Nolan Dongling, Ninth Royal Uncle of Eastlyn, spurred his horse out of the city—only to be ambushed by assassins at the gate. His guards were all elite, but there were too few of them.
The assassins scattered when the city guards arrived, but Nolan Dongling was already wounded. His guards pleaded with him, and in the end, he had no choice but to return to his manor.
"What is Ninth Royal Uncle up to now?" The Emperor was baffled. He truly couldn’t figure out what Nolan Dongling’s real intentions were.
A coincidence?
If the Emperor believed this was just a coincidence, then he’d have wasted all his years on the throne—there’s no such thing as so many coincidences in this world.
The messenger stood silently below, not daring to speak.
Even now, he couldn’t figure out why Ninth Royal Uncle suddenly wanted to leave the city.
The Southern Lyn stronghold was well hidden and had capable subordinates, but it was a dead end. If discovered, the Southern Lyn men could be trapped and worn down until they died.
Why did Ninth Royal Uncle pick this moment to leave the city? Didn’t he realize his every move would draw the Emperor’s attention?
"Could it be for Serena Feng?" The Emperor quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought.
In the imperial family, the Emperor is the most heartless. Not to mention risking everything for a woman—even for his own son, he would not take such a risk.
Besides, it was Nolan Dongling himself who used Serena Feng as bait, which even dragged out the scandal at the Marquis of Jinyang’s manor.
The Emperor’s frown deepened. The messenger dared not speak, only waiting for orders. After a long while, the Emperor commanded: "Send Imperial Physicians Sun, Ye, and Zhou to the Ninth Prince Manor."
'Yes, Your Majesty.' The messenger accepted the order and withdrew.
Nolan Dongling was carried back, covered in blood. With the arrival of the imperial physicians, the Ninth Prince Manor was in an uproar. Everyone nearby knew Ninth Royal Uncle was injured—and seriously so.
...
Outside the city, Dominic Zhai and his group searched everywhere for Serena Feng, but instead discovered something unusual. They hurried toward the direction of the Southern Lyn stronghold.
“Dominic Zhai, if Serena Feng really has been kidnapped by Chancellor Zhu’s remnants, I won’t let you off.” Prince Adrian’s stubble was already showing, his eyes red as a rabbit’s.
As time passed with no sign of Serena Feng, Dominic Zhai’s anxiety grew. Hearing Prince Adrian’s words, he could only grit his teeth and reply, “Impossible. Why would Zhu’s cronies want to capture Serena Feng? If they were going to take anyone, it’d be one of us—we’re each more valuable.”
“They’d like to, sure—but they’d have to be capable first.” Wang Qi snorted.
[The sound of hoofbeats—clop, clop, clop...]
Suddenly, hoofbeats echoed nearby. Dominic Zhai and the others stopped in their tracks. "Someone’s coming—who would show up at this hour?"
"Definitely not Serena Feng," Wang Qi snapped, sending guards ahead to check.
Wang Qi was wrong—the hoofbeats really did belong to Prince Damien of Southlyn and Serena Feng. The rustling of guards in the forest and flickering torches couldn’t fool Damien.
“Serena Feng, can’t you see? Nolan Dongling seems to care about you—his men are everywhere.”
After coming down the mountain, Damien ran into several groups of people. If he hadn’t been so quick, he’d have been caught. Without a word, he turned his horse and headed for the far side of the woods.
Tonight, he was like a stray dog, chased everywhere. Serena Feng hadn’t said a word the whole way, just watched coldly as Damien circled through the woods, not worried he’d get lost.
Serena Feng was never someone to act on emotion. Even though learning this was all Ninth Royal Uncle’s scheme had nearly broken her heart, she didn’t just wallow in sadness.
No one is more heartless than the imperial clan. Ninth Royal Uncle is cold—just because he looks at her differently doesn’t mean she matters to him.
Within his principles, Nolan Dongling will help her if it doesn’t hurt his interests—that’s royal favor. But if it costs him, he won’t help her. She’s the same way.
She wouldn’t sacrifice her own interests for someone she barely knew. She wasn’t a saint, and Ninth Royal Uncle wasn’t either—how could she expect that from him?
She wasn’t anyone special to Ninth Royal Uncle. Even if she were, so what? The Emperor once used Adrian Dongling’s life to manipulate Nolan Dongling—now Nolan was using her. That’s just how things work in the royal family.
If, at a moment like this, she just drowned in the pain of being used instead of figuring out how to escape, she’d be a real fool.
If she ran into Nolan Dongling’s men at the foot of the mountain, fine—their reaction showed he wouldn’t kill her. But what if she met someone else’s troops? Could she count on luck again? Relying on others is never as good as relying on herself.
While Damien was busy running for his life, Serena Feng quietly pulled out the pistol hidden in her sleeve, planning to find a chance to shoot him. As for her earlier promise to Damien?
What a joke. Neither she nor Damien ever believed that promise—if they did, they’d be idiots.
Besides, if she could see how much Damien looked like Evan Zhou, anyone else could too. Leaving Damien here was asking for trouble. Even if he didn’t die, she’d have to send him back to Southern Lyn.
The first thing she’d do after getting back was deal with Evan Zhou—she couldn’t afford to keep someone like that around.
After what happened with Evan Zhou, she finally understood: you can’t waste sympathy, and you shouldn’t just pick up strangers on the roadside. Even those who sell themselves to bury their parents aren’t always safe to buy—one careless move and you could bring disaster on yourself.
Damien had no idea Serena Feng had already gotten over the blow of being used by Ninth Royal Uncle. He was lowering his guard against her—or maybe it was just that most men look down on women, thinking they’re ruled by emotion.
To shake off the Eastlyn soldiers, Damien kept plunging deeper into the woods. Maybe the wild animals were scared off, or maybe he was just lucky, but they didn’t run into any beasts.
The night grew darker. Serena Feng never found a chance to act—and even if she did, she wouldn’t dare make a reckless move.
Alone in the woods at night, Serena Feng wouldn’t dare linger, afraid of running into wild animals. Even with a gun, she might not get out alive. Having someone with her was safer.
Besides, until they were out of danger, Damien wouldn’t kill her. The two dragged on until dawn broke through the darkness. As the sky brightened, Serena Feng knew she couldn’t wait any longer.
Three...
Two...
...
Serena Feng silently counted down in her heart, ready to strike. Just then, Damien suddenly pulled the reins and the horse stopped. Serena Feng was startled, quickly stashing her pistol back in her sleeve, a flash of worry in her eyes.
Had Damien noticed?
"Who’s there? Show yourself!" Damien shouted at the woods, drawing his sword. Not knowing who was coming, he didn’t put the blade to Serena Feng’s neck.
Serena Feng quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
The woods were utterly silent. Just as Serena Feng thought Damien was being paranoid, a shadow swooped down from the trees like a bird, knocking aside Damien’s sword with a long blade and snatching Serena Feng from his arms.
It all happened too fast—neither Damien nor Serena Feng had time to react.
Who was this person who suddenly struck...?