Une aura glaçante

Chapitre 70

After saying that, Xue Beifan suddenly turned around and went back into the house. Xiao Dao was still worried about Chonghua and Xiaoyue's matter, so he quickly followed him in to ask again, but he saw Xue Beifan flick his sleeve and the door behind him slam shut with a "bang".

Xiao Dao was puzzled, when he saw Xue Beifan walk quickly toward Yao Duo's bedside.

At the same time, a loud crash was heard, and a man in black, sword in hand, burst through the roof and headed straight for Yao Duo. However, before his sword reached Yao Duo, Xue Beifan grabbed him by the neck and threw him out of the house.

The movements were so swift that Yao Duo and Xiao Dao didn't quite understand what was happening. Xiao Dao's eyes narrowed again. This Xue Er was unfathomable! But why was he being so mysterious and always hiding things? Wouldn't it be better to go out and show off a few moves in front of those three monsters from the Beihai Sect at the door?

As Xue Beifan threw the man in black out of the house, Chonghua forced the two men in black to retreat with each move.

Xue Xing and Fang Tongli exchanged a glance—Chonghua truly lived up to his reputation.

Seeing that they were no match for her, the three masked assassins in black immediately jumped over the wall and fled. Before leaving, they warned everyone that Yao Duo was a wanted criminal ordered to be executed by the Queen, and that harboring or protecting her was a capital offense, so they should all be careful.

Once everyone had left, the group immediately returned to the house, closed the door, and left Xue Xing and the others outside, all somewhat bewildered.

"Isn't Xue Beifan the one who hates trouble the most? Why is he meddling in so many other people's business?" Xue Xing muttered to himself.

"That useless guy, what business can he possibly have meddle in? He'll probably run away in a while," Fang Tongli said dismissively, then dragged the reluctant Qin Ke out to eat.

Xue Xing took one last look at the window that had been smashed open... Who threw the assassin out? He didn't even know when the assassin had appeared. There should only be Xue Beifan and the girl from before in the room. Could that girl possess extremely high martial arts skills? That didn't seem likely!

Inside the room, everyone was looking at Yao Duo.

Yao Duo sat on the edge of the bed, and Hao Jinfeng asked her, "Is that queen trying to kill you?"

“No.” Yao Duo shook her head. “The one who wants to kill me is the Imperial Advisor or the Grand Eunuch.”

"Why? Because you knew about their embezzlement?" Hao Jinfeng crossed his arms. "Why didn't the Queen investigate? She tortured you first, then sent people to hunt you down. It's utterly unreasonable. She's a tyrant."

"You're the tyrant!" Yao Duo suddenly retorted to Hao Jinfeng, seemingly quite angry.

Hao Jinfeng was completely baffled, and Xiao Dao's eyes narrowed even more.

Chonghua looked at Xue Beifan.

He nodded slightly, and Chonghua pulled Xiaoyue, saying, "Xiaoyue, let's move to another place. Pack your things, and Brother Hao and I will go prepare the carriage."

"Oh." Xiaoyue nodded and ran off to tidy up. Hao Jinfeng was also taken away by Chonghua. The door closed, leaving only Yao Duo, Xiao Dao, and Xue Beifan, who was idly drinking tea at the table.

Xiao Dao sat down next to Yao Duo with his arms crossed, not saying a word, just staring at her face with narrowed eyes.

"What...are you looking at?" Yao Duo asked, puzzled, turning to look at Xiao Dao.

"Hmm." Xiao Dao rested his chin on his hand, smacked his lips, and held up one finger.

Yao Duo didn't quite understand and stared at her slender, long finger.

"Life..." Before Xiao Dao could even begin to speak, Xue Beifan choked on his tea, coughing and pounding his chest. He turned back to look at her helplessly, as if to say, "Stop acting up, can't we just get this over with quickly?"

Xiao Dao pouted, "Fine, we're the only ones who can help you right now. So, just say you want help, or we'll leave you here!"

Yao Duo stared at Xiao Dao with wide eyes for a long time, then said, "Can you really help me? Even if I told you, you might not believe me."

“Then tell me.” Xiao Dao crossed his arms. “Wait, let me guess first. Hmm…you’re not Yao Duo who stole things, right? That girl from the Royal Guard, I told you, we deliberately let you come here.”

Many people looked surprised.

Xiao Dao thought he had probably guessed correctly and raised an eyebrow at Xue Beifan.

Xue Beifan raised his teacup to her, gesturing—Congratulations, please continue!

"After thinking it over, I feel that your identity must be extraordinary. Could it be that you are the queen of the ghost city? Hmm?" Xiao Dao voiced his doubts.

Yao Duo listened to Xiao Dao's words and stared at her intently for a long time before bursting into laughter. "You're really making wild guesses! Of course not!"

Xiao Dao blushed; he was so embarrassed!

Sure enough, Xue Beifan turned around and raised his eyebrows at her while holding the cup—Oh, you can be wrong even now?

Xiao Dao rested his chin on his hand. "There's no reason for that. You're not the queen, so why would they chase you from so far away? And you don't even know what fried rice is?"

Yao Duo just chuckled, turned to look at Xiao Dao, and asked, "Usually, a beautiful mother will give birth to a beautiful daughter, right?"

Xiao Dao was slightly taken aback, and Xue Beifan also looked up. "The custom of the Ghost City Queen choosing a husband has been passed down through generations. People always say that the Queen is young and beautiful, but if there is no succession, she may be quite old."

Xiao Dao looked at Yao Duo in surprise, "Could it be that you are the Queen's daughter? If that means the Queen is already married, then why is she still holding a marriage contest?"

Yao Duo sat on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees. "The queens of the Ghost City have always been beauties. So the first condition for each queen to choose a Ghost King is that he must be handsome, so that the next queen born will also remain beautiful. My mother was the most beautiful of all the queens. When she was young, she met someone she liked and gave birth to me. Unfortunately, God played a joke on her. It is said that my father was so handsome that he was unparalleled in heaven and earth, but despite their celestial appearance, I was born to be so ordinary. My father was naturally carefree and unrestrained. After staying in the Ghost City for a while, he went out to travel and never returned."

"Your mother has been seeking a husband for so many years..." Xue Beifan asked, "was it to bring your father back?"

“Yes, all these years, she has never forgotten my father.” Yao Duo murmured, resting her chin on her knees. “That’s why she hasn’t met a second man she likes in all these years of marriage proposals, and she hasn’t had any other beautiful children. Not long ago, she said she was going on a long trip and asked me to handle the affairs of state for her for a few days. But as soon as she left, the throne was seized by the Grand Preceptor and the Grand Eunuch. I was injured when I escaped, and luckily, Guard Qiao caught a palace maid named Yao Duo stealing something, so he let me take her name and escape.”

"What's your real name?" Xiao Dao asked curiously.

“Xu Youyou.”

Xiao Dao's lips twitched slightly. "Why call yourself Youyou? It's so strange."

"Because my father's surname is Xu, when my mother asked him where he lived, he casually replied, 'Turn right ahead, then turn right again.'"

"Hey," Xiao Dao chuckled, "Your dad's pretty interesting."

"Your mother left on her own. Right now, she's going on blind dates and choosing a husband. What will she do without her?" Xue Beifan wondered, feeling that this mother was unreliable.

“She said I could choose one myself, and it would be good to marry someone I liked.” Youyou’s voice was even lower. “She said I’m not cut out to be a queen, and she would never let me be a queen.”

Xue Beifan frowned. "Does this sound like something Mother would say?"