Volume One, Chapter 56: Darling, I’ll Take You and Fly Away

Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

"Xiao He, what time is it?"

Su Ying'er slightly parted her rouge-tinted lips and asked in a soft voice.

Behind her, the maid Xiao He bowed and replied, "Reporting to my lady, it is almost noon. Everything is ready. Shall we set off for the Tasting Pavilion now?"

"Mm."

Su Ying'er nodded lightly. "Let's go."

With that, she got up and walked outward, closely followed by Xiao He, whose eyes were darting around anxiously.

The front hall of Drunken Immortal Pavilion was crowded with guests, so Su Ying'er bypassed it, taking the back door with Xiao He.

The prepared sedan chair and the attendants from Drunken Immortal Pavilion were already waiting outside the back door.

However, just as Su Ying'er was about to pass through the back door, three men suddenly lunged out from behind it.

"Who are you..."

Su Ying'er cried out in panic, but before she could finish, one of the men struck the back of her neck, rendering her unconscious.

Another man immediately rushed forward to catch her.

The last man, who had a long face, smiled at Xiao He and said, "Good girl, you did a great job."

As he spoke, he reached out to stroke Xiao He's face.

Xiao He stepped back to dodge his hand and said with a gloomy expression, "Song Feng, you promised you would only stop my lady from going to the Tasting Pavilion. Why did you knock her out?"

Song Feng chuckled. "How could we stop her without knocking her out? Don't worry, we won't do anything to her, and we wouldn't dare. But to avoid any complications, we need to take her away first. Once today is over, we will definitely send her back."

"Then how am I supposed to explain this?" Xiao He asked in a deep voice.

"Just say that Su Ying'er temporarily changed her mind and decided not to go to the Tasting Pavilion, and that she is resting in her room. Does anyone dare to forcefully barge into Su Ying'er's chambers?" Song Feng narrowed his eyes.

Xiao He pondered for two seconds, then nodded. "Alright. But you must guarantee that nothing bad happens to Su Ying'er, or else don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Rest assured."

Song Feng chuckled and kissed Xiao He, saying, "Once this matter is settled, I will take you far away. This time, I will keep my word."

Xiao He pressed her lips together and remained silent.

Choosing to help Song Feng this time meant gambling away the rest of her life, and perhaps even her very existence.

She was merely a maid in a pleasure house, and barring a miracle, she would never rise above her station.

She did not want to spend the rest of her life living like that.

Song Feng was her chance.

As long as Song Feng carried this out successfully, he would get the money to buy out her indenture and take her away from this pleasure district.

Moreover, Song Feng had promised her that Su Ying'er would come to no harm, and that they were merely preventing her from going to the Tasting Pavilion.

Up on the courtyard wall, Fan Xiu watched the scene unfold, gritting his teeth in pure rage!

These bastards were actually going to stop Su Ying'er from going to the Tasting Pavilion.

They had even managed to buy off Su Ying'er's personal maid, Xiao He, using such a pathetic trick.

Was this Xiao He a complete idiot?

She actually believed such a preposterous lie about being taken away to live happily ever after!

If a naive scholar had said such a thing, perhaps there might have been a shred of hope. But coming from a scoundrel who made his living committing crimes, his words were less reliable than a patron telling a courtesan he loved her!

And yet, Xiao He actually believed him!

They wanted to take Su Ying'er away?

Over his dead body!

Hiding behind the wall, Fan Xiu immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, "Help! Su Ying'er has been kidnapped! Help!"

The guards of Drunken Immortal Pavilion stationed by the sedan chair immediately rushed over in that direction.

From inside Drunken Immortal Pavilion, heavy footsteps echoed loudly.

The expressions of Song Feng and his accomplices changed drastically.

"You treacherous bitch!"

Song Feng roared furiously, "You double-crossed me!"

With that, he kicked Xiao He to the ground, hoisted Su Ying'er over his shoulder, and bolted outside with the other two men.

Song Feng's kick was fiercely powerful.

Xiao He slid across the ground for several meters before stopping, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

Fan Xiu had no time to pay attention to Xiao He, his eyes locked firmly on the fleeing figures of Song Feng and the others.

The guards outside the door had already rushed over and were giving chase.

Except for Song Feng, the other two men stopped behind, evidently intending to block the pursuers.

No!

He absolutely could not let them take Su Ying'er away.

If he allowed these people to abduct Su Ying'er, his defeat would be absolute, and his entire plan would go up in smoke!

Fan Xiu hurriedly followed stealthily in pursuit.

Beyond the back door of Drunken Immortal Pavilion lay a secluded alleyway, usually completely deserted.

This provided Song Feng with an optimal escape route.

Otherwise, if it were the main street in broad daylight, packed with bustling crowds, Song Feng would never have been able to escape while carrying an unconscious Su Ying'er.

Furthermore, Song Feng had clearly planned his escape route well in advance, specifically ducking into empty alleys, twisting and turning with incredible speed.

Fan Xiu had to summon every ounce of strength he possessed just to avoid losing them.

This was thanks only to the physical conditioning he had been undergoing recently.

Had it been his previous physique, he would have lost trace of Song Feng long ago.

Had he known such an incident would occur today, he would have brought "Liu Yue" along with him.

With that fierce woman around, she would have subdued Song Feng with a single move.

Although Fan Xiu found the pursuit arduous, the silver lining was that due to the distance, Song Feng had not yet noticed him.

After turning two corners, Fan Xiu heard voices ahead.

He cautiously peered around the corner and saw none other than Song Feng and Liu Wenyan.

"Young Master Liu, a slight mishap occurred," Song Feng said in a low voice.

Liu Wenyan replied, "It's fine. As long as you brought Su Ying'er out, Young Master Xie will handle the rest. Let's go, Young Master Xie will be returning soon."

Song Feng chuckled and said, "Young Master Liu, after Young Master Xie has his fun, can we..."

"Do you want to die?"

Liu Wenyan said grimly, "What kind of person do you think you are, daring to harbor thoughts about Su Ying'er? Young Master Xie has been plotting to win Su Ying'er for a long time. Moreover, after this matter, he will have to pay a heavy price to deal with the fallout from Drunken Immortal Pavilion! Being able to carry Su Ying'er is already a blessing cultivated over eight lifetimes; even I wouldn't dare harbor such thoughts, and you think you're worthy?"

Terrified, Song Feng hurriedly bowed and said, "This humble one deserves death! This humble one will never dare again!"

"As long as you know. Let's go, carry Su Ying'er properly. If you dare any untoward behavior, I will kill you!" Liu Wenyan said expressionlessly.

"Yes!"

Following that, Liu Wenyan led Song Feng deeper into the alley.

Hiding behind, Fan Xiu furrowed his brow deeply.

Though Liu Wenyan spoke sparingly, he had gleaned a wealth of crucial information!

Xie Tangfeng sent Liu Wenyan and Song Feng to kidnap Su Ying'er not because of any wager. The so-called wager, and allowing Fan Xiu to join the Xie family, were merely casual whims of Xie Tangfeng.

In truth, Xie Tangfeng had long since prepared to use Su Ying'er to secure his desires.

He had been dragged into this innocent disaster!

If he failed to rescue Su Ying'er, her losing her chastity would be a minor matter; he would also lose his personal freedom and his imperial examination degree, resulting in total and utter ruin!

Yet, he was simply no match for Liu Wenyan and Song Feng in a fight.

Especially Song Feng—judging by his ability to sprint rapidly while carrying a person, his martial prowess far exceeded his own.

Although Fan Xiu had been consistently conditioning his body and practicing the technique imparted to him by the shadow recently, he was still no match for Song Feng.

If he acted rashly, Liu Wenyan and Song Feng, realizing their plot was exposed, would undoubtedly kill him to silence him!

On the other hand, if he waited until Liu Wenyan and the others delivered Su Ying'er to Xie Tangfeng, surrounded by Xie Tangfeng and his guards, rescuing her would become an absolute impossibility.