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

Chapter 281 Mysterious Leader

Having learned their lesson from falling into the trap, Xiahou Ying and Yin Quan broke off a branch from the roadside and held it in their hands when they set off again. They would use the branch to probe areas with thick layers of dead leaves. Fortunately, they did not encounter any ferocious beasts along the way. Yin Quan looked at the sun gradually setting and rubbed his aching back.

"This damned forest is like a maze. When will we be able to get out?" Xiahou Ying shook his head. "I'm afraid it won't be that easy. The cardinal directions here seem to be different from those outside. I can't tell them apart either. The fireworks we used for communication signals have been soaked in water and are no longer usable."

Yin Quan rubbed her stomach, which made a rumbling sound. She pouted and looked at Xiahou Ying awkwardly. "I really want to eat meat." Xiahou Ying offered her his arm. "We have this right now. Why don't you try it?" Just as Yin Quan was about to take a bite, more than ten people rushed out and surrounded the two of them.

These dozen or so people were all naked except for a piece of animal skin around their waists. Their faces were painted with camouflage so that their features could not be seen. They all held long spears in their hands. When they saw the two, they roared and surrounded them. If Xiahou Ying had not been by his side at this moment, Yin Quan would have thought that he had traveled to ancient times.

"What's going on?" Xiahou Ying's eyes sharpened. "Don't worry, I'm here." The people were speaking in a language the two couldn't understand. The encirclement gradually tightened. Xiahou Ying drew his soft sword from his waist, twirled it, and thrust it at the two people in front of him.

Xiahou Ying's figure was as fast as lightning, and the hem of her dress was like a white lotus blooming on the grass. Yin Quan was watching intently from behind when a thin little boy suddenly appeared behind her. He tackled Yin Quan to the ground, lifted her up by the waist, and Xiahou Ying hurriedly pulled away. However, she did not know the origin of these people and did not want to harm them, so she was temporarily restrained.

Yin Quan desperately pounded on the man's back, "You barbarian, put me down! Are you going to carry me back to the cave? Help! Xiahou Ying, help!" A red shadow flashed in front of her, and Yin Quan's world turned upside down. The next second, a pair of narrow peach blossom eyes were glaring at her.

"Next time Xiao Quan Quan is in danger, don't call for Xiahou Ying, just call for me." Gu Lou Nan pinched Yin Quan's cheek, saying with infinite satisfaction, "As expected, Xiao Quan Quan's skin is the best." Behind Gu Lou Nan, Jing Yu said unhappily, "You rogue, let go of our princess! Or I'll fight you!"

Yin Quan hurriedly jumped out of Gu Lounan's arms, "Hey, we two are innocent, stop spreading rumors." The appearance of Gu Lounan and Jing Yu immediately turned the situation around. Gu Lounan tightly gripped the neck of the person who had just grabbed Yin Quan, his voice soft but the murderous intent in his words was chilling.

"How dare you take advantage of our little Quan Quan! Today I'll show you how foolish you've been." His fingers slowly closed. Suddenly, a pair of soft little hands grasped Gu Lou Nan's wrist. "Don't kill him. He was only acting in self-defense."

The little boy stared wide-eyed in terror at Gu Lounan's hands, his body trembling uncontrollably. Gu Lounan smiled, his murderous intent vanishing instantly. He released his grip, wiped his hands on Jing Yu's clothes, and wore a look of disgust. "Since Xiao Quan Quan has said so, I'll spare his life."

Yin Quan rolled her eyes at him and said to the little boy, "Go away, don't follow us anymore. We mean no harm, we just want to find the Ancient Spirit Pearl to save our lives." The little boy gestured and said something incoherently, then hurriedly ran away until he was at a safe distance before turning back to give Yin Quan a grateful look.

Yin Quan smiled with her eyes narrowed, her smile blending with the sunset behind her. Gu Lounan had seen many beautiful women in his life, and many of them even wanted to get into his bed. But he always felt that women were just decorations for men, and a man's status determined the quality of the women who got into his bed.

But when he met Yin Quan, this perception began to subtly change. His original intentions seemed to change with every smile and frown of this woman.

He shouldn't have wavered, but seeing the man standing next to her, he was driven mad with jealousy. If that day ever came, how he wished he could give up everything he had just to get her to love him.

Jing Yu patted Gu Lounan on the shoulder. "What are you daydreaming about? Stop dreaming. A princess will always be a princess, and she might even become the empress in the future." After saying that, Jing Yu walked towards Xiahou Ying. Gu Lounan's expression remained unchanged. The future empress? That depends on who the future emperor is, doesn't it?

Xiahou Ying said with a hint of reproach, "Didn't I tell you to stay close to me? If Gu Lounan and the others hadn't arrived just now, the consequences would have been unimaginable!" Yin Quan stuck out her tongue, "But nothing happened. Besides, even if they hadn't come, with our prince's skills, he would never have let anything happen to me, right?"

Fortunately, Yin Quan always knew how to flatter Xiahou Ying appropriately, and Xiahou Ying's expression softened. He turned to Jing Yu and asked, "Where have you two been these past two days? Did you encounter any problems?"

“I was so worried about you after you fell into that trap. I wanted to jump down with you, but the Imperial Advisor said it would be better for us to come up and meet you. After guarding the area for two days, we decided to check if there were any other exits. That’s when we heard some strange noises. We were about to see what was going on when we saw you being attacked.”

"Mainly because I heard Xiao Quan Quan calling to me, haha." Gu Lounan winked at Yin Quan, who hid behind Xiahou Ying, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

Xiahou Ying snorted coldly, "The Imperial Advisor certainly has a lot to worry about." Gu Lounan remained silent. Although the group had already fled, the group dared not be careless. As it was getting late, they had no choice but to rest on the spot. Taking turns on duty, Yin Quan nestled in Xiahou Ying's arms and found a comfortable spot to fall asleep.

In the darkness, no one noticed that the ring on Yin Quan's finger flickered twice. Inside the ring, Ying'er and Leng Shuang opened their eyes and looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock. "Did you feel it? This aura is so powerful." Ying'er nodded. "This aura is dangerous yet familiar. Should we warn Mom to be careful?"

Leng Shuang nodded, "She's sleeping so soundly that we probably can't wake her up. Let's wait and see how things go."

Yin Quan was exhausted these past few days and finally got a good night's sleep. "Yin Quan... Yin Quan?" Yin Quan vaguely saw a beautiful woman, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make out the woman's face.

"Who are you?" The woman was tall and slender, with long hair that reached past her knees cascading down her back. She was dressed in a gauze-like garment, making her look otherworldly. Her voice was soft, like a hypnotic spell, making it impossible for anyone to be on guard.

"You don't need to know who I am. You just need to know that you are about to encounter a big problem. If you want to get the Ancient Spirit Pearl, you must find a way to defeat that person. He is the embodiment of evil. You must trust each other and remember that person's weakness is on his forehead."

Yin Quan scratched her head as she listened to her inexplicable words. "What do you mean? What big trouble? What incarnation of evil thoughts? Can you speak more clearly?" Before she could ask clearly, the beautiful woman in front of her began to gradually become transparent, and her voice became intermittent.

"Remember my words, her weakness is in her forehead, you need to use your eyes..."

"Yin Quan? Wake up!" Yin Quan sat up with a start, only to see Xiahou Ying shaking her shoulders anxiously. He touched Yin Quan's forehead. "Did you just have a nightmare?" Yin Quan was a little dazed; the woman's words were still echoing in her mind. "Xiahou Ying said someone said we're in big trouble..."

The three of them gathered around Yin Quan. After a night of shift work, all three had bloodshot eyes, clearly indicating that they hadn't slept well all night.

"What important matter are you talking about?" Yin Quan tried hard to recall the woman's words, but the words she had just heard were so vague that she couldn't remember them clearly.

"It's nothing, it was probably just a dream," Jing Yu scoffed at Yin Quan's words. "It was just a nightmare, don't take it seriously."

Gu Lounan and Xiahou Ying dared not be careless. After eating some fruit, they continued towards the direction of the Ancient Spirit Pearl and finally made it out of the dense forest and to the top of the mountain.

"That butterfly woman said we should be close once we cross this mountain. The closer we get to the guardian artifact, the more careful we need to be." Xiahou Ying and Gu Lounan stood in front of and behind Yin Quan and Jing Yu, protecting them in the middle.

The hill wasn't high, and the road was quite gentle, so climbing it wasn't strenuous. However, the higher you went, the taller the vegetation became, which was practically unscientific. Even Xiahou Ying and Gu Lounan noticed something was wrong. When they reached the halfway point, the leaves of the trees were as big as Yin Quan's face.

She broke off a piece of the sun to shield herself from the sun, which was particularly scorching today, leaving her covered in sticky sweat. The others had also finished drinking their water bags, and everyone's lips were starting to turn pale.

"Xiahou Ying, there must be some kind of mountain spring water on this mountain, right? If this continues, are we going to die of thirst?" Xiahou Ying looked around, lay down on the ground and listened carefully, then pointed ahead.

"There should be a water source not far ahead." Jing Yu wiped away the sweat that was dripping down his face and said anxiously, "Then let's hurry over there, or we'll really die of thirst here." The group quickened their pace and arrived at the place Xiahou Ying had mentioned. Sure enough, a winding stream was flowing gently along the cracks in the rocks in the mountains.

Jing Yu excitedly jumped over, scooped up the water and drank it in big gulps. Yin Quan couldn't help but drink it in big gulps as well. The cold spring water made her feel much cooler. Yin Quan comfortably wiped her face and filled her water bag. Although Xiahou Ying and Gu Lounan were also extremely thirsty, they still elegantly filled their water bags before drinking.

Yin Quan shook the water bag, and just as she was about to get up, a wave of dizziness washed over her. She stumbled and fell, looking at the split figures in front of her. She shook her head and saw Xiahou Ying and Gu Lounan staggering towards her, but after only a few steps, they stopped, clutching their foreheads. "Xiahou Ying..."