Suspicion and a Familiar Yet Unusual Aura

The elder caught sight of Serena Feng and was instantly stunned, his grip losing all control; so much so that, in his shock, he nearly strangled Prince Damien of Southlyn to death.

"Ugh..." Prince Damien's face twisted in pain, while the vice-general and Tiger Guard Battalion soldiers shouted urgently, "Your Highness!"

Their shouts snapped the elder back to his senses. He withdrew his gaze and snapped harshly, "What's all the yelling for? He's not dead yet."

With that, he dragged Prince Damien in front of him. "Bring another horse."

He clearly meant to go with them. Prince Nolan's eyes flashed cold, silently growing more guarded.

"Here!" Forced to comply, Prince Damien dared not refuse.

The Tiger Guard Battalion soldiers immediately led over two more horses. Serena Feng was utterly confused, unable to understand why the old man, after just one glance at her, was suddenly intent on joining them.

But she didn't dwell on it, simply assuming the old man had recognized her—and knew how much her head was worth.

Prince Nolan squeezed Serena's hand in silent reassurance; she returned a faint smile. The two mounted up, with Nolan shielding Serena in his arms.

The elder also hauled Prince Damien onto a horse, though he didn't abuse him further—just tossed him onto the saddle. "Pick four men. Drop your weapons. Follow me to collect the others."

His words made it clear to the crowd of soldiers, hungry for blood, that he had no intention of killing Prince Damien.

Without waiting for anyone to select their men, the elder spurred his horse forward. Prince Nolan and Serena Feng were already ahead, whipping their horses and racing away.

Two hundred thousand troops could only watch helplessly as Prince Nolan and Serena Feng openly rode off, fuming inside with frustration.

As Nolan, Serena, and their group burst out of the camp, the vice-general couldn't hold back any longer: "Brothers, after them!"

They gave chase, but dared not get too close, fearing the elder might lose his temper and harm Prince Damien.

Galloping through the night at breakneck speed, Serena Feng couldn't see the road at all, nor did she know which direction they were headed. To avoid being scratched by branches, she could only bury her head in Prince Nolan's embrace.

"It's so dark, we can't see the road at all. If we keep running like this, won't we get lost?"

"If we get lost, so be it. What do we have to fear?" Prince Nolan led Serena down side paths, trusting the horses' instincts. Luckily, the horse was clever enough not to crash into trees.

"What about Dorian and the others?" Serena worried they'd get separated and be hard to find.

"They're protected by shadow guards, so you don't need to worry. We already agreed in advance where we'd regroup." Even under Prince Damien's nose, Prince Nolan had managed to coordinate all the details with Dorian, proving Dorian was far from just some naive fool.

Knowing everything was planned out, Serena Feng didn't say anything more. Soon, the group of four plunged deep into the forest. Prince Nolan reined in his horse halfway: "This is far enough. Dismount."

Without waiting for Serena to react, he scooped her up and leapt down. Then, with a hard slash, he sent the horse bolting away in pain.

The elder did the same as Prince Nolan, except he didn't bother to untie Prince Damien. Instead, he roughly tied Damien to the saddle with reins, stabbed the horse, and sent it charging ahead.

With the night so dark, the soldiers would only search for people by following the sound of the horses. By jumping off and hiding in the woods, they were actually safer. Only Prince Damien suffered—he was probably getting jolted half to death along the way.

"Let's go." Prince Nolan pulled Serena close, keeping her protected at his side, and stayed wary of the elder.

Prince Nolan had noticed the elder's odd reaction when he first saw Serena, and figured it was better to be extra cautious just in case.

The elder seemed oblivious to Nolan and Serena's caution. He simply walked to Serena's other side, and the three of them continued forward in the darkness, the elder sneaking glances at Serena from time to time.

It was so dark—and the elder's looks so secretive—that Serena didn't notice. Still, walking with the elder made her feel a bit tense inside.

All three had their own thoughts, and walked on in silence through the woods. Just as Nolan had predicted, the soldiers didn't chase after them—they went after the horses instead.

By the time the soldiers realized, even if they wanted to chase, it might already be too late.

As dawn broke, Serena Feng finally let herself relax a little. She glanced at the elder beside her, thinking to herself that since he hadn’t killed her during the night, he probably wouldn’t try anything now that it was daylight.

"There's a stream over there. Go wash up," Prince Nolan said, pointing to the nearby water.

Judging by Nolan's expression, he had no intention of accompanying her. Serena guessed Nolan wanted to speak with the elder, so she didn't ask and quietly hurried off toward the stream.

Once Serena left, Prince Nolan stepped aside, and the elder—clever as ever—immediately followed.

"What's that girl's name?" the elder asked bluntly.

"You know already—Serena Feng, number one on the Assassin Alliance’s bounty list." Prince Nolan's words carried a veiled threat.

The elder was startled, and seeing the look in Nolan's eyes, grew more serious. He thought to himself, Dorian’s description of Nolan as an easygoing person was clearly wrong.

The elder took a deep breath to calm himself, then asked, "Is her surname really Feng?"

Of course the elder knew Serena Feng’s name—he just couldn’t believe it.

Prince Nolan wasn’t about to give anything away easily. He answered with a sidestep: "Her father’s surname is Feng. What else would hers be?"

"And her mother? What's her surname?" the elder pressed on, unwilling to let it go.

Prince Nolan didn’t hide it: "Her mother’s surname is Lu—given name Yimo, descended from the pirate Lu clan." These details were easily discoverable by the Assassin Alliance, so there was no point in concealing them.

"Her mother’s from the Lu clan, but what about her father? Whose descendant is he? The surname Feng is very rare." The elder narrowed his eyes, a sharp gleam flickering within.

The Feng surname only strengthened the elder’s suspicions.

Of course, it was the unique, familiar aura Serena carried that led the elder to think in that direction.

"No one knows. General Feng Zhan—her father—was said to be an orphan, and no one could ever trace his origins." That was true; otherwise, when Feng Zhan died unjustly, no clan member came forward to defend him, and Serena was left an orphan with no relatives to care for her.

"Is that so?" The elder was clearly unconvinced. Nolan didn’t care: "If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to investigate. But why all these questions, senior? What’s your real purpose?"

The elder’s relentless questioning about the Feng surname gave Nolan a vague idea of his motives. But since it was unclear whether the elder was friend or foe, Nolan knew better than to reveal too much—otherwise, Serena could be in trouble.

"Rest assured, if I wanted her dead, I would’ve done it already." The elder glanced at Serena in the distance, his certainty growing.

That unique aura—he couldn’t possibly mistake it. But...

Could this man in front of him be trusted?

The elder couldn’t be sure. He only felt that Prince Nolan was far too dangerous—even he wouldn’t dare face him directly.

So the elder silently withdrew his gaze and stopped asking questions.

If the young master had truly appeared, then... he absolutely couldn’t reveal her identity lightly, lest it bring her trouble!

The thought made the elder uncontrollably excited—his heart, calm for so many years, began to race...

Prince Nolan’s brow furrowed; he, too, fell silent, his wariness toward the elder only growing stronger.

The Fengli clan had enemies—and among them, some knew the clan’s true heiress. He couldn’t let Serena Feng take any risks!