In the cave, it was so quiet that only the thumping of one's heart could be heard.
Ling Shan's hands and feet stiffened for a moment. Severe pain shot through her buttocks, especially the inner parts of her thighs, tearing at her nerves.
The flutter in her heart gradually calmed down as Ling Shan took deep breaths one after another.
She had to clean the beast - attracting incense off her body as soon as possible. Otherwise, even if the two tigers were dealt with, there would still be a steady stream of other wild beasts pouncing on her to tear her apart.
Propping herself up against the slightly damp stone wall with one hand, Ling Shan slowly got to her feet.
The rumbling thunder grew more and more intense. In a moment, the rain under the dark clouds was like ice picks. Each drop hit the ground heavily, splashing up layers of water. It seemed as if only this passionate symphony remained between heaven and earth.
Along with the sound of the rain hitting the stone wall, two rapid footsteps sounded and got closer.
Ling Shan was startled. Ignoring the pain in her legs, she quickly hid deeper into the cave.
The good news was that there was a clear pool in the cave, and the dense climbing vines were enough to completely conceal her figure.
Another piece of good news was that the people coming were actually "acquaintances" she could recognize. The rats hiding in the dark had emerged.
Behind the vines, Ling Shan slowed her breathing. Her pair of bright eyes fixed on the person whose face was tightly covered.
Opposite stood a tall man who didn't cover his face. His rather unexpected face was clearly exposed.
"You said there would be absolutely no accidents this time. Why haven't we received the news of his death yet? If..."
The man's voice was anxious, and his handsome face lost some of its charm.
Perhaps because of his extreme anxiety and worry, he unconsciously paced back and forth.
Ling Shan's gaze involuntarily fell on his foot.
The person opposite was dressed in black, with a black cloth covering his face, only showing a pair of sharp eyes. Even his voice was deep and hoarse, making it impossible to tell his real voice.
"What are you so anxious about? Jun Wuyuan is extremely powerful. Even if the tigers can't kill him, haven't you kept a trump - card? If he were really so incompetent as to die easily, it wouldn't have taken you and me so long to plan this."
"But... Your Highness just received news that not all of Jun Wuyuan's hidden guards have been wiped out. They have already rushed to Jun Wuyuan's side. In this case, today's plan will surely not succeed smoothly..."
"So what? Your Highness wants that position, and our master wants revenge. We all get what we want. I don't need to remind Your Highness that our master has done his best to cooperate with Your Highness. If it still doesn't work, it can only be that Your Highness is out of luck."
The man's face stiffened. A flash of angry humiliation passed through his eyes, and he stopped his limping feet.
"Shut up! You're just a dog in front of your master. How dare you be disrespectful to Your Highness? If today's plan fails and Your Highness doesn't get what he wants, can your Wang family escape?"
The black - clothed man's eyes turned cold, flashing with disdainful ridicule.
"Are you saying, Your Highness, that you want to turn against my master?"
"Your Highness..."
The man's face turned pale and then red for a moment. He looked extremely ugly, and a look of impatience and worry appeared between his eyebrows.
"If Jun Wuyuan doesn't die, the Wang family will be devoured by him sooner or later. Instead of trying to stay out of this, why not take a gamble today? It's raining heavily. Even God is helping us. While Jun Wuyuan is isolated and helpless, let's go all the way!"
The black - clothed man sneered, looking extremely arrogant.
"Go all the way? If Your Highness has such determination, then show your last trump - card first. Otherwise, it's hard for me to convey it to our master. After all, we can't always be the ones to charge forward."
In the cave, there was a moment of silence. Ling Shan's eyes darkened, and she quietly drew the dagger out of its sheath, revealing the bright blade.
"Fine, Your Highness agrees. Now go and inform your master. Two quarters of an hour later at Wild Boar Ridge, Your Highness will lead Jun Wuyuan there!"
"Sure. I hope Your Highness won't disappoint us this time!"
After leaving this sentence, the black - clothed man turned around without hesitation and left.
He seemed not to care about the suppressed anger of the noble prince behind him and swaggered away arrogantly.
The next moment, Prince Qi Jun Wuhan's face turned ashen. The anger in his eyes could no longer be suppressed.
With a bang, Jun Wuhan punched the stone wall. Unexpectedly, in his extreme anger, he used too much force. He almost stumbled and fell.
After finally steadying himself, his ferocious eyes stared at the ground, gradually turning blood - red and flashing with crazy light.
"Jun Wuyuan deserves to die! A low - born bastard from the cold palace. How dare he step on his brothers to ascend to the throne? He deserves to die. A lowly person should have died in a place like the cold palace. How dare he be so high - and - mighty?"
"If Your Highness hadn't been framed and had a leg crippled, Your Highness would be the high - and - mighty emperor!"
"Deserve to die! All of you deserve to die!"
"Die! One day, Your Highness will surely kill all of you!"
"Die - "
The crazy voice echoed back and forth in the dim cave like a ghost, sounding even louder than the heavy rain outside.
Ling Shan rolled her eyes in disgust and annoyance. This was just a weak - minded and angry lunatic. He had lost the qualification to sit on the throne because of his lame leg but didn't dare to find the real culprit.
Instead, he took out all his anger on innocent people to cover up his own embarrassment.
He was simply cowardly, incompetent, and extremely ugly.
Ling Shan began to silently estimate in her mind the probability of her successfully killing Jun Wuhan if she made a surprise attack.
Unfortunately, before Ling Shan could finish her calculation, Jun Wuhan's guard walked into the cave.
The guard whispered something, and then Jun Wuhan limped out with the help of a cane.
Ling Shan felt regretful. She waved the dagger and cut the vines in front of her twice.
With ease, the finger - thick vines immediately fell to the ground, which showed how sharp the dagger was.
Ling Shan listened quietly to the movement outside for a while before walking out from behind the vines and putting away the dagger.
She didn't expect that the tiger disaster today was actually planned by the Wang family and Prince Qi Jun Wuhan.
But...
Ling Shan always felt that something was not quite right.
She believed that the beast - attracting incense on her was meant to take her life. However, Ling Shan couldn't believe that Jun Wuhan, as a prince, would waste his energy on a concubine like her.
The beast - attracting incense was indeed meant to take Ling Shan's life.
If Jun Wuhan really wanted to get rid of Jun Wuyuan, how could he ensure that Ling Shan wouldn't be sacrificed first?
As long as Jun Wuyuan abandoned Ling Shan, with his hidden guards and the Royal Guards, and his own outstanding martial arts, he would have enough time to escape danger.
The beast - attracting incense was definitely not meant to take Jun Wuyuan's life.