Chapter 26:
Consciousness gradually returned…
When Li Chang'an woke up from his coma, he found himself surrounded by darkness, with only two points of green light shining with a grim glow in the distance.
Recalling everything that happened before he fainted, he had some guesses about where he was now. He suddenly felt a wave of excitement.
"Calm down! Calm down!" he told himself. "Don't act like you already knew. You must maintain the act!"
Forcing himself to suppress the excitement, Li Chang'an pretended to be unaware of his surroundings, turned over, and sat up. He mobilized the soul power in his body, and the feeling of weakness from his coma quickly dissipated. Gathering his soul power in his eyes, he adapted quickly to the surrounding darkness.
"Waking up suddenly in an unfamiliar environment and staying so calm... not bad, boy," came a hoarse voice from the side. As his eyes adjusted to the light, Li Chang'an could vaguely see a figure sitting not far away. The two points of green light were actually the person's eyes.
Li Chang'an didn't respond but tensed up, adopting a defensive posture as if he could launch an attack at any moment.
"Boy, do you know who I am?" the voice asked indifferently.
"..."
Li Chang'an remained silent for a moment before saying, "Are you a senior from the Yan family?"
"Oh? Where did you figure that out?" the voice responded with interest.
"I can feel it," Li Chang'an answered steadily. "I can sense that your and Yan's martial souls are of the same type, but you're stronger than her."
"Since you've guessed my identity, why don't you guess why I kidnapped you?" the voice asked with a cold smile.
Li Chang'an, familiar with the original story and aware that the person was likely just intimidating him, didn't panic. Instead, he showed a confused expression and asked, "Could it be... related to Yan?"
Thinking about it, the only reason this person could have come for him at this stage was likely because of Yan. Especially considering how Yan had hurriedly left recently without saying goodbye. Li Chang'an felt this must be connected to her.
"Do you know my name?" the voice asked, completely ignoring Li Chang'an's response.
"I don't know, may I ask for your name?" Li Chang'an asked innocently.
"Hmph, my surname is Dugu, and my title is Poison!" The voice's tone carried a sense of pride.
"Ah!!!! So you are the Poison Douluo, Your Majesty, the Poison Tyrant of the World!" Li Chang'an responded with a shocked and incredulous expression. "I didn't expect Yan to be your granddaughter… No wonder she's so outstanding."
The voice seemed pleased with Li Chang'an's reaction, and his vanity swelled. With a wave of his hand, green flames suddenly ignited around the cave.
Under the illumination of the green fire, Li Chang'an saw that he was in a cave nearly a thousand square meters in size. He quickly realized that this was the place he had been thinking about.
"Boy, stop flattering me," the voice said, though his pride was evident. "Now that you know Yan is my granddaughter, you should know why I brought you here, right?"
"Please forgive this junior, but I'm not sure. Could you explain, senior?" Li Chang'an responded, genuinely confused. Although he had guessed that the person brought him here because of Yan, he didn't know the full reason.
"Hmph!" the voice snorted. "You clearly have a marriage contract, yet you still go and provoke my granddaughter! Do you want her to be a mistress?!"
At that moment, Li Chang'an finally understood the problem—it was because of his status as a son-in-law.
In this world, a son-in-law could only have one wife, who would be the princess. So, in the eyes of others, he was already promised to the princess, and couldn't marry another woman. The idea of taking a concubine was completely out of the question.
"This is troublesome," Li Chang'an thought, feeling a headache coming on. He had no idea who had told Yan about his status as a son-in-law. Whoever it was, they'd made a huge mistake.
Facing the questioning from the voice, Li Chang'an quickly thought of a response. He lowered his expression, sighed, and said, "I never intended for Yan to be a mistress..."
Before he could finish, the voice erupted in anger, "Okay! So you want to eat and wipe it clean, and then deny it, right?!"
Frustrated, Li Chang'an shot him a glance before continuing, "I have absolutely no intention of doing that! Moreover, nothing has happened between me and Yan yet. We haven't even confirmed our relationship as lovers. How can you accuse me of that?"
"It's because of the marriage contract that I've been hesitant to express my feelings for her. I can't help being bound by the contract with the princess. I haven't even seen what the princess looks like..." he said with a helpless look, sounding genuinely innocent.
Dugu Bo, not suspecting a thing, was taken in by the act. He believed Li Chang'an was also unwilling to be tied down by the marriage contract, but was forced by the imperial decree. He didn't realize Li Chang'an was simply pretending. He wasn't rejecting the marriage contract at all—he wanted it all.
At that moment, someone who had been hiding in the shadows could no longer contain their emotions.
With the scent of fragrance in the air, a soft girl's body suddenly bumped into Li Chang'an's arms. The familiar scent and voice made him immediately recognize who it was.
"Yan, you... why are you here?" he murmured, subconsciously.
The girl didn't answer, instead holding him tightly, as if trying to merge her body with his.
After learning the truth, she was no longer lost or sad, but full of happiness. She was overjoyed, knowing that Li Chang'an truly cared for her, that he wasn't playing with her feelings.
That was enough.
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