Chapter 832: The Golden Masked Hero was Ambushed! (2)

Aisha, "We’re... alive."

Wang Xiao tilted his head, lips curving faintly.

"Told you I’d give you something nice if you behaved."

He set her down, gentle, careful, on the cracked jade.

Aisha’s bare feet touched stone. She swayed, steadied herself with one small hand on his chest. Looked up at him, green eyes soft and overwhelmed.

Then, hesitant, trembling, she reached up, fingers curling lightly into his robe collar. Pulled him down just enough to meet his gaze.

"Next time..." she whispered, voice so soft it barely carried over the settling dust, "...just kill me instead... It’d be kinder."

Aisha didn’t kiss him.

She simply stayed there, close enough that her warm, mild fragrant breath brushed his lips. Timid, trembling, but not pulling away. Her moist emerald eyes lifted to his, wide and glistening, pleading without words.

She had no idea what that look did to him.

Wang Xiao had always had a quiet fondness for women who begged, desperately, like they knew they were already lost. Her glossy crimson lips parted again, trembling on another half-formed plea, and suddenly they looked far too inviting.

"Mph-?!"

His hands claimed her wide hips in one smooth motion, fingers digging into soft flesh through the tattered silk. He yanked her forward, crushing her against him. His tongue plunged into her mouth without preamble, deep, claiming, tasting the sweet panic still on her.

Aisha froze.

She had always assumed, even if she stood naked before him, he’d glance once and walk away.

Untouched, unwanted, safe in her invisibility.

Now her brain shorted out.

By the time coherent thought returned, her buttocks had been squeezed so many times she’d lost count, firm grips that left warm handprints blooming under the imprint. Her vision blurred at the edges, knees weak, lips swollen and abused. And he... he had simply pulled back, eyes dark and amused, and murmured something about claiming a prize.

"Wait... prize?... What prize?" she echoed faintly, still dazed.

Wang Xiao was already gone, leaping from the ruined platform in pursuit of that fleeing golden-masked figure, his black robe snapping like a banner in the wind.

Aisha blinked slowly.

She was alone now... At the very top.

More precisely: standing on what used to be the 999th step, now a jagged crater of shattered moonheart jade and smoking rubble. The once-endless spiral staircase below looked like it had been gutted by a god’s tantrum.

"Prize?"

Did he mean... that? The casual promise he’d tossed out earlier, if she behaved, if she barked, he’d give her something nice?

Her cheeks flamed hotter. She pressed trembling fingers to her bruised lips, tasting him still.

Before she could even process the reminiscing ache, footsteps echoed from the lower landing.

The City Lord of Frostfall, Han Guozhen, stepped onto the broken platform first, gold patterned robes fluttering. Behind him came the Twin Saints of Snow Moon Country: Xue Tianming in his constellation-embroidered sapphire, Xue Qiulian beside him, sharper gaze already narrowing.

All three stood frozen in shock.

Their eyes swept the devastation, the cracked jade, the collapsed array runes still flickering weakly, the sheer drop where stairs used to be.

Then they landed on her.

Aisha, barefoot, hair wild, gown torn, standing alone at the summit like some disheveled conqueror.

Han Guozhen’s mouth opened, closed... Opened again. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Your... Highness?" he managed, voice cracking on the honorific. "The, the pagoda... the stairs..."

Xue Tianming blinked once, slowly.

"The record," he said, almost conversationally, "was nine hundred twelve. For an eon."

Xue Qiulian’s phoenix eyes swept over the shattered jade, then settled on Aisha. They on Aisha’s flushed cheeks, the wild tangle of her hair, and the faint crimson imprints of fingers visible on her hips through the torn silk.

She tilted her head slightly.

"Did you... do this?"

Aisha shrank under their combined gazes. Her hands fluttered, instinctively trying to tug the ruined gown lower over her thighs, but the silk refused to cooperate.

"I didn’t climb it," she whispered, voice small and breathless. "He carried me. The entire way."

A heavy silence blanketed the ruined summit.

Han Guozhen exhaled shakily, his face pale. "The pagoda is already ruined... what does it matter now?"

Xue Qiulian took one graceful step forward, her gaze never leaving Aisha’s anxious emerald eyes.

"Who is he?" she asked softly, her tone deceptively gentle. "You stand at the summit, first in history, yet the one you claim carried you is nowhere to be seen. Where is this esteemed person?"

Aisha sighed, exhaustion weighing on her shoulders. She glanced toward the open void where Wang Xiao had vanished, robes snapping like a black banner in the forgotten wind.

"I think... he went to catch someone."

Xue Tianming’s eyes narrowed. A flicker of realization crossed his face. ’Was this the presence that made even the Golden Ghost flee in terror?’

The twins exchanged a brief, meaningful glance.

Han Guozhen bowed deeply, almost reverent. "Congratulations," he said hoarsely, "on reaching the top."

Aisha stared at the rubble beneath her bare feet, then at the empty sky. She whispered to herself, so softly no one else could hear:

"Yeah... I guess I did." A small, awkward smile touched her lips as she looked at them hopefully. "Can you give me the prize now?"

She only hoped they would hand over the prize quietly. Completing Wang Xiao’s casual command was the only way to avoid being thrown from some random cliff to her death on a whim.

What if the prize was something truly important to him?

Her emerald eyes lifted, locking onto the newcomers with dead seriousness

This lady would get that prize!

Han Guozhen blinked, suddenly remembering. His hand moved to the glowing golden pendant hanging at his neck.

But before he could remove it, Xue Tianming’s voice cut through sharply.

"Don’t."

The young Saint’s hand stopped the City Lord’s motion. Beside him, Xue Qiulian nodded, her eyes gleaming with clever interest.

"Indeed. She is not the true winner. I’m afraid, Miss, you will need to stay with us until your... partner returns."

Aisha’s heart sank. She understood their intention instantly, they wanted to hold her hostage.

Seeing her chance, she turned and tried to flee, but Xue Qiulian smiled faintly.

"Not so soon."

With a casual wave of her hand, flames shaped like miniature phoenixes burst forth. They streaked toward Aisha and crashed against her legs with deceptive gentleness.

Aisha screamed, twisting back in panic. She expected searing pain, but instead felt a biting cold. Ice bloomed rapidly, locking her feet to the shattered jade platform.

"You...! Free me!" she cried, anger flashing in her eyes.

Being toyed with by Wang Xiao was one thing. Being restrained and humiliated by strangers was another.

Yet her protest died quickly as more guards rushed onto the ruined summit, weapons drawn. Behind the Twin Saints, an ominous dark shadow stirred within their sapphire robes, the enslaved Immortal, watching silently.

Just as despair began to coil around Aisha’s throat, a figure stepped silently from behind her and crouched. A slender hand reached down, touching the ice with deceptive gentleness.

CRACK!

The frozen binding glowed violently for a moment before shattering into a swirling mist that faded harmlessly into the air. Aisha’s feet were freed in an instant.

Xue Qiulian’s phoenix eyes widened in shock. "How is that possible...?"

She had employed an ancient technique of the Snow Moon imperial line, an undying phoneix flame ice meant to restrain even those hiding powerful trump cards. Yet it had crumbled with nothing more than a touch.

The newcomer rose slowly, revealing herself as a woman of ethereal beauty. Flowing golden-blonde hair framed a face graced with gentle eyes that could melt emperors and compel their devotion. Yet right now, those eyes held a cold, deadpan stare that chilled the ruined summit.

Ning Xue was in no mood for games.

She had been led by the nose by Wang Xiao for far too long. Now, even in this strange new world, others thought they could toy with those around her as they pleased.

"If you cannot explain yourselves in three words," she said softly, her voice eerily calm, "I will kill you."

The words sounded almost ironic coming from someone who appeared too gentle to harm even a mosquito.

Yet the killing intent behind them was real.

Yuriko, Athlaea, Helena, and Lukas, who had just climbed up from the lower rubble, froze in surprise.

"Is she alright?" Athlaea whispered.

Yuriko shook her head. "Does it look like she’s joking?"

Ning Xue had always been magnanimous by nature, a beacon of mercy among humanity. But constant manipulation by Wang Xiao had worn her patience thin. Her debut as the Human Empress, carefully orchestrated by Velkhara Umbra to grant her a new identity, had been twisted by media and rumor into tales of a merciless Human Saint.

Few understood the truth behind the image.

She was not some untouchable saint, nor did she fear killing when necessary. It was simply her nature to refrain from abusing power against those who bore no harmful intent, a principle rooted in Athene’s teachings of righteousness.

Yet by attacking Aisha, someone clearly defenseless, the people before her had crossed a line.

They had lit the fuse of an already frustrated ticking bomb.

Han Guozhen stepped forward with the forced composure of a veteran official. "Ahem, there seems to be a misunderstanding. Why don’t we all go inside and sort this out peacefully-"

Ning Xue spared Han Guozhen only a fleeting glance.

Her golden eyes flashed like a vengeful sun delivering judgment, her aura abruptly blazing forth with overwhelming pressure that eclipsed everything in the ruined hall.

"Quiet," she whispered.

BOOM!

His head suddenly exploded in a gruesome spray of blood and flesh, painting the shattered moonheart jade crimson.

Thud!

The headless body collapsed heavily, blood still gushing from the severed neck in rhythmic spurts.

"...!"

Xue Qiulian staggered back, eyes wide with disbelief.

’She... killed him with just a look?!’

Her mind filled with shock, Han Guozhen had multiple protective treasures!

Xue Tianming’s face drained of color, his usual composure shattered. He instantly moved to shield his sister, pulling her behind him. "Stay behind me! Her eyes can bypass protective enchantments!"

"It’s not safe here! Leave!"

The dark mist behind them surged violently. The enslaved Immortal manifested fully, wrapping the Twin Saints in shadowy protection.

With visible terror twisting his ancient features, he prepared to teleport them away.

His dark gaze darted from Ning Xue to the headless corpse, a shiver running through him. ’No fluctuations... How did she kill him?’

Yuriko and Athlaea exchanged stunned glances. They had never seen the full extent of Ning Xue’s power, they had assumed she could only manipulate matter through touch.

This was something else entirely.

Ning Xue’s golden eyes glowed once more as she turned her fierce gaze toward the army of guards pouring onto the summit.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Entire bodies exploded in rapid succession, not just heads, but torsos bursting apart in fountains of blood and flesh.

The ruined summit filled with the terrific sounds of shattering flesh and bone.

If Wang Xiao were here, he might have been both confused and quietly proud. His usually proud gentle daughter, who acted like headless duck around him, could become this ferocious toward outsiders.

Ning Xue’s cold stare finally locked onto the fleeing Immortal shielding the Twin Saints.

They had tried to take Aisha hostage.

Now they would leave only with her permission.

With a light tap of her foot, the entire Frostfall Pagoda trembled violently. The structure folded inward like paper under divine pressure, its walls and ceilings melting into flowing rivers of radiant gold, not mere shining metal, but an enchanting, sun-like brilliance that sealed every exit.

The pagoda had become a magnificent prison.

She did this for another reason as well.

No one had given her a proper explanation of where they were.

Since they refused to speak... she would find out herself.