He held the person in his arms tighter.
"Hiss..."
The person in his arms let out a cry of pain. Xie Jing realized something and quickly let go of her.
"I'm fine, you were just hugging me a bit too tight..."
Xie Jing's expression was not good at the moment, but his eyes were filled with heartache.
Qin Jiujiu saw the stiffness on Xie Jing's face and then said, "After this is over, we'll go to Shangyang Town."
Although she didn't say it directly, she had implicitly agreed.
"Xiao Jiu'er, you..."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
There was a knock on the door.
Liu Jin stood at the entrance. As soon as Xie Jing opened the door, she saw someone looking displeased.
"Jiujiu, that... something has happened at the divine temple!"
The divine temple.
Beneath the clear pool, there were actually many secret passages that allowed one to enter the divine temple directly from the outside. Liu Jin and Xiao Yuan had taken this route last time.
"Sister A'jin, I haven't asked yet, how did you know there were secret passages down here?"
Liu Jin looked at Xiao Yuan. "A'yuan told me."
Judging by their address, the two had clearly become much closer.
Qin Jiujiu nodded, not expecting the cold-faced Asura to explain herself.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Yuan suddenly said, "When I was young, I came to the imperial city with A'qi. Back then, General Lu brought us to this mountain, and he discovered these secret passages underneath."
It seemed that these secret passages were ancient ruins, which had later been abandoned.
"So that's how it is."
Qin Jiujiu nodded, and then Xie Jing took her hand.
This man's possessiveness was not to be underestimated.
Liu Jin watched the two of them and smiled to herself.
The emperor's imperial carriage had been stationed in the divine temple for more than half a month. The retinue was not large. Yao Guifei had been missing for two days, and it had gone unnoticed.
It was only this morning that Ru Guifei, for some unknown reason, insisted on barging into Yao Guifei's residence, which is how her disappearance was exposed.
And the palace maid who served her, Su, was also nowhere to be found.
Normally, the emperor would summon Yao Guifei for his service, but for some reason, the emperor had gone to the empress's residence these past two days, so this matter had gone undiscovered.
It was truly strange.
Coupled with the previous incident of palace maids disappearing in the imperial palace, which had already caused a great uproar.
The disappearance of Wu Jinchu had yet to be resolved, and now a major incident had occurred in the divine temple. Liu Jin wanted to seize the opportunity to see the emperor.
There had been no news from the imperial city regarding the matter of Xiliu City.
As for Xie Yun and Bai Qianluo, they had lost contact with them.
This divine temple was like a giant urn, with no news getting in or out.
"Sister A'jin, I'm quite familiar with this place. Follow me."
Qin Jiujiu had been to the emperor's residence before, which Liu Jin wanted to go to.
"Okay!"
The four of them headed towards where the emperor was. However, due to their clothing, it was difficult to disguise themselves.
They were trembling with fear all the way.
"Why don't we change our clothes?"
If anyone saw them, the guards would arrive in the next second.
Just then, several palace maids were walking this way together.
They dodged and hid behind a large tree nearby.
"Let's find Sister Bai and Brother Xie first, and then discuss it before going to the emperor's residence, how about it?" Qin Jiujiu suggested.
This matter couldn't be rushed.
Liu Jin nodded.
The four of them turned and headed in another direction.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Qin Jiujiu used the secret knock they had agreed upon to knock on Xie Yun's residence. Soon, the door opened.
"Brother Xie!"
"Jiujiu?"
As the door opened fully, Xie Yun saw the people behind her and was shocked for a moment before quickly saying, "Come in quickly!"
The door was closed again.
"Quick, report to the First Prince!"
A small palace maid hiding in the shadows suddenly ran out and headed towards the residence of Sheng Xuanzhi, the First Prince.
A long time later, another palace maid emerged from that area and furtively approached Xie Yun's door.
However, Xie Jing had already noticed someone hiding in the shadows earlier. His senses were extremely acute.
Four people were sitting in the room.
"Where is Xiao Jing? Why isn't he here?" Xie Yun didn't see Xie Jing, but with Qin Jiujiu present, he felt something was strange.
"He sensed someone was watching before he even stepped into your courtyard, so he didn't come in."
On the other side.
"Who are you?" It was clearly the same small palace maid who had run out earlier to find the First Prince.
The moment Xie Jing's cold eyes swept over the small palace maid, she felt her whole body tremble. It was a fear that emanated from within.
The young man's thin lips parted slightly. "The one who wants your life!"
The small palace maid instinctively tried to call for help, but Xie Jing gave her no chance.
With a casual strike, the small palace maid fainted.
Xie Jing's cold eyes were filled with icy intent and disgust. He did not step forward to catch her.
The small palace maid fell straight down.
A light suddenly appeared in Xie Jing's hand, and then the light shot towards the person on the ground.
This spell could make her unconscious for a day and a night.
Xie Jing then used a talisman to bind her.
Scratch! Scratch!
Xie Jing dragged the small palace maid into the nearby woods. After finishing this, he flashed back into Xie Yun's courtyard.
The moment he entered the door, he met the gazes of the other four people in the courtyard.
He first looked at Qin Jiujiu, then casually straightened his robes and walked towards her.
The four people who had been staring at the woman, who was tied up by the talisman, unable to move or make a sound on the ground, now became five.
The woman, seeing someone enter, had wanted to ask for help, her eyes full of expectation fixed on Xie Jing.
But suddenly, she caught sight of the killing intent on the young man's body.
And the strong disgust.
Her heart sank. Had she stumbled into a den of thieves?
"Should we take her inside?" Qin Jiujiu asked.
They couldn't stay frozen outside the door like this. After all, the divine temple was full of people and eyes. If someone stumbled upon them and saw them, it would be even more troublesome!
But since these two were sent by the First Prince, it meant that the First Prince was suspicious of Xie Yun.
"There's no need for such trouble. These people are just pawns sent by Sheng Xuanzhi. I doubt they'll reveal anything even if we question them. It's better to just..." Xie Jing's tone was very cold. The palace maid felt that in the next second, he would say the words "kill her."
She guessed correctly.
Xie Jing did intend to say that.
"Why don't we knock her out and lock her up first?"
Qin Jiujiu said quickly.
She knew Xie Jing's methods well. To reduce trouble, he would likely choose to kill.
But she couldn't let the great villain kill people so casually anymore.
Upon hearing this, Xie Jing indeed stopped talking.
After everything was dealt with, they all returned to the room.
"Brother Xie, where is Sister Bai?"