Chapter 107

Edited By: Mim

Xie Fengshao’s royal guards gradually surrounded Li Zhi and her group, their number roughly two or three dozen.

The remaining seven warriors encircled Xie Lanxu protectively, shields raised, ready to fight.

However, Li Zhi found herself outside their defensive formation. Qin Ne and the others had subtly isolated her.

Xie Lanxu glanced at her and calmly extended a hand, “Come here.”

At the same time, Xie Fengshao’s voice rang out, “Come over here!”

His tone carried a pleading urgency as he gazed at Li Zhi.

“Prince Langya is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. His schemes have now been exposed. Everyone here is a witness. I only want to punish the mastermind—there’s no need for others to follow him to ruin!”

Xie Lanxu stood unbothered, his faint smile unwavering, entirely unconcerned by Xie Fengshao’s attempts to sow discord.

“Miss Li,” Xie Fengshao continued, his voice steady but full of determination. “I can tell there’s something you’re hiding, something you can’t tell me.”

Xie Fengshao prided himself on being perceptive, but when it came to Li Zhi, his instincts were uniquely sharp.

Ever since her return to the capital, there had been something indescribably conflicted in her gaze every time she looked at him. Her silence, her hesitation—these were not the actions of someone acting purely of their own will.

He had agonized over her subtle changes, parsing their every interaction, sleeplessly turning over their encounters in his mind.

In his heart, he had come to a single conclusion: she was forced into this.

If not, why would she continue to wear the shell bracelet she had once made? Why would she persist, even after discovering that he, too, wore the shell pendant close to his heart?

True, there was another possibility—that she wore it to remember her late sister.

But Xie Fengshao refused to entertain that thought.

“Miss Li,” he said, his tone heavy with emotion. His gaze shifted between Li Zhi and Xie Lanxu before finally settling back on her. “Once I kill Xie Lanxu, no one will be able to coerce you anymore.”

Li Zhi’s heart sank. She stepped forward, raising her voice, “Prince Langya hasn’t coerced me. Everything I’ve done is of my own free will—”

Xie Fengshao’s heart clenched at her defense of Xie Lanxu.

Suppressing his pain, he forced a cold laugh. “Until he’s dead, I won’t believe a word you say.”

Xie Lanxu chuckled softly, speaking with deliberate provocation, “Ah, Prince Feng, traveling so far just to kill me outright instead of capturing me and returning to the capital for glory? Is this a matter of public duty, or a personal vendetta?”

“Once you’re dead, it can be whatever I want it to be!” Xie Fengshao roared. “Kill them all!”

At his command, the royal guards drew their swords and surged forward.

Qin Ne and the seven remaining warriors fought fiercely, but they were hopelessly outnumbered and forced to retreat step by step.

Li Zhi, standing outside the fray, found herself untouched by the chaos. It was as if she were an invisible bystander, no one even registering her presence.

Despite the precarious situation, Xie Lanxu remained composed, a faint, inscrutable smile lingering on his lips.

That smile only deepened Li Zhi’s growing unease.

How had Xie Fengshao known about their expedition? How had he discovered the location of the treasure?

This wasn’t the look of a man caught in a trap—this was the look of someone who had planned it all along.

“Xie Fengshao!” Li Zhi’s voice rang out, filled with desperation and frustration. “I’ve already explained everything to you. Why are you still so blind to reason?”

Xie Fengshao remained unmoved, his hands clasped behind his back as he watched his men drive Xie Lanxu’s group to the brink of disaster.

Step by step, Xie Lanxu and his remaining men were forced back to the edge of the stone bridge. Beyond the narrow ledge lay a deep, dark chasm. One misstep would mean certain death.

“Once he’s dead,” Xie Fengshao said coldly, “you’ll understand why I’m doing this.”

Li Zhi’s mind raced. It was clear now that Xie Fengshao had locked himself into this deadly course. Words would not sway him, nor could she openly warn him of the trap without revealing too much in Xie Lanxu’s presence.

But how could she stand by and watch Xie Fengshao die in front of her?

As her thoughts churned, the battle reached a critical moment. All of Qin Ne’s men had been subdued. Only Qin Ne himself remained, holding off the attackers with fierce determination.

Finally, Xie Fengshao called out to Xie Lanxu, his voice dripping with disdain.

“Xie Lanxu, you’re cornered. Surrender, and I’ll give you the mercy of a clean death.”

Xie Lanxu’s smile widened as he replied, his tone mocking:

“Prince Feng, your magnanimity is overwhelming. But if you kill me, aren’t you afraid Li Zhi might die of heartbreak in my absence?”

“Heartbreak?” Xie Fengshao spat, his voice thick with scorn. “Utter nonsense!”

Xie Lanxu’s voice turned softer, more taunting:

“Ah, but you don’t know. Li Zhi is hopelessly in love with me. Without me, she wouldn’t survive even a single day.”

“Enough of your lies!” Xie Fengshao roared, his composure finally cracking. “Shut your mouth!”

As Xie Lanxu’s body tipped over the edge of the cliff, Li Zhi’s mind went blank.

“Ah-Li!”

Xie Lanxu’s freefall felt like an eternity to her. Without a second thought, she dashed toward the precipice.

“Li Zhi!”

Behind her, Xie Fengshao’s anguished, desperate voice rang out, but she didn’t stop or look back.

To Li Zhi, Xie Lanxu wasn’t just a person—he was the treasure itself. Since their time in exile at Mingyue Tower, she had drilled into herself the belief that the treasure and Xie Lanxu were inextricably linked.

And so, she leaped.

As her arms reached for Xie Lanxu, he smiled and opened his arms to catch her.

In that moment, as their bodies collided mid-air, Li Zhi’s heart, once a storm of fear and worry, calmed inexplicably. She was falling, yet she felt at peace.

Holding her tightly with one arm, Xie Lanxu used the other to fire a concealed arrow from his sleeve toward a mechanism near the cliff’s edge.

The arrow struck with a metallic clang, ricocheting off something solid. Above, a hidden stone slab began to descend, sealing the character door of the treasure chamber.

At the same time, a deafening explosion erupted inside the stone chamber. Flames roared upward, illuminating the mountain with an ominous orange glow.

The massive stone slab landed with a thunderous crash, cutting off the view of the chaos above.

As they fell, Li Zhi felt herself hit something soft and springy. The impact jarred her body but cushioned her fall. She realized they had landed on a concealed net.

Her world spun, and before she could process what had happened, darkness overtook her.

When Li Zhi awoke, she felt a hand gently stroking her cheek. The tender sensation jolted her fully awake.

Opening her eyes, she found Xie Lanxu’s face hovering above hers, smiling gently.

“How do you feel?” he asked softly.

Still dazed, Li Zhi’s eyes darted upward to see the network of ropes they had landed on, suspended over the abyss.

The realization dawned on her: the hidden mechanisms, the controlled fire traps, the safety net—all of it was part of Xie Lanxu’s intricate plan.

“When… when did you plan all of this?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Had he started plotting this the moment he marched his army toward Baisha? Or had the seeds been sown even earlier—back during the long, sleepless nights of their exile at Mingyue Tower, where he must have memorized every hidden mechanism of the underground palace?

The precision of his scheme left her simultaneously in awe and in fear.

Xie Lanxu’s gaze remained warm as he helped her to her feet. Only then did she notice the others in the cavern.

The explosion and fire traps had spared no one. Nearly all the surviving members from the stone chamber had fallen into the pit with them. Most were gravely injured, their bodies battered and burned.

Among the survivors, Qin Ne and Xie Fengshao were in relatively better condition, though they were bound and guarded separately from the others.

Xie Lanxu, unbothered by the glittering piles of treasure strewn across the cavern, casually kicked aside priceless gold and jewels as he approached the two prisoners.

Standing tall above them, he smiled with chilling calmness.

“You two were the first to drop your torches,” he said, his tone laced with mockery. “Very clever.”

Xie Fengshao glared up at him, his eyes burning with hatred. “Xie Lanxu! You—!”

Ignoring the outburst, Xie Lanxu crouched down, picking up a jade ruyi scepter from the ground. With an air of casual menace, he used it to tilt Xie Fengshao’s chin upward.

“This chamber’s fire trap was fueled by swamp gas. I’m not surprised Qin Ne knew about it,” he said, his voice laced with mock amusement. “But you, Prince Fengshao—you knew too, didn’t you? How… intriguing.”

Xie Fengshao’s lips twisted into a sneer. “What do you take me for? Some fool who can’t recognize swamp gas? You won’t trap me so easily!”

Xie Lanxu chuckled, standing upright once more. “Perhaps I underestimated you. Yet here you are, ensnared in my little web. Tell me, how does it feel to be caught?”

“You—!”

Xie Lanxu waved him off, turning his attention to Qin Ne.

“Ah, Qin Ne,” he said, his tone still soft but carrying an edge. “Loyal as ever, or so you’d have me believe. Tell me, are you truly loyal, or merely waiting for the right moment to betray me?”

Qin Ne’s eyes widened in confusion. “Your Highness, I… I don’t know what you mean!”

“Oh? You think I’m unaware of the forces behind you?” Xie Lanxu’s smile deepened, sharp as a blade. “The secret of the treasure—who could resist its allure? Tell me, were the men you brought here meant to protect me or to scout the route for your real masters?”

Qin Ne stammered, trying to protest, but Xie Lanxu cut him off by tearing open his collar.

Beneath it, a tattoo of a mountain crest was etched into his skin—a mark of allegiance.

Moving swiftly, Xie Lanxu examined the other injured soldiers. Each bore the same tattoo.

Silence fell over the group. Qin Ne’s face turned ashen, all his attempts at denial rendered meaningless.

“Still,” Xie Lanxu said, addressing the defeated man. “You haven’t acted against me yet. So, I’ll offer you a choice.”

He leaned in close, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper:

“Swear loyalty to me—or die.”

Qin Ne hesitated, his face a storm of inner conflict. His lips quivered as he struggled with the weight of the decision.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he bowed his head. “Your Highness… I swear my loyalty to you.”

Xie Lanxu smiled, tossing him a dagger encrusted with jewels.

“Good,” he said, his tone cold and commanding. “Now prove it. Kill your former comrades.”