Future Beast World: Becoming A Pampered Beauty-Chapter 287 - 226: Giving the Mark

Le Xia’s face was deathly pale, and she rambled incoherently, "N-no... It wasn’t me... Your Majesty, believe me, I’m completely loyal to you... How could I possibly harm you!"

"I don’t know what this thing is! Someone secretly used it on me! Yes! It was those people trying to get me killed! They wanted to use me to harm Your Majesty!"

She was still making excuses.

Fei Yuan had lost his patience. "I will ask one last time. Who gave you this pair of Enchantment Gu?"

"I... I bought it from the black market!"

"Which black market?"

"It’s been so many years, I can’t remember... Your Majesty, I really don’t know!"

"Le Xia, you’ve been with me for many years. You should know there’s nothing I despise more than a chronic liar. You should also know how I deal with them." Fei Yuan’s hand shot out, clamping around her slender, fragile neck. His eyes were ice-cold, a bloodthirsty crimson light flashing within them.

The brutal aura erupting from him was terrifying.

This was a complete departure from his usual frivolous and carefree demeanor. Sang Luo found this side of Fei Yuan utterly unfamiliar, and her heart began to race... ’Then I remembered,’ she thought. ’The rumors say this guy is an infamous tyrant who kills without batting an eye. Who knows how much blood is on his hands!’

He was no benevolent soul.

To win her favor and have a child with her, he had restrained his vicious nature in her presence, so much so that she had forgotten all about those chilling rumors...

Le Xia trembled with fear, her beautiful face streaked with tears. "Please, Your Majesty, don’t kill me! I was coerced! That person... that person is..."

She struggled to say the name, but found she couldn’t get the words out. Her throat felt as if it were stuffed with cotton, letting out only muffled whimpers. Immediately after, her eyes widened in horror, staring at a point in the empty air. A stream of black blood flowed from her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Her entire body seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon, rapidly withering away...

’She’s been poisoned!’

Sang Luo had no time to think. She strode out from behind the screen. "We can’t let her die, or the trail will go cold!"

Fei Yuan knew what she wanted to do. Without a word, he laid Le Xia flat on the ground to make it easier for her to perform the treatment.

Sang Luo knelt beside her, a wisp of pale green light appearing in her palm and enveloping Le Xia’s entire body.

Soon, the black blood was forced out of her body, and she gradually returned to her original state, but she remained unconscious, showing no signs of waking.

Sang Luo looked at Fei Yuan. "The poison in her body hasn’t been removed?"

Fei Yuan wiped the blood from his hands, then took out a fresh silk handkerchief and carefully cleaned the black blood that had accidentally stained her palm. "I know."He had discovered it while trying to treat Le Xia. She had also been secretly poisoned, and this poison was clearly from the same person who had poisoned him all those years ago. Even he couldn’t completely remove it.

"That person is an expert in poison."

"Le Xia’s sudden visit to the Imperial Palace must have been because she was coerced by that person. He must have found out the poison in you was cured and wanted to use this chance to poison you again. If they can plant Le Xia by your side, they can definitely plant other spies. Who knows how many of their agents are in the palace..." As Sang Luo spoke, realization dawned on her, and she looked at Fei Yuan. "When I left the Imperial Palace, you didn’t really try to stop me. Was it because you already knew the palace wasn’t safe?"

Fei Yuan nodded, then frowned. "I thought you would be safer in the Marquis Mansion, but I didn’t expect you to be targeted by the Demon Clan."

’In that case, it would be better to keep her by my side, where I can watch over her every moment.’

’Those rats and vermin only dare to strike from the shadows. They wouldn’t dare reveal the slightest clue in the open.’

Sang Luo subconsciously touched her stomach and said nothing. Fei Yuan sensed her unease.

His heart softened. He lifted her into his arms, carried her to a soft couch in front of the screen, and lowered his head to kiss her hair. "Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no one can harm you or the child."

His kisses traveled from her forehead to the tip of her nose, then to her lips, and then down her neck and collarbone... moving slowly lower. He used the bridge of his nose to gently nudge aside her collar, then bit down hard on the skin just above her breast—

"Ngh—"

Sang Luo let out a soft cry. The next second, she was enveloped by a gentle power. The single bead of blood that had welled up quickly scabbed over, and the wound healed.

On her right breast, the mark of a Profound Phoenix, wings poised for flight, had appeared. It landed precisely on that one spot of alluring red, like a drop of cinnabar in black ink, enough to make one’s heart soften and tremble...

After leaving his unique mark on Sang Luo, Fei Yuan looked down in satisfaction, as if admiring a magnificent work of art. Once he had his fill, he reached out to tidy her messy collar, concealing the soft, snow-white scenery.

Sang Luo felt a sweet warmth blossom in her heart, but this clearly wasn’t the time for flirting. She got up again and walked over to the unconscious Le Xia.

She turned to Fei Yuan, who had followed her. "The poison in her body must be bound to some kind of Forbidden Curse. As long as the curse isn’t triggered, the poison can coexist with her body without issue. But once the restriction is triggered, the poison will activate instantly and kill her."

"It seems the trigger for the restriction is the mastermind’s name. Even if she wakes up, we won’t be able to get anything useful out of her. I can try using my spiritual power to see if I can pull out any clues."

Fei Yuan nodded. He watched as she closed her eyes, and wisps of pale purple energy threads coalesced at her fingertips, entering Le Xia’s sea of consciousness.

Soon, Sang Luo’s face turned pale, and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

’Prying into memories consumes a huge amount of spiritual power!’

’I have to search through every one of Le Xia’s memories from all these years. The sheer amount of information is making my sea of consciousness feel like it’s about to split open from the headache!’

Fei Yuan quickly grabbed her hand.

Through the Soul Mark, he transferred a portion of his source energy to her.

The color returned to Sang Luo’s face.

Soon, she pulled her hand back.

She said to Fei Yuan, "Her father gave her that pair of Gu Worms."

"The Clan Leader of the Great Argus Clan?"

"A father and daughter colluding... that’s plausible enough."

A flash of surprise flickered in Fei Yuan’s phoenix eyes. He seemed not to have expected the man to be involved. "The current Clan Leader of the Great Argus Clan is not her biological father. He’s an Elder who was pushed into the position later. His abilities are average, and he’s timid and overly cautious—a puppet with no ambition."

Sang Luo said, "Regardless of their relationship, he’s definitely the one who gave Le Xia the Gu Worms. Even if he isn’t the mastermind, he’s undoubtedly an accomplice. He must still have contact with the person behind all this. We can try to use him as a starting point."

"Should we make a preemptive move and arrest him?" she suggested.

"Arresting a single Clan Leader is easy, but going after the Great Argus Clan behind him is not." As the Beast Emperor of a nation, Fei Yuan weighed the pros and cons and considered the bigger picture. "The Great Argus Clan is a major Ancient Clan. They have inextricable blood ties to the Phoenix Clan and can even be considered a branch of it. Their influence is significant. Rashly arresting their Clan Leader could cause turmoil."

He had someone take the unconscious Le Xia away to be held under strict guard, to be used as a bargaining chip.

The Great Argus Clan might abandon a Clan Leader, but they would never abandon a pure-blooded female King Beast.

"Luo’er, you’ve been a great help."

Fei Yuan lovingly stroked her face, which was still a little pale. He swept her up into his arms, teleported to the bedchamber, and placed her on the bed.

"This is my responsibility. You don’t need to worry about it. Just focus on your pregnancy and rest."