Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 82
Jun Lin leaned softly against Zi Jin's shoulder, his phoenix eyes wide with panic and sorrow. He looked as fragile as a wounded animal, making him incredibly endearing.
The two bodyguards closest to Jun Lin noticed the anomaly, exchanged a startled glance, and gripped their blades tightly as they prepared to step forward.
"If you don't want anything to happen to him, then don't come over!" Xuanping's lips curled into a sinister smile. He quickly picked up the short sword that had been discarded to the side and pointed it at Jun Lin's back.
Dugu Xihui instantly knocked down the person who was restraining him, lowered his eyes, and stood protectively in front of Zi Jin.
Zi Jin's face was pale, and she dared not look at Jun Lin, for fear of seeing the accusation and hurt in his eyes.
Xuanping pulled Jun Lin, who was leaning against Zi Jin, into his arms and held a short sword to his neck. He gently stroked Jun Lin's smooth cheek and smiled frivolously: "The Crown Prince of Yue Kingdom is indeed much more handsome than those male entertainers."
"Xile! Stop insulting him!" Zi Jin shouted angrily.
west Le, who had been disguised as Xuan Ping, reached out and tore off the human skin mask from his face, a flash of anger crossing his peach blossom eyes.
"Release His Highness the Crown Prince!" A figure rushed out from the encirclement in the distance, his handsome face filled with murderous intent. Zi Jin looked up and recognized him as the man in black who had spoken to her a few days ago. This roar, which she couldn't suppress, made Zi Jin recognize him completely—Qi Yongyue, the Crown Prince's tutor.
west Le pulled Jun Lin closer and gave Qi Yongyue a wicked smile: "Don't come any closer. My little mute's poison is the best in the world. Your Crown Prince has been poisoned and will die if there is no antidote."
Qi Yongyue didn't look at west Le; he stared intently at Zi Jin and coldly said, "You know better than anyone how His Highness has treated you these past few days. Why!...Why can you still be so heartless as to hurt him like this?! Do you know that he did this to heal your wounds..."
"Shut up!" west Le shouted angrily to stop Qi Yongyue. "I don't need you to spread rumors! The little mute knows perfectly well where he should stand!"
Zi Jin turned her head to avoid Qi Yongyue's murderous gaze, lowered her eyes, and did not argue.
west Le smiled seductively and lightly touched Jun Lin's face.
Jun Lin wanted to dodge in disgust, but he was too weak. He bit his cheek hard, trying to stay awake.
“Little prince, it won’t kill you to let someone touch you. Now you’re acting like you’re resisting to the death, which is really sweet and delicious.” west Le smiled vengefully, glancing at Zi Jin out of the corner of her eye.
"Xile! Don't insult him." Zi Jin bit her lower lip and repeated what she had just said.
west Le smiled gently at Jun Lin, but a hint of murderous intent flashed in her eyes: "Just now, the little mute slandered me so much, and I wasn't angry at all. Now, I just touched the little prince's handsome face, and the little mute is already angry? Could it be that in just a few days, the little mute has taken a liking to the little prince? Then? How about we take him away as well?" Although her words were gentle, no one could ignore the murderous intent within them.
Dugu Xihui turned his head slightly, seemingly unintentionally glancing at Zi Jin, before coldly looking away.
Zi Jin refused to reply, but glanced at the extremely nervous Qi Yongyue and said, "Release us, and I will release him."
Qi Yongyue pondered for a long time, but dared not answer. Looking at Jun Lin's handsome face, which had turned pale, he couldn't bring himself to make a decision.
"Don't even think about it!" Jun Lin gritted his teeth and spat out the two words viciously.
west Le's face darkened suddenly, and he instantly raised his hand and slashed Jun Lin's arm hard: "If you want the Crown Prince to live, quickly bring two horses and release us and our people, otherwise..." Before Xi Le could finish speaking, he slashed Jun Lin's already injured arm again.
"Release them!" Qi Yongyue shouted to the soldiers in the distance in a moment of panic.
In the distance, the encirclement slowly opened up, and the group safely walked out of the encirclement.
"You take your men and go first! I'll bring up the rear with Little Mute," west Le said to Dugu Xi Hui.
Dugu Xihui nodded coldly and waved lightly to the group that had broken through the encirclement. Those people retreated to a distance almost instantly. But at that moment, Dugu Xihui suddenly staggered, blood spilling from his mouth.
Startled, Zi Jin rushed forward without thinking to support the swaying Dugu Xihui: "Are you injured?!"
A glint of light flashed in west Le's eyes, while Jun Lin's phoenix eyes were fixed on Zi Jin, who was supporting Dugu Xi Hui, his eyes filled with pain and despair.
Seeing that Qi Yongyue had released the people in the distance but had no intention of releasing Zi Jin, Xi Le's beautiful face was filled with malice. As the soldiers gradually advanced, a glint of resentment flashed in Xi Le's eyes, and she stabbed Jun Lin's injured arm again: "Release?! Or not!?"
Qi Yongyue gritted his teeth, turned his head away, and refused to look at Jun Lin's face. He shouted anxiously, "Release! Men, prepare the horses!"
Soon, two chestnut horses were led over. Zi Jin struggled to help Dugu Xihui onto one of the horses, and then mounted herself. Xi Le ruthlessly lifted Jun Lin onto his horse and followed closely behind Zi Jin.
Qi Yongyue's face turned ashen, and he roared, "Leave the Crown Prince here!"
west Le turned around and smiled charmingly: "Don't rush, don't rush, Your Highness still needs to escort us out of the city."
On the bumpy horse, two horses rode side by side, with Qi Yongyue leading a group of well-trained men in black, closely following behind. Further away, a large number of soldiers were also chasing after them.
Dugu Xihui leaned weakly against Zi Jin's chest. The riding lessons from years ago had left an indelible impression on Zi Jin, causing her to feel a chill at the sight of horses later on. Now, not only did she ride a horse herself, but she also had to protect an injured person. Zi Jin secretly groaned in her heart.
Clearly, having a beautiful woman in your arms isn't always a good thing!
Since the rescue, Dugu Xihui has never looked at Zi Jin directly, as if he were the one who was hurt at "Jin Yu Man Lou".
Zi Jin understood Dugu Xihui's incredibly awkward personality. Now that he had teamed up with west Le to save her, she had no reason to resent what had happened back then. After all, everyone has someone they want to protect... right?
Jun Lin weakly opened his phoenix eyes wide, staring intently at Zi Jin, who was carefully protecting Dugu Xi Hui. His face was pale with a hint of blue, and he was filled with jealousy, as if the three deep, bleeding knife wounds that revealed the bone were not on his arm.
The group rushed to the city gate, only to find it tightly shut. Zi Jin looked at Xi Le with concern.
west Le's eyes were filled with gloom as he impatiently looked down at the guards at the city gate and said in a harsh voice, "If you don't want your crown prince to bleed to death and not be able to be treated, open the city gate now!"
Everyone looked at Jun Lin, who was being held hostage, but no one dared to move.
west Le's eyes were full of impatience as she pinched Jun Lin's injured arm hard. Jun Lin groaned, gritting his teeth to keep from making a sound.
Qi Yongyue had caught up to this place by then. He gritted his teeth and shouted angrily, "Stop harming His Highness! Open the city gates!"
The city guards were terrified. Looking at Jun Lin's pale face as he was being held hostage, and then at Qi Yongyue's anxious expression, they were momentarily at a loss: "His Highness the Crown Prince decreed that anyone who opened the city gates under any circumstances would be executed... and their entire family would be exterminated."
Qi Yongyue angrily retorted, "If anything happens to His Highness, how will you all survive?"
The city guards panicked and immediately cleared the way to open the city gate.
"Anyone who opens the city gates will be killed without mercy!" Jun Lin's face was pale and covered in cold sweat. He used almost all his strength to squeeze out a complete sentence.
west Le narrowed her eyes dangerously, her long, slender fingers digging viciously into the wound on Jun Lin's arm, and said coldly, "Your Highness, do you want to die together with me?"