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

Chapter 65 Danger in the Water

Startled, Yin Quan instinctively shrank back, but could only lean against the cold wooden gunwale, her body fixed in Xiahou Ying's long, cold black eyes, unable to move.

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we should arrive in Qiucheng in two days." As if completely oblivious to the fleeting look of surprise and stiffness on Yin Quan's face, Xiahou Ying spoke in a deep voice, accompanied by the rustling sound of flowing water, which sounded quite leisurely.

"No surprises? You mean, we might still be ambushed?" Raising an eyebrow, Yin Quan's previously flustered emotions instantly returned to calm. She looked up at those long, narrow black eyes that seemed to shimmer with moonlight, and leaned forward slightly.

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Ying did not respond immediately, but instead lowered his gaze and carefully examined her.

They've already noticed some clues... It seems they're moving faster than he expected...

Gu Lounan must have realized this, which is why he kept pestering her.

As Xiahou Ying pondered this, an unprecedented impulse suddenly arose in his heart. He raised his hand and stroked her brow, his eyes shining brightly, like the light of tomorrow.

Upon seeing this scene from inside the cabin, Lord Ruan immediately spat out all the tea he had just put in his mouth, spraying it directly onto the face of the attendant opposite him.

That's indecent and immoral!

He originally thought that Prince Duan was truly a lonely star, having killed seven wives in succession. Now he realized that this man was not a lonely star at all, but simply had unusual fetishes!

This is utterly detrimental to the prestige of the Western Liang Kingdom!

I can't look at it... I really can't look at it...

Staring blankly at those long, narrow, dark eyes that shimmered with light, Yin Quan swallowed hard.

She thinks she just heard something...

That sounds like water spraying?

Is it an illusion?

She moved her lips slightly and spoke softly, "Xiahou Ying, have you heard any strange noises?"

Intentionally ignoring her attempt to change the subject, Xiahou Ying's slender, jade-like fingertips slid down from her eyebrows and traced her smooth cheeks.

He knew perfectly well where the voice came from and who it came from, but at this moment, none of that mattered. What mattered was the person in front of him.

The drifting clouds obscured the stars and the moon, dimming Yin Quan's features, but her bright, shining eyes were still clearly visible.

Suddenly, at that moment, Xiahou Ying stretched out his long arm, grabbed Yin Quan's slender waist, and quickly retreated from the side of the ship. At the same time, he swung his left arm forward, and several white ribbons immediately radiated outward in a spider web pattern. Several muffled thuds mixed with the sound of falling into the water were heard. Yin Quan's scalp tightened, and he immediately understood that this was another assassination attempt!

Were those people caught up in the forest earlier, and then chased after them to the river?

Just as he was pondering this, the clanging of cold weapons clashing suddenly came from behind him. At the same time, Xiahou Ying's cold command fell from above: "Wei Jun, protect Lord Ruan!"

The floating clouds did not disperse, but the sound of sharp blades cutting through clothes and flesh rose and fell, becoming increasingly jarring. Lying on Xiahou Ying's chest, Yin Quan frowned, cold sweat slowly trickling down her forehead.

Is it the Crown Prince?!

Or...Gu Lounan?!

Just how many people were sent?!

Judging from that voice, it seems they are determined to kill Xiahou Ying...

With her mind racing, Yin Quan bit her lip and, in a moment of desperation, looked up. Under the dark night sky, she saw a pair of narrow, black eyes, as cold and clear as the moonlight, gleaming with a sharp, cold light, like knives and swords, invincible.

Clutching his shirt, she took a deep breath, her mind as firm as iron.

As the dark clouds dispersed and the stars and moon appeared, a dark shadow suddenly shot out of the water with a bang, rushing towards Xiahou Ying from behind at an extremely tricky angle. At the same time, another thin, jet-black blade silently emerged from the deck.

Grabbing Yin Quan, Xiahou Ying suddenly turned around and used a white silk ribbon as a weapon, swinging and pulling it to engage in a stalemate with the person attacking him.

Held protectively in his arms, Yin Quan broke out in a cold sweat.

The man seemed to have no interest in Xiahou Ying, but all his moves were aimed at her. His actions were excessively deliberate, making her inexplicably uneasy.

It seemed that these people simply wanted to use her to restrain Xiahou Ying...

As soon as she thought of it, the jet-black, sharp blades behind the two men shot towards her back like lightning, their momentum fierce, like bloodthirsty beasts, breaking free of their shackles and chains in an instant.

"Master, be careful!" Someone shouted, accompanied by a strange laugh. A whooshing sound rang in her ears, and when Yin Quan came to her senses, a blade about an inch long suddenly emerged from Xiahou Ying's right chest. The blade was pitch black, and the cold-blooded pupils of a wild beast stared at her intently, as if it wanted to devour her, along with the shocking dark rose that was spreading outwards from his chest, and devour her as well.

Before she could even be shocked, the masked man who had been locked in a stalemate with Xiahou Ying suddenly snarled and charged forward like a venomous snake. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Yin Quan grabbed the lean waist in her arms, exposing her back completely to the assassin. Then, she leaned over and fell into the water with Xiahou Ying.

The assassin missed his target, but felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a thin, jet-black blade embedded deep inside his body.

How did she know?!

His eyes widened in astonishment as he turned his gaze toward the direction where the two had just fallen. Then he collapsed to the ground and breathed his last.

Yin Quan, who had fallen into the river, struggled to hold onto Xiahou Ying, bobbing on the surface of the water. However, the swift current swept her into a side channel. Seeing that they were about to crash into sharp boulders, she gritted her teeth, grabbed Xiahou Ying, and twisted her body violently. With a muffled thud, she felt a metallic taste in her throat and almost fainted. But she refused to let go, afraid that if she lost her focus even for a moment, she would lose him in the current.

"Xiahou Ying! Xiahou Ying, wake up!" Yin Quan shouted at the top of her lungs, but she didn't dare to shake him, for fear that it would worsen his wound.

She held him tightly, looking around in the moonlight, but could see nothing but endless darkness.

Her heart pounded harder and harder. She wiped the water off her face, glanced at the increasingly pale face in her arms, and bit her lip.

He can't stay in the water like this anymore!

Gritting her teeth, she took a deep breath and carefully observed her surroundings again. Finally, she discovered a strangely shaped piece of driftwood.

Carrying the unconscious Xiahou Ying, Yin Quan swam with all her might to get him aboard, while she herself remained submerged in the water.

Just as she began to worry about his injuries, a clear and cold voice suddenly drifted into her ear, like a fine, cold breeze brushing past her ear, sounding unlike that of a living person.

"Travel eastward."

Startled by these words, Yin Quan's eyes welled up with tears, but a sharp pain shot through her chest and back at the same time.

Her brow furrowed, and she winced in pain, but she didn't utter a sound. She simply did as she was told, until her hands and feet were so cold they were almost numb, and her whole body felt as if it were being scraped by a thousand or ten thousand knives. Only then did she finally see the dark, gray riverbank.

After desperately dragging Xiahou Ying ashore, Yin Quan finally collapsed from exhaustion.

Suddenly opening her eyes, Yin Quan, who was lying face down, tried to speak, but felt as if her chest had been trampled by a horse's hoof, with excruciating pain and a feeling of tightness.

A sudden heat rose in her throat, and she spat out a mouthful of blood. She then began to cough violently until she expelled a dark reddish-black blood clot before stopping.

Panting heavily, Yin Quan lay on the damp, cold, and hard riverbank, desperately propping himself up with his elbows and looking around.

The sky was overcast, with mist and clouds obstructing her vision. Combined with her prolonged immersion in cold water, she felt dizzy, her ears rang, and her body felt as if filled with molten lead. Even breathing felt like being cut by knives, requiring immense courage with each breath.

"Xia...Hou...Ying..." With great effort, Yin Quan managed to move her already frozen lips. She endured the excruciating pain and propped herself up. The pearly white breath she exhaled completely obscured her pale, bloodless face, blending into the thick morning mist that filled the air.

“Xiahou… Ying…” Her lips trembled, and Yin Quan frowned as she propped herself up higher, which caused her to cough again.

Her hands groped on the sharp, cold, and slippery stones. She was numb with cold, and her delicate palms were scratched by the sharp edges of the stones. But she had only one thought in her mind: to find Xiahou Ying and make sure he was alright!

She wants to see him!

Now, immediately, immediately!

She clearly dragged him ashore! Why can't we find that piece of driftwood now?!

She...she had already dragged him ashore...

"Xiahou Ying!" Yin Quan roared hoarsely, his voice tinged with fear as he finally lost patience.

"Quiet, do you want to attract the wolves?"

Suddenly, a clear, frost-like voice slowly flowed into Yin Quan's ears. Yin Quan was startled and turned to look behind her. She saw a figure as white as snow, like a banished immortal walking on water through heavy mist. So holy, so high above, as always, as majestic as a mountain, as beautiful and elegant as a jade sculpture.

"Xiahou Ying..." she murmured, ignoring his warnings, Yin Quan crawled toward him as if possessed. All the pain and cold vanished in an instant. She scrambled and rolled to his side, threw herself on him, and burst into tears.

"You bastard! Bastard! Why didn't you answer just now! You jerk! You pervert! You germaphobe! You show-off! Would it kill me to answer? Would it kill you?! Would it kill you?! You didn't say anything, I really thought... I really thought... I thought you were going to die..."

Buried in Xiahou Ying's arms, Yin Quan roared, but his voice grew lower and lower, hoarseer and hoarse, until it was barely audible and was almost completely drowned out by the sound of the flowing river.

With a blank expression and a lowered gaze, Xiahou Ying's brows furrowed slightly.

He had been injured by a hidden weapon while saving her on the boat, and then spent so much time soaking in cold water, causing his old injuries to flare up. The new injuries piled on top of the old ones, resulting in a severe depletion of his qi and blood, and serious damage to his meridians. He had just entered a meditative state to heal his injuries; if he had responded to the sound, he might have truly suffered a qi deviation and died.

However, he never imagined that the carefree woman who never cared about anything would cry so bitterly because of him.

A sudden tightness gripped his chest, and Xiahou Ying felt a dull pain in his heart, more unbearable than when the black iron dagger pierced his internal organs.

With that thought in mind, his eyes darkened, and he grasped those trembling, cold, and thin shoulders, kissing them deeply.