Chapter 285: Duoduo, Let’s Go Home
The leader of the group was none other than Qi Hengqing, the Seventh Prince of Eastern Lin, who was here to marry Princess Yao.
If Nan Xun had known that she’d fallen into a wolf’s den because of Little Eight’s mistake, she would’ve tied it up and beaten it senseless. Unfortunately, she was blind and deaf at the moment and had no idea what was happening. She only felt Gong Mo Ran, who was holding her, suddenly come to a stop.
“My lord, what’s wrong? Why aren’t we leaving?” Nan Xun hooked her arms around Gong Mo Ran’s neck. As she spoke, she unconsciously leaned closer to him, making the two of them look extremely intimate.
Gong Mo Ran lowered his head slightly and kissed her cheek, murmuring by her ear, “It’s nothing. We’ll be back soon.”
Though Nan Xun couldn’t hear him, she could guess what he meant and immediately felt reassured.
Suddenly remembering something, she lightly scratched his neck with her finger and said, “My lord, that young master from earlier took me in. If not for him bringing me here, I’d probably still be tripping around in the wilderness. So should we… um, leave him a silver ingot before we go?”
Her voice, in the stillness of the night, was as melodious as a nightingale’s song. Unfortunately, the man opposite them turned extremely grim upon hearing it.
A faint smile flashed through Gong Mo Ran’s eyes. He flicked his finger, and something shot toward Qi Hengqing.
The guard beside Qi Hengqing thought it was some kind of hidden weapon and hurried to intercept it. Unexpectedly, Qi Hengqing himself was skilled in martial arts. Without waiting for the guard, he swiftly sidestepped and caught the “weapon” in his hand.
Between his fingers was a crystal-clear pearl. Under the moonlight, it shimmered with dazzling brilliance.
Holding Nan Xun, Gong Mo Ran looked at Qi Hengqing expressionlessly and said indifferently, “This is a token of thanks. Many thanks to the Seventh Prince for sheltering my beloved disciple these past few hours.”
Qi Hengqing’s gaze darkened. He casually tossed the priceless pearl to a guard and sneered. “National Preceptor, you’ve mistaken the person. There is no beloved disciple of yours here—only this prince’s newly taken concubine, Rose. If the people of Southern Yun were to learn that their lofty National Preceptor broke into a private residence at night and abducted another man’s concubine, I wonder what they would think?”
Gong Mo Ran gave him a subtle glance. “Since the Seventh Prince last departed, many things have happened in Southern Yun. Could it be that your agents at Zuiyue Pavilion failed to inform you? The matter between this seat and Duoduo is no longer a secret. The common folk already know that Duoduo once, out of mischief, served as a courtesan at Zuiyue Pavilion for a time.”
Qi Hengqing’s expression changed abruptly. This man actually knew that he was the power behind Zuiyue Pavilion!
This time, having arrived early in Southern Yun, he hadn’t yet met madam Zhang. Before leaving, he had also instructed her to only send messages by carrier pigeon if something major happened in Southern Yun. As such, he truly had no idea what had transpired here recently.
Qi Hengqing’s face grew exceedingly ugly. If what the National Preceptor said was true, and everyone knew that Gong Nineteen was Rose of Zuiyue Pavilion, then his earlier words would have been nothing short of ridiculous.
More importantly, Qi Hengqing’s eyes darkened as he unconsciously clenched his fist. Rose… had already become his woman?
So this National Preceptor was also a man indulgent in female company!
Gong Mo Ran’s thin lips lifted slightly, his gaze cold and detached. “The Seventh Prince led Eastern Lin’s bridal procession into Southern Yun’s imperial city ahead of schedule and even arranged a separate residence at the foot of the city.”
His eyes swept over the rows of guards behind Qi Hengqing, and he added leisurely, “The plainclothes guards behind the Seventh Prince are clearly well-trained personal troops.”
Qi Hengqing himself hadn’t yet reacted, but his guards were already unable to hold back. This National Preceptor of Southern Yun was openly threatening the Seventh Prince!
Qi Hengqing suddenly laughed. “National Preceptor, the more you say, the more convinced this prince becomes that tonight… you absolutely cannot be allowed to leave.”
As the final syllable fell, he shouted sharply, “Archers! Do not harm the woman in his arms—shoot his limbs!”
More than thirty archers released their arrows in unison. Each was a peerless marksman with deep inner strength. All thirty-plus arrows flew toward Gong Mo Ran’s arms and legs. Even the strongest imperial guard of Southern Yun would be unable to evade such an attack.
Everyone thought the National Preceptor’s limbs would be riddled like a beehive—but to their shock, he didn’t dodge at all.
In an instant, a powerful wave of witchcraft surged from the man’s body. An invisible barrier blocked every arrow. The long arrows, imbued with inner force capable of piercing flesh, were violently repelled.
Qi Hengqing’s expression turned grave at once. He immediately barked, “Blade guards and spear guards, attack together! Capture this demon!”
The archers withdrew as the blade and spear guards rushed in from behind.
Gong Mo Ran didn’t even blink. Still holding the woman in his arms, he continued walking forward.
His steps were steady—one after another.
None of the guards could get close. Their blades and spears couldn’t pierce that invisible wall in the slightest.
The white-robed man’s cool, detached expression stood in stark contrast to the guards’ ferocious roars as they charged and slashed.
By the time he left the residence as if strolling through an empty place, nearly a hundred elite guards hadn’t managed to harm even a single hair on his body.
Everyone stood frozen. They had never seen such an eerie ability—blades and spears unable to approach a man at all.
Eerie. Truly eerie!
Qi Hengqing watched the two figures disappear, his brows tightly knit. He said in a deep voice, “This man’s witchcraft is unfathomably strange. It seems this prince cannot move against him for now.”
“Seventh Highness, why not try to win him over?” someone suggested.
Qi Hengqing shook his head. “This kind of man is beyond my control. At present, this prince has no time to deal with the affairs of the other three nations. In the future, if I come into conflict with Southern Yun, this man must be eliminated first.”
A trusted subordinate voiced his concern. “Will he report Your Highness’s early entry into the city to Southern Yun’s old monarch?”
Qi Hengqing’s eyes shifted. “He won’t.”
Though curious about his certainty, the subordinate didn’t dare ask. Their Seventh Highness was both wise and ambitious, someone they all willingly followed unto death. If he said so, then he must have a plan.
Nan Xun had no idea that just moments ago, the man holding her had been besieged by nearly a hundred highly skilled guards. Because his steps were so steady, he hadn’t even paused once.
As he walked, it was as though he suddenly took flight. Nan Xun felt the wind howling past her ears—thrilling beyond measure.
She tightened her arms around his neck and said happily, “My lord, are you flying? You’re flying, aren’t you? You must be flying! I feel like you’re holding me as we soar through the night sky, going up and down—it’s so fun!”
Blind and deaf yet still this cheerful—Nan Xun really was something else.
Gong Mo Ran’s heart ached for his little disciple who could neither see nor hear. Eager to return home, he hadn’t expected this carefree little thing to still be smiling under such circumstances.
He truly was flying through the night sky. The white figure leaped across the densely packed rooftops of the imperial city. Apart from occasionally tapping a rooftop lightly with the tip of his foot to borrow momentum, his body was otherwise suspended in midair.
Moonlight bathed the man, cloaking his white robes in a layer of starlight. From afar, he looked like an immortal passing through the mortal world—gone in the blink of an eye.
