"I understand. From now on, be vigilant. The road to the northern frontier of the Desolate Marsh will not be smooth," Hua Yun Jin said.
Hua Luo replied, "Your subordinate obeys!"
"You may withdraw!" Hua Yun Jin waved her hand.
Hua Luo withdrew.
Turning around, he saw Xue Zi Ning, who had been asleep, had woken up. He walked over quickly, "Why didn't you sleep longer?"
Xue Zi Ning looked up at him and said, "I have rested enough. You should rest too!"
"I'm not tired," Hua Yun Jin replied.
He sat down beside her. At this moment, he felt content.
"Zi Ning, ever since that incident, it's been a long time since you and I sat down and talked so calmly."
Xue Zi Ning looked up. She saw Hua Yun Jin gazing into the distance, "Yes, it has been a long time."
"At that time, you resented me, didn't you?" Hua Yun Jin turned to look at her.
His gaze was as gentle as it had been before.
Xue Zi Ning smiled, "To be honest, too much time has passed. I've almost forgotten how I felt then."
Hua Yun Jin was taken aback. He smiled bitterly, "Is that so?"
"Yes," Xue Zi Ning said.
"Sometimes I wonder, if I had chosen a different path back then, would everything have been different?"
"Unfortunately, you didn't," Xue Zi Ning said to him, word by word.
He was slightly startled, lowered his head, and smiled, "Yes, I didn't."
"What's past is past. You have now achieved your wish, and that's good."
"Is it good?" Hua Yun Jin looked up and asked her.
Xue Zi Ning did not reply. The moment fell silent, filled only by the occasional sounds of the dense forest.
Hua Yun Jin gazed into the distance. He wished he hadn't achieved this "good."
Alas, he had ultimately missed his chance.
"You sleep for a while. We still have to travel at dawn. I'll go look around," Xue Zi Ning said, standing up.
"Let Hua Yun accompany you," Hua Yun Jin said quickly.
"No need. I can protect myself."
Hua Yun Jin paused, a bitter smile gradually appearing on his face. Yes, after all these years, he was no longer the unarmed Prime Minister; he was the Crown Prince of the Hua Kingdom, and she was no longer someone who could be easily threatened.
It turned out they had both changed.
What couldn't be returned was not only the bond between him and her but also the transformation of their identities.
What was missed was ultimately missed.
Xue Zi Ning walked into the dense forest, reaching the spot where the man-bear had emerged. She lowered her head and found that the footprints left by the man-bear were not messy but formed a straight line. It was clear that someone had intentionally controlled the man-bear.
"Miss Ning."
Xue Zi Ning turned around and saw Wen Nuan. "Are you also investigating the man-bear?"
Wen Nuan nodded, "I discovered it was deliberate."
Xue Zi Ning nodded, "Indeed."
"Who could it be?" Wen Nuan frowned, looking somewhat confused.
Xue Zi Ning shook her head, "I don't know yet. We'll take it one step at a time. Eventually, they will reveal themselves."
Wen Nuan nodded and then said, "Miss Ning, I received news from the楼主. The楼主 has returned to Qian Jin Tower with the Crown Prince. However, the Crown Prince has not yet woken up."
Xue Zi Ning nodded. As long as Yan Zhao was safe, that was good.
"Go back and rest!" Xue Zi Ning said.
Wen Nuan nodded.
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, Xue Zi Ning, Hua Yun Jin, and the others set off.
There was no carriage, so they had to walk. Fortunately, everyone present was skilled, allowing them to travel further than ordinary people.
Hua Yun, who was scouting ahead, returned and reported to Hua Yun Jin, "Your Highness, in one more day, we will be out of the dense forest and reach Xiling Pass in the Desolate Marsh."
Hua Yun Jin nodded and turned to look at Xue Zi Ning, who was walking over. "We will rest here for a day today and enter Xiling Pass tomorrow."
Xue Zi Ning nodded, "Alright."
Hua Yun Jin went to send people to find food. The food brought from the Hua Kingdom had been destroyed by the man-bear, and now they could only look for edible things in the dense forest.
Not long after, Hua Yun caught a wild boar. The boar was quickly butchered. Half was kept, and the other half was roasted.
The wild boar meat was fragrant, and even more so when roasted. Hua Yun Jin brought some of the roasted wild boar meat over. Xue Zi Ning divided it into three portions, giving one each to Wen Nuan and Mo Yuan.
She took a piece for herself.
"Wild boar meat really is fragrant," Wen Nuan exclaimed.
Suddenly, a dark shadow seemed to flash by in the distance. Xue Zi Ning put down the wild boar meat and whispered to Wen Nuan beside her, "I feel something is wrong."
Wen Nuan also froze, "What's wrong?"
Suddenly, Xue Zi Ning saw Hua Yun Jin and the others nearby suddenly collapse.
Wen Nuan was clutching her head and said, "Miss Ning, I feel a bit dizzy. So dizzy."
Xue Zi Ning saw the black shadows increasing. They were human figures.
"Wen Nuan, truly..." Before she could finish, Wen Nuan fell towards her. Xue Zi Ning did not push her away but fell with her, closing her eyes.
Soon, footsteps approached, and voices could be heard, "General, what about these people?"
"Take them back," the speaker's tone was filled with an indescribable helplessness.
"Yes, General."
When someone went to lift Xue Zi Ning, she suddenly opened her eyes. The person carrying her was shocked, "How are you..."
She stepped forward and delivered a knife-hand strike to the man's neck. The man collapsed.
"General, someone is awake."
A shout caused everyone in front to stop.
Xue Zi Ning sprang backward, distancing herself from these people before landing.
She then realized that these people were wearing armor. They were clearly soldiers from the Desolate Marsh.
They were closest to Xiling Pass, and these were evidently the guards of Xiling Pass.
The person leading them walked over. Xue Zi Ning was slightly stunned. It was a young man, who appeared to be around twenty years old.
The young man saw her and was also slightly surprised, "You're awake?"
Xue Zi Ning narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "Soldiers of Xiling Pass?"
Upon hearing this, the young man's gaze turned cold, and he said coldly, "Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter who I am. You, as soldiers of Xiling Pass, instead of properly guarding Xiling Pass, are engaging in kidnapping and robbery? You truly disgrace the reputation of the former Gu Family Army." Xue Zi Ning said with disdain.
The young man trembled all over, his eyes filled with frost, "Who exactly are you? How do you know we are the Gu Family Army?"
"An old acquaintance of General Gu," Xue Zi Ning said faintly.
The young man frowned, "You know my brother?"
Xue Zi Ning was taken aback, "You are General Gu's brother?"
Upon hearing this, the young man's brow showed some disappointment, "I am his sworn brother."
"Young General, let's return to the camp. Otherwise, the General will punish you," a soldier beside him advised.
Hearing this, the young man said, "Let him punish me. We can't even get enough to eat, why should we care about punishment?"
The soldier fell silent.
Xue Zi Ning, however, listened and asked, "Where is your army grain?"
A soldier nearby heard this and gave a bitter smile, "Army grain? Where is it? If there were any, we wouldn't be doing this kind of thing?"
"Can you take me to see General Gu?" Xue Zi Ning asked.
Hearing this, the young man said, "Are you sure you are an old acquaintance of General Gu?"