The Princess Cannot Escape: The Cunning Prince Is Not to Be Messed With

Chapter 280 Perception

Although Xiahou Ying was still somewhat hesitant, looking at the exit that was so close, he thought that perhaps he was just being paranoid. Yin Quan felt that Xiahou Ying was like a taut string, tightly gripping her hand, which hurt from his grip. The two of them carefully stepped onto the stone bridge.

After taking one or two steps without any unusual events, they finally relaxed and their smiles returned. Suddenly, a huge wave rose up beside them, splashing so hard that the two of them couldn't open their eyes. Xiahou Ying pulled Yin Quan into his arms, and Yin Quan felt a huge shadow looming over her. When she turned around, she saw a giant snake head flicking its tongue at her.

Yin Quan's legs went weak, and he almost fell into the pool. The giant snake opened its huge mouth, about to swallow the two of them whole, but Xiahou Ying used the soft sword at his waist to stop the snake's head.

The giant snake's impact was immense, sending the two flying. They thought they would fall into the pool, but instead, their bodies bounced back in mid-air. Xiahou Ying shouted, "Oh no! This bridge is under a spell! We can't get out!" Yin Quan touched his forehead, which was throbbing from the impact and had a fist-sized bump on it.

The bridge seemed to be surrounded by an invisible wall, trapping the two people and the snake in a confined space. Xiahou Ying was unable to move easily and could only barely defend himself. Yin Quan was sweating profusely and, disregarding everything else, released Ying'er. "Since you know there's something here, you must have a way to deal with it, right?" Ying'er looked at the thing and shook her head, then crawled behind Yin Quan. "I can't do anything. This thing looks terrifyingly big, but I think Mom will definitely have a way."

After saying that, it playfully stuck out its tongue and crawled into the ring. Yin Quan felt like crying at this moment. If she had known it was this kind of thing, she would have preferred to choose that dead end just now and dig her way out rather than be swallowed here.

"Yin Quan, this is a formation. We need to find the core of the formation to get out." Yin Quan scanned the surroundings, but apart from the transparent air, there was no core of the formation. In the blink of an eye, the sleeve on Xiahou Ying's arm had been torn off by the giant snake. Fortunately, it dodged quickly, otherwise it would have died a terrible death.

Yin Quan broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly looked around. Because the array was transparent, Yin Quan kept bumping into the transparent walls, and soon there were four or five big bumps on her head. Xiahou Ying shouted from behind, "Yin Quan, be careful!" Yin Quan was so frightened that she instinctively lay down.

The giant snake brushed past them from above. Xiahou Ying rushed over and pulled Yin Quan out from under the snake. "Are you alright?" Yin Quan wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. "I'm fine. But what is the key to the formation? I've been looking for it for ages. Let alone the key, I don't even know what this formation looks like."

"This formation is extremely rare. If I remember correctly, it should be written in the air using talismans and scents. Pay attention to where the scent is different, and mark it there. That should be enough to find the formation and locate its core." The giant snake's scales were like armor, and Xiahou Ying's soft sword was already one of the sharpest weapons in the world.

They couldn't harm it in the slightest. The giant snake seemed a little tired, stopping its attack and flicking its tongue as it stared at the two of them. Xiahou Ying whispered in Yin Quan's ear, "I'll lure it away in a bit. You go and find the formation." Yin Quan nodded slightly.

Xiahou Ying took the initiative, leaping forward to the giant snake and thrusting his sword into its eye. The snake's tail swept out, creating a strong gust of wind that nearly blew Yin Quan into the air. Taking advantage of this opening, Yin Quan crawled to the side and carefully sniffed the air. Sure enough, there were several places in the space with different smells. Yin Quan made a signal at the places with unusual odors.

Soon a strange magic circle appeared. Xiahou Ying, with Yin Quan by the waist, flew into the air, used the force to touch the giant snake, and jumped to the snake's seven-inch spot, its weak point. "Grab its scales tightly." No matter how much it shook its head and tail, it couldn't reach the two of them.

The swaying made Yin Quan feel carsick, and she almost vomited. Xiahou Ying frowned as he looked at the places Yin Quan had marked. He muttered to himself for a moment, then said excitedly.

“I know where the key to this formation is. It’s in the southwest corner. See that protruding brick over there? I’ll go move that brick. Hold on tight to the scales and don’t let go.” Yin Quan nodded reluctantly. Xiahou Ying flew down to the brick. The giant snake was clearly enraged.

Venom spurted from its fangs and shot towards Xiahou Ying. "Xiahou Ying, be careful!" Xiahou Ying moved like a dragon, dodging the venom and then reached the brick. He pressed the brick down with a crisp crack, and the air around Yin Quan distorted.

The giant snake struggled in great pain, and Yin Quan's hand slipped, causing her to fall off the snake's body. This time, she was not stopped in mid-air, but fell straight into the water.

The giant snake hissed, seemingly in great pain, and then plunged straight down onto Yin Quan. Before Yin Quan could swim away, the snake slammed down on her waist, causing her to choke on water. Suddenly, the snake on her body began to shrink.

Yin Quan kicked the giant snake hard. Suddenly, the snake opened its eyes and lunged at Yin Quan. Before Yin Quan could think, she aimed her crossbow at the snake and fired an arrow.

The arrow pierced straight into the giant snake's eyeball, and a cloud of black mist emanated from its body. Yin Quan was also entangled in that cloud of black mist. Yin Quan held her breath and tried to swim back to shore. Suddenly, Ying'er's figure appeared before her eyes, but this time Ying'er seemed different. She was wearing a black tight-fitting long dress and had a cold expression on her face.

The ring on Yin Quan's hand flickered on and off again. When the woman saw the ring on Yin Quan's hand, she became agitated, grabbed Yin Quan's hand, and threw her onto the shore.

Seeing Yin Quan thrown ashore, Xiahou Ying hugged her tightly, anxiously asking, "How are you? Are you hurt?" Yin Quan shook her head, the image of another Ying'er floating before her eyes, her voice extremely cold, "Who are you? How do you have this ring? Are you Mother?"

Why does everyone call me "Mom" when they see me? Does she look like she's overflowing with maternal love?

With Xiahou Ying in front of her, Yin Quan couldn't say anything, but gave her a look. Ying'er reluctantly went into the ring.

Xiahou Ying carried Yin Quan to the cave entrance. Their clothes were soaked through. Breathing in the long-awaited air, Yin Quan felt like thanking God.

The exit was still through the dense forest, but they didn't know where the two of them were in the forest. "Our clothes are soaked. I'll start a fire here and dry them, then we'll eat something and go find Gu Lounan and Jing Yu. You wait here for me while I go find something to eat."

Yin Quan nodded. As soon as Xiahou Ying left, Yin Quan hurriedly released both Ying'er. She originally thought that Ying'er was some wandering ghost who had accidentally drifted here, but when she saw the second Ying'er who looked exactly the same, she felt that things were definitely not that simple.

Yin Quan asked the second Ying'er, "What's your name?" The second Ying'er arrogantly raised her chin and replied, "I don't have a name. Who are you?" This was the first time Yin Quan had ever seen such a cold and aloof girl. Ying'er sized up the woman for a long time, expecting her to ask many questions in surprise. Unexpectedly, she smiled and hugged the woman.

"Your sister! You must be the sister, Mom, you didn't even name your sister." Yin Quan sighed, and the woman pushed Ying'er away with a finger, saying with a look of disgust, "Stay away from me, you brainless idiot." Yin Quan's eyes lit up when she heard these familiar words, and she jumped up excitedly.

"What did you just say? You said someone is brain-dead? How do you know what brain-dead is?" The woman was taken aback by the question. "Why did I say that? I don't know, it just came out instinctively." Yin Quan felt like she had discovered a new continent. Since coming here, she had never thought that there would be people like her. But now, these two Ying'ers gave her a bold idea: there must be someone else who had traveled through time here. It was just a mystery where that person was and why only scattered souls remained.

“Since you don’t have a name, how about I call you Leng Shuang from now on?” Leng Shuang frowned. “You still haven’t said who you are, or why you have this ring?”

"I can't take this ring off my hand now. I don't know where it came from, but I can tell you who I am. I came from the 21st century. And if I'm not mistaken, your original bodies also came from the past. But I don't know why your souls are scattered in different places. Perhaps finding your other souls will reveal your identities and the mother you speak of."

Xiahou Ying held the fruit and stood behind the tree trunk behind Yin Quan. At first, he found it strange that Yin Quan was talking to herself, but when he got closer, he found that every word she said was very strange. The more he listened, the more alarmed Xiahou Ying became. Although he did not know what she was saying, he was certain that his little woman was hiding a huge secret from him.

Xiahou Ying wanted to rush out and ask for clarification, but then he thought of Yin Quan. She must have her reasons for keeping it from him. So he tidied up the fruit, calmed himself down, and walked out from behind the tree trunk. Hearing footsteps behind him, Yin Quan hurriedly put the two of them into her ring and gave Xiahou Ying a stiff smile.

"Why are you back so soon? Did you find something to eat?" Xiahou Ying didn't press her for an answer. "There wasn't much game, but there were plenty of wild fruits. I checked and they're all non-poisonous, so you can eat them without worry." Yin Quan nodded, took a fruit from Xiahou Ying's hand, and took a bite.

As expected, the food was crisp, sweet, and juicy. After the two ate something simple, Xiahou Ying started a fire to dry the clothes. Yin Quan leaned on Xiahou Ying's shoulder as night gradually fell and the flames flickered gently. At this moment, Yin Quan felt a rare tranquility.

"Xiahou Ying, there's a question I've always wanted to ask you." He stroked her hair, his voice unusually gentle.

"explain."

"If... I mean if I weren't me, would you still love me?" It was an extremely contradictory question, and even Yin Quan herself felt she couldn't answer it, but Xiahou Ying just smiled.

"I will always love you. Even if one day you stop loving me, I will still love you. Yin Quan, I don't care who you are or what your past is like. I just want you to stay by my side."