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Concubine Xu’s eyes widened, and she desperately slapped at the person approaching, while kicking at the person behind her with her feet. But the person behind her was very strong, and these actions were futile.

She watched helplessly as she was dragged into the nearby woods, her mouth tightly covered by a large hand, not a single cry for help could escape. The sheer desperation of facing utmost danger filled her with fear.

She wailed internally, it’s over, it’s over, she was bound to die this time, likely without her chastity intact!

How unlucky to have such a misfortune during her rare outing!

Heaven and earth, such a fragile life I lead.

After entering the woods, where the foliage blocked the sun, she felt a slight coolness.

But Concubine Xu was sweating profusely, clearly terrified.

Just as Concubine Xu thought it was over, the person behind her suddenly let her go.

Concubine Xu’s eyes widened. If not now, when else should she run?

The second after she was released, Concubine Xu bolted, failing to notice the hem of her dress under her feet. She stepped on it and let out a cry of alarm.

"Ah!!!"

Concubine Xu saw herself about to fall and wailed inside again. Was today an unlucky day not marked on the calendar, with all misfortunes befalling her?

Just as Concubine Xu was about to hit the ground, a long, strong arm wrapped around her waist, effortlessly preventing a tragic fall.

Concubine Xu looked at the ground less than a foot away from her, scared to tears. The ground was covered with wildflowers, a thorny one poking her forehead.

With the speed she was falling, crashing into a thorny bush would surely disfigure her, right?

"Why are you running?"

The familiar voice from above startled Concubine Xu. Wasn’t this the person in black?

At that moment, the person behind her pulled her up, allowing Concubine Xu to see their true identity... still dressed in a nightwalker’s outfit, face covered with a black cloth.

Seeing the familiar figure in black, Concubine Xu felt both relieved and angry, "Do you have any idea how scared I was just now?"

The person in black saw her tearful eyes, as if she had been wronged.

"Are you that faint-hearted?"

"Anyone would be scared if they were suddenly kidnapped. You even covered my mouth. I thought I was going to be tortured to death." Concubine Xu had read about kidnappings and brutal murders of girls in stories, which ended very sadly.

Girls should always be vigilant outside, you never know how bad the bad guys can be.

The person in black also realized their actions had caused a misunderstanding.

"Without covering your mouth, your screams would have been heard by everyone."

Concubine Xu paused, realizing that was true; in fear, one would naturally scream.

"Then why couldn’t you appear in front of me? If I see you, I wouldn’t scream, right? You always attack me from behind. It’s my good fortune that your scares haven’t killed me yet."

Seeing the reason in her words, the person in black agreed but then thought about their unauthorized presence. To openly appear would be too conspicuous, wouldn’t it?

"That would alert the Imperial Guards."

Thinking of the identity of the person in black, Concubine Xu conceded. Indeed, she didn’t actually know their status, but wearing a nightwalker’s outfit while entering the Imperial Palace was an offense punishable by death.

Now entering the Imperial Family’s hunting grounds was akin to being an assassin, which was also a capital offense.

"Why do you always wear a nightwalker’s outfit?"

"It’s convenient."

"..."

Concubine Xu stared at the person in front of her, who, except for two attractive eyes, was dressed entirely in black, and didn’t seem the part of a good person.

She suddenly thought of a possibility and her eyes grew wide.

"Are you an assassin from some organization?"

"..." The person in black: "No."

"Oh." Concubine Xu thought she must have read too many storybooks to suspect the person in black was an assassin.

Assassins are cold-blooded. If the person in black was an assassin, she would have died many times over.

The person in black took out a small accessory from their embrace and held it out to Concubine Xu, "This is for you."

Concubine Xu looked at the large palm before her, which held a small bell pendant; she took it and inspected it thoroughly, curiously jingling it, yet it produced no sound.

She looked up at the person in black with confusion, "Why doesn’t this bell ring?"

"It’s not a bell, inside is a Poisonous Insect..."

Concubine Xu’s greatest fear was little insects. Hearing the person in black say it was a Poisonous Insect, she was so frightened that she threw the Poisonous Insect away.

The person in black reacted quickly, catching the bell that Concubine Xu had ruthlessly discarded.

Concubine Xu was still frightened, "Why give me something like this? Why a Poisonous Insect?"

Seeing how frightened she was, the person in black patiently explained, "This Poisonous Insect is harmless, it just responds to its owner, that’s all."