The slight hesitation that had just arisen in Gu Yuzhi's heart was instantly suppressed by Mr. Huo's decisiveness.

These northern barbarians eat raw meat and drink blood, taking pleasure in humiliating the Sangchao people; there's no need for hesitation at all!

He bit his lower lip hard, commanding Xueye to bite off the neck of the kneeling man. Then he jumped off Xueye's back, and the two of them, working in perfect harmony, kept moving into the encirclement.

Meanwhile, the prepared guards had already lit tinderboxes and, with the help of wild animals, managed to ignite the flammable provisions. Before long, the supply wagons were engulfed in thick smoke and quickly turned into a raging fire.

The weather, which had been terrible ever since they left the pass, seemed to stand beside Gu Yuzhi at this moment.

The snowflakes that had been falling suddenly stopped, a strong wind picked up, and the fire raged. One supply wagon after another was set ablaze, the flames turning half the sky red, and the temperature rose rapidly.

After Gu Yuzhi slit the neck of the man in front of him with his sword, he quickly jumped onto Xue Ye's neck and roared, "Hei Yuan, you have to keep an eye on things, don't let anyone escape!"

Although this place is considered the desolate wilderness of the Northern Di, far from any village or shop, even if one or two people managed to escape, they wouldn't survive.

But as Mr. Huo once said, "If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they will grow back in the spring breeze," so he absolutely would not allow anyone to escape!

Gu Yuzhi's face was unusually solemn, and the fine iron sword in his hand seemed to have eyes, each move aimed to kill.

Black Kite used its cries to command the beasts, driving back or tearing apart any Northern Di people who tried to break through the encirclement.

The howls of wild beasts echoed across the sky, accompanied by the painful neighing of warhorses and the incomprehensible chatter of the Northern Di people.

The blood on Gu Yuzhi's face had long since congealed, his body was slightly weak, and his hand that was wielding the sword had become numb.

At first, the wild beasts were under control, but later they became somewhat out of control, surrounding the warhorse and feasting on it.

Gu Yuzhi glanced at them and then ignored them. After all, they had indeed been starving for a while, and the fact that they had fought until now and only stopped to eat meat was already quite obedient.

The battle lasted for about an hour. The raging fire gradually died down, and the snow on the land had long since melted, revealing the dirty, wet ground.

Gu Yuzhi leaned weakly against Xue Ye, panting heavily. His hand was split open, and the blood that had just seeped out was immediately congealed.

His clothes were soaking wet and stuck to his body. He really wanted to take them off or check his injuries, but he simply couldn't muster the strength to do so.

As the fire gradually died down and his vision became increasingly obstructed, Gu Yuzhi could sense someone approaching, but he could only make out the blurry figure.

It seemed that he had been startled by the firelight, or perhaps it was because he had been running in the snow for a long time, that his eye condition finally flared up uncontrollably.

Lying obediently on the ground in the snowy night, Gu Yuzhi gradually slowed his breathing. Judging from the footsteps, he recognized the person approaching and a big smile immediately spread across his face: "Mr. Huo."

Mr. Huo looked exhausted and his expression was rather grim: "Your Highness, three of us have been killed, and the rest have sustained minor injuries."

Actually, those two people were not killed, but seriously injured.

However, under these circumstances, they had neither medicinal herbs nor the means to rest and recuperate. If they were forced to continue the journey, they would only be a burden.

So these two committed suicide...

Mr. Huo did not stop him. After all, with such severe injuries, forcing him to continue would only lead to more suffering. It would be better to die sooner rather than later.

But Mr. Huo would certainly not tell His Highness about such a cruel thing.

Gu Yuzhi was slightly stunned, his smile instantly freezing on his face. It took him a long time to come back to his senses, tears welling up in his eyes. He tried to widen his eyes, but Mr. Huo's appearance became even more blurry.

He knew that everyone who came was fully prepared for the possibility of sacrifice, including himself.

But when Gu Yuzhi actually heard that someone had sacrificed their life, he still wanted to cry.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Gu Yuzhi couldn't help but burst into tears.

Mr. Huo's hand hovered over Gu Yuzhi's head, then quickly withdrew it, and he said softly, "Your Highness..."

He wanted to say that it was a good thing for soldiers to die on the battlefield.

I would say they died a worthy death.

The point is, they only lost two men, but by fighting alongside the Beast Legion, they annihilated two thousand enemy soldiers...

But all of this suddenly became worthless amidst Gu Yuzhi's wailing and sobbing.

Mr. Huo sat down silently, his eyes lowered, staring at the ground, lost in thought.

No one moved. They leaned on each other quietly. The sadness and exhaustion quickly overwhelmed them, and the guards, with their heads tilted to the side, fell into a deep sleep.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, the wild beasts finally remembered their duty and stepped forward to act as temporary warmers, ensuring that these humans would not freeze to death.

That night, both the beasts and Gu Yuzhi slept soundly, except for Mr. Huo and Xueye, who took turns staying awake to keep watch.

Gu Yuzhi slept until the end of the next day at 9:00 AM. He felt weak all over and leaned against Xueye without moving. It took him a while to slowly open his eyes.

The vast expanse of white snow was dazzling under the sunlight. He immediately closed his eyes again, fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a black handkerchief, covered his eyes with it, and then opened them again, finally feeling more comfortable.

Hearing the commotion, Mr. Huo turned around and saw Gu Yuzhi like this. He looked slightly surprised and jogged over: "Your Highness, are your eyes uncomfortable?"

He said he was about to turn around and look for medicine.

His Highness's eye condition worsens in winter after snow and on sunny days, a fact known to all those close to him. Therefore, before setting off, Imperial Physician Qin prepared some ointments, hoping to alleviate His Highness's discomfort.

But Mr. Huo was unaware that, after the heavy snow and yesterday's fire, Gu Yuzhi's eye condition had worsened, and the ointments that Qin Yuanpan had prescribed to alleviate the symptoms were no longer effective.

This was discovered last night after he recovered and took medication.

He reached out and grabbed Mr. Huo's arm, his voice extremely soft, but his tone as light as possible: "Mr. Huo, my eye condition has worsened. In order not to shake the morale of the troops, I will have to trouble you to take care of me from now on..."

He finished speaking and smiled, but the smile quickly vanished: "The two guards who sacrificed themselves yesterday, they are now..."

Mr. Huo felt a sudden jolt and froze on the spot, not hearing a word Gu Yuzhi said.

His mind was filled with Gu Yuzhi's words: "My eye condition has worsened..."