Chapter Sixty-Four

At the morning court session, soldiers sent urgent messages over a distance of 500 li.

"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Beiding has subdued the various tribes of the northern frontier, and they have all bowed down to the Yunxiu Kingdom as vassals." The soldiers, though weary from their journey, could not hide their excitement.

Emperor Zhaoming seemed to have anticipated this, exclaiming, "The battle situation!"

The soldier reported: "The Marquis of Beiding said that with His Majesty's map, the losses at the Beida Camp were minor. However, they narrowly escaped several ambushes by the Xiongnu along the way. The Iron Pagoda bravely fought the enemy, but suffered heavy losses, with less than 20,000 remaining. The Marquis of Haitang died from his injuries."

Emperor Zhaoming sighed, "Commander Pu, escort the Empress Dowager back to Dongliang tomorrow."

Lieutenant Pu: "Yes."

...

"Gongliang Zhong, Shurong, if I die, put my ashes in a box and bury them under that peach tree. I know he will definitely come back. Don't let him come back and find nothing. Maybe I can still feel his body temperature." Mo Yinghuo slumped on the table, drunk.

"I miss him so much."

After the two men settled her on the bed, they went outside the tent.

"Gongliang Zhong, when did the Princess find out you weren't dead?" Shu Rong couldn't help but ask. He remembered when Gongliang Zhong suddenly appeared in front of everyone, he hugged him tightly and cried bitterly, just like when Gongliang Zhong hugged that box tightly.

Gongliang Zhong shook his head.

Shu Rong: "Back then, it was Young Master Zhao who saved you."

Gongliang Zhong nodded. "He used a scheme to have me disguise myself as a Northern Barbarian demon and infiltrate the Hunxie King's tribe. The plan was to use this opportunity to sneak into the Northern Frontier to find a cure for a disease called the Bloodthirsty Gu and to draw maps of the terrain of the Northern Frontier. However, I never expected the Heavenly Fire to arrive so suddenly."

Shu Rong's eyes showed respect. "Six years."

Gongliang Zhong sighed, "I never imagined that the First Prince would die trying to save the Emperor, and that the Fourth Prince would be crushed to death by a collapsing house trying to save a few civilians."

Shu Rong: "I still don't understand what the Princess was talking about. But if we consider the circumstances, if Young Master Zhao had gone to a place like Zhu Chunhua's..."

Gongliang Zhong frowned. He understood Shu Rong's meaning. If this was the case, even if Zhao Shu could really return, by then Yunxiu Kingdom would have already changed beyond recognition.

Day after day.

Mo Yinghuo rode on horseback and unknowingly walked to the peach tree again.

The peach blossoms are in full bloom as before.

"With boundless wine and clear customs, I wait neither for the wind nor the moon, only for you." Mo Yinghuo raised her eyes, petals falling on her white robes, making her exceptionally beautiful. The person under the peach tree still smiled as before, but her brows were now etched with melancholy and desolation. "Unfortunately, there is no wind, no moon, and no you."

Mo Yinghuo's slender, pale fingers landed on a drooping branch, which suddenly snapped and fell softly to the ground. She jolted for a moment, then turned and headed straight for the camp.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Gongliang Zhong asked, noticing that Mo Yinghuo seemed to be searching for something.

Mo Yinghuo's eyes reddened, whether from excitement or some kind of shock, it was hard to tell. "Gongliang Zhong, Shurong, Hourglass, have you seen my Hourglass?"

Gongliang Zhong and Shurong exchanged a glance. Shurong stepped forward and grabbed her hand as she rummaged through the drawers and cabinets. "Princess, are you talking about the hourglass you had when you were little? It's in the Princess's residence, not here."

Mo Yinghuo suddenly stopped what she was doing and said quietly, "He has always been with me, and he has been trying so hard to tell me that he is here."

Although Gongliang Zhong and Shu Rong did not understand what Mo Yinghuo meant, the three of them always had a tacit understanding and knew that Mo Yinghuo must have discovered something.

...

"Princess, where are you going so late?" Shu Rong asked as she watched Mo Yinghuo ride away from the outer camp. In recent years, Yunxiu Kingdom had been prosperous and peaceful, and the border areas were at peace. However, for some reason, Mo Yinghuo had been staying here and had never returned to the capital.

Mo Yinghuo: "Taking a horse for a walk."

Gongliang Zhong walked over and said, "Your Highness seems to have become obsessed with horse riding lately."

Shu Rong was a little puzzled. "Ever since she said she wanted to find an hourglass, Captain Chen found one from some soldier. The princess has been carrying the hourglass with her every day. Whenever she eats, bathes, rests, or has nothing to do, she stares at the hourglass in a daze."

Gongliang Zhong frowned. "I've looked at this hourglass for a long time, but I haven't found anything special about it."

Shu Rong nodded and said, "But after that incident, it seems that the Princess is not as depressed as before."

"Why, so far, has the sand flow rate changed a few times only once?" Mo Yinghuo rested her chin on her hand, rubbing her temples several times, but couldn't figure out the reason. She looked towards the Milky Way, still in the same direction.

The borderland night sky was devoid of stars; the moon was too bright and clear. A cold wind blew, and the flowers and horses seemed to have lost some of their youthful exuberance. This had been going on for a long, long time. Suddenly, she sensed someone watching her.

Mo Yinghuo carefully withdrew his gaze, slowly lowered his head, and looked ahead.

Before the warhorse stood a man with flowing black hair, tall and imposing, half his face obscured by his hair. He was bare-chested, with a strong chest and powerful arms, exuding an air of gentle grace. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept by, parting the man's black hair to reveal a face so handsome it seemed unreal.

Mo Yinghuo simply watched quietly, as if she had returned to the beginning, to the first time that person appeared in front of her.

Was it a dream?

The man didn't answer, but a slight smile played on his lips as he said calmly, "My princess, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Mo Yinghuo had a feeling that these six years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Time flies.

"Zhao Shu, where is this?"

"Huo'er once said that I didn't understand romance."

"No, I don't remember saying that." Mo Yinghuo looked around. "Where exactly is this?"

Zhao Shu: "The sky is round and the earth is square, and the stars are vast."

The two floated in a pitch-black stillness, but if this was darkness, why were their eyes so bright, and why could everything around them flow into their eyes so clearly?

"Because it is vast and boundless."

Mo Yinghuo was shocked. "Boundless, so this is it. I used to think that the territory of Yunxiu Kingdom was vast, but compared to this, it is nothing more than a tiny speck of dust."

Suddenly, Zhao Shu grabbed Mo Yinghuo tightly with one hand and pulled her into his arms, while his other hand skillfully encircled her slender waist. His fingers deftly wrapped around Mo Yinghuo's white belt, and with a gentle pull, the belt floated in the stillness of the sky. Before Mo Yinghuo could react, Zhao Shu's hand had already slid over and landed on her fair, jade-like neck. With a light tap of his feet, his entire body floated upwards, and then he slowly stabilized himself, pressing the person in his arms beneath him.

Mo Yinghuo was entering such an environment for the first time. His whole body felt light and airy. For some reason, the force he exerted disappeared without a trace as soon as it entered this vast space.

Zhao Shu clearly knew how to navigate this environment, and he seemed perfectly at ease there. Mo Yinghuo gripped Zhao Shu's clothes tightly, afraid that if she let go, she would fall into this vastness. Zhao Shu gently kissed the back of Mo Yinghuo's ear and whispered, "Huo'er, don't be afraid, I won't let you leave my body."

Mo Yinghuo received his kiss and murmur, and her hands, which had been gripping his collar, immediately loosened and fell onto Zhao Shu's chest, causing the clothes beneath his white fur coat to rip open slightly. Mo Yinghuo trembled violently, her hands crumpling the fabric of Zhao Shu's robe, already guessing his intention in bringing her to this place.

Her high-tied black hair fell loose, yet didn't droop, fluttering in the darkness. Black and white were clearly separated. Her delicate features and picturesque face lay in the darkness, a touch of crimson brushing along her fair, jade-like neck, deeply imprinted in her light, glass-like eyes.

After a while, Mo Yinghuo slowly adapted to the suspended environment, and finally managed to use her hands to wrap around Zhao Shu's neck and bite him hard on the side of his neck.

Zhao Shu covered his lips with hers again, their lips and teeth mingling, and Mo Yinghuo met hers.

In this world, there is only you and me!

Mo Yinghuo lay on the Milky Way, gazing up at it. Her deep, night-like eyes strained to see the sky, as if trying to pierce through the vast expanse of interstellar space and touch the distant horizon. Suddenly, two words flashed through Mo Yinghuo's mind: So beautiful!

Everything was ethereal, everything was vast and boundless, everything was icy cold, only the person on my body was gentle, warm, and strong.

If it were her, she would be completely captivated by this vast starry sky and search for it for a lifetime!

The most breathtaking scenery in the heavens belongs to the dazzling starlight; the mundane world, with its landscapes and rivers, is utterly uninteresting. Holding the real person in her arms, floating in this interstellar space, Mo Yinghuo suddenly felt a surge of fear. She gently pressed her lips to the back of Zhao Shu's ear, very cautiously.

“Zhao Shu, you once said that Ye Lanxing’s journey is this vast and boundless interstellar space. Your…” She suddenly became afraid, “Your journey is also like that, isn’t it?”

Zhao Shu gently stroked Mo Yinghuo's brow. The two opened their arms and intertwined their fingers. He lowered his head and looked at the person beneath him. In Mo Yinghuo's eyes, he saw a sky full of stars... A heart that had been wandering in the vast galaxy had long since found a place to rest.

Zhao Shu said each word with utmost tenderness, "My journey is with you!"