Chapter 25: A Hero Saves the Beauty

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Chapter 25: The Hero Rescues the Beauty

The rear courtyard of Prince Fu’s residence was eerily silent.

A young man in red robes strolled leisurely through it, toying with a ball of flame as though he were wandering through an uninhabited place.

Opposite him, two guards of the prince’s residence shielded the princess consort, retreating step by step.

Though the guards of the prince’s residence were little more than nameless background figures, their strength was not to be underestimated. Anyone qualified to serve in the prince’s household was at least a postnatal martial artist—someone who had refined true qi. In some smaller towns, such a person could easily become the senior disciple of a martial arts academy.

Yet beneath the red-robed youth’s flames, the entire group could not withstand even a single exchange.

The flames seemed to be heavenly fire. The moment they touched something, it ignited; once burning, they would not be extinguished. Anyone caught by them would be consumed alive and reduced to a charred corpse.

More than a dozen capable guards had been swallowed by the flames in the blink of an eye. Only these two remained, barely holding on.

Their bodies trembled. The blades in their hands had gone limp and weak, and it was impossible to tell when their resolve would finally collapse.

The princess consort’s face had likewise gone pale. Dust covered the hem of her powder-white dress, while the pearl ornaments in her hair had fallen away at some point. A few strands of hair hung messily at her temples, lending her an unusual air of dishevelment.

She had never encountered such a situation before.

When Chen Xiao had assassinated Prince Fu, Prince Fu himself had been the primary target. As a mere woman, she had not even been worthy of his attention, much less his attack.

But now, she finally understood what despair meant.

The red-robed youth before her was an invincible demon. The dazzling flames in his hands were hellfire from the underworld, devouring every living thing in their path.

“Even if you take me hostage, you still won’t escape!”

The princess consort dug her fingers into her thigh, using the pain to force herself to remain calm.

“If you leave now, I can guarantee that no one will pursue you.”

“Escape?”

The young man seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world. He threw back his head and laughed wildly, his words filled with contempt for ordinary mortals.

“A bunch of commoners think they can make me flee?”

“I only wanted to amuse myself with you at first, but I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to turn you into the most despicable bitch alive and make you strip naked, kneel down, and lick my toes.”

“You!”

The princess consort’s face flushed crimson. She had never heard such filthy words. Aside from fury, there was also a trace of fear in her gaze—one she herself had not even noticed.

If she truly became the wretched creature he described, she would rather die.

With that thought, she silently pulled out her hairpin.

Her long black hair cascaded down like a waterfall. Combined with the resolute look in her eyes, it gave her an additional air of tragic beauty.

She had already made up her mind. If she could not hold out until the very end, she would protect her chastity with her life.

“Do not harm the princess consort!”

Ding, the household retainer who should have been resting, was like a brick in the prince’s residence—carried wherever he was needed.

At that moment, he descended from the sky and landed before the red-robed youth. The long sword in his hand shimmered coldly, making him appear like a god of war.

The red-robed youth frowned.

“You dare stand in my way?”

Ding’s imposing presence immediately sank. His voice was low and restrained, with an unmistakable hint of nervousness.

“This is the prince’s residence. Do not act recklessly.”

“Heh. If not for the princess consort, I wouldn’t have been interested in the slightest. I enjoy nothing more than watching women like this tear away their lofty masks and become even more despicable than bitches.”

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The red-robed youth gave Ding a sinister smile before suddenly shouting harshly.

“Move!”

Ding seemed terrified of him. His body jerked violently, and his feet nearly shifted aside to clear the way. Yet in the end, he still stood firmly before the young man.

“Hurry and leave. There are two other formidable experts in the prince’s residence. Even I am no match for them.”

“Since you are so useless…”

The red-robed youth sneered as the flames in his hand surged violently.

“Then die!”

Whoosh!

Accompanied by a fierce gale, the flames rode the wind like countless snarling serpents of fire, wrapping around Ding’s body and devouring him.

“You?!”

Ding’s eyes filled with disbelief, as though he could not believe the youth had actually attacked him.

But soon, a familiar sensation swept over him.

Huh?

Why did the feeling of being burned by these flames seem so familiar?

Ding suddenly remembered the day he had challenged Yu Xian. The damage inflicted by that strike—the Scarlet Flame Divine Palm—had remained unforgettable to this day.

Fortunately, that lesson had prompted him to secretly seek out skilled craftsmen and spend a fortune having a fireproof, heat-insulating inner armor made for himself.

He had originally intended it to protect him from Yu Xian. He had never expected it to save his life now.

Ding let out a pained howl and rolled across the ground. True qi poured continuously from within him, shielding his vital points.

At last, he rolled into a pond and fell into the water. Hissing steam rose from the surface, and Ding fell completely silent.

“There is no time to waste. Beauty, I will let you experience true pleasure.”

The red-robed youth advanced relentlessly. The two guards of the prince’s residence, who had gathered their courage and rushed forward, were brushed aside like a pair of flies.

“What smells so fragrant? Is it your body, beauty?”

The young man wore a lustful expression. Then his face suddenly changed. He actually abandoned the princess consort, who was within arm’s reach, and retreated several steps.

He flipped his hand and produced a blue talisman, slapping it against his body.

A blue radiance spread around him. A breeze suddenly stirred, and with a light tap of his foot, he soared into the air like a great bird, effortlessly clearing several yards and streaking away beyond the walls of the prince’s residence.

The entire sequence of movements was practiced and swift, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

The princess consort, who had already resigned herself to despair, felt the tension drain from her body when the young man suddenly fled. Her head began to swim, and nausea churned in her chest.

Then her legs gave way. She was about to collapse when a pair of large hands caught her around the waist.

“My lady, are you all right?”

The princess consort raised her eyes and saw a handsome face smiling gently at her. An overwhelming sense of security suddenly rose within her heart.

“Retainer Yu?”

“It is I.”

Yu Xian held the soft, fragrant princess consort in his arms, seemingly able to feel the delicate, flawless skin beneath her clothing. He then produced a small black pill and brought it to her lips.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. I drove the criminal back with poisonous fumes just now, and I fear I implicated you in the process. This is an antidote. Please take it first.”

The princess consort instinctively opened her mouth. Perhaps because of the poison, she inadvertently took two of Yu Xian’s fingers into her mouth as well.

Her face instantly reddened. She hurriedly pulled her head back, yet found herself unable to say anything reproachful.

Yu Xian, meanwhile, keenly felt a tender, slippery tongue brush across his fingers, and his heart gave a sudden flutter.

“Ahem. After taking the antidote, my lady must avoid spicy food and contact with cold water for the next three days. Rest for a few more days, and the poison should be mostly expelled. If you still feel unwell, you can ask Physician Huang to examine you.”

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Yu Xian reluctantly released the princess consort.

The other guards of the prince’s residence had already arrived. If someone saw them and word reached Prince Fu, causing him to bear a grudge, would that not be terribly unfair?

Although Yu Xian was fond of women, he possessed very firm principles. When it came to married women, he still treated them with respect.

Of course, if Prince Fu happened to die one day and Yu Xian helped care for his widow and orphan, that would be an entirely different matter. After all, seeing how hard Prince Fu worked every day handling affairs of state—and considering that his health was already poor—he hardly seemed destined for a long life.

At the sound of the guards’ commotion, the princess consort suddenly came to her senses. Like a startled rabbit, she sprang out of Yu Xian’s arms.

She brushed the disordered strands from her forehead behind her ear and bowed slightly to him.

“If Retainer Yu had not arrived in time today, I do not know what humiliation I might have suffered. I will never forget this life-saving kindness.”

Originally, the princess consort’s favorable impression of Yu Xian had begun with his appearance alone. But after this heroic rescue, the more she looked at him, the more familiar and approachable he seemed.

Then she remembered their ambiguous exchange just now, as well as what she had learned from Yulan about Yu Xian’s particular talents. She could not help envying him in that regard, especially when combined with the prince’s neglect of her…

The princess consort hurriedly shook her head, casting those chaotic thoughts from her mind.

Yu Xian waved dismissively.

“I draw my salary from the prince, so I must shoulder his troubles. In any case, I am a retainer of the prince’s residence. Protecting the princess consort is only what I ought to do.”

“The prince is still waiting for you. He will surely be delighted to know that you have escaped danger.”

With that, Yu Xian turned to pursue the assassin.

Seeing him about to leave, the princess consort hurriedly called out, “Retainer Yu, where are you going?”

“I am going to pursue the assassin’s trail. That man is exceptionally powerful. If he disappears into the shadows, no one in the prince’s residence will be able to rest easy from now on.”

Yu Xian wore the loyal and righteous expression of a man acting for the sake of the prince’s household.

In reality…

Damn it. That brat has been poisoned by me, and his cultivation is inferior to mine. He just went through a fierce battle, so he must have expended a considerable amount of spiritual power.

Most importantly, this is a perfectly legitimate operation to stop a criminal. He looks like he has some wealth, so it is only right that I rid the people of such a menace.

Taking all that into account, this brat is mine. Even Jesus himself could not save him.

If Yu Xian had said such things before, the princess consort would never have believed him. His conduct in the past had hardly resembled that of a man devoted to his duties.

But now, her emotions were in turmoil. Seeing Yu Xian risk himself in pursuit of the assassin, she was deeply moved, and a thought arose in her mind:

Was he risking himself for her?

“Retainer Yu, be careful in all things. If you fail to catch him, neither the prince nor I will blame you.”

Her voice was gentle, like a wife admonishing her husband before a long journey.

But all Yu Xian left her was a solitary, resolute back.

With spirit stones within reach, he had no interest in flirting with a woman he could see but not touch. He could still distinguish what mattered most.

A short while later, the maidservants and guards who had arrived escorted the princess consort to meet the prince, leaving behind only a scene of utter devastation.

Beside the pond, one mud-covered hand emerged from the water, followed by another. The two hands struggled to pull their owner ashore. A completely blackened figure finally dragged himself up.

Ding rolled over where he lay. Every inch of his body burned with searing pain, and he forced out a weak cry.

“Hey… is there no one who’s going to help me?”

End of Chapter