"I just mentioned it casually when I thought of it." Gu Yuancheng gently helped her put the small blanket that had fallen beside her back on her body.

"It's getting late. Xi'er, if you're tired, take a nap."

Somehow, the incense that Gu Yuancheng used today smelled particularly light and pleasant, and seemed to have some calming effect.

Sheng Nanxi's eyelids became heavier and heavier, and soon her breathing became steady.

Gu Yuancheng held a book and told her a bedtime story in a gentle voice. After making sure she was asleep, he wrapped her in a blanket and held her carefully.

Then he waved to the side, signaling the secret guard to come over and put the sofa away.

"Boy, our people are ready."

The shadow floated down. This time I learned a lesson, I dare not use secret voice transmission to reply to this little ancestor.

"Have you wait outside the city. I will meet you after I send Xi'er back."

Gu Yuancheng walked forward while using voice transmission to enter the secret passage.

Even though he was walking on a flat road, it felt like walking on flat ground, and he didn't even disturb the sleeping baby in his arms.

…

"Sir, it's just as you expected. The Queen Mother has already set up a net on the border between Beichen and Nanqi, waiting to catch us all in one fell swoop. Even though the countries suffered from extreme cold disasters a few years ago, they did not relax. After the snow melted, many deployments were strengthened."

At this time, dozens of men in black were riding their horses at full speed in a remote forest in Beichen Country. The leader, Xuan Ying, was quietly reporting the latest news to Gu Yuancheng.

"As you expected, the Queen Mother regards you as her greatest enemy in this life, and has put all her energy on you. Our stay outside has given Xuan Mo and others in the country a chance to help the Imperial Master successfully rescue Your Majesty and the Ninth Prince from the palace."

"But after we left the capital, we were intercepted by masters several times. The Imperial Master suffered some internal injuries when he left the palace, and then he blocked a sword for Your Majesty. Now I'm afraid... I'm afraid it's not good..."

Xuanying's voice got lower and lower as he spoke.

Those of us who grew up with Gu Yuancheng all knew that although the national teacher was neutral on the surface, he actually taught Gu Yuancheng martial arts personally and supported her step by step from a puppet prince to an independent person.

In the heart of the little brother, he is probably the most important person besides his family.

Gu Yuancheng, who had been listening to the report, frowned slightly, and then quickly regained his indifferent expression.

"It's okay. I have the elixir that Xiao Xier gave me. Let's speed up. Master will be fine."

"yes."

The two of them simultaneously took a deep breath to reduce the burden on the horses, and they hit the horses with a little more force.

But at this moment, a whoosh sound came from behind and scarlet fireworks appeared. Xuan Ying was shocked when he saw this.

"Xuan Ling and the others who were left behind were attacked! How could this happen? We had clearly circumvented several of the Queen Mother's troops, so how did we get caught up?! And Xuan Ling has always been calm and collected, so he shouldn't send out a distress signal easily. Unless..."

"Unless you are in real danger." Gu Yuan continued.

The little boy stared at the fireworks for help with a hint of surprise in his eyes, and then he seemed to have figured something out, with a faint arc at the corner of his mouth. He said to Xuanying:

"You take two teams to pick them up, and the rest of you follow me and go around the road in front and continue to rush to the place agreed with the national teacher in advance. When you see Xuan Ling, give this to her, and she will know what to do after reading it."

Xuanying took the small bamboo tube that Gu Yuancheng threw to her.

I wanted to say that my son's safety is above all else. We don't have enough manpower here, how can we transfer more people to rescue Xuan Ling and others?

When he turned around and saw the cold eyes of the kid brother, he immediately took back the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He counted the people and ran back as ordered.

…

"Tut-tut-tut-tut-"

The remaining dozen people continued to follow Gu Yuancheng on horseback. Fortunately, there was no large-scale attack afterwards. After five hours of rushing, they found the agreed farmyard.

"My dear, you are finally here. His Majesty has been taking the medicine prepared by the Imperial Master these days. Although he has recovered, his body is not seriously ill. I will ask you to see the Imperial Master first after you arrive. I am afraid that the Imperial Master is not in good condition..."

As soon as Gu Yuancheng pushed open the gate of the courtyard, he saw Xuan Mo, who had been staying by Emperor Beichen's side, hurriedly coming to meet him.

"Okay, take me there quickly."

The little boy threw the whip to the secret guard beside him, his fair and tender face was filled with a heavy expression that far exceeded his age.

“Ahem…”

Xuan Mo led 놛 into the yard, and as soon as they approached the hut, they heard suppressed coughing and wheezing.

The young man pushed open the door and saw a middle-aged man with a pale face lying in the dim room.

The face in front of me was so familiar. I never thought that after not seeing him for a year, my master had aged a lot.

"Master... Master..." Gu Yuancheng's voice was choked with sobs. He seemed to be enduring great pain, and he only managed to steady himself by holding onto the edge of the bed with both hands.

"My dear disciple, there is nothing to be sad about. Come over here and let's have a good talk."

Nangong Heng, however, was still as kind as ever. He touched Gu Yuancheng's head lovingly and patted the empty seat next to him.

The young boy nodded obediently and sat down next to her affectionately.

In an instant, something unexpected happened.

A cold light flashed from his sleeves and instantly pierced into the middle-aged man's belly!

"Puff—"

Scarlet blood splashed, spraying the young boy in front of him.

But he did not retreat at all. He took advantage of the fact that Nangong Heng had his back against the wall and could not retreat, and increased his strength, thrusting the remaining half of the dagger into him.

"Um...disciple, what...what are you doing?!"

The middle-aged man obviously did not expect this sudden change. Even though he was extremely painful at this moment, he still stared at his usually obedient little disciple in disbelief.

"What? Of course I'm going to kill you, my good master." The corners of the boy's mouth raised slightly.

There were some scarlet bloodstains on her fair cheeks, giving her an evil aura that was not typical of her age.

"Or should I say, kill you to avenge my master and fellow apprentice."

"You...you...I don't understand what you are saying. My dear disciple, please save me. I am dying. Don't forget who saved you from danger time and time again. Not only did he help you grow up, but he also saved your father and brother..."

The middle-aged man was filled with shock and still couldn't believe how his most successful student could have become like this.

The young boy in front of him was unmoved and curled his lips coldly:

"Don't you understand? Looks like I need to help 'Master' recall it..."