Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Handsome Men Mislead Me!
 

“Qi Yue!”

Upon hearing Zhao Yongzhe call out urgently, Qi Yue thought he was having another heart palpitation, and hurried over.

“Father, are you feeling unwell? Let me take your pulse and see.”

Zhao Yongzhe shook his head, his expression filled with sorrow.

“Qi Yue, if there’s a chance, you should leave, don’t worry about us! You’ve already done what you can.”

Shen Yu’s face was already streaming with tears, but she did her best to restrain herself from crying out loud.

She knew that their entrapment in the cave was all Qian Faliang’s poisonous plot against the Zhao Family.

She had just seen Qi Yue, compelled by helplessness, give the antidote to Qian Faliang.

She feared that by this time tomorrow, the Zhao Family would face another disaster.

“Yueyue, you go, mother won’t blame you. Mother knows you have the ability to get away.”

Seeing her reaction, the other girls also seemed to sense the crisis of the situation and began to sob quietly.

Looking at the family, Qi Yue felt helpless too.

Before, they were afraid she’d leave and abandon them, but now they were actually asking her to go.

This family sure is interesting.

Taking another look at Zhao Xiyan, Qi Yue couldn’t help but curl the corners of her lips.

Just look at him, his posture, anyone who didn’t know better would think he was the Bodhisattva Guanyin sitting on a lotus pedestal, not on the ground.

Not even a word to comfort his own family!

“Zhao Xiyan, mother and father are telling me to flee for my life, what do you think?”

She was deliberately trying to tease Zhao Xiyan into speaking.

Having not heard him speak all day, she oddly missed it.

The man’s eyes, hidden behind the mask, were dark and profound, vast and deep as the night.

Men’s beauty leads me astray!

Qi Yue inwardly wailed.

“I believe Yueyue will find a way.”

Perhaps due to being in the deep stone cave, his voice was low and more mellow than usual, intoxicatingly so.

Qi Yue was stunned for a moment.

What did that mean?

Believing she had a way and wanting her to leave were not the same thing, were they?

Why couldn’t he just answer the question directly?

Even if he spoke like Shen Yu and Zhao Yongzhe, she would know he cared about her.

By the time she came to her senses, she was a bit puzzled.

Why did she want him to care?

Thinking it over and not knowing how to respond to his words, she turned her head to comfort Shen Yu and Zhao Yongzhe instead.

Qi Yue felt like a tiresome old mother hen.

Taking care of everything from food and shelter to psychological support, the Zhao Family seemed lost without her!

Exhausting!

Outside the cave, the downpour continued to pour heavily.

Inside the cave, it was all the more dim, and even the gap above the entrance had turned utterly black.

Guan Yidao lit the torch for illumination, and the flame flickered in the air, casting countless wavering ghostly shadows on the walls.

On the ground in the middle of the cave, Qian Faliang was still wailing, intermittently spewing out vile curses!

“Qi Yue, I will not spare you!”

“Qi Yue, once I cure this poison, I’ll certainly kill you!”

“Qi Yue, you venomous woman, I will make you wish you were dead!”

“…”

This cursing left Shen Yu and the others trembling with fear.

But Qi Yue remained indifferent, as if she hadn’t heard anything at all!

As the night passed, Qian Faliang’s screams gradually subsided.

When the light at the entrance transitioned from white to red, Qian Faliang finally got up from the ground.

At this moment, he looked completely transformed from before.

Rejuvenated and with a healthy flush on his face, anyone would think his poison had been cured.

Not only cured, but his body recovered remarkably well!

Seeing Qian Faliang hopping and maneuvering on the spot, as if he couldn’t wait to show off his martial skills, the noble young masters all nervously huddled together.

Qian Faliang’s recovery meant their good days were over.

Some cast hopeful glances at Qi Yue, wishing she would make another move.

Others, out of despair, bore resentment!

Why didn’t this fat woman just kill Qian Faliang outright?

They completely forgot that they had also been among those forcing Qi Yue to hand over the antidote.

Of course, there were also those who harbored hope and malice, wishing Qian Faliang would just go find Zhao Xiyan instead!

Finally, Qian Faliang walked towards the corner where the Zhao Family members were.

His beady eyes, full of malice, rolled over the Zhao Family members, finally resting on Zhao Xiyan, and then jumping to Qi Yue’s face.

“Miss Qi, there are some things you should have figured out by now,”

With a slight smile, Qi Yue responded lightly, “Isn’t it obvious? Your plan succeeded, Sir Qian.”

“Hahaha…” Qian Faliang laughed wildly, waving his hand, “Miss Qi is very sensible. But that’s not what I’m asking about.”

“What is it then?” Qi Yue didn’t know what Qian Faliang wanted to say, but given her understanding of him, he wasn’t likely to say anything good.

Hearing this, Qian Faliang stepped closer with interest and lowered his voice.

“I have received information that two years ago, Zhao Xiyan’s teacher, Mo Zhizhi, gave him a copy of ‘Beiyuan Local Chronicles,’ within which the map to the National Treasure is hidden.”

Qi Yue’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this, which made Qian Faliang even more smug.

He suddenly raised his voice, while his gaze was fixed intently on Zhao Xiyan.

“Miss Qi, do you remember? Not long ago, the Young Marquis claimed he knew nothing! He lied to you and did not treat you as family; do you still intend to protect him?”

Qi Yue did not respond; she was busy checking the objects stored in her spatial realm—the desk of Zhao Xiyan.

The ‘Beiyuan Local Chronicles’?

When she had hurriedly collected things earlier, she hadn’t noticed any particular book.

Luckily, when she was in Zhao Xiyan’s study, she had taken everything and hadn’t left anything behind.

If what Qian Faliang said was true, wouldn’t she be hitting the jackpot!

The National Treasure!

What a massive fortune that would be!

She was busy searching for the items, focusing intensely on the space, appearing somewhat absent-minded.

To the Zhao Family, it seemed as if she had indeed been swayed by Qian Faliang’s provocation.

Shen Yu was the first to lose her composure. She hurried over, grabbing Qi Yue’s hand and shaking it vigorously.

“Yueyue, what exactly did he say? Don’t be deceived by him! Yanyan would never keep anything from you!”

Zhao Yonglian had always been hotheaded, and having heard Qian Faliang’s insults toward Qi Yue the previous night, he could hardly contain himself; now he exploded outright!

“Qian Faliang, you beast! Don’t think you can disrupt our family! Sooner or later I will…”

He hadn’t finished speaking when Qian Faliang lashed out with his whip.

Feeling the pain, Zhao Yonglian suddenly came to his senses.

Qian Faliang was no longer the man controlled by Qi Yue, but rather the most mysterious, most powerful, and most malicious scoundrel of Beiyuan!

As Qian Faliang unleashed his second strike with the whip, Qi Yue finally snapped out of her trance thanks to Shen Yu’s shaking.

Without thinking, she grabbed Qian Faliang’s whip.

“Qian Faliang, have you forgotten about those days when you were treated like a dog?”

At these words, Qian Faliang seemed to have been slapped hard across the face.

His face turned green, then dark, and his beady eyes widened.

“Qi Yue, I will kill you!”

With a roar, Qian Faliang flicked out a dagger from his sleeve and stabbed it towards Qi Yue.

Qi Yue was faster; she dodged and flung the tail of the whip in her hand, knocking the dagger to the ground, and with one kick sent Qian Faliang flying.

Qian Faliang scrambled up and pulled out a black whistle, blowing it!

The whistle sounded in rapid beats, as if conveying some urgent message!

As his whistling ceased, a series of responding calls echoed from outside the cave.

As if having fulfilled a pact, Qian Faliang’s ferocious face was covered in triumphant madness.

“You’re finished, Qi Yue, you’re finished! Since you seek death, I will grant you a swift end and then deal with the Zhao family!”