The car arrived at noon. The people who came were the main members of the Liu family. There were five cars in total, and they picked up Liu Changxian and Gu Liyan.

"Be careful not to wake him," Liu Changxian whispered to his men carrying Gu Liyan on the stretcher.

After lifting Gu Liyan into the car, Liu Changxian also got in and whispered, "Drive slowly for a while, don't keep swaying, okay?"

"yes."

"Alright, we can go now," Liu Changxian said.

In this era, even the most extraordinary means are of little use to ordinary people; for noble families, escape is one of the most important methods.

Looking at the token in his hand engraved with the character "Liu," Liu Changxian sighed, "From now on, all who are useful will be under the Liu family's command, and those who are useless will be the Liu family's slaves forever!"

Liu Changxian's father, Liu An, had made the same choice, which is why she was the only one left in the Liu family. Unexpectedly, she herself would one day make such a choice—

Looking at the still-sleeping Gu Liyan, Liu Changxian smiled. "You've sacrificed so much for me, what's a little sacrifice for you? Besides... you'll protect me, won't you..."

After leaving the Prince's Mansion, Steward Lin brought Wang Qi to the Liu Mansion, only to find that the Liu family had vanished.

"What happened? Could it be that the Liu family was robbed?" Wang Qi asked in surprise, looking at the mess in the Liu family's house.

Butler Lin squinted and didn't answer. He went straight to his room and saw that the door to the secret room was still open. He cursed, "Damn it! That bitch actually found it!"

"Butler Lin, where is this? Why does it smell so strongly of blood in here?" Wang Qi followed us in and smelled blood as soon as she entered. She covered her face and said with disgust, "You didn't kill a chicken in the room, did you?"

Butler Lin stared coldly at Wang Qi, who involuntarily took a step back in fright. "What... what are you going to do?"

"Hmph, what bad luck that you discovered my secret, especially when I'm in a bad mood!" Butler Lin walked towards Wang Qi step by step, his voice now that of a woman.

Wang Qi stared at Butler Lin in astonishment, then retreated from the courtyard in fright. "You, who exactly are you? You're not Butler Lin?"

"That old bastard was addicted to embezzling and stealing; I would have killed him long ago," Butler Lin said with a sly smile, looking at Wang Qi.

As he spoke, the human skin on his face suddenly cracked open, revealing snakeskin underneath...

Wang Qi was terrified, her face turning pale. "You, you're a snake-man!"

Without a word, Wang Qi turned to run away, but Butler Lin suddenly darted out and appeared in front of Wang Qi in the blink of an eye, blocking his way.

Wang Qi was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground. "What...what are you going to do?"

Butler Lin chuckled, "I was planning to capture that brat Mo Li and hand him over to the King. His face would surely make the King look at me in a new light. I thought that face would make things much easier among humans! Who knew that that brat Liu Changxian would ruin everything..."

"You, you don't mean to take Mo Li's... skin!" Wang Qi trembled with fear and dared not say another word.

"Hahaha, see? Everyone says you know too much! So, you must die today!" Butler Lin said with a ferocious grin.

"No...ah—"

A dozen minutes later, Wang Qi emerged from the Liu residence, touching her beautiful face. Turning to look at the dilapidated mansion, a slight smile played on her lips. "Mo Li, Liu Changxian, we'll meet again soon! And when that happens, I won't let you get away with it! Hahaha—"

"Cough cough... cough cough cough..." Gu Liyan coughed awake. Liu Changxian hurriedly brought over a water bottle and said softly, "Little Li, come, have some water."

Gu Liyan nodded and took a sip.

"Have a little more," Liu Changxian said, seeing that Gu Liyan had only taken a small sip.

Gu Liyan shook his head, his brows furrowed, and said in a hoarse voice, "My throat hurts, drinking makes it hurt even more... My whole body aches, I'm so tired... cough cough..."

Halfway through his sentence, Gu Liyan coughed again.

Liu Changxian reached out and touched his forehead, finding it burning hot. She hurriedly said, "You have a fever. It must be because you have too many wounds and some of them are infected. Wait for me, I'll find you some anti-inflammatory medicine."

Liu Changxian took out her first-aid kit and rummaged through it, but she couldn't find any anti-inflammatory medicine.

"Oh no, why didn't I bring it with me?" Liu Changxian paced anxiously. "What should I do?"

"Cough cough..." Gu Liyan coughed incessantly, and even coughed up blood.

"Xiao Li!" Liu Changxian rushed forward to check Gu Liyan's injuries and found that the wound on his chest was infected.

Liu Changxian's eyes welled up with tears. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I'm the one who hurt you. I was so stupid, I didn't even bring any anti-inflammatory medicine."

Seeing Liu Changxian's tears fall, Gu Liyan comforted her, "Don't cry, it's alright... cough cough..."

Gu Liyan's expression changed, and he started coughing again. Seeing Gu Liyan's pale face, Liu Changxian was at a loss for what to do.

Just then, the car suddenly stopped, and Liu Changxian instinctively fell into Gu Liyan's arms. Gu Liyan was in great pain, and his wound reopened.

"Uh..." Gu Liyan groaned and fainted.

"Xiao, Xiao Li!" Liu Changxian was so angry that he trembled all over when he saw Gu Liyan faint. He picked up the scalpel next to him and got out of the car in a fit of rage.

A group of people blocked the way. They looked like refugees fleeing famine. The middle-aged man in the lead was holding a gun and pointing it at the driver in the car.

"Get off the bus! Everyone get off the bus!"

The driver dared not refuse to get off, and slowly stepped down with his hand raised. He saw a group of dusty, ragged villagers behind the middle-aged man. Although they didn't have many guns, they were carrying hoes, axes, and some even kitchen knives.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!