I am the villain in the book

Even at a time like this, he hasn't forgotten Su Xiu.

Judging from Yan Huanwen's current behavior, his feelings for Su Xiu aren't purely based on exploitation; there's a good amount of genuine affection mixed in.

However, the black-clad men seemed hesitant.

"What's wrong? What are you all standing around for?"

Frowning, Yan Huanwen asked sternly, "Could it be that Xiu'er is already dead?!"

"Your Majesty, Lady Su Xiu is not dead."

Someone tentatively replied in a low voice, "It's just that time is pressing, we should prioritize..."

"Enough! How much longer could saving one more person delay us?"

Yan Huanwen waved his hand abruptly, "Take me to save her immediately!"

"Understood!"

The black-clad men exchanged glances, then turned around, protecting Yan Huanwen as they headed deeper into another tunnel.

The flickering firelight cast long shadows of the group onto the stone walls, dimly illuminating several pairs of eyes with different emotions.

At this moment, Yan Huanwen's eyes held excitement, determination, and a hint of apprehension.

But the black-clad men's eyes showed nothing but a deliberately feigned vigilance.

They didn't seem nervous at all about breaking into an enemy country's prison to rescue someone.

This was undoubtedly suspicious.

And if one were to think more carefully about what they had said, there would be even more similar suspicious points.

They clearly stated that Yan Huaiqing was currently "delaying Wei Changtian while ordering them to attempt a prison break," but then they said that the fighting outside had been going on for days, and that Liangzhou City was on the verge of falling.

If he was delaying, then why was there fighting?

Wasn't that a contradiction?

Then there was the extremely lax security inside and outside the prison.

Frankly speaking, such riddled defenses were probably inferior to those of an ordinary county town prison.

Even if it was wartime, a prison in a major state shouldn't be like this.

Moreover, Yan Huanwen was imprisoned there.

So... just a few people directly broke into the prison and rescued a person as important as the emperor of a country?

Are you kidding me?

It wasn't to say that all prisons in the world had to be impregnable, but the security of Liangzhou Prison was too strangely lax.

Oh, and the matter of saving Su Xiu was also strange in every way.

There's no way this group of black-clad men wouldn't understand that in the current situation, every second wasted would exponentially increase the risks they faced.

At the very least, they could now split into two groups, one to continue escorting Yan Huanwen to escape, and the other to turn around and save Su Xiu.

In short, no matter how you analyze it, the black-clad men's current actions were the worst possible choice.

Therefore,

The explanations contradicted each other.

The prison defenses were as lax as child's play.

They made the worst choice at a critical moment.

In fact, Yan Huanwen would be able to discover all of these oddities if he calmed down and thought about them.

But unfortunately, he couldn't calm down right now.

After all, just a hundred breaths ago, he thought he would die here, and now he was only one step away from escaping and taking back everything he had lost.

This sudden rise and fall caused Yan Huanwen to temporarily overlook all the details.

What's more, the moment he stopped outside a prison cell, all that remained in his eyes was that unfamiliar yet familiar woman.

"Xiu... Xiu'er..."

"I've come to save you!"

Similar to Yan Huanwen's experience, Su Xiu hadn't suffered any abuse in the past month.

Therefore, other than being a little thinner, she didn't look much different.

The reason Yan Huanwen felt unfamiliar was because he saw the loathing that surfaced in Su Xiu's eyes after a brief moment of surprise.

"Get out."

Curled up in a corner of the cell, Su Xiu had already understood what was happening, but she had no intention of escaping with Yan Huanwen.

She simply looked at the latter calmly and said coldly:

"Yan Huanwen, go back and continue being your emperor."

"I'd rather die here than go with you."

"Get out, I feel disgusted just looking at you."

"..."

There was no excitement of reuniting after experiencing life and death, no joy of escaping imminent danger.

The reaction Su Xiu showed at this moment was undoubtedly something Yan Huanwen had never expected.

He opened his mouth and murmured:

"Xiu'er, can't you still forgive me for what happened at Bai Ling Mountain...?"

"Forgive?"

Su Xiu sneered, "Yan Huanwen, why should I forgive you? Just because you came to save me now?"

"Then I'll tell you, impossible!"

"I can never, ever, ever forget the decision you made that day!"

"Heh, for you, I was willing to give up my own life! I could watch Bai Ling Mountain be slaughtered! I could kneel and beg Wei Changtian to let you go!"

"But what about you?!"

"Are you worthy of me?!"

"Yan Huanwen! I hate you!!"

"Get out!!"

"Get out!!!"

"..."

From calm and cold to hoarse and exhausted.

Su Xiu stared at Yan Huanwen's pale face, hysterically shouting out words that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time.

Yan Huanwen lowered his head, his body trembling slightly, unable to utter a single word in response.

Because what Su Xiu said was the truth, he really owed her too much.

Yan Huanwen knew that he had let Su Xiu down, but he certainly couldn't really just "get out."

He closed his eyes, then slowly opened them.

After a brief silence, he silently looked at a black-clad man beside him and said with some difficulty:

"Seal Lady Su's meridians and take her away."

"Yes!"

The black-clad man responded, then flashed to Su Xiu's side and quickly tapped several points on her body.

Soon, the extent of the latter's struggles became smaller and smaller, until she was completely unable to move.

However, although she couldn't move, Su Xiu still stared at Yan Huanwen, who didn't dare to meet her gaze, and sneered as she spat:

"Pui!"

"False affection, so disgusting!"

"..."

"Seal her Lianquan acupoint."

Yan Huanwen shook his head bitterly, turning his back and no longer looking at Su Xiu.

"Snap!"

The black-clad man didn't hesitate to follow the order, and another finger landed, restoring silence to the cell.

"..."

"Let's go."

Having gone through just now, although Yan Huanwen was in pain, he hadn't forgotten where they were.

At this moment, he finally put Su Xiu's matter aside temporarily, preparing to escape first and then make plans.

"Yes!"

On the other side, the black-clad men responded in unison, then protected Yan Huanwen and retraced their steps.

Each of them had their own responsibilities, some leading the way, some guarding the rear, and some guarding the prisoners in the cells on both sides.

There was no communication between them, but their gazes would occasionally fall on one of the short men.

The latter nodded slightly, then inconspicuously pressed his left hand against his waist.

Inner strength flowed through his palm, scorching the mother-child jade hidden in his clothes.

The next moment, gongs sounded loudly outside the prison.

"Clang, clang, clang!!!"

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!!!"

"Prison break!!!"

"Someone is breaking into the prison!!!"