Chapter 272: A Farce?

Glug, glug.

"Cough, cough!" Forcing out the lake water that had poured into her lungs, Shi Xiaoxiao struggled to lift her head.

The current situation was critical.

Because of the agitated horses, the carriage had overturned into the lake, and a massive amount of lake water had rushed in.

And what was worse was... Shi Xiaoxiao could not swim.

A sheltered young lady who had grown up in Wentian City, let alone swimming, she had barely even played by the water a few times.

Suffocation.

The intense sensation of suffocation made her feel incomparable terror.

Sinking.

No matter how she struggled, her body, having become heavy, continued to sink rapidly...

"Cough!"

Am I going to die?

No, no, no!

Now was not the time to feel fear.

Shi Xiaoxiao did not intend to sit and wait for death; at the moment her consciousness was about to fade, she suddenly opened her eyes.

"I... cannot die yet!"

Cannot die here.

I cannot die in a place like this!!!

Bursting with her own inner potential at this life-or-death moment, Shi Xiaoxiao acted on instinct, forcefully kicking with the legs she had previously been flailing randomly.

In the chaotic situation, she did not even know what she had kicked, but she successfully leveraged the force to rush out of the sinking carriage.

Good!

After getting out of the carriage, Shi Xiaoxiao saw the sunlight coming from the water surface above.

But although she had successfully swum out of the carriage, she had not yet escaped danger; beneath the water surface, it was not as calm as it appeared.

This lake water was not actually stagnant; it was connected to an underground river below, with undercurrents surging, making it extremely treacherous.

"Wait! Where is Sister Luo?"

Shi Xiaoxiao endured the discomfort and looked left and right, but she did not see the figure of Luo Yaning anywhere, and she did not know if she had sunk into the water or already floated up.

Although she was worried about Luo Yaning's safety, as Shi Xiaoxiao worried about others, the oxygen in her lungs had long since been exhausted by her intense struggling.

If she did not take a breath soon, she would truly perish!

Just as she was about to swim toward the surface, Shi Xiaoxiao suddenly felt a powerful, icy current come from behind, sweeping her away directly!

"Mmph! Mmph-mmph!"

Watching the water surface get further and further away, Shi Xiaoxiao widened her eyes and waved her limbs forcefully.

But just as she was about to break free from the impact of the current...

Thud.

Accompanied by a sharp pain in the back of her head, having hit something unknown, Shi Xiaoxiao painfully exhaled the last breath of air in her lungs.

Then, water poured into her throat.

"Cough..."

"This time, am I really going to die?"

Her body continued to sink, the temperature within her body faded rapidly, and despair enveloped Shi Xiaoxiao's heart.

She could no longer feel pain; she only wanted to close her eyes now and have a good sleep.

However, before her consciousness completely vanished, she seemed to see a huge shadow flash across the water surface.

Ignoring her position, it fled toward another direction...

"!!!"

The rapidly running Li Yiyi suddenly felt a shock in his heart; intense unease threw him into a panic, and he quickly stopped his footsteps.

"I..." He looked down at his palms, which had begun to tremble for no reason, not understanding why he had suddenly been startled.

"What happened?"

"Could it be that something happened to someone!!?"

Although he felt ashamed, Li Yiyi's first reaction was not to think of his childhood sweetheart.

He first thought of his mother who had been cast into the Cold Palace, but he quickly realized he was overthinking it; who would dare to lay a hand on his mother?

After that, he thought of his sister who never let him rest easy.

But he quickly shook his head and abandoned this worry as well.

Although Li Lingling was arrogant and domineering with him, she acted like an honest lady in front of others and would not easily cause trouble.

Besides, she was going to Wentian on this trip; who would dare to make a move against a Princess in Wentian? The guards were not to be trifled with!

Moreover, although Li Yiyi was unwilling to admit it in his heart, he still had quite a bit of confidence in Ren Yidao.

It was a kind of blind confidence; as long as that man was there, his sister would not have any problems.

Only then did Li Yiyi think of the lover he was about to see.

"Could it be that something happened to Xiaoxiao?"

The more he thought this way, the more panicked he became.

"Didn't they swear that everything was going smoothly!?"

At the thought that Shi Xiaoxiao might be in trouble, Li Yiyi could not wait even a second, rushing toward the location provided by the other party at a speed faster than before.

"Xiao Xiao, please don't let anything happen to you!"

However, because he was worried about accidents, although Li Yiyi was faster, he was much more cautious than before, and his momentum was much smaller.

Moreover, he also took the life-saving item bestowed by his master into his hand, ready to call for help at any moment if he discovered the situation was wrong.

……

When Li Yiyi arrived at the location provided by that person, his brows furrowed tightly.

"This is..."

He did not see Shi Xiaoxiao.

Strictly speaking, at the agreed-upon spot, he saw nothing at all.

There was no one there.

Never mind a person, he didn't even see a dog!

The hesitation lasted only for an instant; Li Yiyi suddenly realized the truth and stepped back quickly.

Not good, it's a trap!!?

"Your Highness, are you just leaving like this?"

As Li Yiyi prepared to flee, he heard a hoarse sneer.

"Are you not worried at all about that young lady's life or death?"

"Haha! Truly a heartless person!"

It was harsh and hoarse, grating and uncomfortable just to hear.

Yet, Li Yiyi's retreating footsteps stopped abruptly.

Right...

There is still Xiao Xiao!

Where is Xiao Xiao?

"……"

When the other party contacted him, they had handed over Shi Xiaoxiao's personal belonging as a Token; otherwise, he would not have been so naive as to believe them.

The other party was either from the Shi Family, or truly, as they claimed, subordinates sent by the Second Prince to assist Xiao Xiao in escaping from Wentian.

But now...

After a few moments of silence, Li Yiyi narrowed his eyes, then opened them wide, lifted his legs, and walked out from the woods where he had been hiding.

"What is the meaning of this?" He walked onto the clearing in the woods without any defenses, his face devoid of fear, and looked coldly at the woods on the other side.

"You cowards hiding your heads and showing your tails, get out here!"

It seemed that in Li Yiyi's eyes, the other party was not an enemy worth guarding against, but a group of low-life, sinister villains who required no precaution at all.

He stood there grandly and proudly, facing those cold, piercing gazes hidden in the darkness.

Clap, clap, clap.

After a moment of silence, applause came from the shadows, accompanied by an ambiguous sigh, and a figure walked out from within.

"Your Highness's reaction truly makes this lowly one look at you with new eyes..."

"I thought you would keep hiding and not come out, or go straight to your sect to call for help."

A black mask covered half of her face; Luo Yaning's cold, icy gaze focused on Li Yiyi's eyes, and one could not tell what emotions were hidden within her black pupils.

"Hmph!" Li Yiyi snorted coldly, brandishing the treasure he held tightly in his right hand, and spoke in a deep voice, "Who do you think I am? I am a scion of the Li Family; how could I fear a rat like you?"

By Li Lingling's side, he was an honest child, but in the eyes of others, he had never been someone to be trifled with.

Li Yiyi was no nobody; he was a prince, a scion of the Li Family with ambitions for the imperial throne!

"Where is she? What have you done to her?"

Luo Yaning furrowed her brows and shook her head, saying, "... Instead of worrying about her safety, Your Highness, why don't you worry about your own situation?"

Following Luo Yaning's wave, a dozen black-clad figures wearing masks emerged from the woods.

These people still bore wounds, and each was shrouded in chilling Evil Qi. Dozens of eyes stared fixedly at Li Yiyi's vital points.

With a single command, this underage prince would be reduced to a puddle of meat under a flurry of blades.

But even at this moment, Li Yiyi did not retreat; instead, he took a step forward.

"What do you want to do? You want to kill me?" With a cold sneer on his face, Li Yiyi scanned the circle arrogantly and snorted, "I am standing right here; do you dare to strike at me?"

"I will ask one more time, where is Shi Xiaoxiao? What have you done to her!?"

Luo Yaning still did not answer, only slowly waving her raised hand downward.

"Is it Second Brother who wants to kill me?"

Luo Yaning's expression changed, and the arm she used to issue the order stiffened in mid-air.

"You..."

Seeing her reaction, Li Yiyi felt a sense of relief in his heart, but on the surface, he maintained that arrogant expression and snorted heavily:

"Hmph! So it really was him who wanted to move against me!"

But soon, Li Yiyi furrowed his brows again and shook his head:

"No, that's not right! Li Fengyao cannot be this unwise; he knows that once he moves against his brother, the Emperor will never choose him."

Moving against him at this moment would bring a hundred harms and no benefits; it would not gain Li Fengyao anything, but would instead completely cut off his current accumulation of power.

Li Fengyao could not possibly have issued such a stupid order.

Then, who could it be?

Watching the panicked appearance of Luo Yaning and the others, Li Yiyi suddenly thought of a possibility that was very ridiculous, but also very likely to be the truth.

"... Are you acting on your own initiative? Wanting to get rid of me for his sake?" His eyes widened, revealing his true emotions for the first time.

Hearing these words, the expressions of the people opposite changed, and they couldn't help but look at Luo Yaning.

"Leader? Could what he said be true!?"

"Isn't this the Second Prince's order?"

Yet, in response to these urgent questions, Luo Yaning remained silent and offered no explanation.

She simply took a token from her bosom, silencing everyone.

"Shut up."

Luo Yaning used the token representing the Second Prince's status to suppress the unease of her subordinates, while Li Yiyi on the other side could still not hold back his laughter:

"No way? Are you all really... Pfft! Hahaha!"

Watching the panicked way the people opposite looked at Luo Yaning, Li Yiyi felt it was ridiculous.

Yes, simply ridiculous.

This farce!

Thinking of how the Second Prince's face, which smiled all day long, might become twisted after learning the news, Li Yiyi wanted to laugh out loud.

"Li Fengyao, oh Li Fengyao, you calculated your whole life, did you calculate this step of your own subordinates?"

It was too laughable.

Did that brother of his, known for never making a miscalculation, calculate this step?

Will your entire plan show a flaw because of a minor character's loyalty to you and their unauthorized actions?

After laughing for a while, Li Yiyi reined in his emotions and narrowed his eyes, staring at Luo Yaning.

He knew that the source of everything was this woman.

"I will ask you one last time, where is Shi Xiaoxiao?"

"You dare not kill me, and you cannot kill me... You can still turn back now; as long as you hand her over, everything can be treated as if it never happened, and I, Li Yiyi, can swear not to pursue any of you."

Thump!

Taking a forceful step forward, Li Yiyi stared fixedly at Luo Yaning and said word by word:

"Otherwise! Not one of you will escape! Not just you, but your relatives, your clans—not one of you will escape!"

He raised the treasure he had never let go of in his hand, and with a forceful squeeze of his five fingers, he crushed it.

As long as it was crushed, his master would know and would rush over at the fastest speed.

Yes.

This was a farce; Luo Yaning had no possibility of success at all.

Even without mentioning Li Yiyi's status as a prince, just by his current status as a personal disciple of Lijin Peak, it was impossible for him to meet with misfortune on the territory of the Divine Path Sect.

But even though she had been pushed to a dead end, Luo Yaning did not retreat, still silently staring at Li Yiyi.

Only, in her eyes, besides coldness, there seemed to be other emotions.

"I'll count to three, hand over Shi Xiaoxiao!"

"Three! Two!"

Just as Li Yiyi was about to deliver the ultimatum, ripples suddenly appeared on the surface of the lake nearby, and a large amount of bubbles emerged.

Gurgle, gurgle.

!!!

"What!?"

"What is in the water!?"

The anomaly of the lake water attracted everyone's attention, and they looked over with different expressions.

In Li Yiyi's view, this was likely another trick of the opponent, and he could not let his guard down.

And Luo Yaning and her group were even more nervous than Li Yiyi, because they knew very well that this was not their arrangement.

What happened?

The lake water did not make them wait too long, and soon the truth was revealed.

After a burst of dazzling light, a head slowly rose from the lake water.

"What kind of ghost thing is this!!?"

"Ah?"

What emerged from the lake water was not some expert, but a white fox sitting with its eyes closed on a lotus flower.

Luo Yaning:???

Li Yiyi:!!?

Compared to the bewildered Luo Yaning, Li Yiyi, in addition to his shock, had a strange feeling in his heart.

"This fox, I seem to have seen it somewhere? Where was it... Wait! Could it be?"

Not giving him time to think, the solemn-looking white fox suddenly opened its eyes, a strong fluctuation rippled out, and a solemn voice echoed in everyone's hearts.

It said:

【You foolish mortals, did you drop something into the lake water?】

【This is a very Merit-less behavior!】

【However, considering this is your first offense, I shall spare you for now...】

Sweeping its gaze around, the white fox nodded slowly, and two humanoid objects, one gold and one silver, floated up beside it.

The white fox in the lake had a serious expression, looking completely like it was not joking, and asked in a deep voice:

【What you dropped...】

【Is it this golden girl? Or this silver girl?】

Very bad, very uncomfortable... No missed updates, this is already my limit for today.