Chapter 76 She had never felt that Xie Zhuo's voice was like...

The mountains were silent at night. The dark sky pressed down with a deathly stillness. There were no stars or moon, and not even a night sparrow could be seen fluttering by. Occasionally, a few faint howls of wild beasts would drift from the depths of the forest, weak and feeble, making one wonder if it was just an illusion.

This is the fourth night.

The group briefly stopped for the night. Xue Mingyao, wrapped in a cloak, curled up in the carriage, unable to sleep. For the past four days, Cen Zongjing's men had traversed mountains and valleys, spending eight or nine hours a day on the move, covering nearly two thousand li.

Judging from the changes in vegetation along the way, Xue Mingyao estimated that they would probably reach Xichuan before dark tomorrow. And once they reached Xichuan, Wuxi would be just around the corner.

Cen Zongjing was far too cautious. He not only avoided entering prefectures and counties, but also tried his best to avoid villages along the way, even if it meant taking a longer route to minimize the number of people he encountered. Xue Mingyao couldn't find anyone to call for help; she was utterly helpless.

The thought of being with him in Wuxi Pass for the rest of her life, never to return to her homeland or see her old friends again, amplified Xue Mingyao's fear to the extreme, dragging her straight into the abyss.

Cen Zongjing said she wasn't a suicidal person, and Xue Mingyao thought so too, but at this moment, the thought of letting Cen Zongjing get his way made her wish she were dead.

Stiff fingers, numb from the cold, slowly reached into the sleeve and hesitantly touched a blade of grass hidden inside.

When she got out of the car to relieve herself today, she saw a clump of kudzu grass that looked somewhat familiar in the wild. Its round and thick leaves and slender, slightly reddish stems were a type of wild kudzu unique to the southwestern region.

When Xue Mingyao was young, she went to the southern border with her father and saw this plant on the way. It was very useful. The juice extracted from the crushed leaves could be applied to the skin and had a miraculous effect on treating scabies. Her father ordered people to pick several baskets of it for the soldiers in the camp who had scabies to use externally.

Xue Mingyao's eyes lit up when she saw it, and taking advantage of Wuxi woman's inattention, she plucked one and hid it in her clothes.

She certainly didn't have scabies, but this herb, besides being able to cure scabies, can also cause poisoning.

At that time, a soldier who thought himself clever thought that applying herbal medicine externally was too slow to take effect, so he took a kudzu plant, picked off the leaves, chewed them and swallowed them. In less than half an hour, he began to breathe rapidly and convulse. Fortunately, the army doctor was experienced and knew how to detoxify this poison. He gave the soldier a large bowl of sheep's blood and saved him.

Xue Mingyao stroked the grass blades, listening to the distant, low calls of beasts, and her mind gradually calmed down.

This was an opportunity given to her by God, and she could no longer hesitate.

If Cen Zongjing truly cares about her life, then this poisonous plant could become her lifeline.

She needed him to stop, to take her into the city, and to make it impossible for him to hide her away so tightly anymore.

......

The next day at noon, the carriage sped along as it had in the previous days. They had just passed through a city called Mianzhou and continued southwest without looking back.

Suddenly, a low scream came from inside the carriage. The coachman quickly pulled on the reins. A moment later, Cen Zongjing, who was riding in front, came over and was shocked by what he saw.

Xue Mingyao was seen huddled on her side in her seat, trembling all over, clutching her chest and breathing heavily as if someone was choking her and preventing her from breathing. Her eyes were blank and terrified, filled with extreme astonishment.

"Yaoyao, what's wrong with you!" Cen Zongjing pressed Xue Mingyao's hand, trying to stop her convulsions, but Xue Mingyao trembled even more violently, and Cen Zongjing, a martial artist, was unable to subdue her.

She didn't answer him, but instead breathed more rapidly, making indistinct whimpering sounds.

"What happened? How did she become like this?" Cen Zongjing asked the maid serving Xue Mingyao in Uyghur while trying to comfort her.

"I don't know either. She felt a little nauseous just now, and then she suddenly became like this," the maid replied quickly.

"What did she do all morning? Did she eat anything bad?"

"She ate the dry food I gave her just like a few days ago, and kept staring out the window without doing anything else."

Cen Zongjing frowned, looking at Xue Mingyao as if she had suddenly fallen ill. She used to be very healthy; could she have contracted some disease in the past few years?

Seeing that Xue Mingyao's symptoms were worsening, Cen Zongjing disregarded everything else and hurriedly ordered the driver to turn around and head towards Mianzhou City. He even opened the usually locked carriage door, hoping to make it easier for her to breathe.

Fortunately, they had only passed Mianzhou a short while ago, and arrived at the city gate in less than half an incense stick's time. Cen Zongjing left most of his attendants outside the city and, traveling light, used his false identity to escort Xue Mingyao's carriage into the city, where they found a clinic.

Seeing Xue Mingyao's condition, the physician quickly took a pill and fed it to her to calm her down. Then he took her hand to check her pulse.

"How is it?" Cen Zongjing asked anxiously.

"It looks like poisoning."

Cen Zongjing was taken aback. "What kind of poison did you get? Is it serious?"

The physician examined her for a while longer. "It's hard to say what kind of poison it is, but it seems like the dosage isn't high. I'll suppress the toxicity first, and then find a way to detoxify her."

"Thank you for your help. Please heal my wife as soon as possible. I need to take her on my journey today, so we can't delay," Cen Zongjing said in a deep voice.

The physician gave him a strange look. "Your wife is in such a state. Even if the poison is cured, it's impossible for her to travel with you today."

A hint of hostility flashed in Cen Zongjing's eyes as he looked at Xue Mingyao, who was lying on the pillow with her eyes closed, his gaze filled with complex emotions, and he had some guesses in his heart.

He pulled out a dagger and pressed it against the medic's back. "Follow my orders, or I'll kill you."

The physician trembled, "I...I'll do whatever you say!"

Cen Zongjing ordered his servants to find an inn, and then put the physician and the unconscious Xue Mingyao into a carriage. They were then quietly taken to a room and placed under surveillance and control.

The physician dared not resist at all and obediently prescribed a detoxifying formula for Xue Mingyao. Cen Zongjing had someone prepare the medicine and decoct it for her to take.

For the next few hours, the physicians were forced by Cen Zongjing to study Xue Mingyao's pulse and prescribe an antidote for her.

Xue Mingyao had already woken up, but pretended to be asleep. From their fragmented conversation, she realized that her life was temporarily safe, and she breathed a sigh of relief. The soldiers in her father's army had eaten three leaves, and to be on the safe side, she had bitten off a small piece of leaf in the morning. Afterwards, she only experienced abdominal pain and nausea, which subsided after half an hour. Knowing what was going on, she boldly ate the rest of the leaf. Fortunately, this time the effect was obvious, and with her deliberate performance, she finally fooled Cen Zongjing.

However, the price was not small. She was extremely weak and often felt nauseous. The doctor prescribed a vomiting remedy, and she vomited several times, even bringing up bile.

Xue Mingyao stubbornly held on until nightfall before finally admitting what she had eaten.

The physician breathed a sigh of relief and prescribed a new antidote.

"Yaoyao, do you really want to die?" Cen Zongjing asked in a trembling voice.

Xue Mingyao closed her eyes and murmured, "I only regret that I ate too little and didn't die."

Cen Zongjing's face was extremely pale, as if he couldn't accept it at all, and he couldn't utter a single word.

"Let me go," Xue Mingyao said calmly.

Cen Zongjing stared intently at her, without saying a word.

“Otherwise, I will still try to kill myself. I would never go to Wuxi with you alive,” Xue Mingyao said.

Cen Zongjing simply said, "You should get some rest."

There was a knock at the door, and Cen Zongjing turned and left.

After he left, Xue Mingyao's gaze swept past the Uxi woman who was keeping a close watch on her, and then fell on the physician who was bound hand and foot by Cen Zongjing. She was plotting how to use him to help her escape. In any case, she had bought herself a day.

A single day can change a lot of things.

Her father once said that on the battlefield, every extra day or every day could change the course of the battle and turn defeat into victory.

She can definitely do it too.

Outside the door, a servant whispered to Cen Zongjing, "General, the scouts outside the city report that there seem to be pursuing troops entering Mianzhou City."

"What?" Cen Zongjing exclaimed sharply, "How could they have arrived so quickly!"

The attendant lowered his head and remained silent.

After a few moments, Cen Zongjing said resentfully, "I can't stay here any longer."

His false identity used to leave the capital had long been exposed. He dared to use it again to enter Mianzhou, knowing that he was very likely to be tracked down. However, the speed at which the pursuers arrived was still unbelievable to him.

Since the investigation has led to Mianzhou, it's only a matter of time before they find this inn.

All parties were anxious and uneasy, each with their own plans, making the night seem both short and long.

The next day, under the bright sunshine, Xue Mingyao found herself once again on a rumbling carriage.

As if afraid she would cause trouble again, Cen Zongjing didn't ride a horse this time, but accompanied her in the carriage. Xue Mingyao's body had only recently recovered from the poison, and she was still weak. Lying in the carriage, she didn't even have the strength to look out the window. There was a strange smell in the carriage, but Xue Mingyao didn't know what it was. She covered her nose with her sleeve. Cen Zongjing tried to talk to her, but she was very perfunctory.

All I could hear was the monotonous cacophony of wheels and hooves.

However, at some point, another noise began to fill the air.

It was the sound of horses' hooves, a series of different sounds.

Xue Mingyao's spirits lifted immediately, but she quickly became discouraged again. The soldiers from Mianzhou couldn't have arrived so quickly; it was probably just a passing caravan.

She did not see Cen Zongjing's suddenly withered face.

The sound of horses' hooves grew closer and closer, then abruptly stopped just as they were about to pass by.

Xue Mingyao vaguely realized something and struggled to get up to look, but Cen Zongjing held her down.

However, she no longer needs to go see it.

A powerful shout pierced through the car window and reached her ears, "Cen Zongjing, release my wife!"

Xue Mingyao's heart suddenly boiled, and tears welled up in her eyes. She had never thought Xie Zhuo's voice was so beautiful.