Not far ahead, there was a fire slowly moving towards her.
Shangguan Wanning was shocked.
Such a large group of people appeared at this time, they must be Xixia people. But this place was empty, there was not even a place for her to hide.
In desperation she turned and ran.
He had only run a few steps when he tripped over a rock, fell to the ground, and rolled down the slope.
Her body was crushed on the broken stones, and she saw stars in pain. Suddenly, she felt her body lighten, as if someone was holding her up.
This late evening...
Shangguan Wanning had a bad feeling, and she straightened her body and rolled down.
Her face was pressed against a strong chest, and when she looked up she saw a strong arm holding a dagger stuck in the slope, and the other hand holding her tightly.
"Brother Yao?"
Shangguan Wanning felt as if she saw a bright star in the darkness. She was surprised and happy, and a pang of sadness rose at the tip of her nose.
"Shh!" Sun Jinyao lowered his head and glanced at Shangguan Wanning, signaling her not to make a sound.
Soon, noisy but orderly footsteps came closer and closer, and Shangguan Wanning could feel them right above their heads.
Under the dim moonlight, she saw the veins bulging on Sun Jinyao's hand holding the dagger.
She hesitated to speak.
Until the footsteps faded away, Sun Jinyao put his arm around Shangguan Wanning's waist and jumped up.
There was dead silence all around. Sun Jinyao didn't ask anything. He whispered, "It's too late. It's not safe to walk on the mountain road. I'll take you to find a place to stay first, and then go to Tiangoujian after daybreak."
Shangguan Wanning said nothing. She followed Sun Jinyao to find a place sheltered from the wind and they sat down.
Sun Jinyao found some dry firewood nearby, lit a small bonfire, took out a pear from his bag and handed it to Shangguan Wanning.
"There's no water. Eat a pear to quench your thirst."
Shangguan Wanning took it silently, took a light bite, and the tears that she had been holding back in her eyes fell silently.
Sun Jinyao watched Shangguan Wanning cry from the corner of his eye, and his heart trembled, but he couldn't muster up the courage to wipe her tears.
"Brother Yao, why are you here?"
Sun Jinyao was tending to the bonfire with branches in hand, and said calmly, "Mu Jingrui sent someone to deliver a letter to the Prime Minister's residence. Your father sent me to pick you up. On the way, I heard the news that Mu Jingrui's 100,000-man army was completely wiped out."
At that time, Sun Jinyao was very worried about Shangguan Wanning's safety, so he set out alone overnight and traveled day and night to the border.
He did not find Shangguan Wanning, but he always believed that if Shangguan Wanning was not dead, she would definitely come to Tiangoujian to find Mu Jingrui, so he waited nearby.
Shangguan Wan Ning no longer had an appetite, and took the pear with no taste. She sighed and put it aside.
"You should get some sleep. We are very close to Tiangou Gorge."
Sun Jinyao didn't say much, so Shangguan Wanning didn't ask any more questions. However, she felt more at ease with a familiar person around her.
However, as soon as she closed her eyes, she would see Mu Jingrui standing in front of her covered in blood, asking her why she betrayed him.
"ah!"
Shangguan Wanning woke up from a nightmare, her back almost soaked with cold sweat.
She looked up and saw a ray of sunlight appearing on the horizon.
"Are you okay?" Sun Jinyao handed over a handkerchief and asked casually.
Shangguan Wanning shook her head. "Brother Yao, let's go."
Sun Jinyao looked at Shangguan Wanning, whose face was pale. In fact, he did not agree with the idea of rushing on the road in such a state, but he did not say much. He could only try to slow down his pace while walking.
At noon, the two had reached Tiangou Stream.
"Ning'er, you have to be mentally prepared."
In fact, Sun Jinyao had come here once before.
Shangguan Wanning looked at Sun Jinyao in confusion.
"I know why you came here. However, I heard that Mu Jingrui did not die here."
"I know."
"If you want to find him, you have to cross the Tiangou Gorge. However... the situation inside the Tiangou Gorge may make you feel uncomfortable."
Shangguan Wanning was a little confused, but her mind was full of Mu Jingrui. "No matter what, even if it's a dangerous place, I'm going to go."
"Okay, let's go."
Sun Jinyao led the way in front, and Shangguan Wanning followed in his footsteps.
When you enter Tiangou Gorge, there are rocks covered with sand on both sides, and the roads are interconnected. It is easy to get lost if you are not careful.
Gradually, Shangguan Wanning smelled a foul stench and heard maggots crawling under her feet.
Only then did she realize that the "discomfort" Sun Jinyao mentioned was not quite the same as she had imagined.
After a fierce battle in Tiangoujian, 100,000 soldiers died tragically. Before the Xixia troops withdrew, they buried some people on the spot, but many bodies were still exposed in the wilderness and began to rot.
Shangguan Wan Ning couldn't help but vomit.
Sun Jinyao stood beside her and patted her back gently.
Shangguan Wan Ning stood there blankly, her eyes bloodshot, muttering to herself: "It was me who harmed them..."
"Don't think too much, it has nothing to do with you."
Sun Jinyao hesitated for a while, then carefully wiped the stains from the corners of Shangguan Wanning's lips with a handkerchief.
The close contact between the two made his heart beat faster.
Shangguan Wanning seemed to have not changed at all, and her eyes began to become dazed and blurred.
She suppressed her grief and walked for another afternoon before finally arriving at the place where Mu Jingrui was said to have died.
The scene here was similar to that in Tiangoujian. In order to intimidate the surrounding small countries, Li Binhao did not send anyone to collect the bodies.
Several days of sandstorms have buried some soldiers.
Shangguan Wanning took a deep breath and searched through them one by one. Before she knew it, she was already in tears.
"He... should be Mu Jingrui."
Sun Jinyao suddenly spoke, and Shangguan Wanning hurried over.
A man in a marshal's uniform was lying quietly on the ground, with eight sharp arrows sticking out of his body.
Shangguan Wanning's legs went weak and she knelt down involuntarily.
Sun Jinyao wanted to turn him over, but Shangguan Wanning stopped him. "I'll do it."
“Ning’er…”
"Brother Yao, just let me do it."
Shangguan Wanning looked at the corpse in front of her and felt no sadness. She didn't believe that this was Mu Jingrui.
So she mustered up her courage and used all her strength to turn the body over, but unfortunately, the face had already rotted and was beyond recognition.
Sun Jinyao squatted down and picked up the sword next to the corpse.
Shangguan Wanning's heart trembled.
When she lowered her head, she saw the purse around the waist of the corpse.
She made it for Mu Jingrui herself, and inside it was the amulet she had asked for. He had promised her that he would always bring it with him when he went to the battlefield.
Shangguan Wanning's heart was as calm as water. She tightly grasped the purse stained with blood, imagining Mu Jingrui's struggle and unwillingness before his death.
Her vision gradually blurred, and her body tilted and fell to the sand.
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