Gu Youyou and her companions smoothly mounted their horses, with Searcy being the only inexperienced rider; however, led by Gu Youyou, their speed was not slower than the others. It was not until now that Xiao Jinyan began to reassess his opinion of her.
This woman, it seemed, was not entirely useless, at least she could ride a horse decently.
He just hoped that his cousin could delay Yu Jizi long enough to give them time to escape.
Searcy, however, was the most miserable. She who had just been seasick now was getting horse sick from the jostling ride.
She couldn’t take it anymore and complained, "Hey, hey, they want you, not me. Why should I have to run with you?"
As the sole successor of the Ghost Doctor, Gu Youyou only instinctively associated certain thoughts and felt that if Yu Jizi knew of Searcy’s existence, he wouldn’t let her go either. That’s why she had wanted Searcy to take refuge with the Lin Family in Beijing.
But thinking about it now, it seemed inappropriate to drag her along.
Yu Jizi didn’t know her identity, and there was no reason for him to capture her.
In a low voice, Gu Youyou suggested, "Why don’t we split up and run? Remember, don’t let yourself be caught by Yu Jizi."
After saying that, she pulled the reins to halt and handed Searcy over to Gui Yunxi, arranging things just as they had been before, for Gui Yunxi to take her back to the Lin Family in Beijing to wait.
"Why would Yu Jizi want to capture me?" Searcy asked, sensing something unusual; she was not foolish.
Gu Youyou was also not foolish and immediately concocted a believable excuse, saying, "That old pervert loves studying poisons. Who else would he capture but you?"
Meanwhile, Xiao Jinyan was frantically saying, "Why so many questions? That guy is an old bastard; he loves abducting young girls. Does he need a reason to capture you? Gu Youyou, get on the horse and let’s go."
This was indeed not the time for talking. Gu Youyou mounted her horse but was startled by a voice behind her, almost causing her to fall off.
"Leaving? And where do you plan to go?"
It was Yu Jizi’s voice. In the next moment, they saw the old man with white hair and black clothes descend from the sky and block their path.
They had been riding for more than an hour.
And what of Jin Zijin?
Gu Youyou’s heart was filled with panic and chaos, realizing that she couldn’t escape today. She was more worried about Jin Zijin than herself being taken away by Yu Jizi.
Jin Zijin had gone to intercept Yu Jizi, but now Yu Jizi was here. Where had Jin Zijin gone?
"What have you done to him?" she asked urgently.
Yu Jizi’s smile was amiable, though overly hypocritical. He said, "Don’t worry, he’s fine. I am a man who follows rules; I won’t break them. I’m just here to retrieve what’s mine. Come with me obediently, and they... will get to leave alive."
"Yu Jizi, you dare to abduct someone in public?" Xiao Jinyan said, furious.
If it hadn’t been urgent, he wouldn’t have dared to speak to Yu Jizi in such a tone.
Yu Jizi frowned slightly, squinting his eyes as he scrutinized Xiao Jinyan, and asked, "What’s your story? How did you get involved with them?"
Xiao Jinyan snorted coldly, "Your follower Huo Li reported that doctor Gu encountered bandits. I was commanded by the emperor to retrieve doctor Gu. State Preceptor, if you take doctor Gu away in my presence, how am I to explain it to the emperor?"
"You don’t need to explain anything. I will personally speak to the emperor," Yu Jizi replied.
Xiao Jinyan stomped his foot in anger.
After speaking, Yu Jizi no longer looked at Xiao Jinyan but turned to Gu Youyou with a smile.
Gu Youyou forced a smile, looked at the three people before her, and finally, her gaze returned to Yu Jizi.