Chapter 233: Chapter 233
A remote retreat outside the capital.
This place is far from the bustling world, already serene and secluded, and even more so in the depths of the night, making it increasingly desolate.
A black-clad figure carried someone on their shoulder, leaping and gliding over rooftops as if walking on flat ground, fast and steady.
Passing over thousands of glazed tiles, they finally stopped at a pavilion. The black-clad figure leapt down, landing in the courtyard.
A shadow approached, "What took you so long?"
The black-clad person reached up to rub their nose, somewhat innocently, "Was it really that long? No way, it was pretty fast, wasn’t it?"
"Cut the crap. The master has been waiting for you for a while now. Quickly get the person inside."
The black-clad figure, hearing this, rolled their eyes, muttering in a very low voice, "Master? Is he even human? Who can match his speed? Isn’t that monstrous?"
The shadow kicked him in the backside, "If your footwork were half as good as your big mouth, that’d be enough."
The black-clad person staggered from the kick, their head accidentally knocking open the loosely closed door. Instantly, they were hit by a cold, dark, furious, and terrifying aura, making them shiver.
Focusing their gaze, they saw Nangong Jue inside the dimly lit hall, locked with a chain forged from Xuan Iron, one end of which was secured to a red lacquered pillar within the hall.
When Nangong Jue saw him, a terrifying murderous intent suddenly burst from his blood-red eyes. His body abruptly soared into the air, hands turned to claws, reaching towards him.
The black-clad figure was suddenly shocked inside. In that instant, coerced by the frightening aura from Nangong Jue, their feet instinctively wanted to retreat.
But their consciousness urged them not to retreat but advance, quickly dodging Nangong Jue’s attack and placing Lin Yanran on the only soft couch in the hall.
Nangong Jue had just forcibly used his inner strength, suffering a backlash once more. At this moment, the True Qi within him was in chaos, rushing violently, causing a surge of blood energy to reverse up to his throat, making him cough up blood again and fall to the ground, gasping slightly.
The black-clad figure chopped at Lin Yanran, and she slowly came to, her mind flashing through scenes from before she fainted. Suddenly, she sat up in shock, "Quick, someone save..."
Halfway through her shout, she suddenly saw Nangong Jue opposite her.
Although Nangong Jue’s head was lowered at this moment, and his jade crown for his hair had long disappeared, with his ink-black hair hanging down, covering half of his face, Lin Yanran still recognized him at a glance.
Lin Yanran widened her eyes, filled with joy. She didn’t even have time to think about where this was or why Nangong Jue was here.
All she knew was that she had finally seen the person she had been waiting for all night. Without thinking too much, she quickly got down from the couch and ran towards Nangong Jue.
A stern shout, filled with rage, not the gentle warmth of the past.
Lin Yanran was startled, instinctively stopping in her tracks, blankly looking at Nangong Jue, "Crown Prince? You..."
Nangong Jue didn’t lift his head, nor did he care about the disappointment and grievances on her face. He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth, coldly spitting out three words:
Lin Yanran’s body trembled, almost in tears at the moment, "Crown Prince, it’s Yanran! You, why..."
"I know. Leave, now."
Nangong Jue cut her off coldly, his outwardly calm voice seemingly hiding an immense restraint.
One of his hands pressed down on the floor, fingers forcefully digging into the ground, exerting so much strength that his bones turned white,
while the veins on his arms bulged prominently, tightly stretched.
But Lin Yanran seemed unable to see any of this. She couldn’t see Nangong Jue’s anomaly; she only knew that Nangong Jue was scolding her, yelling for her to leave, being so ruthless and cold to her!
She looked pitifully at Nangong Jue’s half-exposed, handsome face, not covered by his ink-black hair, tears poised to fall from her eyes.
"Crown Prince, why are you treating Yanran this way? Did Yanran do something wrong to make the Crown Prince loathe her?"
Her answer was a moment of silence.
Veins also bulged on Nangong Jue’s forehead, a drop of sweat slipped down his face, falling onto the floor.
He let out a muffled groan from his throat, quickly biting down on his lips, enduring.
Lin Yanran finally noticed something was wrong with him, sensing that he seemed to be desperately suppressing some kind of pain.
"Crown Prince, are you unwell? Are you sick? Are you alright?"
With worry and anxiety overwhelming her previous grievances, Lin Yanran hastily rushed to Nangong Jue, grabbing his hand, "Crown Prince, you..."
With an angry roar, Nangong Jue flung her away forcefully.
Lin Yanran could never have imagined that Nangong Jue would be so rough and rude to her, her body being flung away by a huge force, crashing heavily to the ground.
Her forehead was bumped against the cold hard floor, resulting in a lump.
Lin Yanran, both in pain and grievance, burst into tears, crying so sorrowfully that it made Nangong Jue frustrated and agitated, his already muddled and feverish mind feeling like it was about to split.
"Stop crying! Get out!"
He slammed his palm on the floor, roaring furiously.
The chain clattered from the shock, and Lin Yanran was terribly frightened, her cries choked off, watching him with a pale face, scared and aggrieved.
Nangong Jue finally looked up at her, his blood-red eyes filled with rage, like a bloodthirsty, murderous beast in the eerie, dark night, ghastly and terrifying.
Seeing his eyes made Lin Yanran’s heart suddenly tighten, her eyes widening in shock, her pupils shrinking in disbelief and immense fear.
Nangong Jue looked at her coldly, uttering his words one by one with what seemed to be his last bit of sanity, gritting them through his teeth.
But Lin Yanran was already scared stiff, or rather, more in shock!
She had never seen anyone with such demon-like blood-red pupils.
The Crown Prince she knew was clearly not .
Yet his face, his voice were undoubtedly that of the Crown Prince.
Lin Yanran’s mind was in turmoil, her body feeling as if rooted to the ground by an immobilization spell, unable to move.
Moreover, the hall’s door had long been closed.
The candlelight burned, casting flickering shadows. By the candle stand, a purple gold censer emitted incense, curling fragrance rising, spreading in the room like smoke, like a dream, like a fantasy. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝕟𝕖𝕥
Lin Yanran’s originally pale cheeks gradually blushed, her gaze gradually growing more dreamy, looking at Nangong Jue with eyes full of emotion.
Even her mind seemed a bit confused. She got up from the ground, rubbed her sore arms and legs, and slowly approached Nangong Jue.
Muttering foolishly, "Crown Prince, Yanran waited for you a long time today, but you never came. Yanran was very worried about you."
The part of Nangong Jue’s mind that remained rational and clear, sternly rebuked, "Don’t come over."
Lin Yanran seemed not to hear, continuing to approach him, a foolish smile on her face.
Despite the backlash of his inner strength, Nangong Jue waved a sleeve at her, sending Lin Yanran flying. Yet she didn’t give up, crawling towards him, hand over foot.