After her mind was read, the spoiled brat became the darling of the whole group.

Xie Xing was about to spit out the food in his mouth.

But then the masked man's previously cheerful voice turned cold: "Spit it out, and I'll kill you."

Xie Xing...

With tears welling up in her eyes, Xie Xing swallowed the mouthful of food in her mouth with humiliation.

You won't know until you try it... and once you do... this dish is actually quite delicious.

Xie Xing chewed quickly, feeling humiliated.

After swallowing the first bite, the masked man offered the next one.

Xie Xing could only eat everything the masked man fed her while shedding tears.

After being locked up for a day, Xie Xing was indeed hungry. Even though he knew the food was poisoned, he couldn't help but feel satisfied as he ate it.

By the time Jun Lanjin realized the sense of satisfaction in his heart, the bowl of rice in his hand was already empty.

And it was spotless.

"..."

Xie Xing's whole demeanor darkened, and tears streamed down her face.

Waaaaah, I was really hungry! Even a bowl of rice laced with poison tasted delicious.

I now have two kinds of poison in my stomach. When the poison takes effect, whose poison will be responsible?

The young girl was extremely conflicted.

Better to die.

Seeing her aggrieved look, Jun Lanjin smiled.

Of course, there was no poison in his rice bowl; he just wanted to scare her on a whim, but he didn't expect her to actually believe it.

"Lord!"

At this moment, the black-clad guard outside rushed in. He clasped his hands together and respectfully said to Jun Lanjin, "They've arrived!"

they?

Xie Xing, who was standing to the side, suddenly looked up, her eyes sparkling as she looked towards the door.

Did anyone come to rescue her?

Jun Lanjin casually tossed the bowl in his hand aside and said in a calm voice, "Leave none alive."

"Yes!"

The man in black vanished from his spot with a swift movement of his light footwork.

Jun Lanjin clapped his hands, glanced down at Xie Xing who was tied to the ground, and said, "I will come to find you on the fifteenth of next month."

After saying that, he walked out and closed the door behind him.

As soon as the others left, Xie Xing immediately struggled against the rope binding his wrists.

However, the rope was tied too tightly, and Xie Xingru couldn't break free no matter how hard she tried.

Her hands and feet were tied, and she couldn't even get up.

Xie Xing was disheartened and could only hope that the people outside would find her as soon as possible.

The night was deep, and the full moon hung high in the sky.

Outside the simple thatched hut was a small grove of trees.

When Luo Hanfeng arrived with his men, he realized something was wrong as soon as he stepped into the grove.

The surrounding environment seemed to have changed. A deep blue moon hung high in the sky. Luo Hanfeng and his men walked for a long time but could not get out of the seemingly small grove.

"It's a formation!" his subordinate exclaimed in surprise.

"Shhhhhh!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than countless arrows suddenly appeared from the woods and hurtled through the air.

Luo Hanfeng lightly touched the ground with his toes and easily dodged.

He stood on the treetop, looking down at the trees below.

If he doesn't realize now that this is a formation specifically designed to target him, then he's a fool.

Upon learning of Xie Xing's kidnapping, Luo Hanfeng immediately led his men to find him.

She had left someone with Xie Xing, so she was able to find him faster than the Xie family.

No matter what, Xie Xing's usefulness hasn't completely disappeared, and Luo Hanfeng won't let her fall into someone else's hands.

But this formation was clearly prepared in advance, specifically waiting for him to come!

At this moment, Luo Hanfeng seemed to have discovered something, and his gaze suddenly turned to the left.

A tall, slender figure stood atop the layers of treetops.

The man wore a mask, held a longbow in his hand, raised his hand, and pointed an arrow directly at him.

Under the moonlight, a faint blue light shimmered on the cold arrowhead.

With a long, slender, fair hand, he drew the arrow string, aimed at Luo Hanfeng, and then released it.

With a whooshing sound, the arrow arrived in front of Luo Hanfeng in the blink of an eye.

Luo Hanfeng dodged the arrow.

However, arrows came one after another, leaving no way to avoid them.

Luo Hanfeng drew his sword, the sharp tip flashing with a cold light, and cleaved all the arrows in two.

These arrows all contained some internal force, and coupled with the archer's superb skill, they were very difficult to dodge.

In the darkness, several men in black emerged from the woods and began fighting with Luo Hanfeng's men.

A fierce battle erupted in the dark forest, and the stench of blood gradually spread through the woods.

the other side.

Xie Yuhe and his Jade Guards also found Xie Xing's hiding place.

Upon seeing the dilapidated thatched hut, Song Qingyang immediately jumped off his horse and ran towards it.

Xie Yuhe glanced around warily and instructed the people around him, "Go and see if there are any suspicious people."

"Yes."

The Jade Guards began searching the surrounding area.

Xie Yuhe frowned; he felt that something was amiss.

They had thought that even if they found Xie Xing, there would be a fierce battle, but there wasn't even a guard here.

Who did it?

Xie Yuhe temporarily suppressed his vigilance, jumped off his horse, and ran towards the hut.

inside the house.

Xie Xing still didn't give up and tried every possible way to break free of the ropes binding him. Just then, the door was suddenly kicked open.

Xie Xing was startled and looked outside.

Outside the door was Song Qingyang, panting heavily from running.

When Song Qingyang saw Xie Xing, whose hands and feet were bound and whose eyes were bloodshot, his pupils suddenly contracted. He immediately ran towards Xie Xing, calling out, "Xing'er!"

He ran up to Xie Xing and went around behind him to untie him.

The rope was tied in a knot that was impossible to untie, and Song Qingyang tried several times but could not manage it.

Xie Xing was finally freed only after Xie Yuhe came over and cut the rope with a dagger.

The rope was untied, revealing several obvious red marks on Xie Xing's fair wrists. Some of them were even chafed raw from her struggles, with a few drops of blood clotted on them.

"Big brother?" Xie Xing tilted his head, looking at Song Qingyang with a puzzled expression.

Xie Yuhe thought the "elder brother" was addressed to him, and looked at Xie Xing with concern: "Xing'er, are you alright?"

Song Qingyang looked at Xie Yuhe with displeasure and said coldly, "Does Xing'er look like she's alright?"

"If I had known that I would suffer like this when I returned to your Xie family, I would have preferred to let Xing'er stay in my Song family."

After a pause, Song Qingyang emphasized, "Also, Xing'er was calling me 'big brother' just now."

Xie Yuhe: "..."

A vein throbbed on his forehead.

However, considering that Song Qingyang is indeed very talented, Xie Yuhe had investigated him before he came. Song Qingyang came to the capital after passing the imperial examination twice and is also a student of Danyang Academy, highly regarded by the current Grand Tutor.

He was considered a promising candidate for the top score in the college entrance examination.

Xie Yuhe could only skip over Song Qingyang and look at Xie Xing: "Xing'er, do you know who tied you up?"

Before Xie Xing could speak, Song Qingyang had already stepped in front of him.

He looked up and met Xie Yuhe's calm gaze: "Young Master Xie, the most important thing right now is to take Xing'er back to see a doctor. We can ask about the rest later."

"Now is not the time to talk about these things."

Song Qingyang, Xie Xing's older brother, valued Xie Xing even more than Xie Yuhe, Xie Xing's biological brother.

Xie Yuhe paused for a moment. He was naturally worried about Xie Xing as well, but not as worried about Xie Xing as Song Qingyang.

Although she is my younger sister, there is still a certain degree of closeness between us.

Xie Yuhe said, "I was too anxious. Xing'er was frightened. Let's go back to the manor first."

Song Qingyang said coldly, "I see that the people of your Xie family are not in a hurry for Xing'er. Let Xing'er come back with me."