Volume 1, Chapter 58: Miss Ying'er, I Am Sorry

"It's him! Fan Xiu?"

With flushed cheeks and an expression of mingled astonishment and doubt in her almond-shaped eyes, Su Ying'er stared at the figure who had suddenly appeared before her.

Why would he show up in a place like this?
Did he come to rescue her?
Yet this location was so remote—how on earth had Fan Xiu managed to track her down?
And why would he go out of his way to find her?

Before she could dwell on it, however, her mind was plunged into chaos by the effects of the Joyous Harmony Powder. Struggling desperately to keep her wits about her, she mustered her remaining strength and gasped, "Save... save me."

"Huh?"

Xie Tangfeng finally noticed the change in Su Ying'er and turned his head back in puzzlement.

Just as he turned around, the bottom of a white flowerpot slammed squarely into his face.

Thud!

Accompanied by a dull, heavy impact, Xie Tangfeng was knocked flat onto the floor.

He felt a splitting pain in his head and saw stars dancing before his eyes. Struggling to get back up, he wanted to see who had ambushed him.

Before he could even push himself up...

Thud!

That same white flowerpot crashed down upon his head once more.

Xie Tangfeng's body went rigid, and he collapsed heavily onto the ground, revealing Fan Xiu standing behind him, clutching the shattered vase with a panic-stricken expression.

Fan Xiu had never subjected anyone to such violence in all his life; his heart felt as though it had leapt straight into his throat!

"Fan... Fan Xiu, thank you," Su Ying'er said with great difficulty as she lay on the floor.

Only then did Fan Xiu snap out of his panic. He stammered nervously, "Is... is he dead?"

With that, he quickly knelt down to check Xie Tangfeng's condition.

Fortunately, he was still breathing; he had merely been knocked unconscious.

Fan Xiu let out a sigh of relief and dropped the remains of the vase, which shattered to pieces upon hitting the floor with a clatter. Hurrying over, he helped Su Ying'er up and said, "Miss Ying'er, we need to get out of here right now."

The moment she was lifted to her feet, Su Ying'er's limp body slumped uncontrollably against Fan Xiu.

It was then that Fan Xiu noticed how scorching hot her skin felt, as if she were running a high fever. Moreover, she was shivering violently, as though desperately fighting to endure some inner torment.

"Miss Ying'er, are you alright?" Fan Xiu asked with deep concern.

With a daze in her eyes, Su Ying'er shook her head. Glancing back at the unconscious Xie Tangfeng on the floor, she said in a trembling voice, "Kill... kill him!"

Fan Xiu's face drained of color in sheer terror.

Kill someone?

He had never even killed a chicken in his life, and she expected him to commit murder?

"N... no, I don't think that's a good idea," Fan Xiu frowned and said.

"If you don't kill him, once... once he wakes up, he won't let you off," Su Ying'er wheezed, trying to push herself away from Fan Xiu, but her limbs refused to obey.

Fan Xiu looked down at Xie Tangfeng, who lay bleeding profusely from the head.

His reason told him that he probably should kill him right now.

After all, this fellow had previously kidnapped him, and his influence was vast. Once he regained consciousness, he certainly wouldn't let the matter rest.

Yet his conscience told him he could not take a life!

As a law-abiding citizen who had never committed a single misdeed since childhood, asking him to murder someone now felt far more agonizing than death itself.

"No! I can't kill anyone!" Fan Xiu shook his head rapidly. "Besides, he never saw my face; he has no idea I'm the one who ruined his plans! Let me get you out of here first."

Su Ying'er nodded, burying her entire body against Fan Xiu's chest as her breathing grew heavier and more ragged.

"I—I've been poisoned. Quickly... quickly take me away from here," she murmured, her hands unable to stop grabbing and clutching at Fan Xiu's clothes.

Fan Xiu's expression tightened.

He recalled hearing Xie Tangfeng mention earlier that Su Ying'er would soon be affected by the Joyous Harmony Powder. Could this substance be some kind of aphrodisiac?

"Hold on, I'll take you to find a doctor," Fan Xiu said.

Lifting Su Ying'er into his arms, he dashed down toward the lower floor.

However, upon reaching the exit, he realized he had no idea how to slip past unnoticed.

Liu Wenyan was keeping watch outside, occasionally glancing in their direction. Although Liu Wenyan had heard the commotion upstairs just moments ago, he would merely have assumed it was Xie Tangfeng at work, and thus felt no suspicion.

Yet if he discovered Fan Xiu escaping with Su Ying'er, he would undoubtedly sound the alarm and summon the guards outside.

At that point, Fan Xiu would truly be trapped with no way out!

Just then, Su Ying'er's entire body grew even hotter. Wrapping her arms tightly around Fan Xiu's neck, she pressed her face close to his ear, her burning hot breath washing over him continuously.

"Fan... Fan Xiu, I can't hold back anymore," Su Ying'er whimpered in a low, seductive voice, even beginning to lightly nibble on his earlobe.

Her legs wrapped around his waist and hips like a pair of pythons, and a sudden surge of strength made her cling to him desperately, writhing against his body without pause.

This caused a sudden surge of heat within Fan Xiu, setting his heart aflutter with an unbearable itch.

Fortunately, his hands were now freed from having to support her weight in the same manner as before.

"My good lady, please hold on and don't do anything rash!" Fan Xiu warned hastily.

He was genuinely terrified that he might lose control and succumb to the temptation.

Taking advantage of the moment when Liu Wenyan had his back turned to the pavilion, Fan Xiu quickly slipped out through a window and scrambled around to the rear of the structure.

There were no guards stationed here.

Yet with a person clinging to him—someone who refused to stay still, constantly squirming against his body while seductive moans echoed in his ear—climbing over the courtyard wall to escape proved to be quite a difficult task.

Fortunately, the harsh and grueling training he had recently undergone under Shadow's tutelage had not been in vain.

Summoning every ounce of his strength, he managed to haul Su Ying'er over the wall and successfully escaped the courtyard.

The moment his feet touched the ground outside, Fan Xiu pulled the woman clinging to his chest tightly against him and sprinted down the alleyway.

By this time, however, Su Ying'er's vision was completely glazed over, her ragged breaths came in frantic gasps, and her full, rounded hips—which were still tightly locked around his hips—rubbed rhythmically against him like...

"Fan Xiu, make me yours; I can't endure this any longer... Ah..."

Su Ying'er moaned, throwing her arms even more tightly around his neck before pressing her soft lips directly against his in a desperate, demanding kiss.

Fan Xiu's mind reeled as a wave of hot blood rushed to his head.

Originally, he had intended to take Su Ying'er to find a physician, but in her current state, such thoughts were entirely out of the question.

Besides, he was no saintly ascetic. Being persistently seduced in such a manner by a breathtaking beauty of peerless loveliness—how could any young man with hot blood in his veins possibly resist?

Furthermore, deep down, he harbored a profound fondness for Su Ying'er.

After all, a woman possessing both such stunning beauty and elegance was exceedingly rare.

Among all the females he knew, perhaps only Xiao Ruoqing could be mentioned in the same breath.

What man is truly immune to beauty? What person lacks the desire to possess a lovely woman?

Given that Su Ying'er resided in a pleasure quarter, surely she wouldn't care too deeply about such matters, right?

"Miss Ying'er, forgive me," Fan Xiu murmured with a heart full of apology, holding her tight as they tumbled together into a thick patch of roadside weeds.

The moment they plunged into the greenery, Su Ying'er abandoned all restraint. Pouncing directly atop him, she captured his lips in a fervent kiss while her trembling hands began tearing at his garments.

And Fan Xiu, too, rapidly plunged into the abyss of passion, completely unable to turn back.