Madam Xie’s hands and feet trembled slightly. When she saw the crowd of men storming into the prison like madmen and smashing the locks, her face turned deathly pale, and she instinctively staggered a few steps back, cold all over.
All of the Xie family’s women were imprisoned together. Now, terrified and shocked, they huddled in a corner, trembling uncontrollably.
Zhuque slashed the lock and swept his gaze over the group. At a glance, thirty to forty women were crowded together, making it impossible to distinguish their faces clearly.
His Highness had said that Qi Yuan was most likely hiding among the Xie family’s women. In that case…
Zhuque turned to glance behind him. Qi Wang had already strode between the two groups of guards, his face dark and emotionless as he stared coldly at the Xie women inside the cell.
He didn’t spot any familiar faces.
But Qi Wang wasn’t disappointed.
He knew Qi Yuan’s capabilities all too well.
This woman was ruthless. She didn’t care about her life. To survive, there was nothing she wouldn’t do or learn.
Even in their past life, she had studied how to mix all sorts of strange powders, smearing them on her face to alter her appearance.
These were things other girls wouldn’t even look at with interest, yet Qi Yuan studied them with utter seriousness, never bored.
So now, Qi Yuan could very well have changed her appearance and hidden among these women.
No matter—he didn’t need to recognize her.
He just had to test her.
A smile curved on his lips. He gave Zhuque a meaningful look.
Zhuque immediately understood and charged into the cell, glancing around before randomly grabbing a woman by the hair and dragging her out.
As the young woman was hauled away, Madam Xie cried out, her heart feeling as if all her organs were being crushed together. She shrieked, “Qiniang!”
It was her daughter!
Madam Xie could no longer stay calm. Seeing her daughter being dragged out, she broke free from Qi Yuan’s grip without a second thought and lunged toward her child.
Qi Wang’s gaze fell on Madam Xie’s face.
Noting her sorrowful expression and the phoenix brocade of her clothing, he instantly guessed she was the Xie family Old Madam.
Madam Xie—yes, he remembered her.
In their previous life, Qi Yuan often said Madam Xie treated her like a daughter.
If her “mother” was about to die, Qi Yuan would surely show herself, wouldn’t she?
A strange, unreadable smile surfaced on Qi Wang’s face. He crooked a finger at Baihu.
Baihu understood at once and handed over a wrist-mounted crossbow.
Qi Wang took the device in hand and gave a soft laugh. Without a word, he pulled the trigger.
The arrow shot out instantly, flying like a meteor straight toward Madam Xie.
Madam Xie was completely unaware of the danger and stumbled toward Xie Qiniang.
Xie Qiniang, terrified and weeping, was still crying out for her mother. But as Madam Xie finally reached her side, she saw the arrow hurtling toward her and screamed, “Mother!”
Madam Xie now sensed the sharp wind rushing at her.
But she had no time for fear. Her only thought was to protect her daughter.
Qi Wang watched leisurely from the side, silently counting in his head: One, two, three…
At the count of three, she did not disappoint him.
Just as the arrow was about to strike Madam Xie in the back, a soft sword appeared out of nowhere, slicing the arrow mid-air.
A slender figure materialized before Madam Xie, standing between her and the danger, eyes locked straight on Qi Wang.
At that moment, Qi Wang burst out laughing.
He knew it!
Everyone had a weakness.
The Xie family was Qi Yuan’s!
After laughing, Qi Wang looked down coldly at Qi Yuan and clicked his tongue. “What’s the point, Qi Yuan? You pulled all this off just to lure me away—but I still got to the Xie family before you.”
He glanced at the sobbing cluster of Xie family members and sneered. “These useless people are nothing to me—I could kill them all with a single word. But to you, each one is precious.”
Madam Xie stared at Qi Yuan in stunned disbelief.
What connection did their Xie family have with this girl?
Why would she go so far to protect them?
Qi Yuan smiled faintly at Qi Wang. “That’s none of Your Highness’s concern.”
“Oh, really?” Qi Wang chuckled, but his face suddenly darkened. “These people’s lives are in my hands. Everything you’ve done—sneaking out of the capital in the middle of the night, using decoys to distract me—was all for one thing: to escort Liu Wangfei back to the capital.”
“But you forgot—” he sneered, “you don’t have three heads and six arms. You’re just one person. You can’t protect both ends.”
So what good was all that effort?
What was the point of the decoy and misdirection?
He now had the Xie family.
Xie Qiniang, huddled in Madam Xie’s arms, was already scared stiff. Tearful and trembling, she watched helplessly as terror unfolded before her.
Qi Wang pointed at her and said, “Qi Yuan, I’ll give you a choice. Hand over Liu Wangfei, kneel down, and beg for mercy—and I might let these people die whole.”
Qi Yuan’s face didn’t even flinch. “And if I say no?”
“Do you think you have that choice?” Qi Wang’s expression twisted. “If you say ‘no,’ I’ll kill one of them in front of you on the spot!”
He pointed at Xie Qiniang and ordered Zhuque: “Start with her! Qi Yuan’s answer displeased me—kill her, so she learns how to speak to me!”
Zhuque didn’t hesitate. He kicked Madam Xie aside and grabbed Xie Qiniang, ready to strike.
But Qi Yuan moved faster.
Before she even reached them, her soft sword flew through the air, forcing Zhuque to retreat several steps to dodge it.
She then kicked off the prison gate and shot forward like lightning toward Zhuque.
Qi Wang’s face turned thunderous.
This woman—this woman who didn’t know her place or her limits!
Even now, she dared to resist?
Fine.
This time, he’d teach her a real lesson.
He barked to Baihu and Xuanwu, “You two, go too. As long as she stays breathing, I don’t care if her arms or legs are broken—beat her into submission!”
If she didn’t know how to be grateful, then he wouldn’t show mercy.
He’d break her limbs and throw her into his courtyard—let her rot there, unable to run again.
Baihu and Xuanwu answered and lunged at Qi Yuan.
Madam Xie’s face turned deathly pale. She cried out in worry, “Miss, be careful!”
Zhuque, in truth, was having a hard time. The girl’s moves weren’t flashy, but they were vicious and unpredictable, completely without pattern.
She even—
Zhuque instinctively snapped his legs shut and tried to retreat.
But it was too late.
Qi Yuan’s dagger slipped into the space between his legs, and Zhuque let out a blood-curdling scream. He collapsed to the ground, face twisted in pain, sweat pouring from his forehead in thick drops.
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