Flames rose and fell along the way, and people shouted incessantly, creating a scene of utter chaos.
The usual peace and harmony of Beiling Mountain Village was disrupted and destroyed that night. Lin Qixia watched the crowds fleeing in all directions and felt a surge of resentment towards the culprits who caused all of this.
When the two of them reached the council hall, they ran into the rebel army.
When Lin Qixia saw Huo Yanqing, he was indeed standing among those people, and their eyes met.
The boy opposite her had a very gloomy aura, especially when he saw her with Yun Zhi.
He gripped the knife tightly in his hand instantly, looking as if he was about to kill someone at any moment.
"Xia'er, come here." Huo Yanqing suppressed his emotions and carefully reached out his hand to her.
At the same time, the people behind him surrounded Lin Qixia.
Lin Qixia nervously took a step back.
Yun Zhi grabbed her and reminded her, "Hurry up! Let's get into the council hall!"
As he spoke, he pushed Lin Qixia towards them, standing in front of her to block the people.
Lin Qixia's confused mind cleared up considerably in an instant, and she gritted her teeth and said, "Let's take a gamble!"
So she stepped forward and grabbed Yun Zhi's arm, pulling it around and holding it to her neck: "Take me hostage, and we'll both go!"
Since others risked their lives to protect her, Lin Qixia was naturally unwilling to let them die here.
"Xia'er!" Huo Yanqing was surprised by her actions, staring at her with slightly reddened eyes.
Yun Zhi was taken aback for a moment by Lin Qixia's actions, then grabbed her by the neck and said to Huo Yanqing and the others, "Don't move! Otherwise, she'll be dead today!"
Huo Yanqing, who was about to step forward, stopped in his tracks.
Then he raised his hand to stop the people behind him from going forward.
"Let's go." Yun Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and took the opportunity to say to Lin Qixia.
Then, they both stepped back and entered the council chamber in tacit agreement.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the hidden passage at the back, Yun Zhi said to Lin Qixia, "You go first, I'll follow behind you."
As he spoke, he casually lit a tinderbox and handed it to Lin Qixia.
The secret passage was poorly lit; even during the day, without lights, nothing could be seen.
"Okay." Lin Qixia replied and entered the secret passage first.
Her vision suddenly dimmed, and she paused for a moment before continuing forward.
A moment later, footsteps sounded behind them; it was Yun Zhi catching up.
As Lin Qixia walked deeper into the secret passage, she asked him, "You told me before that this secret passage leads to the outside of the mountain stronghold. How far is the exit from here?"
"About a kilometer," Yunzhi's voice sounded behind her.
After he finished speaking, the surroundings fell silent again.
The light from the tinderbox in his hand wasn't very bright, but that could also be because the secret passage was so dark and deep that its light couldn't reach very far.
As Lin Qixia walked, she gradually became affected by her unease and found herself less comfortable in this environment.
"It's not that far, not even a kilometer," she comforted herself.
However, the process of passing through the secret passage became increasingly lengthy, and Lin Qixia's mind was filled with all sorts of random thoughts.
For example—what if the situation in the mountain stronghold is not what you think it is at all?
Huo Yanqing... I don't know what he was thinking, but Lin Qixia shook her head abruptly.
She can no longer continue down this line of thinking.
To divert attention, she spoke again to the person behind her: "Weren't you training Chu Lan and his group at the camp today? How did you discover that the Huo family army had attacked the mountain?"
"Well..."
Yun Zhi, standing behind her, pondered for a moment before replying, "The rebels attacked from the south; we were in the south at the time."
"But those people acted quickly and had a clear objective; they were after the bandit gang."
"Even though I recognized them at the crucial moment and chased after them to try to stop them, I still failed."
Towards the end, his tone was tinged with regret.
Upon hearing this, Lin Qixia gave an understanding "Oh," then chuckled dryly and said, "It's alright, you all did your best, didn't you?"
Yun Zhi did not reply to her.
Lin Qixia turned around and glanced at him, and for a moment she actually thought he was smiling.
Upon closer inspection, he was wearing a mask, and his eyes quickly disappeared into the darkness.
She couldn't quite tell if he was upset about this or if he had some other emotion.
A strange feeling arose in my heart because of this.
Just in case, she silently gripped the dagger hidden in her sleeve in the darkness.
The stretch of road leading to the exit became exceptionally difficult.
Only when she saw a glimmer of light in the distance did Lin Qixia relax her tense nerves a little.
"Great! We finally escaped!" she exclaimed, quickening her pace as she ran towards the exit.
The light in the distance grew closer and closer, and even the surrounding passageway seemed to widen and become less narrow.
The moment Lin Qixia stepped out of the passage, she raised her hand to shield her eyes because she hadn't yet adjusted to the light outside.
"Yunzhi, what's next? —" she asked, lowering her hand from the area obscuring her research.
Her voice stopped abruptly the next second.
Lin Qixia then realized that there were many people standing in front of her, including several acquaintances, such as Gu Ciyu and Li Pei.
And Tong Xuewei, who once helped her.
Behind them stood rows of soldiers clad in armor, ready for battle.
Swish—
All the soldiers raised their swords in unison, pointing them at Lin Qixia.
The next second, Yun Zhi's voice rang out behind her: "How dare you! Don't be so rude to my friend."
"Didn't you all hear His Highness's words? Put away your swords immediately!" Tong Xuewei ordered.
Immediately, the soldiers' deep voices echoed through the valley: "Yes, sir!"
Lin Qixia shrank back in fright, then looked at Yun Zhi who was walking towards her with confusion: "Your Highness? You are Mu Yunzhi, a prince of the Great Yin royal family?"
The scene before her eyes instantly reminded Lin Qixia of the original story.
That's right, how could she forget?
Tong Xuewei and the Left Prime Minister Li Jinghua, whom he supports, are members of the same faction as the Fifth Prince Mu Yunzhi, the Prince of Qi.
Because she always felt that Huo Yanqing was the biggest threat to her in this book, and the male and female protagonists were no longer as preoccupied with her, she subconsciously ignored them.
I didn't expect their relationship to progress so quickly, in just a few months.
It seems that Li Pei has already achieved the highest rank in the imperial examination in the capital, and Gu Ciyu has joined forces with him, joining the ranks of Mu Yunzhi and the Left Prime Minister Li Jinghua.
As for why these people were here, she couldn't think of any other reason besides Gu Ciyu's deliberate guidance.
Lin Qixia gave a sarcastic smile, realizing that she had been careless after all.
"Lin Qixia! I advise you not to address His Highness by his given name directly," Gu Ciyu said, frowning as she lectured her.
Without even thinking, Lin Qixia retorted, "Yeah, I'm not as smart as you, so quick to start currying favor."
Having reached this point, Lin Qixia no longer concealed her disgust for Gu Ciyu and completely broke off all pretense of civility.
After all, the other party never intended to let him go.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
