After a long while, he finally murmured, "You're lying to me, aren't you...? You might not be lying to me, my older brother, he... my older brother couldn't possibly be..."

"After the Prince of Duan was executed, his son Chu Huaiqing colluded with the Turks to plot a rebellion. However, the Turks betrayed him, and tens of thousands of Xuanjia soldiers were wiped out, with no one surviving."

Every word the man in black spoke was icy cold, like an ice pick, chiseling at Chu Huaixu's heart, causing him unbearable pain.

Chu Huaixu collapsed, exclaiming, "Impossible! My elder brother would never do such a thing!"

Just like how the king could not possibly rebel.

This was all a conspiracy by someone with ulterior motives.

Even that person was part of the conspiracy.

"The victor is king, the loser is villain; everything is already set in stone," the man in black said in a hoarse, unpleasant voice. "Young master, try to think positively. For the sake of the prince and princess, for the sake of the heir and the second young master, live on."

The carriage arrived at Lao Jun Mountain as darkness fell. It was only then that Chu Huaixu learned that they had been away from the capital for six days, and that he had been unconscious until today.

"Master Xiang, where are you taking me?"

Along the way, Chu Huaixu had already learned the man's name. He didn't know what kind of help the old prince had given him back then. Not only did the old prince save Chu Huaixu, but he also took care of him in a way that was more meticulous than any of the palace eunuchs and maids.

He was just particularly quiet, and if Chu Huaixu hadn't spoken up, he definitely wouldn't have said another word.

Unfortunately, Chu Huaixu had not yet recovered from the grief of losing his family, and the two remained almost silent the entire way.

Only then did Chu Huaixu finally begin to recover from his immense grief.

"Someone has seen the eldest disciple of the Medicine Sect Master here."

Although Chu Huaixu grew up in the palace, he enjoyed listening to stories of the martial arts world and knew about this sect. He knew that they took it upon themselves to save the common people and were known in the martial arts world as "a benevolent heart to save the world and a pair of skillful hands to save people".

"Is that the great hero Yan Qingshan?"

The man in black's gaze swept across his face: "You know him?"

"Yes, he was very capable, but he was expelled from the sect for his unorthodox ways," Chu Huaixu said.

"How do you know this?" the man in black pressed.

Xiang Qing wasn't a talkative person, and Chu Huaixu found it strange that he was bothered by this question. He looked at him suspiciously, but still answered honestly, "It's what they say in the storybook."

Xiang Qing then asked, "Why are you reading his storybooks?"

"...It's not that I read his stories, it's that his story just happened to be mentioned in a storybook."

Xiang Qing seemed satisfied then, nodded, and said, "I'm afraid you'll have to spend the night in the carriage tonight. I'll go catch a few rabbits first, and we can talk while we eat."

He instructed Chu Huaixu: "I won't go far. If anything happens, call me. I can hear you."

Chu Huaixu nodded: "Thank you."

The man quickly disappeared into the dense bamboo forest. Chu Huaixu looked down at a stone next to the wheel, his doubts growing stronger.

Xiang Qing moved quickly and appeared shortly afterward, carrying two rabbits in his hand.

"The night breeze is a bit chilly, wait until it's cooked before you come out." Xiang Qing was very considerate.

"Thank you, but could you please lend me a hand, sir? I'd like to get some fresh air outside."

Xiang Qing hesitated for a moment, then carried him out of the carriage. Afraid that he would get cold, she took out a long robe from the carriage and draped it over his shoulders.

"These are wild fruits I just picked. I tasted one, and it's quite sweet. I'll eat a little to tide me over."

It was already September, and the mountain nights were a bit chilly. Xiang Qing squatted down beside Chu Huaixu, carefully feeding him a handful of wild fruit before going to the side to start a fire and roast rabbit meat.

The firelight illuminated his black mask, making his eyes appear even darker.

“Great Hero Xiang, no matter how much my father has helped you, you have already done more than enough for me. There is no need for you to take any more risks for me,” Chu Huaixu said slowly.

Xiang Qing was skinning a rabbit when he heard this and paused. Without looking at Chu Huaixu, he said, "I owe Your Highness a debt that I can never repay in this lifetime. Young Master, you need not worry about it."

Since his savior had already said so much, it would be ungrateful to refuse, so Chu Huaixu had no choice but to shut up.

Furthermore, as Xiang Qing said before, he cannot die yet; he must live, for only by living can he have a chance for revenge.

But without Xiang Qing, he would have been left to fend for himself here.

Faced with this sudden calamity, he was inevitably distressed and unconsciously quipped to himself, "Does Master Xiang know how I acquired all these injuries?"

Xiang Qing finally looked up at him; his eyes flickered uncertainly in the firelight.

"It was thanks to the person I trusted most. That person used the knife I gave him to sever my tendons in my hands and feet, crippling my martial arts skills and turning me into a cripple."

The firewood crackled as Xiang Qing continued tending to the rabbit in her hands, seemingly casually asking, "Do you hate him?"

"Of course," Chu Huaixu said. "I wish I could eat his flesh and drink his blood. One day I will use his head to pay tribute to the 65 people of my Duanwang Mansion and to the 100,000 innocent Xuanjia soldiers who were implicated."

"Hmm." Xiang Qing said in a hoarse voice, "Then you must live on. Only by living can you avenge your enemies."

After saying this, Xiang Qing coughed violently. Chu Huaixu looked at him anxiously: "Master Xiang, are you alright?"

"It's nothing, it's just that my throat was irritated by smoke when I was a child, so I can't stand the smell of smoke now," Xiang Qing said.

I see.

It's likely that his voice became hoarse from the smoke around that time.

"Then let's put out the fire. There's still some dry food in the car, let's eat that."

"It's alright." Xiang Qing placed the cleaned rabbit on the fire. "The naan bread is dry and tasteless; you won't like it."

The roasted rabbit didn't really have much flavor and even had a fishy smell. Chu Huaixu didn't have much of an appetite to begin with, and after a couple of bites, he felt very uncomfortable in his stomach and wanted to vomit.

She forced herself to swallow it down because she was afraid Xiang Qing would worry.

However, he overestimated his endurance and, while trying to swallow it down, suddenly vomited it out.

Xiang Qing was extremely anxious: "Are you alright?"

"It's alright." Chu Huaixu shook his head and said, "But I'm sorry, I really... can't eat."

"It's alright, if you don't want to eat, then don't. Don't force yourself. I'll go pick some wild fruit." Xiang Qing's eyes were red, but the firelight concealed it from being noticed.

"No need," Chu Huaixu called out to him. "You eat quickly, don't worry about me."

In the past, when reading storybooks, chivalrous heroes would live a life of hardship, roasting their prey over a campfire, eating large chunks of meat and drinking heartily. Chu Huaixu had even envied such a carefree life.

Only now did I realize that he was a complete waste of space. Despite being on the run, he expected his savior to cater to him in every way.

Actually, he had roasted rabbits like this before. He used to often go hunting on horseback with that man, and they would roast and eat the prey they shot.