Chapter 52: Another Trouble, Golden Cicada Sloughing!

Gazing at Yun Wan who had already walked out of the tavern, Fang Xu felt somewhat hesitant.

Although this woman was very pleasing to the eye, he did not want to have too much contact with her.

First, she is a member of the Yun Family; her main purpose in coming to Maple Forest Town is for the Divine Extension Canon. Second, Fang Xu discovered that this woman is very intelligent, with keen intuition.

Don't be fooled by the gentle wind and fine rain that make her seem mild toward me; once she learns that I possess the Divine Extension Canon and that my second uncle's corpse was burned by me, I feel I will surely die at her sword.

But now I cannot refuse either, otherwise it would only make her more suspicious.

After some thought in his heart, Fang Xu still followed her.

The moonlight was like water, cool breezes came in gusts; the two walked one after the other along the streets of Maple Forest Town, and in the distance that thousand-year-old ancient maple swayed its newly sprouted tender leaves in the breeze.

"Li Xun wants to marry me; help me think of a way to refuse him." Yun Wan suddenly spoke.

Fang Xu, who had been lowering his head thinking about things, was almost choked by her question; he looked somewhat astonished at her handsome face before him, gave a bitter smile and clasped his hands: "Miss Yun, don't make things difficult for this junior."

These two people—one is the heir of the imperial dynasty, the other is the princess of Yellow Prefecture; I'm already walking on thin ice, how dare I meddle in this?

"Think about it; I believe you can come up with a solution." Yun Wan said in a tone that left no room for doubt.

She was very clear that if Li Xingchao went to ask her father about this, for the sake of the family's future, her father had a ninety percent chance of sacrificing his own happiness and agreeing to this.

Fang Xu felt helpless, only able to wryly say: "Marriage is supposed to be mutual consent; if Miss Yun is unwilling, she can simply refuse."

Yun Wan shook her head: "The present emperor is in seclusion; Li Xun's father, Li Xingchao, is one of the actual power holders of the current dynasty."

"Li Xingchao is ambitious; in order to contend for power with the eldest prince, these years he has continuously courted the major clans of the Seven Provinces, suppressing dissent."

"A direct refusal would be a slap to his face; our Yun Family has already been somewhat declining these years, and now that my second uncle died unexpectedly, I don't know how many families are eyeing the Yun Family."

Has the Yun Family weakened?

Fang Xu slightly furrowed his brows and said: "That is to say, we must not offend him?"

Yun Wan nodded: "We absolutely must not offend him; Li Xingchao is someone who repays grudges, and if we offend him, the Yun Family will surely face even greater hardship ahead."

"Then just agree." Fang Xu said: "As you said, that Seventh Prince is capable; in the future there is still hope of attaining the Yu Emperor's throne, at which point Heir Li Xun would become Crown Prince, Miss Yun you would become Crown Princess, and the future emperor..."

"Enough!" Yun Wan glared at him fiercely, sighed: "I would rather die than marry Li Xun."

"Then go die." Fang Xu suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, Yun Wan's beautiful eyes suddenly widened, her lovely face filled with astonishment, then a chill flashed in her gaze as she said: "Are you playing with me?!"

Feeling the oppressive pressure of the Martial Master Ninth Level, Fang Xu hastily said: "Miss Yun, don't get angry first, hear me out."

Yun Wan suppressed her inner anger and coldly said: "Speak!"

Fang Xu hurriedly continued: "My meaning is to let Miss Yun perform a Golden Cicada Sloughing, feign death to escape."

Feign death?

The fierce aura on Yun Wan's body gradually dissipated, turning instead to curiosity as she asked: "How to do it?"

Fang Xu thought and said: "Miss Yun, consider this: if you were to die unexpectedly... I mean, if the Seventh Prince received news of your death, would he make things difficult for the Yun Family?"

Yun Wan pondered for a moment and said: "That naturally would not."

"Although the Yun Family is somewhat declining, after all it is still the lord of Yellow Prefecture; Li Xingchao would not go too far either."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xu immediately laughed: "Then it's settled."

"Miss Yun only needs to think of a way to make her death seem reasonable and natural, and this matter will be settled."

"But this matter is still somewhat difficult to handle..."

"If Miss Yun suddenly dies at this critical juncture, the Seventh Prince will surely find it suspicious; upon inspection, if it turns out you deceived him, the entire Yun Family would likely suffer."

In this wondrous world, even the Golden Scale Guard under Li Xun can easily tell that Wang Erhu's grave was freshly dug not long after his death; Fang Xu also doesn't know whether some powerful martial artists possess the ability to sever life and death.

"This is easy!" Yun Wan's eyes suddenly lit up: "I've thought of a good place!"

Fang Xu curious: "Where?"

Yun Wan looked up at Ti Lan Mountain outside Maple Forest Town, which lay like a dormant giant dragon, and said: "There."

Fang Xu turned his body to look toward the distant Ti Lan Mountain.

"In Ti Lan Mountain has appeared an ancient ruin; inside the ruin is extremely dangerous, even martial artists of the Martial Sovereign Realm dare not venture deep; my second uncle went to explore the ruin, was pursued and killed, and died in Gourd Valley."

"In his letter he once said, that ruin seems to form a world of its own, able to completely shield the diviners' deductions."

"If I go to that ruin and die inside it, Li Xingchao would certainly not risk sending people in to verify."

Fang Xu stared at her in astonishment and said: "Miss Yun, my meaning is to let you feign death, not to let you really die."

"Even martial artists of the Martial Sovereign Realm entering it are extremely dangerous, you..."

"No need to say more, I've made up my mind!" Yun Wan interrupted Fang Xu's words, turned her head to look at him and said: "But this matter still requires your help."

"Tomorrow early... right now, you go to the prefecture office to inform on me, tell Li Xun that I have already entered the Ti Lan Mountain ruin."

"This..." Fang Xu felt somewhat embarrassed.

Seeing Fang Xu hesitate, Yun Wan suddenly drew her sidearm and placed it at his neck, saying: "If you don't help me, I will kill you right now."

Fang Xu gave a bitter smile; he could sense that although Yun Wan said she wanted to kill him, her body held not a trace of killing intent.

"Miss Yun, won't you reconsider?"

Yun Wan shook her head, with a resolute expression she said: "Fang Xu, if I enter the ruin and by luck survive, I will surely repay your kindness today when I come out."

"If I die inside the ruin, that too can be considered a release."

Having said that, she untied the money pouch at her waist, then took out a fine piece of green jade from the interlayer of her belt and handed it to Fang Xu, saying: "The money pouch contains a deposit note for one hundred taels of gold; I'll give it to you as a token of thanks."

"This jade tablet is my token; if you ever run into trouble, you can take it to the Yun Family to seek help."

After stuffing the items into Fang Xu's hands, Yun Wan leapt onto the nearby eaves, and after a few more bounds vanished into the night sky.

"Miss Yun!"

Fang Xu shouted once; seeing Yun Wan already gone, he could only helplessly look at the things in his hand.

"What a hassle..."

"How should I tell Li Xun about this?"

After pondering for a long time, Fang Xu picked up a stone from the roadside, gritted his teeth, and struck his own head with it!

The strike made his eyes flash with gold stars, and he nearly passed out.

Clutching his head, Fang Xu muttered, "This should be enough, right?"

Enduring the pain, he stumbled to the gate of the government office and pounded on the door.

Inside, the Goldscale Guard opened the door, saw the injured Fang Xu, frowned, and led him inside.

"Where is the Young Master? Go tell the Young Master—I have an important matter to report," he said.

Inside the room, Li Xun had just been awakened by a nightmare when he heard Fang Xu's wailing; somewhat irritated, he came to the courtyard, saw Fang Xu's face covered in blood and his unsteady stance, and asked, "What happened?"

Fang Xu quickly replied, "Young Master, after you left, Miss Yun suddenly said she wanted to go to some relic. I tried to persuade her, but she had made up her mind and knocked me out directly."

"When I woke up, I found she was already gone."

What!?

Li Xun heard this and was slightly startled—Yun Wan had gone to the Tilan Mountain Relic!?

That relic had long been secretly investigated by the imperial family; even Martial Venerable experts who enter have only a one-in-ten chance of survival, and once they go deep, death is certain!

Yun Wan is only a Martial Master Ninth Level—going in isn't that just courting death?

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(End of chapter)