Peerless Heiress - Chapter 112
A lazy voice answered, full of anticipation, "Little Yan'er, can you torture me first before we talk?"
With a sharp slap, Qingyan scolded, "You're spineless." The man in black groaned in grievance.
Chapter 247: Illusion
Just as they were wondering what it meant, the two men approached carrying a bowl of something. As they drew nearer, a strange sight appeared. Countless small flying insects and moths followed behind, and there was a rustling sound in the grass, faintly accompanied by the sounds of reptiles.
Meng Tai was terrified.
Qingyan walked up to him with a smile, smiled sweetly at him, and reached out to lift the lid in her hand.
A billowing cloud of steam rose and dispersed, exciting the surrounding venomous creatures. Spiders, scorpions, and brightly colored, pointed snakes began to crawl up from around the glass house, all following the direction of the drifting cloud. The faint, continuous rustling sounds indicated that countless more venomous creatures were converging on this place.
Meng Tai was almost scared out of his wits. All his plans and thoughts vanished in an instant. His mind went blank as he stared in horror at the celadon jar in Qing Yan's hand, watching as countless small flying insects flew into the clouds and, after being exposed to the mist, fell into the jar with a "plop".
Meng Tai made a few gurgling sounds in response, startled, and quickly covered his mouth. Suddenly, he had a strong feeling that he would soon turn into a tiny moth and disappear into it.
"...No...don't..." It seemed that he had used all his strength to finally take his gaze off the celadon jar, then collapsed to the ground, trembling.
"Don't want what? I don't understand." Qingyan smiled innocently, tilted her head, and blinked at him.
His whole body felt as if it had been soaked in cold water; his clothes were wet and hot, clinging to his body. Meng Tai gritted his teeth, unleashing the ruthlessness and tenacity inherent in his nature. He suddenly raised his head, staring at Qing Yan with eyes full of resentment, "Witch, what exactly do you want?"
"Witch?" Qingyan sneered.
Before he could even speak, his master's expression suddenly turned cold, and the glass house cracked open with a "crack." The poisonous insects that had been busily moving up and down the walls suddenly fell silent. Sensing the human presence inside, they immediately became excited and rushed through the crack.
Meng Tai's face turned deathly pale as he watched a huge, poisonous spider slither rapidly across the crack and approach him. He screamed in terror, "Help! Help!"
"Master." Qingyan gently shook the man in black's arm.
The master gave a soft hum, and the poisonous insects froze.
"Get out...get out...please...let them out..." Meng Tai was panting heavily, his whole body limp like a noodle, the ground covered in his cold sweat, gushing out like tiny streams.
Qingyan chuckled, "Scared?"
"I'm scared... scared... terrified," Meng Tai stammered, his gaze shifting and hesitant, no longer daring to look at Qingyan or his master. He also dared not look at the poisonous insects. He wondered how he had managed to provoke Qingyan, this great calamity, and how this matter would end. Overwhelmed with regret, hatred, and fear, he burst into loud sobs.
The two people in front of the glass house were surprised by his behavior and couldn't help but laugh, exchanging bewildered glances.
"Little Yan'er, can I have the demon soup now?" Master smiled, his face full of flattery, though he had been holding back for a long time.
Qingyan rolled her eyes, letting her master snatch the celadon jar away. She then downed the demon soup in a few gulps. After finishing, she still looked at the jar with dissatisfaction, shook it, and said dejectedly, "How come it's gone again?" She then pouted, looking very aggrieved.
Qingyan ignored him and asked coldly, "Who are you?"
Meng Tai finally stopped crying, collapsed to the ground, closed his eyes, and answered weakly, "Meng Rulei, the eldest prince of the Bei Xian Kingdom."
Exhausted, he didn't realize that he was no longer sleeping in a glass house, but on a green meadow. The poisonous insects and the like were all illusions, long since vanished.
Chapter 248: The Truth
...
Meng Tai was utterly exhausted and had fallen into a deep sleep. The bruises on his face had subsided. Qing Yan sat by the lake, hugging her knees, while her master sat leisurely on the treetop of a wild tree by the lake, swaying gently up and down with the wind, his black robes drawing graceful arcs in the breeze.
When the people in long robes and gauze hats found their way into the valley, this was the scene they encountered.
He hesitated for a moment, wanting to back away. But he heard a soft sigh, "Don't go, Ruying."
His body suddenly stiffened. After a long while, he removed his long robe and gauze hat and slowly walked towards the valley. A strong bitter taste gradually rose in his mouth. Qingyan, she finally knew, didn't she?
As Ru Ying approached step by step, her master suddenly leaped lightly down from the treetop, chuckling, "Girl, Yuwen Ke is coming. I'll go first."
Qingyan nodded. "Master, please be careful."
"Understood." Before the master could finish speaking, he had already darted across the valley like a wisp of smoke and disappeared.
The footsteps behind them stopped, and Ru Ying stood silently behind Qing Yan.
"You've come?" Qingyan turned around, smiling. Standing in front of her was Ruying, dressed the same as before, but was everything still the same?
"Yes," Ru Ying replied softly after a moment of silence.
Qingyan paused for a moment, then chuckled softly, and suddenly asked, "Xiaozheng, is he alright?"
Ru Ying's body jolted violently. "You...you know?"
"I didn't know at first, but I do now." Qingyan's lips were always slightly upturned, her voice was soft, and her gaze fell on Meng Tai, who was lying unconscious on the ground, through Ruying's shoulder.
"You captured Xiao Zheng to keep him in check, right? Hmm, let me think... The day Xiao Zheng disappeared, we happened to encounter an assassination attempt, and a mysterious person saved me. That day, Xiao Zheng's clothes were torn, revealing a light blue crescent-shaped scar on his back. Both the mysterious person and I saw it. The mysterious person acted a bit strange at the time, but I didn't think much of it then. But now I know..." Qingyan sighed softly and stopped.
“You guessed right, that mysterious person was me.” Ru Ying’s voice was a little dry, her eyelashes lowered, and she spoke woodenly, “Your Xiaoyao Gang has always been managed by me and Jin San. All along, I have been able to mobilize half of the Hidden Gang’s strength without asking anyone’s permission. In fact, I have been using the Xiaoyao Gang to cultivate my own power. I knew about Meng Tai two weeks before he came to Huaicheng. The day Meng Tai arrived in Huaicheng, I was originally on other business when I happened to encounter you in danger, so I rescued you while wearing a mask. I didn’t expect to expose Xiao Zheng’s identity. I made a quick decision, put you down, and took Xiao Zheng away.”
"So, no matter how hard we search, we can't find the whereabouts of the person who kidnapped Xiao Zheng, because no one will think to investigate themselves..." Qingyan said with a self-deprecating smile.
"That very day, you went to Pingcheng under the pretext of buying girls. You even took Rong Mama with you, because Rong Mama is Meng Tai's woman. You can't let her reveal the secret to Meng Tai and let him know that you are still alive. Am I right?"
"Yes... I have a new force in Pingcheng. I am remotely controlling the actions in Huaicheng from Pingcheng. Although Meng Tai may not pay much attention to Xiao Zheng, he will be somewhat constrained. I am using Xiao Zheng's whereabouts to threaten him and provoke him."
Qingyan chuckled softly, "Yes, ever since Xiaozheng, everything has been going according to your plan."
Ru Ying's expression remained indifferent.
Chapter 249: Moss-covered Stone
"...Even my abduction was an opportunity you created for him, wasn't it?" Ru Ying had always been in charge of personnel at Zhongfangyuan. Did Ru Ying really not know anything about Meng Tai disguising himself as Wang Xiao Si?