Volume One, Chapter 14: The Treasure Has Escaped

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The following day, Su Yu sat on the sofa watching television, yet she could not shake the feeling that something was strange. Normally, even when Si Yan was away on business, he would tell her roughly how many days he would be gone. At the very least, he would call constantly, asking this and that and filling the air with pointless chatter.

She had never liked listening to him, but today he was unusually quiet—so quiet that she found herself unable to adapt.

And it was not only him. The castle itself was eerily still today, as though she were the only person left inside.

Su Yu found her own reaction strange. Was she suffering withdrawal?

She set down the remote, slipped on her slippers, and went to the rear garden to water the plants while the light faded.

Taking a new pair of shears, Su Yu approached the wire fence.

Snip. Snip.

As she cut, she cursed Si Yan under her breath.

“Locking me up like a prisoner. What a beast!”

At last, the tiny opening she had made the previous night had grown somewhat larger.

Up on the attic roof, Si Yan heard every word of her tirade without missing a syllable.

She was trying to escape—and still had the nerve to curse him!

Si Yan felt deeply aggrieved.

When yet another pair of shears was ruined, Su Yu flung them aside.

For this hole, one pair of shears would have been enough. Si Yan had locked away all the heavy-duty gardening tools, refusing to let her touch them.

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The only things she could use now, apart from a kitchen knife, were the shears for trimming flowers and plants.

Deflated, Su Yu trudged back toward the castle, her heart weighed down by a heavy stone.

She had just reached the entrance and had not yet pushed open the massive door when a warm, broad hand suddenly covered her mouth. A forceful tug pulled her behind one of the nearby pillars.

“Mmph—”

Su Yu’s heart clenched, and she instinctively began to struggle. What was happening? Was she not even safe inside the castle?

This wretched place truly was fraught with danger!

“It’s me.”

The low, familiar voice made her heart tremble.

Su Yu lifted her eyes. In the faint light beneath the corridor, she finally saw the man before her—Li Hanyan, dressed in the uniform of one of the castle’s mercenaries. His other hand still covered her mouth tightly, and his eyes were filled with tension and urgency.

At the sound of his voice, all the blood in Su Yu’s body seemed to freeze, only to boil over violently the next instant.

She pulled his hand away and flung herself into his arms, almost sobbing as she clung to him.

“Brother Hanyan! What are you doing here?”

The excitement and grievance in her voice could no longer be concealed.

A relieved smile spread across Li Hanyan’s face. He raised his arms and held her tightly in return, his voice full of certainty.

“You were in danger. How could I possibly not come rescue you?”

Tears still clung to Su Yu’s cheeks. She gently pulled away, then asked with a trace of confusion and concern, “But didn’t I tell you not to come?”

Could it be that he had not seen the message she sent him?

Li Hanyan truly had not seen it. The only thing he had received was the location information sent by Si Yan.

He lifted a hand and tenderly brushed the tears from her cheek with his fingertip, his eyes overflowing with affection.

“You silly girl. You sent me your location. How could I possibly not come?”

Then his tone changed, and his expression grew wary.

“Forget about that for now. We need to leave.”

“I’ve observed the place. There aren’t that many mercenaries inside the castle.”

As he spoke, he seized Su Yu’s hand.

His words stirred an inexplicable sense of unease within her, but she had no time to examine it.

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As he led her forward, Su Yu’s heart pounded like a rabbit trapped in her chest.

Could she really leave this prison?

*

Above the attic—

Huang Yu gripped the locator tightly. The glowing point on its screen was moving slowly.

He leaned toward Si Yan and asked in a low voice, “Master, the target is on the move. Shall we act?”

Si Yan’s gaze remained fixed on the surveillance screen. His knuckles had gone white from the force of his grip, and his back teeth ground together with a harsh click.

His voice was cold as ice.

“She just… took the initiative to hug that man?”

His little darling had never shown him such intimacy. Forget about embracing him of her own accord—even the slightest affectionate contact was met with resistance.

And he still had to endure her scolding.

What right did Li Hanyan have?!

Jealousy surged through his chest like molten lava, nearly burning through his reason.

He was going to kill the man.

Li Hanyan quickly led Su Yu to the section of wire fence where an opening had already been torn through it. With his free hand, he drew a gleaming iron blade from his waist. His wrist snapped forward with tremendous force, and with a sharp ripping sound, the fence that had appeared so sturdy fell apart beneath the blade.

Su Yu’s eyes lit up. Unable to restrain herself, she exclaimed, “Brilliant!”

So it was not that the fence had been indestructible. She had simply been using the wrong tools before!

She had found her savior!

Li Hanyan swiftly pushed Su Yu through the opening, then climbed out after her. He had just taken her hand and prepared to move when a group of heavily armed mercenaries suddenly surged in from all sides, their black muzzles leveled at the pair.

The crowd slowly parted.

Si Yan emerged from behind them, his face so dark it seemed capable of dripping water. His voice was like a venom-coated icicle—sinister and terrifying.

“Where are you taking my little darling?”