Seeing no one inside answered, Xue Yu took a few more steps forward and said coldly, "Princess Anning, you are surrounded here and have nowhere to fly. Please surrender. Otherwise, it would be bad if you were injured."
Still, no one answered.
"Are you sure it's here?" Xue Yu frowned and asked the guards beside him.
"My lord, it's this place. This subordinate personally saw them run into this room," the guard said.
Hearing this, Xue Yu's gaze turned cold. He walked to the door and said coldly, "Princess Anning, if you do not come out, then this subordinate will have to offend you."
With that, a hint of coldness in his eyes, Xue Yu pushed the door open and entered.
The light in the room was not very good. The only light was the light from him opening the door.
However, this sliver of light illuminated only a limited area, merely making the dark room dimly lit.
Yet, he had once been a Feng Yin, and his eyesight was much better than others.
In places the light did not reach, he distinctly sensed a presence.
He walked forward a few more steps, and the presence grew nearer. He looked up into the darkness.
Suddenly, his body froze.
He saw a young girl sitting there, her back straight, her gaze unwavering, falling upon him without missing a beat.
Only a small amount of the dim, hazy light fell upon the girl. Yet, that small amount was enough.
Her face was peerlessly beautiful, and her eyes were as clear as the firmament, devoid of impurities, capable of purifying anything tainted.
The girl looked down at him, exuding an aura of noble coldness.
She was like a divine being on high, allowing no one to profane her.
This immense pressure was something Xue Yu had long forgotten.
He moved his lips and blurted out three words, "Is it you?"
His thoughts returned to the past, when he had willingly prostrated himself at the girl's feet, vowing eternal loyalty.
The girl looked at him with noble coldness and spoke his name, "Feng Yu."
He trembled all over, looking up at the girl. She also looked at him and said icily, "Seeing me, why do you not kneel?"
His knees buckled, and he slowly lowered his head, kneeling on the ground. "Your Majesty, Feng Yu is here."
The girl slowly stood up, came before him, and said coldly, "Feng Yu, as one of my Feng Yin, you have colluded with evil, recognizing a traitor as your master. You have greatly disappointed me."
Xue Yu trembled, "Your Majesty, your subordinate..."
"Say no more. Face the wall and reflect. You are not permitted to rise without my permission."
"Yes." Xue Yu stood and walked towards the wall.
A cold wind blew from behind him, causing him to shiver. His eyes suddenly cleared, and when he looked up, the girl was nowhere to be seen.
He now understood. He had been hypnotized.
"Damn it," Xue Yu cursed, thinking that he, the former Feng Yin, had fallen for such a low-level hypnosis.
"Where are they?" Xue Yu asked the guards outside in a rage.
The guard trembled and said, "My lord, it was you who told us to let them go."
Xue Yu kicked the guard and yelled furiously, "I told you to die, do you still not die?"
The guard looked crestfallen. "My lord told me to die, and this subordinate would never dare to say a word otherwise."
"Then go and die!" Xue Yu said angrily, flicking his sleeve.
Anning and Xue Yunlan moved close to the entrance and hid, as there were guards posted at the door.
Xue Yunlan said, "Xue Yu must be coming this way by now. We must get out as quickly as possible."
Anning nodded. She picked up a stone and threw it into the distance.
The two guards exchanged glances but did not move to investigate.
Anning had not expected it to be different from what she imagined. She felt for another stone and picked it up, almost causing herself to fall.
She smashed it hard onto the ground. The sound was quite loud, finally drawing the attention of the guards, who began to walk over.
Anning took out her dagger and waited for the guards to approach.
When they got close, she suddenly sprang up, tripped one of them with a sweeping kick, and accurately plunged her dagger into the guard's neck.
Blood instantly sprayed onto Anning's face. Before the guard could utter a word, he had lost his life.
Afterward, Anning and Xue Yunlan dragged the body into the tall grass.
Seeing that the first guard had not returned for a long time, another guard also walked over. As he approached, he stopped.
Seeing that the other guard was not coming closer, Anning poked her head out to look. She saw the guard staring intently at the ground. She also looked at the ground the guard was staring at and saw residual bloodstains that had not yet dried.
"Not good, he's discovered it," Anning whispered.
"What do we do then?" Xue Yunlan asked urgently.
Anning frowned. Suddenly, she rushed out and lunged at the guard. The guard was prepared, sidestepped, and shouted, "Assassin..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he heard a 'thud' and felt pain surge through his body. He instinctively looked down and saw a bloody hole in his chest, with blood gushing out.
"Assassin..." he mouthed, using all his strength to utter the two words before falling backward.
The person behind him revealed themselves. It was Xue Yunlan, holding a sword she had somehow produced. Blood streamed down the blade.
"Yunlan..."
Xue Yunlan smiled, "Finally killed him."
Anning smiled and nodded, "Yes."
"Let's go!" Xue Yunlan dropped the sword and walked towards her.
Anning nodded.
Footsteps sounded from behind. Anning and Xue Yunlan exchanged glances and quickly ran towards the exit.
Behind them was none other than Xue Yu. When he saw the dead guards, his gaze turned cold, and his aura became terrifying.
"Xue Yu, you actually let them escape from under your nose?"
Xue Yu started and turned to see Xue Changan, who had changed into different clothes, walking towards him.
"Your Majesty..." Xue Yu bowed.
"The people escaped?" Xue Changan asked coldly.
"Yes..."
Before Xue Yu could finish speaking, a slap landed on his face. Xue Changan angrily said, "I thought they were useless, but I never expected you to be useless as well."
Xue Yu lowered his gaze and said, "Your Majesty, I will find them."
"Are you not going yet?" Xue Changan roared.
"Yes." Xue Yu turned and left.
Xue Changan gritted his teeth, his face contorted with rage. "Anning, Xue Yunlan, do not let me catch you, or I will make your lives worse than death."
Having escaped Xue Changan's villa, Anning and Xue Yunlan dared not take the main road and could only walk along rough, winding paths.
The paths were difficult to traverse, not only muddy but, more importantly, they were starving.
Xue Yunlan, in particular, had not eaten for five days. She had also just used all her strength to kill someone, leaving her utterly exhausted.
"I can't anymore. I really can't walk," Xue Yunlan said, sitting on the ground, completely devoid of strength.
Anning also sat down. She was not well either, having never walked such a long distance before.
"Two young ladies, why are you sitting here in the middle of nowhere?"