Chapter 59 - Lost In The Wilderness

Jiang Ying Yue stared at the light pink silk dress that she was wearing. The cloth felt soft against her body and so were the shoes. Her hair was once again dry and styled simply with beautiful golden hairpins. She was feeling like a little princess which was not her taste.

She stretched out her arms to look closely at her dress before she looked up at the Immortal sitting in front of her. "Really? Do you think this suits me?" She asked while pointing at her dress and accessories.

"It suits your outer appearance perfectly... but not your attitude." Qing Shan answered as he gave her a small smile.

Jiang Ying Yue dropped her hands as she stared at the Immortal for a few seconds before she started walking towards the table where he was sitting. "Where is this place? The Star Lake Manor?" She asked while taking a seat opposite him and pouring herself some tea.

"We are not in the Capital City. This is another one of my houses." Qing Shan replied and watched as the girl's hands stilled after hearing his reply. 

Letting out a sigh, Jiang Ying Yue gulped down the tea in one go. Now, she definitely needed the help of at least one of these two mysterious Immortals to return to the Cold Palace.

Clearing her throat, she turned her attention to Qing Shan as she spoke in a calm tone, "It's pretty late now. I should be leaving."

According to her, this was a good hint. However, she seriously underestimated Qing Shan who nodded his head in response before pointing in the direction of the door as he spoke, "One of the servants will show you the gate."

"You..." Jiang Ying Yue stared at the man as she tried to not gift him with some favorite profanities of hers.

Letting out a sigh to calm herself down, she stood up from her seat, and not sparing another look in the direction of the stupid Immortal, she walked out of the room.

*****

"Why are you two carrying around such long faces? Are you worrying about that woman too?" Qing Shan asked the two spirit beasts who were standing behind Wang Shu. Talking about his brother, even he appeared to be a little worried.

"Master, Miss Jiang is probably the future Madam of the Cloud Realm. How can we not be worried about her safety? You just let her walk out in the dangerous wilderness in the middle of the night." Xiang Lin was the one who spoke.

Qing Shan turned his attention to his brother who was playing with his jade ring, something that he only used to do when he felt anxious.

Seeing everyone worrying about that silly girl, he too felt anxious. The area around the manor was indeed filled with hundreds of traps and wild beasts that lurked in the shadows. 

The manor was located in the middle of the mountains and all around it was a dense forest that was filled with countless dangers. It was almost impossible for that girl to walk out of the forest alive.

All this time he was waiting for her to return to him as soon as she realized that she won't be able to survive outside on her own. But to his surprise, it had been over an hour but she still had to return.

What were the chances that she already had encountered something dangerous? The thought only made him more anxious as the fear of losing her suddenly dawned over him.

"Ah Shu, let's go and find her."

- - - 

How long had it been? Two hours, or probably three? As far as Qing Shan could tell in his current frantic state of mind, only an hour or so was left before dawn.

They had been searching for the girls for hours, but they still had to find even her shadow. 

"Maybe she's already back to the Cold Palace." Even Wang Shu didn't look convinced as he spoke those words but at the moment, nothing else was making sense.

None of the traps around the manor had been triggered. There were no traces of any kind of fight between any beast or her in the entire forest. Xiang Lin had also searched the nearby villages but there was still no sign of the girl. It was like she disappeared into thin air the moment she stepped out of the manor.

"Master, let me go and check in the Cold Palace." Xiang Lin requested and Wang Shu nodded his head, giving her permission.

At least, the two of them knew that she wasn't hurt. Though none of the two of them knew how to use the bond to find her location, they were still able to sense that wherever she was at the moment, she's not hurt.

"Let's head back to the manor and wait for Xiang Lin's return. If that girl won't be back in the Imperial Palace, we will ask her male companion to look for her. He would probably know how to find her." Wang Shu suggested to his brother who nodded his head in agreement.

If Qing Shan had known that such a problem would arise because of his carelessness, he would never have allowed her to step out of the manor. But it was already too late for him to regret it. 

The brothers returned to the manor and entered the room where Qing Shan and that girl had chatted before she left the manor.

"She..."

Wang Shu's horrified tone made Qing Shan look at his brother only to find the latter staring at something... or someone...

"How did... What are you doing here?" He felt confused about whether to feel angry or relieved after seeing the girl sitting around the table, sipping tea as if she was there to enjoy the luxury.

"Where were you guys all this time? I've been waiting for quite some time. I didn't even get to sleep. My eyes are..." 

Jiang Ying Yue trailed off as she noticed the weird expressions on the faces of the two Immortals. Were they really that much repulsed by the idea of seeing her? Well, she wasn't eager about meeting them either. If not for the fact that she ended up getting lost in one of the illusion arrays set near the manor, she would not have returned to the manor after breaking through that illusion array.

While she was busy in her thoughts, she failed to notice the Immortals who were now standing right in front of her. She only came out of her thoughts when she felt warm palms coming in contact with her wrists. 

Her head jerked up as she looked into the eyes of Wang Shu who was observing her as if he was making sure that she wasn't injured. "We went to search for you. The forest isn't safe. What were you thinking when you marched out of the manor? Was it too much to wait for me a few more minutes?" 

He seemed angry but it was an anger that was given by the worry that he felt for her. Jiang Ying Yue felt her heart filling with warmth as she took in the anxious looks hidden in their eyes. It was becoming hard for her to understand these two men. One moment they treated her like they could not stand even her mere sight and the next moment they made her feel like she actually mattered to them... more than they were allowing her to see.

She would have loved to say that their contrasting behaviors were due to the mate bond but it was not true. The two of them were completely unaware of the bond and how it worked. Even though the bond was making them feel a pull towards her, it was nowhere near where they would disregard their real feelings towards her.

A soul bond only made the feelings of desire, love, affection, and care increase between people. If no such feelings were in existence to start with, an incomplete bond could not force them to feel worried about her to such levels.

Then were they worried because she's important for whatever mission they had planned against the Empress Dowager? Was that why their feelings towards her were becoming stronger? 

Jiang Ying Yue felt her head throbbing at the thought of these questions. She did not want them to only see her as a tool for the completion of their mission. She wanted them to accept her as their true mate. Was she asking for too much?

"Are you even listening to us? Miss Jiang?" She was shaken out of her thoughts when she felt Qing Shan patting her shoulder as if he was trying to wake her up.

"Sorry... I'm not feeling good. Can you guys please help me return to the Cold Palace?" She tried to not sound as miserable as she was feeling inside her heart. 

Looked like her biggest mission was not to start a new life in this world nor was it to fight against Empress Dowager. Her biggest mission was to complete her bonds with her mates and find the intimate happiness that she deserved.