150. Yin Susu Appears

Yu Zhiyang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was just a cat. If anyone had discovered it, it would have been truly troublesome.

Dealing with the cat was a minor issue, but if anyone suspected that Le Qianxue was still alive, that would be a monumental problem.

After Yu Zhiyang departed, the cat returned once more.

At that exact moment, a figure descended from above. The person wore red gauze robes and possessed an extraordinarily bewitching appearance.

She turned her head slightly, and the moonlight happened to spill across her face. It was none other than Yin Susu, who had been in seclusion for many days.

The cat leaped back into her arms and meowed softly, as if seeking praise.

Yin Susu asked, "You recognize his scent, don't you?"

The cat rubbed affectionately against her.

Yin Susu then commanded, "Go and follow him."

Obeying her instructions, the cat immediately darted off in pursuit.

Yin Susu sighed. Looking at the once-prosperous General's Manor, a wave of melancholy washed over her heart.

The Phoenix Star in the night sky remained bright, though it was slightly dimmer than before. From this, she knew for certain that Le Qianxue was not dead.

Yet, Zhan Lianjing was consumed by absolute grief, seemingly unaware that Le Qianxue was perfectly safe.

It was precisely upon learning this news that she could no longer remain in seclusion and had emerged.

She never expected to discover a clue tonight: Yu Zhiyang had actually come to the General's Manor to search for something.

Why would an ordinary person come to the ancestral hall of the General's Manor to search for items? Yin Susu pondered, suspecting it might be part of Le Qianxue's scheme.

Yin Susu intended to find out whether Yu Zhiyang had locked Le Qianxue away somewhere.

Once Yu Zhiyang obtained the military tally, he wasted no time. Relying on this tally, he was truly able to mobilize troops.

Empress Yang and Prime Minister Yang were utterly infuriated. In a flash, their credit had been stolen right out from under them by Yu Zhiyang.

Meanwhile, the aged Emperor had finally regained consciousness, though he was still unable to leave his bed.

Upon learning that the Liangjin Kingdom had taken advantage of the situation to launch an invasion, his expression remained deeply troubled.

"Your Majesty, do not worry. Why not let Xiang'er lead the troops this time to gain some military experience? He will surely achieve victory," Empress Yang suggested.

However, the old Emperor merely waved his hand and said, "Do you think the Liangjin Kingdom is so easy to deal with? Zhan Lianjing refuses to send out troops... he is truly daring."

Yu Hanxiang chimed in, "Imperial Father, since the Prince of Zhan is so audacious, why doesn't Imperial Father strip him of his authority? He commands a force of three hundred thousand troops, after all."

He still vividly remembered how Zhan Lianjing had humiliated him using an ugly woman last time, an incident that had left him too terrified to even approach women ever since.

The old Emperor let out a cough. How he wished he could! Ever since learning Zhan Lianjing's true identity, he had desired nothing more than to eliminate him, but he had simply never found the right opportunity.

He instructed, "You are both dismissed. Zhiyang, stay behind."

Empress Yang glanced at Yu Zhiyang and said, "Your Majesty, you have just regained consciousness and should rest properly. As for the trivial matters of the court, why not leave them to Xiang'er to handle?"

Although the Emperor was ill, his gaze remained sharp and piercing.

He glared at Empress Yang, instantly silencing her and forcing her to withdraw.

Once everyone had left, Yu Zhiyang walked up to the imperial bed and asked, "Imperial Father, what instructions do you have for me?"

"The court is unstable right now..." the old Emperor said. "There is no one we can trust. Zhan Lianjing refuses to dispatch troops, and besides him, there is no one capable of dealing with Ziye. However, there is still one person who can hold back the Liangjin Kingdom."

Yu Zhiyang asked, "Who is that?"

"Go find Fu Xiao," the old Emperor commanded. "Order him to lead the troops."

"Him?" Yu Zhiyang could not help but look astonished.

Fu Xiao was the youngest prime minister in the realm, yet he possessed no remarkable talents and rarely handled affairs of state. For reasons unknown, however, the old Emperor held him in exceptionally high regard.

Coughing gently, the old Emperor whispered, "When you go, you need only utter four words. He will undoubtedly do everything in his power to drive back the Liangjin Kingdom."

"Which four words?" Yu Zhiyang inquired.

"Holy Moon Commandery Princess," the old Emperor replied.

A shock ran through Yu Zhiyang's heart. He had already been pondering Fu Xiao's true identity, but he had never expected it to be this.

He nodded and said, "This son will go at once."

The old Emperor, however, reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

"Imperial Father?"

"That girl Xue... is she truly dead?" The old Emperor's gaze dimmed slightly, impossible to read whether it held sorrow or relief.

Yu Zhiyang nodded. "Does Imperial Father regret it now?"

The old Emperor pressed his lips tightly together and remained silent. After a moment, he let out a long sigh, waved his hand, and said, "You may withdraw."

Uncertain of what the old Emperor was mourning, Yu Zhiyang did not dare to waste any time and immediately headed toward the Left Prime Minister's Manor.

The Left Prime Minister's Manor was filled with numerous beauties, all of whom had been bestowed upon him by the old Emperor.

He had heard tales in the past that while the bloodline of the Holy Moon lineage was traditionally passed down through its male descendants, Fu Xiao remained entirely alone, having never touched a single woman.

Upon hearing that Yu Zhiyang had arrived, Fu Xiao greeted him while casually sipping wine.

"Third Highness, what brings you here?" Fu Xiao bantered. "At a time like this, shouldn't the Third Highness be securing your position? The Emperor is gravely ill; you ought to remain in the palace."

Yu Zhiyang frowned slightly and spoke the truth: "Imperial Father commands you to lead troops to resist Liangjin."

"You want *me* to go?" Fu Xiao chuckled, taking another sip of wine. "I'm not going."

"Imperial Father gave me a message for you," Yu Zhiyang said. "Holy Moon Commandery Princess."

Fu Xiao's hand paused mid-air.

His carefree and bantering expression vanished instantly.

Fixing his gaze on Yu Zhiyang, he demanded, "Where is she?"

"I do not know. But Imperial Father said only those four words and ordered you to take command," Yu Zhiyang replied.

Fu Xiao fell into a brief contemplation before finally agreeing. "The Emperor has truly exhausted all his schemes, even resorting to using me. It seems that if the Prince of Zhan refuses to help, His Majesty genuinely has no other options."

Yu Zhiyang merely said, "I hope the Left Prime Minister achieves a triumphant return soon."

Fu Xiao simply arched an eyebrow and laughed once more.

Bound by burdensome bloodlines, he was once again being forced to undertake things he had no desire to do.

Knowing that using the military tally would inevitably draw suspicion, Yu Zhiyang had not dared to return to Le Qianxue's location, fearing he might be tracked by Zhan Lianjing.

Yet on this particular day, a subordinate suddenly rushed into his quarters, breathless and frantic: "Master! The captive girl is gone!"

Yu Zhiyang was startled. To prevent any unforeseen complications, the guards he had assigned did not even know who Le Qianxue was.

Furthermore, Le Qianxue had iron chains bound to both her hands and feet; how could she possibly have left?

Overcome with fury, Yu Zhiyang rushed to the scene immediately. Upon arrival, he discovered that Le Qianxue was indeed gone, leaving behind only the heavy iron chains which had already been pried open and cast upon the ground.

Those chains had been forged from cold iron, yet she possessed the uncanny ability to pick the locks.

Seething with rage, Yu Zhiyang wore a dark and gloomy expression as he ordered, "Search everywhere! This place is halfway up a mountain with only a single path leading up and down. She must still be somewhere on this mountain."

The small peak erupted into activity as search parties were dispatched in all directions.

To evade them, Le Qianxue had to navigate through perilous situations, narrowly escaping discovery multiple times.

Panting heavily, she had already scouted the terrain: the sole route up and down the mountain was heavily guarded by sentries. Attempting to escape via that path would be an immensely difficult endeavor.

Le Qianxue thought and thought. To deceive Yu Zhiyang, she had recently feigned absolute obedience. Although Yu Zhiyang had spiked her meals with drugs to suppress her internal energy, she had quietly circulated her qi every night to slowly purge the toxins. Even so, her inner strength was currently a far cry from its peak; attempting to fight her way out with her present capabilities was simply impossible.

Footsteps echoed from both the front and the rear as searchers closed in. Le Qianxue frantically scanned her surroundings, searching desperately for a hiding spot.

With the pursuers closing in fast, panic began to rise within her.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from the shadows, violently pulling Le Qianxue into a narrow crevice before pushing a large boulder back into its original position to conceal them.

Le Qianxue's mouth was covered, and before she could even realize who it was, the person behind her whispered softly, "It's me... don't make a sound."

Her racing heart calmed considerably. In the pitch darkness, she could not make out the person's features, but she had already recognized the voice.

She whispered, "Why are you here?"

Yin Susu let out a soft, mocking laugh. "Aren't you surprised? Aren't you overjoyed? It turns out I'm the one who came to rescue you."

Le Qianxue could not help but smile wryly. "Indeed. Ascending this mountain is so difficult, how did you even get up here?"

Yin Susu shifted the boulder slightly to let in a breath of fresh air and murmured, "It was a tremendous ordeal getting up here. Look at my hands—they're covered in blisters. I had to climb up the mountain on foot."

"Climb the mountain?" Le Qianxue asked in surprise. "Although this peak isn't terribly high, climbing it like that is far too dangerous."

"Dangerous, indeed. But I had no other choice. That main mountain path was heavily guarded; if I had tried to use it, I'd probably be dead by now, let alone able to rescue you."

"Does Zhan Lianjing know I'm here?" Le Qianxue inquired.

"Look at you, still fretting over Zhan Lianjing," Yin Susu pouted. "He thought you were truly dead and has been completely devastated, locking himself away where no one can even see him."

Le Qianxue replied, "If he knew, rescuing me would be much easier."

"Do you not trust me?" Yin Susu retorted. "Don't worry, I have a way down. After all, I am an heir of the Yuan family—surely I possess at least this much ability. I will definitely keep you safe."

Le Qianxue simply smiled. After all, Yin Susu's arrival was more than enough proof of her loyalty.

Yu Zhiyang's men searched the mountain repeatedly, yet found nothing.

He had already ordered a lockdown of the mountain, determined to see what methods Le Qianxue could possibly use to escape.

Two full days passed, and yet Yu Zhiyang still could not locate her. Only then did he finally accept the reality that Le Qianxue had genuinely escaped.

Meanwhile, Yin Susu and Le Qianxue had already made their way safely to Night City.

It was only after leaving that place that Le Qianxue realized it had been a deeply secluded stronghold nestled amidst a labyrinth of mountain trails—not a place an ordinary person could ever hope to find.

"An ordinary person would undoubtedly lose their way there. To think you actually managed to track it down," Le Qianxue said. Having spent her time on the mountain without a single decent meal, she was utterly starved.

They seated themselves in a restaurant and ordered a spread of dishes.

Without waiting for Yin Susu, Le Qianxue immediately began to eat. Watching her, Yin Susu shook her head with a faint smile.

With a soft meow, a cat leaped onto the table. Yin Susu stroked it and said, "That's because I had assistance. It's exceptionally clever and helped me track Yu Zhiyang down."

Le Qianxue glanced at the feline, acknowledging that it was indeed adorable, though it seemed entirely indifferent to anyone else.