allendalepharm Chapter 146 Flower Thief
Chapter 146 Flower Thief
Both Yan Ling Ji and Wu Shuang Gui are in equally difficult situations.
Five hundred Frost Elite Cavalry surrounded them like an iron wall, while Wushuang Gui's muscles and bones were as strong as steel. Yan Lingji's flames blazed at will. Although she could withstand the piercing ice spears and barely protect herself, she was already pinned to the spot and unable to move.
A prolonged attack will inevitably lead to defeat, and a prolonged defense will inevitably crumble. The moment Tianze was trapped in the Frost Array by Bai Yifei, his fate was sealed. Finally, the chilling coldness crept up his limbs and bones, freezing him completely into a crystal-clear ice sculpture—Bai Yifei's sword swept lightly, and his head fell to the ground.
Tianze knew too much; how could Bai Yifei allow him to speak while he was still alive?
The Corpse-Driving Demon fared even worse. Before he could even unleash thirty percent of his evil magic, Han Qiancheng pierced his temple with an arrow, causing him to collapse hastily and die a suffocating death.
Han Qiancheng ignored Yan Lingji and Wushuang Gui. He knew perfectly well that if he were to launch a direct attack, he might not come out on top; moreover, Bai Yifei had already freed up his hands. At this moment, Bai Yifei stood with his sword on his back, facing the two of them from a distance. The surrounding icy elite cavalry pressed in like frost and snow, their blades reflecting a cold light, silent yet soul-stirring.
"Submit to me and live; defy me and die instantly." Bai Yifei's voice was calm, yet it sounded like an ice pick piercing the eardrum.
"You killed your master?" Yan Lingji's eyes were like knives, piercing Bai Yifei's face.
Bai Yifei didn't answer, but her eyes said it all. What shocked her even more was that the restriction that Tianze had placed in her body back then had quietly dissipated.
Tianze has always been ruthless in his methods of controlling his subordinates. If it weren't for using secret techniques to lock their minds, how could unruly figures like the Corpse Demon and the King of a Hundred Poisons have submitted to his orders?
"Answer me, or die." Bai Yifei's tone remained indifferent, but it was already wrapped with an undeniable killing intent.
A struggle flickered in Yan Lingji's eyes. She didn't want to die, but was she to kneel before the enemy who had personally annihilated the Baiyue and slaughtered her people? Her fingertips trembled slightly, and her throat tightened... Suddenly, the image of Lin Tian arriving under the moonlight that night flashed through her mind—a smile bloomed on her lips: "I am his woman, do you dare to take me in?"
Bai Yifei's brows furrowed sharply: "Him? Who?"
Before he could finish speaking, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his gaze, like cold iron, fixed on Yan Lingji's face. After a long while, he finally uttered, "You're bluffing me."
Facing his surging anger, Yan Lingji became even more certain—this man was indeed afraid of the mysterious person who broke into the palace at night and rescued Princess Honglian.
No wonder. Anyone who witnessed such extraordinary abilities would feel a chill run down their spine.
"Don't believe me? Then kill me." She chuckled, lazily stretching, her waist twisting, her fiery red figure gleaming in the cold light. "Let's see if you suddenly stop breathing tomorrow."
Bai Yifei, however, had no interest in appreciating the beauty. His face was ashen, the veins on the back of his hand gripping the sword bulged, and the blood-red longsword hummed softly.
He could almost conclude that Yan Lingji and Lin Tian had absolutely no connection.
"Aside from that night when you abducted Princess Honglian, you have never met," he said coldly. "This is a report personally submitted by the Straw-Cloaked Guest, and it is absolutely true."
Yan Lingji appeared calm, but her mind was racing – this one sentence could be her path to survival or her death.
"That's right, we've only met once." She nodded frankly, then smiled gently. "But who says he can't fall for me at first sight?"
She herself didn't believe it, but what Bai Yifei feared most was this kind of ambiguity that couldn't be disproven.
"Then tell me—" Bai Yifei narrowed his eyes, "With his abilities, why did he only take the life of the Hundred Poison King? Why did he spare your lives until today?"
"Because Tianze made a deal with him." Yan Lingji's tone was light and cheerful, as if she were telling a romantic story.
"What kind of business?"
"Trade me for his life." Her smile deepened. "From that day on, I belonged to him."
With my life hanging by a thread, I can't worry about whether it's true or false. I just need to survive today.
As for Lin Tian… a woman’s intuition is sharper than a knife: no matter how strong that person is, he is far less suffocating than the icy Fiend before her.
"Since you already belong to him, why are you still following Tianze?" Bai Yifei pressed.
"Tianze promised to lift the curse for me." She smiled and spread her hands. "I was supposed to set off to find him today—but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned."
Bai Yifei stared at her, his gaze sharp as a blade, scrutinizing every inch of her expression. He believed her seven parts, yet three parts of doubt remained.
Lin Tian didn't take Tian Ze's life for the same reason he gave when he let himself and Emerald Tiger go in the General's Mansion—he simply didn't want the trouble and was too lazy to do it.
But Yan Lingji's words did have some credibility.
………………
Bai Yifei dared not gamble.
Because in this game, he wasn't betting power, but his life. If he misjudged the situation, he wouldn't even have a chance to turn the tables. Besides, Tianze had already been executed, so Yan Lingji's life or death was naturally irrelevant.
"Since that's the case..."
Before the words were even finished, a sudden surge of cold air swept through. Yan Lingji's wrists and ankles were instantly locked in place by ice shards, and even her breath froze for a moment; Wushuang Gui, standing to the side, was even more unable to move, his thick limbs frozen stiff.
"Take her to Zilan Pavilion and keep her under strict guard," Bai Yifei coldly ordered.
"Yes, sir," the guard replied, bowing.
Yan Lingji was stunned. She had originally intended to use Lin Tian's name to scare away Bai Yifei and escape in the chaos, and had no intention of actually meeting that person. But Bai Yifei did exactly that, and she didn't dare to refute him—if she opened her mouth, her flaw would be exposed.
……
Yan Lingji and Wushuang Gui were stuffed into a prison cart and bumped along the way to Zilan Pavilion.
As for why he didn't kill Wushuang Gui, Bai Yifei simply thought he was a blockhead. Since Yan Lingji was spared, it wouldn't hurt to keep this big oaf around too.
Zilan Pavilion.
"Honglian, is the palace really that boring? Why do you come here every day?" Lin Tian sighed helplessly, holding his wine cup. Honglian's daily visits meant he didn't even have a chance to have a quiet conversation with Nongyu during the day.
Nongyu didn't mind at all. As long as she could stay by his side, even if it was just brewing a cup of tea or arranging a wisp of incense, she would feel very content.
"That's right, Brother Lin Tian, it's so stuffy in the palace!" Honglian blinked and agreed, completely unaware of the hidden meaning in his words.
Nongyu looked at Lin Tian's slightly furrowed brows, and the corners of her lips quietly curved up.
At this moment, Zi Nu strolled in, leaning against the door frame, her eyes smiling. She said lazily, "The Blood-Clad Marquis has sent your woman to his door—bound hand and foot, and put in a prison cart."
Lin Tian almost choked on the mouthful of wine he had just taken.
"Huh? My woman? Bai Yifei sent her? What's going on?!" He was completely dumbfounded, his mind racing: Nongyu is here; Miss Dongfang is far away in Dongjun; Long'er is even less likely... Where did Bai Yifei get the guts and the ability to tell such a lie?
"So you used me as a cover to trick Bai Yifei into letting you go?" Lin Tian sighed and smiled wryly. "He actually believed it? This guy is really daring to gamble, and really daring to lose..."
Even so, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Zi Nu—"The look you gave me just now almost etched the words 'flower thief' onto my forehead. Now you should be able to clear my name, right?"