Jiang Huaifu smiled and said, "It would be a waste to throw you away here. I don't have that intention yet."

Song He'er didn't speak, ignoring whatever the person behind her said.

Thinking to myself, as long as I can endure this period and arrive in Xinzhou safely, I will never see this person again...

“It’s quiet here, we should be safe, right? Why don’t we stop and wait for the people behind us?” Song He’er suddenly said.

Jiang Huaifu indeed managed to rein in the horse and bring it to a stop.

“There are many paths up and down the mountain. We didn’t leave any marks along the way. How can you be so sure that your stepmother and her family would have taken this route? Or do you think they are smart enough to identify the path and choose which direction to take to find their daughter?”

Song He'er's face turned ashen, and she immediately loosened the reins and jumped off the horse.

"I'll go by myself, you don't need to worry about me."

Jiang Huaifu's face turned cold. "Come up here."

Song He'er ignored him and walked forward without looking back.

It's not scary for someone to be extremely cunning; what's scary is someone who is calculating and quick-witted with a sharp tongue, from whom you can't utter a single pleasant word.

"The terrain here is treacherous; do you want to fall off here?"

Song He'er ignored him and continued walking forward as if she couldn't hear him.

Jiang Huaifu was right. The path underfoot was getting narrower and narrower, and in some places covered by heavy snow, there were even branches sticking out. If you weren't careful, you would get scratched by the branches.

Song He'er held her breath, determined to walk there herself!

But reality was not as wonderful as she had imagined. As soon as Song He'er took a step out, a withered vine wrapped around her ankle and pulled her to the ground.

"Hey! Don't go there!" the person behind him suddenly shouted in a panic.

Song He'er thought she was hallucinating, but the next moment, the person behind her pounced on her, the immense pressure forcing her body to lean back.

The two tumbled and scrambled down the hillside, plummeting towards the cliff below.

Jiang Huaifu reached out and grabbed a vine. The dry thorns on it tore the skin of his palm, and instantly, bright red blood flowed down his arm.

Song He'er was horrified. She had seen many scenes of people falling off cliffs in movies and TV shows before, but now that it was happening to her, she could no longer understand the danger and horror of the situation.

"I told you not to walk alone, but you wouldn't listen. Do you know these vines are poisonous?"

Song He'er clung tightly to the 'lifeline' in front of her, fearing that he might throw her off the cliff in a fit of anger. With a cliff this high, she would truly perish!

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that stuff was poisonous. Is your hand alright?"

Jiang Huaifu frowned; without a doubt, he must be in a lot of pain right now.

"Do you...do you think I'm alright?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. So... what do we do now? Let's try to climb up?"

Jiang Huaifu looked up at the cliff above him, which was probably several hundred meters away, making it impossible to climb up.

So far, the only way is to slide down the vines and find a cave to take temporary shelter. If they stay suspended in mid-air like this, they will both fall sooner or later.

"Hold me tight. We have to get down here now, even if it's just a small opening in the mountainside, we have to get down..."

Song He'er nodded and reached out to grab the vine, but was stopped by Jiang Huaifu in the next instant.

"I told you it was poisonous, and I told you not to touch it!"

"I just wanted to lighten your burden. If you hold it all by yourself, it will only hurt more!"

"I don't need your help. What you should do now is listen to me. If you continue to act willfully, I will use my lightness skill to fly up there, and you can hang here by yourself!"

Lightness skill?

Hmph, Jiang Huaifu is just taking advantage of her because she doesn't know how to use light-body skills. No one in modern times has ever learned such a skill, otherwise so many people wouldn't have lost their lives due to slipping and falling during their studies.

"I... I won't say anything, okay? But... these vines are poisonous, what are you going to do about your arm?"

Jiang Huaifu's lips were in terrible condition, seemingly due to pain, and he was unable to speak for a moment, only trembling slightly.

"pay close attention......"

Song He'er didn't speak, but instead wrapped her arms around his waist and stared intently at him.

Jiang Huaifu was an exceptionally intelligent man, and his predictions never failed him. Sure enough, after climbing down several meters, he came across a cave that was neither too big nor too small.

"Jump in," Jiang Huaifu said weakly.

Song He'er lowered her head and looked at the narrow cliff face that was only a foot wide at her feet. She immediately gasped.

"If you don't get down now, you're going to drag me down with you..."

Hearing this, Song He'er mustered her courage, let go of Jiang Huaifu's arms, and jumped down.

The moment her feet touched the ground, Song He'er grabbed a rock to steady herself, forcing herself to fall into the cave.

The hard stone chipped her fingernail, and blood immediately flowed out...

"Hiss~"

"What’s wrong with you?"

Song He'er looked up, and a strong gust of wind blew, causing the vines to sway wildly. Jiang Huaifu's injured hand could no longer hold on, and he looked like he was about to fall...

"I'm fine, jump down, I'll catch you!"

After saying that, Song He'er realized how ridiculous her words were.

Although Jiang Huaifu was tall, he was not a rough person. However, it would be unrealistic to expect a petite woman like her to pick him up.

Jiang Huaifu forced a smile, and after a long pause, the vine in his hand suddenly snapped, and he quickly fell to the ground.

Song He'er was shocked and immediately reached out to grab his sleeve.

"Hey! Don't you know how to use qinggong (lightweight kung fu)? Then hurry up and get up here yourself!"

Although Jiang Huaifu was injured, his martial arts skills were still remarkable. However, he was currently somewhat weak and was only able to keep himself from falling by sticking his sword into the rock face with his left hand.

"Are you worried about me?"

"Your Highness, please refrain from making jokes at a time like this, okay? Besides, your death wouldn't benefit me at all, and I don't want to owe you a life!"

Jiang Huaifu smiled, it was quite remarkable that he could still laugh in such a situation.

"You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth!"

"Same here, hurry up and come up!" Song He'er started to get a little anxious.

......

I was too tired yesterday to post more than one chapter, and I'm tired today too, but I'm still planning two chapters. I'm off to write now~ Please, everyone, urge me to post less! Let's get this going!