Chapter 54

--------

Chapter 54: Knock Her Out and Carry Her Away

Indeed, Miss Lin had been raised carefully in a sheltered environment, so even if she was aware of the scheming that was par for the course in the rear courts, Madame Lin kept her tightly shielded from the actual scene. Hence, she didn’t realize that sneaking out to play for a few days would cause such widespread, ugly rumours.

What eloping with someone? She’d already tried her very best to protect her chastity! No matter how much Luo Yunzheng had demanded it of her, she’d refused to agree and even threatened him with her own life to dismiss the ulterior motives he possessed.

Although she’d been constantly being groped for the past couple of days, they’d always stopped short of that final step. If my reputation is really tainted this way, I might as well die instead.

Just when she had forsaken hope, the man on top of her suddenly rose up alertly to check the surroundings. He chuckled, “I didn’t expect that he’d dare to come alone.”

He flicked his finger and sent something flying into the ceiling.

Before Miss Lin even grasped what had happened, the item punched through the ceiling, followed by a tall handsome man who had leaped down from the rafters. He had barely landed on the ground before launching himself at the two on the bed. Miss Lin was so frightened that she immediately pulled her clothes tightly around herself and attempted to hide. However, the bed was only so big, so where could she go? She could only cower in one of the corners while watching the two men duel. Who would’ve thought that the person who’d come in fact Prince Li himself!

She was very flustered at the moment. She’d never imagined that the prince would personally come and save her.

Yet, as he stood there, hints of a cold supercilious smile played about Long Heng’s lips. The contempt and disgust that was evident in his eyes didn’t sit well with Luo Yunzheng’s pride. He spoke coldly, “I didn’t expect Prince Li to come personally, but this woman now belongs to me. Trying to take her back will be entirely up to your skills. But if you think it’s going to be that easy, then I’ll have to remind you that this isn’t your princely estate, but my territory.”

However, Long Heng didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He’d spent years walking the line of life and death on the battlefield, how could he hesitate due to someone from the jianghu? He reached for a short blade. “And what of it? I will certainly take her away today, and if you’re man enough, try and stop me.”

Luo Yunzheng was no stranger to the rascally nature that came from being part of the jianghu. He wasn’t affected by Long Heng’s threats and fired back, “You might be able to take her body back, but her heart remains here. Ahahaha, the only reason she snuck out was to escape her marriage to you. Don’t tell me you don’t know about that!”

Long Heng was extremely irritated by the blow to his pride. However, his face remained impassive as he said, “Enough with the nonsense,”. He hadn’t even finished his sentence before striking out.

Curled up on the bed, Miss Lin overheard Luo Yunzheng’s comment about herself and felt utter disgust. Her chastity was absolutely intact, and when had she fallen for this jianghu ruffian? She would never be moved… yet… She didn’t want him to get hurt. Prince Li was widely renowned to be ruthless. She’d heard many stories about his rampages and massacres; the story of how he bathed a city in blood was enough to make one tremble with fear.

Now that Prince Li had his eyes on Luo Yunzheng, the latter was doomed to an unfortunate fate. The battle between the two had already reached a frenzied degree, and Luo Yunzheng’s arm had already sustained injury. Miss Lin screamed upon seeing the blood and cried, “Please stop fighting, don’t fight anymore … “

Why would these two men listen to her when the fight had already escalated to this point? Luo Yunzheng had even forgotten to call in his own men for backup, and had just grabbed a sword to attack Long Heng. The fight was getting so violent that most of the furniture was caught in the crossfire, turning into nothing more than splinters and shreds of cloth.

“Ahh!” Lin Qianzi was so frightened by the destruction of the bedhead that she shrieked and jumped off of the bed. However, her sudden movements resulted the two men slowing down the pace of their fight, as they grew wary of delivering any blows they couldn’t pull back from.

Luo Yunzheng saw an opening and managed to knock away one of the twin swords Long Heng was wielding. However, Long Heng wasn’t disadvantaged quite yet, and punished him with a heavy kick. Long Heng raised the blade in his hand and was about to charge forward when…

“Luo Yunzheng, Your Highness! Please stop, don’t hurt him!” Miss Lin threw herself forward, shielding Luo Yunzheng from the attack.

Long Heng was baffled. Even though he had no regards for Miss Lin, he had made her father a promise, a father who’d personally pled with him to bring her back. He would be unable to face her father if anything happened to her. Therefore, he hesitated for a split second, which caused him to slow down.

The result of his hesitation quickly manifested itself as Luo Yunzheng darted past Lin Qianzi and lunged forward with his blade. Long Heng had finally reacted and pushed aside Lin Qianzi; she had truly become a hindrance. However it was too late to dodge Luo Yunzheng’s attack, and the blade bit into Long Heng’s thigh.

Sounds of a disturbance stirring outside broke the duo’s concentration. Long Heng realized that things were about to take a turn for the worse, so he leapt over to Miss Lin and scooped her up. Little did he know that his push had caused her to hit her head on the table, leaving a big lump bleeding on her forehead.

She’d been born with extraordinary good looks, but was now almost disfigured with this injury, retaining no trace of her former beauty. Long Heng clamped her firmly beneath his armpit and bounded through the ceiling with a powerful spring.

“Let’s see how you can hide from us with that injury while you haul a person along!” Luo Yunzheng had actually been startled by Lin Qianzi’s actions just now. He hadn’t expected her to leap in at the crucial moment to take a blade for him. It was because of this that Prince Li hadn’t slashed him, and he’d retained his life.

That woman was always trying to escape, but she’s actually fallen for me. He stroked his chin and decided that he would definitely pursue her relentlessly in the future. Even if he was unable to catch up with them this time, it didn’t matter as she would never be able to truly escape from him, just like a monk would never be quit of a temple.

However, even if he was unable to catch up to them, he wanted Long Heng to bleed. It would actually be optimal if he had lost that leg. However, he didn’t expect that Long Heng had reinforcements waiting for him. Luo Yunzheng’s men somehow lost the duo halfway through their pursuit, and never found enough traces to track them again..

When he found out, Luo Yunzheng was so furious that he smashed everything in his sight, but there was nothing he could do. Nonetheless, other than an immediate fit of anger, he wasn’t too bothered by it. He knew one very important detail, where Minister Lin’s manor was located.

Long Heng was welcomed into a secret chamber thanks to a person in the jianghu. He threw Miss Lin onto the bed so that people could tend to his wounds and ordered, “ Escort Miss Lin back, and tell them that she was injured by the bandits.”

“Understood, but since Your Highness has lost a lot of blood, please stay here to rest and receive treatment.” The one kneeling down sincerely advised him, since the Prince seemed ready to rush through the night to get back to his manor.

“It’s alright, I can rest anywhere. This injury is nothing.” Long Heng waved his hand. He’d finally accomplished his mission and could finally return to the manor to see her.

Just when he was thinking about her, Lin Qianzi awoke and pulled her clothes tightly around her in panic, observing her surroundings like an injured, little white bunny. When she saw Long Heng sitting upright to the side, she was secretly relieved. She’d rather hoped that it would be him coming to her rescue.

She just hadn’t wanted Luo Yunzheng to be hurt.

“Are you… hurt?” She trembled a little as she asked.

“It’s all thanks to you.” Long Heng replied coldly and signaled his subordinate, who got up and immediately walked over to Miss Lin. “Miss Lin, this way please.”

“What are you doing; where are you taking me to?” Lin Qianzi leaned closer to Long Heng, but he actually stood up without looking back and walked away. “Rest assured, I won’t send you back to the thieves’ lair!”

However, Miss Lin seemed to be in shock. She pushed that servant away and exclaimed, “No, don’t touch me, I’m not moving and I’m not going anywhere!”

Long Heng’s subordinate was unable to get closer as she flailed. He could only furrow his brow, turning to the Prince, “Your Highness, what should we do?” She’s obviously not cooperating, so how do I take her back? Should I use force against her or should I try to coax her? Being a servant is just so difficult!

Long Heng words were curt, “Knock her out and carry her back.”

For real?! Knock her out? This is your fiancée we’re talking about! Being a servant is seriously difficult! There was nothing for it. The servant formed a hand blade and chopped at the hiding Miss Lin’s head. He had to resign himself to carting her back home like a sack of flour…