Chapter 21: Can a Mad Tyrant Be Forced? [21]

Chapter 21: Can a Mad Tyrant Be Taken Too? "21"

"Assassins!"

"Someone, catch the assassins!"

"Guard the Emperor! Guard him—!"

"Fire! Someone put it out!"

"Hurry! Save the Emperor and the Empress—!"

One sharp cry after another ripped through the night, shattering the silence.

Mu Jin set down his teacup and tilted his head slightly, looking toward the commotion outside.

After all, this was something he had arranged long ago, so hearing the chaotic noises outside, he didn't even flinch.

But when he looked over, Mu Jin froze.

He should not have been able to see anything at all, yet there it was—a flicker of firelight outside.

Before he could even be happy about it, several people burst in, scrambling to his side and speaking in urgent tones:

"Your Majesty! Assassins!"

"Your Majesty, please come with us—quickly!"

Mu Jin frowned. This wasn't part of the plan.

He had only wanted those people to cause a commotion, then take the opportunity to send Zhao Ruoqian somewhere safe.

But even as he realized something was wrong, those men gave him no time to react. One of them stepped behind him and slipped a silver needle into him.

"Mm..."

A faint sting, along with a wave of dizziness, hit him. Mu Jin let out a muffled groan and blacked out completely.

The men around him exchanged looks.

The one who had stabbed him didn't hesitate at all. He wrapped Mu Jin entirely in a pitch-black cloak, slung him over his shoulder, and carried him away.

Of the remaining two, one poured oil while the other sparked a flame. The room was instantly swallowed by raging fire.

By the time Mu Jin's men arrived, the fire was already raging. They barely managed to extinguish it, but the ruined courtyard was completely empty.

One man's face went dark: "Your Majesty?! Where is His Majesty?!"

Another panicked: "His Majesty is gone! Send people after him now—hurry!!"

Yet another gritted his teeth and roared: "Quick! Word absolutely cannot get out that His Majesty was taken—especially not to the Prince Regent and the others!"

The Nine Cloud Temple was in complete chaos.

Zhao Ruoqian's hair was a mess, her face smudged with dust, and even the hem of her skirt was singed. She looked a total wreck.

She stood in the corner, watching coldly, just as she was about to leave.

Two men suddenly appeared behind her, blocking her way.

Zhao Ruoqian's heart skipped a beat. Her gaze instinctively swept over their necks and the backs of their hands.

She did not see the familiar marks she was looking for. She let out a faint breath of relief, but panic and helplessness flickered in her eyes. She clutched one of the men's sleeves and spoke in a trembling voice:

"The... the Emperor... he..."

Tears welled up in Zhao Ruoqian's reddened eyes and spilled down her cheeks the moment she finished speaking.

The young man whose sleeve she had clutched said quietly: "Don't be upset, Your Highness. I will find His Majesty, I swear. Our top priority is to get you somewhere safe."

The man beside him added: "That's right. Who knows if those assassins might come back. Please come with us, Your Highness."

Zhao Ruoqian gripped harder, unwilling to leave with these two. She looked back at the ruined courtyard, bit her lip, and whispered:

"But His Majesty..."

"The Emperor said our job is to keep you safe, Your Highness. No matter what happens, you come first."

Before Zhao Ruoqian could finish, the two men cut her off, their voices serious: "Only when you're safe, Your Highness, will His Majesty rest easy."

"So please, come with us, Your Highness."

Even though they desperately wanted to go find Mu Jin.

They had not forgotten the task Mu Jin had given them—today, they had to get Zhao Ruoqian to a safe place.

Zhao Ruoqian looked at how serious they were and could almost picture Mu Jin telling them to always put her first, no matter what.

He was so good to her...

He was so good to her...

Zhao Ruoqian suddenly released her grip, her head drooping, making it impossible to read the emotions in her eyes.

Her whole body was trembling as she held back her tears and whispered:

"Okay... okay, I'll go with you."

The two men assumed Zhao Ruoqian was simply frightened. But things had already gone way beyond what they expected.

They didn't have time to comfort her. They could only wrap her in a clean cloak and send her away.

...

When Mu Jin woke, he immediately noticed chains on his wrists and ankles.

He was speechless for a moment.

Whoever had taken him naturally knew his identity—knew that he couldn't walk and was blind. Why bother chaining him up?

Mu Jin sighed and forced himself to sit up in bed.

As his hands pressed against the bed, he felt soft, warm fleece under his palms. There was a charcoal fire burning in the room. Even though he wore only a thin robe, he did not feel cold at all.

This only made Mu Jin more puzzled.

If they had captured him, why treat him so well?

Mu Jin recalled the firelight he had seen before losing consciousness and instinctively blinked, trying to see anything around him—even just a faint, blurry shape.

But there was nothing, absolutely nothing—only darkness greeted his eyes.

Mu Jin sighed. Had he wanted so badly to see the world that he'd started hallucinating?

Unable to figure out where he was, he could only try reaching out to 648 in his mind:

[Xiao Liu, are you there? What exactly is going on? Who kidnapped me?]

More precisely, he wanted to know who could have kidnapped him so easily when almost everyone inside and outside Jiu Yun Temple was loyal to him.

648 said slowly, "Oh, it's Yun Fuyue."

Mu Jin: "???"

[Yun Fuyue? Didn't Mu Siyang take him away? There's no way Mu Siyang would've let him go that fast.]

648 explained, "Yun Fuyue's people set up a decoy and secretly swapped him out, while the rest went to the Regent's Mansion to raise hell every day."

"They made a racket during the day and launched assassination attempts at night, and even paid storytellers to trash Mu Siyang's name all over town, never giving Mu Siyang even one chance to question Yun Fuyue."

"On the rare occasions he did show up, he just had Yun Fuyue tortured to blow off steam, so Mu Siyang never caught on."

Mu Jin: "..."

No wonder none of the villains were pushovers.

No wonder Yun Fuyue had gone along with Mu Siyang so easily that day—he'd already had a backup plan.

Mu Jin: [So, is Yun Fuyue kidnapping me now to frame Mu Siyang and then take him out for good?]

If Yun Fuyue had backup plans, Mu Siyang definitely had some tricks up his sleeve too.

Even if Yun Fuyue really wanted to pull this off, it probably wouldn't be that easy.

648 heard Mu Jin's serious question, hesitated, then cleared his throat before speaking:

"Host, things might not be as simple as you think."

Mu Jin was confused: "Huh?"

648: "While you were out cold, Yun Fuyue personally changed your clothes and kissed your hand."

Mu Jin was stunned: "What?!"

Mu Jin blurted out, "Is he insane?!"

He didn't get it and was completely shaken, gritting his teeth with trembling eyes as he grabbed the brocade blanket and furiously wiped his hands.

648 was just as conflicted. As a system, he didn't like to interfere too much with his host's mission.

Also, for the host's privacy, except in special cases, he wouldn't come online unless Mu Jin called for him.

God knows how he felt when he sensed Mu Jin was in danger, logged on, and saw Yun Fuyue kissing Mu Jin's fingertips!

If he hadn't used a bit of energy to create a distraction and drive Yun Fuyue away,

who knows what crazy stuff Yun Fuyue might've done to Mu Jin if he'd stayed!

648 tried to comfort him:

"It's fine, Host. Just think of it as a dog licking you. No big deal. He didn't do anything else to you."

Mu Jin's feelings were all over the place right now. He pressed his lips together: [Then... what am I supposed to do now?]

[Is there any way to get me out of here?]

648 thought for a moment: "There is a way, but if we do this, you'll be on your own from here on out."

"Host, I'm just a rookie system, and this is our first mission, so I don't have much energy. I can use the energy I have left to send you somewhere safe."

"But then I'll be forced to go offline because I won't have enough energy..."

Before he could finish, Mu Jin frowned and cut him off: [No, don't use your energy.]

648 knew he was worried about him, so he explained: "Don't worry, it's just a temporary shutdown into a short sleep. It won't hurt me."

"Once you finish the mission in this world, my energy will recover on its own."

"But the thing is, after I send you out, you'll have to fend for yourself."

648 looked at Mu Jin with concern—this was what worried him the most.

He really couldn't stand leaving Mu Jin alone in this world, but he couldn't just sit here and do nothing either.

He didn't know what Yun Fuyue was planning, but he could tell Yun Fuyue's intentions toward Mu Jin weren't pure.

If they didn't leave, with the energy he had left, he couldn't hold Yun Fuyue off much longer.

648 gritted his teeth and finally told Mu Jin everything that had happened earlier, then let out a helpless sigh:

"If you don't feel that way about Yun Fuyue, I think you'd better leave, or else I'm not sure what might happen."

Mu Jin lowered his eyes, and after a moment, said slowly: [Then please send me away.]

648 wasn't surprised by his decision: "Okay."

"Host, don't worry, you just need to get a good night's sleep."

Trusting 648, Mu Jin closed his eyes and lay back down.

But when he woke up in a completely unfamiliar place, feeling the biting cold and hearing faint wolf howls in the distance,

Mu Jin casually grabbed a handful of dirt mixed with dead leaves and fell into deep thought.

Wait, didn't 648 say he'd send him somewhere safe?

Was this place really safe?

He seriously doubted it.

Mu Jin's mood right now was even more complicated than when he'd found out Yun Fuyue kissed his fingertips.

Sending him—blind and crippled—to a wilderness full of wolves... was this some kind of mistake?

If so, then if he died here, it couldn't be his fault for failing the mission, right?

Mu Jin thought for three seconds about whether he'd get eaten by wolves or freeze to death here.

Well, both sounded fine.

So he quietly lay back down and closed his eyes.

Even when he heard footsteps approaching, growing more urgent, he didn't react at all.