Saving the Heartthrob Frenemy-Chapter 145: Jealousy and resentment

Without realising it, Qie Xieling reached out to touch the pendant. Yunning’s expression turned to anger, and she slapped his hand away.

"What are you doing?" she snapped and Boran got in between them.

Qie Xieling couldn’t reply, his mind racing. How could Yunning have the exact same pendant as the one he has? Qie Xieling felt an inexplicable surge of sourness rising to his throat and he was a little angry at himself for feeling that way.

He pursed his lips as he took a step back while restraining his expression. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to," he muttered, feeling embarrassed.

Yunning gave him a cold stare before walking away. For a moment Qie Xieling stood there, feeling lost and confused. He didn’t know why it bothered him so much.

Boran couldn’t help but reprimand him. Having misunderstood Eling he said, "You betrayed him already now you dare have designs for his fiancee. I know you have no morals but come on, this is low even for you."

Qie Xieling, "..."

He snorted coldly as he averted his gaze. He was about to hand it to him when the ground shook causing them both to stagger.

"What is that?" asked Boran as he ran to the small opening to check. From what he could see there were trolls trying to break the magical barrier set around the underground palace.

They were nine feet tall creatures with hunched backs and long dangling arms. It seemed they had been hired as mercenaries to capture the princess of Pergamon aka Yunning by the monastic order. After storming the castle in Pergamon they kidnapped a few highest ranking nobles and tortured them to find this information. Having found out about her secret underground hideouts they split up to find her.

Yunning hurried back while saying, "Let’s escape through the tunnels."

The two of them followed behind her without a second of delay. It seemed the barrier wouldn’t be able to hold up and to reinforce it one had to go up to the surface.

Yunning made a hand gesture and a secret door opened in one of the bedrooms. One after the other the three of them slipped into the secret tunnels. The creaking door closed behind them. Qie Xieling’s heart clenched seeing how dark it was.

A spell to conjure up a luminous light came to mind but Yunning cast a spell first and a bright blue light appeared leading the way.

The tunnels were eerily silent and the cave walls had thick webs weaved by small spiders dominating the tunnels. Qie Xieling wasn’t afraid of plenty of things but he wasn’t particularly thrilled with bugs, especially spiders. The further they walked the fainter the sound of the barrier being attacked by a group of trolls.

After hours of walking through the dark and winding tunnels, they could hear the loud roars of water like they were approaching a waterfall.

"The exit is ahead," said Yunning and as they moved closer to the sound of the water, their steps became even more cautious. The tunnel began to slope downwards, and soon they could see a faint glimmer of light up ahead. They quickened their pace, eager to break free of the tunnels that had become their jail.

When they emerged out of the tunnels they were far from the underground palace. They began to walk through the forest each with their own thoughts.

Yunning was thinking if they would be able to find her sweetheart, Boran was thinking about how the trolls found them and Qie Xieling was thinking about the ways he was going to skin Luo Muchen when they get out of this game. The fact that he could gift Bi Yu the same gift as him in the game was infuriating to him.

While Qie Xieling was plotting Luo Muchen’s murder, the servants in the castle of the five kingdoms were trembling in fear afraid that Queen Yana would lose her shit at a moment’s notice.

Queen Yana stood in front of her full-length mirror, admiring herself in her latest creation, a golden gown with a long, flowing train. The gown was embroidered with pearls and diamonds, and it shimmered in the light of the chandeliers that hung from the ornate ceiling of her grand palace.

Despite the opulence of her surroundings, the air in the room was thick with tension. The servants that lined the walls trembled as they kowtowed, their eyes downcast, afraid of the queen’s ruthless temper. Even the silence that permeated the room was punctuated with the sound of their laboured breathing.

As Yana turned to admire herself from a different angle, the door to the room opened, and her loyal monk strode in. The monastic order leader’s face was grave, and his eyes flickered with apprehension as he approached the queen.

"Your Majesty," he said, bowing deeply, "I have news."

"What news?" Yana’s tone was sharp, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I personally drown the wizard Eling in the tar pool but... he somehow revived and managed to escape," the monk said, his voice barely above a whisper.

In an instant, Yana’s anger erupted. She spun around to face the monk, her eyes blazing. Eling loved her and he would do anything for her. He even betrayed the man he swore to protect for her. If she was anyone else she would have continued manipulating him into doing her bidding but her heart was stirred and she knew he would eventually become a weakness thus she decided to deal with him. Initially, it should have been an easy task considering they used her likeness but these idiots managed to mess it up.

"What? How can this be? He can not perform resurrection spells so how can he come back to life!"

The monk cowered, his head bowed. "I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I was very sure he died. I checked his vitality myself but..."

Yana’s face contorted with frustration, and she spat out a curse. "Useless fools!" she exclaimed, her voice rising. "I cannot believe that I put my trust in such incompetence."

The servants trembled even more violently as they witnessed the queen’s wrath. Yana turned to them, her voice low and threatening. "You," she said, pointing to one of them. "Fetch me my spell book."

The servant scurried off, desperate to do the queen’s bidding. Yana paced back and forth, her mind racing with anger and disappointment. She had spent months planning Eling’s demise, and now it had all come undone. Worse off she had no idea where he was.