The Emperor Doesn't Despise Me? Why Is He Still Using Force! - Chapter 5

Of course, it could also be given to a lover, close confidant, or other important people.

Xiao Jing’an frowned slightly, his thumb gently rubbing the texture of the jade pendant.

After a few moments, he said, “This jade pendant is not a counterfeit.”

Some people, though not intimately acquainted with the royal family, would carry a counterfeit item with them for the sake of a little vanity.

However, since they were not of royal blood, they could not wear it and could only carry it on their person.

When the time came to show off, they would pretend to unintentionally expose it for others to observe.

Hearing Xiao Jing’an’s words, Lang Zhen’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“This jade pendant was a gift from the Third Prince; one of those two individuals must be the Third Prince’s trusted confidant.”

With that, he immediately asked Xiao Jing’an, “Your Highness, in your opinion, which of those two is most likely the Third Prince’s capable right-hand man?”

Xiao Jing’an did not reply.

At that moment, the Commander of the Jinyiwei, Chu Liancheng, came forward to report: “Your Highness, your subordinate has properly repaired that damaged section of the wire netting, leaving no omissions.”

Xiao Jing’an asked, “Did any wolves escape from the North Mountain?”

For this autumn hunt, all matters were under Xiao Jing’an’s charge, and absolutely no mistakes could be permitted lest he be criticized by the other princes.

And worse, lose the trust of the aging emperor.

Chu Liancheng’s expression was resolute: “When the assassins damaged the wire netting, your subordinate instructed the Jinyiwei to carry out a grid-style sweep, driving the wolf pack into the Peach Blossom Garden at the northeast corner. Only after the wire netting was repaired did we release the wolf pack.”

Xiao Jing’an nodded slightly.

To ensure nothing went wrong, he commanded, “Take a team and search the East Mountain to see if there are any traces of wolves.”

Chu Liancheng cupped his hands in a salute, shouted “Understood,” and led a group of Jinyiwei away.

Xiao Jing’an put away the jade pendant in his hand and took the glazed lantern from Lang Zhen’s grasp.

“Hurry and carry out what I instructed you to do.”

Three parts suspicion, four parts oddity, and seven parts incomprehension surfaced on Lang Zhen’s face.

Yet without wasting a single second, he went off to execute the task Xiao Jing’an had assigned him.

The wind brushed through the forest, producing a rustling sound like the murmurs of forest specters come to devour all life.

A tense atmosphere permeated the air, causing one’s heartbeat to accelerate involuntarily. Every step taken required utmost caution, for fear of disturbing the surrounding dangers.

Pei Yan carried Pei Yanning on his back for a very long way.

A layer of sweat had already beaded on his forehead from exhaustion, his breathing grew slightly heavy, and his steps even turned somewhat unsteady.

“Let me down; you should rest for a while.”

Pei Yan also felt that he could no longer walk on.

So he gently set Pei Yanning down.

He leaned against a towering, ancient tree to catch his breath and rest.

After resting for a moment, Pei Yan began patting his pockets.

It looked as though he was searching for something.

Pei Yanning’s attention was drawn to him.

Seeing him stare, Pei Yan said, “My jade pendant is gone.”

It must have been when he was carrying his little dad, when the movements were too vigorous and the pocket was too shallow, that it slipped out.

Thinking of this, Pei Yan lifted his eyes to gaze down the path they had just walked, which resembled a bottomless black hole.

It was so dark, and now that they had finally made it this far, he definitely could not retrace his steps to look for it.

So he continued, “If it’s lost, let it be lost.”

Pei Yanning also understood that one could not take the risk of turning back in the dark to search for that piece of jade pendant.

Thus, he unfastened the jade pendant from his own waist and handed it over: “Take this.”

Pei Yan hurriedly waved his hands: “I can’t accept this…”

“Take it, I don’t want to owe you anything.”

Pei Yanning placed the jade pendant directly into Pei Yan’s hand.

Pei Yan wanted to push the jade pendant back, but fearing his little dad would be displeased, he could only try to reason with him.

“I also had a meal at Little Dad’s house.”

“Do not call me Little Dad.”

After saying that, Pei Yanning added, “You accompanied me here, and when I was injured, you carried me away from this place. I genuinely owe you a huge favor.”

Hearing him say this, Pei Yan could no longer refuse.

He didn’t want his little dad to harbor a lingering sense of indebtedness toward him and feel uneasy.

“Alright, I’ll keep this jade pendant.”

Pei Yan carefully tucked the jade pendant away.

The jade pendant he had just lost had also been given to him by his dad, except that back then, his dad had said that pendant was a gift from an old friend.

That old friend had always remained shrouded in mystery, but from that jade pendant, he could confirm that person belonged to the imperial family.

As for who it was, until the day he died, it remained an enigma.

Moreover, this jade pendant had inexplicably arrived with him upon his rebirth.

Pei Yan stopped dwelling on the matter.

He straightened up.

“This place is no place to linger. Little… Lord Pei, let’s leave here.”

With that, Pei Yan turned his back to Pei Yanning, preparing to carry him on his back once more.

“Just call me by my full name.”

Pei Yanning stepped forward.

“My ankle is fine enough for walking now; thank you for carrying me for so long just now.”

“There’s no need to be so polite with me.”

Pei Yan offered a slightly bitter smile and followed along.

The wind blew silently.

The two walked in quiet solitude until…

“How can this be?”

Pei Yanning’s phoenix eyes widened in shock as he stared at the extra wire netting blocking their path ahead.

The wire netting completely cut off their return route, trapping them squarely within the perilous North Mountain Hunting Grounds.

Pei Yan hurried forward, gritting his back molars as he shoved hard against the wire netting before him.

Attempting to push it down.

All to no avail.

Pei Yan quickly walked a short distance along the wire netting and then turned back.

Reaching Pei Yanning’s side, he deduced with a solemn expression, “This wire netting must have been newly repaired.”

After a brief pause, he added, “Earlier, it must have been damaged, creating a gap that caused the two of us to mistakenly stumble in.”

Pei Yanning pondered for a moment: “So there are other people here at night?”

Pei Yan nodded: “They should be imperial guards. Let’s go look for them and ask for their help.” After brief thought, he added, “Let’s search for them near that observation tower from earlier.”

Pei Yanning agreed: “Let’s go find them right now.”

With that, the two turned around and retraced their steps.

However, after taking only a few steps, their paces abruptly halted.

At that moment, pairs of eerie green eyes materialized in the darkness ahead, flickering like ghost fires and locking onto the two of them.

It was a wolf pack.

A cruel assembly of wild, bloodthirsty beasts.

A dozen or so wolves were silently closing in on them.

They bared their sharp fangs.

Very soon, the two of them were surrounded by the wolf pack, on the verge of becoming a hearty meal for a pack of carnivores.

Cold sweat streamed incessantly down Pei Yan’s forehead, sending chills cascading down his spine.

Yet he still reached out, pushing Pei Yanning behind him to shield him.

“We can’t escape this time.”

Pei Yanning’s face was as pale as paper; upon closer inspection, his entire body was trembling slightly.

Pei Yan’s heart was likewise a churning mix of emotions.

He hadn’t expected that just after being reborn, he would face death and fail his vow from this second life to keep his little dad safe and sound.

Suddenly, a wolf could no longer contain itself and lunged straight at the two of them first.

Before the blink of an eye, Pei Yan grabbed Pei Yanning’s hand, executed a rapid spin and retreat, dodging the wolf’s attack.

He was unwilling to die just like this.

Even if there was only a sliver of hope, he had to protect his little dad and help him escape safely.

Daring not to waste a single fraction of a second, Pei Yan pulled Pei Yanning, attempting to flee through a gap on the side where the wolf pack hadn’t formed a complete encirclement.

Yet how could this pack of bloodthirsty, ferocious wolves easily let go of their prey?

Over a dozen wolves leaped into the air simultaneously, opening their gaping maws wide to tear and bite at Pei Yan and Pei Yanning.

Suddenly, a flash of bloody light erupted.

The neck of a wolf that was about to lunge and bite Pei Yan spewed a jet of blood; with a miserable howl, it collapsed to the ground, breathing its last.

Wielding a soft sword in his hand, Xiao Jing’an swept the blade’s edge across the throat of the ferocious wolf that had attacked Pei Yan first.

A moment later, another sword strike was unleashed.

Because of Xiao Jing’an’s sudden appearance, the core focus of the wolf pack shifted away from attacking Pei Yan and his companion.

Yet the two of them remained in extreme peril at that moment.

They possessed no sharp weapons in their hands to protect themselves.

With a cold, calm gaze that swept effortlessly past Pei Yan, Xiao Jing’an drew the broadsword from his own waist: “Yan Qing. Catch.”

Yan Qing? Upon hearing this name, Pei Yan hesitated slightly before realizing that this was the pseudonym he had used to hoodwink Xiao Jing’an.

He hastily reached out to catch the sword thrown by Xiao Jing’an.

“Aah~”

A cry of pain escaped Pei Yan’s lips.

Xiao Jing’an’s gaze snapped over in a flash.

Followed closely by a hint of mild disdain.

He saw Pei Yan clutching the sword as he tumbled to the ground.

Xiao Jing’an’s sword was as heavy as a thousand jun; it was by no means something a delicate, scholarly fellow like him could steady and catch with ease.

After all, Pei Yan was a man with his own pride, especially in front of the little dad he had sworn to protect.

Therefore, looking somewhat embarrassed, he picked up the heavy sword and slowly struggled to his feet from the ground.

After a round of effort, he finally managed to grip the hilt properly.

Facing the onslaught of a dozen ferocious wolves, even Xiao Jing’an found it taxing and difficult to slaughter them all in a short span of time.

Thus, he said to Pei Yan, who had just managed to grasp the sword, “Quickly dispose of this pack of wolves. There are still other wolf packs in these mountains. If you don’t want your—friend to get injured, you must join me in slaying this pack of wolves and getting out of here.”

With those words, he severed a ferocious wolf clean in half at the waist with a single swing of his sword.

Pei Yan had never witnessed anything so bloody, but summoning his courage anyway, he lunged toward a ferocious wolf with a slash.

“Thud~”

He missed the wolf and fell to the ground once more.

Once again, it was because the sword in his hand was far too heavy for him to control.

At this moment, he looked just like a white dough dumpling sprawled flat on the ground.

Which made the corners of Xiao Jing’an’s mouth twitch.

At the same time, seeing Pei Yan drop the sword twice in succession after catching it, he realized something.

“You… could it be that you don’t know martial arts?”

Xiao Jing’an’s sword was indeed much heavier than an ordinary blade, and it was normal to fail to control one’s strength at first, but someone with martial arts training could quickly master it by channeling inner Qi.

This time, Pei Yan took a painful tumble and was nearly sliced by the blade.

With a face alternating between red and white from a mix of fright and embarrassment, like a peach blossom beaten by frost, he nodded toward Xiao Jing’an.

“This commoner does not know martial arts.”

Xiao Jing’an’s gaze lingered on his flushed face for a brief second, his brow furrowing into an expression that defied description.

“To come to the North Mountain while knowing no martial arts you’re simply courting death!”

Just as Pei Yan was about to open his mouth in explanation, a wolf lunged savagely toward him.

“Swish…”

At the critical juncture, Xiao Jing’an’s sword struck like lightning, piercing straight through the wolf’s body and saving Pei Yan.

Without a moment of hesitation, he scooped his arm out, gathered Pei Yan’s slender waist into his embrace, and hoisted him up from the ground.

At that exact moment, the split second he was lifted into the arms of Xiao Jing’an, an object slipped and fell from his body.

Unaware of it, Pei Yan thought to himself: [Ah man, the tyrant is touching my waist, it tickles so much!]

Xiao Jing’an’s attention was not on this inner thought of Pei Yan’s, but rather…