Chapter 163: Mu Yunlian

Xiao Yang leaned weakly against the chair. Only then did the man in red enter unhurriedly. His gaze fell upon her, and he stared blankly for a moment before sitting down beside her.

Xiao Yang didn’t speak, and he paid her no mind. The two of them just sat there in silence, the atmosphere both strange and harmonious.

After a long while, he finally stood up, walked straight to Xiao Yang, and carried her to the bed.

He carefully untied her outer robe, removed her shoes and socks, and even gently moved her hair to one side to keep it from being crushed.

’He’s being a little *too* considerate.’

Then he began to untie his own belt.

Xiao Yang finally showed some reaction. "You... you’re not planning to sleep here, are you?"

"And what if I am?"

The man glanced at her, then yanked off his outer robe with a single pull. He drew back a nearby curtain, revealing another bed hidden there.

He lay down on it, their heads aligned.

They couldn’t see each other, but they could both sense the other’s presence.

Xiao Yang asked him, "Where are you planning to take me?"

The man’s voice sounded from the other bed. "Beimeng."

Xiao Yang: "Why?"

"No one can find you there."

Xiao Yang felt she had asked a stupid question.

When she didn’t answer, his voice came again. "Are you wondering who will come to save you? Rong Yin? Li Wei? Or those useless members of the Xiao Family?"

’Can’t you just talk normally? Why resort to insults?’ Xiao Yang thought.

"Two days ago, ten identical carriages left the Capital City, heading in all directions. Hundreds of people with a similar build to yours are being taken to every corner of the land."

"No one will be able to find you."

He had made thorough preparations to kidnap her.

After speaking, he waited. He waited for the Emperor’s fury, for her curses.

But there was nothing. Did she not care? Was she too lazy to curse him? Or had she discovered something?

"Mu Yunlian."

"My name."

He was Mu Yunlian, and only Mu Yunlian.

"I see."

Xiao Yang’s voice drifted into the night, and everything returned to silence.

After that, neither of them spoke again. The night passed in silence until dawn.

When Xiao Yang opened her eyes, Mu Yunlian was already gone. It was Ling Ji who attended to her washing up.

The drug’s effects didn’t seem too strong. After a night’s rest, she could walk freely again.

After breakfast, Ling Ji led her out to the carriage. Mu Yunlian was already sitting inside, still dressed in red and wearing his mask. This time, however, his collar was not open but properly and neatly fastened.

Xiao Yang sat down. After a moment, she felt her body growing more and more at ease. Her strength was returning.

She looked at Mu Yunlian in surprise. "Did you forget to drug me?"

Mu Yunlian: "..."

He gave her a speechless look. "The drug only makes the body weak. It has no effect on the brain."

’He’s calling me an idiot.’

Xiao Yang lifted the carriage curtain. One look out revealed a deserted wilderness, with no sign of human life.

Mu Yunlian’s voice came from behind her. "I know you’re skilled in martial arts, but I advise you not to escape. The nearest city is seventy or eighty li from here. The mountains are teeming with tigers and wild beasts. Even if you can tell north from south, east from west, and fight off a tiger, this area is completely deserted. Do you even know where you are?"

Xiao Yang’s lips twitched. She had to hand it to him.

’My downfall is relying too much on GPS. Now that I’m in ancient times with no navigation and no maps, I’m as good as blind.’

She had martial arts, yes, but if she ran into a tiger or a bear bare-handed, she’d just end up as their next meal.

He didn’t drug her, deliberately choosing this deserted route, betting that she’d have nowhere to run.

"Do you have to wear that mask? Isn’t it uncomfortable?"

Mu Yunlian’s gaze fell upon her. "For years, I’ve only shown my mask to the world. If you want to see my true face, you either have to defeat me in a fight, or..." ’marry me.’

Xiao Yang was bored out of her mind, and her strength had just returned. She didn’t even wait for him to finish before she struck.

Mu Yunlian was already prepared. He raised a hand to block her move, and the two began to fight right there in the carriage.

Having been kidnapped for no reason, even someone as good-natured as Xiao Yang was fuming. Her attacks were fast, precise, and ruthless.

Mu Yunlian didn’t look particularly strong, but every muscle and bone in his body held the necessary power. His reactions were swift, and he countered her every move.

The carriage’s beaded curtains were sent clinking and clattering from the fight.

Everything inside was thrown into disarray.

The more Xiao Yang fought, the more shocked she became. His martial arts were definitely on par with hers, if not better.

They fought for a quarter of an hour. Xiao Yang carelessly stumbled and fell out of the carriage door, but Mu Yunlian grabbed her hand and yanked her back inside.

As Xiao Yang lunged back toward him, she raised her hand.

SMACK...

A slap. It knocked his mask off, but also landed squarely on his face.

The inside of the carriage fell silent in an instant. The sound of horse hooves and the rumbling of wheels on the road outside became incredibly clear.

’I swear, I was just trying to grab his mask, not hit him.’

The situation was now a bit strange. She was lying beneath him, while he was half-kneeling, his head turned to the side. A red, swollen mark was clearly visible on his fair cheek.

Xiao Yang quietly rolled over and scurried to one side. He picked up his mask, put it back on, and sat back down in his original spot.

Neither of them spoke for a long while.

Xiao Yang wasn’t about to apologize. He was the kidnapper; he deserved to be hit.

Mu Yunlian stared at her for a long time, a dark light flickering in his eyes. "Stop the carriage."

He pulled Xiao Yang out of the carriage. Ling Ji immediately went inside to clean up. Only when the carriage’s interior was restored to order did he let Xiao Yang back in. He, however, chose to ride a horse instead.

Xiao Yang sat in the carriage, silent for a moment, before she couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

This kidnapper, Mu Yunlian... he tried to be cruel but couldn’t follow through; he tried to be malicious but just couldn’t bring himself to it.

’It’s really asking too much of him.’

Mu Yunlian hadn’t brought many people on this journey: four guards, a driver, and Ling Ji, for a total of six.

The inside of the carriage was luxuriously decorated, but the outside, apart from being slightly large, didn’t look conspicuous.

In any case, it was less conspicuous than Mu Yunlian himself, with his red robes and golden mask.

The mountain road was remote and far from civilization, but if you travel such roads for too long, you’re bound to run into ghosts.

They didn’t run into ghosts, but they did run into bandits.

A horse-tripping rope was pulled taut. A group of bandits brandishing machetes sprang from piles of fallen leaves, charging ferociously amidst a rain of arrows from all directions.

Mu Yunlian instantly drew his longsword and deflected the volley of arrows. The four guards attacked at the same time. In a flash, there was only the splash of blood—not even a scream, just the dying whimpers of men whose lives were cut short.

Ling Ji, for her part, moved like a purple phantom, vanishing from her spot in the blink of an eye. When she returned, she merely wiped a splash of blood from her hand.

She had gone to kill the archers hidden in the shadows.

There were over thirty bandits, yet only five people on their side had fought. From start to finish, it was over in a mere moment.

When the battle was over, not one of them was even breathing heavily.

They tossed all the bodies into the piles of leaves, and the carriage continued on its way.

The group worked in perfect sync, their roles clearly defined. They didn’t even exchange a word throughout the entire ordeal. A single glance told you they were seasoned veterans who had encountered such situations countless times. No wonder Mu Yunlian dared to travel through this desolate wilderness with only these few people.

The forest wind stirred the fallen leaves, covering the traces of the fight. The area was quiet once more, as if nothing had ever happened.

Xiao Yang stared at Mu Yunlian’s back for a long time before slowly lowering the curtain.