Upon seeing the three familiar marks on Long Ye's chest, Lanxiang could no longer contain her grief and anger. She swiftly pulled out the silver orchid hairpin that she had prepared in her hair and had sharpened to an extremely sharp point in the quiet of the night during her leisure time. She sat up abruptly and plunged it fiercely into Long Ye's left chest.
However, Long Ye was no ordinary person. How could he be so careless and easily fooled? He had already noticed that Lanxiang's appearance was somewhat familiar when she entered the room, and her words and actions were unusual, all seemingly designed to attract him. Therefore, he was already on guard against her.
He nimbly flashed in front of her with his strong and broad body, and was already off the bed. If it weren't for the fact that Lanxiang's hairpin was too sharp, she probably wouldn't have been able to even slightly scratch the skin on his exposed arm.
"You slut, I knew you deliberately approached me and seduced me. You must have had ulterior motives. I just remembered, you're the brat who threw herself at Erlang back then. What? I personally sent you to that paradise on earth, and you've been living a life of debauchery every day these past few years?" Long Ye looked at the bright red scratch on his arm and sneered shamelessly.
Lanxiang casually picked up a piece of clothing to cover her body, and said disdainfully, "It's amazing that you still remember all of this. It seems you must have had quite a few nightmares these past few years! Today, I will make you pay for Erlang's life."
Upon hearing this, Long Ye stared at him in astonishment, exclaiming, "That short-lived wretch is dead! Hahaha... Good riddance! Who told that old witch in his family to be so harsh on us servants, treating us like animals all day long? Even I, a dignified steward, had to be subservient to that old woman every day, suffering her sullen temper at every turn, my food and lodging were even worse than her watchdog's. Now, he's finally finished off without descendants, this is retribution, retribution indeed!"
Lanxiang, her brows furrowed, slowly got out of bed and asked Long Ye, whose face was contorted with a grimace that shifted between coldness and laughter, with a puzzled look: "'Every wrong has its source, every debt its debtor,' 'Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.' So you too have suffered cold looks and mistreatment, then why did you so cruelly separate me from Erlang? Why did you subject me to the flames of hell? Erlang's temperament has always been gentle and kind, and he never deceives others. Has he ever offended you? And what deep-seated hatred do I have for you?"
Long Ye turned and raised his head, saying angrily to Lan Xiang, "'The son pays for the father's debts,' it's only right and proper. Besides, your affairs were all arranged by that old witch. It's just that Erlang, he..."
As Long Ye spoke, a hint of reluctance flickered in his eyes and between his words: "Back then, if it weren't for Erlang clearing my name and proving that the maid in the manor committed suicide because she couldn't bear the old witch's harsh treatment, and not because I forced her, that old witch would have sent me to the frontier long ago. All these years, if it weren't for the kindness we shared back then, I would have already led men to massacre her entire family. Why would I have spared that old witch's life until now?"
After a brief pause, he suddenly turned around and stared into Lanxiang's eyes, as if he had suddenly realized something. Then, he gently lifted her pointed chin with one hand and teased, "That's right, now that Erlang is dead, can't I go and plunder his house with a clear conscience? So, my beauty came here today specifically to bring me this good news. You know what, that old witch's house is indeed a small treasure trove!"
Upon hearing this, Lanxiang was about to retort angrily when Long Ye's eyes suddenly regained their previous eagerness. He pinched her chin and said with interest:
"However, looking at your delicate and fair-skinned little darling, it seems I really lost out by selling you off so hastily back then before letting you serve me properly first. Today you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, so don't even think about escaping my grasp, hahahaha... Beauty, come on..."
As he spoke, he bared his teeth and opened his claws, once again pressing closer and closer to Lanxiang. Lanxiang had intended to make good use of her carefully prepared weapon this time, but before she could even raise it, Long Ye snatched it away and threw it into the flower bushes outside the window.
And so, the two were entangled once again. Lanxiang, being a woman, was too frail to withstand Long Ye's muscular physique and was quickly defeated.
Just as Long Ye had pinned her down and bound her hand and foot in a few swift moves, leaving her with no chance to resist and only able to surrender obediently, just as he was about to unleash his lust on her, a gleaming sword suddenly appeared from behind and was placed against her neck. A deep male voice then rang out: "Release her! If you dare to utter even half a sound, I will make sure your head rolls off the ground immediately, without a drop of blood."
"Who are you? How dare you trespass into my Xiaolong Society? Are you tired of living?" Long Ye had his back to the man and could only catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye. He saw that the man was dressed in a night-walker's outfit, his face covered by a black mask, revealing what appeared to be a pair of sharp and deep black eyes. He could make out nothing else.
"Enough with the nonsense, let her go!" Seeing Long Ye's hesitation, the masked man in black suddenly pressed the sword in his hand against Long Ye's neck even tighter, and blood immediately seeped out from Long Ye's neck.
It seemed the newcomer wasn't just trying to scare him, so he had no choice but to actually start untying Lanxiang while still warning her: "Even if I release you now, do you really think you can leave the Xiaolong Society?"
"Quickly tie him up, tie him up tightly!" Seeing that Lanxiang was about to break free...
"Bound," the masked man in black hurriedly pointed to the pile of ropes in front of him, gesturing to Lanxiang, completely ignoring Long Ye's words.
"I want to kill him with my own hands to avenge Erlang." Unexpectedly, as soon as Lanxiang broke free of her restraints, she suddenly shouted and started tearing and punching at Long Ye's body.
"Now is not the time to kill him. The guards outside will be back soon. Tie him up quickly, or none of us will be able to escape!" The masked man pressed a sword tightly against Long Ye's neck with one hand and pulled Lan Xiang back with the other, urging him on.
Upon hearing this, Lanxiang's eyes filled with tears. She gazed at the black-clad man's deep eyes for a moment, suppressing her grief, and finally began to carefully tie him up.
As soon as she was tied up, the masked man picked up a piece of cloth and gagged Long Ye again before grabbing Lanxiang's hand and shouting, "Quick, let's go!"
The two quickly went over and pushed open the back door of Long Ye's house, intending to escape down a quiet path.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped out into the backyard, an extremely dazzling sword light slashed down from above their heads, separating them into two distinct groups.
As if on instinct, the masked man shoved Lanxiang away with great force, and then quickly turned around and nimbly dodged. The sharp sword struck the ground and bent instantly, while the masked man was just about to have his face masked off by another guard who suddenly appeared.
After Lanxiang fell to the ground, she immediately turned around to look at him, only to see a familiar, cold face. She exclaimed in surprise, "It's you!...Oh no!"
Just as Lanxiang cried out in surprise, and the cold-faced man was raising his sword to fight the guard who had removed his face covering, more red-clad guards hurriedly gathered from all directions and quickly surrounded the cold-faced man.
Faced with a formidable enemy, the cold-faced man's gaze was sharp and fearless. He quickly scanned the surrounding situation, which was clearly an almost impenetrable wall of red people. He glanced at Lanxiang on the ground outside the wall, took a deep breath, and then rushed forward, his sword flashing as he clashed with the crowd, preparing to fight his way out.
As the group of red-clad guards, who had truly fought against a hundred men and trapped him, fell one after another before his eyes, some of them even began to retreat in fear, the guard who had separated the two men earlier, having gathered his strength once more, raised his sword and unexpectedly pierced the cold-faced man's abdomen from behind.
"No!" Upon seeing this, Lanxiang, who was terrified and slumped down next to an osmanthus tree at the backyard entrance, burst into tears and shouted at it.
However, the cold-faced man suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and knelt heavily on one knee. He covered his abdominal wound with one hand and used the sword in his hand to support his body with difficulty, slowly moving towards Lanxiang's side.
In an instant, everyone around seemed to be frozen in time, and no one dared to move, except for the cold-faced man who was still trying his best to kneel forward.
Suddenly, the guard who had pierced him pushed through the crowd, strode forward, and pulled his sword from behind, intending to stab Lanxiang again. Unexpectedly, the cold-faced man instantly mustered all his strength to grab the guard's leg tightly from behind. At the same time, he hurriedly pulled out a round paper tube about the length of a palm and threw it to Lanxiang, instructing her, "Quick, quick! Be sure to deliver this to His Highness Prince Qin! Go..."
"Your Highness, Your Highness..." Lanxiang quickly wiped away her tears, picked up the paper tube beside her and muttered a few words, then got up and ran out of the archway.
"Hurry up and chase after them!" The guard, whose leg was being held tightly by the cold-faced man, took advantage of the man's unpreparedness and kicked him away. He then ordered the stunned remnants of his army behind him.
A moment later, Long Ye stepped out of the door and slowly walked towards the side of the cold-faced man lying on the ground. He put his hands behind his back, looked down at him, and with a smile on his face, stretched out one foot and stomped hard on the cold-faced man's head, pressing his face against the ground, saying:
"I guarded against everything, but I never expected you to be one of Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han's, men. I sensed something was off about you on the training ground just now. I trusted you so much, and yet you dared to betray me. In my life, I, Long Ye, hate spies more than anything. However, I don't have time to settle accounts with you now. Guards, drag him away and lock him in the dungeon. No one is allowed to treat him. I'll settle this score with him slowly when I return, if... you're still alive by then."
Long Ye finally bent down, looking at the cold, handsome man's eyes, which were gleaming with a chilling light but also seemed to be on the verge of death, and said fiercely.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com