Chapter 18

Rivers flow far into the white clouds, a solitary peak rises ten thousand feet high.

Alone and forlorn in this world, I ask not when the bright moon will shine.

Amidst the rocks and pebbles of the mountain forest, Yuan Qiong lifted the hem of her dress and walked forward with one foot higher than the other. The sharp edges of the stones pressed against the soles of her boots, causing her feet to ache, but she was oblivious, continuing to walk in a self-torturing manner, attempting to suppress the emotions surging in her heart with physical pain.

"Young Miss..." Tiger and Leopard followed behind her, not daring to approach or offer any comfort. They could only cautiously inquire, "Are we going back to Yandu?"

Return to Yandu?

His entire bodyguard force was wiped out, the fate of the black-bearded man was unknown, and there were no clues in the "Fuyuan Handbook". So he returned to Yandu.

How could that be!

Yuan Qiong's eyes were like black lacquer, so dark that it was impossible to read her emotions.

"I'm going back to Black Wind Cliff. You all go and investigate. Find out exactly who dared to snatch food from the tiger's mouth and ruin my Yuan family's affairs! Notify Grandfather to issue orders to the three prefects closest to Black Wind Cliff to send troops to suppress the bandits. You must raze Black Cloud Village to the ground! Dig three feet into the ground and find the stuff!"

His tone was ruthless, and his expression was indifferent, not at all like a young man. Yuan Qiong at this moment was a completely different person from when he was on the mountain.

Tiger and Leopard knew her personality well and dared not say anything. They could only let her climb the mountain as if she were torturing herself, until they escorted her to a hill not far from Black Cloud Village before turning and leaving.

It was a bright moonlit night with few stars. After walking for a long time along the mountain path, she had blisters on her feet and looked quite disheveled.

She staggered to the gate of Black Cloud Village and slowly sat down, leaning against the wooden stake at the entrance.

Alone in the quiet night, with only the mountain breeze, moonlight, and the chirping of insects for company, she hugged her knees, buried her face in them, and released her fragile emotions, finally bursting into tears.

"sorry......"

However, this cowardly feeling did not last long.

After a while, she wiped away her tears, stood up and walked towards the door, her gaze cold and resolute.

"Is anyone home? Open the door! Open the door now!"

His tone was hurried and tense, and he seemed very anxious.

"Something's happened to the boss! Open the door! Open the door!"

"Something's happened?!"

The sound of clanging and banging immediately came from the village, and the second-in-command was the first to arrive.

"Are you Wang Yao?"

The girl who stumbled in from outside nodded. Her thin and petite body was covered in blood, and her once fair face was now dirty and disheveled, making her look quite miserable.

"Didn't you go down the mountain to play with your older brother? How did you end up like this?! What happened to your older brother?"

The rest of the bandits also arrived quickly. Due to the urgency, they were all dressed in all sorts of strange clothes, some inside out and some wrong. The fourth brother simply draped a bed sheet over himself and ran out. They surrounded her and anxiously asked her questions.

"Speak quickly! What happened to the chief?!"

"Speak quickly!"

Yuan Qiong's face turned pale, as if she had suffered a great shock.

"We encountered a group of men in black on the road. The leader hid me, and he, seriously injured, even went to draw away the pursuers himself..."

"Do you still remember where you parted ways with the leader?"

"I can't remember."

Yuan Qiong shook her head, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

"I wandered around in the mountains for a long time and almost couldn't find the village anymore..."

"Wild Wolf, take this girl to rest first." The second-in-command immediately ordered a pretty young woman who had arrived from behind, then said sternly, "The rest of you, come with me to search the mountain!"

"yes!"

**

On the other side, after carrying the bearded man to the town, Cheng Mingyu and the others immediately took him to the nearest clinic.

The old doctor's face changed as soon as he saw the bloodied man; he seemed quite frightened. Only after the magistrate's son repeatedly assured him did he dare to step forward.

"This man's injuries are very serious!" The old doctor checked his pulse, then looked at his wounds and sighed. "He was stabbed twice and lost too much blood. I will treat his wounds and prescribe some medicine, but whether he survives depends on his own fate."

"Then come quickly and take a look at Young Master Cheng's injury!" Several friends anxiously tried to pull the old doctor away, but Cheng Mingyu kicked them away.

He clutched his face, wincing in pain: "What are you all doing? Can't you see this guy's about to die?! Get the doctor to prescribe some medicine first, I'm not going to die anytime soon!"

Only then did the old doctor take this legendary spoiled brat seriously. He quickly looked away, wrote out a prescription, and instructed the apprentice to fetch and prepare the medicine.

"You all go out first, I need to treat this person's wounds."

Cheng Mingyu grabbed his friend and started to walk out, saying, "Get out! Didn't you hear the doctor say to get out!"

The room quieted down, and the old doctor walked to Lin Qiang's side, sighing as he carefully cleaned his wounds and applied medicine.

"You know, you haven't come to see me for so many years. Now that you're almost dead, you're being carried here by others. Isn't that a cruel twist of fate?"

The old doctor frowned slightly, as if he had thought of something, but then his brow relaxed.

"Fine, since we've run into each other, I'll save you one more time. Remember this, kid, you owe me another life."

Lin Qiang, lying in bed, was unaware of what was happening outside. He only felt that his body was sometimes very hot and sometimes very cold. It seemed that someone was constantly talking to him in his mind, but when he tried to listen carefully, he could only vaguely hear what he was saying and could only remember a few fragmented words.

"I'm leaving... Please... the treasure is... make Sixth Sister happy... for me... I'm sorry... love her... live well..."

"Who goes there?!"

"Hiss—" He suddenly stood up, pulling at his wounds and gasping in pain.

"That fucking hurts..."

"You're awake?" Turning his head, he saw another bed next to him, and on the bed was a baby-faced person with their legs hanging high, grinning foolishly.

Well, isn't this just calling him crazy, kid? What a small world!

"Do you remember what happened yesterday? You were injured, and I saved you! I saved you!" Cheng Mingyu pointed excitedly at his bruised nose. "Remember? Remember?"

oh.

I remember now.

It was this silly boy who saved him.

Lin Qiang clutched his back wound and lay down again, saying to him, "I remember, thank you."

"Haha, you're welcome, you're welcome!"

Cheng Mingyu lay down on the bed, a barrage of questions coming at him: "How did you end up in Black Wind Forest? That's Black Cloud Stronghold territory! Don't you know the rule that outsiders aren't allowed within a mile of Black Wind Forest? Those bandits are ruthless! Did they inflict your injuries? They have no regard for the law!"

"......."

Lin Qiang, who had just lain down, suddenly sat up again.

Oh, right!

Yao girl!

She's still in the mountains!

Is she in danger?

Would she still be foolishly waiting for him to return in the crack in the rock?

He forced himself to get out of bed despite the excruciating pain, and went to get his coat. Blood began to seep through the white bandages wrapped around his body.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing?!"

"Your injuries are severe, do you know that?! Where are you going?!"

Lin Qiang ignored him, put on his clothes, covered his wound, and walked out.

The old doctor happened to come in from outside and saw Lin Qiang run out like a gust of wind.

"!!!"

What's going on?

How did he get up with such severe injuries?

Young Master Cheng immediately untied the cloth from his feet and limped out, but the people outside had already disappeared.

"......."

"So what if you're good at martial arts?!"

"If I hadn't saved you, would you still be able to fly?!"

"You ungrateful wretch!"

Enraged, Cheng Mingyu stood with his hands on his hips and started cursing in the street.

Lin Qiang, barely holding on, arrived at the crevice in the rock from yesterday, but found no one there.

His heart jumped instantly. He patted his dizzy forehead, using the pain to wake his brain, and then used his internal energy to rush towards Black Cloud Village.

Due to severe internal injuries, he fell countless times, only to get up again. Amidst the panicked gazes of the bandits, he rushed straight towards Yuan Qiong's room.

He only breathed a deep sigh of relief when he saw her.

"fortunately."

He uttered those two words in a hoarse voice, his senses returned, and he could no longer hold on, collapsing to the ground with a thud.

Yuan Qiong stared blankly as the tall man collapsed at her feet, her mind instantly feeling like it had exploded, the pain so intense she couldn't think straight.

Her body moved forward uncontrollably, and she hugged him tightly in her arms, her voice trembling as she couldn't speak.

She buried her head in his neck, no longer bothered by his prickly beard, and choked out the same words.

"fortunately."

Thankfully, you're still here.

fortunately.

At that moment, all reason crumbled, and all she could see and feel was the man in her arms.

**

Yandu, Prince Cheng's Mansion.

Yuwen Zhe clutched the strip of cloth in his hand with a grim expression, feeling a lump in his throat, unable to swallow or release it, which made him extremely uncomfortable.

The men he sent out were lost by more than half again!

In my previous life, I never realized why Black Cloud Village was so difficult to conquer.

"Have the people sent to Xiao'an Village returned? Did they find a woman named Hua Wenluo?"

“No,” Jia Er replied. “We found the scholar Zhao Shixian you mentioned, but we didn’t find any woman with him. There is no family with the surname Hua in the entire Xiao’an Village.”

"How could this be!" Yuwen Zhe's cold expression gradually cracked: "Keep searching! Within a radius of ten miles, a hundred miles, a thousand miles, check everyone with the surname Hua!"

"promise."

No, you won't be unable to find it.

How could he not find his Luo'er?

Is she suffering somewhere, just like in her previous life?

"No! Absolutely not!"

In their previous life, the fact that he wasn't Hua Wenluo's first man was like a thorn between them, causing them to endure countless hardships.

In this life, he was reborn, and he absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen again!

Luo'er belongs to him, every single hair on her head and toe is his! No other man can touch her!

"Enter the palace!"

Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants!

Thank you to the little angel who watered the [nutrient solution]:

Even the top bunkmate who's terrible at naming things gets a name from one bottle;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!