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

Chapter 40 Is it an illusion?

The image of the young waiter, so earnest and earnest, with his enthusiastic eyes, came to mind.

Judging from the current situation, this shop is indeed a shady establishment, just as she suspected. But when she witnessed him taking lives as easily as cutting grass, without any emotion, and even taking it for granted, she felt a sense of unease.

"He's just a child. You won't even spare a child?"

Biting her lip, Yin Quan finally spoke after hesitating for a long time.

"If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they'll grow back in the spring breeze." Xiahou Ying spoke calmly, his words carrying a subtle, almost imperceptible, chill. Like falling snowflakes, they landed by the ear, chilling to the bone in an instant, then vanished just as quickly.

As Wei Jun and Pang Ban dragged the corpses past her, Yin Quan saw that both of them had their eyes open, filled with confusion, bewilderment, and fear, as if they didn't know when, who, or how their lives were taken until they had passed away.

There wasn't even a trace of blood on the uneven stone floor; it was so clean it looked like nothing had ever happened.

"You can leave now..." After Wei Jun and Pang Ban left, Xiahou Ying stood there, not even looking at her, and spoke indifferently.

Staring motionlessly at that tall figure, Yin Quan moved her lips slightly.

Although she felt some resistance to Xiahou Ying's actions, she abhorred the methods of the two shady innkeepers even more. Before today, those two must have already murdered many people using this method.

If we're talking about innocence, those who were killed without cause are far more innocent; those two, at most, deserved to die.

"Can I... stay?" After a brief silence, she finally spoke, looking at him with a questioning gaze.

Xiahou Ying frowned slightly; he neither agreed nor objected.

He didn't actually want her to see him taking lives; he'd much rather she stayed quietly in the palace and berate him for his fastidiousness and coldness.

He was somewhat surprised when she barged in, surprised by her boldness and fearlessness.

She was terrified before checking in, even suggesting sleeping outdoors rather than staying here. But when she heard the commotion on his side, she rushed in without hesitation. I really don't know where her initial fear came from.

Yin Quan is someone who can never be understood using common sense.

Seeing Xiahou Ying sitting on the dilapidated and rotten jujube wood couch, Yin Quan pursed her lips, carefully closed the door behind her, but did not take another step inside. Instead, she moved a stool and sat down at the doorway.

"Come here." Xiahou Ying frowned and glanced at her, suddenly feeling a little helpless.

Upon hearing the sound, Yin Quan's heart trembled slightly. She slowly shuffled toward him, but stopped when she reached the carved pillar.

"Xiahou Ying, those two bastards actually deserved to die, please don't be angry, okay?" she asked tentatively, glancing at him furtively.

"I'm not angry." A soft touch suddenly appeared in his clear voice, carrying a barely perceptible sense of helplessness and gentleness, like snow melting in the warm spring sun, shimmering with a faint glow.

Huh...

Noticing that his tone was slightly different from usual, Yin Quan blinked, her bright black eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

Was she hallucinating because it was so late at night and she was so tired...?

Why does Xiahou Ying seem different from before at this moment...?

Or was he possessed by a vengeful spirit that wanders here and cannot become a Buddha?

The more Yin Quan thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

She herself died a mysterious and tragic death, and her soul lingered, which is why she traveled through countless years to this unfortunate time and space, entered this unfortunate body, and then, even more unfortunately, met Xiahou Ying, a germaphobe, aloof, and expressionless man, thus beginning a legendary journey full of melodrama and chaos.

Seeing her strange, fluctuating expression, Xiahou Ying frowned. Her softening feelings were quickly dispelled by her bizarre and unpredictable demeanor.

As his emotions gradually calmed down, he pursed his thin lips and shifted his gaze away from her.

Perhaps, now is not the time...

Nothing happened that night. When Yin Quan woke up, her face was pressed against Xiahou Ying's thigh.

Startled, she tried to get up, but found that her neck was too painful to move.

Damn, she has a stiff neck!

She cursed inwardly as tears streamed down her face.

Why did it have to be this time of year... And when exactly did she manage to get on his good side?!

Could it be that she sleepwalks when she's asleep?! And is she incredibly powerful enough to ignore all of Xiahou Ying's abilities?!

It seems unlikely.

Should we get up now?

What if she really did occupy his lap unconsciously? Would he slap her to death when she wakes up?!

"woke up?"

Just as he was hesitating whether to continue pretending to be asleep or sneak away while Xiahou Ying was still asleep, a clear, cold voice, like a spring, suddenly came from above.

"I didn't mean to!" Yin Quan roared, sitting up abruptly with her neck still crooked.

Xiahou Ying frowned and coughed lightly. Though the sound was soft, it was like a boulder hitting the sea, creating a thousand white waves.

Did she mishear?

Yin Quan was shocked and for a moment forgot that she had a stiff neck. She turned to look at him, but the sharp pain in her neck made her wince.

Seeing this, Xiahou Ying pursed his lips and suddenly reached out to cup her thin cheeks.

Startled by the faint warmth of his palm, before Yin Quan could react to what was happening, she heard two "crack" sounds, and her neck was instantly turned upright by him.

Staring straight up into his deep, dark eyes, she wanted to thank him, but the touch and warmth of his palm made her speechless, and she could only stiffly move her lips.

Looking down at those rosy lips, as if covered with dewdrops, Xiahou Ying felt a jolt of electricity run through his heart. He frowned and suddenly pressed his lips down.

Suddenly, before he could even touch those delicate lips, a soft "crack" was heard, and then the jujube wood bed beneath them suddenly sank downwards. With a series of "bangs," the entire bed instantly turned into splinters of wood.

Fortunately, Xiahou Ying reacted quickly and rushed out before the bed completely collapsed, taking Yin Quan with him to avoid the sudden and devastating collapse.

"Master!" Hearing the commotion, Wei Jun and Pang Ban burst through the door, but upon seeing the two people inside, they silently and discreetly withdrew.

They saw nothing...

Why would the master take the initiative to hug Miss Yin...?

Last night, after dealing with the bodies of the two men, Wei Jun and Pang Ban dug up no fewer than ten more corpses from under the stables in the backyard.

Some have already turned into bones, while others haven't even begun to rot.

"Besides the body, have you found anything else?" Xiahou Ying asked Wei Jun expressionlessly, glancing casually at the filthy corpse covered in mud.

"Reporting to Master, I found a book in the ruins of your room." With that, Wei Jun handed over the old, yellowed book with both hands.

"I didn't find anything by looking at the contents, but I had a feeling that the book was hidden in some secret, so I kept it."

“Because the book was found in the crack in the wall behind the wooden couch, I have searched all twenty-three couches in this inn, including the rooms of the innkeeper and the waiter, but found nothing.” Pang Ban continued, speaking in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Ying opened the book that Wei Jun had handed him. The cover was a light ochre color, and the words written on it were illegible. The four corners were also curled and tattered, as if it had been soaked in water, and it did not look like something of any value.

Perhaps this book doesn't belong to the innkeeper...

As he pondered, Xiahou Ying opened the book and realized that it was probably a travelogue or something similar.

It contains numerous descriptions of mountains and rivers, and in some places, it is even illustrated with pictures, making it look similar to books like "The Records of Mountains and Rivers" collected in the Prince's Palace, which is perfectly appropriate.

Seeing the tattered book in his hand, Yin Quan came closer.

Scanning the characters that were barely legible, she frowned, raised her gaze to Xiahou Ying, only to find him focused.

She pursed her lips, and suddenly remembered his thin lips that had suddenly lowered this morning. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and her gaze involuntarily drifted toward those thin, red lips.

Although she and he had had intimate physical contact before, it had all been accidental. He had never been so proactive as he was this morning, so much so that she didn't have time to react and was even a little stunned.

Suddenly, at that moment, Xiahou Ying moved her finger and turned another page. After seeing the picture inside, she couldn't help but frown slightly.

"Xiahou Ying, what's written in here?" Yin Quan asked, looking up at him.

"It's probably a travelogue like a landscape chronicle, but it's a bit too detailed..." As he spoke, Xiahou Ying suddenly turned to Wei Jun as if he had just remembered something and said, "Bring me the map."

Upon hearing this, Wei Jun immediately took out a deerskin map from his pocket and followed his master toward the inn's lobby.

He first spread the deerskin map out on the wooden table. Then, Xiahou Ying tore off a page from the book and began to compare it with the map with a focused and deep expression. After a short while, he suddenly stopped, a shadow falling over his smooth outline, and his brows furrowed.

"Tian Tong Pass and Yu Xia Pass..." After a long silence, he finally whispered something, raised his gaze from the map, looked at the tattered book in his hand, then at the deerskin map, and suddenly pursed his lips and said in a deep voice, "Wei Jun, burn this place down."

Sitting in the slightly bumpy carriage, looking out the window, Yin Quan squinted her eyes, then lowered the curtain and turned to look at Xiahou Ying.

He was carefully examining the tattered book, and the wrinkles between his brows seemed to have deepened rather than diminished.

Could that inn be the place Lu Xun mentioned?

Those two people didn't know martial arts; the book was probably hidden there by someone.

Whether that person was one of the dozens of corpses or is still hiding somewhere, it has become irrelevant.

Although the book is very old, it is still well preserved. Since it was hidden here, it means that it was done intentionally. The contents of the book are still valuable to the person who kept it and to anyone who needs to read it.

Thinking this, Xiahou Ying closed the old book, his mind calming down a little.

Combining the information provided by Lu Xun with the recent Mongol army's advance, it's clear that there must be a traitor in Xiliang, and that traitor must be from Zhaoyang... perhaps even a high-ranking official in the court who can exert a huge influence from top to bottom.