Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 101: Good Thing She Didn’t Love Him.

　　An Jiu committed to the act fully and ordered the Xuan Yi Wei guard to travel through the night without stopping. The carriage sped through the darkness, not slowing for even a moment.

　　She thought, surely even with all of Pei Ji’s power and influence, he wouldn’t be able to catch her that fast, right?

　　The city gates were already closed. Normally, no one could open them again unless they were royalty.

　　Pei Ji definitely didn’t have that kind of pull.

　　But just as An Jiu was sitting comfortably in the carriage, enjoying the projection in good spirits, she saw a sudden shift in the previously still image of the man.

　　He tilted his head slightly, as if he’d heard something, and looked off in a specific direction.

　　A moment later, an owl flew out of the darkness and landed on his shoulder.

　　The man took the letter from the owl’s leg. He only glanced at it once before crushing the paper in a burst of fury.

　　“Well now… aren’t you something.”

　　An Jiu heard the cold whisper, like it was squeezed out from between clenched teeth, void of any warmth.

　　Even though she was far, far away from him, she instinctively shivered.

　　What was this ominous feeling creeping in?

　　Half an hour later, her gut feeling proved right.

　　To keep tabs on Pei Ji’s movements, An Jiu had left the projection on the whole time. She watched as the man moved swiftly and decisively, contacting his subordinates one after another. Since all his messages were written down, An Jiu could only piece together his plan from the bits of conversation between him and Ah Qi.

　　From what she gathered, he was dispatching Qiansha Pavilion assassins from other regions to intercept her carriage.

　　As for how he’d managed to track her exact location, it is unknown.

　　It was probably thanks to Qiansha Pavilion’s intel network. According to the original story, Qiansha Pavilion didn’t just take on assassination jobs—they also moonlighted in selling intelligence. Their reputation was downright notorious.

　　By the time An Jiu saw this part, she knew there was no point in watching any further.

　　Sure enough, the carriage hadn’t even gone another half an hour before a group of masked figures dressed in black appeared ahead.

　　The Xuan Yi Wei guard yanked the reins and brought the carriage to a halt, every muscle tensed.

　　“Who are you people? Why are you blocking the road?”

　　One of the masked men replied in a low, muffled voice, “We’re here for someone. Hand over the person behind you.”

　　The Xuan Yi Wei guard was well-trained and familiar with the martial world. One look at their outfits, and he had a good guess which group they belonged to.

　　They were Qiansha Pavilion’s assassins.

　　Rumor had it that once Qiansha Pavilion set their sights on someone, not even the ends of the earth could save them.

　　His heart sank. It was just him, alone. The other side had at least five people—and two of them were clearly top-tier experts. How could he possibly protect the young lady inside the carriage and get her out safely?

　　He quietly moved his lips and transmitted a message into the carriage: “Miss An, those are Qiansha Pavilion assassins. I don’t know why they’re after you, but I’ll try to hold them off. You should run when you get the chance… If not, there’s nothing else I can do.”

　　As he said this, the guard was already prepared to die.

　　It wasn’t that he didn’t trust An Jiu, but she was just a girl. Even if she ran, what could she do? Once he was down, they would definitely chase her down.

　　He was still caught up in these thoughts when a rustling noise came from behind.

　　The carriage curtain lifted, and someone stepped out. In the dim light, her face wasn’t clear, but her silhouette made it obvious—this was a slender young girl.

　　Under everyone’s gaze, the girl stepped off the carriage, carrying a small bundle in her hand. Her voice trembled as she said, “I know why you’re here. Fei Yi or Xian Wuming sent you to take me back, right? I’ll go with you—just let him go.”

　　She pointed at the Xuan Yi Wei guard still sitting on the carriage.

　　The five masked men stayed silent.

　　They had no intention of agreeing. Qiansha Pavilion’s secrecy came from one simple rule—anyone who saw them didn’t live to talk about it.

　　No one ever survived an encounter with Qiansha. That was how the organization had operated since the very beginning.

　　Seeing their silence, the girl stomped her foot and raised her voice. “You’re not here to kill me, right? Let me tell you something—Xian Wuming likes me. He’s taking me back to make me his wife. If you don’t listen, I’ll complain to him when I see him, and then you’ll all be punished!”

　　Those words finally stirred the group.

　　They weren’t sure if she was telling the truth, but it was true that Xian Wuming had ordered her to be unharmed.

　　An Jiu was borrowing a tiger’s power to act tough, not realizing that punishment in Qiansha Pavilion was often the same as death. No one wanted to die.

　　One of the masked men hesitated for a moment, then finally stepped forward and said, “Fine. But we need to be sure he won’t talk about tonight.”

　　As he spoke, one of them pulled out a small bottle from his robe and tossed it to the Xuan Yi Wei guard.

　　The guard caught it instinctively and held it in his hand.

　　“Swallow that, and we’ll let you go.”

　　An Jiu quickly shouted, “What is that? What if you’re making him swallow poison?”

　　The assassin replied, “If we let him go, he’ll die if the Pavilion Master finds out. But if he takes this medicine, he might have a chance to survive.”

　　The Xuan Yi Wei guard thought for a moment, then said to An Jiu, “Miss An, no need to say anything more. I’ll take it.”

　　As soon as he finished, he uncorked the bottle, poured out the single pill inside, and swallowed it without hesitation.

　　It was his only option—either die, or take the pill. He wasn’t afraid of death. He was born to serve and protect the royal family, and dying was part of the job. The only reason he chose to take this unknown drug was because he wanted to bring news of this back.

　　“Alright,” one of the masked assassins said without dragging things out. “You can go. We’ll be taking the carriage.”

　　The guard stepped away, watching helplessly as the girl was escorted back into the carriage by the men in black. The carriage rumbled off into the distance soon after.

　　He memorized the direction it was heading and turned to rush back. But before he’d taken more than a few steps, his vision darkened, and he collapsed face-first onto the ground, completely unconscious.

　　The next morning, a traveler found the unconscious man lying by the roadside. After waking him up, they realized he didn’t even know who he was. No matter what they asked, he couldn’t answer. The traveler quickly sent him to the local authorities.

　　The officials went through his belongings to confirm his identity, then notified the Prince’s Mansion.

　　That, however, led to a whole chain of events that we’ll talk about later.

　　Back to now—An Jiu sat inside the carriage, swaying back and forth as it moved, not knowing where they were headed.

　　She tried peeking outside, but the masked men riding alongside would immediately stop her.

　　So she gave up trying. It wasn’t like this escape attempt was meant to be real anyway.

　　She was even relaxed enough to take a nap in the bumpy carriage. By the time she woke up, the carriage had already stopped.

　　Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she lifted the curtain.

　　In the bright daylight, a man stood just outside the carriage in black robes, hands behind his back, quietly watching her. His deep black eyes were unreadable.

　　The girl, who looked like a startled little hamster, froze, then quickly dropped the curtain and retreated back into the carriage like she’d been electrocuted.

　　“Come out,” came a cold voice, followed by a faint sneer. “Do I need to go in and get you myself?”

　　An Jiu: “…”

　　Couldn’t he at least let her mentally prepare first?

　　She pressed her hand to her chest, took a deep breath, and slowly climbed out of the carriage, inching her way forward with turtle-speed baby steps until she stood before the man.

　　Before she could even plant her feet firmly, two cold fingers grabbed her chin.

　　The man studied her face, as if trying to figure out how she’d dared to pull something like this.

　　“You actually dared to lie to me.”

　　His tone was calm and slow, and his narrow eyes were pitch black, like a bottomless well.

　　The girl, either because she’d given up or was finally showing her true colors, looked a little pale but not at all scared. Her little face tightened with defiance as she gritted her teeth and glared right back at him.

　　“So what if I lied to you? You psycho! Disgusting! I’m not going with you!”

　　“If you've got the guts, kill me! Even if I die, there’s no way I’d ever like you, so just give up already!”

　　In her mind, this man had clearly been chasing after her nonstop and doing all those things to her again and again because he wanted her but couldn’t have her.

　　Everything she told those masked assassins earlier wasn’t some random lie—it was exactly what she believed.

　　Xian Wuming must like her like crazy, that’s why he wanted to drag her back. Otherwise, how would she explain all the things he’d done?

　　“I heard you’ve been telling people I like you, and that I’m bringing you back to be my wife?”

　　The man stared at the furious little creature in front of him, gnashing her teeth like an angry cub. Even now, caught and cornered, she was still clawing and snapping.

　　He frowned slightly. This woman probably would never learn how to behave.

　　“That's right. Isn’t it true that you like me?” The girl stared at him wide-eyed, and that look of hers screamed one thing loud and clear—

　　I’ve got you all figured out. Don’t bother pretending.

　　Pei Ji was about to deny it. How could he admit to such a weakness? But the moment their eyes met, he suddenly didn’t want to deny it anymore.

　　He gave her a faint, unreadable smile and said slowly, “Yeah, I like you.”

　　The proud little smile immediately lit up the girl's delicate face. Her brows arched up with satisfaction, wearing that smug look that clearly said, See? I knew I was right.

　　She glared at him with defiance, her voice rising with sharp, vengeful glee. “So what if you like me? I don’t like you. Even if you tie me up and drag me back, I still won’t like you. What are you gonna do about it?”

　　She probably thought that was the best revenge—saying it right to his face, watching him suffer.

　　But the man’s expression didn’t change one bit.

　　His chest did feel a bit tight, but it wasn’t unbearable. That feeling had haunted him for a long time anyway. Pei Ji was used to it.

　　As for her not liking him, he’d always handled that with a calm indifference.

　　After all, since the day they met, she’d basically never liked him.

　　“Why aren’t you saying anything?” she asked, frowning slightly, a flicker of unease in her eyes.

　　The man snapped out of his thoughts, lowered his gaze to her subtly anxious face, and let out a quiet chuckle. “I was just thinking about how to make you fall for me.”

　　So what if she didn’t like him?

　　He had his ways. He’d make sure she loved him so deeply she wouldn’t see anyone else. She’d have eyes and heart for only him.

　　The girl seemed to sense some kind of unseen danger. Her long lashes fluttered a little as she nervously asked, “So… have you thought of something?”

　　The man looked dead serious as he asked, “Have you ever heard of Love Gu?”

　　An Jiu had definitely heard of it.

　　Not from some book, but straight from Pei Ji himself, back when they were on the road to the mortuary in Pinglan City.

　　Later on, when she was caught by Wu Sheng, it was also because she had ‘wanted the Love Gu.’

　　So technically, she knew exactly what this thing was.

　　The moment he said it, her face went pale.

　　She had dared to provoke him again and again, speaking so rudely, all because she believed that Xian Wuming liked her enough to never really harm her, even if he did catch her.

　　But now he said he would use Love Gu on her.　　

　　The girl instinctively took two steps back. His grip on her hand hadn't been tight, so she easily broke free.

　　Staggering, she turned and tried to run.

　　She hadn’t even made it two steps before an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back.

　　Her nose slammed into his hard chest, making her eyes sting with tears. She struggled and shoved him hard, yelling, “Let me go! Let me go! You can't do this to me!”

　　“I can,” the man said, looking down at her like a lamb ready for slaughter, a cold smile flickering in his eyes.

　　He didn’t bother with more words. With her in his arms, he tapped the ground lightly with his feet and darted through the dense forest, carrying her deeper into the woods.

　　Still unwilling to give up, the girl shouted, “Even if you use Love Gu on me, the feelings I’ll have for you won’t be real! Don’t you want something real?”

　　As the wind roared past her ears, she heard his calm reply, “Fake is good enough.”

　　He didn’t need it to be real.

　　If it were real, he probably wouldn’t be able to stay this cold.

　　As long as she didn’t love him, he could still bring himself to kill her.

　　But if she truly loved him…

　　Just imagining that possibility made his heart twist with unbearable emotion. The surge was so strong it physically hurt.

　　In that moment, he felt something close to relief.

　　Thank goodness she didn’t love him.

　　Otherwise, he would’ve fallen into a terrifying abyss.

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