Reign of the Phoenix

Drawing close to Murong Zhining, Gao Chenghao closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath with an intoxicated expression. “I admire your courage, Princess. Only you would dare to stand here before me all alone and talk about conditions. Return with me first and I’ll release her.”

Gao Chenghao lifted Murong Zhining onto the horse and sat behind her before riding off towards the northern suburbs where another estate of his was located. Far behind, Chiyun Yuexuan followed them in night-walking outfit.

…

Tuoba Lan was emotional as she hugged Murong Zhining. “Big Sis how can you be so foolish? Even if I die, I don’t want to see you be put at risk because of me.”

Murong Zhining turned to look at Gao Chenghao. “I’m now under your control. Please let Miss Tuoba go.”

Gao Chenghao chuckled. “Naïve! How can I get you to listen if I let her go? Please first take a bath, Princess. We need an examination.”

Murong Zhining glared at Gao Chenghao in rage. “Fourth Prince is a person of status, how can you go back on your promise?! Let Miss Tuoba go and I’ll be willing to do whatever you say.”

Gao Chenghao sneered. “Oh such a clever little thing you are. I’ve eaten enough setbacks from your little evil tricks already. If you don’t listen, I’ll be left with no choice but to let your little sister Lan’er suffer a bit.”

Gao Chenghao was on full alert against Murong Zhining’s action to come alone for Tuoba Lan. He brought Murong Zhining to a room. Inside the room, there was a steaming bathtub full of flower petals.

Gao Chenghao gave her a gentle push. “Go, take off all of your clothes and have a good bath, then changed into the clothes I’ve prepared for you.”

Infuriated, Murong Zhining glared at him. “Are you trying to humiliate me? I am not so easy to bully.”

Gao Chenghao said with a smile, “Princess has misunderstood. How can I bear to do such a thing when I adore you this much? I only fear that you’re hiding some dangerous object on you, but I can’t forcefully search your body. So cooperate with me, change your clothes and set my mind at ease. I absolutely won’t make things difficult for you.”

Murong Zhining was secretly taken aback. Aside from a beasty heart, this guy also possessed the alertness of a beast.

Gao Chenghao urged, “Please don’t hesitate, or when you come to plead with me after Miss Tuoba suffers some hardships later, you’ll still have to strip all the same.”

Murong Zhining walked to the bathtub. With her back facing Gao Chenghao, she took off her outer clothes. Then, she entered the tube and took off the rest, throwing layer after layer of clothes on the ground.

Murong Zhining submerged into the water to hide her body under floating petals, revealed from only her slender neck up. “Are you satisfied now?”

Step by step, Gao Chenghao approached the bathtub and looked down at her.

Murong Zhining blushed beet red in embarrassment. “Do not look when it’s improper. Your Highness had read books for so many yet still unable to understand this principle?”

With a smile on his face, Gao Chenghao stared fixedly at the petals and slowly bent down, reaching out his hand to stir the water.

Murong Zhining held her chest. “I’ve done everything according to your request. What else do you want?”

Gao Chenghao was still smiling. “Extend your legs.”

Murong Zhining’s eyes shone with sheer stubbornness. “I can’t do it.”

Gao Chenghao grabbed a petal and crushed it in his hand. “Are you forcing me to scoop you up?” Saying so, he reached into the water and grabbed her leg, pulling it towards the surface.

Murong Zhining struggled. “Let go! I’ll do it myself!”

She stuck her leg out. Gao Chenghao smiled sinisterly, “That’s right, now the other one.”

His hands reached towards her leg and jerked out a bamboo tube that was tied there.

Gao Chenghao opened the tube, pulling out an oil paper pack that contained over ten steel needles with red tassel tails.

“Of all the things you can learn, you just have to learn how to hide weapons. I can tell right away this is a trick of Chiyun Yuexuan. I’m very angry. The consequences will be very serious.”

Murong Zhining softened her tone, “This is only for self-defense. I’m not using it to especially deal with you or something.”

Gao Chenghao used this chance to touch her body all over underwater. Finally, he nodded with satisfaction. “You naughty girl, if you had cooperated sooner, I wouldn’t have made it hard on you. Come, let me serve your bath.”

Murong Zhining pushed away his hand and took this opportunity to make demands, “Release Tuoba Lan and I’ll listen to whatever you say. I’m indebted to the Tuoba brother and sister, I don’t want them to be involved in this. Besides, don’t you want to look for the treasure with me?”

Gao Chenghao’s eyes lit up. “I knew it, Tuoba Lan didn’t travel to Xingzhou for no reason. When I saw her cling so tightly to that qin when she was taken away, I instantly knew it’s the last clue to the treasure.”

Gao Chenghao turned around so that Murong Zhining could put on new clothes.

“I will have Tuoba Lan released so she can deliver my word. I want to look for the treasure with General Chiyun, and you, you will be my hostage. I won’t make things difficult for you as long as you obediently cooperate, but if you act willful again, you must be prepared for my severe punishment.”

Tuoba Lan was thrown out somewhere near Lian Kun’s estate. After walking around for a little in the dark, she found her way to the estate.

Yuan Dong was full of anxiety. “Our Tuoba family has brought Princess into trouble. What should we do?!”

Chiyun Yuexuan’s brows tightly knitted. “It’s good that Miss Tuoba returned safely, otherwise, Princess wouldn’t rest easy. With her clever mind, she’ll definitely find a way to escape. I have also found out where Gao Chenghao is staying, his every movement will be under our monitoring. We still have a chance to save Princess.”

Tuoba Lan wept. “Gao Chenghao said he’d take her hostage. He wants General to cooperate with him to find the treasure.”

Chiyun Yuexuan clenched his fists. “For her safety, we have no choice but to help him find it then.”

Yuan Dong nodded. “We now have two clues. Can I take a look at the drawing?”

Huyan Qi took out a sheet music from his chest. “When Her Majesty the Empress heard there were traces of the treasure, she ordered me to bring this original score. Her Majesty said only the real one could pinpoint the location of the treasure.”

Yuan Dong received the bloodstained paper and studied it. “Don’t you have a map of Xingzhou, Mister Lian? Please bring it to me.”

When the map arrived, Yuan Dong spread it on the table and placed the sheet music in the middle of it. From the five confluence points on the footnote, he marked five spots on the map. These five spots drew a five-pointed star, the epicenter of which was precisely the Dragon Head Mountain.

Chiyun Yuexuan said thoughtfully, “This method might not be reliable. Maps are drawn in different sizes, every miss is as good as a mile. Not to mention that a map from hundreds of years ago can’t possibly be the same as the current ones. I feel like we’re missing something.”

Chiyun Yuexuan took the bloodstained sheet music and scrutinized over and over. Finally, he discovered something new.

It was a bloodstained area on the back of the score where some curved lines was faintly discernible. Chiyun Yuexuan pointed at them. “There’s a map hidden in the back of this score. It must have been drawn with a needle-like object with special herbal ink. Ater the ink dried, the map became invisible.”

Yuan Dong nodded. “Does this mean we have to immerse it in water to restore the drawing? This paper has been kept for too many years, I’m afraid it can’t withstand such ordeal.”

Chiyun Yuexuan pondered for a moment. “I once tried paper printing from stone tablet inscriptions before. Perhaps we can learn from this method. Mister Lian, please help me prepare some black pine-soot ink powder and an ultra thin piece of paper.”

Yuan Dong nodded in praise for Chiyun Yuexuan’s intelligence.

Lian Kun’s housekeeper soon delivered the requested objects.

Chiyun Yuexuan first lay the sheet music flat on the marble table with the back side upwards. Then, he slightly wet the ultra thin paper before drying it above a burning charcoal basin. After that, he gently pressed it onto the sheet music. Turning to the pine-soot ink, he poured the powder in a small silk bag and tied up the bag mouth, then held it above the thin paper and lightly patted the bag so that the powder would be scattered on the paper.

Everybody held their breath, their eyes nervously followed his hands. After half an incense stick of time, a clear map appeared on the thin paper. Chiyun Yuexuan heaved a long sigh of relief.

This was an unfamiliar map. Xingzhou city gate was barely clear in the upper left corner, only occupying a very small part of the map and wasn’t even one bit close to the center. Everyone could tell right away that the five confluence points on the score footnote was over thirty miles away from Xingzhou.

Tuoba Zhi’s eyes shone. “No wonder you bought that tea garden all those years ago, father. Look at this river, it’s right on the left of the garden, and this lotus-like mountain is right at the opposite. So you had soon known that the treasure was in the vicinity.”

Chiyun Yuexuan nodded. “This is indeed in the vicinity of your tea garden.”

Yuan Dong revealed a look of pleasant surprise. “I only wanted to buy some land with a high possibility to be close to treasure. Didn’t think it’d turn out to be such a coincidence.”

Chiyun Yuexuan frowned. “Send people to deliver Gao Chenghao a message. Tell him we’ll go treasure hunting with him as long as he doesn’t hurt the princess.”

——

Gao Chenghao was hugging the desperately struggling Murong Zhining.

“I knew it. You wouldn’t be so obedient once Tuoba Lan is released. Want to change your mind? I have plenty of ways to deal with you. I just love conquering women like you.” He tightened his arms around her waist. “Naïve girl, if I can’t even deal with a little thing like you, I might as well kill myself for being so useless.”

In her struggling, Murong Zhining pulled out the hairpin on her head and stabbed at Gao Chenghao. The latter firmly grasped her hand holding the hairpin.

“Mhm, very good, my woman should be cruel like this. You little wild kitty, see how I’ll make you obediently retract your claws.”

Gao Chenghao exerted strength in his grasp. Murong Zhining felt her wrist go soft and the hairpin fell to the ground with a ‘clank.’

In a fury, Gao Chenghao dragged Murong Zhining onto the bed and pressed her body under his. With the nature of a beast unleashed in full force within his blood, Murong Zhining’s struggling only add more fuel to his raging desire to conquer her. He completely forgot about the poison in his body under the lust that was stirring up evil thoughts in his mind. He wildly kissed Murong Zhining and tore off her clothes.

Suddenly, Gao Chenghao stopped in the middle of his crazy advance. Fine beads of sweat seeped out on his forehead as the guy covered his lower body and rolled off the bed. Overrun by the piercing cramps in his lower abdomen, Gao Chenghao sprang up in frustration, staggering to the table and swept the teapot and cups to the ground. He roared like a wild animal, “Chiyun Yuexuan, I’ll never be done with you!!”

Murong Zhining curled up in a corner in horror staring at Gao Chenghao, who disregarded her and ran out of the room as if fleeing for his life.

As Gao Chenghao madly vented his outrage in the study, a guard entered with a letter. “Reporting to Your Highness, someone threw a letter into the estate.”

Gao Chenghao opened the letter. A smile crept onto his face after he read it. “Sure enough, they’ve figured something about the treasure. With their princess in my hands, I won’t have to worry about them disobeying.”