Babao and Liujin were drenched in cold sweat. After entering the Anhui territory, they realized that Qi Wang’s pursuit was becoming increasingly aggressive, and several times, they had narrowly avoided being caught.
After dodging him yet again, Babao couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, trembling as he spoke, “That really scared me to death. I don’t know if he’s gone mad—why is he chasing us so relentlessly?”
At the beginning of the journey, they had still been trailing behind at a steady, unhurried pace.
But later, the chase grew tighter and tighter.
Liujin’s expression had turned much more serious than before.
He no longer had the mood for playful banter. He turned to look at the man in front of him and said in a low voice, “No, it’s probably not that he’s gone mad—it’s that he’s realized something is wrong.”
Babao, who had been drinking tea, immediately spat it out in shock.
His hair stood on end as he asked in panic, “No way?! I’ve been hiding myself pretty well this whole time!”
He had been responsible for wearing Qi Yuan’s cloak and pretending to be her. He felt he had done a thorough job. Sure, he wasn’t as tough as the real Miss Qi, but he wasn’t doing badly either.
How could Qi Wang have discovered the truth?
Liujin’s face darkened, shaking his head grimly. “I’m afraid he did. Otherwise, how do you explain why he’s been pressing us so tightly?”
He sighed. “Send someone to investigate. We need to find out exactly what’s going on so we can prepare.”
After all, Qi Yuan had already told them before: hide it from Qi Wang as long as possible, but if they couldn’t, they had to be ready in advance.
——
On Qi Wang’s side, he took a hot towel from his subordinate, wiped his face, and then angrily slammed the towel back into the basin with a loud thud. Irritated, he asked, “Is there an answer yet?”
Zhuque stood respectfully to the side, looking a little nervous, unsure of how to respond, when someone outside announced that Bai Hu and Xuan Wu had returned.
Bai Hu and Xuan Wu had been sent to track Qi Yuan’s group and had been gone for four or five days. Since they were back now, they must have brought back definite information.
Zhuque immediately asked, “Your Highness, should I bring them in?”
The room quieted, and Qi Wang gave a cold grunt, sitting expressionlessly by the table.
When Bai Hu and Xuan Wu came in and were about to salute, Qi Wang cut them off with a sneer, “Enough with the formalities. Just tell me—was the person ahead truly Qi Yuan?”
He had been chasing her for so long, yet everything along the way had gone surprisingly smoothly.
Normally, smooth travel should be a good thing.
But the longer they went on, the more he felt something was wrong. With Qi Yuan’s personality, if she were really going to retrieve Liu Wangfei, she would have acted swiftly and decisively. The longer it dragged out, the greater the risk.
Qi Yuan always believed that delay invites trouble.
Yet this trip to Fujian had taken her so long!
It looked like she was on the move, but she rested too frequently.
Or rather, far too frequently—for someone like Qi Yuan.
He lifted his gaze and stared at Bai Hu and Xuan Wu.
Knowing Qi Wang’s temper, neither of them dared to waste time. Bai Hu quickly reported, “Your Highness, after we followed them for some distance, we noticed several suspicious points…”
Xuan Wu continued, “That Miss Qi has been wearing a cloak and hood from the very beginning, barely making any movements besides sitting in the carriage. She never rode a horse…”
Like a lightning bolt, Qi Wang suddenly understood why he had felt something was wrong.
If it were truly Qi Yuan, would she really abandon a fast horse and leisurely ride in a carriage?
His jaw clenched. He suddenly grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it to the ground with a loud crash.
Then he flipped the entire table over in fury.
It wasn’t Qi Yuan!
Then where was the real Qi Yuan!?
That wretched woman—she had tricked him yet again!
How many times had this happened?
Each time, she had treated him like a fool, playing him in the palm of her hand!
But the most infuriating thing was that he kept falling for it every single time.
Time and time again—each trap different from the last!
Seeing Qi Wang’s rage, Bai Hu and Xuan Wu immediately dropped to their knees, not daring to lift their heads.
Throughout this journey, they had noticed Qi Wang’s temper growing more and more violent.
Several of the shadow guards had already been punished harshly.
But Qi Wang had no time to deal with a few guards now. He kicked over a nearby shelf and growled viciously, “Let’s go!”
Hearing him say “go,” Zhuque silently let out a breath of relief.
The worst outcome would have been if Qi Wang had quietly turned his anger on them.
But now that Qi Wang still planned to continue, it meant they still had some use, which was far better than being punished.
Bai Hu hesitated, “Your Highness… where are we going?”
Should they continue chasing the group ahead or change course?
Qi Wang sneered coldly, “Isn’t she so capable? Forcing this prince to search for her all over the world? Since she’s sly as a fox, then this prince won’t look anymore! I’ll wait for her to come find me!”
Zhuque didn’t quite understand Qi Wang’s reasoning.
After all, Miss Qi’s abilities were truly extraordinary.
She had played them like a fiddle all the way.
Qi Wang’s words sounded simple.
But how could they make Miss Qi actively come to him? That wasn’t an easy thing to achieve.
Qi Wang closed his eyes briefly and then growled, “Let’s go! We’re not going to Fujian anymore—we’re going to Jiangxi!”
The distance was about the same anyway.
Seeing his dark expression and the brewing storm in his demeanor, Zhuque quickly realized that Qi Wang must still have hidden cards they didn’t know about.
Sure enough, after saying this, Qi Wang’s mood seemed to improve.
“Jiangxi!” Zhuque acknowledged and hurried to prepare the departure.
——
Early the next morning, Babao anxiously knocked on Liujin’s door.
Liujin immediately opened it, “What’s wrong?”
“Something’s happened!” Babao’s face was grim. “Qi Wang has disappeared!”
These past days, they had been extremely cautious, traveling neither too quickly nor too slowly and taking numerous detours, but they had always kept an eye on whether Qi Wang was still trailing them.
Until today, Qi Wang had completely vanished.
This wasn’t normal!
Just days ago, Qi Wang had been on the verge of catching up to them.
For this to happen now meant the worst-case scenario they feared had likely come true—Qi Wang had realized Qi Yuan wasn’t with them!
Liujin’s face turned cold as he immediately ordered, “Quick! Send a letter to His Highness and send a signal to Miss Qi!”
While they were scrambling, Duke Chu’s residence also finished dispatching the last wave of Qi Wang’s secret guards.
Qi Wang had raised around a hundred shadow guards, each capable of fighting a hundred men.
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