# Chapter 562: Commandery Princess's Handmaiden
Ye Fan's left hand encircled her slender waist, while his right hand pressed against her crystalline white, beautiful neck, light flickering at his fingertips. With just a gentle chop, a perfect head would fall.
At this moment, even the sound of a falling leaf could be heard. The world was very quiet, everyone staring at them, the atmosphere tense.
Commandery Princess Qi had just displayed her unmatched sacred art, stunning the world with its extraordinary refinement. Few dared claim they could contend with her. Yet she had lost, and thoroughly, captured in someone's grasp.
"You..."
Commandery Princess Qi's face flushed crimson. Her immortal body trembled slightly with anger, but she couldn't speak. When her Three Thousand Lesser Worlds emerged, who could rival her? She had swept through the Southern Ridge undefeated, yet had lost to a minor, unknown lord. She was both vexed and furious.
"You lost. Will you honor the bet?" Ye Fan held her captive. They were so close he could smell her fragrance. Her flowing hair brushed against his nose, tickling him.
Commandery Princess Qi could be called a femme fatale—naturally blessed with soft bones and jade-like skin, peerlessly beautiful. The jade hairpin in her hair, its long tassels hanging down, gold intertwined with pearls, shimmering with flowing light—a single smile or frown could bring chaos to the world.
This jade-like body trembled with anger. Her ivory-like skin gleamed, her body fragrance wafting like orchid or musk. She wanted to struggle but feared her beautiful head would fall.
"You'd better not move recklessly, or I might accidentally hurt you!" Ye Fan's words were calm, but carried a deterrent force that made her freeze.
"What do you want?" Commandery Princess Qi asked.
"Honor the bet. We had an agreement earlier." Ye Fan smiled.
"Whoa!"
In the distance, the onlookers all erupted. This minor lord had quite the nerve—did he truly want Commandery Princess Qi as a spirit beast? Even ignoring the Chili Pepper Legion, the others from the Southern Ridge wouldn't allow it. This woman had extensive connections there.
"According to the agreement, I don't seem to have promised anything, do I? I only said that if you lost, you'd become my dragon horse. But I never agreed to the latter condition." The femme fatale Qi tried to renege, though she had a point.
"There's no such cheap deal. Since you acknowledged the agreement, whether you said the latter condition or not, the effect is the same." Ye Fan smiled, one finger tracing across her snow-white neck, light flickering.
"Don't move recklessly." The femme fatale Qi was furious. For the first time in her life, she was being held hostage, standing so close to a man. Her brows knitted together, and she wanted to bite someone.
"Don't do anything rash! Release the commandery princess immediately!" In the distance, Commandery Princess Qi's servants were dumbfounded. Their mistress captured made them uneasy, but they had no recourse.
"You're all so noisy." Ye Fan glanced at them, unconcerned.
"What do you want to release Commandery Princess Qi?" A man walked out from the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion, appearing quite imposing.
"One should be lenient when possible. The victor and loser are already decided. Release the commandery princess." Another stepped forward to speak.
"If I had lost just now, what would the result have been?" Ye Fan laughed.
"Well..." Everyone fell silent. Given Commandery Princess Chili's temperament, she would definitely have made him her dragon horse. There was no way she would have let him go.
"See? Honor the bet. From today onward, she's my person." Ye Fan's words caused an uproar.
This minor lord had too much nerve! To dare take someone like the femme fatale Qi—wasn't he afraid of inviting disaster? This was no ordinary commandery princess. She was the pearl of the Southern Ridge, with a background terrifying enough to shock anyone.
"You... let me go. I never promised you anything! I never said what would happen if I lost!" The femme fatale Qi argued, refusing to acknowledge the bet.
"It's useless to renege." Ye Fan ignored her, sealed her body, and flew toward Lu City with her.
Behind them, over a hundred people were dumbfounded. They had come to watch the battle, expecting this minor lord to suffer greatly. They never imagined he would capture the femme fatale Qi and boldly carry her away.
"Stop!"
"Release the commandery princess!"
Many stepped forward to block Ye Fan. If they let him take the Southern Ridge's pearl like this, these flower-protecting knights might as well bash their heads against a wall. Everyone sneered coldly.
"What, do you want to gamble with me too?" Ye Fan glanced at them, one hand moving along her swan-like beautiful neck. If it fell, head and body would separate.
"Don't do anything rash! We'll give you sufficient compensation, as long as you release the commandery princess." One of them shouted.
"Fine, no problem. Go prepare a few dozen jars of dragon marrow for me, and come to Lu City to redeem her." Ye Fan finished speaking and shot away like a beam of clear light.
"You... stop!"
A group chased after him. How could they let him go like this? They were truly afraid he might do something reckless. Commandery Princess Qi's reputation was too great, her beauty stunning the world. Having this extreme lord abduct her was deeply unsettling.
"Lord, you're back..." The soldiers in Lu City were terrified. So many people were chasing their lord, all flying through the air, making their hair stand on end.
"Go, set up the big iron cauldron and boil water!" The first thing Ye Fan ordered upon returning.
"Ye Zhe Tian... what are you trying to do?" Commandery Princess Qi was startled.
"Kill a spirit beast and eat its meat." Ye Fan replied nonchalantly.
"I'll fight you to the death!" Commandery Princess Qi was furious, but unfortunately couldn't move at all.
"Ye, don't do anything reckless! I'll give you a real spirit beast. Release the commandery princess immediately!" Someone behind shouted recklessly.
"Do you mean Commandery Princess Qi is equivalent to a spirit beast?" Ye Fan asked.
"That's not what I meant. If you want to eat spirit beast, I'll give you one. But you absolutely cannot do anything reckless!"
"Nothing is as delicious as the femme fatale Qi's tender skin and soft flesh." Ye Fan laughed.
"You're the femme fatale!" Commandery Princess Qi opened her mouth to bite, her white teeth flashing.
Behind them, everyone felt dizzy. Although they knew Ye Fan was joking and not serious, they still found it alarming. He truly didn't treat Commandery Princess Qi as the Southern Ridge's pearl.
"Seal the city!"
The second thing Ye Fan did upon returning was activate the ancient city's formation patterns. Strands of laws interwove, forming a curtain of light that sealed the entire city below.
A dozen people charged to attack the city, but none could enter. Two were nearly split in half by sword light rising from the city walls. Everyone was dumbfounded.
Such a small city actually had formation patterns laid down by a Saint Lord-rank figure—it was truly bizarre. They weren't Ye Fan, and without the Stride Art, they simply couldn't breach it, nearly injuring themselves.
"You are challenging my dignity as a lord, coming to my territory to cause trouble. Don't blame me for being impolite." Ye Fan moved a chair to sit on the city wall, watching them with a smile.
"Release the commandery princess."
"Can't you say something else? For now, she's my prisoner. If you want to rescue her, prepare a few dozen jars of dragon marrow."
"You're extorting us! A single jar of dragon marrow is hard to find in the world, and you want a few dozen?!" Those people ground their teeth.
"Brother, help me forcefully break open the city gate, and you'll be heavily rewarded." One person walked before the barbarian in animal skins, asking for help.
That disheveled, cold youth who had slapped a King Body to death with one palm, that nine-year-old child, and this barbarian carrying a wolf-fang great club—they were impossible not to notice.
Ye Fan had already seen them and silently assessed them. These were likely several prodigies with heaven-defying methods.
"I don't know you, and I have no grudge against him." The barbarian scratched his head, speaking honestly. He picked up his wolf-fang club and walked back, saying, "I'm going back."
In the end, over a hundred people all retreated, leaving only a dozen who persisted. Ye Fan directly took out his great bow and began shooting.
"Damn it, he shot my Four-Unlike dead!"
"Ye, return my mount!"
The dozen were furious. Ye Fan's arrows were as heavy as ten thousand jun, capable of piercing through a mountain, let alone their mounts. Three strange beasts fell with the sound of arrows.
Even more outrageously, Ye Fan rushed out of the city, grabbed the three massive beasts, and carried them back. On the city wall, he set up a big iron cauldron and began stewing meat.
"This lord is truly extreme. He's eating spirit beasts again!" These people were going crazy but had no way to deal with it. They simply couldn't break through.
Over two days, the dozen discovered that eight of their mounts had been captured by that extreme lord and cooked in the big cauldron. They were so angry smoke came from their seven orifices.
It wasn't until three people were knocked down by Ye Fan and carried into the city that the others turned green and retreated without any fight, heartbroken and tearless.
In the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion, most people had heard about this incident. Tongues wagged. To think there was such a lord nearby who had abducted the Southern Ridge's pearl—how much courage did that require?
"Didn't the Southern Ridge produce several prodigies? Why hasn't anyone gone to rescue her?"
"The Southern Ridge prodigies are all in seclusion and don't know the news yet. When they come out, there will definitely be a big storm."
In Lu City, Ye Fan smiled and invited a group of soldiers to drink wine and eat meat. The bone soup of the spirit beast in the big iron cauldron gave off fragrant steam, set up not far away.
The femme fatale Qi nearly fainted. This barbarian must have eaten her dragon horse the same way. She felt pain even in her teeth, but there was nothing she could do. Now even she herself was captured.
"Femme fatale, come pour wine. Be my handmaiden here for a month, and I'll naturally let you go." Ye Fan shook his wine flask and spoke.
"You're dreaming!" Commandery Princess Qi was furious, yet it gave her a unique charm that captivated hearts.
Beside them, the soldiers' eyes nearly popped out. "Lord, doesn't the city lord's mansion still lack a mistress? This one isn't bad."
"Yes, she matches the lord well." A group of soldiers, drunk and bleary-eyed, spoke without any restraint.
"Ye, release me immediately, and I'll give you enough benefits." The femme fatale Qi was starting to get scared.
"Actually, I'm quite interested in your Three Thousand Lesser Worlds. How about teaching me?" Ye Fan smiled.
"That's impossible!" Commandery Princess Qi refused sternly. Even if killed, she couldn't pass on such a secret technique.
"Then there's no choice. You'll have to be my handmaiden for a month. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what might happen." Ye Fan sealed all her cultivation and ordered her to pour tea and water.
"Let me go, and I'll tell you the secret of an immortal mansion." Commandery Princess Qi said.
"If such an immortal burial ground really existed, would you leave it for me? You would have gone yourself long ago." Ye Fan chuckled lightly.
"This immortal mansion was only recently deduced. No one has entered yet. All the major powers are working hard on it. Outstanding disciples of the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion have the chance to seek immortal fortune. If you release me, you'll obtain such qualifications." Commandery Princess Qi said.
Ye Fan shook his head. "There's no real benefit. If I go, I might die inside."
"You don't understand what kind of opportunity this is. Perhaps there are ancient scriptures, or even extreme sacred weapons emerging. This place concerns the secrets of the Immortal Domain!" The femme fatale Qi's eyes gleamed with strange light, captivating hearts, almost like sleep-talking.
"Oh, really?" Ye Fan walked over, lifted her chin, almost teasingly. "How do I know you're not trying to harm me, leading me into a pit of fire?"
The femme fatale Qi opened her mouth to bite. Missing, she turned her head away and said, "Believe it or not. This is a perfect opportunity to explore the secrets of the Immortal Domain."