“You… even if you kill me, I’ll still say the same thing. It’s just that seeing such a beautiful woman like you guarding such a useless man—it’s unbearable for us brothers. Why should someone like him deserve to have a beauty like you by his side? You should know that the Daqi Dynasty is a nation that values martial prowess above all. Without real skill or ability, just flashy moves, he’s worse than nothing…”
Despite the pain on his face, the leader of the group gritted his teeth and stubbornly retorted to Wanqing’s cold interrogation. His expression was filled with undisguised disdain and contempt for Leng Mingye.
“Do you… do you even know who he is?” Wanqing was momentarily confused by his words. He didn’t seem like someone sent by her uncle, but his actions made it unclear who was truly behind this.
Seeing his apparent deep understanding of Leng Mingye, she slightly loosened the pressure of her delicate foot on his hand and coldly countered, “Of course we know who he is—Leng Mingye, the heir of the Ji Manor. He used to be a real man, but what is he now? At best, he’s just a weakling hiding behind a woman’s protection. I don’t understand how someone like him still has the right to remain the heir of the Ji Manor…”
Though the man’s face showed struggle and pain under Wanqing’s questioning, he stubbornly voiced his deep-seated prejudice and resentment toward Leng Mingye.
“You—”
Thinking of the sensitive man, Wanqing didn’t hesitate. With a cold rebuke, she swiftly drove a silver needle into the man’s pressure point.
“You—so you’re lashing out in shame now, aren’t you? Only a fool like you would treasure such a worthless man. What does being a princess matter? If you’re blind enough to fall for a man like this, it’s nothing but a disgrace to Daqi. And you two are cousins—yet you’re together with someone like him. It’s not just disgusting, it’s downright…”
The man trembled violently from her attack but still gritted his teeth and sneered at her. As the effects of the sealed pressure points took hold, he burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“Laugh, then. I’ll make sure you laugh—all of you!”
Though unsure whether these men were sent by her uncle or someone else, Wanqing couldn’t tolerate their insults toward her and Leng Mingye. Seeing Leng Mingye, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, now open them—his gaze filled with pain and coldness—she didn’t react with anger. Instead, she smiled coldly, fed the man a pill, and scattered more medicine among his subordinates.
“Hahaha—”
“Hahaha—”
In an instant, the men, already weakened by her poison, rose up in a frenzy, clutching their stomachs and laughing maniacally. Though they laughed, their expressions were more agonized than tears, their faces contorted in pain as their eyes streamed with tears.
Their expressions twisted into grotesque masks of suffering as they rolled on the ground, laughing uncontrollably. Blood soon trickled from their noses and mouths, then from their ears and eyes—yet they kept laughing until, finally, their movements ceased. Their lifeless bodies lay still, frozen in eerie smiles.
“You killed them?”
Leng Mingye arrived just in time to see the men stop laughing and rolling, now lying dead on the ground. Though he knew her temperament, witnessing this side of her still left him shaken.
“They insulted us like that—didn’t they deserve to die? This was mercy compared to what they deserved.”
Seeing the shock on Leng Mingye’s face, Wanqing coldly glanced at the corpses at her feet. His shoulder was still stained with blood, but his complexion had improved slightly.
“You… just go.”
Leng Mingye could say no more. He had heard every word of their humiliation—both toward him and her. But killing them all? He couldn’t condone it.
Seeing her still seething after slaughtering them, he sighed helplessly and turned away, clutching his wounded shoulder as he weakly walked off.
“Are you angry? You can tolerate their insults, but I can’t.”
Noticing his rare displeasure and aloofness, Wanqing had no idea what he was upset about. Still, she followed him, reaching out to support his arm as she explained.
“You can’t tolerate it? Is it that you can’t stand me dragging you down? That I’m so weak now, making you suffer?”
Her words, combined with the earlier taunts, struck a nerve. Leng Mingye stopped abruptly, as if stepping on something foul, and glared at her. His voice dripped with self-doubt and insecurity, though deep down, he expected her to reassure him.
But his reaction only wounded her further.
“Leng Mingye, do you really have so little faith in me? In my feelings for you and everything I’ve said before?”
Her heart ached as she met his cold, distant gaze. She couldn’t understand why he would think so poorly of her.
“If that’s what you believe, I have nothing more to say. But right now, you *are* under my protection, aren’t you? Let’s go—I’ll help you back.”
Suppressing her frustration, she spoke with forced calm and reached for his arm again.
“Don’t bother. I can walk on my own. If I’m so useless in your eyes, why do you even care? Why stay with me?”
Though Wanqing had meant her words lightly, Leng Mingye took them to heart. The thought that she saw him as weak sent a chill through his soul—a feeling of abandonment and despair.
When she tried to support him again, his pride flared. He met her stunned, hurt gaze, then ruthlessly pulled away and strode off without a backward glance.
“You—Leng Mingye, you’re a coward! Didn’t I say that no matter what happens, I’d never abandon you? But you—this just makes me lose respect for you! I—”
Her casual remark had been taken seriously. She had hoped he would finally overcome his inner wounds, but his behavior only disappointed her.
Watching his retreating figure, she fumed before turning on her heel and storming away.
“I… If that’s how you see me—if I’ve lost my strength, my skills—why should I even go back?”
Her angry words cut deep, leaving Leng Mingye feeling as though he’d been plunged into an icy abyss. He called out instinctively, but she was already gone.
The thought of her disdain, combined with the way his father, Qingfeng, and Baiyu treated him like a helpless burden, crushed him. Once a prodigy, now reduced to this—he couldn’t bear it.
Sinking to the ground, he muttered to himself in despair. After a long silence, he made his decision.
He wouldn’t return to the outpost.
He just kept walking forward, alone.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage