Chapter 201 Finding Her
Qi Yuxuan reacted quickly, her waist suddenly bending to the left. The handkerchief missed its target. In the dim light of the woods, she could see clearly that Qin Yuan, who had been following her, had disappeared. In her place stood a monk with a sinister look in his eyes!
Without thinking twice, she immediately dodged to the other side, narrowly avoiding the hand that suddenly grabbed her.
She was in such a hurry to hide that she didn't notice there was a camphor tree behind her on the other side. Her lower back slammed heavily against the trunk, shaking down a pile of wood chips and leaves, startling a flock of birds into flight with a rustling sound.
Who are you?
The monk remained silent, his face fierce as he attacked again. Qi Yuxuan quickly grabbed the forbidden belt from her waist, yanked it sharply, and flung a string of jade beads and gold ornaments at his face, interrupting his action.
But it was only for a moment. She hastily grabbed the hem of her skirt, turned around and ran wildly in the opposite direction. The monk saw her running and immediately chased after her.
The trees on the back mountain of Jici Temple are towering and covered with shrubs. Qi Yuxuan is young but agile, and she managed to leave the monk a little distance behind.
Her chest and throat burned with pain, and the monk behind her continued to chase relentlessly. The more she ran, the colder she felt, and her back was covered in cold sweat.
She didn't know who he was or what his purpose was, but judging from his offensive actions and his refusal to answer her questions, he must have ill intentions.
The other party was an adult male. She had been to Jici Temple a few times, but she had never been to the back mountain. The monk knew the terrain better than she did. If he kept running like this, it would only be a matter of time before he caught her!
Suddenly, a bright light appeared ahead, which was very likely the exit from the forest!
Qi Yuxuan gritted her teeth, biting her cheeks until they tasted blood. With all her might, she lifted her leg and jumped over the bushes in front of her. Her skirt ripped with a "rip," and half of the fabric was torn and hung on the thorns. She didn't care, and didn't even look back. She just ran towards the light with all her might.
As the light grew brighter and the daylight was perfect, Qi Yuxuan slowed her pace.
Before her was a bare cliff, nearly a hundred feet high, with a vast forest below. Just looking down from the edge of the cliff was enough to make one's legs go weak with fear.
"Run! Why have you stopped running?"
The monk slowly approached from behind, his voice carrying a hint of mockery, as if he were laughing at Qi Yuxuan's overestimation of her abilities.
Qi Yuxuan turned around and stared at him coldly: "Who exactly are you? We have no grudge against each other. Why have you pushed me to this point? What do you want with me?"
The monk touched his bald head. Although he was wearing monk's robes, he exuded an evil aura.
"Why ask so many questions? Do you think you still have a chance for revenge?"
He approached with a sinister grin, and Qi Yuxuan retreated step by step.
"Really? You're afraid to tell me because you're not confident you can catch me, right? So there's still a way out at the bottom of this cliff."
"..."
The monk remained silent.
"Falling off the cliff is certain death, but I might as well tell you that someone will buy your reputation and ruin it."
After he finished speaking, Qi Yuxuan immediately exclaimed, "Xiao Yuyao?!"
The monk's brow twitched, and he denied it: "I don't know the person you're talking about..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw the woman in pink standing on the cliff in front of him fall backward without hesitation. Her clothes were blown by the wind, like a butterfly fluttering in the air. He rushed forward to grab her, but he couldn't even touch the hem of her clothes!
"Damn it, you bitch! You're trying to trick me!"
He stomped his feet in frustration and turned to run down the mountain.
A piercing pain shot through Qi Yuxuan's right ankle. She touched the bone, and it seemed to be dislocated.
It looks very high from the cliff, but once you actually fall down, you realize that the area near the cliff is only about three stories high, and probably no one has ever walked on this side, as the ground is covered with a thick layer of fluffy fallen leaves.
The place where she landed was in excruciating pain, probably a bloody mess, but Qi Yuxuan didn't dare to delay for a moment. She immediately dragged her right foot and hurried away to a place with lush vegetation.
She only brought Qin Yuan with her today, and she doesn't know how Qin Yuan is doing. But since their target is her, Qin Yuan is at least not in mortal danger.
With an injured foot and a sore body, Qi Yuxuan stopped by a tree after walking for a while, wiped the cold sweat from her forehead that was about to drip into her eyes, and closed her eyes.
Outside Jici Temple, Qin Yuan, who had been knocked unconscious, slowly woke up and found herself at the entrance of a forest. It was dark and there was no one around. She was so frightened that she immediately scrambled to her feet.
"Princess!"
Her head was throbbing with pain. She patted her head and finally remembered what had happened before she fainted.
"Princess! Where are you?!"
Her shout startled the people in the temple, who were separated by a wall. Immediately, a group of Qilin Guards carrying torches rushed over. Zheng Yanling, who was leading the group, saw that it was her and shouted in surprise:
"Here is Qin Yuan, who serves the princess!"
After Qin Yuan finished recounting the whole story through tears, Zheng Yanling, in a panic, grabbed a torch and rushed into the woods to search without saying a word.
"You go back to the Zheng family first."
A voice came from behind the Qilin Guard. The newcomer had a handsome face and a solemn expression. He strode forward and picked up a torch from the Qilin Guard.
As he strode quickly into the woods, he spoke rapidly in an unquestionable tone:
"It's getting dark, and it's not appropriate for you to stay outside. I'll go find her myself."
Just as Zheng Yanling was about to retort, two Qilin Guards raised their hands to block her, demonstrating with their actions that she was not allowed to enter the woods.
"Your Highness! You must find Yu Xuan..."
Qi Jun did not respond, but moved even faster, almost leaving the several squads of Qilin Guards behind him behind.
Two hours ago, after the girls had rested for a while, they went to find Qi Yuxuan. They learned from a passing monk that Qi Yuxuan and her maid had been called away by an unfamiliar young novice monk who said that she was going to talk to Abbot Shikong for a while.
They had no doubts and waited patiently for a while before realizing that the time was wrong. They quickly sent someone to ask Abbot Shikong, only to learn that the abbot had never seen Qi Yuxuan!
This is terrible!
The three searched the temple but couldn't find him. The young novice monk was nowhere to be found. They didn't dare let the other worshippers know about this, so they prepared to go to the Princess's residence to inform her so that she could search for him. On the way, they ran into the Crown Prince.
As night fell, the chill in the woods intensified, and every now and then there were soft rustling sounds, like the sounds of animals in the forest, which made Qi Yuxuan wonder if the monk had come looking for her.
Her right foot was swollen so badly that it hurt even when she didn't touch it, and she couldn't walk at all. She could only find a small cave that could only accommodate one person, and then block the outside with a pile of branches and stones, waiting for the monk to leave the next day before trying to walk again.
"Rustle, rustle—"
The sound of grass and trees being trampled and pushed aside grew closer and closer. Qi Yuxuan stared intently at the dark forest outside, her heart pounding in her throat.
She clutched a sharp stone she had finally found, and the hairpins and hair ornaments in her hair had long since been flung off during the run. If it really came to that... she would rather die.
"Yu Xuan?!"
A tiny spark pierced the thick, cold night and leaped into Qi Yuxuan's sight.
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