“Hua Yunjin, you are truly pitiful. You crave love and recognition, which is why you’ve pursued this for so long. Unfortunately, you’ll gain nothing.”
“Shut up, shut up,” he roared.
“I can be silent, but this is the truth. It can never change.”
“I told you to shut up,” he said, grabbing her by the neck in anger.
“Hua Yun… Jin, is this the extent of your capability?” she asked, looking at him, her words precise.
He faltered. He saw her eyes, like a clear spring, flowing into his heart. At that moment, his rage subsided significantly. He released her, turned his back, and said, “You may leave.”
“Hua Yunjin, it’s not difficult for anyone to want something. The difficult part is how to get it,” she said, standing up and looking at him.
He paused, lifting his head to gaze into the distance. “But do you know? I have nothing left.”
“No, you do.”
He chuckled softly. “Do you think your words alone can make me abandon what I’ve prepared for so long?”
“Of course not.”
“So what you’re saying is useless. Go back!” he said, waving her away.
“Alright!” She left.
He watched her retreating figure, then sat on his chair, unable to recover for a long time.
“How many days has it been raining?” Xue Zining asked, looking out the window at the incessant rain.
Xue Lian replied, “Three days already.”
“We can’t proceed, can we?”
Xue Lian nodded. “There’s already a flood ahead. We likely can’t move for a while.”
“Fate.”
She looked out the window at the continuous downpour and sighed.
“Your Highness, our path forward is blocked. We cannot proceed for now,” Li Chao reported after surveying the situation ahead.
Hua Yunjin stared at the rain outside, which showed no sign of stopping, and slammed his palm on the table. “Heaven truly does not aid me.”
“Your Highness, please do not worry. Your subordinate will find another way,” Li Chao said.
Hua Yunjin nodded. “Go!”
As Li Chao was about to leave, Hua Yunjin called him back. “How much longer until the Soul-Confusing Sect loses its effect?”
“Seven days. It will lose its effect after seven days,” Li Chao replied.
“Feed it to them in their food again,” Hua Yunjin instructed.
“Yes, Your Highness.” Li Chao departed.
That evening, news arrived that the floodwaters ahead had broken through the road and were heading this way.
Hua Yunjin immediately ordered his people to retreat.
“Your Highness, quickly, get into the carriage,” Xue Lian helped Xue Zining towards the carriage.
Xue Zining glanced at the approaching water and sternly ordered, “Don’t take the carriage, ride horses.”
Saying this, she grabbed a horse, scooped up Xue Lian with one arm, mounted the horse, and rode back the way they came.
“Your… Your Highness, you…”
“I recovered long ago,” Xue Zining stated.
Xue Lian breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”
Reaching the highest point, she set Xue Lian down. “I’m going back to see if anyone else needs rescuing. You wait here. If I don’t return by dark, you should head back to the capital.”
“Your Highness, you cannot. If someone must go, it should be your subordinate,” Xue Lian grabbed a horse, about to mount, but she lacked the strength and couldn’t even get on.
Seeing this, Xue Zining pushed Xue Lian to the ground. “Wait for me here. If I don’t return, go back to the capital, understand?”
Xue Lian gritted her teeth. “Your Highness, if you don’t return, Xue Lian will wait here for you forever.”
“Xue Lian, I will return,” she said, mounting her horse and leaving.
Returning to the inn, she found that apart from the inn, which was half submerged, the others were nowhere to be seen. It was likely they had all left at that time.
She rode her horse towards Xue Lian’s direction when she suddenly heard a voice not far away, “Your Highness, slow down a little.”
She paused and turned back, just in time to see Li Chao appear before her, carrying someone on his back.
Li Chao, initially happy to see someone, saw her and his expression dimmed slightly. However, he still tried to say, “Miss, can you save His Highness?”
“What happened to him?” Xue Zining asked.
Li Chao’s gaze was touched by her question. “His Highness had a horse, but on the way, he saw an old woman with her grandson. His Highness gave them the horse. His Highness was hit by the floodwaters and thrown against a tree, losing consciousness.”
After he finished speaking, he noticed her apparent indifference. Just as Li Chao thought there was no hope, he heard Xue Zining’s voice.
“Follow me.”
“Thank you, Miss!” Li Chao breathed a sigh of relief. His Highness should be saved this time.
Xue Zining returned to where Xue Lian was waiting, only to find Xue Lian gone. However, Xue Lian had left her a note, telling her that she had returned to the capital.
“Have your master mount the horse. We’ll scout ahead; there should be a village,” Xue Zining said.
Li Chao nodded. Hua Yunjin was slung over his horse’s back. She and Li Chao walked step by step towards the front. It was only when it got dark that they vaguely saw a faint light ahead.
“A village,” Li Chao sighed with relief.
Xue Zining nodded. By the time they reached the village, it was completely dark. Li Chao knocked on a door.
It was a couple. Seeing them, they asked warily, “Who are you?”
“My elder brother is ill, and we three siblings have walked so far that we can’t go any further. Could we trouble you, brother and sister-in-law, to grant us some convenience? We won’t impose for free.”
As Li Chao spoke, he reached for money. Xue Zining had already pulled out some silver and said, “This is the last of our three siblings’ money. Please, could you grant us some convenience?”
The couple exchanged glances. The woman took the silver. “You may, but you must leave at dawn.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll just stay for one night, and leave at dawn…”
“No, it’s not possible, my brother…”
“Brother should be rested enough after one night. Second brother, you needn’t worry.”
Li Chao was about to say more when Xue Zining’s look cut him off.
There were only two rooms. They gave one to Xue Zining and the others, while the couple went to the other.
Since Hua Yunjin was unconscious, the bed was given to him. Xue Zining found a patch of dry straw and sat on it.
Li Chao said what he had not finished earlier, “Your Highness, my master’s injuries are likely too severe to recover overnight. Forcing my master to travel might…”
“Did you not see that the couple are not from around here?”
Li Chao was startled. “Not from around here? What do you mean, Your Highness?”
Xue Zining sneered. “You are your princess’s guard, and you can’t tell?”
Li Chao grew somewhat annoyed at her words. “How was I supposed to know they were suspicious?”
“Now that you know, aren’t you going to be cautious?”
“Then shouldn’t we leave here immediately?” Li Chao asked nervously.
“If we leave now, won’t they know we’ve discovered their secret? Isn’t that like alerting the snake?”