For some reason, the white fox didn't seem to be in a hurry to run away. Every time it ran for a while, it would deliberately look back to see if Xi Xizhi was following.
Xi Xizhi was followed by many soldiers. The soldiers knew that His Majesty valued the girl in front of him, so they followed her closely, afraid of losing her.
Dongfang Youyu followed the large group, glancing at the girl every now and then. The more he looked, the more certain he became of his guess.
As if deliberately leading them in circles, the white fox ran around aimlessly, never stopping.
Filled with suspicion, Dongfang Youyu suddenly had a plan. As he walked beside Xi Xizhi, he deliberately called out softly, "Miss Xi..."
Xi Xizhi hadn't gotten used to the new name An Honghan had given her. Hearing this address, she habitually turned around to look at Dongfang Youyu and casually replied, "What is it?"
Only after uttering those four words did Xi Xizhi realize what she had done wrong. Her face turned bright red, and she dared not look at Dongfang Youyu again.
He's bluffing her!
When exactly did I arouse his suspicion?
Dongfang Youyu didn't pursue Xi Xizhi's indifference, since he had already solved the mystery in his heart.
No wonder His Majesty values this girl so much, is that why?
Suddenly, a rumbling sound filled the sky, and in a short while, dark clouds covered the sky, and lightning flashed across the heavens.
Xi Xizhi was greatly surprised, looking at the sky that had been bright just moments before, now covered by dark clouds in an instant.
Has a dragon emerged?!
It seems that a heavenly tribulation is imminent.
The soldiers around them also felt that the sky was changing too quickly and that something was wrong, but they couldn't quite put their finger on what was amiss.
The ordinary people had never seen such a large-scale event before, and they all shouted in unison.
"Oh my god! How did the sky suddenly turn dark..."
"Waaah, Mom, it's so dark, I'm so scared..." The child's cries erupted.
The next second, a bolt of lightning ripped through the dark sky, illuminating the world in a flash.
The entire world seemed to be filled with millions of thunderbolts, as gloomy and dark as the end of the world. Women held infants, and the elderly wiped away tears from the corners of their eyes, all filled with sorrow.
"That white fox ran away, hurry and chase it."
Someone shouted something, waking Xi Xizhi from her thoughts.
She had to find Old Man Xu's whereabouts as soon as possible and then go to her master's place!
As for that half-demon...
It must be inextricably linked to the matter of the dragon, and we don't know what the half-demon is trying to do.
The white fox, abandoning its previous leisurely demeanor, sprinted forward with renewed vigor.
Xi Xizhi pursued relentlessly until the white fox disappeared into a cave, at which point she stopped.
The entrance to the cave is about two meters wide and is surrounded by lush vegetation.
This narrow cave seemed to be deliberately designed to lure Xi Xizhi and the others inside.
Even though it was a trap, Xi Xizhi had no choice but to fall into it. She waved to the soldiers behind her and stepped into the cave first.
"You guys come in with me."
The cave was pitch black, so Xi Xizhi and the others took out tinderboxes to light it up and proceeded cautiously.
The cave was eerily quiet; there wasn't a sound.
The cave wasn't very deep, and soon Xi Xizhi and the others reached the end.
Surprisingly, the cave had no mechanisms whatsoever.
Xi Xizhi had originally prepared herself to deal with each move as it came, but this whole ordeal left her completely bewildered.
Thump... Suddenly something fell to the ground.
The sound came from deep within the cave, and Xi Xizhi immediately perked up, preparing to deal with any unexpected situations in the darkness.
"Who are you?!" A high-pitched female voice shouted at Xi Xizhi and the others in an accusatory tone.
Xi Xizhi sniffed around but couldn't detect even the slightest hint of demonic energy from the person.
Holding a tinderbox, Xi Xizhi took two steps forward and immediately discovered that a girl was standing deep inside the cave.
And this girl... was someone I knew.
The handkerchief she was holding had fallen to the ground, covered in dust. Her once beautiful face was now filthy, like that of a disheveled beggar, and her hair looked like it hadn't been combed for days.
“Fourteenth Princess…” Despite the girl’s disheveled appearance, Xi Xizhi recognized her at a glance.
Looking behind her, Xi Xizhi spotted the long-lost Old Man Xu.
Old Xu's hands and feet were tied, and his mouth was gagged with a wad of cloth. When he saw someone coming, he struggled excitedly a few times, as if he wanted to speak.
"Take her down." Dealing with a defenseless Fourteenth Princess wouldn't warrant Xi Xizhi's personal intervention.
Two soldiers stepped forward and easily captured the Fourteenth Princess.
"Let me go! Who are you people, daring to trespass into this cave! When Master returns, he will not let you off!" An Yunyi panicked and shouted wildly as she watched them tie her up.
"Master? Is that the half-demon?" Xi Xizhi walked over and untied the ropes from Old Man Xu. After not seeing him for several months, Old Man Xu had become so thin that he was practically skin and bones, with hardly any flesh on his body.
"So what if it is?" The Fourteenth Princess stared at Xi Xizhi, pondering her memories. She did not recognize the girl in front of her and had never seen her in the palace before. However, the soldiers behind her were undoubtedly from Fengze Kingdom.
Old Xu grabbed the girl in front of him excitedly, "Quick...stop him! We can't let him do anything foolish!"
This seemingly random remark left Xi Xizhi stunned, even making her wonder if Old Man Xu had developed mental problems during his disappearance.
"No one would do anything stupid, Old Xu. Don't get so agitated. You're hurting my hand." Xi Xizhi gasped, looking at her wrist, where he had left a red mark.
Old Xu's attention was completely focused on those three words, "Old Xu." Until now, no one had ever called him that. Everyone respectfully addressed him as "National Preceptor Xu." In particular, the other party's familiar manner gave him a sense of déjà vu.
With a sudden thought, Old Man Xu secretly performed a divination for her.
After reading the divination, he was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth.
It was completely impossible to connect the girl in front of me with that adorable phoenix-cloud sable.
However, the divination results show that the two are intricately related.
After coughing twice, Old Xu calmed his surprise and stood up from the ground.
Although he tried his best to appear dignified, months of imprisonment had left him in a sorry state, and even with his dignified demeanor, he was no longer as carefree and elegant as before.
Xi Xizhi wandered around the cave and found a small hole carved into the right-hand rock wall.
It's likely that the white fox escaped through this small hole after entering the cave.
It will be much more difficult to catch it again.
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