murderous intent

"I'll help you."

Chu Yao took the cloth strip from Long Chen's hand and slowly bandaged his arm, saying somewhat awkwardly, "I'm sorry."

For some reason, in Chu Yao's heart, Long Chen was different from everyone else. In her impression, he was the only "servant" who dared to stand up to her.

One could tell from Long Chen's wild gaze that he was someone who feared nothing, yet he was willing to suffer pain himself rather than hurt Chu Yao again. This invisibly touched a soft part of her heart.

Thinking carefully, it seemed Long Chen hadn't done anything wrong. Perhaps she didn't understand the true beginning and end of the matter. Having grown up, this was the first time Chu Yao felt a trace of guilt.

"I…" Long Chen was just about to speak.

"You don't need to apologize. We… are even today. I bit you, and you also…" Chu Yao's pretty face flushed red. She still felt a strange sensation in her chest, as if that feeling hadn't dissipated yet.

"No, I want to say…" Long Chen shook his head.

"I already said, this matter is in the past. What else do you want?" Chu Yao said with slight anger.

"Beauty, what I want to say is, I was bitten on my left arm, why are you bandaging my right hand?" Long Chen said, unable to laugh or cry.

Only then did Chu Yao realize that in her confusion, she had actually bandaged the wrong arm. Her pretty face turned red, and looking at Long Chen's helpless expression, she couldn't help but softly curse, "Bad guy, why didn't you remind me earlier?"

After speaking, she re-bandaged Long Chen. However, it was just a skin wound after all; besides being a bit painful, it wasn't a serious injury.

Long Chen smiled inwardly. This beautiful young lady still had a conscience; a little bitter meat scheme, and she was easily captured.

Actually, in Long Chen's ring, there was medicine for healing, both for internal and external use. It was just that in order to perform this bitter meat scheme, he hadn't taken it out.

Originally, Long Chen hadn't held out much hope, preparing to use force if soft tactics didn't work. The result was that this girl had actually fallen for the trap, which greatly exceeded his expectations.

At the same time, for the first time, he felt a trace of goodwill toward the people of the royal family. He said softly, "Actually, your younger brother was being used. Zhou Yaoyang wanted to use your younger brother to suppress me."

After finishing, Long Chen briefly described the conflict between him and Zhou Yaoyang. This time, Long Chen didn't need to be melodramatic; he just calmly recounted some of his experiences.

"Long Chen, I'm sorry. I misunderstood you," Chu Yao said with some embarrassment, while also hating herself for being too rash.

"It's nothing, I'm used to it anyway," Long Chen said calmly.

The words were very plain, but coupled with that melancholic gaze, it gave people an extremely strong visual impact, shaking the heart.

This expression of Long Chen's made Chu Yao feel even more guilty, feeling as if she had sprinkled salt on a person covered in wounds, and she couldn't help feeling very sad.

"Hehe, don't take it too seriously. I was tricking your sympathy," Long Chen laughed.

For some reason, looking at Long Chen's smile, Chu Yao felt even sadder instead. Her eyes turned red, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Sigh, don't cry. Can't I just stop talking?"

Long Chen feared nothing in heaven or earth, but he was afraid of women crying. For a moment, he was flustered and at a loss.

"Are you willing to forgive me?" Chu Yao asked sadly. She felt like she was the worst woman in the world.

"I already said, this matter isn't your fault. There were bad people guiding it in the middle. You don't need to blame yourself," Long Chen said.

"But…"

"There is no 'but'. What's past is past. If it's happy, we remember it; if it's bothersome, we forget it. That's how I've lived for so many years," Long Chen counseled.

"Thank you, Long Chen." Chu Yao wiped her tears, a look of joy appearing on her pretty face.

Looking at Chu Yao, Long Chen's heart trembled. Although Chu Yao was slightly inferior to Meng Qi, her appearance was definitely of a peerless beauty, especially when she smiled. It was hard for any man not to be moved.

Seeing Long Chen suddenly staring at her blankly, Chu Yao asked with some confusion, "Long Chen, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Cough cough, because you are too beautiful, I couldn't help it," Long Chen's old face flushed, and he coughed twice.

"Am I really that beautiful?" Chu Yao tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her jade hand and asked seriously.

Long Chen was somewhat surprised, "Extremely beautiful, don't you know? Hasn't anyone else said so?"

Chu Yao shook her head, "Some people say it every day, but I don't believe every word they say. I don't like people who wear masks every day."

When Chu Yao spoke, a trace of helplessness appeared on her pretty face, which made people's hearts ache. She was completely like a different person from before. Long Chen hadn't expected Chu Yao to have such a side.

"Let's find a place to sit. It's not good to just stand like this."

Long Chen found a clean stone and sat down. Chu Yao nodded, but just after sitting down, she suddenly screamed and stood back up.

Long Chen was stunned, "What?"

Chu Yao's pretty face flushed red, and she said with some annoyance, "It's all because of you."

Long Chen immediately understood and felt a bit embarrassed.

Chu Yao took out a long blanket from her spatial ring, covered the stone with it, and then slowly sat down. However, just as she touched the stone, she still frowned slightly; it was clearly still a bit painful, but much better than before.

"That… excuse me," Long Chen said with some embarrassment. Doing this really damaged the image of a gentleman, but Long Chen had never thought about being a gentleman.

Moreover, he had been bitten in a rush at the time; it was purely a subconscious action, not really wanting to take advantage of her.

"I've never seen someone as fierce as you. Growing up, you're the first person to hit me." Speaking of this, Chu Yao couldn't help her eyes turning red, her face full of grievance.

"That, don't cry. How about I let you spank me instead?" Seeing Chu Yao on the verge of tears, Long Chen hurriedly said.

"Pfft."

"Pah."

"Who wants to hit you there? You are really too bad." Chu Yao was amused by Long Chen, her pretty face flushed, and she hurriedly turned away.

Seeing Chu Yao laugh through her tears, Long Chen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Hitting a princess's bottom—he could consider himself daring.

"Long Chen, although you are very bad, I feel that you won't lie to me, and you won't say insincere words to please me. Can I be friends with you?" Chu Yao suddenly said very seriously.

"Of course you can, as long as you don't trap me in a net next time. To be honest, just now I was really afraid that if you let go, you would throw me down," Long Chen laughed.

Chu Yao also laughed, thinking of Long Chen's sorry state when he was thrown down by her just now, and couldn't help feeling amused.

After laughing, it seemed the distance between the two of them had narrowed significantly. Chu Yao actually told Long Chen about some of her and her younger brother's experiences.

Perhaps because it was the first time in her life she had met someone she could confide in, she told Long Chen a lot.

"Chu Yao, how long has it been since you saw Your Majesty?" Long Chen suddenly asked.

Chu Yao shook her head, "Since I was three years old, I haven't seen him again. My younger brother hasn't even seen him once."

Long Chen nodded and hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he didn't ask. After all, the relationship of trust with Chu Yao had just been established, and he couldn't rashly ask about sensitive issues.

Actually, Long Chen really wanted to know the current situation inside the palace—who exactly was targeting the Long family? Long Chen had always wanted to figure it out.

Calculating the time, it was only after the Emperor had been in seclusion for five years that he started summoning Long Tianxiao back to the palace, but at that time, Long Tianxiao had already started refusing to return to the Imperial Capital.

What exactly happened in between? And his father hadn't had any news for over a decade. What exactly was he doing? Had he really abandoned his mother and son?

Although his impression was already a bit blurry, Long Tianxiao's resolute face was deeply imprinted in Long Chen's heart. He was definitely not that kind of person.

Then what was all this for? Long Chen felt he had been drawn into a huge mystery, but he didn't dare to rashly uncover it.

Because the closer he got to the truth, the more intense the danger. Without strength, Long Chen still needed to continue lurking.

Long Chen asked indirectly about the situation of the other princes in the palace. Chu Yao clearly didn't know Long Chen's purpose, thinking Long Chen was concerned about her, and answered whatever he asked.

Long Chen couldn't help feeling a bit guilty. Deceiving a woman like this made him feel uncomfortable, so later he simply stopped asking. He was afraid he would feel more and more guilty.

Since he was getting closer to the truth, the most important thing currently was to seize the time to improve his strength. Now that the Fengfu Star had initially formed, his spiritual power had greatly increased. He could increase his Alchemy speed to continue nourishing the Fengfu Star.

When the Fengfu Star reached complete Perfection, he could charge toward the Blood Condensation realm. Once he entered the Blood Condensation realm, he would be a true Martial Artist. He was still too weak right now.

In addition, he was pleasantly surprised to find that as the Fengfu Star became stronger, his body also rose with the tide and became stronger.

The Fengfu Star was like a spring. Once it formed, it kept nourishing his physique. Now, his strength could be described as monstrous.

The Nine Star Hegemon Body Art had become his greatest reliance, but the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art was too mysterious. In his memory, there was only its Cultivation method; he knew nothing else.

Chu Yao spoke endlessly for over two hours. Finally, her pretty face flushed, feeling she had been a bit uncomposed, and she started asking Long Chen questions.

Long Chen smiled and told her some interesting things, not mentioning a word about his past hardships. It had to be said that Long Chen had an amazing talent for eloquence, which amused Chu Yao into letting out silver-bell-like laughter from time to time.

The willful and domineering princess from the beginning had suddenly turned into a girl in love, as if she were a different person.

When the sun slowly set, the two realized the passage of time. Chu Yao looked at Long Chen, "Long Chen, can I come to find you to play in the future?"

Long Chen hesitated slightly. He didn't want to get too close to the royal family; he was a bit afraid. But looking at Chu Yao's expectant gaze, he couldn't bear to refuse. He smiled, "Of course you can, but this is a secret between the two of us."

Hearing the latter part of Long Chen's words, a flush appeared on Chu Yao's pretty face. Her beautiful eyes dodged, and her gaze held a trace of panic. She whispered, "Then let's go back."

"You go back first. I'll walk," Long Chen smiled. If he were caught riding with the princess, it would be a huge trouble.

Chu Yao clearly realized this too, whispered a goodbye to Long Chen, jumped onto the back of the harrier eagle, and flew away.

Long Chen watched that figure gradually disappear. He felt uncomfortable in his heart. After a long time, he sighed and returned to his home.

However, just as he arrived at his door, he saw countless elite soldiers had already surrounded the entire Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion. Long Chen's expression sank, and a murderous intent appeared in his eyes.

The worse my mood is, the more you add fuel to the fire. Since you are looking for death, I will fulfill your wishes.

The anger in his heart could no longer be suppressed, and he rushed straight toward the elite soldiers guarding the gate of the Marquis Mansion.