Phoenix Power: The True Colors of the Empress - Chapter 14. Safe return.

This matter was left unsettled, and no one mentioned the wild beasts in the Dark Moon Forest again. The various rumors about the forest had long made everyone wary.

Cang Ling Ye had accurately guessed their fear, realizing that this group of soldiers were essentially cowards. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been assigned such a mission.

So, when Cang Ling Ye fabricated his story, it frightened them all away.

Pretending to be very weak, Cang Ling Ye was carried away by two soldiers who quickly walked out of the forest.

As they left, Cang Ling Ye kept his eyes fixed on the Dark Moon Forest, looking in Wu’er’s direction with great reluctance in his heart.

Not long after Cang Ling Ye departed, the surroundings of the Dark Moon Forest returned to normal, but Wu’er’s mood remained unsettled.

A stranger had disrupted her peaceful life.

Wu’er had always believed that the Dark Moon Forest was her entire world. She never expected there were other humans beyond it.

Cang Ling Ye’s sudden appearance turned Wu’er’s world upside down. Her life, once so predictable, had been completely disrupted by him.

Wu’er had thought she would spend the rest of her life in this endless forest, like the wolves around her, slowly moving toward death.

But now she realized there was more to the world. Beyond the forest, many unknown people and things were waiting for her to discover.

Everything about the outside world piqued Wu’er’s curiosity, but it also filled her with fear.

When Cang Ling Ye spoke of the outside world, his eyes were filled with hatred and anger. His furrowed brows filled her with dread about what lay beyond the forest.

Cang Ling Ye, taken away by the soldiers, knew he was temporarily out of danger, but more threats awaited him.

The enemy might have already set a trap outside, waiting for him to fall into it.

Cang Ling Ye was surprised he managed to escape this time. If it weren’t for Wu’er, he might have lost his life long ago.

Since the heavens didn’t take his life, Cang Ling Ye believed he wasn’t destined to die just yet. There had to be more important tasks awaiting him.

Now that he was targeted, he knew it was time to change his strategy. Hiding wouldn’t work anymore. He had to start fighting back to flush out the enemies lurking in the shadows.

Cang Ling Ye had made up his mind. With sufficient strength now, there was no need to conceal his abilities any longer.

No matter how much he hid, these people never intended to let him go. It was time to come out and confront them head-on.

Cang Ling Ye was brought back to the Imperial Palace. When Emperor Cang Qian learned that he was safe, he didn’t say much, brushing off the incident with indifference as usual.

Emperor Cang Qian had always been lukewarm toward him, but Cang Ling Ye didn’t care anymore. He no longer had any expectations from his father, so it didn’t matter if his father cared or not.

To him, all these things were superficial. Only the power in his hands was real.

Cang Ling Ye’s heart was now like a wolf’s—neither sad nor happy.

His only worry was Wu’er in the Dark Moon Forest.

Upon hearing of Cang Ling Ye’s safe return, Mo Fan and Nangong Yu had been waiting for him in his quarters. They had been worried about his condition for days.

The three of them had been traveling together, but they didn’t expect to be ambushed on the outskirts of the forest.

Left with no choice, Cang Ling Ye forced Mo Fan and Nangong Yu to split up while he lured the enemies away.

As he suspected, their target was only him.

After separating, Mo Fan and Nangong Yu no longer had pursuers. But Cang Ling Ye had to face the menacing assassins alone.

Thinking of this, the two felt guilty. Nangong Yu had arranged for people to search for Cang Ling Ye, but no matter what, they couldn’t find any trace of him.

They only heard rumors that he had been forced to jump off a cliff and there was no further news.

Below the cliff lay the Dark Moon Forest, a place so feared that few dared to enter.

When Mo Fan and Nangong Yu heard the news, they thought Cang Ling Ye would never return.

They blamed themselves endlessly. But finally, there was good news—Cang Ling Ye had returned safely!

Mo Fan had been Cang Ling Ye’s study companion since childhood. The two were always in sync, and he was naturally overjoyed.

Mo Fan had been waiting in Cang Ling Ye’s room for a long time. As a young prince of the Cang Qian Empire, Cang Ling Ye still resided in the Dragon Glory Palace.

When he came of age, he would be granted a prince’s residence outside the palace, depending on the Emperor’s attitude toward him.

If something had happened to Cang Ling Ye, Mo Fan knew he wouldn’t have escaped punishment. He had been tirelessly searching for Cang Ling Ye, determined to atone for his perceived failures.

If Cang Ling Ye had perished, Mo Fan would have felt compelled to accept death as an apology.

Nangong Yu, on the other hand, was the son of the richest man in the world—the young master of the Nangong Family. Their wealth was immense, enough to rival that of a small nation.

The Nangong Family was involved in every profitable business across the country. Each year, they contributed an enormous amount of tax to the Cang Qian Empire’s Imperial Court, yet this was just a fraction of their wealth.

Even if Nangong Yu chose to live a life of leisure, his family’s fortune would support him for ten generations.

As the only son, Nangong Yu was set to inherit all this wealth. His father, having had a son late in life, doted on him to the point of spoiling him, fulfilling his every request.

Nangong Yu was also Cang Ling Ye’s best friend. A chance encounter had forged a deep bond between them, making them confidants. When Nangong Yu learned of Cang Ling Ye’s grand ambitions, he promised to use all his resources to help his friend achieve them.

Nangong Yu had always admired Cang Ling Ye deeply. He believed in Cang Ling Ye’s abilities and was certain that one day, Cang Ling Ye would achieve his lofty dreams. Because of this, he spared no effort in supporting him.

The moment he learned that Cang Ling Ye had returned safely, Nangong Yu couldn’t sit still. He immediately rushed out of his house, running all the way to Cang Ling Ye’s bedroom without encountering any obstacles.