For three whole days, Yan Li was recuperating from her injuries; more accurately, she was imprisoned by Wen Ze.
He kept her in the room, citing her still-healing injuries.
Fearing she would run away, he took out the chains she had previously obtained from the housekeeper and handcuffed his hands and feet along with hers, keeping them bound day and night, never letting them go, not even when they were in the throes of labor.
It wasn't until the night of the fourth day, just before midnight, that she was finally allowed to step out of the door on the fifth floor.
“Ah Yan, I’ll stay with you tonight, so you don’t have to hurt yourself.”
Wen Ze led Yan Li downstairs, while the butler, who often loitered in the lobby, had already hidden himself away.
"Doesn't the lord think he's gone too far?"
Yan Li finally couldn't hold back. She grabbed the chain, making a piercing sound, and pulled Wen Ze beside her, saying, "It's time to unlock it."
She thought that once the person released her, they would lock her up again, but while the ones on her feet were indeed gone, the ones on her hands remained.
The initial attempt to test the waters was intended to free myself from being controlled by others, but now I'm the one being controlled.
But she felt unwilling to give up if she didn't try.
Wen Ze paused, then chuckled, "Is that going too far?"
“I was also afraid that A-Yan would do something stupid again.” After looking at the shackles connecting their wrists, Wen Ze’s mood improved considerably.
"After all, Ayan has done this more than once. They say things shouldn't happen more than three times. If Ayan does it again, I don't know what I'll do."
"Perhaps they'll burn all these princesses, crystal coffins, and the like."
"So I'd feel more at ease if I locked A-Yan up."
Yan Li was speechless.
As midnight approached, as she had requested beforehand, she stood directly in front of the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth crystal coffins.
Wen Ze stood cooperatively beside Yan Li, showing no intention of stopping her, and even being exceptionally cooperative.
"Have you thought this through, Ah Yan? Pushing open all these crystal coffins at the same time might waste several opportunities."
Yan Li: ...
Feeling like he'd waste her opportunity, he shouldn't be so quick to open the coffin lid!
[It is an unprecedented bloodshed, a crisis that threatens the very existence of the nation, an impending massacre of lives, and the inevitable annihilation of all things. Princess, we beg you to awaken and help us slay the son of the demon, so that all things may return to their former glory.]
The princess finally remembered her duty. Evil was ultimately defeated by justice, and the world will forever remember this day. We are grateful to all our people who sacrificed themselves to rid the world of evil.
The princess, left behind in the castle, was cursed by a wicked witch. A righteous warrior appeared in a secluded forest; he was so dazzling, so alluring. He was the embodiment of justice, the princess's hope for awakening.
The wicked witch was a master of bewitching hearts; the warrior failed, he couldn't rescue the princess, and he deserved to die.
Unlike the previous times, she stood soberly before several crystal coffins, and Wen Ze, who was beside her, had somehow taken her hand:
"Would you like to see their true faces first, Ah Yan?"
Yan Li had no interest in looking at anything; she only felt a chill run down her spine, as if she now understood why Wen Ze insisted on locking her up today.
He wasn't afraid she would hurt him again; he clearly wanted to break her resolve to run away.
It wasn't her imagination last time; the people lying in those crystal coffins were all sending her a message: Run!
Unfortunately, it was too late; she could no longer escape.
...
The ancient castle is nestled in a dense forest, surrounded by thick fog.
Anyone who tries to get close will be poisoned by the miasma and eventually die.
The only survivor, General Que Fu, resigned from his post after emerging from the forest, and no one has seen him since.
The king was furious and ordered all wise and talented people to be summoned:
Whoever can eliminate Wenze and rescue the princess will become the new lord, and will be granted ten cities, three thousand cavalry, and five hundred taels of gold and silver.
Upon receiving the decree, many talented individuals from various regions gathered at the entrance to the ancient castle and dense forest. Princes from various countries also mingled among them, hoping to enter and win over Wenze in order to plot their grand schemes.
But with bones piled high and blood flowing like rivers, and with almost all the soldiers he had brought gone, no one could get close to the ancient castle, let alone see Wenze and the princess.
The news that Wen Ze single-handedly stopped hundreds or even thousands of people has become the most popular topic of conversation among outsiders.
Three days later, the king, enraged that his plans had made no progress, ordered the forest to be burned, intending to burn Wenze and the princess to death together.
However, every time the fire started, heavy rain would fall or strong winds would blow, and the fire would spread to the firefighters, making it impossible to carry out the plan to burn the forest.
The repeated failures led to rumors circulating that Wenze was the true ruler of the country, protected by divine mandate, and that mortals could not harm him because the divine Lord was protecting him. They pleaded with the king to obey the mandate of heaven and stop pursuing Wenze.
The king was furious, but forced by circumstances, he had no choice but to agree, intending to adopt a policy of appeasement.
Upon opening her eyes again, Yan Li did not hesitate to throw off the covers and go to the window, looking out at the castle.
Thick fog enveloped the entire forest, making it impossible to discern directions.
Yan Li rolled up the sleeve of her left hand, glanced down at her unscarred arm, and felt even more uneasy.
She was pulled into this dream again, but what exactly did Wenze want her to see?
On the first floor of the castle, "Ah Li, I've found the antidote for you."
With a hint of joy in his eyes, the young man eagerly raised the porcelain vase in his hand and shouted after seeing Yan Li at the window.
"Come down quickly, Ali. After taking this medicine, you will be able to speak again."
Que Fu's body was covered in blood, his face was stained with blood, and his arms had several deep, bone-revealing knife wounds.
At this moment, he was supporting his body entirely with the sword in his hand, swaying unsteadily, but a slight smile still appeared on the corner of his mouth.
He knew the king wouldn't be so heartless as to abandon his own daughter.
Now that he's being asked to bring the antidote, it seems he wants to reconcile with the princess.
"Lord Wen, could you please open the door? I have some incredibly good news."
Those people outside the forest are not easily fooled, especially the princes from the neighboring country who are all eyeing this opportunity to snatch the antidote from him and go in to see Wen Ze.
But who is Que Fu? Even if he hasn't experienced life-and-death trials, he has still mastered martial arts, so shaking off that group of people is naturally a piece of cake.
Although he managed to evade those people, he still inevitably suffered some injuries.
Yan Li, who was on the fifth floor, was slightly startled. Without much hesitation, she turned around and went downstairs.
Isn't miasma supposed to be poisonous? How did he get in?
Although they had only met a few times, seeing the boy's severely injured appearance, she felt inexplicably sad.
Yan Li's mind went blank for a few seconds.
In the lobby on the first floor, she saw Wen Ze as soon as she came downstairs.
"Does A-Yan want to see him?" Wen Ze didn't step forward, but stood still, looking at him calmly, and suddenly chuckled:
"Aren't you afraid it might be a trap?"
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