Just as he was puzzling over this, Xuan Zhan lifted the carriage curtain.
“Song Qing, bring some men to get the noodles.”
Upon hearing there was food, Song Qing didn’t even take the time to thank the Prince before rushing out to call for others.
Soon, several personal guards arrived with him.
At the same time, they were carrying a large iron pot.
Xuan Zhan had already helped Jian Junyao unpack until his hands were sore, and he was regretting it—why had he thought of teasing these people? In the end, he was the one suffering.
At this moment, he had absolutely no desire to touch those foul-smelling things again.
“Come and get them yourselves.” This way, it would also be clear that these things came from that large chest.
Seeing the long-awaited food, the personal guards’ eyes lit up.
Without even waiting for Song Qing’s instructions, someone quickly fetched the large iron pot and several large containers.
With the speed of a whirlwind sweeping away the remnants, they moved all the Luosifen away.
At Song Qing’s command, those among the guards who knew how to cook immediately got to work.
Soon, the courtyard of the Abandoned Temple was once again filled with that pungent, foul odor. Even so, none of the guards showed any intention of fleeing.
Though this thing stank, it could also save lives.
Once the Luosifen was cooked, the guards each brought large bowls and began sharing the meal.
In such crude conditions, everyone could only squat on the ground, holding their bowls as they ate.
At first, the only sound in the courtyard was that of swallowing.
Soon, it was replaced by the slurping of soup.
Those who had finished their Luosifen shared their lingering impressions with others.
“My goodness, this is the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten in my life.”
“Yes, yes! Who would have thought something that smells so bad could taste so amazing?”
“If I had ten more bowls of this delicacy, I could finish them all.”
“His Highness the War Prince is truly benevolent, giving us such a delicious treat.”
Xuan Zhan narrowed his eyes as he watched the guards.
If Jian Junyao had been eating with such relish alone earlier, it might have been an act.
But with so many people praising it after tasting it, it could only mean this thing was genuinely delicious.
Thinking this, he felt hungry again.
“Princess Consort, let this Prince have a taste of this as well.”
Jian Junyao unceremoniously rolled her eyes at him.
She hadn’t forgotten the look of disgust Xuan Zhan had given her earlier when she was eating the Luosifen.
“Hmph, I wonder who it was that ran so far away in disgust just now, only to get greedy watching others eat.” She didn’t spare Xuan Zhan any face at all.
Xuan Zhan’s face immediately darkened.
“How dare you!”
Seeing him angered, Jian Junyao felt displeased as well.
Was this man an angry bird?
At the slightest disagreement, he would scold her—didn’t she have her own dignity?
“Hey! Right now, you’re the one asking me for a favor. Is this how you ask for help?”
Xuan Zhan was so furious that veins bulged on his forehead—this woman was truly asking for death.
“If you don’t want your soul scattering and spirit dispersing, don’t provoke this Prince.”
As he spoke, Xuan Zhan’s dark eyes fixed intently on Jian Junyao, and he inadvertently noticed something.
The white aura around this woman had disappeared, and her somewhat flickering soul was no longer visible.
Could it be?
Had her soul completely merged with this body?
Based on his past experiences with ghosts, souls possessing human bodies had never disappeared unless he injured or killed the person, causing the possessing soul to leave on its own.
The phenomenon before him could only mean that this woman’s soul had fully integrated with this body.
Otherwise, he couldn’t think of a more reasonable explanation.
Even so, he had no intention of telling Jian Junyao for now. If this woman ever disobeyed him, he could still use it as a threat.
While Xuan Zhan was deep in thought, he suddenly saw the iron lump that had just knocked out those men in black appear in Jian Junyao’s hand.
Moreover, the end with the small hole was pointed directly at him.
Jian Junyao was serious this time.
She could endure being this man’s lackey, but she couldn’t bear being threatened repeatedly.
“If that’s the case, let’s perish together.”
Jian Junyao knew full well that if she used the anesthetic gun to knock out Xuan Zhan, she wouldn’t escape either—the Ling brothers and their die-hard loyalists wouldn’t let her go.
Even so, she didn’t want to continue living a life where she was constantly threatened. She had her pride too.
The gun was aimed at Xuan Zhan’s head. Jian Junyao was certain that if she fired several shots in succession, even if they were anesthetic bullets, Xuan Zhan wouldn’t survive.
Of course, having finally escaped that hellish place called the apocalypse, she wouldn’t pull the trigger unless Xuan Zhan made the first move.
What happened next depended entirely on Xuan Zhan’s next action.
In truth, Xuan Zhan had long noticed that Jian Junyao was different from the women of this era.
She was bold and unrestrained in her conduct, with no sense of hierarchy.
Xuan Zhan wasn’t repelled by Jian Junyao’s uniqueness; instead, he found it quite intriguing.
His earlier rebuke was merely out of habit.
Watching the iron lump aimed at him, Xuan Zhan calmly raised his hand.
He wanted to take it and examine it—what kind of hidden weapon could silently take down a master? What was its principle?
Jian Junyao didn’t understand his intention, thinking only that Xuan Zhan was about to choke her again.
If you won’t let me live in peace, then let’s truly perish together!
With that thought, Jian Junyao closed her eyes and pulled the trigger with her index finger.
Thud, thud, thud…
Three muffled sounds rang out in succession.
When she opened her eyes again, expecting Xuan Zhan to collapse before her, he didn’t.
Xuan Zhan’s figure had somehow moved to her left side, and he was now leisurely watching her.
Before Jian Junyao could process this, Ling Ye’s voice came from outside the carriage.
“Protect the Prince!”
Accompanying it were the sounds of hurried footsteps.
“This prince is unharmed.”
Xuan Zhan spoke just in time, preventing Ling Ye and the others from lifting the carriage curtain.
Outside fell silent, but Jian Junyao’s heart was anything but calm.
How fast must this man be?
He could actually dodge the speed of an anesthetic gun.
At the same time, Jian Junyao realized something.
Xuan Zhan had no intention of taking her life. Otherwise, with his skills, if he had wanted to kill her just now, she would have died a hundred times over.
Even though she had roughly figured this out, Jian Junyao still didn’t want to lose face.
“Who told you to keep threatening me with soul scattering and spirit dispersing? I did occupy this body, but I didn’t kill the original Jian Junyao. Besides, I didn’t come here willingly.”
As she spoke, Jian Junyao felt a wave of bitterness.
She stubbornly raised her head, refusing to let her tears fall.
Three years—she had only cried once, when her parents died protecting her from zombies. After that, she had struggled alone to survive in the apocalypse.
Surrounded by neither friends nor family, she could only talk to herself in the mirror every day.
Even then, she had remained strong and never cried.
But for some reason, just on the first day of crossing over, she felt deeply wronged.
Originally, Xuan Zhan had intended to keep up his stern facade, wanting to intimidate this reckless woman.
Yet, upon seeing her reddened eyes, he suddenly felt at a loss.