Wen Yuxi also couldn't control himself and spat out a mouthful of blood, his entire body collapsing onto the ground in a heap. "Xue Zining, you are ruthless to others, but also to yourself."
The young girl wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, slowly drawing a smile. "If I weren't ruthless, how could I have the pleasure of seeing you kneeling before me?"
"Xue Zining, do you know that after offending me, you will face endless pursuit from Qianjin Tower?"
"I know."
Wen Yuxi's gaze flickered. "Since you know, yet you still do this, I can't quite tell if you're foolish or overly clever?"
"Wen Yuxi, do you remember yesterday when I asked you if you had someone you wanted to protect, someone you would protect with all your might?"
The girl looked at him, her eyes clear and bright, shining so brilliantly he couldn't look away.
Wen Yuxi turned his head away. "I will not expose my weaknesses. The master of Qianjin Tower must have no weaknesses."
Suddenly, Wen Yuxi's expression changed, and Xue Zining furrowed her brow. She too heard sounds from not far away.
Wen Yuxi looked up at her, his eyes flashing. "You... leave! Someone is coming!"
Xue Zining took a step back and looked at him. "You want me to leave?"
Wen Yuxi chuckled softly at her words, his gaze sweeping over her with a hint of mischief. "Are you reluctant to go? If you are, you can stay."
Xue Zining's expression turned cold. She pulled a medicine bottle from her waist and threw it towards him.
Wen Yuxi reached out and caught it. He opened it and sniffed, his eyes widening in surprise. "An antidote?"
"We shall not meet again!" Xue Zining said coldly, then turned and left.
Wen Yuxi watched the girl's retreating back, his gaze dimming. By the time the arrivals caught up, only the glint of cold steel remained.
A man clad in a jade-green brocade robe dismounted from his horse. Though he was alone, Wen Yuxi knew that no less than five individuals were concealed around him.
Wen Yuxi looked up at the youth approaching him and sneered, "What? You don't trust this楼主? You've come personally to check?"
"Wen Yuxi, where is Xue Zining?" Xue Jingyuan ignored Wen Yuxi's sarcasm and scanned the surroundings. He found only the assassins from Qianjin Tower lying on the ground, but no Xue Zining, nor even anyone who had been with Xue Zining.
His gaze grew colder. Xue Jingyuan looked at Wen Yuxi, his voice frigid, "Wen Yuxi, what exactly is going on?"
Wen Yuxi held his chest with one hand and pointed to the blood on his lips with the other. "Can't you see? I've been poisoned."
Xue Jingyuan frowned. "Poisoned? You?"
He would believe anyone else, but Wen Yuxi was not just anyone; he was the master of Qianjin Tower.
"Don't believe me?" Wen Yuxi spoke, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Xue Jingyuan's eyes darkened. He stepped forward and felt his pulse, only to find it unstable, clearly indicating poisoning.
"Xue Zining?" Xue Jingyuan asked.
Wen Yuxi gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Who else? I was careless."
Xue Jingyuan narrowed his eyes. "Since you are poisoned, you should return to Qianjin Tower and rest."
With that, he mounted his horse, preparing to leave.
"Where are you going?" Wen Yuxi asked.
"To catch someone," Xue Jingyuan replied, then turned and pursued the direction Xue Zining had gone.
Wen Yuxi retracted his gaze, looking at the medicine bottle in his hand. A slight smile curved his lips, and a hint of mischief flashed in his eyes. "Little wildcat, will you be able to escape Xue Jingyuan's pursuit?"
Xue Zining had walked for a long, long way. But in this endless jungle, she didn't know how far she was from Wen Yuxi. However, one belief sustained her: as long as she kept moving forward, her chances of being captured would be low.
At this moment, her chest felt incredibly heavy, heavy. She knew that by forcibly using her martial arts earlier, she had accelerated the poisoning of her body.
She probably wouldn't last much longer.
The scenery before her eyes became increasingly blurred, her footing faltering.
She tilted backward, "Feng Wu, Xue Yan, you must escape."
Her eyelids grew heavy. As she slowly closed her eyes, she seemed to see someone approaching on horseback.
She saw a pair of clear eyes, gleaming like brilliant stars.
"Who is it? Is it you?"
Xue Zining completely lost consciousness.
A young man in dark robes sat high on his horse, looking down at the girl beneath the horse's hooves, his gaze slowly tightening.
"Brother Yuan Zhao, what are you doing?" A young girl in red, her vibrant red attire accentuating her delicate beauty, rode up from a distance.
The girl in red arrived beside the young man in dark robes. Upon seeing the girl lying on the ground, she was slightly startled. "What happened to her?"
The young man in dark robes shook his head. "I don't know."
The girl in red dismounted, extended her finger, and then a trace of pleasant surprise appeared on her face. "She's still breathing. She's alive."
The young man in dark robes glanced indifferently at the girl lying on the ground and turned away. "Let's go!"
The girl in red paused and looked up, asking, "Brother Yuan Zhao, she's alive. Let's take her back!"
"Ling'er, don't bring back people who are unrelated to us," the young man in dark robes said indifferently.
"But I can't just stand by and watch someone die," Chu Ling'er shook her head. The girl was alive, and she couldn't bear to leave a living person without help.
Seeing the young man in dark robes unmoved, Chu Ling'er was about to speak when he shushed her.
The girl in red took off her cloak, covered the girl with it, wrapped her up, and placed her on the horse. She then mounted the horse herself.
Having done all this, she saw a team of people approaching in the distance.
"May I ask, young sir, have you seen a young girl pass this way?" the young man in the jade-green brocade robe asked from horseback.
Chu Ling'er trembled all over. Could the young sir be referring to the girl on her horse?
Perhaps she was the girl's family? Thinking this, she was about to speak when she was interrupted by the young man in dark robes ahead. "No," the young man in dark robes said coldly.
Chu Ling'er was stunned. Was Brother Yuan Zhao lying?
Xue Jingyuan looked at the young man in front of him, his gaze tightening. This young man seemed very defensive towards him. "This is Xue Ling Pass. General Yuan is stationed here. May I ask what your relationship is with General Yuan?"
"Grandpa Yuan is Brother Yuan Zhao's..."
"Ling'er..." The young man in dark robes coldly interrupted Chu Ling'er.
Seeing Brother Yuan Zhao's icy expression, Chu Ling'er knew she had spoken too much.
Xue Jingyuan smiled. "So you are General Yuan's grandson. My apologies, my apologies."
"Who are you?" Yuan Zhao asked coldly.
He found the person in front of him inexplicably dangerous.
Xue Jingyuan smiled. "I am Xue Yuan Wang."
Yuan Zhao's eyes turned cold. "How do I know you're telling the truth? Where is your identification?"
Xue Jingyuan was taken aback. He had left in such a hurry that he hadn't brought any proof of his identity as Xue Yuan Wang.
"General Yuan recognizes me. If you let me meet General Yuan..."
"Grandpa Yuan is not someone you can just meet if you want to, is he?" Chu Ling'er also sensed that this young man in fine clothes seemed to have ulterior motives.
"I..."
"This is Xue Ling Pass. Please leave quickly, or else..."
Yuan Zhao gave Xue Jingyuan a cold look, leaving his words unspoken.