Chapter 379 Obsession and Madness Beneath a Gentle Facade

Chapter 379: The Obsession and Paranoia Beneath the Gentle Mask

The bitter wind howled like a blade, whipping up flurries of snow that lashed against people's faces.

On the vast, desolate snowfield at the border between Daye and Beiling, several swift horses shot forward like arrows from a bow, their hooves pounding through the powdery snow.

At the lead were two riders: Ling Wu and Ling Feng.

Their eyes were fixed on the carriage struggling forward through the wind and snow ahead.

"Princess Consort!" Ling Wu's voice, though slightly distorted by the wind, rang out loud and clear. "We've come to save you!"

As the carriage curtain was blown open by a gust, Jiang Shuning was clutching Little Yejun tightly in her arms. When she saw the familiar face, her heart clenched.

Ling Wu was here—sent by Xiao Lingchuan.

In recent days, memories from her past life and this life were gradually coming back.

Xiao Lingchuan, worried for her safety, had assigned the martial-arts-trained Ling Wu to be her maid, but she had misread his intentions as scheming, believing he wanted to control even those around her.

Now, looking back, if not for Ling Wu's protection along the way, she might not have escaped so many plots.

Xiao Lingchuan had been right—she always took his sincerity as a desire to control her.

No sooner had she regained her composure than several figures on horseback galloped out from beside the carriage, blocking Ling Wu and Ling Feng's path.

A Qi tightened his grip on his long blade. The steel glinted coldly in the gray, overcast light.

He knew well that, in terms of pure martial skill, he and his men combined were no match for Ling Wu and Ling Feng.

But so what?

As long as they crossed this snowy mountain and entered Beiling's territory, no one could ever separate His Highness and Miss Jiang again.

Today, even if it cost them their lives, they would pave the final stretch of road to peace.

A Qi turned his head sharply and shouted, his voice hoarse, at Xiao Huaijin inside the carriage: "Your Highness, we'll hold them off! You go! Once we cross the snow mountain, no one will ever separate you again!"

Xiao Huaijin leaned out of the carriage. His usually gentle face looked unusually pale in the wind and snow, yet he wore a resolute determination.

"Good! A Qi, they are both highly skilled in martial arts—be careful!"

Without another word, he barked at the coachman, "Move! Now!"

The coachman did not hesitate for a moment. He cracked the whip hard, and the horses neighed, lurching the carriage into a wild, jolting gallop across the snow.

"Think you can escape? Not so fast!" Ling Feng and Ling Wu exchanged a glance, then charged simultaneously at the carriage. In an instant, A Qi and several guards stepped in to block them. The atmosphere was tense, on the brink of erupting.

The sharp clash of blades erupted across the empty snowfield, mingling with the howling wind and swirling snow.

A Qi and his men fought with the desperation of those who had resolved to die. Every strike was a suicidal gambit. For a moment, they managed to tie down both Ling Wu and Ling Feng.

Inside the carriage, the violent shaking made Jiang Shuning hold Little Yejun even tighter, shielding him from harm.

Outside the window, blades flashed and figures wheeled. Every sound of colliding metal hit her heart like a heavy hammer.

She watched Ling Wu caught in the siege, teetering on the edge of danger, and her heart ached.

"Your Highness," she turned to the man beside her, pleading, "Can you ask them to stop? Ling Wu... she was once my maid. Please, Your Highness, tell A Qi and the others not to hurt her, alright?"

The moment she said it, Jiang Shuning regretted it.

As expected, Xiao Huaijin's body stiffened immediately. He whipped his head around, and his eyes—usually so gentle—were now like a frozen lake, sharp and piercing, frightening her.

"You remember?" His voice was soft, but it carried a suffocating pressure, like a storm about to break.

There was no point in hiding it any longer.

Jiang Shuning took a deep breath, met his gaze, and confessed: "Yes. I remember everything."

That answer instantly sparked the storm that had been brewing in Xiao Huaijin's eyes.

"Since you remember, you should know exactly what kind of person Xiao Lingchuan is! You should want to leave here with me and start a new life in Beiling!" His eyes were bloodshot—a madness and obsession she'd never seen before. "You told me yourself that I was the one in your heart! It was because of those words that I went to any lengths, traveling over mountains and rivers to find you! But now? You're right beside me, but you're still resisting me! Jiang Shuning, how can you be so cold-hearted?"

His accusations hit her like red-hot stones, pressing heavily on her heart.

"Your Highness, I admit," she said, her voice pained, "in the past, I did have feelings for you. Your gentle nature, your sincerity—you were like a gentle breeze and a bright moon. I don't think any woman could resist a man like you. But..."

"But feelings are never set in stone. Along this journey, I have changed, and so have you... Your Highness, if you truly care about me, let my son and me go back. Please don't force me to go to Beiling. To me, it's a totally foreign place. Little Yejun is still too young—he simply can't endure the bitter, biting cold of Beiling's climate..."

She tried to appeal to his reason, but a faint smile slowly curved at the corner of his lips—a smile with not a trace of warmth, only endless mockery and coldness.

"Too late."

Xiao Huaijin leaned in, closing the distance between them so abruptly that Jiang Shuning could clearly see the wild flames blazing in his eyes. His breath brushed her face, carrying both the chill of the snow and a searing heat.

"I actually regret this," he said in a low voice—that gentle voice now sounded like a demon whispering. "If I had done it the way Xiao Lingchuan does—used the most direct methods, forcibly kept you by my side without giving you any choice—perhaps...," he paused, "you'd already be my wife by now."

His face showed undisguised contempt and disgust for his former "gentle" self.

Jiang Shuning was utterly stunned. She stared at this familiar yet unfamiliar man in front of her.

Was this the same Prince Ning who once held a gentle fawn in his arms with eyes as soft as spring water and blushed at a careless joke of hers, and was now this man with wild eyes, such obsessive words, even regretting that he hadn't been "tougher"?

When had Xiao Huaijin become like this?

Was it a gap in her memory, or had she never truly seen the real face beneath his gentle mask?

Just then, on the other side of the snow mountain, a troop of armored soldiers appeared, their murderous aura unmistakable. They were the Beiling border guards.

When Xiao Huaijin saw them, a relieved smile crossed his pale face: "It's the people the Imperial Sister sent to receive us!"

Ling Wu and Ling Feng also spotted the Beiling soldiers in the distance. They knew that, with their own strength, they could never stop Xiao Huaijin's carriage, let alone bring the Princess Consort back to the Prince.

A flash of determination crossed Ling Wu's eyes. She gritted her teeth and charged recklessly toward Xiao Huaijin's carriage.

Seeing this, A Qi's pupils contracted. On instinct, he swung his blade to block her—but he never expected Ling Wu to make no attempt to dodge, instead crashing straight into the gleaming steel.

The blade pierced flesh. Blood exploded in a spray. Ling Wu's body collapsed like a bird with broken wings, falling heavily onto the pure white snow.

Crimson blood quickly spread, staining the frozen ground beneath her—a sight so piercing it made the heart tremble.

"Ling Wu—!" Jiang Shuning witnessed it all. Her heart felt like it was being twisted. A bitter taste rose in her throat, nearly choking her.