From cute to empress

Chapter 303 Hidden Crisis

A bitterly cold wind howled through the forest, whipping up snowflakes that stung my face. I tightened my cloak around me, trying to dispel the chill, but deep within, a more difficult-to-ignore uneasiness surged.

"Your Majesty, the foggy forest is ahead. The terrain of this forest is complex and it is shrouded in fog all year round. It is easy to get lost. It is better to take a detour." The commander of the guards reined in his horse and stopped beside me, with a hint of worry in his tone.

I looked at the vast expanse of white ahead, and the uneasiness in my heart grew stronger, as if something was attracting me, and as if something was warning me.

"It's okay. I have a divine beast protecting me. What should I be afraid of in a mere misty forest?" I smiled casually, kicked my horse's belly, and headed towards the misty forest first.

The guards behind me looked at each other, but they didn't dare to disobey my order, so they had to follow me.

In the foggy forest, visibility was extremely low. I tried hard to identify the direction, but found that the deeper I went, the more unfamiliar the scenery around me became.

"Your Majesty, be careful!" The guard behind me suddenly shouted. Before I could react, I felt my feet go empty and I fell into the trap along with the horse.

"His Majesty!"

"Hurry and report to General Zhen!"

……

I heard the guards' anxious shouts and struggled to get up from the ground. I found myself trapped in a deep pit, surrounded by smooth cliffs that were impossible to climb.

I tried to call upon the power of the magic circle, but found that for some reason, the magic circle in my body had no reaction at all, as if it was imprisoned by something.

"Damn it!" I couldn't help but curse, my heart filled with regret and self-blame. I shouldn't have been so aggressive and entered this misty forest despite everyone's dissuasion. Now I'm in this situation, what should I do?

"Roar--"

Just then, a deafening roar of a beast came from not far away. My heart tightened and I looked in the direction of the sound. I saw a huge black bear slowly walking towards me, with a ferocious light flashing in its scarlet eyes.

I gripped the dagger tightly in my hand and forced myself to calm down. Now that the magic circle is useless, I can only rely on myself!

"What? His Majesty is missing?!"

When Zhen Youcai heard the guard's report, his face suddenly turned ashen. He ignored his injuries and grabbed the guard by the collar, demanding, "How could this happen? Explain clearly!"

"Reporting to the general, His Majesty accidentally fell into a trap in the misty forest. When I was about to rescue him, I was stopped by a black bear..." The guard tremblingly recounted the incident.

"Damn it!" Zhen Youcai roared, pushed the guards away, jumped on his horse, and galloped towards the misty forest.

"General, your injury..."

"Go away!"

Zhen Youcai was extremely anxious and didn't care about anything else. Niu Mengmeng's figure kept appearing in his mind, and he had only one thought in his mind: he must find her, no matter what the cost!

"General, look!" A confidant pointed at the messy footprints and bloodstains on the ground and said in a heavy tone, "These must be the traces left by the fight between Your Majesty and the black bear."

Zhen Youcai dismounted and took a closer look, his expression becoming even uglier. Judging from the traces at the scene, Niu Mengmeng must have been injured, and the situation was not optimistic.

"General, what should we do now?" asked the confidant.

Zhen Youcai didn't say anything. His eyes swept around and finally fell on a hunter who was chopping wood not far away.

"Go and call him over." Zhen Youcai pointed at the hunter and said in a deep voice.

"Yes!"

"Are you sure this road leads to the place where His Majesty disappeared?" Zhen Youcai looked at the rugged and narrow mountain road in front of him with a frown.

"General, rest assured. Although this road is difficult to travel, it is definitely a shortcut to that area." The hunter patted his chest and assured, "I have lived here for generations and know this forest like the back of my hand."

Zhen Youcai nodded and said nothing more, but urged the team to speed up.

He had a premonition that Niu Mengmeng was not far ahead, but he didn't know whether hope or despair awaited him... I felt a dizziness. When I woke up, I found myself lying on the bumpy horseback, my body tightly wrapped in warm fur. A strong masculine scent surrounded me. It was Zhen Youcai! I struggled to open my eyes, and what caught my eye was his well-defined jawline and the tight corners of his mouth. I could feel the worry and tension emanating from him.

"You're awake!" Zhen Youcai noticed my movement and looked down at me. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his seriousness. "Don't talk. Save your energy first."

I nodded obediently, closed my eyes, and felt his strong heartbeat, as if I had found support. I knew that as long as he was there, everything would be fine.

"General, look!" Hunter C, who was leading the way, suddenly exclaimed, pointing to a bush on the ground. "These branches have been broken off by humans, and they point in that direction!"

Zhen Youcai dismounted, walked quickly to the bushes, took a closer look, and his expression became increasingly solemn.

"And here." Hunter C pointed to an inconspicuous tree by the roadside. A strange symbol was carved into the trunk with a sharp weapon. "I've seen this mark before, deeper in the mountains. That's where..."

He seemed to realize something and stopped talking, but the fear on his face said it all.

Zhen Youcai naturally understood the interests involved. He took a deep breath, a sharp light flashing in his eyes, "It seems that we are really in trouble this time."

I forced myself to sit up and asked weakly, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Zhen Youcai looked at me, wanting to say something but stopping himself. But in the end he sighed and told me the whole story.

It turns out that there is a mysterious organization hidden deep in the forest. They act in a secretive and ruthless manner. They have been secretly operating over the years and trying to overthrow the imperial power. My hunting this time may be a conspiracy carefully planned by them!

My heart sank, a chill running through me. No wonder the magic circle within me suddenly lost its power. It turned out they had tampered with it!

"Who are those people?" I asked, with a barely perceptible tremor in my voice.

Zhen Youcai shook his head. "It's still unclear at the moment, but anyone who can set up such a sophisticated trap is definitely not an ordinary person. We must proceed with caution."

"General, we've found another trap ahead!" Hunter C's voice came from the front, with a hint of panic in his tone.

Zhen Youcai's expression changed, and he immediately jumped on his horse and stretched out his hand to me, "Hold on to me, let's go!"

I held his hand tightly, and before I could react, he pulled me onto the horse's back. The sound of the wind whistling in my ears, the sound of horse hooves, the sound of breaking branches, and Hunter C's screams were all intertwined together. I felt like my heart was about to jump out of my throat.

I know that a life-or-death test has just begun...

"Wait, there seems to be someone there!" I suddenly pointed at a dark shadow that flashed by in the woods in the distance and shouted.

Zhen Youcai pulled the reins hard, and the horse neighed and stopped. He squinted his eyes and looked in the direction of my finger, but found nothing unusual.

"You're mistaken," he whispered, a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

"No, I definitely saw it. It's right there!" I insisted, my eyes fixed on the woods. A sudden surge of unease welled up in my heart, as if something was secretly watching us... Zhen Youcai wanted to say something else, but I suddenly broke free from his arms, jumped off the horse, and ran towards the woods. "What are you doing? Come back!" Zhen Youcai's urgent voice rang out behind me, but I didn't care about that anymore. An inexplicable force drove me to see what was going on.

I pushed aside the dense brush and walked forward cautiously, my heart pounding. The woods were dim and eerily quiet, with only the sound of my footsteps echoing in the silence. Suddenly, I saw something gleaming beneath a large tree ahead.

I walked lightly and approached slowly, and finally saw what the faint light was - an exquisite silver arrow with a strange symbol engraved below the arrow. It was exactly the same as the one that Hunter C had found on the tree trunk before!

My heart trembled. Could this really be the hiding place of those mysterious people? Before I could think about it, I suddenly heard a burst of hurried footsteps behind me. I quickly hid behind a thick tree and held my breath.

"Search carefully, and make sure to find the Empress!" It was Prince A's voice. Why was he here? Puzzled, I poked my head out and saw him, accompanied by a group of guards, marching towards us menacingly. Their target was me!

My heart sank. It seemed my guess was correct. Prince A was indeed involved in this conspiracy! I had to leave here as soon as possible and tell Zhen Youcai this news!

I crouched down, taking cover from the trees, and quietly moved deeper into the woods. However, before I had taken a few steps, I heard a cold voice behind me: "Do you think you can escape?"

I turned around suddenly and saw a masked man in black appear behind me, holding a gleaming dagger against my neck. It was Assassin Ding!

"Who are you? Why are you arresting me?" I asked in a cold voice, trying to remain calm.

Assassin Ding sneered, "Someone will come to take your life soon. I advise you to surrender!"

He reached out to grab me. I knew something was wrong, so I grabbed a stone and threw it at him. Assassin Ding obviously hadn't expected me to resist, and I hit him on the forehead. He let out a scream and took a few steps back.

I took the opportunity to turn and run, but Assassin Ding quickly reacted and pursued me. I panicked and ran into a dense bush. The sharp thorns cut my clothes, leaving bloody marks, but I didn't care about the pain. I just wanted to get rid of Assassin Ding as soon as possible.

"Where are you? Come out quickly!" The voice of Assassin Ding was getting closer and closer. I was anxious. Suddenly, I saw a dark hole not far ahead, which looked like the entrance to a cave.

Without thinking too much, I dived into the cave. The entrance was very narrow and it took me a lot of effort to squeeze in. I looked back and saw that Assassin Ding had already chased me to the entrance and was staring at me viciously.

"Get out of here!" He reached out and tried to grab me, but the cave entrance was too small for him to get in. I breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak when I suddenly heard a familiar voice from outside the cave: "What are you doing?"

It's Zhen Youcai! I was overjoyed and just about to call for help, but suddenly realized something was wrong. How did Zhen Youcai find this place? Could it be...

My gaze fell on a spot not far behind him. Prince A and Marquis B were looking at me with a half-smile, their eyes full of the smug satisfaction of a successful plot. I immediately understood that all this was a trap they had set up to lure me in!

"Zhen Youcai, you..." I wanted to remind him to be careful, but it was too late. Assassin Ding suddenly took out a handful of black powder from his arms and threw it towards the cave entrance. I suddenly felt my eyes go black and I lost consciousness...

When I woke up again, I found myself lying on a simple straw mat, with the anxious face of Hunter C beside me. "You're awake?" he exclaimed in surprise, "Thank God, you're finally awake!"

I struggled to sit up and looked around, and found myself in a hidden cave. The entrance was blocked by dense vines. If I didn't look carefully, it would be difficult to find that there was a hidden world here.

"Where are we?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

"This is a secret cave I discovered while hunting," Hunter C explained. "It's very safe here. Those people shouldn't be able to find it."

I nodded, feeling a little relieved. Apparently, Hunter C had rescued me and brought me here after I passed out. But what about Zhen Youcai? How's he doing?

"By the way, where's General Zhen?" I asked anxiously, "Is he okay?"

Hunter C's face darkened, and he hesitated to speak. My heart tightened, and a sense of foreboding washed over me.

"He... he was captured by those people..." Hunter C finally spoke out in a low voice, "They said, if..."

"What if?" I asked, vaguely guessing something in my heart, but not daring to believe it.

Hunter C took a deep breath and said in a heavy tone, "They said that if they wanted to save General Zhen, they would... use you in exchange..."

My heart sank to the bottom in an instant...