Pei Xi's expression changed drastically. "Capture her, no matter the cost!" he hissed.
At the same time, he turned and walked towards the warehouse.
Amidst the sounds of fighting behind him, he closed the warehouse door, ignited the surrounding gasoline, and then rejoined the fray.
Their subsequent assault was clearly fiercer than the previous wave.
As the flames in the warehouse grew higher, the sound of an engine stopped not far from them.
Three cars arrived, and a large group of people poured out.
Leading them was Fu Jingshu.
Seeing him, Pei Xi's eyes widened with fury. He had no time to ponder when he had revealed his whereabouts, allowing the other party to find him.
He roared, "Run!"
Without another word, he turned and fled into the dense forest.
However, the people who had emerged from the cars were prepared and had already blocked all entrances to the forest.
Pei Lie also stepped out of a car and demanded, "Where is my brother?"
Seeing that the forest was inaccessible, Pei Xi attempted to use his old tactic: grabbing Shen Qingqing. If he could keep this hostage in his hands, these people would be no threat.
But as he turned, he saw Fu Jingshu appear beside Shen Qingqing. His chance was gone.
With one Shen Qingqing, the five of them had struggled, and now adding Fu Jingshu...
He stopped, slowly closing his eyes.
It was all over.
Fu Jingshu looked at his wife with concern. The happiness of regaining her made him speechless. These past few days, though seemingly calm, had been a time of unbalanced heartbeat, which now finally began to steady.
"Are you alright?"
Shen Qingqing shook her head. "I'm fine, don't worry."
Fu Jingshu let out a sigh of relief, shielding his wife behind him, and gazed at Pei Xi. "You'd best surrender. There's no escape for you now."
Pei Xi remained still. "How did you find me?"
Behind him, Pei Lie stepped forward and angrily demanded, "You still haven't answered my question! Where did you take my brother?!"
Pei Xi's gaze slowly fell upon the warehouse.
The warehouse was now engulfed in flames. Pei Lie's pupils contracted, his heart filled with terror. Disregarding the danger of the consuming fire, driven by instinct, he rushed forward!
Unsurprisingly, he was stopped by those behind him.
"Your Highness, you cannot go!"
"Your Highness, calm down!"
Looking at the towering flames, everyone's eyes were filled with sorrow and rage. But they had already lost one prince; they could not afford to lose another.
Pei Lie was held firmly. Despite using all his strength, he had no chance to break free and rush forward.
He could only watch as the flames consumed the entire warehouse, bit by bit.
"Pei Ji..."
Pei Lie's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. Tears streamed from his bloodshot eyes, and his voice was hoarse.
Seeing this, Pei Xi felt a deep sense of satisfaction. "Though I cannot escape today, I have still witnessed the scene I wished to see."
Pei Lie whirled around, his eyes filled with hatred. "Pei Xi!"
"Hate me?" Pei Xi retorted. "It's no use, no matter how much you hate me. He's not coming back."
"I'll kill you!"
Pei Lie suddenly erupted, breaking free from everyone's grasp with a surge of strength and lunging at Pei Xi.
Pei Xi didn't dodge. He simply stared at Pei Lie.
Either way, he was going to die. If he could take one more person with him, it wouldn't be a loss.
Shen Qingqing cried out, "Stop His Highness!"
The others immediately rushed forward, risking their lives. They could not fight against their prince, so they resorted to the same tactic: using sheer numbers to surround Pei Lie.
Pei Lie found himself unable to move an inch, glaring fiercely. "Let me go at once!"
"Pei Ji is not dead."
Shen Qingqing's words startled both Pei Lie and Pei Xi, and they turned to look at her.
Pei Xi immediately countered, "That's impossible! With a fire that large, no one could survive. He's not made of iron, unless he can fly, there's no way he could escape the flames!"
Pei Lie's heart sank into despair, but he was more willing to believe Shen Qingqing than Pei Xi.
A sliver of hope flickered within him.
Shen Qingqing looked towards the forest on the left. "While we were fighting, he took the opportunity to leave. He should be on that hillside now. Send people to look for him immediately. He is severely injured and needs treatment."
Pei Lie believed her instantly. His mind, previously clouded by rage, immediately cleared. "You few, go to the hillside and search at once!"
The others, hearing that their prince was alive, were overjoyed and went to search without hesitation, though they did leave a few men behind.
Capturing Pei Xi and his companions was sufficient.
Shen Qingqing asked, "Pei Xi, you have nowhere left to run."
Pei Xi sighed. "Yes, I was finally caught by you."
"Who did you meet that night?" Shen Qingqing still felt that something was amiss in this whole affair.
But she couldn't quite pinpoint it. The most obvious anomaly was Pei Xi himself.
He gave off a contradictory impression.
He seemed to be driven by a desire for the throne, yet at the same time, he didn't seem to care all that much.
Pei Xi gazed at her deeply. "I've always wanted to ask you a question: what do you rely on to identify someone?"
"Appearance, demeanor, way of acting."
Pei Xi sat down on the ground, unconcerned about the dust on his clothes, and sighed softly. "But none of those are reliable. If someone is determined to deceive you, they can change anything."
"But the heart doesn't change."
Shen Qingqing disagreed with his statement. "No one can deceive another forever. As long as their heart's desire remains the same, they are still themselves."
"The heart..."
Pei Xi lowered his gaze, his expression dark, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.
"Now it's my turn to answer your question. You asked me earlier..."
"Bang!"
Pei Xi's voice abruptly cut off. He slowly looked down at his chest, where a bullet had pierced through, blood trickling down.
He opened his mouth, a smile and a grimace on his face.
He should have known.
He should have known long ago.
Shen Qingqing suddenly turned to see Pei Xing walking down from the hillside, a sniper rifle in his hand. "What's there to talk about with a mad criminal like this?"
"I still have some questions for him."
The implication was, why did you shoot him?
Pei Xing paused and said in a low voice, "I apologize. I just felt that this kind of person wouldn't tell the truth. Giving him more time might lead to another complication."
Shen Qingqing was still somewhat annoyed. It was this second prince who had caused Pei Ji to lose a finger last time, and now he was ruining things again!
She suppressed herself but couldn't help it. "If I didn't know you were the Second Prince of the royal family, I would truly believe you were silencing a witness!"
Pei Xing's expression hardened. "Don't slander me without reason. I have no connection with him. I was just worried he might escape again."
Shen Qingqing snorted dismissively.
She walked towards Pei Xi.
Pei Xi was lying on his back on the ground, a pool of blood slowly spreading beneath him. He gazed at the sky, breathing in shallowly.
"I... I..."
He was speaking. Shen Qingqing hesitated, then bent down and leaned closer.