Upon hearing his words, Song Xizhi's expression turned serious for a moment, and she stared at He Yunce's face with a puzzled look.

The two were too far apart, and there were tall weeds between them, so Song Xizhi could hardly see his face at this moment.

She cautiously wanted to ask He Yunze what he really wanted to do.

He Yunze didn't answer her question, but just said to himself, "The time we spent riding wildly on horseback just now was the happiest time I've ever had in both my lives."

"I felt like I was a real man when I was sitting on horseback."

Upon hearing this, Song Xizhi took another step forward, "He Yunce..."

Before she could finish speaking, He Yunze smiled again and reached out to stop her: "I called you because I feel a little regretful now. I feel like I abandoned you, and that's not like being a man."

"But you'd better not come over. The pursuers will be here soon. I don't want to be seen as a thorn in my brother's side. I've finally been reborn, and I don't want to die so soon."

Upon hearing this, Song Xizhi nodded, understanding his sentiments and deciding not to drag him down any further.

She gripped the dagger tightly, took two steps back, then turned and ran desperately into the tall weeds.

He Yunze was still shouting to her, "There's a cliff to the south, it's very dangerous, run to the north."

Song Xizhi pondered his words, his figure gradually disappearing into the grass.

He Yunze stood there, watching Song Xizhi's figure disappear. His chest heaved, and he suddenly burst into tears again.

Tears streamed down his face, seemingly reflecting the shimmering moonlight.

He then forced himself to calm down, managed a smile, and slowly unfastened the black cloak he had been wearing.

The black cloak fell to the ground, revealing the clothes He Yunce wore underneath.

Underneath his cloak, he was wearing a pale yellow jacket and skirt, exquisitely made with fine stitches and large crabapple blossoms embroidered on the hem.

A man dressed in pale yellow women's clothing made the scene look somewhat eerie.

He Yunze slowly lowered his head, gazing longingly at the pale yellow jacket and skirt he was wearing. The pale yellow color looked beautiful under the dim moonlight.

He sniffed, then pulled off the bun he had tied up on his head, letting his sideburns fall loose.

His black hair obscured his face, and paired with his pale yellow jacket and skirt, he looked like a woman.

He Yunze hid his black cloak in the grass, cut his palm with a dagger, let the blood flow to the ground, and then walked towards the cliff to the south without looking back.

The mountains to the south are actually quite high, and climbing them is quite strenuous.

Hearing the news at the city gate, the pursuers, under the pretext of arresting the arsonists, passed through the city gate and headed to the outskirts.

This group of experienced assassins followed the hoofprints and pursued the horses until they found them exhausted and dead on the way.

The leader of the assassins sat on horseback, tilted his head back and laughed: "The horse died here. This little wench was scared and tightened the reins so much that the horse would have been strangled to death if it hadn't been exhausted."

After he finished speaking, his smile slowly disappeared, and his expression turned serious: "Dismount and search him!"

Before the sharp-eyed man could even dismount, he spotted blood on the ground and his eyes lit up: "Boss, there's blood here! She's probably headed south!"

The assassins immediately spurred their horses and galloped south into the bushes.

After running for a while, they could vaguely see a woman dressed in a pale yellow dress, her hair disheveled, climbing up the mountain using both her hands and feet.

Upon seeing this, the assassins finally burst into laughter.

They straightened the reins, slowed the horses down, and leisurely followed behind the woman.

The woman was so frightened that she trembled all over and ran faster and faster, stumbling along.

As they climbed higher, the slope became increasingly steep, and a sheer cliff could be seen in the distance behind them. The woman's movements became noticeably more frantic.

Several assassins dismounted, picked up their bows and arrows, and casually fired them forward.

Arrows flew wildly, striking the woman just inches behind her. One long arrow struck her ankle squarely, causing her to stagger and fall heavily to the ground.

The assassin secretly watched her struggle to crawl forward despite the excruciating pain. The group exchanged smiles and then made teasing noises, like cats playing with a mouse: "Little girl, keep running."

"You can run so fast, I'll chase you all night long. Let's see where you can run to!"

But the woman didn't turn around. Trembling, she pulled the long arrow from her ankle, staggered to her feet, and then charged forward again.

Ahead of her lay a sheer cliff, a precipice with no way out, leaving her nowhere to hide.

Seeing her resolute action, the assassins exchanged glances, realized something was wrong, and tried to grab her.

But to everyone's surprise, the woman shot off like an arrow released from a bow...

...

Song Xizhi wrapped his black cloak tighter around himself and struggled to make his way deeper into the woods.

As He Yunze was leaving, he reminded her that there was a cliff to the south and that she should head north.

However, Song Xizhi was wary, fearing that He Jingyan would interrogate He Yunce and reveal the truth after he returned, so he changed direction and headed west.

Heading west, you'll soon be able to see the cliffs jutting out to the south.

Hearing the commotion on the mountain, Song Xizhi looked up and saw a woman in a pale yellow dress staggering toward the edge of the cliff, as if she had been hit by several arrows.

A few feet behind her, pursuers were chasing her at a leisurely pace.

From a distance, everyone on the cliff looked as small as an ant.

Song Xizhi looked at the familiar color, just like the clothes she usually wore. Her expression changed slightly, and she frowned, feeling something was strange.

If she weren't standing here, even she would probably think she was the one being forced to the edge of a cliff.

The next second, the woman in the pale yellow dress was forced to the edge of the cliff, and then she jumped off without hesitation.

The pale yellow jacket and skirt fluttered in the quiet night, like a butterfly in flight.

Then came another rapid fall.

Song Xizhi's eyes narrowed sharply as he stared blankly at the rapidly descending glimmer of light in the boundless darkness, He Yunze's words echoing in his ears:

There's a cliff to the south, it's very dangerous. Run north.

She was startled.

So the person who just jumped off the cliff was... He Yunze?