Chapter 74

Yuan Liu Niang's time travel was not an accident.

She was born a chosen sacrifice for the dynasty.

The previous dynasty's Fu Yuan overthrew the tyrannical Qin dynasty and became Emperor Wu, possessing immense power and influence. Even after the Yuwen clan seized power, they were unable to eradicate Fu Yuan's lineage. Instead, they went into hiding in a stronghold deep within the Black Cloud Mountains.

Therefore, Tan Xiaoque chose a sacrificial offering to solidify the foundation of the Great Yan.

Yuan Liu Niang was destined to experience love, hate, confusion, fear, expectation, and resentment, and finally she would die willingly and let go, using the blood of her otherworldly visitor to build the vitality of the Great Yan Dynasty.

It was fate that she was abducted to the mountain by the bearded man, and his death because of her was karmic retribution. The complete annihilation of Black Cloud Village and Yuwen Zhe's smooth ascension to the throne were the ending Tan Xiaoque most wanted to see.

However, the guardian of the Fukumoto lineage refused to accept his fate and paid a heavy price to give Blackbeard a second chance.

As a result, the bearded man refused.

He truly loved Yuan Liuniang, but he knew he couldn't give her happiness. Even if he could start over, he would only be repeating the mistakes of his past life. So, he gave this chance to another lonely soul from another world—Lin Qiang.

"...You must make Sixth Sister happy..." This was Black Beard's only request, and something he repeatedly emphasized to Lin Qiang in his subconscious.

However, apart from Tan Xiaoque and the old man, no one else knew the reasons behind these events. Therefore, this contest was, from the very beginning, a contest between the two of them.

**

The swarms of poisonous creatures grew increasingly dense, and Lin Qiang gradually became exhausted. Just as he was pondering how to escape, a plume of white smoke dissipated in front of him, and in an instant, the surrounding poisonous creatures receded like a tide.

Yuan Qiong looked up and saw an unfamiliar old man walking towards her from the other side under the bright moonlight.

"It's you?" Lin Qiang recognized the man; he was the resident doctor at the herbal medicine shop at the foot of the mountain.

However... it now seems that this old man is more than just a doctor...

Tan Xiaoque's cat-like eyes, now with vertical pupils, glared at her, and she said fiercely, "Old man! I warned you not to meddle in other people's business, and you still dare to interfere?!"

"Black Cloud Stronghold is protecting the things of my Fuyuan lineage. How can my intervention be considered meddling?" The old man stroked his beard and looked at Lin Qiang and Yuan Qiong: "You two go back and stabilize the morale of the troops. I'll take care of things here."

Lin Qiang thought for a moment, then stopped being polite and wasting time, and nodded directly: "Okay, thank you."

Yuan Qiong, who was in his arms, looked Tan Xiaoque and the old man up and down, her mind racing as she tried to figure out the relationship between the two.

She immediately decided, "You go back first, I'll stay!"

"?"

"No! It's too dangerous here. I don't feel safe leaving you here."

“With this old man here, I’m fine.” Yuan Qiong looked at him seriously and said, “Besides, Tan Xiaoque came for me. If I leave, I can’t guarantee she won’t chase me to the military camp.”

"That won't do!" Lin Qiang's attitude was even more resolute: "Jiang Zhi and the others are in the military camp; I trust them. If you don't leave, I'll stay with you. I absolutely won't leave you alone in such a dangerous place!"

The two stood their ground for a while, but in the end, Yuan Qiong couldn't persuade the stubborn Lin Qiang and had no choice but to go back with him.

As she was leaving, she glanced back at Tan Xiaoque, who was being restrained by the old man, and felt that there was something she didn't know, yet it was somehow drawing her along.

"I think we should speed up the pace of this war."

She had a gut feeling: she couldn't let this drag on any longer! The longer she waited, the worse things would get!

That night, they suffered heavy losses; all those bitten by the wolves, eagles, and sea creatures perished. The only saving grace was that Tan Xiaoque didn't return.

This was the first time Yuan Qiong truly understood the terrifying nature of her enemy. She clearly realized that if Tan Xiaoque wanted to, she could kill them all without ever knowing why. The fact that she hadn't acted on this suggested only two possibilities: first, something was preventing her from doing so; second, she had a much larger conspiracy.

Judging from Tan Xiaoque's behavior last night, she was clearly desperate. Therefore, the second possibility is not very likely, leaving only the first possibility.

What exactly is this restriction? Nobody knows! How long will this restriction last? Nobody knows either! All the unknowns combined are like a death knell hanging over their heads, making Yuan Qiong restless and unable to eat or sleep.

"Where is Yuwen Jue?" she asked.

"She's with Sixth Sister." Lin Qiang didn't quite understand why she asked this: "What's wrong?"

"Send someone to bring Yuwen Jue over, and also get me a white outfit. I'll go to the other side tomorrow."

What do you want to do?

Now, Yuwen Jue is Yuan Liu Niang's lifeblood. If anything happens to him, Yuan Liu Niang will really go crazy!

Yuan Qiong chuckled, glancing at him with her slender fox-like eyes: "Nothing much, just thinking of sowing discord between Yuwen Zhe and his ministers. After all, my status as Empress Dowager is real, so why not take advantage of it?"

Yuan Qiong knew all too well how rigid those old ministers in the court were. In the past, they could stand with Yuwen Zhe for the sake of legitimacy, but now that Yuwen Zhe had become the one vying for his brother's throne, those people would naturally become hostile towards Yuwen Zhe because of Yuwen Jue.

Lin Qiang said directly, "No way! Don't even think about it!"

He absolutely, absolutely, absolutely will never allow Yuan Qiong to have any connection with the Yuwen family again!

"Um..." Yuan Qiong had guessed he would say that, and with a smile, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry, I won't go too far, just let me go, okay?"

"If you let me go, I'll agree to marry you."

"......."

The combination of a seductive scheme and the promise of marriage, coupled with the enemy's overwhelming bargaining power, caused Lin Qiang to waver somewhat...

“If this fighting continues, who knows when it will end, and how many more innocent people will lose their lives.” Seeing his wavering, Yuan Qiong immediately tried to persuade him again: “Just let me try. If you’re really worried, you can come with me.”

If we could be together, it wouldn't be unacceptable!

Lin Qiang put his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. He pinched her nose and said in a gruff voice, pretending to be domineering, "You said I agreed to let you go, so you agreed to marry me. You can't go back on your word. I'll remember that."

Ah, just thinking about getting married soon! I'm so excited!

Yuan Qiong wrinkled her nose and smiled, "I always keep my word and value my promises."

However, I only said I would get married, but I didn't say exactly when!