Chapter 127: Hijacking (2)

“Sir, there was nothing I could do. His Majesty has remained inside and refuses to come out. I already reported your arrival, but he gave no response!” the messenger said, somewhat flustered.

“What exactly is he doing? Open the door at once. I want to go in and see for myself!” the man ordered, assuming that the servant before him simply did not dare open it.

“Sir, you may not know this, but once the door is closed, it can only be opened from the inside. His Majesty refuses to open it, so there is nothing we can do!”

In truth, what had the messenger so anxious was that the king had steadfastly refused to open the door—or even to answer them.

“King Gao Fei, what on earth are you doing in there? We have important business to attend to, and everyone else is waiting outside!” Since the door could not be opened, the man had no choice but to call out loudly.

“It is useless, sir. Shouting will not help. This room is soundproof. The only way to let the people inside know that someone is waiting is by pressing the bell, but His Majesty has already cut off the connection. He does not wish to speak with us!” the servant explained again.

“…”

The man frowned. “At a time like this, what is he hiding in there for? Do you know?”

“Well…” The servant stammered, seeming reluctant to say more.

“What is it? Speak quickly. I do not have time to waste here with you!” the man said in a deep voice, reprimanding him with imposing authority.

I cannot deal with that lunatic Young Master Ye, but surely I can handle a servant like you.

“Well…” The servant still hesitated, as though the words were difficult to utter.

“Speak!” the man barked.

“I truly do not know how to put it. Two days ago, when His Majesty went out, he brought someone back with him. Ever since then, they have remained inside. His Majesty ordered us not to disturb them, no matter how urgent the matter, and they have not come out at all—not even to eat!” the servant finally began to explain.

“They have been inside all this time? Are you not afraid something might have happened? What if that person has already escaped?” the man pressed.

“That is impossible. There is only one exit, and His Majesty has protective measures in place inside. No one would have the opportunity to get away,” the servant explained. “Besides, this is not the first time His Majesty has done something like this. In the past, he once remained inside for seven days and seven nights without coming out.”

So this was not the first time. No wonder they were so unconcerned. If the matter had not been urgent, they probably would not have cared what the king was doing.

But what exactly was the king doing in there?

“What is your king doing inside? You said this is not the first time, which means you ought to know what he is doing!” the man demanded with a frown.

Until now, the servant had still avoided mentioning the crucial point: what exactly were the king and that person doing inside that could make His Majesty disregard official business and even cast aside the future of his kingdom?

“Well…” the servant stammered. “The king… they are gambling!”

“Oh, gambling… What? He is gambling? He is neglecting his duties just to gamble?” the man cried out in astonishment, though he soon composed himself.

Within the Thirteen Allied Nations, everyone had apparently heard that King Gao Fei of the All Directions Kingdom was a gambler—and an utterly mad one at that. His skill at gambling was formidable, however, so few people dared to gamble against him.

They knew he was a gambler, but no one had imagined that he would disregard the rise and fall of his kingdom for the sake of a game. At such a critical moment, he was actually shutting himself away to gamble with someone.

“Yes! So there is nothing we can do either. His Majesty must have become addicted to it. Once he does, no one knows when he will come out—perhaps very soon, or perhaps not for several days!” the servant said helplessly.

The man fell silent for a moment before asking, “Is there any other way to open this door? Even destroying it would be acceptable.”

“It can be done, but it would take several days. This room has been specially reinforced and is protected by an alchemical array. Even if we found an alchemist to dismantle it, it would take days to discover how to break through the defenses,” the servant replied.

“Several days? They cannot wait even an hour!” The man frowned. “Do you know who the person gambling with your king is?”

“We do not know. All we know is that he is a young man—an extremely strange one. His Majesty encountered him in the street and later invited him here to gamble. We know nothing more about the details.” The servant shook his head, placing particular emphasis on the word “invited.”

Clearly, the strange young man had not come willingly.

“What are we supposed to do now…?” the man muttered bitterly. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and left.

He had already decided to place all the blame for their failure on King Gao Fei. At the very least, that would give them a way to shirk responsibility for their inability to complete the mission.

At this point, they did not seek merit—only to avoid blame.

“Marshal Ye, I am truly sorry. King Gao Fei is temporarily unable to come out, so I can only apologize!” the man said apologetically.

“It is nothing. Then we shall take our leave first.” Ye Chengtian cupped his hands in farewell. There was no reason for them to remain. They were all people of standing, and they were not the ones asking for anything.

“Farewell!” Seventh Brother and the others echoed, preparing to leave as well.

But at that very moment, an incident occurred, bringing them to a halt.

“Release him, or I will let you experience the taste of being frozen!” Ye Lanyu’s voice rang in everyone’s ears.

Everyone turned nervously toward the direction of her voice and began forming a defensive formation.

If Ye Lanyu was demanding that someone be released, then one of their own must have been captured. It was entirely possible that they had walked into a trap.

Perhaps the people of the Thirteen Allied Nations had grown bold enough to act against them.

Before long, however, Ye Chengtian and the others realized that the representatives of the Thirteen Allied Nations who had come with them were just as shocked as they were, displaying complete ignorance of the matter.

Had the other side concealed this from even its own people, or did the incident have nothing to do with them?

The answer was revealed very quickly.

Everyone saw a woman clad in leather armor retreating toward them with Zhen Xiaoyan held hostage. Ye Lanyu and the Seventh Princess followed closely behind her, with Ye Yi and the others bringing up the rear.

“A warrior?” someone murmured.

The woman’s leather armor was the kind commonly worn by warriors. It provided a certain degree of protection without restricting the body’s movements in the slightest.

Such armor was most often worn by mercenaries and guards employed by ordinary families. Besides those advantages, leather armor possessed another crucial benefit: it was inexpensive and offered excellent value for money.