Leaving the capital again

In the prison, when Wu Qi saw Zhou Liuhu through the iron bars, he frowned and even patted himself to see if he had already entered a dream.

She stared at Zhou Liuhu incredulously and asked, "You just came in like that?"

Zhou Liuhu said, "No, I came in hiding."

Wu Qi asked, "Where is this place?"

Zhou Liuhu replied, "The Dali Temple prison."

Wu Qi then asked, "Do you think this is a place you can just hide and run into?"

Zhou Liuhu paused, didn't answer, and then said, "Wu Qi, I'm here to save you!"

Wu Qi said, "If you've come to break into the prison, why didn't you bring some people with you?"

"I'm not here to break you out of prison!" Zhou Liuhu took out a wire and fiddled with the lock for a long time, occasionally pulling the wire out and bending it.

Wu Qi looked out through the iron bars in the prison. Although there were indeed few guards here, Zhou Liuhu had not only entered, but was also unlocking the door, and no one had noticed.

"Zhou Liuhu, leave here immediately. You've fallen for their trap."

Zhou Liuhu was still trying to unlock the door when Wu Qi frowned and knocked on the iron bars, saying, "Zhou Liuhu? Did you hear me? Zhou Liuhu? You've fallen for my trap! Get out of here right now! Otherwise..."

Before she could finish speaking, the lock clicked open.

Zhou Liuhu casually threw the lock-picking wire on the ground.

This was an extremely careless act. If Zhou Liuhu truly knew nothing, she should have carefully put away the lock-picking wire instead of swaggeringly throwing it on the ground, as if she wasn't afraid of anyone discovering that someone had picked the lock.

Wu Qi looked at the wire on the ground and said, "You know about it?"

"Know what? Know I'll die? Know I'll become your scapegoat? I know all that." Zhou Liuhu opened the door, stepped into the cell, and stood side by side with Wu Qi.

The moonlight fell on her, ethereal and fleeting, as if it were about to disappear.

“I do know that, but Wu Qi, have you forgotten that you saved me with your immunity token back then? I owe you a life. This life is meant to be repaid to you.”

"What do you mean, 'not yet paid back'? Zhou Liuhu, you should leave now."

Zhou Liuhu chuckled twice, then leaned in and hugged Wu Qi, saying, "Wu Qi, I always thought we were already friends. After everything we've been through, I still admire you and envy you. If one could live a life like yours, one could die without regrets. You saved my life. I want to save yours too."

"I saved you not so that you would risk your life to save me." Wu Qi hugged Zhou Liuhu back and whispered to her, "I'm sorry."

"What?" Zhou Liuhu had just finished speaking when he suddenly felt a pain in his neck, and then lost consciousness.

Wu Qi knocked her unconscious with a blow.

She smoothed Zhou Liuhu's stray hairs and said, "We've been friends for a long time." She sighed and said loudly, "I know some of you are watching outside. Since Miss Zhou is innocent, please take her home."

Just as Wu Qi had predicted, many people appeared outside the prison.

Wu Qi instructed, "It turns out to be the Golden Armor Army. Thank you all for your help."

Those people didn't move. Wu Qi stared at them, then suddenly sensed something was wrong and said, "Are you saying that whether I like it or not, Zhou Liuhu has to disguise himself as me and die in my place?"

He remained silent.

Wu Qi said, "His Majesty really can't bear to see me die, that he would actually put this matter on Zhou Liuhu. However, I just don't want Zhou Liuhu to die for me. If you hadn't disregarded my wishes and forcibly taken me out of the prison, I would have been willing to fight to the death even though I don't have Taojian."

Her swordsmanship was good, but she didn't know how much of a chance she had against swords and sabers with her bare hands. Besides, these people were all Golden Armor Army soldiers—those who had accompanied the emperor to force the emperor to abdicate and kill the previous emperor.

One of them said, "General Wu, Young Master Yi is very worried about you."

"He's worried that I wouldn't want anyone else to die for me, so there's no need to use him to provoke my will to live." As he spoke, Wu Qi suddenly felt powerless, as if all his strength had been drained away, and his mind became increasingly unclear.

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. "When did you drug me?"

The man replied, "General Wu, rest assured, this medicine is colorless, odorless, and harmless. It will only make you sleep for an hour."

"What!?"

Wu Qi became increasingly delirious, but despite his best efforts, he collapsed.

When she awoke, the city gate came into view. It was already getting light, but the entire city was still asleep, peaceful and quiet. Golden-armored soldiers surrounded her, seemingly afraid that she would escape.

"General Wu, you're awake?"

"No." Wu Qi closed his eyes again, thinking to himself, "I still feel weak all over. I'm afraid I can't defeat the Golden Armor Army even if I use all my strength."

Zhou Liuhu is still in prison...

The sound of horses' hooves came from afar. Wu Qi opened her eyes and shook her head, trying to get a better look at the person on horseback. When she could vaguely make out the person's figure, she was certain that it was Yi Shen. When the person got closer and she saw his veiled face, she was even more certain that it was Yi Shen.

The horse stopped beside her. Yi Shen glanced at the golden-armored soldiers, handed Taojian to her, and asked, "What happened?"

Wu Qi took Tao Jian from him, used some strength to mount his horse, and hurriedly said, "Quickly! Yi Shen, we must go to the Dali Temple prison! Zhou Liuhu is in trouble!"

Before Yi Shen could understand what was happening, he put his arm around Wu Qi's waist and said, "Okay."

The golden-armored soldiers stopped them, saying, "General Wu and Young Master Yi need not waste their energy. If you don't believe me," the man pointed in the direction of the Dali Temple prison, "you two can look over there."

Thick smoke billowed from the direction of the Dali Temple prison; if one stood higher, one might have seen the flames. The sky was not yet fully bright; in the dim blue, the red fire and thick smoke were the most striking colors in the world. The sun had not yet risen, and the moon had already set; now, there was neither sun nor moon, only the raging fire, burning away the truth and the people.

Wu Qi was certain that the Dali Temple prison had not yet caught fire, so how come the thick smoke had already risen as soon as Yi Shen arrived? Could it be that the Emperor had timed it perfectly, or was the Emperor deceiving her and wanting Zhou Liuhu to die in his place?

Thinking this through, Wu Qi still said, "Let's go, Yi Shen, let's go take a look!"

Yi Shen said, "Okay."

Before they had gone far on horseback, a carriage approached from the front. It did not bear any noble family insignia, so it was not a carriage belonging to a noble family. Apart from the Shi family, such a magnificent carriage must belong to some high-ranking official.

Before the carriage had even stopped, the person inside lifted the curtain and said, "Xiao Qi! Weichong! Are you two alright? I heard there was a fire in the Dali Temple prison when I passed by just now! I thought something had happened to you two!"

Wu Qi asked, "Sister Yuqu, what are you doing here?"

"Make it quick!" Ning Chanyuan got out of the carriage, not surprised to see so many golden-armored soldiers. Instead, she showed him this token. Wu Qi stared at the token in Ning Chanyuan's hand, feeling that it was extremely familiar. The tokens of the Moonfall Camp were of this style, and Ning Xunxu's binoculars also had this pattern.

Now it seems that the pattern was probably created by Ning Chanyuan.

Ning Chanyuan revealed the pattern and ordered, "Get out of the way. Anyone who dares to eavesdrop will be killed."

"Yes." The golden-armored soldier left.

Ning Chanyuan put away the token and said, "To make a long story short, Xiao Qi, you and Weichong must leave the capital before dawn and head south, preferably into Vietnam. Do not go north, and especially do not set foot in Lanbing City, as there may be ambushes along the way. I have prepared things for you, so hurry up!"

“Sister Yuqu, I can’t leave yet! If I leave, Zhou Liuhu will die in my place,” Wu Qi said. “Thank you for saving me, but I have to go to the Dali Temple prison now. Zhou Liuhu is still inside.”

“Zhou Liu?” Ning Chanyuan asked. “Was she your friend? Why would she die in your place?”

"Sister, you don't know this, this person can disguise himself. He disguised himself as me before."

At this moment, Ning Chanyuan understood. Disguise? So this was his plan to have someone die in Xiao Qi's place.

Seeing the distant flames, Wu Qi hurriedly said, "Sister, I have to go! Saving lives is the priority!"

Ning Chanyuan said, "You can't save her. The Dali Temple prison is already on fire. Many people didn't escape. But I heard that those who burned to death were all heinous criminals who deserved to die. As for Miss Zhou Liuhu, if you go to save her now, you will definitely lose your life. Right now, many officials are gathered at the gate of Dali Temple. It's the perfect time for you to escape the city, Xiao Qi."

Ning Chanyuan was not lying. She saw the firelight when she passed by the Dali Temple prison and was afraid that Xiao Qi had not yet left the Dali Temple prison. She hurriedly got out of the car and saw many officials standing there. She still went up alone to ask - is Wu Qi still alive?

Before she could get close, a golden-armored soldier stopped her and said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. General Wu is fine and is waiting for you at the city gate."

“Sister, Zhou Liuhu is my friend. I can’t let her die just because I want to live, can I? I still want to go back and see her,” Wu Qi said.

Ning Chanyuan was silent for a moment, then said, "Go, be careful."

Unfortunately, Wu Qi still hadn't seen Zhou Liuhu. Those people came to capture Wu Qi. Looking at the crowd in the distance, Wu Qi felt it was too much of a coincidence.

One ring after another.

Whether it was Yi Shen coming here or those people coming to arrest her at this time, it was all too coincidental, as if it had been arranged by someone. That person knew her too well, knew that she wouldn't let Zhou Liuhu die in her place, so they drugged her. Knowing that the Dali Temple prison was on fire, she wouldn't let it go, so they sent people to arrest her.

She turned her head to look in the direction of the palace.

The dim light surrounded the palace, and Wu Qi could not see the tall buildings clearly. He only felt that a person seemed to be standing on the towering buildings, and that person had arranged everything.

Ning Chanyuan grabbed Wu Qi's hand and hurriedly said, "I have remembered what happened to Miss Zhou. If I can save her, I will do my best. As for you, Xiao Qi, you should leave the city and the capital as soon as possible."

She instructed, "Remember, go south, not north."

Those people were getting closer and closer. If Wu Qi didn't leave now, he would definitely be caught. At that time, all of Ning Chanyuan's efforts would be in vain. And Zhou Liuhu, even if Wu Qi didn't know whether she was alive or dead, if Wu Qi was caught, then her willingness to die for her would also be in vain.

Yi Shen didn't say much. He gripped the plum blossom in his hand tightly, ready to fight at any moment.

Wu Qi said, "Take care, Sister Yuqu. I'm leaving now."

Ning Chanyuan hugged her and said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything in the capital." She said to Weichong, "Take good care of Xiaoqi, let's go."

The two rode out of the city, and Wu Qi asked Yi Shen, "Why did you come here?"

Yi Shen replied, "I received a secret letter saying that you should wait at the city gate. I was afraid something might happen to you, so I came here."

The secret letter was unsigned, and he didn't care whether it was real or fake. He abandoned his plan to break her out of prison, took Taojian and Meichu with him, and rode over. Fortunately, he actually saw her.

Wu Qi said, "It seems that my life and death have always been in the hands of others."

Not just her, but isn't the life and death of everyone in the world in one person's hands? If she lets you live, you can live a prosperous life; if she lets you die, you will die without knowing why.

"It won't happen again," Yi Shen said.

"What?" Wu Qi didn't understand.

"It won't happen again," Yi Shen promised.

He removed his veil, tossed it aside, and said, "Boring."