Young Prime Minister, a Hermit

Chapter 57

"Senior Sister, are you sure Second Sister is talking about this place?"

"Your second senior sister's signal was that they had been tricked and the target was still in the same place. I thought about it for a moment, and it should be here."

Han Jingyuan turned to look at the boy, whose face was flushed from being covered by his hand, and felt the heat in his hand—clearly a sign of a high fever. His mind raced with agitation, a thousand thoughts swirling within him, as he listened to the approaching footsteps outside the door. One moment he thought of his younger brother's resentful and helpless expression before his death, the next he thought of the responsibilities he bore—he absolutely could not die easily.

Finally, he sighed deeply, then suddenly kicked the corner of the bed. A barely audible click of a mechanism activating rang out, and the previously solid bed slowly lifted upwards. Han Jingyuan turned and saw the boy's astonished expression, gave a cold smile, grabbed him, and rolled him inside. The mechanism clicked again, and everything went completely dark, with only a few small holes letting in a little light and air.

A low laugh suddenly came from beneath him. The sound was extremely faint and somewhat hoarse from suppressing a cough, but to Han Jingyuan it sounded utterly desolate and lifeless. Yes! Han Jingyuan suddenly realized. He felt this boy was cold-blooded to the point of being heartless, but rather than heartless, it was more like he had no soul, like a shell without thought or desire. Only this laugh carried a hint of tragic despair.

The sound of the door opening reached Han Jingyuan, who immediately held his breath and listened intently. Light footsteps landed silently; Mu Shuangshuang of Fengyin Kingdom was indeed not to be underestimated, even her subordinates possessed such high martial arts skills. He heard them seemingly search the room before stopping by the bed.

"Senior Sister, the bed is still warm, Qin Luo shouldn't have escaped far."

"Yes, the window is open. Let's go after them immediately. We must not let the Palace Master's painstaking plan go to waste."

The sounds faded into the distance, but Han Jingyuan dared not move. After a while, he heard the conversation again.

"It seems he really isn't here anymore."

"Let's hurry and chase after them!"

Silence fell again in the room. This time, Han Jingyuan slowly pushed open the bed, and a blinding beam of light pierced in. He quickly closed his eyes to adjust. He looked down, about to coldly order the person beneath him to get up, but suddenly realized that the room was completely silent except for his own breathing. Completely silent?

Han Jingyuan was taken aback. He lowered his head and was met with the boy's deathly pale face, devoid of any color, yet his lips were a vibrant red. His entire face relaxed slightly, appearing exceptionally serene and peaceful, as if even the light shining on him had softened.

Suddenly snapping out of his daze, Han Jingyuan shook his head, quickly jumped out, and then reached out to pick him up. A thought couldn't help but flash through his mind: as light as a feather, with a waist so slender it could be encircled with one hand, he truly seemed more like a woman than a woman.

Han Jingyuan leaned down and gently patted his cheek, lowering his voice as he said, "Did you die so easily? Do you even deserve to be the Prime Minister of Jinyao?"

Beneath the mask, the high, straight nose almost touched him. Han Jingyuan could feel his weak, intermittent breathing, as if he might stop breathing at any moment. He sneered, his face full of disdain and mockery, but in the end, he helplessly grabbed the man's slender, pale arm and pinched it hard.

"Cough cough..." A burst of hot breath sprayed onto his cheek, followed by a soft, warm, and moist sensation on his face, carrying a faint, refreshing fragrance.

Han Jingyuan jumped up as if he had been touched by some insect, looking at the boy on the bed with a complicated expression as his eyelashes trembled and he slowly opened his eyes.

――――――――――――First-person perspective separator――――――――――――――――――

I slowly regained consciousness, feeling as if my whole body was stuffed with cotton, suffocating and utterly powerless. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Han Jingyuan standing by the bed, glaring at me fiercely, his expression as if he wanted to tear me apart or swallow me whole.

Han Jingyuan's skin, not covered by the mask, was actually quite fair. He had long, slender fingers, a handsome figure, a thin face, and his collarbones were faintly visible. If his face under the mask hadn't been disfigured, he would undoubtedly be an unparalleled beauty. However, at this moment, his cheeks and neck were flushed red, even his ears were red, which, combined with the silver-white mask, made him look somewhat comical.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a hoarse cough.

He snorted coldly, the blush finally fading, but he turned to look out the window, ignoring me completely. I could only look up and ask Zimo, only to find that no matter how many times I asked, the ghost was lost in thought.

"Zimo," I coughed twice, teasing him, "did you see something you shouldn't have?"

Zi Mo frowned, his brown eyes flashing as he gazed at Han Jingyuan's aloof and unconventional figure, and sighed, "Perhaps... so be it."

"Oh no!" I was still in a daze when I suddenly heard Han Jingyuan exclaim, turn around abruptly, and grab me. "Run!"

"It's too late!" A clear voice rang out from the doorway.

Then another laugh echoed from the window: "Senior Sister is truly amazing. She didn't alert them. With our Sunflower Lotus Formation in place, how could we be afraid of them escaping?"

I heard Zi Mo sigh deeply: "Galan, I'm sorry, it was my oversight. I was too busy just now and forgot to remind you."

I followed his gaze and looked down, noticing the shoes on the edge of the bed. It immediately dawned on me: they only realized I was still there because they saw my shoes were still there. But with only two groups, they were afraid they wouldn't be able to catch me, so they deliberately lowered their guard, waiting for the other two groups to join them before arriving.

The girl, known as Senior Sister, smiled but asked with a chilling look in her eyes, "Young Master Qin, will you obediently surrender and return to Fengyin with us, or will you be beheaded? We ask you to make the decision."

I sighed and looked up at Zimo: 'Is surrendering the only option?'

He nodded helplessly. A hint of a smile appeared in both our eyes, and for some reason, our originally desolate hearts warmed a little. He suddenly said, "Galan, spare Han Jingyuan's life."

I looked at him, puzzled. His brown eyes shimmered almost transparent in the sunlight, yet I couldn't decipher their deepest secrets. The warmth I felt faded little by little. I took a jade pendant from my waist, carefully examined its patterns, and then, with great effort, broke it in half. I handed it to Han Jingyuan, saying, "My wife is currently imprisoned in the Golden Radiance Prison. If you can find a way to see her, show her this jade pendant, and she will cure your poison."

Han Jingyuan looked at me with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty. His extremely pleasant voice remained cold and arrogant, yet it carried a hint of emotion: "And you?"

I widened my eyes slightly: "Of course, we surrender."

"Surrender?!" Han Jingyuan exclaimed, but before he could speak, several long swords shot towards him. He dodged left and right, his body nimbly avoiding them, but unfortunately, he was ultimately subdued because he had lost most of his internal energy.

One of the girls laughed and said, "Young Prime Minister, you are indeed sensible. We will never harm this person. Please, Young Master Qin, come with us."

I glanced at Han Jingyuan's fiery gray eyes, sighed, and struggled to my feet, occasionally letting out a low cough. The girls exchanged glances, their faces slightly flushed, clearly wanting to help me but hesitant due to the impropriety of men and women touching each other.

Finally, the youngest and most lively-looking girl stepped forward and said, "Young Master Qin, let me help you." She blushed, looked at me, and reached out to hook her hand around my elbow.

Suddenly, a flash of blue light appeared before my eyes, and with a thud, the girl was sent flying and crashed into the crowd. A cool, detached aura gently enveloped me, like a clear summer spring flowing through my fingertips, an indescribable warmth and comfort.

"Young Master, are you alright?" He looked down at me, a hint of barely perceptible tension and worry hidden in his cold eyes. I coughed softly twice, leaning against him, but the first words that came out startled me: "Yihan, did you go to the martial arts competition, or to catch up with old friends?"

Xiao Yi

2007.9.7 18:18

Chapter 39: Such a Young Man (End)

[Young Prime Minister's Tip: Lin Yu's Subordinate Forces]

Lin Yu's forces consist of the Seven Killers, Three Stars, and the Dark Camp.

The Seven Shastraits: Shastrait of Separation, Shastrait of Rakshasas, Shastrait of Ghosts, Shastrait of Mist, Shastrait of Blood, Shastrait of Night, Shastrait of Hiddenness

Samsung: Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

One Dark Camp: Shura Dark Camp