Your Majesty, We’re Counting on You to Ruin the Country! 47

Chapter 47: The Jade Pendant

The desert night was often accompanied by a biting cold wind, as if it wanted to pierce the bones. Under the inky night sky, the torches were blown about, dancing.

“General!”

The commotion outside the tent made several adjutants grab their weapons and stand on full alert, surrounding Yu Qianshou, just waiting for Wen Ning’an’s order to capture the assassin.

Wen Ning’an waved his hand, signaling for the others to be calm. More important than capturing the assassin was Qin Zhaohuang’s safety.

“Feihuan, bring a horse.”

Ren Feihuan frowned and patted the back of one of the horses, making it go towards Yu Qianshou.

Fengzhou City was actually very vast, no smaller than the capital, and the military camp was also a complex network. The Left Army had several locations, and the garrison, the Li family’s army, and the imperial army also occupied several places. Therefore, Yu Qianshou had to ride for a while to leave Fengzhou and had no choice but to take Qin Zhaohuang with him on the horse to save his own life. Wen Ning’an naturally also mounted his Wuying and chased after them. The two horses galloped away, and the Left Army, at Wen Ning’an’s signal, stayed in place, not acting rashly.

Feng Qi stood motionless, watching Wen Ning’an’s back gradually disappear in the wind.

Fu Che, standing at the side, said hurriedly, “Your Majesty, shall I prepare a horse?”

“No need.”

“Ah?” Fu Che thought he had misheard.

Feng Qi’s hands clenched slightly into fists, suppressing his turbulent emotions, and said in a hoarse voice, “I trust Yixin, and I respect his decision.”

Outside the city, Yu Qianshou finally reined in his horse, stopped, and said in a voice as flat as stone, “The jade pendant.”

Wen Ning’an threw the jade pendant beside him. It fell to the sand with a “thud,” kicking up a small cloud of dust.

Yu Qianshou was smart enough not to go and pick it up himself. Instead, he put away the dagger in his hand, placed one hand on the horse’s body and the other on the back of Qin Zhaohuang’s neck. “Pick it up.”

Qin Zhaohuang, his lips pursed and his expression a little aggrieved, was forced to squat down by the grip on the back of his neck.

“…Huh?” A moment later, he heard Qin Zhaohuang exclaim, “The jade pendant is gone!”

Yu Qianshou frowned and looked down. Sure enough, besides a patch of golden yellow, the sand was empty.

It was not uncommon for small objects to be suddenly covered by the blowing yellow sand on the sand dunes, so Yu Qianshou was not flustered. “Look again.”

Qin Zhaohuang had no choice but to continue to feel around on the sand with both hands. He pushed away a layer of sand and found a black mass. Looking closely, it seemed to have dense fur.

Before he could see clearly what it was, the next moment the black mass pounced at his face.

“Be careful!”

Qin Zhaohuang only felt a flash before his eyes and a warmth all over his body, as if he had been hugged and pushed away.

Wen Ning’an’s heart also went cold when he saw the desert tarantula. But seeing Yu Qianshou immediately lean over and protect Qin Zhaohuang, using his own weight to press him to the sand and dodge the tarantula’s attack, although he was surprised, he was also relieved.

And just as the spider was about to land on Yu Qianshou’s arm, a thick snake suddenly slid out from his sleeve and wrapped around his arm to protect him. The spider fell onto the snake’s body with a “thud,” and a short while later, the venomous snake turned purple and stiff, dead.

The dried snake corpse and the spider fell to the ground together. Qin Zhaohuang took the opportunity, while Yu Qianshou was still reacting, to push him away, break free from his embrace, and run for his life towards Wen Ning’an.

Yu Qianshou’s gaze turned cold. Before he could chase after him, a sky full of hidden weapons flew at him. He had no choice but to turn and swing his knife to defend against the darts and arrowheads thrown by Wen Ning’an.

Seeing that Qin Zhaohuang had safely returned to his side, Wen Ning’an immediately raised his hand and gave a secret signal. With his gesture, a dozen or so men in black appeared from behind the surrounding sand dunes—the shadows of the Left Army!

“Li Mo, take him!”

Seeing that the situation was not in his favor, Yu Qianshou immediately mounted his horse and fled, with the shadows in hot pursuit.

Wen Ning’an thought for a moment. If these shadows couldn’t catch up, then it wouldn’t change anything if he went after them. So he didn’t join the chase, but just carefully checked Qin Zhaohuang to see if he was injured.

Wen Ning’an looked him up and down and, seeing no serious injuries, scolded him, “Why were you alone in the tent in the middle of the night? It’s very dangerous.”

Qin Zhaohuang said, “It wasn’t on purpose, but I couldn’t control myself… Yu Qianshou used his flute to lure me over. By the time I regained my senses, the knife was already at my neck.”

Wen Ning’an frowned. “He used his flute to bewitch you?”

“Yes.”

This flute can also manipulate people’s minds, bewitching their senses… Wen Ning’an shook his head. It seemed he had to be even more on guard.

“Master.” The shadow who had stayed behind to protect Wen Ning’an and Qin Zhaohuang handed a piece of white jade to Wen Ning’an. “Found it.”

Wen Ning’an took it and found that the jade was already broken. However, what surprised him was that there seemed to be a layer of light green inside the jade. The white jade must have just been an outer layer covering the green jade. If the jade hadn’t broken, it would have been hard to notice.

Wen Ning’an used his inner energy to peel off the white jade, and a piece of Hotan green jade carved with peonies and flying birds appeared before his eyes. The carving was exquisite, and it glowed with a faint green light under the moonlight, showing that the quality of the jade was also excellent. And in the center of this piece of jade was a large, dragon-and-phoenix-dancing character…

“Huang?”

Qin Zhaohuang thought Wen Ning’an was calling him and came over. But after seeing the jade pendant in Wen Ning’an’s hand, his face suddenly turned pale.

Seeing Qin Zhaohuang’s blank face, as if he had suffered a great blow, Wen Ning’an couldn’t help but ask with concern, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s him, it’s him…”

Qin Zhaohuang’s eyes were slightly red.

“Chen Shu…”

In the border city of Youzhou, unlike the desolate yellow sand of Fengzhou, the base camp of the Left Army and the border garrison, it was more prosperous, located on the border between the desert and the green forest. The land was fertile, and the resources were inexhaustible, so the people were wealthy, not to mention the King of Youzhou.

The King of Youzhou’s residence was magnificent and imposing. At this moment, Yu Qianshou was kneeling in a corner of the residence’s courtyard, with Yu Qianzu standing over him, looking down at him coldly. “You failed.”

The courtyard was filled with bushes and greenery, and the figures of the two were hidden by a towering tree, so they did not attract attention.

Yu Qianshou covered the still-bleeding wound on his arm and said nothing. Even a physician was helpless against his and Yu Qianzu’s constitution. He could only circulate his energy to heal himself.

Seeing Yu Qianshou’s wretched state, Yu Qianzu shook his head in disdain. “The master’s task for you was to poison, but your mind was full of a mere jade pendant. Your short-sightedness led to failure. If I hadn’t brought people to support you, you would have already been captured by the Left Army and become a prisoner. What use are you?”

Yu Qianshou said, “Master always taught us to hide our past. If the secret of the jade pendant is discovered by others, my identity will be exposed.”

Yu Qianzu sneered. “What Master taught was to abandon the past. Since that jade pendant is the past, why do you keep it on you and cause trouble? Could it be that you still have lingering feelings? Your past makes you weak, and a weakness is enough to take our lives. You must understand this.”

“No need to trouble yourself. I will live until before you die. Since I have failed, you can complete it for me. Since you can open a hole in Bai Daneng, you can just use the same trick on Wen Ning’an, Yu Qianzu.” Yu Qianshou snorted coldly and left, covering his wound.

Yu Qianzu’s eyes turned sinister. “You just wait. I am different from you. If I make a move, I will not fail.”

When Wen Ning’an returned to his tent, he saw Feng Qi sitting on the edge of the bed, casually flipping through a book. The book was a collection of poems, which Feng Qi detested the most. He probably wasn’t reading it seriously, just holding it and waiting for someone.

“You’re back.” Feng Qi smiled and came before Wen Ning’an to help him take off his coat.

Wen Ning’an said, “Zhaohuang is fine, but the assassin escaped. The shadows are chasing him.”

Feng Qi nodded slightly, his hands not stopping.

Wen Ning’an continued to tell Feng Qi about the jade pendant.

“That’s about it. After Zhaohuang came back, he’s been acting strange, his eyes completely unable to leave that jade pendant. After he calms down tomorrow, I’ll go and ask him.”

“Mmm, maybe Yu Qianshou is some old acquaintance of Zhaohuang’s.” Feng Qi frowned. If he’s an old acquaintance, why would he join the Poison Sect and become the King of Youzhou’s lackey?

Wen Ning’an looked at Feng Qi’s contemplative face and couldn’t help but say, “You didn’t chase after me.”

Feng Qi was stunned, then smiled. “I believe Yixin can handle this matter well. I won’t interfere. You are the commander of the Left Army, my most valiant general, and also the God of War of Bei Miao.”

Feng Qi took the outer robe he had removed and turned to hang it up, but his waist was suddenly wrapped around.

Wen Ning’an hugged Feng Qi from behind, his head resting on his solid back, his whole body as if pressed against him.

Wen Ning’an didn’t speak, and neither did Feng Qi. The surroundings were quiet.

“Yixin…” After an unknown amount of time, Feng Qi finally found his voice. He felt a warmth in his heart and said with a trembling voice, “You’re finally willing to be with me again…”

Wen Ning’an smiled. “We were never really separated.”

Never.

Feng Qi paused, then also smiled. “Yes.”

From childhood to adulthood, from an unfavored prince to a powerful crown prince, to the emperor who holds Bei Miao in his hands.

Feng Qi’s eyes were bloodshot. He turned and held Wen Ning’an tightly in his arms, his lips brushing against his forehead, between his eyebrows, the tip of his nose, and finally, his lips. Wen Ning’an opened his mouth slightly in response, and Feng Qi’s tongue immediately slipped in, passionately caressing, teasing, and dancing, as if writing the most affectionate and eternal love poem.

Wen Ning’an tilted his head back, enduring Feng Qi’s fierce and domineering plunder. An ambiguous silver thread escaped from the corner of his mouth, and the tip of his nose was filled with the strong scent of dragon’s saliva incense on Feng Qi. He felt as if Feng Qi wanted to embed him into his bones, to merge him into his blood.

The night was deep, and the moonlight shone through the window and cracks of the tent, sprinkling on the two people embracing and kissing, gentle and long-lasting.