Chapter 81: Escaping the City of the Great Demon—A Bonus Chapter for Little Fang'er

After speaking, Linglong fell silent. Obtaining it meant leaving, and leaving meant she would not see him for a long time. She wondered if he and Princess Nuanshi would grow closer over time. How annoying!

“Got it and still not leaving? Waiting to get caught?” Qin Daofei said coldly.

Linglong was furious and kicked Qin Daofei’s calf, shouting with hatred, “Don’t worry, we’ll leave soon. We won’t disturb your bridal chamber with Princess Nuanshi, Eunuch Qin!”

Uh...

“I didn’t—” Qin Daofei’s words were cut off sharply by Linglong’s angry retort, “Who knows? Weren’t you two just sword practicing all lovey-dovey? What a shameless performance!”

Qin Daofei’s gaze instantly turned icy at her insolence. He said coldly, “What do you want?”

“Nothing. Just wishing you and Princess Nuanshi get more shameless the more you ‘practice’—more shameless and more lucky… uh…” Linglong didn’t finish her sentence before Qin Daofei, irritated, bent down and pressed his lips to hers. His touch was filled with a strange anger.

Linglong wanted to fight back, but Qin Daofei gripped her waist tightly. After planting two fierce kisses on her, he finally released her lips and said, “The doctor said I like you a lot. I can’t understand why my taste is so... poor. But your little mouth, though foul, is actually quite... kissable.”

Linglong raised her hand to slap him, but Qin Daofei grasped it with his right hand while still holding her slender waist with his left, speaking wickedly, “Maybe it’s not all bad.”

His implication was clear—he might be infatuated with her body—and Linglong knew it well.

The angrier Linglong grew, the calmer she appeared. She leaned in, bit Qin Daofei’s lip, and tugged outward.

Ouch!

Qin Daofei winced in pain and tightened his hand on Linglong’s waist. Ticklish, she released his mouth, but he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, entwining with her relentlessly. No matter how much she struggled or scolded, he refused to let go.

Just as Linglong was about to surrender into his embrace, Qin Daofei lifted her entire waist, hoisted her up precisely, and tossed her beside Effie. Effie caught her just as the door was pushed open from outside.

Effie and Linglong immediately crouched low.

Qin Daofei faced away from the door and, seeing it open, wiped the saliva and blood stains Linglong left on his lips with his thumb, casting a faint glance toward Princess Nuanshi.

“Husband, what’s wrong?” Nuanshi, noticing the injury on his lip, hurriedly pounced on him.

Qin Daofei smiled lightly, “I suddenly felt dizzy just now and bumped into a pillar, chipping my teeth.”

“Hehe, be more careful, okay?” Nuanshi found this version of Qin Daofei strangely endearing.

Qin Daofei took the ginseng tea from Nuanshi’s hand, placed it on the desk, then carried her in his arms as he went into the inner room.

Nuanshi was suddenly lifted up, excitedly patting his shoulder, “What are you doing? You scared me!”

“Sleep,” Qin Daofei said quietly.

Nuanshi buried her head in his arms, “Don’t be reckless. You’re not well yet.”

Linglong and Effie only heard Qin Daofei say, “I just want to sleep. What were you thinking?” followed by Princess Nuanshi’s scolding.

Linglong gritted her teeth in anger. She furiously carved four characters—“Beast in Clothes”—on the beam with a hairpin, then stormed off with Effie.

After confirming Princess Nuanshi was asleep beside him, Qin Daofei sat up quietly, gently stroking his bitten lip, and chuckled softly, “Little wildcat!”

He rose from the bed, looked beneath the spot where Linglong had hidden, then suddenly leapt upward. There on the beam were the four arrogant characters carved boldly. Qin Daofei touched them lightly and gave a cold smile.

***

Back at their hideout, Linglong asked Mo Li to help sort all the letters. Among those written in foreign scripts were letters from Xiang Wang, penned in the Hanshi script. Linglong took Xiang Wang’s letters and had Jifeng Tangli, Effie, and herself each hide some on their persons. She said, “If we encounter obstacles tonight, please deliver the letters to the Second Prince if you manage to escape. Even if I die, as long as Xiang Wang dies too, my suffering won’t be in vain.”

“Madam, you didn’t alert the palace guards, right? It’ll be fine!” Tangli comforted Linglong.

Linglong smiled, “I’m used to giving instructions before missions. Don’t interrupt me, please.”

“Of course, please continue!” Tangli obediently let her proceed.

Linglong stopped herself, saying, “Enough. Prepare to leave. Tonight we depart!”

That night, they readied their escape.

Within the imperial palace, Emperor Cangmo received a secret letter. After reading it, he habitually opened his secret chamber and placed the letter inside.

Since the chamber’s mechanisms remained intact, he suspected nothing. But as he was about to close the door, he sensed something amiss. Sensitive as he was, he retrieved the letters and discovered a strange small stone lying in the hidden compartment.

Emperor Cangmo examined the stone carefully for a long time, then urgently took out all the letters and began tearing them open one by one. After tearing a few, he found not a single letter inside.

“Guards!” The emperor's roar shattered the palace’s deep silence.

Qin Daofei heard the commotion. At the time, Princess Nuanshi was removing her makeup. Hearing the noise, she glanced at Qin Daofei. He said, “Go check if something’s wrong.”

The two went together and saw many people gathered outside the study. A row of guards knelt trembling on the ground.

Princess Nuanshi knew well the study concealed many secrets, and any slip could expose them. Her expression changed, but she couldn’t let Qin Daofei know. She told her attendant, “Send the prince consort back first. I’ll go see Father.”

Holding Qin Daofei’s hand, she explained, “Husband, Father’s temper is fierce when angry. You should leave. I don’t want you involved.”

Qin Daofei smiled faintly, “Alright, but you be careful too.”

Monitored by the attendants, he dared not show any emotion, silently praying those people had already left the city.

Princess Nuanshi entered the study and asked, “Father, what’s wrong?”

“Did Qin Daofei leave your side today?” Emperor Cangmo asked.

She shook her head, “We’ve been together every moment.”

“All the letters in the study have been stolen!” the emperor said.

Nuanshi was shocked, “Who? Why steal all the letters?”

“I don’t know. Maybe to hide their identities, or perhaps they’re information traffickers. We need to impose martial law!” Emperor Cangmo declared.

Princess Nuanshi worriedly looked at him, “Father, could it be Mo Li and his group haven’t left yet?”

“Possible!” Emperor Cangmo’s eyes brightened.

Nuanshi said, “Our Great Demon City’s defenses are famously impregnable. How did they get in?”

“Either from the heavens or underground!” Emperor Cangmo said angrily.

Both looked at each other in shock, then said in unison, “From the heavens!”

Why not underground?

Because Cangmo lies between desert and gobi, underground is solid rock, making subterranean entry nearly impossible. So the only possibility was from above.

“Order everyone to guard the skies. If anyone is spotted, shoot them down at all costs,” Emperor Cangmo commanded, and the orders were dispatched immediately.

The two anxiously waited in the study for news.

Meanwhile, Linglong and her group, lacking a high vantage point, hid on the rooftop, waiting for the night’s strong winds. With the wind, they could fly high before reaching the city gate, making detection difficult.

The desert night was cold and windy. The awaited strong wind arrived just before midnight.

Using manpower-powered kites, they took off, unaware of the great disaster awaiting them.

Shortly after takeoff, patrol soldiers spotted them. They shouted excitedly, “Someone in the sky! Hurry, report to the city guards, intercept them at all costs!”

“What’s going on?” shouting loudly in the sky, Ye Lishang asked Linglong.

Linglong didn’t know either, but she understood one thing: “We’ve been exposed!”

“Could it be Qin Daofei again?” Ye Lishang asked.

Linglong shook her head, “No. Probably the stone I left in the secret compartment was found. Let’s hurry and escape! Watch out for their arrows!”

As they flew past the city towers, a rain of arrows shot at them, making Linglong’s scalp tingle.

Everyone focused intensely on protecting their wings, afraid of being pierced.

But the more they feared, the worse it became.

Above the city walls, Ye Lishang’s man-powered wings were suddenly pierced at the edge by an arrow, followed by a hole forming. He was about to fall. Linglong and Effie immediately flew over, each grabbing one of his wings, lifting him upward.

At the same moment, an arrow pierced through Ye Lishang’s shoe sole. Feeling a chill underfoot, he quickly used his energy to fly up.

“Damn, I almost became a hornet’s nest!” Ye Lishang patted his chest, grateful for his luck.

Linglong and Effie paid him no mind, knowing they faced even more brutal pursuit.

They barely escaped harm and flew to the mountains. The Cangmo troops, failing to shoot them down, quickly gathered a large force to chase after them.

In the dense forest, after removing their wings, Linglong told everyone, “I don’t know who will make it out, but whoever does, I ask one thing: kill Tan Xiyin, then seek Hua’er for the reward. She will pay you. Then tell her to take Yixiao and live peacefully.”

Slap!

Effie struck Linglong sharply on the back of the head, coldly saying, “Feng Linglong, your drama is a bit much.”

“I was just about to say—” Linglong was cut off.

Effie said coldly, “Don’t worry. The two of us survived the Crescent Moon Villa. These soldiers are nothing. We’ll definitely escape.”

With that, she grabbed Linglong’s hand and dashed down the mountain.

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