FID – Chapter 689

Chapter 689: No, I Am Helian

“Anyone who has seen my face is a dead man.” The man picked up his chopsticks, eating slowly and elegantly. “If you’re curious, you can take off my mask.”

Liu Yusheng sneered and lowered her head to eat.

Would she seek death? No.

“You captured me, so you must know who I am. What do you want in exchange for me?”

The man didn’t answer, only saying, “Eat.”

“You’ve taken me, at least give me an explanation. There’s no way I can escape this isolated island. Fighting? I’m no match for you. Even knockout drugs don’t work. What exactly are you worried about?”

Yet no matter what she said after that, the man gave her no further response.

Unbelievably frustrating.

After finishing her meal, Liu Yusheng placed her chopsticks on the table and got up to leave.

Under her sleeve, her pinky finger flicked ever so slightly.

“You could try a different drug next time.”

Liu Yusheng’s foot suddenly twisted—damn it!

“How did you know I drugged it?”

“I could smell it.”

“Oh, so you have a dog’s nose.”

The man glanced at her indifferently, his emotions unreadable. As he put down his chopsticks, a maid immediately entered to clean up.

Liu Yusheng never noticed that someone had been standing at the doorway the entire time.

Clearly, the maid was also trained in martial arts.

Any hope of escape was completely extinguished.

With that in mind, Liu Yusheng simply sat back down, pulled out another drug from her pouch, waved it in front of the man’s nose, and stared at him.

He stared back at her.

No reaction.

He didn’t collapse.

Completely useless.

Calmly, she put the bottle away and switched to another one—this time, a powdered drug.

She sprinkled it and walked away, no longer interested in playing this game.

A moment later, the man sitting at the table clenched his teeth and endured. “Itchy powder?”

“The enhanced version.”

With a loud bang, the man bolted out of the room.

Inside, the woman let out a soft hum. “So, you’re not immune to this one.”

While lying back on the bed, her expression grew solemn, her brows slightly furrowed.

She had no idea how long she had been captured. Aunt Hong must be going crazy looking for her by now.

And Feng Qingbai… Did he know she had come to Beicang? Did he know she had gone missing?

What she didn’t know was that, half a quarter of an hour after she was taken by the man, Yuelai Inn caught fire—and another assassination attempt followed.

Many people died that night.

And the attackers had a clear target—Liu Yusheng.

During the battle, Wei Hong fought to protect Qian Baihao and his group, retreating while fending off the enemy. When she finally tried to release a signal flare, she realized they had been forced too far back—sending a signal was useless now.

In the end, severely wounded, she managed to break through the siege with Qian Baihao and the others. But with their pursuers relentless, there was no way to contact Wei Zi.

“How’s your injury, Wei Hong? Is it any better?” Qian Baihao asked worriedly from a corner of an abandoned temple.

Leaning against the wall, Wei Hong had crudely bandaged what she could and replied calmly, “It’s nothing. I can hold on for two more days. As long as we get past this area and closer to the capital, we can rendezvous with His Highness.”

She still had the medicine Nannan had given her—her life wasn’t in danger.

This was their third day on the run.

After multiple encounters, Wei Hong had noticed something—their pursuers weren’t actually trying to kill them.

To be precise, they had no intention of taking Qian Baihao and his people’s lives. Their real target was Nannan.

Yet, despite wanting Nannan dead, they made no move against the merchants of Nanling.

That led Wei Hong to a chilling realization—the mastermind behind this was likely Nanling’s powerful aristocrats.

Nannan’s existence threatened their interests. However, Qian Baihao and the other wealthy families were still useful to them. Just like the Liu family in the capital back then.

Only this time, the people behind the scenes were even greedier than those who once targeted the Liu family!

“As long as you can hold on, we don’t need to take a detour. I’ll lead the merchant group to the capital on our own. They won’t kill us. If we split up, you’ll have a better chance of escaping,” Qian Baihao said, his gaze cold as he looked outside the ruined temple.

If Wei Hong had already sensed the underlying scheme, he certainly wouldn’t have missed it either.

The powerful figures of Nanling coveted the wealth behind them. They wouldn’t dare eliminate them outright.

But without Liu Yusheng, the Qian family would lose the King of Nanling’s protection. And when that happened, controlling the Qian family would be effortless.

The wealth of Nanling’s richest man was simply too tempting.

Qian Baihao’s suggestion wasn’t made lightly—it was based on careful consideration of Wei Hong’s situation.

But Wei Hong shook her head. “No. If you go out on your own, you’ll only end up captured.”

If she were alone, escaping would be easy. But Qian Baihao and his people would become hostages. With them as bargaining chips, Nanling’s merchant families would be reduced to someone else’s personal vault.

And if that happened, how could she ever face Nannan?

Meanwhile, Liu Yusheng remained completely unaware of this deadlock.

She had been on this island for three days now.

And every day, that elusive man would appear out of nowhere—randomly going insane at unpredictable times.

“What do you want this time?” she asked weakly, looking at the man who had once again seated himself in her room.

“Test medicine.”

“……”

Ever since he fell victim to her itchy powder on the first day, he had been showing up daily—just to test drugs on himself. Utterly insane.

What secretly shocked Liu Yusheng was that any drug she used on him lost its effect the second time.

It was as if he were a living test subject—once exposed to a drug, his body either absorbed it or naturally developed resistance.

However, Liu Yusheng leaned more toward the idea that he was creating antidotes himself.

Just like that lunatic Xue Qinglian, except this man was even faster at developing cures.

“You want to test medicine? Fine. But fair is fair—you should at least give me some useful information. Otherwise, why don’t you just torture me into confessing?”

A dead pig wasn’t afraid of boiling water.

So far, he hadn’t harmed her. Liu Yusheng was gambling that he wouldn’t actually resort to torture.

The man fell silent for a moment. “What do you want to know?”

“Who are you?”

“……”

“Alright, different question. What’s your name?”

“… Honglian (Red Lotus).”

Liu Yusheng choked on her breath, looked him up and down, then shook her head. “You should be called Heilian (Black Lotus).”

“Do you always joke like this with people?”

“I’m insulting you.”

“It’s fine.”

The real ‘dead pig unafraid of boiling water’ was Heilian.

Over the past few days, she had tried everything, but nothing ever provoked him. He was like an emotionless machine.

No matter what tricks she pulled, he would simply stand there, watching quietly.

It made her feel like a clown performing a one-man show—utterly defeated.

Liu Yusheng gave up. She slumped onto the table, head resting limply, hands dangling toward the floor—playing dead.

She didn’t notice the faint, fleeting smile in the man’s eyes.

“Tomorrow, I’ll send you out.”

Swish! Liu Yusheng snapped back to life. “What do you mean by that?”

“If you don’t understand, then forget it.”

“I’ll be waiting!”

The man gave her a deep look before standing up.

Liu Yusheng had no idea where she found the courage, but she hurried after him. “Are you really letting me go?”

He didn’t answer.

“Don’t go back on your word! A real man keeps his promises!”

“No,” the man suddenly turned around. “I am Heilian.”

“……”

Seriously? Was this really the time for jokes?

She swore he was messing with her—with a face that never smiled.