Becoming rich overnight can change a person.
Huamei was the best example.
She spent a large sum to hire the best carriage in Nanyang Commandery. The carriage was spacious, and the inside was lined with thick soft cushions.
Even the driver was an experienced old hand, said to be able to travel all the mountain roads of Nanyang even with his eyes closed.
Huamei leaned comfortably against the cushions. The sweet fragrance of butter and sugar lingered around her nose. Before she had even swallowed a piece of lotus cake, another piece of milk pastry was already brought to her lips.
This comfort was built with silver.
She even began to look down on Su Jinse. A fallen young lady with nothing but beauty—what would she know about the benefits of money?
Once they reached Qingfeng Temple, that huge fortune would become her world. She could buy servants, buy land, and purchase a lifetime of wealth and dignity.
The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, wishing she could grow wings and fly straight to the temple.
“Driver, can you go faster?”
Huamei lifted the carriage curtain slightly, speaking in the commanding tone she was used to using with servants.
But the carriage instead slowed down and finally stopped at the foot of Wuling Mountain.
Night had completely fallen.
“Miss, it can’t be done! Absolutely impossible!”
The old driver jumped down from the carriage. His weathered face was tense, and even his voice trembled.
“This Wuling Mountain is strange. The things inside the mountain don’t recognize people—they only recognize living energy! Once night falls, it’s an invitation from the King of Hell. Anyone who enters will lose their life!”
He raised his rough hand and pointed to the only small relay station nearby with a lantern still lit.
“No matter what, we must stay at the foot of the mountain tonight. Even if the sky falls, we can only go up after the sun rises tomorrow!”
Huamei only thought the old man was trying to cheat another night’s lodging fee. She curled her lips and didn’t even bother to move.
She took out a bright silver ingot from her purse, weighing at least five taels, and casually tossed it out through the carriage window.
“Stop playing tricks with me.”
The silver flashed through the dim air and landed precisely in the old driver’s arms. The heavy weight made his body tremble.
“Take me to Qingfeng Temple, and the silver is yours. If you want to rest, go by yourself. I’ll hire another carriage.”
The old driver stared at the silver ingot with cloudy eyes. His throat moved up and down as his breathing grew heavier.
The legends of the mountain and the warnings of the elders were instantly washed away by the shine of the silver.
The phrase “You need to live to spend money” rolled on his tongue, but in the end he swallowed it.
He suddenly gritted his teeth and clenched the silver tightly in his hand. His fear instantly turned into flattering obedience.
“Alright! It was my mistake!”
He bowed repeatedly and quickly climbed back onto the driver’s seat. With a forceful swing of the whip, a sharp crack echoed through the silent valley.
“Sit tight! We’re heading up the mountain!”
The carriage moved forward under Huamei’s satisfied humming, entering the pitch-black forest that looked like the mouth of a giant beast.
As soon as the carriage entered the depths of the forest, all surrounding sounds seemed swallowed by the darkness.
The night was as black as ink.
The carriage wheels crushed dry branches with sharp cracking sounds that felt painfully loud in the dead silence.
Suddenly—
Deep in the forest, a pair of glowing green eyes appeared.
Then a second pair.
A third.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of green eyes floated in the darkness like ghostly flames, surrounding the carriage.
“Awoooo—!”
A long, terrifying wolf howl tore through the silence of the night.
“W–wolves! A wolf pack!”
The old driver’s voice was filled with extreme terror, becoming hoarse and shrill.
The horses panicked, letting out painful neighs before rearing up and then bolting forward wildly.
The carriage began to shake violently.
Huamei was thrown against the wall of the carriage, dizzy and disoriented. All her pride and fantasies shattered under fear.
“Ah—! Stop! Stop the carriage!”
She screamed in panic.
The carriage completely lost control, crashing along the rough mountain path, each violent shake threatening to tear it apart.
At a steep turn, one wheel slammed into a protruding boulder.
Bang—!
With a deafening crash, the entire carriage was flung into the air, flipping before smashing onto the ground and breaking apart.
Su Jinse felt an irresistible force strike her. Her body was thrown out through the shattered window and slammed into a thick tree trunk.
A wave of pain surged through her. Blood rose in her throat, and her vision darkened.
Her body, which had only just begun to recover, was severely injured again.
“My leg! My leg is broken!”
Not far away, Huamei screamed miserably.
She was trapped beneath the heavy carriage. One of her legs twisted at a horrifying angle as blood quickly soaked her skirt.
The wolves slowly tightened their circle.
The green glow in their eyes burned with bloodthirsty greed.
Seeing the wolves approach and smelling the foul scent in the air, Huamei nearly lost her mind from fear.
In desperation, she saw Su Jinse struggling to stand not far away.
Like grabbing her last lifeline, she screamed toward her.
“It’s all your fault, you jinx!”
“Go! Go lure them away! Go die!”
A massive wolf—the leader of the pack—finally lost its patience.
It pushed off with its hind legs and leapt toward Su Jinse with a gust of foul wind.
Its white fangs glinted coldly in the moonlight.
Its disgusting saliva nearly dripped onto her face.
Su Jinse’s pupils shrank.
She was ready to exhaust all her remaining ability to grow vines for one final struggle.
At that critical moment—
Whoosh—!
A black-feathered arrow tore through the air with a piercing whistle from the darkness.
Thud!
The arrow shot straight through the wolf’s left eye socket. The immense force pinned its head firmly to the ground behind it.
The massive wolf’s body twitched twice before going completely still.
The entire wolf pack froze.
Before Su Jinse could react—
Several dark figures suddenly emerged from the forest like ghosts.
Each held a long blade of identical design. Their blades flashed as they charged into the stunned wolves, cutting through them like vegetables.
There was no struggle.
No shouting.
Only the dull sound of blades entering flesh and the dying cries of the wolves.
It was not a battle.
It was a massacre.
The strong smell of blood quickly spread through the forest.
Soon, silence returned.
A tall figure wearing a ferocious silver mask stepped through the moonlight and the corpses of wolves, walking slowly toward Su Jinse.
He stopped in front of her and looked down at her from above.
That familiar figure.
That bone-freezing aura.
And beneath the mask, those deep, emotionless eyes.
Su Jinse’s pupils contracted sharply.
It was him.
The Prince Jing who had been exiled from the capital—the man she had glimpsed on the official road.
Xiao Jue.
Why was he here?