CHAPTER 23

Intruder

LUO FAN

My eyes snapped open. It was the middle of the night and I had blown out the candle before I had gone to bed earlier, but although I could not see anything in the darkness, I had undoubtedly heard a pair of feet lightly landing on the floor. The intruder must have come from the window that I had left open to allow the fresh air in.

“Your Highness,” a voice whispered.

I stiffened.

It had been a while since anyone had addressed me like that.

In Kan Empire, the status of a Divine Mage was equivalent to that of a prince, and that was why people used to address me as one.

That meant the intruder was someone who knew me.

“It’s me, Liang Yuan.”

I jolted up from the bed.

Liang Yuan! My senior sect brother in Frost Mountain?

“Is it really you?” I asked, my breathing unsteady, stirred by sudden excitement.

“Of course. Must I show you proof?”

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. The reason I had gotten so excited was because I had already recognized his voice.

“No need. I know your voice too well.”

A light lit up. He must have kindled a ball of light in his hand, just like how he used to do when the two of us had been assigned to investigate a disturbance inside the cave at the foot of Frost Mountain. He had always carried with him a small crystal ball that he imbued with light energy so he did not have to carry a torch to light his way in dark places. It was more convenient.

“Can you see me now?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I can only see a black silhouette of your figure.”

“So it’s true.” He slowly sat down beside me. “You’re blind.”

I did not answer. This man had been one of my closest friends in Frost Mountain, and his mother was Prince Yusheng’s maternal cousin. Since I was adopted by Prince Yusheng, we grew up referring to each other as cousins, as well. Regardless of our closeness, there was a reason why I had not sought his help when I needed it.

It was because he was also a close friend and the personal general of the crown prince of Kan Empire. Ever since I met him, he had always been very loyal to Crown Prince Jiayi. Twice, he had risked his life saving the crown prince’s life.

And that crown prince had been the one who had insisted that my cultivation be nullified as compensation for my crime.

So naturally, I held deep resentment over Crown Prince Jiayi. I could not trust his loyal general either.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I’ve been searching for you.”

“Why are you searching for me?”

“A-Fan, we’re sect brothers. Of course, I wanted to find out where you are to make sure that you are fine.”

“I’m no longer a member of Ethereal Frost Sect.”

“Nonsense. Even if you’ve been banished, I still see you as my brother. Don’t you feel the same?”

I sighed. “I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Earlier today in the restaurant, I saw you together with the Eternal Damnation Sect leader. What exactly is your relationship with him?”

I froze and my cheeks flared.

He must be the one that Ruan Yanjun had mentioned earlier who kept staring at me and was giving us a hard stare.

“Do you have a relationship with Sect Leader Ruan?”

I heaved another sigh and shook my head. “We have no such relationship. He was just making a show. I don’t know for what purpose, but knowing Sect Leader Ruan, he’s not someone who’d do silly things for no reason.”

“You seem to adore him.”

“I do adore him for many things, especially his profound knowledge of politics and war, and not to mention his mind-blowing fighting skills, but that is all.”

“How did you end up with Sect Leader Ruan in the first place?”

As I noticed that he seemed to be fishing for information, my senses had come to an alert and I decided to put my guard up. “It’s a long story.”

“A-Fan.” He reached for my hand and held it in between his. “We’ve heard a lot about Ruan Yanjun before, and you know very well that he is a devil in human form. Do not trust him. Whatever his purpose is for taking you in, it’s not for you but for himself.”

I pulled my hand off his grip. A few times in the past, he had held my hand that way, and it had always made me feel uncomfortable. “I know that.”

“Then come with me.” He grabbed my hand again. “I’ll get you out of here and take you to a place where he cannot find you.”

I was dumbfounded. For a long moment, I could not utter a word.

“I will protect you myself,” he continued.

His words were promising, but I could not trust him either. He might be planning to deliver me to the palace to be executed. At least Ruan Yanjun did not want me dead… for now.

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“Yuan, you’re only tempting death. There’s no place we can hide, and once he finds us, he won’t be very forgiving.”

“There is a place. Trust me.”

Those last two words… Whenever Ruan Yanjun uttered those words, the more I could not trust him. The same with Liang Yuan.

“I won’t go with you.” I tried to pull my hand again, but he gripped it even tighter.

“You have to come with me right now. I’m the only one who can protect you.”

“You think you’re more capable of protecting me than Sect Leader Ruan?”

“He is only using you. He protects you for his own benefit, and once your usefulness is over, he’ll kill you. You have to escape while you still have a chance.”

I had also suspected that, but with Ruan Yanjun, I saw a better chance of survival.

“I won’t go with you,” I decided.

“Don’t be stupid.” He stood up and pulled me towards the window. “Whether you like it or not, I’ll get you out of here.”

“I cannot go with you!” I growled, keeping my voice low so as not to wake up the other guests, especially Ruan Yanjun who was only two rooms away. If he caught Liang Yuan with me, it would only end up bad and I did not want my cousin killed.

“You have to before it’s too late!”

Although I was physically weaker, I fought with all my strength and he stopped trying to drag me out of the window. He knew that if I continued to struggle, it’s either we’d fall to the floor and make a noise or drop a long way to the ground below.

“What are you doing?” he grunted in between gasps. “That man is a devil. Don’t tell me you’ve bonded with him.”

“It’s not that.” I was also struggling for breath. “I am indebted to him. I promised to pay him back by working for him.”

“How much do you owe him? I’ll pay for it. I’ll send the money over to him the moment we reach our destination.”

“Stop it!” I spat. “I told you I’m not going with you. I’m doing fine just now, and I am well aware of my situation. I can handle the risks that will come in the future.”

“A-Fan, you’re underestimating the devil. He won’t give you a chance. I guarantee that. So stop being foolish and come with me!”

He tried to reach for me again but I patted his hands away. He insisted until we ended up exchanging blows. He was a fifth level. I was no match against him.

He managed to grab both my wrists and locked them with just one hand behind my back, and then he pinned me against the wall, restraining my movement.

We were both breathing hard that none of us could speak a word for a moment.

I pressed my forehead against the wall as I thought of a way to escape from my situation. I should have made a commotion earlier to wake Ruan Yanjun up.

“A-Fan,” he whispered, his hot breath blowing against the back of my ear. He was too close and he even pressed his chest against my back.

I wriggled. “Get off me.”

The more that he moved his body closer until I was flattened against the hard wall.

“Yuan, this is so awkward!” I scolded.

“I won’t do anything to you,” he whispered. “Just listen to me.”

I tried to calm my anger down. “I will listen, but let me go.”

After heaving two deep breaths, he finally released my hands and took a step back.

I drew a relieved breath and turned around to face him.

“There is something that I need to tell you,” he said. “It’s very important. It’s a rather complicated one so I can’t say it here. Let’s go to a safe place. You may return here later should you choose to.”

“I’ll meet you some other place during the day. Do not come dragging me out of bed in the middle of the night. No decent person does that.”

“I could not get a chance to speak to you during the day. The devil has been guarding you like a dog watching over his precious bone.”

“I’ll find a way.”

“No. It’s either we talk tonight or we might never have another chance.”

“Then say it here.”

“I told you it’s complicated and you might not like it. I won’t risk you reacting violently and wake the devil up.”

“Stop calling him the devil!” I rasped, which somehow surprised me why I was speaking in defense of Ruan Yanjun, even though I myself had been referring to him the same way.

“A-Fan!” he softly exclaimed. “You’ve been enchanted by the devil!”

I stiffened. I remembered that dark cultivators had a spell called the Devil’s Charm that allowed them to enthrall a person.

After considering the possibility for a moment, I shook my head.

So far, I was still sane and I felt no odd feelings towards Ruan Yanjun, and I did not think the leader of the world-renowned Eternal Damnation Sect would resort to such an underhanded method. He may be a devil, but he still possessed some decency.

“A-Fan.”

Liang Yuan and I held our breaths as we turned to the door, where the voice came from.

Speak of the devil! He must have heard the commotion, or one of his men guarding the door must have and had gone to wake him up.

“Are you alright in there?” Ruan Yanjun asked. His voice was calm, but I knew too well how he never showed emotions even in a state of anger.

I tried to respond, to tell him that I was fine, but my throat felt too tight my voice would certainly not sound well, and he’d definitely notice it.

Liang Yuan knew he was short of time so he grabbed me on both arms and shook me. “Let’s leave right away. There’s no time to waste.”

“No, you leave right now before he barges in. Hurry.”

“You are not the orphaned commoner you think you are. You are way more than that,” he said in a desperate attempt to lure me to leave with him. “Come with me and I will tell you everything.”

He tried one last time to drag me along, but it was too late.

As I heard the door open, I pushed him out of the window.

I quickly turned around and found Ruan Yanjun’s dark figure approaching. I could only hope that Liang Yuan had made it out in time.

I did not dare utter a word and even tried to make my heart stop beating so he would not sense the fear within me.

He bent down and picked something up. When his silhouette became clearer, I realized he had the ball of light in his hand. Liang Yuan must have dropped it on the floor earlier.

“A light cultivator,” he concluded as he stepped closer to me.

I did not desist when he gently pushed me to the side so he could look out of the window.

He smirked. “General Liang it is.”

I froze.

He knows Liang Yuan?

“Like a rat scampering back to his filthy hole.”

I thought he would follow Liang Yuan, but to my relief, he turned to me instead. He held my chin and tilted my head up so he could see my face.

I felt the tension in his breath when he probably noticed something.

“How dare that rat ruin my A-Fan’s perfection.” He gently brushed his thumb over my lower right cheek. When I felt the sting, that was the only time I realized that I was wounded. I probably got it when I fought with Liang Yuan.

“It’s just a small cut,” I said.

“If someone cuts Jinjing’s face, will you say the same?”

I definitely would not allow anyone to harm Jinjing, not especially her face. “She’s a woman. I’m a man. The situation should not be compared.”

“It’s precisely because you are a man that I am very protective of you. There are many beautiful women in this world, but a beauty like yours is rare.”

I did not bother to respond anymore. Hearing those words from him made me want to throw up. I’d rather pretend I heard nothing.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked again.

I shook my head.

“What did he tell you?” he asked.

“…It’s nothing.”

“A-Fan, you’re not a good liar.”

“He was just trying to convince me to leave you and go with him.”

“And?”

“I have given you my word. I will not leave.”

He sighed and released my chin. “I think that man likes you.”

I frowned. “Lord Ruan, he’s my sect brother and my cousin.”

“I’ve heard of cousins getting married.”

I flushed. “We are both men.”

“That’s exactly what I mean. Two men, who are cousins, getting married.”

I flushed even more. “Lord Ruan, please don’t utter ludicrous things.”

He smirked. “Does it sound too revolting to you?”

“It does.”

He laughed deeply. “Once you regain your sight, you will never believe the things you will see. You might wish you should have just remained blind.”

I pondered about what he said.

Does that mean that such kind of immorality is a normal scene in the secular world?

“Come. Sleep in my room.”

My eyes widened.

“Your admirer will come back to abduct you. Do you still want to stay here?”

He was right. Liang Yuan might return and I did not want to continue arguing with him.

Without uttering any objection, I reached for my things and followed Ruan Yanjun to his room. The moment I walked in, he closed the door.

“Sleep on the bed,” he said. “I’ll stay on guard.”

I was embarrassed to think that I would be sleeping while he stayed up to guard me. “I think I’ll just stay awake and keep you company.”

“You are sick. You need to rest. Right now.”

Without saying another word, I left my things on the table and lay down on the bed.

He turned off the light and my vision became pitch black.

I felt him sit on my side.

“Close your eyes and sleep,” he demanded.

I closed my eyes but no matter how I tried, I could not fall asleep. While the devil was sitting right beside me, I could not feel safe, but if I returned to my room, the risk would be greater.

This would be a long sleepless night.