Volume 13
Chapter 9: Danger Averted
“Lizi! Lizi!” The moment the call connected, he heard Yameng’s rushed voice. “Thank God! You finally answered! Lizi, say something, say something!”
Lu Li’s throat was dry as a bone right now, and his voice was also hoarse. “I’m here, Yameng.”
“What’s wrong with your voice?”
“I’m just a little thirsty.” Although the time he had been unconscious wasn’t too long, Lu Li felt as if his body had been trampled by an elephant and then thrown into the desert to be sun-dried. His whole body ached, and every cell in his body was craving water. Grandma Zhu brought over a cup of water. Lu Li gulped it down and heard his sister say, “What’s with that recording?! You scared me to death… I’m flying to Mulan right now. You have to explain it to me clearly…”
“Don’t worry, Yameng. Everything has already been resolved.” Lu Li did his best to soothe her emotions. He knew his sister was a very sentimental person. If Hupo was a person driven by rationality, then Zou Yameng was loyal to her own feelings. For an athlete, this trait was hard to say whether it was good or bad. When she was in excellent form, she could often defeat stronger opponents, but when she was in a slump, she would also suffer an unexpected loss. But fortunately, so far, Yameng had not been in a slump again. Was it perhaps because every time she was in a bad mood, she would fly back to find him?
That omnipotent sister was actually also in great need of companionship. It was a pity that only in this life had Lu Li come to understand this truth.
“I will tell you everything, without hiding anything, in great detail. Is your competition over?”
“There’s one more match.”
“Then come back after you’ve finished the match. This time it seems to be an international exchange tournament. This is for the world championship.”
Zou Yameng raised her voice. “The world championship isn’t as important as you!” Lu Li’s heart warmed. This feeling of being loved was simply the most soul-stealing poison, enough to make any hero fall.
“Yameng, I promise you, I’m safe and sound now, and there will be no danger in the future. I’ll wait for you in Mulan. I want to see my sister come back with the trophy, okay?”
“…” Zou Yameng was silent for a long time. Lu Li didn’t speak. The ancestral hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was tacitly waiting for her reply.
“Is there anyone else with you?” Zou Yameng was still not at ease.
Lu Li handed the phone to Wen Hupo. Hupo was also very tactful. “Sister, it’s Wen Hupo. I’m with him now. Lu Li is full of life and in good condition. Before you come back, I’ll keep an eye on him and not let him run around.”
He could clearly hear Zou Yameng breathe a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Hupo. Give the phone to Lizi.”
Lu Li took the phone. “Yameng, are you at ease now?”
“I’ll be back by the end of the month at the latest. If there’s anything, we can discuss it when I get home. Don’t forget, I’m your sister!” Zou Yameng reminded him again.
“Yes, yes, you’re getting more and more long-winded, Yameng.”
“…I’ll deal with you when I get back.”
After hanging up the phone, Lu Li’s whole body went limp, and he slid into Wen Hupo’s fragrant and soft embrace. Now that Little Qiao was saved, and Zhu Xi and Hupo were both safe and sound, he had also picked his little life back up. Half the pressure on his shoulders was lifted.
Zhu Xi was too embarrassed to hug a man with Wen Hupo, so she let go of Lu Li’s hand and turned to hug the still-unconscious Zhu Qiao. “It’s not time to relax yet. Don’t forget there are still dozens of guns pointed at us outside the ancestral hall. Grandma Zhu, what happened while we were asleep?”
Grandma Zhu carefully put the Colored Stones back into the wooden box and held it cautiously. “Someone has already died outside. The firing has stopped now. It should be the people you brought, Xi’er, who died, or were subdued. In any case, the situation is not optimistic.”
Just then, they heard the harsh woman’s voice shouting through a loudspeaker from outside the door. “Your Highness, are you listening? It was not our intention for things to get to this point. I must make a statement: this is all a misunderstanding. We did not know Miss Zhu Qiao’s identity before we received the order. I also just received an emergency notice.”
Lu Li was still gulping down water. Hearing this, he wanted to spit a mouthful of water on that woman’s face. Her ability to lie through her teeth was truly something else.
“Your Highness, we are on the same side. The Matriarch just reprimanded us on the phone and told us to bring you and Miss Zhu back safely. We will not break into the ancestral hall. How about this: you hand Lu Li over to us, and this matter will be over. We will naturally go back to receive our punishment!”
This time, what she said might be the truth. With things having developed to this point, as long as the Yan Matriarch didn’t want to lose the Zhu Xi she had so painstakingly cultivated, she wouldn’t make a move on Zhu Qiao—but Lu Li definitely wouldn’t be able to escape. If she had said these things before the backtracking, Lu Li suspected Zhu Xi would have really agreed. After all, Zhu Xi valued Zhu Qiao more than her own life. What about now? What would she choose?
Zhu Xi sensed Lu Li’s gaze, shot him a look, and shouted loudly, “Whether it’s Zhu Qiao or Lu Li, I won’t hand over either of them. If you’re bold enough, you can just break in, turn me into a corpse with one shot, and take three corpses back to report to Yan Rujun!”
“Your Highness, please don’t make things difficult for us. This entire block has been sealed off, and our reinforcements are endless. Why must you abandon the light and turn to the dark? As long as you return to our ranks, all the weapons and manpower here will be at your command.” That woman was still trying. It was clear that the Yan Matriarch didn’t really want to have a complete falling out; she still valued Zhu Xi very much.
“What if I want you to die?” Zhu Xi said unceremoniously.
That woman hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and shouted, “If this mission fails, I’ll be on a dead-end road when I return to the Yan family anyway. Your Highness, as long as you are willing to hand Lu Li over to us, I will tie my own hands and go in to receive my death!” She had thought it through very clearly. At this point, she could no longer just walk away. It was better to die for the Yan Matriarch and leave a considerable compensation for her family.
She’s really putting down a lot of stakes. Lu Li marveled. Power is truly a magical thing. It can twist a creature’s instincts. If one isn’t even afraid of death, what else is there to be afraid of?
Zhu Xi shouted, “Let me think about it.”
Of course, she wasn’t really going to think about it. Instead, she went to ask Grandma Zhu, “Grandma Zhu, how much firepower is in the ancestral hall?”
Wen Hupo frowned slightly. “You’re not planning to fight them to the death, are you? There are only three of us!”
“…” Zhu Xi felt a little guilty in front of Wen Hupo, and her tone softened a little. “This is the only way. It’s fine. They won’t dare to shoot at me. With me blocking the door, they won’t be able to break in.”
Lu Li suddenly waved. “Zhu Xi, come here for a moment.”
“What?” Although she was disgusted, Zhu Xi still obediently walked toward Lu Li. Who would have thought that Lu Li would turn around and pinch her cheek. “Why do you always think of killing, killing, killing? Can’t we just escape through the secret passage? No matter how wild they are, they wouldn’t dare to make a move on Grandma Zhu in the ancestral hall. We just need to protect ourselves.”
“You!” Zhu Xi was being pinched on the cheek like a little wife. She was about to explode, but considering Lu Li’s recent recovery, she forcibly suppressed her anger. “Scumbag man, you just wait.”
In truth, escaping through the secret passage was also risky. Hupo had come through the secret passage. The Yan Matriarch’s people had very likely already noticed it. They might have already extended their defensive line. That secret passage might not be safe.
Just then, the sound of a loud horn suddenly came from outside the ancestral hall. It wasn’t the sound of the low-quality loudspeaker that woman was using, but the kind of grand horn used by an honor guard. The sound was so loud that it drowned out all other sounds, lingering in the air for a long time.
Just as the three of them were puzzled, they heard a loud announcement:
“Res—pect—ful—ly wel—come His—Ma—jes—ty—!”
