Chapter 10 Refusal to Deal

ad, they entered Phoenix Palace directly.Only then did Qi Lin clearly see that the lowest layer had walls as high as twenty meters. The vermilion gates were so heavy that it took thirty strong men to...Chapter Ten: Refusal to Trade

The wolf pack was protecting Qi Lin, knowing there were dangers involved, that this danger was unprecedented, and that they needed to leave quickly or hide somewhere. Ice@Fire! Chinese content updates faster than a rocket; do you dare not believe it But Qi Lin still hadn't considered the fact that all of the wolves seemed to be intentionally protecting her.

"Heh heh... It seems this is really a feast prepared for me." Qi Lin sat on a tree that had fallen down at some point. Little White stood tall beside her, and in front of them were over a hundred adult wolves, while the ones she brought along only accounted for around one-tenth of that number; the rest belonged to packs nearby. Qi Lin propped up her chin with one hand. From what she saw just now, these suddenly appearing wolves had no signs of wanting to attack and seemed specially sent to protect her instead. She also sorted out her thoughts, figuring out her situation: currently surrounded on all sides, those people already encircled this area, it was only a matter of time before they were found.

Little White secretly sized up Qi Lin; she sat on the tree with a blade of grass in her mouth and a deep-in-thought expression. The fluttering grass eased some tension off the atmosphere, so Little White lay down as well, since Qi Lin always came up with a win-win solution when faced with danger before.

The other wolves saw how Little White behaved, exchanged looks with each other, then sat down and began doing their own things.

At this moment, on top of the tree about one hundred steps from Qi Lin stood a blue-clothed man. His lips curled into a slight smile; his eyes were filled with amusement as he stared at Qi Lin who was deep in thought some hundred steps away. Although she was thinking deeply, that blade of grass broke all tension.

This girl does have her charms.

The man's smile grew more intense.

"Snap"

Qi Lin slapped both hands onto her face; this action startled the wolves around her and also attracted the attention of the blue-clothed man. All of them stared at Qi Lin to see what happened next.

Qi Lin suddenly sat up straight, her black eyes blinking rapidly as she glanced at Little White with a cheerful smile then patted its head. She said, "Ah, I'm hungry."

"Ow" Little White tilted its head and looked at Qi Lin, blinked its eyes several times and twitched its ears; the surrounding wolves exchanged looks but didn't know what to do.

"Hahaha, when you're hungry, it's hard to think of anything. Your brain gets slow." Qi Lin stretched her arms then walked forward a step or two. It was already afternoon; the moisture in the air indicated that tonight would be full of stars.

Stars Stars

Qi Lin looked up at the sky, the clouds had long dispersed and left behind a clear azure blue sky. Qi Lin frowned slightly then vigorously shook her head until the humiliating memory completely disappeared from her mind; she bounced around on the spot several times in surprise; Little White thought that she had gone mad with hunger and tilted its head to think whether it needed to take any action.

"Alright everyone, let's find some food. I'll go check first." Qi Lin looked all around and realized they were at the middle of the mountain; good, there was plenty of food here, especially wild chickens which were very tasty. "Little White, follow the usual rules: catch some pheasants for us to roast."

"Ow!" Receiving her instruction, Little White barked loudly then rubbed against Qi Lin before walking forward and speaking in wolf language.

Qi Lin ignored their wolf language; it was just instructions anyway. She picked a direction at random, actually she had considered the possibility but couldn't think of anything else: even with help from the wolves, the other side were ancient hunters, who might be amateur hunters but still better than her as an ignorant woman; moreover there was such rich rewards waiting for them - gold, mansions and pristine pollution-free land. All these were what every modern woman yearned to possess in their lifetime. She had worked so hard for so long that she could not even afford a car and lived in dormitories provided by the company.

Would such treatment await her if she turned herself in

"Is it really necessary to be so ridiculous" Qi Lin casually grabbed a vine and pulled, causing the vine in her hand to snap and fall to the ground. However, when she looked up again, she saw something about the size of a fist quickly approaching her head. Before she could even see what it was, her forehead had already become its target.

"Ow"

The pain from being hit by a hard object immediately came to her. Qi Lin covered her forehead and crouched down, thinking that this was really going to be fatal. Wasn't she just pulling vines as an outlet for her frustration Did it need to be so serious

"You're going to die," Qi Lin cursed, then searched around on the grass and found the "culprit", which turned out to be a green oval-shaped fruit that she had never seen before. But looking at it made it seem quite appetizing; well, she would just consider this as compensation, so picking up the fruit, she was about to eat when Xiaobai came over.

Seeing the mountain chicken in Xiaobai's mouth, Qi Lin laughed heartily, all traces of gloom gone. With her greedy stomach growling, she ran over and hugged Xiaobai's neck joyfully, saying, "Xiaobai, you're amazing; you really are more reliable."

"Ow."

Xiaobai looked back and made room for Qi Lin to pass. Qi Lin then noticed that every wolf had some prey in their possession, though not all were mountain chickens, but each was a delicious dish after being cooked. They all stared at her intently. Qi Lin scratched her head and laughed awkwardly, "Hahaha, you're all so amazing! Hehe, I too found something edible."

Qi Lin waved the fruit in her hand; it felt like she had become a country bumpkin or an innocent girl.

Truly acting like an idiot.

This was what Qi Lin thought, and this is also what the man thought.

"She doesn't seem to know martial arts," said the man as he leaned his chin on his hand. If she had known martial arts, she wouldn’t have made such a foolish mistake and wouldn’t even have noticed that he was so close by. The man looked towards where the birds were leaving their nests; it seemed Qing Qing must have found Qin Xiao already. But given Qing Qing's personality, she definitely couldn't defeat him, so he needed to hurry up.

Xiaobai turned back sensitively but saw no one in that suspicious spot. Although just a moment ago, he had sensed something strange; could it be that he was overly sensitive now

Shaking his head and leaving, he followed Qi Lin. Well, better to eat first.

Only after Xiaobai left did the man poke his head out from behind a tree; what an alert wolf.

Nearby, Qing Qing had been chasing Qin Xiao for so long but couldn't catch up with him. If it weren’t for the time she spent refining her lightness kung fu since leaving, she wouldn’t have even come close to catching him.

"Hey Qin Xiao, are you really as dumb as people say when you’re in the emperor’s shadow Running away with your tail between your legs."

"You’ve certainly grown a lot. But it looks like your brain hasn’t grown an inch," replied Qin Xiao while changing direction and remaining amazed at Qing Qing's rapid improvement in lightness kung fu.

"Haha, as long as they are opponents, isn't thinking about killing them enough You guys still have time to think; I could already have killed countless people by now."

This is so childish, Qin Xiao snorted coldly. Suddenly noticing a wisp of green smoke rising ahead, he thought it must be the work of that demoness. Even in the face of such an enemy, there still was smoke rising; looks like they were indeed formidable.

The sounds of two people chasing each other had already reached the ears of the man in blue. It seemed they were here, but it wasn't time yet. Qin Xiao's plan couldn't succeed just yet. The man glanced at Qi Lin grilling mountain chickens and noticed the pack of wolves around her. He had no choice but to take action now, even though he was still curious about what would happen.

"Such a pity."

Howl—This time, Little White was certain she heard someone over there; it couldn't have been wrong this time.

"Little White, what's the matter" Qi Lin tore off one of the grilled chickens' legs and stuffed it into her mouth. She handed the rest to Little White but noticed that Little White’s reaction seemed strange. After swallowing the meat in a few bites, she wiped her mouth and looked at where Little White was staring. There didn't seem to be anything wrong there, but Qi Lin trusted Little White's instincts enough to know it wasn’t safe.

Whoosh—

A gentle breeze blew, ruffling Qi Lin’s long hair as well as the leaves on the ground.

The leaves No, those weren't just leaves...

A person.

The person seemed to have arrived with the wind and silently landed like a leaf. Though his blue clothes were spotless, they looked whiter than snow.

Qi Lin was taken aback when she saw the unexpected man. She had watched martial arts TV shows before and knew what kung fu was; she also knew that white-clothed men were princess-like figures in girls' fantasies. But today, she actually witnessed kung fu and how a blue-robed person could defeat a white one.

The scene before her was so clean it was like the sky on this clear day, dominated by pristine azure skies. The only difference with the man was that his dark eyes seemed to contain too many secrets.

The two just stared at each other; the wolf pack circled around him suspiciously but didn't dare attack.

"Well, do you think I am a..." Qi Lin pulled out her hunting license and waved it. She continued, "What they call hunters But if that's what you are, then you're too clean."

Qi Lin sized up the man; he had an aristocratic air about him, so he probably wasn’t a hunter. That meant he must be some kind of leader.

"Well, how about it Should I kill myself and earn my stripes or take me alive" Qi Lin approached Little White and stroked her head as she carefully studied the man's eyes. He didn't seem like someone who would either capture or kill her; rather, he appeared to be someone who wanted to make a deal with her. But without leverage, what could she negotiate

The man had a faint smile on his lips. From afar, Qi Lin seemed interesting; up close, though not the most beautiful woman he'd seen, her dark eyes shone brightly and her simple clothes were odd, like those of a child raised by wolves who could talk.

Men valued silence, but this one didn't speak or attack. Did that mean he was mocking her Qi Lin felt uncomfortable being stared at and looked down at herself. Though it seemed strange now, in the 21st century, she would have been quite normal; still, she would never wear such clothes.

"If you're not going to speak, then I'll leave," Qi Lin didn't want to stay any longer and turned to leave.

"Not bad. You know how to move when others expect you to be still and take the opposite path. My king likes that."

This sentence made Qilin turn around in surprise. A nobleman, huh It turned out to be a prince. That's quite impressive. The prince came personally to capture her. But what did he mean by "I like you"

"What you said is correct; I'm here under an imperial decree to arrest you." The man caught a falling leaf and held it up to his nose, inhaling the natural scent deeply. "However, the person I intend to capture is the female demon; you are just an ordinary woman."

"If that's the case, do you want to let me go" She couldn't believe this was happening. Qilin looked at the man with disdain and noticed her fingers were numb, as if they had been injected with anesthesia. Curiously looking down at her hand, she saw it was covered in fruit juice from when she had held the strange fruit earlier. It was quite odd.

"I will neither arrest you nor let you go."

"Do you want to make a deal then"

"Very well, I like intelligent women." The man's smile became more pronounced as he stared directly at Qilin.

Qilin felt uncomfortable under his gaze but the aura he exuded reminded her of that night. Could it be him

"A deal I'm just a weak woman who has ended up here; what qualifications do I have to make a deal with your highness" Qilin looked at the man calmly, though inside she was in turmoil. Was it really that man Their auras were so similar.

"The wolves surround you but don't attack you; instead, they protect you. This is your leverage."

So he's interested because of this. Indeed, she had heard before that controlling a hundred beasts could rival an army in strength. What’s more important was that animals are simple and have no intellect—they would not betray someone who treated them well.

"I refuse." Qilin did not want to die but also didn't wish to use these wolves, whom she considered family, for her own purposes.

Just as Qilin finished speaking, a chill rushed over her and concentrated into an icy point at the nape of her neck. When she realized what was happening, the man had already moved behind her, his long hair brushing against her neck in an itchy manner that made her feel uncomfortable all over. However, because he was so close, Qilin could sense his aura clearly, confirming something.

This person is not the same as the one from that night.

But knowing this made Qilin's heart drop a little. Why She didn't know.

The man seemed puzzled by Qilin’s faint sigh and wondered if she was going to refuse him so easily

"I said I won’t arrest you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t kill you either. Without this deal with you, there's no harm done to me; in fact, I can gain some credit for it. But if you listen to me, you'll live and save these wolves too. It’s beneficial without any downside."

That may be true, but she didn’t want it. She stayed here not only because of the wolves but also understood that girls who crossed over would inevitably get entangled in power struggles with royalty. These conflicts were exactly what she wanted to avoid. Living a simple life, though hard, was fulfilling.

Moreover, this man is a prince.

Aside from striving for power and status, what else could he possibly want by making a deale Feng Changqing's shadow in Zhu Zhi."Oh" Qi Lin slightly curled the corners of her mouth and walked step by step towards Lüzhu, whose eyes were full of委屈. Normally, Qi Lin treated palace maids coldly...