Chapter 105
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“Stop the ship!”
Xue Yao heard a strange voice behind him and quickly looked up, asking the Khitan Prince, “Are they wearing Forbidden Army armor or Tong Family Army armor?”
The youth whispered back, “What’s the difference?”
The ship behind them had already approached, giving Xue Yao no time to explain.
The Khitan Prince spoke in a low voice, “Lend me the long knife.”
The youth, worn down by the desert, with a sallow complexion and a thin frame, surprisingly intended to face a multitude alone. Xue Yao refused, “No need to take action. I can handle it.”
After saying this, Xue Yao turned calmly and looked towards the approaching ship.
On that ship, there were a total of five soldiers, clad in the leather armor of the northwestern garrison.
“Aren’t you supposed to have returned to the capital?” Xue Yao assumed the demeanor of a high-ranking official and shouted at the soldiers on the ship.
As the ship drew near, the leading soldier stared coldly at Xue Yao and asked, “Who are you? What is the purpose of crossing the river?”
Xue Yao replied with composure, “I act on confidential orders, negotiating with the enemy across the river. Details cannot be disclosed.”
“By whose order? Do you have any credentials?”
Xue Yao reached into his sleeve, retrieving a travel permit, and presented it to the group.
The soldier took the permit, examined the engraving with a lowered head, then coldly looked at Xue Yao. “This is the Seventh Prince’s permit!”
“Indeed.” Xue Yao confidently reclaimed his permit. “I am acting on the heir apparent’s command for river negotiations.”
“The Seventh Prince disappeared days ago. How could he have given you orders? Take him away!”
Two soldiers promptly boarded Xue Yao’s ship, drawing their blades against his neck.
“Insolent!” Xue Yao boldly threatened the soldiers, “If you dare lay a hand on me, the Seventh Prince won’t spare you lightly!”
The nearby soldier sneered, “Your Seventh Prince has already fled back to the capital. What can he do to me if I touch you?”
Xue Yao glared sideways at the soldier.
The soldier smirked, raised his hand, and provocatively pushed Xue Yao’s shoulder. “What will he do if I touch you?”
“Your grandpa won’t easily spare you.”
Hearing this familiar voice, Xue Yao’s body tensed. He thought he might be having a hallucination!
Two soldiers beside him simultaneously looked up at the sky. How could the voice descend from there?
“Swish, swish” Two invisible streams of air passed by, and before the soldiers could shout, they were pushed into the water by the currents!
A soldier on another boat looked up in terror. A white-haired figure in mid-air swiftly descended!
Before they could draw their swords, they were struck into the water by a cane resembling a playful dragon.
When Xue Yao regained his senses, he saw Lu Qian being supported by a man in white, both leaping onto the boat.
The man in white landed silently, while the Seventh Prince’s landing caused the boat to tremble.
Xue Yao couldn’t distinguish if what he saw was an illusion or reality. He stood motionless, staring at the chubby cub a few steps away, unable to speak a word.
Lu Qian, unable to wait for the little reader-in-waiting to rush over for a hug, approached on his own. Each step made the boat sway until he stood in front of the attendant. “Yaoyao, why didn’t you return to the capital?”
In just a few days of separation, Xue Yao felt that the Lu Qian before him was no longer the naive child of the past. It wasn’t just because he had slimmed down. There was a quality about him that hadn’t been there before, yet he couldn’t describe it.
This inexplicable and significant difference made Xue Yao hesitate to reach out and embrace the cub in front of him.
The familiar childishness that used to cling to Lu Qian was now so faint that Xue Yao found it elusive. The added air of sharpness made him seem unfamiliar.
Lu Qian tilted his head, staring at the little reader-in-waiting.
Following the customary sequence of reasonable actions, the little reader-in-waiting should have hugged His Highness, choked back tears, and asked if His Highness was hungry.
But Xue Yao did nothing, just stared foolishly at His Highness.
Unable to wait any longer, His Highness opened his arms towards the little reader-in-waiting.
The motion to embrace prompted Xue Yao to subconsciously take a step closer to the Seventh Prince. He wanted to reach out but hesitated.
The slight hesitation from the little reader-in-waiting gave rise to confusion and irritation in Lu Qian’s eyes.
His Highness scanned the surroundings, searching for the unusual reason behind his little reader-in-waiting’s behavior.
The Khitan Prince holding a small sheepskin water bag and sweets leaped into His Highness’ view.
At the same time, Xue Yao heard the system warning: 【Lu Qian’s sense of security -6.】
The Khitan Prince sensed trouble. In the next moment, he saw the young newcomer pivot on his toes and walk toward him.
The Khitan Prince had three elder brothers in the past, all fallen in battle. Over the years, he had roamed with the aging Khitan King, encountering various formidable opponents. Yet, for the first time, he faced a gaze resembling a beast, cold and indifferent, with a thirst for blood.
The Khitan Prince swallowed hard, forcing himself to maintain a calm gaze with the little reader-in-waiting.
“Your Highness…” Xue Yao attempted to explain, but the Seventh Prince coldly raised a hand, silencing him.
The Khitan Prince straightened his back, readying himself for whatever may come.
Lu Qian halted, closed the distance swiftly, and in a flash, snatched the milk and sweets from the opponent’s hands!
The Khitan Prince, suddenly deprived of his food: “……”
In the next moment, Lu Qian held the sweets and milk in front of the “opponent,” slowly and menacingly squeezing them flat.
The Khitan Prince: “? ? ?”
This foolish act of defiance finally brought back the image of the chubby cub for Xue Yao!
The little reader-in-waiting rushed up immediately, hugging His Highness, vigorously rubbing his now slimmer chubby face. “Your Highness! I’ve missed you so much!”
【System Notification: Lu Qian’s sense of security +2】
Lu Qian didn’t speak.
Xue Yao glanced up and saw His Highness still squinting, fixated on the Khitan Prince sitting nearby.
“He’s the Khitan hostage,” Xue Yao explained, “A few days ago, he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by the Third Prince. I encountered him and planned to send him to the enemy camp in exchange for the return of the Fifth Prince. Seeing he hadn’t eaten or drunk anything along the way, I decided to share a bit of Your Highness’ milk and snacks with him.”
【System Notification: Lu Qian’s sense of security +2】
“What should we do with these people?” Old Xu stood on another boat, using his cane to tap the soldiers who was clinging to the boat’s edge.
Xue Yao didn’t know the old man, turned to Lu Qian, and said, “The northwest army has returned to the capital. These soldiers might be associates of the Third Prince. We can’t let them go back so soon.”
Upon hearing his words, Old Xu swiftly grabbed an oar and leaped onto Xue Yao’s boat, allowing the group of soldiers to drift along with the boat.
Suddenly, the small boat gained three more passengers. Xue Yao immediately instructed the boatmen to continue sailing towards the opposite bank.
Having just reunited with the chubby cub, Xue Yao’s eyes were fixed solely on him. He embraced him like an octopus, took out food from his bag, fed him, and inquired about His Highness’ experiences in these past days.
Upon learning that His Highness had encountered unscrupulous merchants selling overpriced water and provisions in the desert, Xue Yao, on the contrary, felt relieved and fiercely hugged His Highness’ arm, thanking his lucky stars.
However, His Highness withdrew his arm, refusing the embrace.
Perplexed, Xue Yao glanced at the chubby cub and then lowered his head to inspect his arm. He noticed a torn hole in his sleeve, and the fabric around it was darker. Upon closer inspection, the inner layer of his undershirt seemed to have absorbed a dark crimson color.
A jolt struck Xue Yao’s heart as he slowly uncovered the torn fabric, revealing a gruesome scab on His Highness’ arm.
In an instant, Xue Yao felt as if he had returned to that endless night, watching the chubby cub diverting pursuers, soldiers drawing arrows amidst flickering torches, and hearing the ominous whistling of arrows tearing through the night sky…
The heart-wrenching despair of that moment seized Xue Yao’s mind, eclipsing the happiness of finding the chubby cub.
He stiffly lifted his head, gazing at Lu Qian, and awkwardly asked, “Are you hurt?”
Lu Qian glance at his arm. “It’s healed.”
Xue Yao bowed his head, pushed aside the fabric, and softly asked, “Is the wound deep? Does it hurt?”
Lu Qian smirked at the little reader-in-waiting. “Just a minor injury. A real man should…”
Xue Yao reached out to inspect the scabbed wound.
The manly prince exclaimed, “Don’t pinch, don’t pinch!”
“If there’s a next time,” Xue Yao locked eyes with the chubby cub, “I won’t follow Your Highness’ orders.”
Lu Qian looked at him in bewilderment.
Xue Yao solemnly threatened, “If there’s another incident, and Your Highness disregards your safety to divert danger for me, the next time we meet, you’ll find my lifeless body.”
He understood the chubby cub’s pragmatic principles — maximize the benefits.
Their joint survival was Lu Qian’s objective, which was why he would take the risk to divert pursuers for Xue Yao.
The arrow slightly off course could have cost the chubby cub his life, so Xue Yao wanted him to know: if faced with danger again, abandoning him for his own escape was the only advantageous choice.
“There won’t be any danger.” Old Xu sitting opposite couldn’t resist interrupting. “Lu Qian is now my closed-door disciple, along with Old Qiu. Anyone trying to threaten our disciple has to pass through us first.”
Xue Yao, who had been solely focused on the chubby cub, finally noticed that there were others on the boat.
Like waking from a dream, he turned to look at the two unfamiliar men sitting across from him.
These two men were imposing, with decent appearances. One had a full head of white hair. Could he be the elderly man with youthful looks mentioned by the villagers? His face didn’t seem aged at all.
Lu Qian raised his hand to introduce the two old men to the little reader-in-waiting.
First, he pointed to his master. “Master Sword Saint.”
Then, he pointed to Old Xu. “And a big grandpa.”
“Hey!” Old Xu exploded in anger, “I am Master Xu Qingchao, the 9th generation leader of the Qinglong Sect! What ‘a big grandpa’ are you talking about?”
“Elder, you’re the renowned Sword Saint?!” Xue Yao looked at the man with an air of elegance and profound cultivation, truly embodying the presence of a master!
The continuously overlooked Master Xu grumbled, “Isn’t our Qinglong Sect also well-known in the martial world? Have you only heard of the Sword Saint?”
“The name of the Sword Saint resonates like thunder.” The Khitan Prince, who had been playing dead, couldn’t help but look in amazement at the Sword Saint. “Father King once went through great efforts to obtain a copy of the Qingyuan Mental Cultivation Technique. I wonder if it’s the genuine work of the elder. I’ve diligently practiced this technique since childhood. I have relied on the Qingyuan Mental Cultivation Technique to regulate my breath, enabling me to survive in that vast desert.”
Master Xu, seemingly invisible, remained silent, gazing at the sky.
These ignorant little ones!
It seemed that the Qinglong Sect hadn’t caused a stir in the martial world for too long!
“Can practicing the Qingyuan Mental Cultivation Technique resist hunger and thirst?” Xue Yao looked admiringly at the Khitan Prince. “Our Seventh Prince only practiced the Tai Chi Mental Cultivation Technique, not as impressive. Fortunately, he encountered a caravan in the desert.”
【Warning: Lu Qian’s sense of security -3】
“? ? ?” Xue Yao turned to look at the petty chubby cub, who was “not as impressive”.
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