuhuo answered one by one. He used what he had heard in the cooking tent to fabricate his background. For the time being, there were no obvious flaws. Even if there were flaws, it didn't matter, since Qin Yuqi was about to die anyway.

Jiang Yuhuo was getting impatient, but seeing the figure still standing outside the tent, she had no choice but to endure it.

Qin Yuqi seemed to finally believe that she was just an ordinary woman who had been sold into the prefectural government as a slave by a farmer's family in Shannan County.

He opened his arms, gesturing for her to undress him.

Do you know how to serve someone?

Jiang Yuhuo didn't say anything, but nodded and lowered her eyes to help him undress.

Qin Yuqi stared at the unfamiliar face, somewhat lost in thought.

A faint smell of alcohol lingered in front of him.

Halfway through solving the problem, another command rang out from above.

“Lift your head and look at me.”

The knots on his clothes were quite complicated. Jiang Yuhuo tried to untie them for a while but couldn't. Hearing this sound, she glanced at him with slight impatience, but her gaze quickly returned to his clothes.

Is this knot really meant to be untied?

Qin Yuqi chuckled softly, his previously dignified and composed voice becoming urgent, the domineering tone still undeniable, "That's it, just look at me like that."

Jiang Yuhu frowned upon hearing this, wondering what had gotten into him.

Qin Yuqi's eyes deepened, and he pressed down on her hands as she undressed, his smile widening. "You know what? You look even more like her when you frown."

He enveloped her completely, as if trying to pull her into his arms.

Jiang Yuhuo suddenly retreated, causing Qin Yuqi to miss his target.

"This servant does not understand what Your Majesty is saying?"

"Did I scare you?" Qin Yuqi smiled at her. "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. I'm not the same as before."

Jiang Yuhu was startled. What was she talking about with this maid of the Prefect of Shannan?

Has Qin Yuqi discovered her?

How could this be? Her face has completely changed.

But Qin Yuqi's next words were even more like a thunderclap.

He slowly approached her, cornering her.

"You've been looking outside the whole time. Are you afraid of that person? Don't be afraid. She's just my guard. She's a cultivator and knows some magic. Didn't you know magic before? You should know there's nothing to worry about."

"Your Majesty is joking. This servant is merely a maid and knows nothing of magic."

Jiang Yuhuo's heart was in turmoil, but she had to feign confusion and fear, playing dumb to deal with Qin Yuqi. She didn't know if he had truly recognized her or was deliberately provoking her, but in any case, as long as the figure in front of the tent hadn't fallen, she couldn't expose herself.

Qin Yuqi gazed at her greedily, taking in every expression on her face.

"It's okay, it doesn't matter what you become. I will never let you leave again."

He reached out and untied the knot on his shirt. The knot that Jiang Yuhuo had been unable to untie easily unfolded and turned into a rope in his hand.

Jiang Yuhuo recognized it as the Immortal Binding Rope, which Ji Yun had used to bind her before.

She didn't run; there were magical artifacts in front of her and cultivators behind her.

She can't escape now.

Now there's no need to doubt it anymore; Qin Yuqi has confirmed that it's her.

The rope stretched endlessly, instantly binding her in many places.

Qin Yuqi caught her, preventing her from falling to the ground. He held Jiang Yuhuo tightly, his arms strong and powerful, no longer the boy she could easily manipulate.

He hugged her tightly for a long time, pulling her into his body in the corner.

The overwhelming smell of alcohol enveloped her, and Qin Yuqi's body pressed tightly against hers, the heat and rapid heartbeat spreading through her, making Jiang Yuhu feel suffocated.

After a long while, Qin Yuqi finally spoke, his palm gently stroking the area on her back where her shoulder blades were, where the wound from when her wings were broken once stood.

"Does it still hurt here?"

Jiang Yuhuo immediately trembled all over, instinctively shrinking back to resist his touch, wishing she could kill him right now.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, don't be afraid of me. I won't hurt you, I'll never hurt you again..."

He held her trembling body even tighter, repeatedly making promises to her, as if he were caught in some kind of trance.

Jiang Yuhuo clenched her teeth and didn't say another word.

"I miss you so much, I'm going crazy with longing..."

Qin Yuqi muttered to himself, his confusion tinged with grievance.

The person in his arms remained silent, refusing to admit anything even now.

Qin Yuqi didn't want to pressure her, so he simply held her tightly, embracing this completely unfamiliar body. He knew who was in his arms; only by holding this body could he confirm her existence, that she had truly returned.

“I’ve been looking for you for so long, but I can’t find you anywhere. I’ve drawn so many portraits and described everything about you to them countless times—how you laugh, how you get angry, how you walk, how you fight… I’ve said it over and over again, but they always try to fool me with fakes.”

"I'm so disappointed. How could they always get the wrong person? How could they mistake you when you're so different? I think if you appeared in front of me, I would definitely recognize you at a glance."

He smiled silently. "As expected, you've finally come back to find me."

"I've been waiting for you, Jiang Yuhuo."

"The first time I saw you, you have no idea how scared I was... scared that I would lose you again."

“I know you want to kill me, and I know you drugged the drink, but I can’t refuse. I’m afraid you’ll find out, and if you realize something’s wrong, you’ll run away again, right? I have no choice but to drink everything you feed me, even knowing it’s poison. But thankfully, I’m not the same as before…”

With each additional sentence Jiang Yuhuo heard, her heart sank a little deeper.

He had been looking for her all along, and even recognized her at first glance, making her pretense seem like a joke.

"We must keep you in the dark, keep you calm, and ensure you never have a chance to escape."

He gently patted her back.

"I specifically asked the people from the immortal sects for this magical artifact. They said that with it, even the most powerful cultivators cannot escape." He loosened his embrace slightly, his breath drawing closer to the person he had been longing for day and night, wanting to kiss her.

She frowned and turned her head away, so Qin Yuqi gently kissed her cheek. He finally couldn't suppress his smile, "I've been carrying this with me all this time, waiting for this day, waiting and waiting for you to come back. And now it's finally here."

"Come back to the palace with me. I've kept your bedchamber, and that red palace dress." He was lost in memories, his eyes unfocused. "You were so beautiful that day, so beautiful it was almost unbearable to look at, yet so heartbreaking. Do you remember Yu Ling'er?"

As if afraid she might not remember, Qin Yuqi added, "It's the palace maid who helped you escape."

Jiang Yuhuo was startled and turned to glare at him angrily, "What did you do to her?"

Seeing that she finally reacted, Qin Yuqi smiled with satisfaction.

Looking at those familiar eyes, burning with fiery light, eyes that had appeared countless times in his dreams, Qin Yuqi gently placed a kiss on her eyelids.

A surge of heat coursed through him as he pressed his forehead against hers, their breaths mingling. He was truly a little tipsy now. "Don't worry, I didn't kill her. If I had, I would have lost another person who remembered you. Do you want to see her? She's doing well in the palace. When you get back, I'll transfer her back to serve you, okay?"

Jiang Yuhuo remained silent.

Qin Yuqi carried the person who was bound by ropes onto the bed.

"You must be tired. Get some sleep tonight, and we'll set off back to Zhaoming City tomorrow."

He kissed her forehead with satisfaction before reluctantly letting her go and going to find the female cultivator to help her fall into a deep sleep.

Qin Yuqi walked to the front of the tent and suddenly realized something.

It's too quiet.

I don't know when it started, but it seems like there's been no sound coming from outside the tent for a long time.

Qin Yuqi lifted the curtain, and a group of people outside the tent collapsed. The female cultivators who had been guarding outside the tent also fell to the ground.

Just as he was about to turn around, a short knife pierced his heart from behind, the tip protruding from his chest, visible even with his lowered eyes.

The knife was slowly withdrawn from his heart, making his excruciating pain exceptionally long. Warm blood kept gushing from the hole, taking away the heat from his body.

He turned around in disbelief and saw Jiang Yuhuo standing expressionlessly behind him.

"How could you..."

She held the Immortal Binding Rope, which could bind any cultivator, and slowly said, "I never said that I was a cultivator."

Qin Yuqi smiled bitterly, coughing up mouthfuls of blood that rendered him speechless. But even if he could speak, it would be useless, as no one in the entire camp could come to his rescue.

The young emperor's tall body slowly leaned towards the lover he had finally found.

Jiang Yuhu did not dodge; his tall and heavy body pressed down on her, and his blood seeped into her clothes, running down from her shoulders, quickly soaking her clothes with warm blood.

Perhaps the blood had been choked clean, for Jiang Yuhuo heard a muffled sound on his shoulder.

"Can you... forgive... me?"

Jiang Yuhuo took a deep breath and did not answer, letting the body slowly slide from her shoulder to her feet.

She lowered her eyes and looked at Qin Yuqi, who was lying motionless on the ground.

That once arrogant and domineering young master in brocade robes, now an emperor revered by his ministers, is about to die in his own tent.

Apart from the murderer, there was no one else around.

Jiang Yuhu knelt down, placed her hand over his eyes, and slowly closed them for him.

She closed her eyes, her hand stroking his face, slowly moving down to rest on his neck, where the pulse was already very weak.

Finally, they finished him off with a stab to the neck.

Blood splattered on her face, her clothes, her sleeves...

Jiang Yuhuo opened her eyes again, and the once charming and lovely maid's clothes had become extremely terrifying.

She stood up, and the boning knife she had taken from the kitchen slipped from her hand and fell to the ground with a clatter. She didn't even notice, and just walked out numbly.

The female cultivator who had been drugged by her was lying on the ground outside the tent. She casually threw the broken Immortal Binding Rope onto the female cultivator, and the magic weapon automatically bound her.

For those with spiritual power, the "Binding Immortal" technique is a true magical artifact, but for her, merely a mortal, it is nothing more than an ordinary rope. She concealed a short knife, only cutting it open the moment Qin Yuqi turned to leave, intending to kill him with a single blow.

Qin Yuqi was putting on an act with her, and she was putting on an act with Qin Yuqi.

Since he could produce the Immortal Binding Rope, he might be hiding other magical treasures. She had no choice but to pretend to be restrained by the Immortal Binding Rope to make Qin Yuqi lower his guard. If she had tried to kill Qin Yuqi as a cultivator in the past, she might have truly been trapped by him, but she just happened to encounter him at this moment.

Isn't this also a kind of twist of fate?

She desperately cultivated her skills to seek revenge, but she was unable to kill her enemy with the sword techniques she had learned.

Qin Yuqi believed she was a cultivator and used a magical artifact from a celestial sect to deal with her, but ultimately died at the hands of a mortal.

Jiang Yuhuo smiled silently. She walked through the camp, which was as silent as a wilderness. People lay on the ground in all sorts of strange positions, all of them completely unconscious.

Li Mengbai had many strange talismans and medicines on him. Now that the talismans were no longer useful, the effects of the medicines became apparent.

Mortals have their own kind of alluring potions, and immortals have their own kind of alluring potions.

She slipped the medicine for mortals into their food and drink, and the medicine for immortals into the moment the man handed her the mat.

Li Mengbai thought she was being too fussy and wanted to give her poison so that it would be easier to kill everyone.

She didn't argue with him; she simply refused.

She knew very well that, from beginning to end, the only person she wanted to kill was Qin Yuqi.

Under a large tree half a mile from the camp gate, a young man dressed in new clothes, clean and refined, paced back and forth countless times, his steps growing increasingly anxious.

Li Mengbai waited and waited at the place he had agreed to meet Jiang Yuhuo, his peach blossom eyes practically worn out from looking, but she never showed up.

As the moon rose higher and higher, he finally couldn't resist any longer. He tied the two stolen horses to a tree and turned back to look for Jiang Yuhuo.

"Idiot! Fool! It would have been so much easier to just poison them all. Why did you have to use sleeping pills? What if someone wakes up? Don't you even know your own limitations?" He strode back while muttering curses.

"How can someone be so stubborn? It's so annoying!"

"...You'd better not get into any trouble!"

Upon reaching the camp gate, Li Mengbai finally shut up.

In the pale moonlight of the camp, a person walked slowly toward him, passing over the people who were sleeping soundly and looked no different from corpses.

The newcomer was covered in blood from head to toe, which made Li Mengbai's heart tighten. Fortunately, her expression was normal, and she seemed to be unharmed.

Li Mengbai stopped at the door and waited until she walked up to him. He gave her a reproachful look and raised an eyebrow to ask who it was.

"It's done?"

Jiang Yuhu smiled wearily and nodded.

"It's done."

Li Mengbai laughed, looking at her bloodstains with disdain, "Tsk, stay away from me, you're filthy."

Jiang Yuhuo truly stopped approaching him, her obedience was so infuriating.

"Hands out."

"do what?"

"You killed your enemy, and now you don't even want the sword?"

Jiang Yuhuo saw the Moonlit Dust Star in his hand. She had asked Li Mengbai to keep it for her because the sword was too conspicuous.

She reached out her hand, only to have a handkerchief placed over it. The owner of the handkerchief picked up a piece of soft satin and used it to wipe away the bloodstains from her hands.

"Don't get the sword dirty."

Jiang Yuhuo was speechless for a moment.

"Were you just cursing at me? I think I heard it."

"Who insulted you? You must have misheard."

"..."

"Then tell me, what did they say to you?"

"It's like being stupid or dumb..."

"I...no, how can you hear me from so far away?"

"Hmm, I can hear everything... But I'm not that stupid, am I?"

...

The voices faded into the distance, leaving the quiet camp behind, and the two riders gradually disappeared into the night.

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Author's Note: I really wanted to stop writing when I reached 3,000 words, but I forced myself to finish the whole plot. Okay, now I'm starting to worry about tomorrow's word count. [emoji]