Xue Pan was scared to death. If he had known earlier that she was a Princess, he would not have dared to cause trouble for her. He was just seeking death.

However, Zhao Xingyue did not even bother to look at him. Instead, she turned to Xiahou Hongxiang and said, “This time around, I encountered danger time and again within Golden Horse City’s territory. You should know my father’s temperament. If I were to tell him about these things, you’ll have to think about the consequences yourself.”

She could have forgiven him if he had merely offended her. However, Xue Pan was ready to kill the person she loved most in the pagoda, so she could not let such a person go no matter what.

Although these words did not mention Xue Pan at all, she directly sentenced him to death.

“How dare you be disrespectful to the Princess? Drag him out and behead him.”

Xiahou Hongxiang had no intention of defending Xue Pan at this time. It was this guy who told him the news and made him bitterly humiliated in public.

Now that Zhao Xingyue wanted to avenge Qin Haodong, he also wanted to vent his anger.

Xue Pan was so scared that he kowtowed repeatedly, like a chicken pecking away at grain. “No, General Xiahou, please spare me this time…”

But before he could finish speaking, a deputy general reached out, grabbed his neck, dragged him aside, and cut off his head with a sword.

Xiahou Hongxiang glared mercilessly at Xue Pan’s body and turned to Zhao Xingyue, “Your Highness, are you satisfied with this?”

Zhao Xingyue nodded and said, “Let’s forget about this matter. Hurry and move out of the way. We are going back to the Tortoise Academy.”

Surprisingly, Xiahou Hongxiang did not move aside. Instead, he said, “Your Highness, you cannot leave.”

Zhao Xingyue’s face darkened. “What do you mean? Are you trying to arrest me?”

“Your Highness, you must be joking. How could I dare to arrest you?” Xiahou Hongxiang said respectfully, “As you just said, when you entered my Golden Horse City, you encountered danger time and again. I feel extremely guilty about it.

“If something truly happens to you, I, Xiahou Hongxiang, will not be able to absolve myself from the blame even if I die ten thousand times.”

Zhao Xingyue knew that these were all excuses, so she asked directly, “Then what do you want?”

Xiahou Hongxiang said, “Your Highness, I would like to invite you to return with me to Golden Horse City. Then, I will immediately petition the King to dispatch masters to ensure your safety.”

“No!”

Zhao Xingyue had snuck out. She had only revealed her identity earlier because she had no other choice. She naturally did not want to be captured and sent back to the Tortoise Palace.

“You just need to get out of the way. You don’t have to worry about anything else.”

Xiahou Hongxiang did not retreat this time. He said in a firm voice, “Your Highness, in order to ensure your safety, please forgive me for not obeying. No matter what, I must escort you to my Golden Horse City.”

“This…”

Zhao Xingyue was put in a difficult position. Even though she was exceptionally smart, Xiahou Hongxiang was also a wily old fox. His words, without any flaw, sounded so self-righteous that she couldn’t find any reason to refute him.

Helplessly, she could only reply, “Then all right. I’ll have to trouble you.”

“Your Highness, it’s my duty to serve you.” Xiahou Hongxiang said to Qin Haodong and others, “The Princess will follow me back to Golden Horse City. You can leave now.”

Zhao Xingyue frowned. Right now, Xiahou Hongxiang did not dare to attack Qin Haodong and the others for her sake. However, once they were separated from her, they would immediately be pursued by tens of thousands of soldiers.

She said, “Xiahou Hongxiang, these are my friends. They wish to come with me to the palace to meet with my father. You cannot drive them away.”

The Little Witch could not see through the web of deceit here. She said cheerfully, “I have never been to Golden Horse City or the palace. Now I can go and explore the place with Sister Xingyue.”

Xiahou Hongxiang sighed. This Princess Xingyue was far more difficult to deal with than the rumors claimed.

“Since the Princess has given the order, then you may come with me.”

After that, he asked his men to disperse those present who came to experience and took Zhao Xingyue, Qin Haodong, and the others to Golden Horse City.

Zhao Xingyue, who was in the middle of the army of tens of thousands, was like a moon surrounded by stars. Xiahou Hongxiang and his deputy general, Jiang Bin, walked at the back of the army.

Jiang Bin was Xiahou Hongxiang’s trusted henchman. He said in a low voice, “General, we cannot let this thing go no matter what. We must take revenge for the elder master and the young master.”

Xiahou Hongxiang said with a fierce look, “Of course, I must cut Qin Haodong into pieces! But now is not the time to do that. Let him live a little longer.

“When we reach our Golden Horse City, there will be plenty of ways to kill him!”

The two of them were plotting. Meanwhile, On Qin Haodong’s side, Tu Jiaojiao whispered, “Haodong, I grew up in Golden Horse City, so I know a lot about Xiahou Hongxiang.

“That old man is treacherous, greedy, and vengeful. This matter will definitely not end here. When we reach Golden Horse City, he’s sure to make trouble for you.”

Murong Jinghong said, “Yes! He will not dare to do anything with Xingyue around us. Once we are separated from Xingyue, I’m afraid he will kill us.

“Why don’t we sneak out at the right opportunity?”

“Sneak out? Do you think we can sneak out?”

Qin Haodong glanced around. Xiahou Hongxiang’s men surrounded them in the middle. They termed it as a way of protecting Zhao Xingyue, but in fact, it was to prevent them from escaping.

Under the encirclement of an army of tens of thousands, even a mosquito would not be able to escape.

Tu Jiaojiao anxiously asked, “What should we do then?”

“Don’t worry. Let’s take it one step at a time and act accordingly.”

Although Golden Horse City was Xiahou Hongxiang’s territory, Qin Haodong did not panic too much. That was because he still had a hidden card, the Seven Storeys Pagoda.

If he really had no other choice, he could directly teleport himself to the Seven Storeys Pagoda. Then, there was nothing the other party could do about it, no matter how powerful he was.

Golden Horse City was not too far from Pagoda Mountain. After the army advanced for half a day, a huge city slowly appeared before their eyes.

It was worthy of being the second-largest city in Tortoise Kingdom. From afar, Golden Horse City looked grand and majestic with no end in sight. It was bigger than any other ancient city on the earth.

After entering the city, Xiahou Hongxiang said to Zhao Xingyue, “Your Highness, I would have invited you to my Lord Mansion as a guest. Unfortunately, my family members are not well-mannered and are too noisy. I am afraid they will disturb you.

“I have a courtyard in Golden Horse City that is extremely quiet and elegant. It’s suitable for you to rest in. What do you think?”

Qin Haodong laughed in his heart. “Quiet and elegant? This guy just wants to find a suitable place to kill me.”

Zhao Xingyue didn’t think too much about it. She originally didn’t like noise, so she nodded and said, “Sure!”

Xiahou Hongxiang was delighted and led everyone directly to a manor on the west side of Golden Horse City. This manor was far away from the downtown area. It was indeed very quiet. Moreover, it had pavilions with carved beams and painted rafters and looked extremely luxurious.

“Your Highness, are you satisfied with this place?”

Zhao Xingyue said, “Not bad!”

“Your Highness, since you are satisfied, you can stay here for now. I will immediately dispatch someone to send news about you to the palace. I foresee that the King will send people to fetch you soon.”

Zhao Xingyue nodded. Although she didn’t want to go back yet, she had no choice under these circumstances. Xiahou Hongxiang would never let her go.

“It’s getting late. Your Highness, please have a break!” Xiahou Hongxiang turned around and said to Qin Haodong, “This is the residence of the Princess. It’s not suitable for men to enter. Please come to the nearby courtyard with me.”

Zhao Xingyue frowned and said, “Big Brother Qin is my friend. There are many rooms here. Let him live here.”

Xiahou Hongxiang said, “Your Highness, that won’t do. You live here. How would I dare to let other men in?

“Your reputation will be damaged and the King will blame me. Even if I have 10 heads, they would not be enough to be cut off.”

His words sounded so righteous that Zhao Xingyue could not find any reason to refute him.

Qin Haodong said, “It doesn’t matter. We don’t live far away anyway. I’ll come over if there’s anything.”

Xiahou Hongxiang replied, “That’s right. Mr. Qin lives next to you. His place is only several hundred meters away from here. Tomorrow, you can pay him a visit at any time!”

Zhao Xingyue could not say anything more. Qin Haodong followed Xiahou Hongxiang out of their residence and went to another small yard next to it.

The environment here was good but no one would be staying here except Qin Haodong.

Xiahou Hongxiang said with a fake smile, “I’m sorry, Mr. Qin. You have to stay here for the time being.”

Qin Haodong said, “It doesn’t matter. I actually like peace and quiet.”

“As long as you like it.”

After that, Xiahou Hongxiang turned around. The expression on his face instantly became ruthless. He thought to himself, “Brat, tonight will be the day of your death.”

He left and returned to his Lord Mansion. Then he called his deputy general, Jiang Bin, over.

After entering, Jiang Bin said directly, “General, are you going to kill that punk?”

Xiahou Hongxiang said with a gloomy face, “I have arranged a yard for him alone. Ask someone to kill him tonight.

“I’ve already learned that this brat’s cultivation is only at the late stage of the Voiding Realm. He’s nothing special but he has a seventh-level demonic beast that is extremely fierce. My brother was killed by that demonic beast.

“Therefore, you have to launch a sneak attack when you send people to attack him. Catch him off guard and directly kill him. Don’t give him a chance to summon his demonic beast.”

“Don’t worry, General. I’ll definitely not let that punk see tomorrow’s sunrise.” Jiang Bin said, “What about Princess Xingyue and those women? Kill them too?”

Xiahou Hongxiang waved his hand and said, “Don’t be impulsive. After all, Zhao Xingyue is the Princess of the kingdom. If something happens to her in Golden Horse City, we will be in serious trouble.

“I have reported the news to the Queen. We just need to wait for her decision. If she asks us to take action, we will directly kill them on the way.”

Jiang Bin nodded and said, “Understood, General. I’ll go prepare the manpower now.”

Xiahou Hongxiang said, “Remember! Act swiftly and efficiently. Do not leave any traces.”

“Don’t worry! I happen to have a pair of killers. Not only do they have high cultivation but they are also good at assassination. They have never failed until now. They will definitely send Qin Haodong to hell.”

After that, Jiang Bin left the Lord Mansion confidently.

Qin Haodong had nothing to do when he was all alone. After dinner, he went to bed early. After closing his eyes, the women of his family flashed through his mind, one by one.

Lin Momo, Hu Xiaoxian, Nalan Wushuang, Nalan Wuxia… he wondered how they were doing now…

Just as he was immersed in his beautiful memories, he suddenly had a sense of danger. His Spirit swept out of the room and saw a black shadow appear in the courtyard like a ghost.

Qin Haodong thought to himself, “So fast. Since you want to play, I’ll play with you too!”