"You just have to come with us somewhere. Don't worry, we won't hurt you."
Xiao Yi Xian lifted her beautiful eyes and glanced at the two men. From what she had heard over the past few days, her friend Li Xingluo was still alive and seemed to be causing trouble for the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.
Even Mu She's son had died at Li Xingluo's hands. Xiao Yi Xian wasn't stupid.
When Mr. Yao's words failed to sway her, Mu She's expression briefly shifted from impassive to resentful.
"Mr. Yao, you're just too polite." Mu She turned his gaze on Xiao Yi Xian and bluntly laid out what he had in mind.
"I came to see you today for one reason. If you cooperate, I can let you go. If you don't, I won't hesitate to kill you right here. Either way, your life or death is useful to me."
Xiao Yi Xian's brow furrowed slightly. She understood what Mu She meant.
Seeing that Xiao Yi Xian had reacted, Mu She seized the opportunity to say, "Though this matter concerns you, as long as you cooperate, I guarantee your safety. I only want Li Xingluo's head, not yours."
Mu She made no effort to hide his intentions, openly admitting that he meant to kidnap her and hold her hostage.
Xiao Yi Xian understood why. More importantly, whether she resisted or not, whatever the outcome, all that mattered was that she was "there." Nothing else was important.
Though they had known each other only briefly, Li Xingluo had left a deep impression on Xiao Yi Xian.
"Have you made up your mind?"
Xiao Yi Xian slowly withdrew the hand she had kept behind her back, and Mr. Yao let out a quiet breath of relief.
"Aren't you just planning to use me to lure Li Xingluo out? Fine. I'll do it."
Mu She and Mr. Yao exchanged a glance. After all their preparations, they hadn't expected Xiao Yi Xian to agree so readily.
It was far beyond their expectations. But Mu She was delighted that things had gone so smoothly with someone even Mr. Yao feared.
"Good. You've got guts."
"But you'd better keep your word, too. Otherwise, even if I have to die, I'll take you down with me."
"Don't worry. I, Mu She, always keep my word."
Xiao Yi Xian's mouth twitched slightly. As she lowered her head, the corner of her lips curled faintly. Who in Green Mountain Town didn't know that the Wolf Head Mercenary Group was wicked to the core, throwing its weight around and oppressing others?
Fearing Xiao Yi Xian's poison, Mu She stepped aside to let her pass. She followed him into the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's headquarters without a trace of fear. To keep Xiao Yi Xian from using poison, Mr. Yao went along as well.
Mu She locked Xiao Yi Xian in a small courtyard and ordered the other members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group into the Magical Beast Mountain Range to deliver a message to Li Xingluo.
Xiao Yi Xian sat with her chin resting in her hands, gazing at the sky, worry on her face. Will he really come? Please, don't come. She hoped Li Xingluo would come, but at the same time, she didn't want him to. She was torn.
At that moment, deep in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, a chillingly cold sword rested against someone's neck.
Terror filled the man's eyes as he waited for death to close in. A member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group cried out, "Don't kill me! I have information!"
"Uh, what information?"
When the member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group saw that Li Xingluo really wasn't attacking, he instinctively breathed a sigh of relief. He reached into his clothes to pull something out, sweating profusely.
"Do you know this girl?"
When Li Xingluo saw that the portrait the member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had pulled out showed Xiao Yi Xian, the gentleness in his eyes turned vicious in an instant.
"What do you mean?"
The man was already terrified by Li Xingluo's presence, and his life was in Li Xingluo's hands. He hadn't expected a mere portrait to make Li Xingluo fly into such a rage.
The member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group felt a chill envelop his whole body. If he had known this would happen, he would never have taken out the portrait. He had thought it would calm Li Xingluo down, but it had the opposite effect.
The member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group stammered, "O-our leader..."
"Mu She? What did he do?"
Only Li Xingluo dared to call Mu She by name. The member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group went pale on instinct.
"He kidnapped this girl as a hostage. He said that if you don't go to the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's headquarters within ten days, he'll, he'll..."
"He'll do what?"
"He'll kill the girl!"
The member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group saw Li Xingluo's fury rising by the second, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.
The instant Li Xingluo was distracted, the member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group scrambled away on all fours. But the next moment, a blur flashed past. He looked down at his body and saw a streak of blood appear. He collapsed, unwilling to accept his fate.
His brows twitched, and his eyes blazed with fury, like a raging fire in the darkness, illuminating everything around him. It was a deep, bone-searing rage.
Without pausing, he leapt lightly and bounded forward a few times, his figure already swallowed by the trees.
Night fell. The Wolf Head Mercenary Group's headquarters blazed with light, and patrolling mercenaries came and went, keeping the camp bustling.
In the central hall, Mu She sat behind a desk, while Mr. Yao seemed uneasy.
Today was the tenth day. Would Li Xingluo really come? Would anyone truly risk his life to rescue someone he had met only once?
"Leader Mu, do you think he'll come?"
"Mr. Yao, are you afraid?"
Mu She rose and slowly walked out from behind the desk. At his words, Mr. Yao looked slightly embarrassed.
"Not exactly. But if he doesn't come, are you really going to kill Xiao Yi Xian? She has quite a few treasures. Would you let me take care of her?"
Mu She shot Mr. Yao a glance. So that was what this fellow was after. No wonder he'd agreed so readily to help keep Xiao Yi Xian under control.
It seemed the reward he had offered had been unnecessary. Mr. Yao saw that Mu She merely glanced at him without answering, and his heart gave a little lurch.
"Don't worry. He'll come."
"You're so sure?"
"Of course. He values loyalty!"
While the two were still talking in the hall, a crash rang out. The gate to the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's camp was sent flying, crushing two members beneath it.
The camp instantly erupted into chaos. On the palisade, a lone figure hacked away with his sword. Before long, not a single member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group guarding the walls remained alive.
Mu She rushed out of the hall. He saw Li Xingluo leap down from the palisade, sword in hand. The remaining members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group didn't dare approach.
Every time Li Xingluo took a step forward, the men instinctively took one backward.
Mu She stood on a raised platform in the middle of the square. Seeing that Li Xingluo had truly dared to come alone, he burst into laughter.
Hearing the laughter, Li Xingluo looked up. In the flickering candlelight, Mu She's figure was reflected in his eyes.
"I didn't think you'd actually dare to come."
Li Xingluo's expression darkened, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes, as if he looked down on everything around him.
A contemptuous smile appeared on his face, his eyes filled with scorn and disdain. His expression made it clear that he thought nothing of Mu She.
"Why wouldn't I dare? Because of trash like you?"
Mu She hadn't expected Li Xingluo, surrounded on all sides, to be so brazen. His expression darkened at once.
"You..."
"Besides, weren't you hoping I'd come? Now that I'm here, you're pretending you didn't want me to. Let me give you a saying."
"What saying?"
"You want to be both the whore and the madam. What a grand monument to your virtue!"
Li Xingluo's brazen taunts and deeply insulting words made the already furious Mu She fly into an even greater rage.
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