CHAPTER 459
The Trap
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This was the den of wolves. He Guang had her own office, but Amber didn't need to knock to find her.
The moment she opened the door, she tossed the barely-alive female fox inside…
"Heguang, I've brought her to you!"
He Guang was reviewing documents when her young assistant standing nearby witnessed the scene—both of them were stunned…
He had received the documents long ago, but he genuinely didn't want them!
Ye Qinghan was nothing but pure trouble!
"Amber, I run a heavy-duty unit. That's a divine-grade armored force. You come to me for building construction, you come to me for escorting military equipment, and now you're shoving this fox spirit down my throat? Isn't this a bit much?"
"The documents are already in your hands. The seals of the Burning Heart Hall, the Mount Fu Hall, the Martial Saint Hall, and the Executioner's Blade are stamped loud and clear! If you have a problem, don't take it out on me—go complain to Lady Gu Ai!"
Heguang snapped back, "Like hell I would! That little Ai'er is unreasonable too! The moment we discuss business, she tries to rip my clothes off…"
"If you ask me, you only act tough with me. Why don't you dare pick a fight with Lady Gu Ai?"
"Of course not! Like I'd dare?"
"Then you want me to go? Do you think I'd dare?"
Amber and He Guang now glared at each other. That damn Ye Qinghan was a purebred fox demon—a hot potato, pure and simple!
And here they were, actually inviting Gu Ai back—and delivering her straight into the wolf's den!
"This is a den of wolves, not a teahouse. How could this young lady endure such hardship? If she gets hurt or injured, who would take responsibility?"
Amber finally understood this time and spoke up to reassure Hakko.
"Lord Gu Ai's exact words were: once she's delivered to you, you only need guarantee two things. First, she must not die. Second, her body must not be defiled."
"Everything else is to be handled according to the instructions in the official document."
Heguang pursed his lips, glancing down at Ye Qinghan, who lay unconscious on the floor, utterly speechless.
By the time Ye Qinghan regained consciousness, Amber had already left.
"Awake?"
Ye Qinghan scrambled to his feet and found He Guang seated nearby, looking like the King of Hell himself. She wore her heavy skirt armor and lower body armor, but her upper body was covered only by white gauze bandages, as if she had just returned from a mission.
"He Guang, where am I? I need to see my master! Please, Sister He Guang, let me see my master. He won't abandon me!"
He Guang kicked Ye Qinghan aside, then spoke with narrowed eyes—just as she had when they first met in the tavern.
"This is the Wolf's Den. I am the alpha here, and you… you're the new cub."
If I hear that kind of whining again, I'll tear both your mouths off."
With that, Heguang picked up the black-bound document from the table and tossed it before Ye Qinghan. It was none other than the transfer order bearing four official seals.
An order personally issued by Su Cheng—without it, no one was permitted to leave.
He Guang even held the authority to sentence Ye Qinghan to death—execute first, report later, no need for approval.
Without Lady Gu Ai's explicit command, promotion was forbidden, leave was forbidden…
The entire document was filled with prohibitions: Ye Qinghan could not do this, could not do that.
Ye Qinghan knew full well this was his master's own handwriting, every single character.
His master had effectively blocked every possible path Ye Qinghan might take, severing all ties between him and Lingxian Hall.
"Master… will come for Qinghan, right? This is Master testing Qinghan, isn't it?"
Ye Qinghan craved an answer!
Just tell her Master was testing her—no matter how difficult, she would endure it!
But…
"Let me put it this way: since the Executioner's Blade was founded, there has only been one defector—Lord Gu Ai."
And Lord Gu Ai is the current leader of the Executioner's Blade, the King of the Fuyue Palace, the master of the mansion.
…
"Qinghan… knows she was wrong. Heguang, may I see the Master one last time?"
Heguang offered no reply, merely signaling to her assistant with a glance to escort Ye Qinghan to where she belonged.
This place resembled a prison cell. To prevent Ye Qinghan from harming herself, Heguang had fitted her with a restraining bracelet.
Ye Qinghan sat silently on the small bed. Even if it was a military order, this was wrong!
Was it that her master didn't want to see her, or that Lady Gu Ai didn't want her to see her master again?
Ye Qinghan sensed something was terribly wrong. This couldn't be right!
He Guang's expression, Huo Bo's attitude—nothing felt right!
Even if the Master had cast her aside, Lord Gu Ai would never act this way!
Something must have gone terribly wrong!
But where exactly had it gone wrong? Was it the Master, or Lord Gu Ai?
Ye Qinghan began to mutter to herself, pacing in the tiny room that felt like a prison cell.
"Even if it was the Master's command, it could have been forged…"
"Master said he loved me…"
"Even if I ran away, Master would come and bring me back…"
"Master…"
"Qinghan truly knows she's done wrong…"
Tears streamed down her cheeks. This had all happened too suddenly…
All because she had drugged Master…
Now, recalling what had been in her master's heart at that moment…
Master trusted her so deeply. Even when sensing something amiss with his cultivation, he never suspected the wine she offered was tainted…
Ye Qinghan finally grasped the truth—it was Xiao Ai!
"It was Xiao Ai! Xiao Ai schemed against me!"
Recalling all this now, Ye Qinghan finally identified the mastermind behind it all.
Whether it was the night of the wine or the night the military order was issued, Xiao Ai was present both times!
Indeed, if it were that simple to win over the Master, how could Lady Gu Ai have spent all these years…
"Miss Qinghan, you're overthinking this. Xiao Ai wouldn't stoop to scheming against you. This is all your own doing."
The speaker was none other than the Flower-Seeking Immortal, the very Gu Ai whom the Master trusted most.
"You did this on purpose!" Ye Qinghan glared at Gu Ai with such ferocity it seemed she might devour the woman before her.
But the power gap was too vast. From the moment Lady Gu Ai entered, spatial suppression had been activated, leaving Ye Qinghan utterly immobilized.
"If you insist on seeing it that way, you're not entirely wrong. But did Xiao Ai ever ask you to do such a thing?"
"Our Lord placed such trust in you, yet you did something to disappoint him. Who else can be blamed?"
Xiao Ai's words remained perfectly logical. The look of shock on Su Cheng's face when he learned Ye Qinghan had administered the poison was still vividly etched in her mind.
"The Master's affairs tolerate no missteps. Do you understand?"
"Even the slightest risk carries consequences neither the Master nor Xiao Ai can bear."
"Do you think the Master would still tolerate a woman like you by his side?"
"Just as Xiao Ai thought when she first met you—you're nothing but cheap trash, a worthless whore who can't be redeemed!"
As she spoke, Xiao Ai delivered a vicious kick to Ye Qinghan's midsection…
"How exalted is the Master? How dare you even think of touching him?"
That single kick hurt more than all the injuries Ye Qinghan had endured in her entire life combined.
All this happened so suddenly—Master was clearly still…
"Don't you ever look in the mirror? How dare you even dream of bearing children for His Lordship?"
A military boot crushed down hard on Ye Qinghan's abdomen. Lord Gu Ai's next words nearly sent Ye Qinghan into unconsciousness!
"A bastard like this must be dealt with personally. Even if born, it would only disgrace the Master."
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