Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1315: Chapter 1317: Rescuing Chu Hai_1

It wasn’t clear whether Sangta had arranged for someone to lead the palace guards away, or if he had already figured out their patrol routes, but as Bai Ruozhu was carried by the black panther, following Sangta, they made it to a palace without encountering a single guard.

”This is an abandoned palace, also known as Leng Palace, where nobody usually comes,” Sangta said in a hushed voice, his tone raspy with a seductive allure.

Bai Ruozhu looked up and saw the words ”Qingyou Hall” written in gold on the plaque above, but due to long neglect, many parts of the gold lettering had faded, appearing quite dilapidated.

She wondered which beauty had once lived here and how it had become the Leng Palace.

”A concubine named Qingxuan once lived here, reputed to have been dearly loved by Jun Haoran,” Sangta seemed to have read her mind and began to explain, ”She had a brother named Qun Lian who had publicly opposed the Holy Hall and even led a demonstration against it. Unfortunately, he was eventually executed by fire by the Holy Hall.”

Jun Haoran was the name of the monarch of Western Regions Country.

This Qun Lian was the same one the monarch and the great elder mentioned before, Bai Ruozhu suddenly recalled, but she hadn’t expected the fire punishment to have come about this way.

”Not long after, Qingxuan, Qun Lian’s sister, passed away from illness—or so the rumors claim. It’s said she actually died due to tampering by people from the Holy Hall; it’s laughable that Jun Haoran couldn’t even protect his own beloved woman,” Sangta chuckled softly, his laughter filled with scorn.

”How do you know all this?” Bai Ruozhu asked skeptically, ”What is your relationship with Qun Lian and Qingxuan?”

Sangta smirked mischievously, ”What are you thinking? Are you jealous? Qingxuan is almost old enough to be my mother. As for Qun Lian, he was a good man. I happened to have met him outside, and I admired his learning and character. It’s a pity. Back then, the incident caused quite a stir. How could the Barbarian Clan living next to Western Regions not know?”

Bai Ruozhu was about to speak, but suddenly, Sangta moved, pulling her behind a column and, without her consent, his large hand firmly covered her mouth.

His palm was rough with calluses which hurt her cheek. She tried to struggle free but found herself completely immobilized.

Sangta’s strength was formidable, evidently stronger than when he had clashed with Jiang Yichun before. So it turned out that Jiang Yichun had held back part of his strength during their last encounter, and Sangta had likewise concealed his own!

Soon, footsteps echoed from within the hall, and a person dressed as a guard came out, then hurriedly left Qingyou Hall.

After the person was far away, Sangta finally released Bai Ruozhu; she raised her hand and swung at his face, but he quickly caught her wrist.

”There’s still someone inside. If you don’t want to be discovered, stay quiet for a while!” he said in a low voice, his glinting eyes narrowing into slits like those of an angry tiger.

Bai Ruozhu clenched her teeth and withdrew her hand, following him around to the back of the hall, where they quickly saw the situation inside.

Indeed, Chu Hai had been captured, and a person dressed as a guard was interrogating him. However, this guard was different from the one who had left earlier; a red agate was set right in the middle of the headwear, indicating his different status.

”Speak. Why were you looking for Hao Feng? Confess now and save yourself some suffering,” Lian Jia said as he whipped Chu Hai. The blow immediately tore a gash in Chu Hai’s clothing, and fresh blood stained the fabric red.

”I’ve told you I merely sought an audience out of admiration; my grandfather once came to the Western Regions to do business and greatly revered the former holy woman Hao Feng. It was also thanks to her blessings that our family now prospers. My grandfather instructed that if ever we came to the Western Regions, we must pay our respects to the former holy woman Hao Feng and express our family’s gratitude,” Chu Hai said weakly.

”It seems you still don’t want to tell the truth.” Lian Jia narrowed his eyes, walking over to pick up a red-hot iron from the stove.

Bai Ruozhu’s heart tightened at the sight, thinking how painful it would be if that got burned onto someone.

Seeing her like that, Sangta gestured to the black panther beside him, who quietly slipped away. Soon, rustling sounds came from the other side of the Main Hall, and just as Lian Jia’s branding iron was about to make contact, he suddenly cried out in alarm, ”Who is there?”

He put down the branding iron and gave chase, quickly being led out of Qingyou Hall by the black panther.

Bai Ruozhu hurried into the room, drew a dagger, and cut Chu Hai’s bindings, whispering, ”Are you all right?”

”How did you get here?” Chu Hai asked weakly, noticing that Bai Ruozhu was alone with Sangta following behind. His worry deepened.

”We were invited by the monarch as guests. He suddenly stopped me and told me you were captured. Let’s not talk too much now, we can speak after we leave this place,” Bai Ruozhu said quickly.

But Sangta suddenly blocked their way, telling Bai Ruozhu, ”You can’t leave. You left your seat and didn’t return, aren’t you afraid the monarch will become suspicious?”

Bai Ruozhu was well aware of this, she glared at Sangta and said, ”You needn’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it.”

Her plan was to hide Chu Hai first, then return to the banquet to meet up with Jiang Yichun and find a way to rescue Chu Hai and get out together.

”Forget it, go back. I’ll take him to a safe place. You can seek me out after leaving the Palace to claim him, and I assure you, he’ll be returned to you unharmed,” Sangta said as he reached for Chu Hai, easily hoisting the tall man onto his shoulder as though he were lifting a sack.

”You don’t need to help, put me down!” Chu Hai protested, but was unable to break free from Sangta’s grip.

”If you want to implicate her, go ahead and make a scene,” Sangta retorted coldly.

Chu Hai’s movements halted abruptly, realizing he had already caused trouble for Bai Ruozhu.

Bai Ruozhu hesitated, not trusting Sangta and not wanting any involvement with him, but the situation indeed was complicated. Even if she managed to hide Chu Hai, his injuries would make it difficult to avoid the guards’ patrols, and if captured again, he might be subjected to a more severe punishment.

In the end, Bai Ruozhu could only nod her head and say with a stiff neck, ”Thank you.”

Sangta smiled slyly, ”Remember that you owe me a favor now.”

”The one you are saving is me. Whatever is needed, I’ll repay. Don’t drag her into this!” Chu Hai said with displeasure.

Sangta snorted with a scoff, dismissively saying, ”I want her to be my beastly concubine. What can a man like you repay? I have no interest in marrying men.”

After saying that, he walked away carrying Chu Hai on his shoulder, and Bai Ruozhu hurriedly followed, her mind growing irritated by Sangta’s words about the beastly concubine.

Sangta knew Bai Ruozhu had taken his words to heart, and without turning back, he said, ”You are the one prophesied by the great elder to bring blessings to my Barbarian Clan. So, regardless of any husband you may have, I will marry you as my concubine.”

Bai Ruozhu’s expression chilled, ”I don’t know about your prophecy, but I’m certain it’s not about me. I’m just someone with some medical skills, and I won’t bring any blessings to you, nor will I take another husband. If you are in your right mind, you should seek out the person who is truly meant for you, instead of fixating on someone else’s wife,” she said.