"Your Highness, His Majesty is very dissatisfied with the outcome of this event."
When Wu Yao succeeded to the throne, his title also changed accordingly.
Huan Changming lowered his voice and said, "Without losing a single soldier, I have eliminated a fierce general from the Western Night Kingdom. With such a result, may I ask if Your Majesty has any dissatisfaction?"
"Although Wang Chengli had been lying low in the country for many years, the king had always regarded him as his right-hand man. Upon hearing the news of his death, the king was deeply saddened."
"So, His Majesty is blaming me for not rescuing Lord Wang in time?"
"Your Highness should know how much time and effort it takes to train a prefect of Jingzhou. At best, it will cost him his life; at worst, it will bring disaster to the country."
The contact relayed Wu Yao's words to Huan Changming: "Given the princess's actions, it's hard for the king not to suspect whether the princess's heart still leans towards Xiye."
Huan Changming sneered inwardly, but showed it on his face.
He traded the life of a mere prefect for the life of a general. By all accounts, the Western Night Kingdom profited from this deal. Wu Yao not only failed to appreciate the good deed but also tried to take his life. Such a treacherous turn of events showed that he had underestimated him.
"What does Your Majesty intend to do? Do you intend to take my life?"
"Your Highness Changming is too kind." He bowed respectfully to Huan Changming, then took out a bottle from his robes. "This is a secret Gu unique to the Western Night royal family. Only if Your Highness takes it can His Majesty feel at ease, even though he is far away in Western Night."
Huan Changming took the bottle, examined it in his hand, and suddenly threw it at the other person's face. "Since Wu Yao doesn't trust me, then I think this cooperation is unnecessary to continue!"
After consuming this poison, he became Wu Yao's puppet, completely at his mercy. Although Huan Changming needed to cooperate with Wu Yao, he was not so eager as to hand over his life to the other party.
The person who came to make contact seemed to have expected this, and strode after Huan Changming, saying, "This is not up to the princess to choose!"
Huan Changming drew the dagger he always carried with him, turned around and slashed at the other man, saying, "If you don't want to die, go back and tell Wu Yao that our cooperation is over."
The other person grabbed Huan Changming's hand, causing the dagger in Huan Changming's hand to fall to the ground with a clatter. "I'm sorry."
Huan Changming was easily subdued. He glared at his opponent with venomous eyes, "You dare to lay a hand on me! I'll make sure you die a horrible death!"
"Your Highness Changming, I am only following orders." The other party forcefully stuffed the poison into Huan Changming's mouth, forcing him to swallow it before letting go. "The antidote is in the King's hands. In the future, Your Highness Changming, please consider your own life first."
Huan Changming lay on the ground, desperately trying to dig into his throat. The other man looked down at him, and after seeing that he hadn't managed to dig anything out, he smiled and said, "Your Highness, you'd better not waste your time. His Majesty said that as long as Your Highness obeys him, all the conditions promised to Your Highness before will remain unchanged."
Huan Changming's hand sank into the mud and sand. He suppressed the urge to kill, knowing that taking action now would do him no good and would render all his painstaking plans futile.
Wu Yao was just testing his loyalty; he would give it to him!
"Alright." Huan Changming got up from the ground. "Tell the new king that I will follow his lead in everything I do from now on."
"Your Highness is very understanding and will take her leave."
Huan Changming brushed the sand off his hand. He would make Wu Yao pay for the humiliation he had suffered today sooner or later.
A rustling sound came from the woods. Huan Changming had sneaked in disguise and couldn't be discovered. He avoided the source of the sound and walked down another path, turning back based on his memory of where he came from. But after taking only a few steps, he found that the surrounding scenery was different from when he came.
The rustling of leaves in the woods grew closer, so he had to pull up his hood to cover his face temporarily. A dark shadow flashed out of the woods, and a black wolf, about half a man's height, jumped in front of him.
The wolf did not attack him immediately, but stood still, staring intently at him with its intimidating beastly eyes.
Huan Changming was all too familiar with that look; it was the look of someone sizing up their prey. The moment the prey showed fear or tried to escape, the wolf would pounce on him and tear him to pieces.
Huan Changming held his breath and subtly took half a step back, but the wild beast's senses were too sharp, and it immediately pounced on him, roaring, "Awooo—"
Huan Changming turned and ran, pursued fiercely by the wolves behind him. His hood got caught on a tree branch above him, and he was pulled back and unable to move forward. At that moment, the wolf pounced on him, and he stumbled and fell to the ground.
The weight on his back was comparable to that of a strong man. Huan Changming rolled over with force, reached out and grabbed the wolf's paw. The wolf turned its head and bit his wrist. The blood that splattered from the fangs piercing the flesh aroused the wolf's bestial nature. It clenched its jaws tightly, trying to bite off Huan Changming's entire hand.
Huan Changming gritted his teeth and shoved his wrist into the wolf's mouth. While the wolf was tearing at his bones, he tilted his head back and bit the wolf's most vulnerable spot on its neck.
Wolf fur was like barbs, and wolf flesh was tough, but Huan Changming was determined to retaliate. He soon tasted a fishy flavor in his mouth, and then the gash grew larger and larger, with foul-smelling blood rushing into his mouth.
The wolf released his grip in pain, howling in agony. When faced with a predator stronger than itself, animals instinctively retreat.
Huan Changming spat out the bloody hair from his mouth, then casually wiped his lips. The bloodstains remained on his lips, their color as vibrant as if he had applied lip rouge.
He drew his dagger, the silver blade reflecting his cold, bloodthirsty eyes.
The wolf howled softly, trying to scare Huan Changming away with its voice. Huan Changming smiled and said, "Fool, who told you to mess with the wrong person!"
He raised his dagger and stabbed fiercely at the wolf, but the wolf, agile and quick, dodged the attack and crawled on the ground, howling at Huan Changming.
Huan Changming ignored him, only wanting to kill the wolf. It had no choice but to fight back, biting Huan Changming's left leg. Huan Changming was in pain, and took the opportunity to plunge his dagger into the wolf's back. The wolf was in pain and knocked him down again with its body.
He was entangled with the wolf on the ground, and just as he was about to draw his dagger to kill the wolf with one blow, another white wolf jumped out of the jungle in front of him!
The black wolf's howl just now wasn't just for intimidation, but also to lure its mate!
Huan Changming immediately stopped, turning and running away without even taking his dagger. He could subdue one wolf, but with two, he would be the one to lose his life. Besides, the howling of the wolves would definitely attract other people. If he stayed and fought with these two beasts any longer, he would be discovered!
The two wolves were indeed a pair. Seeing that the black wolf was injured, the white wolf immediately chased after Huan Changming, wanting revenge.
Huan Changming's legs and hands were injured, and the consequences of being caught would be unimaginable. He didn't even have time to take in the scenery before him, running forward for his life. He ran through a patch of wet grass, when suddenly his foot slipped. He looked down and saw a bottomless cliff below. Fortunately, he reacted in time and pulled his foot back. When he turned around, the white wolf was already close at hand, howling at him.
With ferocious beasts ahead and a cliff behind, there was no way forward or backward but only certain death.
Huan Changming took several breaths. He had just been poisoned and then attacked by a beast. He had barely managed to get rid of one, but now another one had come and forced him to the edge of a cliff. It was as if God had changed his ways and wanted to kill him!
The white wolf bared its teeth and approached Huan Changming. This foolish creature possessed some intelligence and clearly intended to force Huan Changming off the cliff. At the critical moment, an arrow pierced the air and struck the white wolf's hind leg, but it did not injure any vital organs.
Huan Changming looked in the direction the arrow came from, and saw Lu Pianpian standing in the woods with a bow in her hand.
He narrowed his eyes; it was him again.
Huan Changming lowered his guard a bit, and at that moment the white wolf pounced on him. He staggered and fell off the cliff without warning.
After a moment of weightlessness, he fell into the water. The icy water seeped into his ears, nose, and throat. He couldn't float, so he spread his arms and frantically tried to swim upwards, but his body sank even faster.
With a splash, something fell into the water just like him. He struggled to open his eyes to see clearly, but the bottom was pitch black. Yet someone was able to accurately lift him up and take him away from the bottom.
At the bottom of the cliff, Lu Pianpian pulled the person who had fallen into the water ashore before she could see the face of the person she had rescued.
"Junior sister, is that you?"
Huan Changming lay on the shore spitting out the water in his mouth. Hearing Lu Pianpian's words, he felt an uncomfortable unease.
What do you mean by "him"?
Did he not even know who he was saving when he saved himself?
Or is it that in a scene like that, no matter who it was, Lu Pianpian would have stepped in to save them without hesitation?
Yes, this benevolent immortal lord would not allow any living being to die before his eyes, let alone a living person like Huan Changming.
Huan Changming got up from the ground, looking extremely disheveled and soaked to the bone. "What's Senior Brother Pianpian doing here?"
“I came to the hunting grounds with my senior sister and junior brother.” Lu Pianpian noticed Huan Changming’s injuries. “Were you bitten by that wolf?”
"Yes, bad luck, almost lost my life." Huan Changming looked up and saw that the sky had turned gloomy, and rain had suddenly started to fall. "It's raining..."
Lu Pianpian glanced around and noticed a small natural depression in front of her that could provide shelter from the rain. "Junior sister, let me take you there to take shelter from the rain first."
Huan Changming nodded and obediently offered his hand to Lu Pianpian. Lu Pianpian was taken aback for a moment, then took only Huan Changming's fingertips and led him to a hollow under the eaves to shelter from the rain.
The hole was very small, and they had to hug their legs and curl up to keep their feet dry from the rain.
"Is the injury serious?" Lu Pianpian asked softly, as if afraid of frightening the other person.
If it were in the past, Huan Changming might have used this opportunity to feign weakness and tears to gain Lu Pianpian's pity. But since she had already seen him disembowel the white tiger demon with his bare hands, he couldn't be bothered to continue pretending.
Even his words carried a hint of his inherent sarcasm: "It's just a bite or two, it won't kill you."
Lu Pianpian frowned, unsure whether it was because of his tone or his attitude towards her body.
Lu Pianpian silently pulled his arm over and covered his wound with her spiritual power. "You won't die, but it will hurt a lot."
"Aren't you afraid of pain?"
Huan Changming's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't reveal any emotion as Lu Pianpian treated his wounds. He simply glanced at Lu Pianpian's face, lost in her silence, and remained silent as well.
The rain was getting heavier, and several drops splashed down to their feet.
Huan Changming felt the gentle warmth that had helped relieve his pain suddenly disappear. Lu Pianpian abruptly withdrew her hand, her two hands clasped together, and her face quickly turned an unnatural red.
"Senior Brother Pianpian?" Huan Changming noticed Lu Pianpian's unusual behavior. "What's wrong?"
Lu Pianpian desperately shrank her body, pressing herself tightly against the cave wall. "What solar term is today?"
Huan Changming noticed that not only was his face red, but his neck and ears had also turned bright red. "Today is the beginning of spring."
Upon hearing the words "Beginning of Spring," Lu Pianpian's eyes narrowed. He stood up, supporting himself against the cave wall. "Junior Sister, don't... don't come near me..."
He was fine before, but now, for some reason, even standing up became unsteady. He fell to the ground after taking only two steps, half of his body sinking into the rain.
"What's wrong with your body?" Huan Changming's actions were faster than his thoughts. He reached out to Lu Pianpian first and dragged her back into the cave to lean against him.
"Don't touch me..."
Lu Pianpian tried to pry Huan Changming's hands off, but what should have been a simple action was proving extremely difficult for him, as if he were enduring something.
Huan Changming observed Lu Pianpian's expression without making a sound. Her skin was flushed, her breathing was heavy, and she was weak all over. It was hard for him not to think that Lu Pianpian had been drugged with aphrodisiacs.
Thinking of this, Huan Changming's eyes darkened slightly.
Instead of letting Lu Pianpian pry his hands open, he deliberately gripped her hands even tighter and pulled her forward, causing her to crash into his arms.
"Senior Brother Pianpian, what's wrong with you?" Huan Changming softened his voice and whispered in Lu Pianpian's ear, "Your behavior is making me very worried."
After he finished speaking, he saw Lu Pianpian's ears turn even redder, as if blood could drip through her skin.
Huan Changming gently pinched the ear, causing the person in his arms to tremble slightly. He then mischievously blew a breath into the other's ear, "Senior brother, do you... want it?"
Lu Pianpian's thoughts had long since turned into a scalding mess of muddy water, and the heat and numbness emanating from his body had already made him lose his senses.
The blatant teasing by his ear actually brought him back to his senses. He forced his eyes open, but the face in front of him was so blurry that he could not make out the details. He could only see a pair of black jade teardrop earrings on the other person's earlobe, swaying in front of him, making his heart tingle.
He reached out and touched one of the earrings. "I'm so happy you're still wearing it."
The mockery and malice in Huan Changming's eyes vanished instantly. He pulled down the hand that Lu Pianpian had been touching his earring, and said in a calm but somewhat cold tone, "What's there to be happy about?"
He only wore it because he thought the Frost Jade was useful, and there was no other reason.
Lu Pianpian took his hand and threw herself into his arms. Both of their clothes were wet. Now that they were pressed together, Huan Changming naturally felt the strangeness in Lu Pianpian's body. "Lu Pianpian, you have indeed been poisoned with love poison."
His area was abnormally hot.
Huan Changming had been targeted in these ways since childhood because of his face, so after he learned about these things, he developed a strong aversion and resistance to them.
He pushed Lu Pianpian away in slight annoyance, but unexpectedly Lu Pianpian wrapped her arms around his neck and he fell to the ground with her.
Huan Changming lowered his eyes, and what came into view was Lu Pianpian, whose eyes were filled with tears, whose wet clothes clung to her skin, and who was red and soaked from head to toe.
Lu Pianpian completely lost her mind, hooking her arms around Huan Changming's neck and kissing his lips.
Huan Changming froze, his eyes widening. Lu Pianpian pressed her lips to his and whispered, "You smell so good..."