Chapter 52: Another Trouble, Slipping Away!

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Another Trouble, Slipping Away!

Watching Yun Wan walk out of the tavern, Fang Xu felt a wave of hesitation.

Although the woman was certainly easy on the eyes, he didn’t want too much contact with her.

First, she was from the Yun Family. Her main purpose in coming to Fenglin Town was for the *Divination God Treasure*. Second, Fang Xu had realized this woman was incredibly smart and possessed remarkably sharp intuition.

Despite her current amicable demeanor and relatively peaceful attitude toward him, if she ever found out that he possessed the *Divination God Treasure* or that he was the one who had burned her Second Uncle’s corpse to ashes, Fang Xu was certain he would die by her sword.

But he couldn’t refuse her now, either. Doing so would only arouse her suspicions.

After mulling it over, Fang Xu decided to follow her.

The moonlight was like water, accompanied by a cool, refreshing breeze. The two strolled one after the other down the streets of Fenglin Town. In the distance, the millennia-old maple tree gently rustled its newly sprouted leaves in the wind.

"Li Xun wants to marry me. Help me think of a way to refuse him," Yun Wan said suddenly.

Fang Xu, who had been walking with his head down lost in thought, nearly choked at her request. He looked up in astonishment at her beautiful face, offered a bitter smile, and cupped his hands. "Miss Yun, please don’t make things difficult for me."

One of them was a Crown Prince of the dynasty, and the other was the princess of Huangzhou Prefecture. Fang Xu was already treading on thin ice; how could he dare to get involved in such a matter?

"Just think about it. I believe you can come up with something." Yun Wan’s tone brooked no argument.

She knew very well that if Li Xingchao approached her father about the marriage, there was a ninety percent chance her father would sacrifice her happiness and agree for the sake of the family’s future.

Fang Xu felt utterly helpless. He could only smile bitterly. "Marriage should be a matter of mutual consent. If you aren’t willing, Miss Yun, you can just reject him outright."

Yun Wan shook her head. "His Majesty is currently in secluded cultivation, and Li Xun’s father, Li Xingchao, is one of the de facto rulers of the dynasty.

"Li Xingchao is an incredibly ambitious man. To vie for power against the Eldest Prince, he has been constantly courting the major families across the Seven States and suppressing dissidents over the years.

"Rejecting him outright would be a slap to his face. The Yun Family has already shown signs of decline recently. Now that my Second Uncle has died unexpectedly, who knows how many families are eyeing us."

The Yun Family was weakening?

Fang Xu frowned slightly. "So you’re saying you can’t afford to offend him?"

Yun Wan nodded. "Absolutely not. Li Xingchao is petty and vengeful. If we offend him, things will definitely become even harder for the Yun Family."

"Then just agree," Fang Xu said. "According to what you’ve said, the Seventh Prince is a man of great means. It’s not impossible for him to ascend to the throne in the future. When that time comes, Crown Prince Li Xun will become the Crown Prince, and you, Miss Yun, will be the Crown Princess Consort, the future emp—"

"That’s enough!" Yun Wan glared at him fiercely, then sighed. "I would rather die than marry Li Xun."

"Then go die," Fang Xu suddenly said.

Hearing this, Yun Wan’s beautiful eyes widened. Astonishment filled her lovely face before a cold glint flashed in her gaze. "Are you messing with me!?"

Feeling the oppressive pressure radiating from a Martial Master of the Ninth Realm, Fang Xu hurriedly said, "Please don’t get angry yet, Miss Yun. Hear me out."

Suppressing the anger in her heart, Yun Wan demanded coldly, "Speak!"

Fang Xu hastily continued, "I meant that you should pull a disappearing act, Miss Yun. Fake your own death to escape."

Fake her death?

The fierce aura around Yun Wan slowly dissipated, replaced by curiosity. "How do I do that?"

Fang Xu thought for a moment before replying, "Think about it, Miss Yun. If you were to die in an accident... I mean, if the Seventh Prince received news of your death, would he make things difficult for the Yun Family?"

Yun Wan pondered for a moment. "Naturally, he wouldn’t.

"Although the Yun Family is showing signs of decline, we are still the Lord of Huangzhou. Li Xingchao wouldn’t go too far."

Hearing this, Fang Xu immediately smiled. "Then there’s your answer.

"Miss Yun, you just need to think of a way to make your death seem reasonable and natural, and the problem is solved.

"However, this might still be a bit tricky...

"If you were to suddenly die at such a crucial juncture, the Seventh Prince would definitely find it suspicious. When the time comes for an investigation, if he finds out you deceived him, the entire Yun Family will likely suffer the consequences."

This was a wondrous world. The Golden Scale Guards under Li Xun could easily tell that Wang Erhu’s grave had been freshly dug shortly after his death. Fang Xu wasn’t sure if there were powerful Martial Artists who possessed the ability to definitively determine life and death.

"That’s easy to handle!" Yun Wan’s eyes suddenly lit up. "I can think of a good place!"

Fang Xu was curious. "Where?"

Yun Wan looked up toward Tilan Mountain outside Fenglin Town, which resembled a dormant giant dragon. "There."

Fang Xu turned around and looked at Tilan Mountain in the distance.

"A ruin from Ancient Times has appeared in Tilan Mountain. It’s extremely dangerous inside; even Martial Artists at the Martial Venerable realm wouldn’t dare venture too deep. My Second Uncle was hunted down and killed in Gourd Valley precisely because he went to explore those ruins.

"He mentioned in his letter that the ruin seems to be a world of its own, capable of completely blocking the divinations of Feng Shui Masters.

"If I go into that ruin and die inside, Li Xingchao absolutely will not risk sending people in to confirm it."

Fang Xu looked at her in astonishment. "Miss Yun, my idea was for you to fake your death, not to actually go die.

"If it’s incredibly dangerous even for a Martial Venerable, you..."

"Say no more. My mind is made up!" Yun Wan interrupted Fang Xu, turning to look at him. "But I will need your help with this.

"Tomorrow morning... No, right now. Go to the Government Office right now and report me. Tell Li Xun that I’ve already entered the Tilan Mountain ruins."

"This..." Fang Xu was put in a difficult spot.

Seeing Fang Xu hesitate, Yun Wan suddenly drew her sword and placed it against his neck. "If you don’t help me, I will kill you right now."

Fang Xu smiled bitterly. He could tell that even though Yun Wan verbally threatened to kill him, there wasn’t the slightest hint of killing intent radiating from her.

"Miss Yun, won’t you reconsider?"

Yun Wan shook her head, her face resolute. "Fang Xu, if I enter the ruins and am lucky enough to survive, I will definitely repay your kindness today when I come out.

"And if I die inside the ruins, it will at least be a release."

With that, she untied the coin purse at her waist, then pulled an exquisite piece of green jade from a hidden layer in her belt and handed them to Fang Xu. "There is a deposit certificate for a hundred taels of Gold in the purse. Consider it a token of my gratitude.

"This Jade Token is my personal seal. If you run into any trouble in the future, you can take it to the Yun Family to ask for help."

After shoving the items into Fang Xu’s hands, Yun Wan leaped up onto the nearby eaves. With a few more bounds, she vanished into the night sky.

"Miss Yun!"

Fang Xu called out to her. Seeing that she was already far away, he could only look helplessly at the items in his hands.

"What a hassle..."

He wondered how he was supposed to explain this to Li Xun.

After pondering for a long while, Fang Xu picked up a rock from the side of the road, gritted his teeth, and smashed it against his own head!

The blow made him see stars, and he nearly fainted.

Clutching his head, Fang Xu muttered, "This should do it."

Enduring the pain, he stumbled to the entrance of the Government Office and banged on the front gate.

Inside the courtyard, a Golden Scale Guard opened the gate. Seeing the injured Fang Xu, he frowned and led him inside.

"Where is the Crown Prince? Hurry and inform the Crown Prince that I have an important matter to report."

Inside his room, Li Xun had just been jolted awake from a nightmare when he heard Fang Xu’s wails. Feeling somewhat irritated, he walked out into the courtyard. Seeing Fang Xu stumbling with a face full of blood, he demanded, "What happened?"

Fang Xu hurriedly said, "Crown Prince! After you left, Miss Yun suddenly said she was going to some ruins. I tried to persuade her otherwise, but her mind was made up, and she knocked me out cold!

"When I woke up, I found that she was already gone."

What!?

Hearing this, Li Xun was slightly startled. Yun Wan went to the Tilan Mountain ruins!?

The royal family had secretly investigated those ruins long ago. Even for experts at the Martial Venerable realm, it was a narrow escape from death. Once someone ventured deep inside, death was absolutely certain!

Yun Wan was only a Martial Master of the Ninth Realm. Wasn’t going in there just courting death!?