After provoking the holy maiden of Miao territory, she was infected with a love curse.

The sound of dripping water came from the dark dungeon.

The three were tied together.

Unable to move.

The boots rubbed against the wet, muddy ground, and the gravel made my calves extremely uncomfortable.

"Wake up, wake up!"

The person who opened their eyes and first adjusted to the darkness bumped their companion with their shoulder, despite being bound and unable to move much.

The drowsy companion was eventually jolted awake.

"How dare you... thief! We will not reveal the master's whereabouts!"

He uttered a righteous and awe-inspiring phrase as soon as he opened his mouth.

However, the only response he received was a rustling sound from inside the cave.

"Where...am I?"

People gradually woke up.

However, they were not close to each other, and only their indistinct voices could be faintly heard.

"Senior brother, senior brother!"

The man who was the first to realize that everyone was not in the same place shouted as loudly as he could, but he didn't have time to shout a third time.

A loud shout came from afar.

Then the torchlight shone in.

The Miao man wore a short jacket, the indigo-blue garment adorned with exquisite embroidery. He wrapped his head in a turban, and his body was adorned with shimmering silver ornaments.

After exchanging a few words in Miao language with the people behind him, the man stepped forward, looking at the group of Han people with disdain.

"No need to call anymore."

"Without the Holy Maiden's orders, you can scream your lungs out, but you will never escape this place."

His Mandarin had an awkward accent, but the men understood it immediately.

The group exchanged bewildered glances, except for the youngest and most hot-tempered girl, who struggled fiercely, glaring resentfully at the Miao man.

"All she does is resort to underhanded tricks; what kind of Miao holy maiden is she!"

Upon hearing the Han man slander the holy woman, the man was filled with rage and malice.

With a clang, he drew his curved sword from his waist, holding a torch in one hand and gripping the hilt of the sword tightly in the other.

"snort!"

"You Han Chinese, how dare you utter such slanderous words against the Holy Maiden! Today I'll cut your tongue out and feed it to worms!"

The man was about to step inside when he heard his men bow and salute behind him.

"I have met the Holy Maiden."

He turned his head and stopped what he was doing.

Sang Che was being supported by someone. A bright red band still clung to her wrist, and her tongue flicked out as she stared intently at everyone with her bright eyes.

Those imprisoned also saw Sang Che's breathtakingly beautiful face.

They worked under adults and had heard from the common people that when the Miao holy maiden left the capital, many people were bewitched after only a brief farewell.

She is the only one for me in this life.

They didn't take it seriously when the adults told them, thinking it was just something ordinary people on the street making up.

But unexpectedly, one day I was able to see the true face of the Miao holy maiden.

With such a handsome appearance, he truly lives up to his reputation.

"What harm is there in you adults coming looking for us?"

"Why don't you all reflect on how utterly useless you are that I caught you?"

Sang Che didn't care about the insults from the Han people. If Yin Huaixi hadn't pleaded for them, Sang Che would have already thrown them to be fed to the Gu worms.

"You, a holy maiden of Miao territory, dare to abduct members of my people at will? Do you have no regard for the law?!"

"Such treasonous acts will inevitably reach His Majesty's ears sooner or later, and then..."

Before the man could finish his angry rebuke, Sang Che spoke first, interrupting him.

"The law?"

"That's hilarious."

"Wasn't it the emperor who arbitrarily arrested me and brought me to the court, imprisoned me, forced me to take drugs, and made me wish I were dead?"

"Why should I release his lackeys now?"

Fearing she might use a curse to escape, Sang Che was forced to take medicine every day.

After a few bites, the effects of the medicine spread quickly and intensely, leaving Sang Che in a daze.

She had already had enough of that kind of suffering.

He was rendered speechless.

No one responded, except for the youngest one who remained unconvinced.

"What the late emperor did has nothing to do with His Majesty now! You vixen, you're just finding a plausible excuse for yourself!"

The insults were so vulgar.

Those around Sang Che couldn't help but rush forward, but Sang Che raised his hand to stop them.

A blue butterfly flew in from outside the cave and landed on Sang Che's shoulder. Sang Che made a slight gesture again, and the butterfly flew towards the noisy woman.

The moment the woman saw the butterfly, she couldn't help but stare at its exceptionally vibrant patterns, forgetting all the words she was about to say.

"What's the connection?"

"Good question."

"Then I'll tell you, you blind fool who only knows how to eat the government's food all day long."

More and more butterflies swarmed outside the cave, and as if receiving a mission, they landed on the shoulders of the people inside.

In an instant, the group of people locked in the cave could no longer even groan.

"Is the dragon throne he's sitting on inherited from the previous emperor?"

"They're all birds of a feather, what's the difference?"

Faced with these noisy and blindly loyal Han Chinese, Sang Che was about to lose his last bit of patience.

If Yin Huaixi hadn't cared about these guys, Sang Che would have dealt with them long ago. Why would she have waited for them to question her?

Turning his head, Sang Che walked back.

"I came here only to tell you that you are alive... because someone pleaded for you on my behalf."

"Cherish this worthless life."

"If one day she stops pleading for you, then you should all go and feed my babies."

...

The last drop of tea in the pot was drunk clean, and Yin Huaixi sat there listlessly.

For the past few days, someone has been bringing food on time, but that's all.

Yin Huaixi tried to strike up a conversation with the Miao people, but they didn't seem to know how to speak Mandarin and just looked at her with strange eyes.

He didn't dare hit her or scold her.

They disappeared after delivering the food.

Yin Huaixi scratched the edge of the wooden table with her fingernail, using the mark to confirm how many days had passed.

Otherwise, being locked up in this place for too long would be disastrous.

She's losing her sense of time, which isn't a good thing.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the door again. Yin Huaixi focused intently and stood up abruptly.

Her movements were dramatic, and the anklet snapped instantly, making a crisp sound.

She knew that voice all too well…

It was Sang Che's footsteps!

As she expected, two sentences of Miao language that Yin Huaixi could understand were heard again outside the door.

"Welcome, Holy Maiden."

After waiting for so many days, it was finally time for Sang Che to come.

Having completely lost contact with the outside world, Yin Huaixi can now only obtain information from Sang Che.

She took a deep breath.

I warned myself not to get angry with Sang Che later.

Not to mention saying anything provocative.

As long as you "act obediently and try to please" as before, Sang Che will lower his guard.

After all, she still needs her now.

This is the real reason why Sang Che didn't lay a hand on her.

The door opened again, and a ray of light shone in.

Sang Che slowly walked up to Yin Huaixi, whose eyes still held a smile, as gentle as a spring breeze.

"Huaixi, are you hungry?"

"Do you need anything? Shall I send someone to order something for you?"

Yin Huaixi nodded, and said weakly, "Okay... A-Che."

"You've come at the right time... I... I'm a little hungry."

Hearing her like this, Sang Che completely abandoned his resistance from the past few days, opened his arms, and immediately hugged Yin Huaixi.

She murmured softly, "That's right, Huaixi... that's what you should be saying to me."