Returning after a three-year escape from death, the tyrant has turned evil.

Chapter 166 Son of the Khan
At this moment, on the other side of the cave entrance.

Xie Ling and the others bent down, trying to observe Song Yi's actions.

After a long while, Song Yi's voice still did not come from the other end.

For some reason, Xie Ling felt a little uneasy and couldn't help but call out, "Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine?"

Silence fell.

Immediately afterwards, everyone started chattering.

Xie Ling frowned, immediately raised his hand, and said in a deep voice, "Quiet down."

He turned his face to the side, listening carefully to the sounds coming from the other side.

The sound of horses' hooves.

Xie Ling's expression suddenly changed. How could there be the sound of horses' hooves?
He quickly said, "Oh no, it seems that something has happened to the Imperial Concubine. You all need to go and find her quickly. Is there any way to get around her? You can even climb up there and see what's going on on the other side."

"You guys, take your tools and dig here."

Everyone was startled by this sudden turn of events, wondering how something could have happened when the Imperial Concubine had only been out of their sight for a short while.

They quickly began preparing to climb over the small hill in front of them.

Xie Ling, unwilling to give up, bent down to look at the other side of the cave entrance, but there was nothing there except for that bright light.

"The royal concubine?"

"Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine—"

"Your Majesty, where are you?!"

The shouts echoed across the hillside, but there was no response.

Recalling the sound of galloping hooves that Xie Ling had just heard, his unease intensified.

After a stick of incense had burned, they struggled to climb over the slope. Several of them slipped and fell while going down the slope, and limped around searching for Song Yi.

Although they knew that crossing the mountain was relatively easy, but going back would be very difficult, they still came without hesitation, hoping to find Song Yi.

Immediately afterwards, someone noticed something, and their face turned deathly pale.

"Come and look, look at these footprints on the ground."

The footprints were particularly messy, clearly belonging to more than just Song Yi. Following the direction of the footprints, they discovered traces of horses' hooves, which ran westward, stretching into a line before disappearing from their sight.

And the place the horse's hooves were galloping towards was—the grassland.

It hurts, it hurts all over my body, especially my neck, which feels particularly heavy.

Song Yi opened her eyes shakily.

For a moment, she was stunned.

Because she was in the tent, she subconsciously thought she had returned, but when she calmed down, she found that the layout of things in the tent was completely different.

This is where?

The image of the man who had abducted her onto a horse flashed through her mind.

She tried to stand up, but when she struggled, she found that her wrists and ankles were tightly bound. She was thrown directly into the tent and left sitting on the ground, ignored by everyone.

The ground was covered with woolen felt, and not far away a copper brazier was burning with charcoal, on which some mutton was being roasted. Rough earthenware bowls were placed on a low table.

Animal bones and dried herbs hung from the top of the tent.

What Song Yi saw was not the familiar furnishings of the Central Plains. Animal hides and some messy coarse cloths were spread on the low couch.

She was captured by the Northern Qiang people.
But why capture her? Did they discover her identity as a concubine and know she was a woman brought by Jiang Lanye, so they want to take her hostage?

Thinking of this, Song Yi suddenly remembered that she was still wearing a dragon-patterned jade pendant at her waist.

This item best demonstrates her status; if someone were to discover the jade pendant she's wearing, it would cause considerable trouble.

So, Song Yi laboriously moved her hands to her waist. Fortunately, her fingers could still move, and she immediately pulled off the jade pendant. She leaned slightly to the ground and hid the jade pendant under the wool blanket on the ground.

For now, we'll have to leave it at that. She'll definitely get it back when she gets the chance.

Just then, Song Yi heard the voices of two maids outside the tent. Startled, Song Yi immediately tried to listen, but he couldn't understand a word they were saying.

She listened helplessly for a long time, and with difficulty, she could make out some words like "Khan" and "woman of the Central Plains".

Then, the two people walked in.

They were probably surprised that Song Yi woke up so quickly, and looked at her with some astonishment.

At the same time, Song Yi also looked up and sized them up.

They wore short jackets on their upper bodies and pleated skirts on their lower bodies, with their trouser legs tucked into their leather boots, and their brown hair was braided into thick braids.

Song Yi asked in a low voice, "Who are you? Why are you tying me up?"

They could understand Song Yi's words and responded in broken Central Plains dialect: "Behave yourselves."

With just these three words, they were warning Song Yi.

One of them suddenly squatted down, curiously examining Song Yi's face, and said with a grin, "You're so beautiful."

Song Yi coldly turned her head away.

She brought Song Yi a bowl of hot milk tea and offered it to her.

Song Yi was somewhat wary, fearing that the contents might have been poisoned.

She explained with difficulty for a few minutes, and Song Yi thought for a moment before taking a few sips.

The two then went out again.

After an unknown amount of time, the man who had kidnapped Song Yi suddenly strode in.

At this moment, Song Yi was trying to untie the rough rope around her wrists with her teeth.

He stood in front of Song Yi, looking down at her with a sharp gaze as if he were looking at prey he had just hunted, his eyes gleaming with a strange light.

Song Yi looked up at him and immediately recognized him as the one who had kidnapped her. She angrily shouted, "Let me go!"

He crouched down, reached out a finger to lift Song Yi's chin, and spoke with exceptional clarity, asking directly:

"Are you a woman who serves the emperor of the Central Plains?"

His voice was low and hoarse as he looked at Song Yi with great interest.

He did not have the handsome appearance of a man from the Central Plains; instead, he possessed a wild and handsome appearance like a wolf king of the grasslands. He was tall and sharp, exuding an innate sense of oppression.

But Song Yi was not afraid of him at all. She opened her bright eyes and said, "I am not. I am just a palace maid. What use is it for you to arrest me?"

He chuckled, not quite believing Song Yi's words.

"What's your name?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Song Yi countered with a question.

He wasn't annoyed and said directly, "I am Ashina Wolf Owl. You'd better show me some respect, or the maids will be angry when they see you like this."

Song Yi pretended not to hear.

Wolf Owl stroked his chin, somewhat puzzled: "I've always spoken the Central Plains dialect very well, how come you can't understand me?"

Song Yi did not react.

He reached out, trying to pinch Song Yi's chin and force her to turn her face back.

Unexpectedly, the moment his hand reached out, Song Yi opened her mouth and bit his hand tightly.

"you!"

His expression changed as he looked at Song Yi, who was desperately trying to resist like a small animal. He forgot about the pain in his hand and watched her with great interest.

Such resistance was far too mild, but it was certainly amusing.

(End of this chapter)