Chapter 1307: The Dream Ends in an Instant

After confirming that Ximen Qingkong had gone, Hao Cheng, who had been craning his neck from the doorway to watch him leave, immediately turned around and strode straight toward Xuan Wei, a strange gleam in his eyes.

Xuan Wei realized what he intended and hurriedly backed away, only to bump into the long table behind her.

That brief delay was enough. Hao Cheng caught her in his arms, and his hands became anything but well behaved, showing no restraint about touching places he had no business touching.

He forced Xuan Wei back onto the table. Unable to push him away and not daring to cry out, she seized him by the throat.

Hao Cheng, whose hand had already slipped beneath her clothes, could not take it. He let go, shoved himself back, and finally broke free. Clutching his throat, he coughed and gasped. "Bitch!"

Xuan Wei hurriedly got up and straightened her clothes. "You dare behave like this here? Aren't you afraid he'll kill you?"

"Kill me? Heh..." Hao Cheng suddenly doubled over laughing, then coughed several more times. Once he had caught his breath, he walked up to her and said mockingly, "Can you bear to let me die now? Xuan Wei, if you're asking someone for a favor, then act like it. I refuse to believe you don't understand something as basic as that." He reached out to toy with her chin.

Xuan Wei angrily slapped his hand aside. "Touch me again and I'll call for someone!"

"Call? Go ahead and call! Kill me, and I don't believe that bastard can make it out of this capital alive! If I die, neither of you will escape. You'll both die, and that grand dream of restoring your state will shatter with you!" Hao Cheng forcibly caught her chin again. "Let me tell you something. I don't have the slightest interest in an old woman like you!"

Xuan Wei knocked his hand away again. "If you're not interested, then keep your hands to yourself! I told you already: as long as you help me, I won't mistreat you afterward. Gold, silver, treasure—name whatever amount you want!"

"Gold and silver?" Hao Cheng's face twisted. "My reputation for this entire lifetime was ruined in your hands. Do you know how my brothers and sisters looked at me when I came back this time? I've become a laughingstock beneath Heaven! How much gold and silver can buy my reputation back? Bitch, unless I make you submit beneath me, I'll never swallow this humiliation!"

Xuan Wei said, "You should understand that if I can rise again, it will benefit you enormously as well. As long as I retain value, you will have value in the eyes of Qi too! Whatever resentment you have, we can settle it later. What exactly did Chancellor Liang say?"

Hao Cheng abruptly reached out, caught her around the waist, and hauled her into his arms.

Xuan Wei struggled again, but Hao Cheng suddenly warned her, "Yucang has come to the capital. Qin is already negotiating on the basis that Wei's territory will be its road of retreat. Aren't you anxious?"

Xuan Wei immediately stopped struggling and stared into his eyes.

Then she felt his hand moving somewhere it should not. Through clenched teeth, she said, "Let go of me!"

His hand did not stop. "If you want me to help you, don't give me empty promises. Give me a little sweetness first. Tomorrow I'm going to the estate outside the city. Serve me until I'm satisfied, and everything can be discussed. Otherwise, take those empty promises to someone else! Don't blame me for not warning you. If you wait until Yucang has finished negotiating and the court ministers have agreed, it really will be too late for them to change their minds and stop it."

With that, he gave her buttock a hard squeeze, shoved her away, and turned to leave. "I'm going tomorrow to enjoy myself. I don't want to see that eyesore of a bastard there ruining the mood!"

Xuan Wei remained standing where she was, her face full of worry. Yucang's arrival had left her burning with anxiety...

Early the next morning, a carriage train and guards waited outside the princely residence.

Hao Cheng sat quietly inside the carriage with his eyes closed, waiting as well.

The curtain suddenly lifted. Xuan Wei climbed onto the carriage platform, entered, and sat down.

The curtain fell, and the procession set off.

Hao Cheng smiled, shifted closer to her, and once again reached out to wrap an arm around her waist. "So you came obediently after all. I thought you might not."

Xuan Wei was visibly flustered. She hurriedly pushed him away, her gaze darting toward the carriage window.

Hao Cheng sensed something was wrong. He immediately leaned toward the window, pulled the curtain aside, and looked out. Ximen Qingkong was riding alongside on horseback.

Hao Cheng dropped the curtain and leaned close to Xuan Wei's ear. "I told you not to bring him. Why is he still here? What are you playing at?"

Xuan Wei said, "No matter where I go, I've always brought him with me. It's been that way for years. If I suddenly left him behind, he would become suspicious. He might very well follow us anyway."

Hao Cheng ground his teeth. "Are you playing me for a fool?"

Xuan Wei bit her lip. "I'll find a chance to send him away later." Even she found the words mortifying as they left her mouth.

Hao Cheng leaned back against the carriage wall in a fury.

...

The imperial estate stood amid mountains and water. It was a fine place.

After the group arrived and settled in, Xuan Wei sat worriedly in a waterside pavilion while Ximen Qingkong stood silently beside her.

A Goldenwing suddenly descended from the sky. One of the accompanying Mist Bureau personnel received it, quickly removed the secret message, decoded it, and hurried into the pavilion to report.

After reading it, Xuan Wei rose and handed it to Ximen Qingkong. "I'm afraid you'll have to make this trip yourself."

Ximen Qingkong took the message and read it. He said nothing, merely raised his eyes and stared into hers.

His gaze made Xuan Wei's heart pound. She herself had arranged the contents of the message the night before for the express purpose of sending Ximen Qingkong away today. By rights, he could not know that, yet the meaning in his eyes made it seem as though he already understood something.

Perhaps it was only her guilty conscience.

Ximen Qingkong suddenly said, "This trip may take a day or two."

Xuan Wei forced herself to say, "There are cultivators from Qi guarding this place. Nothing will happen."

Ximen Qingkong gave a slight nod. He said nothing more, turned, and left.

Xuan Wei watched him go, nearly biting through her own lip...

Not long after Ximen Qingkong departed, Hao Cheng learned that he was gone and appeared at once, heading straight for the waterside pavilion.

The moment he arrived, before Xuan Wei could speak, Hao Cheng bent down, swept her legs out from under her, and lifted her bodily into his arms.

"What are you doing?" Xuan Wei looked around in alarm. She had not expected him to do something so humiliating in broad daylight.

"What are you afraid of? You're my own wife. Who can say anything?" Hao Cheng laughed loudly, impatient to see this woman who had once stood so high above others reduced to submission beneath him.

Two Mist Bureau personnel hurried forward, unsure what to do. As Hao Cheng had said, he was Xuan Wei's husband.

The two looked to Xuan Wei, waiting for her command.

But Xuan Wei stopped struggling. She closed her eyes and let Hao Cheng carry her toward the sleeping quarters.

If even Xuan Wei herself offered no objection, what could two Mist Bureau subordinates do about a matter between husband and wife? They exchanged helpless looks.

Hao Cheng had barely carried her out of the waterside pavilion when a eunuch came running over and reported, "Your Highness, Chief Steward Bu sent word. He says there is urgent business and asks that you return to the city immediately."

"What important business could there be for a laughingstock like me? Get out of the way!" Hao Cheng kicked the man aside and kept going. Whatever the matter was, it could wait until after he had enjoyed himself. Otherwise, once that detestable fellow returned, his plans would be ruined again.

...

Beside the river, Ximen Qingkong, who had only just ridden out of the estate at a gallop, suddenly looked back.

In the distance, nearly a hundred riders thundered across a bridge toward the imperial estate. The man at their head looked vaguely familiar when Ximen Qingkong examined him with his Dharma Eye.

He abruptly hauled his mount to a stop as he remembered who it was: Yucang's disciple, Dugu Jing!

Years ago, Yucang had traveled widely beneath the reputation of a renowned scholar. He had visited the capital of Wei, where Xuan Wei had even received him personally. Ximen Qingkong had therefore met Dugu Jing before.

Someone from Xiaoyue Pavilion! What was he doing here? Ximen Qingkong's heart jolted. He shot into the air and raced back.

...

On the bed, Hao Cheng pinned Xuan Wei down and manhandled her for a while, but Xuan Wei refused to cooperate.

Angered, Hao Cheng suddenly climbed off her and pointed at Xuan Wei, who was clutching her clothes over her chest. He gave a short laugh. "Fine! I won't force you. Strip yourself. Strip yourself naked!"

Xuan Wei remained curled up without moving, her gaze blank. Not the slightest trace remained of the female Chancellor of Wei she had once been.

"I'm asking you one last time. Are you taking them off or not?"

A bitter smile appeared on Xuan Wei's face. Her hand finally moved, slowly reaching for the sash at her waist. She closed her eyes, tears gathering at their corners.

Hao Cheng's eyes immediately lit up. He watched in anticipation while quickly removing his own outer robe.

Boom! Sounds of fighting suddenly erupted outside. Both people in the room started, and Xuan Wei hurriedly sat up...

The Qi cultivators assigned to guard the estate had been temporarily transferred away. Xuan Wei's Mist Bureau personnel suffered for it. They were no match for the people from Xiaoyue Pavilion.

Dugu Jing led his men inside and immediately began killing.

Boom! A streak of sword qi descended from above. Earth and stone exploded outward, blasting a crater into the ground.

Dugu Jing and the others instantly went on guard. A figure landed before them, sword held crosswise in hand. It was Ximen Qingkong.

He had already seized a terrified eunuch who was stumbling and crawling in panic. Ximen Qingkong pressed his sword to the man's neck and demanded, "Where is Xuan Wei?"

"B-b-back... in the back... the rear sleeping hall..."

Dugu Jing waved a hand. A group of men flashed out and surrounded Ximen Qingkong.

Ximen Qingkong hurled the eunuch aside and swept a cold gaze around him. He did not fear these men, but the strung Heavenly Mechanism Aura-Breaking Arrows positioned on the surrounding buildings made him wary.

The weapon was vicious. It could pierce protective qi, and rumor said its needles were laced with deadly poison.

Dugu Jing smiled. "So it is Mr. Ximen, number one on the Golden Core Ranking. We parted years ago; I never expected to meet you here today. Ximen Qingkong, a man should act like a man, and a woman like a woman. It isn't worth throwing yourself away for a woman who only knows how to use you. You aren't my target. Stay where you are and don't move, and I won't make things difficult for you."

He was about to move around Ximen Qingkong when a sharp shout suddenly came from nearby. "Stop!"

Everyone turned. Xuan Wei emerged with her hair loosened and her clothes disheveled, a sword in her hand pressed against Hao Cheng's throat.

Hao Cheng was missing his outer robe. Blood was already running from his neck as Xuan Wei forced him forward, trembling.

The fighting outside had startled them. In a moment of inattention, Hao Cheng had allowed Xuan Wei to seize a decorative sword and put it to his throat, taking him hostage.

At first, Xuan Wei had merely sensed that something was wrong and taken a hostage as insurance. But the instant she came outside and saw Dugu Jing, the dream ended. She knew Qi had sold her out.

Dugu Jing frowned slightly. He could not understand what had happened. Why had Hao Cheng not been evacuated? How had he ended up in Xuan Wei's hands?

They were still on Qi soil, after all. If Hao Cheng died here, it would be difficult to explain matters to Hao Yuntu. Dugu Jing had no choice but to be somewhat wary.

He abruptly tilted his head in signal. Figures immediately began moving in the surrounding corners, quietly closing in on Xuan Wei.

How could such movement escape Ximen Qingkong's heightened vigilance? Currents of air surged around his body, and the ground beneath his feet suddenly cracked.

Catching the movement from the corner of his eye, Dugu Jing immediately shouted, "Loose!"

[End of Chapter 1307]