Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Your Majesty, Please Respect Yourself!
Hanyu's face flushed red from being strangled by him, but there was no fear in her eyes. She gasped with difficulty in her throat and spoke hoarsely, "That's the goddess's anger. She wants to punish those of you who harbor evil intentions. Even if you kill me, you can't save those people."
As soon as she finished speaking, she closed her eyes as if ready to die, let her hands hang down, and stopped struggling. However, the pain of suffocation made her brows frown unnaturally.
Yin Jinglong was annoyed by her fearless attitude, but he could do nothing about it.
Seeing she would die if he continued to strangle her, he had no choice but to release Hanyu's neck for the moment. Seeing her legs limply slumped to the snow, gasping for breath, he briefly considered moving forward to help her up. But then he regained his composure and spoke a stern voice above her: "You said they've offended the goddess. Will they all die? Doesn't that mean none of us can approach the Goddess Temple?"
Han Yu stood up after regaining her strength and explained, "The goddess only allows certain people with special blood to approach her statue! Those who are not allowed to approach will suffer more or less harm, but not everyone will die. They may just contract a mild illness that can be cured in a few days, or they may be plagued by a lifelong illness, and those with serious illnesses may even die. In short, their fate is not up to you or me. Whether they survive depends on the goddess's will."
She stepped forward and glanced at the guards' condition. Some strong ones ran back despite the headache, while those who were unlucky fell directly at the door of the temple, struggling for a few times before losing consciousness.
Deputy General Li Yu did not dare to approach the temple. He brought the people who ran back to Yin Jinglong for questioning. Those people were still in shock and seemed to have become dumb, unable to speak. No one knew what they had seen or what they had encountered.
At this time, Hanyu continued, "Did you see? This is the goddess's punishment on the wicked. They are lucky to have saved their lives, but they may become mute for life. The goddess's power is sacred and cannot be desecrated. Even those of us who guard the tomb dare not offend it casually. Only a few people can approach the temple and return safely. Among our people, only the tribe leader and a few elders have this ability. What do you think? Do you want to continue?"
"It must be you, woman, who did this! I'm going to kill you right now!" Li Yu drew the sword from his waist and placed it across Han Yu's neck. He wanted to avenge those guards with one strike of the sword, but he heard Yin Jinglong trying to stop him.
"You can't kill her! Put down the sword!"
"Your Highness, you said this woman is the best at deceiving people. She must have done something just now, and now she's trying to trick us into coming down the mountain on our own accord. Don't fall for her evil scheme!"
Seeing that Li Yu was reluctant to put down his sword, Yin Jinglong's expression grew even colder. "I said, you can't kill her now! Didn't you hear me?"
Under his order, the reluctant but helpless deputy general Li Yu had to put away his sword and stood silently behind the prince, waiting for his next order.
Hanyu touched her neck, feeling lucky that she was still alive. However, the man in front of her was a fickle, ruthless person. If she fell into his hands, her head would be hanging by a thread, and she didn't know when it would fall off.
To strike first, she had to find a way to lure Yin Jinglong closer to the temple. Even if she couldn't kill him, she could at least injure him severely. Then, while he was injured, she would kill him with one blow and avenge herself and her deceased husband in her previous life.
Hanyu said that she had not been harmed by the power of the goddess since she was a child, perhaps because she was abandoned in front of the goddess temple right after she was born. Fortunately, she was favored by the goddess and survived and was adopted by her adoptive father. Since then, she has not been affected by the power of the goddess like the elders of the species.
Because of the special features of her body, she was required by the elders to go up the mountain every few days to clean the goddess temple, pay tribute and burn incense to the goddess's statue.
She looked at Yin Jinglong with a smug and provocative look.
"Your Highness, you've gone to great lengths to lead thousands of soldiers into the snowy mountains to seize the goddess statue. Are you going to give up just because you're afraid of the goddess's power?"
"Are you trying to provoke me?"
Yin Jinglong slowly approached her, a cold laugh rang in her ears, and he saw through her little intention of luring him closer to the temple.
Although her thoughts were seen through, she still feigned composure and said shamelessly, "So what? Countless people in the world desire to obtain the statue of the god, but only those with the ability can achieve their wish. Since you are the regent with utmost power, you should understand that those who wear the crown must bear its weight! My Lord, do you dare to try to follow me into the temple?"
"Do you think this king dares not?"
Yin Jinglong lifted her chin, and his slender fingers gently stroked her red, fair cheek, and the tip of his index finger fell on her crimson lips.
His playful eyes locked with hers, and after catching a flicker of uneasiness in her eyes, he sneered, "Since you're here, I'll risk my life to go with you. Even if I die, I'll take you with me. Come! Lead the way!"
Lieutenant General Li Yu quickly stepped forward to block the two men and dissuade them, saying, "Your Highness, you must not put yourself in danger! If you must go, then let me go in with her!"
"You don't have to go for me. She's right. He who wears the crown must bear its weight. If I can't even get close to the statue, then even if I get it, I won't be able to use it. This time, I must go myself."
He pushed Li Yu away, grabbed Hanyu's hand and walked towards the temple.
Hanyu's hand, which was numb from the cold, suddenly felt the warm body temperature of a man. She couldn't help but shiver and tried to pull her hand out of his palm.
"Men and women should not touch each other, Your Majesty, please respect yourself!"
Unexpectedly, this vicious man not only did not let go of her hand, but held it even tighter, as if he wanted to crush the joints of her fingers, causing her to feel a little pain.
"If I don't hold you tight, what will happen if you run away later?"
"Hiss..." Han Yu couldn't help but let out a painful hiss and scolded him: "Then can you be a little gentler? You lunatic! You hurt me!"
Hanyu cursed in her heart, this mad man always thought of how to torture her. In her previous life, she was imprisoned by him in the dark dungeon of the palace, and her body and mind were tortured by him. She could neither live nor die. But in this life, if she was given another chance to start over, she would never be played around by him again!
Yin Jinglong loosened his grip and did not get angry at her scolding. He continued to follow Hanyu forward.
After his grip loosened, Hanyu gradually felt the sweat oozing from his palm. She was secretly delighted, thinking that this man also had moments of fear.
Finally, when he was only ten meters away from the temple, he suddenly stopped and stood there in a daze for a long time.
Hanyu carefully observed the changes in his expression. She did not see any expression of pain on his face, but his eyes were staring straight into the temple. He neither spoke nor continued to move forward. He looked very much like the person with amnesia that her father had once told her about.
She stretched out her other hand and waved it in front of his eyes, testing whether he was still conscious.
Suddenly, Yin Jinglong glared at her with a fierce look in his eyes, "What are you doing?"
"No... No, I didn't do anything. I was worried that you might be hurt by the power of the goddess, so I came to see if you were okay."
Yin Jinglong sneered, "I'm sorry to disappoint you. I'm fine, but I'm not affected by the goddess at all. It seems that the goddess's statue belongs to me!"
After saying this, he immediately shook off Hanyu's hand and ran towards the Goddess Temple with big strides.
Han Yu was shocked. How could it be possible? How could he, a foreigner, be unaffected by the goddess? No! She absolutely could not let Yin Jinglong take the statue away!
She ran over immediately and saw Yin Jinglong standing in front of the statue of the goddess in a daze, looking up at her statue in fascination, and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
The statue is seven feet tall and made of gold and stone. Although it is a little dusty because no one has touched it for a long time, it does not affect its golden glow in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Yin Jinglong tried to stretch out his hands and touch the statue. It was said that whoever obtained the statue of the goddess would have the power to capture people's souls and control their minds.
He wanted to use the power of the statue to build a powerful army loyal to him and seize the power of the Great Yin Dynasty into his own hands.
What would that incompetent little emperor on the throne be? Killing him would be as easy as crushing an ant. And what about the ambitious and virtuous prince hiding behind the little emperor? His ruthless father, who abused his wife and children!
He wants everyone to bow down to him and make everyone who has hurt him pay the price!
Just as he was indulging in his yearning for the pinnacle of power, Han Yu behind him suddenly pulled out a dagger from his sleeve and stabbed him from behind.
She shouted, "Go to hell!"
Realizing the danger, Yin Jinglong turned around quickly, grabbed Hanyu's wrist holding the dagger with his left hand, and used his right elbow to support her body.
"How dare you, woman, attack me from behind? Do you think you have the ability to kill me?"
He tried to twist Hanyu's wrist with his backhand to make her drop the dagger, but Hanyu suddenly shook her wrist hard, and the tip of the dagger cut through the back of his left hand, leaving a deep cut that exposed the bones, and the smell of blood filled his nose.
While his hand was injured, Hanyu shook off his restraints and turned to run behind the statue. However, before she could take two steps, a hole suddenly appeared in the ground beneath her feet. Before she could react, her body began to fall uncontrollably.
At this moment, Yin Jinglong behind her subconsciously stretched out his other uninjured right hand to grab her hand. The moment he grabbed her arm, his weak right hand was shaking, and his brows were furrowed because of the sudden severe pain.
His right hand, which had been severely injured before, could not bear the weight of a person at all. The severe pain made him unable to recover immediately and he lost his balance. Together, they fell into the dark cave under the temple.
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