The guards blocked the advancing savages while urging Ye Qingcheng and Chu Xiu to leave immediately.
Ye Qingcheng frowned, watching the guards gradually lose strength. She pulled Chu Xiu, telling him to stop caring about the snow lotus.
"No, we must take the snow lotus," Chu Xiu gritted his teeth and used his knife to vigorously cut the stem of the snow lotus.
The stem of the snow lotus was incredibly tough. Chu Xiu cut several times before he managed to pick it.
Under the encirclement of the guards, Ye Qingcheng and Chu Xiu walked down the mountain.
Seeing the snow lotus in Chu Xiu's hand, the savages pursued them even more fiercely.
The guards suffered increasing casualties. Ye Qingcheng gritted her teeth and made a move beneath her wide robe.
She took out the snow lotus from the box and wrapped it in a piece of torn cloth.
"Hide it well, don't let them see," she pushed the cloth-wrapped package to Chu Xiu. Chu Xiu, realizing her intention, quickly pulled his robe closed to cover the package.
Then, Ye Qingcheng revealed the empty box.
A savage pointed at her and shrieked. The other savages immediately had a target and attacked Ye Qingcheng.
"Wangfei," Chu Xiu understood. Ye Qingcheng was making herself a target.
"Hurry and go down the mountain with the guards. Don't mind me," she pushed Chu Xiu towards the guards while moving towards the savages.
By the time Lin Xiao noticed the situation, it was too late. Ye Qingcheng had already been captured by several savages.
"Wangfei!" Lin Xiao shouted anxiously as he saw Ye Qingcheng pinned to the ground by a savage, and was then punched hard by that savage who seized the opportunity.
"Hurry and leave, I have a way."
Lin Xiao had no choice but to escort Chu Xiu down the mountain with the remaining guards.
"Wangfei, hold on. I'll come back down the mountain and bring people to save you."
Watching Lin Xiao and his group gradually disappear into the snow, Ye Qingcheng looked back at the group of savages who were chattering something.
Ye Qingcheng moved her hands. The savages pressing on her immediately roared and bared their teeth. There was no other way; she had to find an opportunity to escape. Ye Qingcheng feigned obedience and lowered herself.
"Guard Lin, what about Wangfei?" Chu Xiu kept looking back anxiously.
Lin Xiao roughly pulled him, "Hurry down the mountain. If you hadn't been dawdling earlier, we would have been down already."
Hearing this, Chu Xiu said no more.
"So, you left Ye Qingcheng there alone?"
"Your subordinate is incompetent and couldn't protect Wangfei. I deserve punishment, Your Highness." In the inn, Lin Xiao knelt before Xiao Wangye, blaming himself and bowing his head in apology.
"If I punish you now, who will lead the way?" Xiao Wangye put down the teacup he was holding. "Let's go. You lead the way, and let this Prince go meet these savages."
"Your Highness, it would be better to bring more men. Those savages cooperate well and are immensely strong. I fear they won't be easy to deal with."
"No need. You and Xiao Si will go with me," Xiao Wangye refused. It would take another two or three days to mobilize troops from the Prince's mansion. What about Ye Qingcheng alone?
Upon hearing that Ye Qingcheng had been captured, he admitted that he couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety. Unconsciously, she had already begun to stir all his emotions.
Ye Qingcheng, you must hold on.
Meanwhile, after being captured by the savages, Ye Qingcheng was pinned down near a cliff. At first, Ye Qingcheng thought they intended to throw her off the cliff.
Seeing the savages climbing down along the tree roots along the cliff edge, Ye Qingcheng finally understood. Their dwelling was located at the bottom of the cliff.
A savage carried Ye Qingcheng on his back and was about to climb down. Ye Qingcheng was frightened and had to grip the shoulders of the savage beneath her tightly.
One by one, hidden caves were visible on the cliff face. The dark openings resembled gaping, terrifying mouths.
The savage below carried Ye Qingcheng to a large cave entrance, where two other savages were already present. However, they were different from the savages Ye Qingcheng saw outside; "they" were much smaller. Could they be female savages?
Perhaps due to food scarcity, the female savages' feminine features were not very prominent, but some differences could still be discerned.
Upon seeing the male savage carry Ye Qingcheng down from above, the two female savages trembled uncontrollably.
The male savage shouted something at one of the female savages, who fearfully pointed to a dark, gooey substance in a corner.
Ye Qingcheng smelled blood from the wind within the cave and couldn't help but feel her hair stand on end. Did they eat people?
Thinking of this, Ye Qingcheng, taking advantage of the time when the male savage was talking to the female savages, quietly moved towards the cave entrance. She also fumbled for something in her robes.
The male savage realized Ye Qingcheng's actions and lunged at her with his strong body.
Ye Qingcheng sidestepped and threw a handful of powder from her hand, scattering it onto the male savage's face.
The male savage let out a scream, and both female savages were startled.
Ye Qingcheng motioned for them to stay quiet, but other savages in the surrounding caves gradually became aware and began to crawl towards this cave entrance.
Ye Qingcheng was caught again, and helplessly lay on the ground for the second time.
The two female savages chattered something and curiously leaned in to look at her.
"What are you looking at? It's not like you two didn't ruin my plan," Ye Qingcheng, relying on the fact that they couldn't understand her, unleashed her sharp tongue at the surrounding savages.
Just then, a savage as large as a small mountain walked in from the cave entrance. Upon seeing him, Ye Qingcheng realized it was the same savage who had fought with Lin Xiao.
Seeing how obedient the other savages were to him, he must be a leader?
He cast his gaze upon Ye Qingcheng on the ground and reached out to touch her face.
Ye Qingcheng turned her face away, wanting to dodge. Those dark, dirty hands were too stinky! But ultimately, she was helpless, and a smudge appeared on her face.
The leader nodded in satisfaction and then lifted Ye Qingcheng from the ground.
After experiencing one failure, Ye Qingcheng became much calmer.
She looked around the leader's cave. There were no other savages present. Moreover, this cave was much larger than the previous one.
The leader carried her into the cave and then went out. Ye Qingcheng cautiously peeked out of the cave and saw that several cave entrances were being fiercely watched by people staring at her cave.
Ye Qingcheng sighed. Lin Xiao, you must hurry and bring people to save me!
Lin Xiao saw the Prince's stubborn insistence on going up the mountain and had no choice but to find a relatively flat mountain path with Xiao Si and a few guards to push Xiao Wangye, along with his wheelchair, up the mountain.
"Your Highness, the savages here move unpredictably. The local officials haven't even found their dwellings," Lin Xiao said with difficulty.
Even in this vast expanse of white, it was unclear how they managed it. The savages had completely erased their tracks, as if the recent fight had never happened on the snow.
Xiao Wangye looked at the boundless snowfield, picked up some snow from the ground, rubbed it, and sniffed it.
"Are there any water sources nearby?"
Lin Xiao, holding the map provided by the local villagers, said, "There are two water sources on this mountain."
"Let's go take a look."