In the still of the night, the northwest wind blew relentlessly across the grassland.
Even though the face was covered by a veil, the pain still felt sharp and intense as it brushed against the skin.
Before they had gone very far, Yi Shangyun had already curled up into a tight ball, shivering uncontrollably, but she still gritted her teeth and persevered.
Now, her body, already thin and frail, was only wrapped in a white hooded cloak with a large fur collar and green plum blossom design.
Stumbling and falling along the way, he nearly slipped and slid down the hillside several times.
Finally arriving, I stood shivering in the cold wind.
I gaze silently at the person who seemed so warm, considerate, and vibrant just yesterday, but now all that remains is a cold stone tablet bearing the name of Tuoba Hong.
Memories flooded back into my mind.
She couldn't hold back any longer, and tears welled up in her eyes again, finally flowing uncontrollably.
After gazing at Tuoba Hong's name for an unknown amount of time, she finally moved, reaching out to gently brush away the snow that had fallen on the monument, and slowly began to speak.
"How are you?"
"I will leave here as soon as it is light tomorrow."
"I'm really going to miss it!"
“But I’m worried about that Emperor Jing. I’m afraid he won’t keep his promise and let Dingxiang have a good life. I have to go back and save her.”
"Emperor Jing has now discovered my identity, so going back this time will be even more dangerous."
"Although I haven't come up with a foolproof plan to deal with him yet."
"But no matter what, I have to go back and face what I have to face and bear what I have to bear."
"I've already dragged you down, I can't drag Dingxiang down with me too."
"And many more people..."
"So I think that this parting with you may be our last."
"besides……"
"I took it upon myself to bury you next to the old king. You should be happy about that!"
Having said this, Yi Shangyun forced a smile, wiped away the tears on her face with one hand, but then her mood became even more depressed.
"after all……"
"I still couldn't save that child."
“You know, although I have memories of all of you in this time and space, I don’t belong to this time and space at all.”
"After I regained my original memories, I didn't want that child at all."
"But I don't know why, every time I feel that she is also a living little life in my belly, I can no longer make up my mind."
"Perhaps, it is because I do not belong to this time and space that God destined me to come here alone and leave without leaving any trace."
"That's good too. Everything feels like a dream."
"What conflict over the Spirit Void Continent?"
"What Qin King Xuanyuan Han?"
"What, the Guardians of Western Qin?"
"Everything, everything..."
"After I wake up, I should forget you all, along with everything that happened here!"
Her voice suddenly choked up again.
Yi Shangyun quickly sniffed, raised her head high, and looked up at the starry sky above, trying to hold back her tears.
When she looked down at Tuoba Hong's name again, she had a different, lighter mood and told him.
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, do you remember the twin siblings we rescued back then? They're both so healthy now, Second Prince, you must be happy for them too!"
"Furthermore, after I leave, the clinic will continue to be staffed by the other women I personally trained here. From now on, when women on the grasslands fall ill, they will no longer be able to take medicine haphazardly at home as they used to."
"I believe that everything we have done here will not be in vain."
"This vast land will definitely get better and better."
For a long time afterward, Yi Shangyun remained silent, as if he had become one with the quiet grassland.
After an unknown amount of time, he finally spoke again.
"I know you don't like it, but I still have to tell you..."
"Feel sorry!"
I'm so sorry!
"My appearance has made your life so fleeting."
"In this life, I owe you..."
"If there really is an afterlife, in the next life, I would be willing to be your slave to make up for it."
"Goodbye, Second Prince!"
"The next life..."
"Remember to come find me to collect your debt."
"Don't worry! I will definitely avenge you!"
In an instant.
A sudden gust of mountain wind at night blew the veil off Yi Shangyun's face.
Just then, a man's voice suddenly came from behind Yi Shangyun: "Princess, is that you?"
Upon hearing the sound, Yi Shangyun was startled. Before she could pick up the veil that had fallen to the ground, she instinctively turned around in the direction from which the sound came.
The man strode forward, and as soon as he saw her face, he raised the tinderbox in his hand and shone it on her. He was so overjoyed that he almost became incoherent.
"Found it!"
"We've finally found it!"
"you……"
"I……"
"you……"
"You really are a princess!"
"The princess is indeed still alive."
At this moment, he truly could not hide the joy in his heart.
Before Yi Shangyun could react, he continued, "Your subject has been searching for the princess on the grasslands for many days. Just now, we happened to pass by a clinic and saw a woman whose figure and demeanor resembled the princess. She went out alone late at night to go up the mountain, so we secretly followed her here. I never expected that it was really you, Princess."
It was only by using the tinder the man was shining that Yi Shangyun was able to see his face clearly.
He did look somewhat familiar, so while searching his memory, he said, "You are..."
The man quickly introduced himself, saying, "I'm Lu Yuan!"
"Lu Yuan?" Yi Shangyun repeated silently, rubbing her throbbing head as she tried to recall.
The man was somewhat anxious but helpless, so he quickly added another prompt: "Does the princess still remember Dragon Tiger City?"
"Dragon Tiger City..."
Upon hearing these three words, Yi Shangyun finally realized the identity of the person in front of him.
But a question lingered in his mind: "The great plague in Dragon Tiger City has long ended, so what is the purpose of this person traveling thousands of miles to this harsh and cold place to find me? Could it be that something has happened in Dongning again, and he has come to find me to take me back to Dongning..."
Upon realizing this, she immediately and firmly rejected the idea.
"No, I absolutely cannot go back with him."
"Right now, all I need to do is save Dingxiang and avenge the Second Prince. Then I will focus on finding a way to return to the 21st century."
"I can no longer get entangled with anyone or anything here!"
Having made up her mind, Yi Shangyun feigned a smile and said, "Young master, you must have mistaken me for someone else. I am not a princess, nor do I know you. It's late, I must take my leave!"
After saying that, he started walking down the mountain on his own.
After going through countless hardships, I finally saw the person I had been longing for again.
But seeing that Yi Shangyun now treated him like a complete stranger, coldly passing by him and leaving on his own, he was shocked.
The man was unwilling to accept this and was extremely nervous, fearing that if she left, he would lose all contact with her again.
Then he shouted anxiously again, "Princess, don't go! I just saw from your eyes that I have not mistaken you for someone else. You are Princess Yongning of my Dongning Kingdom."
Still clinging to a last glimmer of hope, the man slowly turned around and, facing Yi Shangyun's retreating figure, said with deep affection, "Has the princess forgotten everything we went through together in Dragon Tiger City?"
Yi Shangyun stopped abruptly, but did not answer him for a long time.
Lu Yuan then recounted everything that had happened after Yi Shangyun left until Mei Xiyuan returned to the country...
Finally, almost pleadingly, she said, "The Dongning court is in turmoil. If the princess does not return to take charge, Dongning will be in grave danger!"
After hearing about everything that Mei Xiyuan and her two children had done, Yi Shangyun clenched his fists, which were hidden in his sleeves, and muttered to himself, "It seems that the punishment I gave them back then was far from enough!"
After struggling internally for a long time, she finally steeled her heart and said with concern, "I'm sorry, everything you said has nothing to do with me! I'm just an ordinary woman who runs a clinic, and I can't help you at all. It's extremely cold in the mountains on the grassland at night, so you should go back early to avoid getting frostbite."
After saying that, he picked up his foot again.
"Princess!"
Suddenly, after another soft call, I heard a heavy thud.
Perhaps it was because they had been searching for too long, running around almost non-stop in this cold world.
In addition, the obsession that had been taut in my heart suddenly collapsed completely in an instant.
The man could no longer hold on; his strength gave out, and he collapsed onto the bone-chillingly cold ground at his feet.
Upon hearing the noise, Yi Shangyun quickly turned around and ran over, crouching down to check and ask questions.
"Lu Yuan, wake up!"
"What’s wrong with you?"
Can you hear me?
“Lu Yuan…”
“Lu Yuan…”
The man mustered his last bit of strength and opened his eyes slightly again, a faint smile playing on his lips.
He said haltingly, "Princess, I knew it was you! I've finally found you!"
But he had barely finished speaking when he completely fainted.
The cloud on the clothes was greatly surprised.
"Lu Yuan, you can't sleep."
"You absolutely mustn't fall asleep!"
"I, as Princess Yongning, command you: You are not allowed to fall asleep!"
"If you die here tonight, this princess will never forgive you!"
"Help! Help!"
But looking around at the pitch black surroundings, there was no one there, and there was no way to ask for help.
Yi Shangyun could only use her frail and small body to help the man up with great effort, and they stumbled even more as they slowly descended the mountain.
After everyone had left, an old Taoist priest in a green robe suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of Tuoba Hong's tombstone.
"It takes ten years of cultivation to share a boat ride, and a hundred years to share a pillow. In this life, your arrival means you can only accompany her this far!"
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