The short guard said regretfully, "Then wouldn't that mean Yi Shangyun has been tricked by our prince? She only agreed to return to Beilie with us in exchange for that young lady. Judging from her temperament, how could an ordinary, weak woman dare to venture into the lion's den alone and do such a fearless and astonishing thing? She's not someone to be trifled with. If she finds out in the future, who knows what might happen?"
After saying that, the two of them shook their heads worriedly and sighed deeply.
Yi Shangyun, who had been listening intently from the side, immediately frowned, her usually handsome brows furrowed, and she clenched her fists, her teeth grinding together.
"What? He didn't release Yu Niang? He was lying to me?" Yi Shangyun murmured in surprise and anger.
But she still pretended to be calm, suppressing the rage in her heart, and composed herself before slowly walking out.
"Miss Yi!" The two guards saw Yi Shangyun approaching and immediately stopped talking and greeted her respectfully.
Yi Shangyun smiled and nodded at the two of them, as if nothing had happened, and headed straight for Tuoba Ze's men.
"Are you feeling any better now?" Tuoba Ze asked with concern as soon as he saw Yi Shangyun approaching.
Yi Shangyun, still feigning a calm expression, said, "It's much better now."
"In that case, let's hurry up and set off. Hopefully we can cross this mountain before dark, otherwise it will be cold and unsafe at night," Tuoba Ze urged.
However, upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun quickly spoke up to stop her, "Wait, I...I'm hungry. I haven't had a drop of water since you locked me up last night!"
Tuoba Ze asked in surprise, "Didn't anyone bring you food last night?"
"I haven't even seen a ghost, so how could I have food to eat? If you don't believe me, you can cut open my stomach right now and check to see if what I'm saying is true or just a lie!" Yi Shangyun said angrily.
Tuoba Ze was taken aback, wondering if his personal guards had forgotten to instruct the person guarding the secret chamber. This ancestor was hard-won, and he couldn't afford any mishaps. Thinking of this, he sighed softly and quickly ordered, "Rest where you are."
As soon as the order was given, guards hurriedly brought over dry rations and a water bottle, handing them to Yi Shangyun.
Yi Shangyun reached out and took it, then walked to a nearby rock, found a rock, and slowly sat down, replenishing his strength while seemingly deep in thought.
Although Tuoba Ze stood at a distance, his gaze never left Yi Shangyun for a moment. After a while, he slowly walked over and sat down next to her.
Yi Shangyun was lost in thought, occasionally tearing off pieces of dry rations with his hands, mechanically moving them to the next step, slowly stuffing them into his mouth, and chewing them repeatedly. Every now and then, he would pick up the water bottle and rinse the rations down his throat.
Therefore, she didn't even notice Yi Junhao coming over to sit next to her.
Suddenly, Tuoba Ze's voice startled her from her thoughts, asking, "What...are you thinking about?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun quickly snapped out of her daze, frowned, and turned to Tuoba Ze, asking, "Tuoba Ze, you... I... I wasn't thinking anything."
But the words were already on the tip of her tongue, and after thinking about it, she swallowed them back. She didn't understand why she had agreed to all his requests, and even made up her mind to follow him alone to a completely unfamiliar country.
However, he still refused to let Yu Niang go. Why was he so untrustworthy?
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze glanced at the warm sunlight before him and said, "The weather is nice today, and I'm in a good mood too. I suddenly feel like taking a nap here. Once you've rested enough, remember to wake me up!"
After saying that, he wrapped his arms around the back of his head and lay down on the big rock.
However, Yi Shangyun was still deeply immersed in her utterly disappointed thoughts.
After an unknown amount of time, Tuoba Ze suddenly sat up as if in a nightmare, clutching the back of his neck with one hand.
Startled, Yunyi had just finished eating less than a corner of the dry rations in her hand, and was about to put the last piece into her mouth when it all fell onto the thick layer of mud on the ground, along with several piles of bird droppings.
At this moment, she was already burdened with a whole host of messy things that had happened since she inexplicably transmigrated here, especially encountering such a shameless scoundrel as him who broke his promise and lied to her.
But just as she was trying to figure out how to deal with him, this scene unfolded on an empty stomach.
Looking down, she was instantly filled with disgust and loathing at the sight. Just as she was about to unleash a torrent of curses, she suddenly realized that his abrupt sitting up was not a nightmare. With a forceful flick of his other arm, a venomous snake hissed and flicked its red tongue, quickly darting into the tall grass beside them.
At this moment, Yi Shangyun quickly came to his senses and glanced at the spot where Tuoba Ze had been bitten, saying, "You were bitten by a poisonous snake?"
Tuoba Ze was in excruciating pain, his expression contorted. Before he could even respond, Yi Shangyun hesitated for a moment, then reached out and turned him around so that his back was to her. She then placed her two slender, fair hands on the back of his neck, and pulled off the pure white veil covering her face. Without hesitation, she began to suck the poisonous blood from the rapidly swelling wound.
The moment she touched Tuoba Ze's skin, a tingling and comfortable sensation, unlike anything he had ever experienced with a woman before, surged up, instantly freezing him in place.
He was a prince of a nation, second only to the emperor, and all the women in the world were at his fingertips, if he so desired.
But this feeling was something he had never experienced before.
He suddenly realized that, for the first time, he had truly fallen in love with a woman, a woman unlike any he had ever been with before.
She is kind, brave, fearless, and righteous. Even when facing her enemies, she never hesitates to show her compassion as a healer.
No one can resist such a woman; no one could remain unmoved or dislike her.
He suddenly understood why King Xuanyuan Han of Qin had traveled thousands of miles to the south of the city to find such an unremarkable, lowly-born daughter of a pharmacist. Perhaps he had also discovered many wonderful qualities in this woman.
He suddenly felt that exchanging her for Yu Niang was perhaps the wisest decision and deal he had ever made in his life.
Because this woman is a thousand times more beautiful and worthy than Yu Niang, especially since she is an innocent and naive woman.
As he pondered this, Tuoba Ze smiled contentedly and slowly closed his eyes.
He secretly vowed, "Yi Shangyun, from this moment on, for the rest of my life, no matter what you think in your heart, whether or not you have a place in my heart, I swear I will get you, even if it's just your body, I will have you."
The guards nearby rushed over upon hearing the commotion, but were instantly stunned by the intimate behavior of the man and woman before them.
The short guard was quick-witted and agile. As soon as he realized that his master had been poisoned by snake venom, he hurriedly took out the special antidote he had prepared.
Just as he was about to hand it over, he heard Yi Shangyun spit out a mouthful of blood he had just sucked out and say to the guards who rushed over, "Quickly go to the stream by the cliff on the east side and find the mountain lotus leaf. It has thick, horizontal rhizomes, upright stems without branches, and is pale green. The leaves are very thin, hairless, with prominent veins and fine teeth along the edges. The mountain lotus leaf has slender, downward-curving flower stalks and blooms with deep red flowers with spoon-shaped petals. I just saw this herb there; it can remove the remaining poison from your master's body."
No sooner had he finished speaking than he leaned down and began sucking on the back of her neck. The short guard was about to speak when Tuoba Ze noticed the medicine bottle in his hand and immediately ordered, "Hurry up and go find the antidote for this prince as Miss Yi said. Are you all just standing here and waiting to watch this prince die from poisoning?"
Upon hearing this, the guards, who had been terrified by what he said, scattered in all directions to search for the antidote for snake venom that Yi Shangyun had mentioned.
Yi Shangyun sucked on the food one sip after another, then spat it out onto the ground beside the two of them, completely disregarding any negative impact it might have on her.
Not long after, as expected, the short man, knowing where Yi Shangyun had just stayed, quickly brought back the herb that Yi Shangyun had mentioned.
Yi Shangyun quickly picked up a slightly sharp stone from the side, crushed the herbs, applied it to Tuoba Ze, and carefully bandaged him up.
Only then did I realize that I was both nervous and tired, and I even broke out in a light sweat.
After resting and tidying up for a while, he slowly got up and strolled towards the mountain stream where he had just drunk water.
"Where are you going?" Tuoba Ze asked hurriedly.
"Didn't you see how sweaty I was just now? I'm going to wash my face," Yi Shangyun said, her back to him, seemingly annoyed. She was still thinking to herself, could this Tuoba Ze really be so untrustworthy?
After saying that, he continued walking out.
Tuoba Ze watched her departing figure and began to chuckle foolishly, a chuckle that seemed to hold a hidden meaning.
The guards standing to the side, seeing this, also began to whisper among themselves and discuss the matter.
Suddenly, a guard in the crowd, pale-faced and biting his lip, stared intently at Tuoba Ze's handsome, angular face, which was smiling.
"What bad luck! What sins did I commit in my past life, or even the life before that, to end up here, experiencing this, and encountering these people? He's clearly a bad guy, yet I had to risk my life to suck out the snake venom for him. I'm just...sigh." As Yi Shangyun walked, she casually picked up a blade of grass and tore it into pieces. But still seemingly unsatisfied, she stopped and stomped her foot angrily, as if she were utterly frustrated and resentful...
At this moment, Xuanyuan Han, leading several guards, galloped along the road and finally arrived at the foot of the North Mountain...
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