In fact, even without Xuan Yuanhan questioning him, Wei Ning had already recalled everything that happened the night before Yi Shangyun disappeared, even the sigh she uttered during their conversation, the pause she made, and how long she paused. He had already gone through it all a thousand times over.
The reason for doing this is simply to find even the slightest clue.
Ultimately, these past few days, he had been working tirelessly with his guards and numerous small teams spontaneously formed by the people, searching along different Gobi deserts.
However, after searching the area for dozens of miles around countless times, they still couldn't find a trace of it.
It seemed that he had done everything he could without holding back.
At this moment, after listening to Wei Ning's detailed explanation, Xuan Yuanhan seemed to have also fallen into a predicament.
He slowly began to speak: "According to what you've said, you're only certain that Her Highness the Princess is searching for a more robust sand-fixing agent, but you don't know exactly what it is?"
"Yes," Wei Ning answered with absolute certainty.
To this day, he is still deeply mired in self-blame: "That night, I thought that the Princess Consort had let go of the matter after returning, but I never expected that she would go out again."
Even so, Xuanyuan Han could not forgive him and angrily questioned him: "Do you remember that before we came here, I told you to protect him every step of the way?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Ning lowered his head abruptly, hesitated for a moment, and said, "But the Princess Consort won't allow it, saying that the people here are simple and honest, and that she is very safe living here. On the contrary... on the contrary, she instructed her subordinates to make sure to take people to protect the newly built protective forest and grassland. She said that if there is any problem with the protective forest and grassland, then all of everyone's efforts and hard work will be in vain."
Xuanyuan Han was stunned. He hadn't expected these people to disregard his orders and not follow his instructions at all.
He clenched his fists tightly and rebuked her even more angrily: "What did you say? You actually led everyone to guard the protective forest and grassland? How can these compare to the princess's life?"
Wei Ning had long regretted this, recalling, "The Princess Consort did not want to see the people here continue to suffer, nor did she want to see Your Highness sad and disappointed. The Princess Consort said that what Your Highness wanted to do but did not have time to do, she must do for Your Highness."
Xuanyuan Han was extremely surprised: "What? You're saying she's disregarding her own health for... me?"
At this moment, he finally remembered what he had said to Yi Shangyun before, that because of years of fighting in all directions, he did not have time to come here to control the desertification.
In an instant, he was filled with deep regret.
It turns out that all of this was pressure he had unknowingly placed on her.
Wei Ning continued speaking as if nothing had happened: "These past few days, I have personally witnessed Her Highness the Princess personally leading the people in combating desertification. The people have grown increasingly respectful of her, but the Princess always says that she is acting on His Highness's orders and dares not neglect her duties. She has shed so much blood and sweat, which is why I..."
Wei Ning's worry intensified whenever he thought of Yun's dejected expression on that night's clothes: "Even..."
Seeing the hesitation in his words, Xuan Yuanhan snapped out of his deep self-reproach and asked, "Even what?"
Wei Ning bit her lip and said, "Your Highness, she seems to be feeling unwell?"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan stared at her with wide eyes and asked anxiously, "She's not feeling well... What's wrong with her? What happened?"
Wei Ning recalled for a moment and said, "I don't know why, but I saw Her Highness the Princess frequently vomiting. I wanted to find a doctor to examine her, but Her Highness insisted that she was fine and even said that she herself was the doctor. So she pushed me out instead, and that's how it happened..."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan became even more worried and exclaimed, "Foolish! Don't you even know the principle that a doctor cannot heal himself?"
Wei Ning was well aware of this principle, but just when he had arranged for a doctor to examine and treat Yi Shangyun the next day, she disappeared early in the morning.
Now that things have come to this, all he can do is repeatedly blame himself, saying, "I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"
In his anxiety, he quickly stood up and said, "I will take men to search again immediately. I will not return to see Your Highness until I find the Princess!"
Just as he turned around, Xuan Yuanhan stopped him, saying, "Wait..."
Wei Ning turned around and asked, "Does Your Highness have any further instructions?"
Xuanyuan Han stood up and said, "I will go with you!"
Upon hearing this, Wei Ning immediately panicked and stopped him, saying, "Your Highness, you mustn't! Since this afternoon, the sandstorm in Lu County has been getting stronger and stronger, and it's likely that the sandstorm will arrive ahead of schedule. Moreover, it's too dangerous outside at night, Your Highness, you absolutely mustn't..."
However, Xuanyuan Han seemed not to have heard what he said at all, and walked out of the tent on his own.
Wei Ning reached out and grabbed a dark-colored cloak from a nearby shelf, then hurriedly followed after him.
at this time.
Both Yi Shangyun and Long En were teetering on the edge of their physical limits, struggling to make their way back against the wind and sand.
Long En's arm pressed down heavily, repeatedly, on the slender arm that Yun was firmly holding onto.
Long En realized he was a burden, so he said breathlessly, "Ruoxi, listen to me, the sandstorm is getting fiercer. Put me down and go on your own! That way, you will still have a sliver of hope to survive. Don't let me be a burden to you!"
Yi Shangyun gripped his arm tightly, not letting go at all, and said, "Brother Long, what are you saying? How could I possibly abandon you? Back in the south of the city, if it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have been dead long ago! Since you didn't abandon me then, how could I leave you here in this vast desert now?"
Along the way, waves of pain throbbed throughout his body. Long En knew his injuries were serious and said again, "I must have been injured when I fell down the sand dune. I really can't walk anymore. If this continues, we'll both die. Listen to your brother, put me down and hurry up and go. A bigger sandstorm is coming!"
No matter what he said, Yi Shangyun wouldn't listen, only saying, "Brother Long, don't talk anymore, save your strength. With me here, we will all survive..."
Long En was clearly shocked by the petite yet incredibly strong woman beside him, and he was completely helpless against her stubbornness.
Long En silently admired her, saying, "Who in this world would believe that a woman of such noble status would experience such inhuman suffering?"
Just then, Long En sensed something slowly approaching them from behind.
So he immediately fell silent, stopped talking, and began to laboriously search his surroundings.
They then realized that they were in a vast Gobi Desert, with barren vegetation, frequent sandstorms, and an extremely harsh natural environment.
While Yi Shangyun was unaware, Long En knew perfectly well that there was an extremely tenacious animal that lived and dominated the entire Gobi Desert—the Gobi wolf.
Long En was immediately startled: "Could it be a Gobi wolf? It must be the smell of blood from my wound that summoned it."
Just as he was deep in thought, Yi Shangyun seemed to also sense that something was following him.
Just as she was about to turn around for a look, Long En pulled her back and said, "Don't turn around!"
Clearly, their guess was correct, and the two immediately perked up. Yi Shangyun quietly asked, "What is it?"
Long En said, "It's a Gobi wolf."
Yi Shangyun lowered his voice and exclaimed in surprise, "Gobi wolf!"
After a while, the two dared not stop, but it seemed that the thing behind them was becoming increasingly lifeless. Yi Shangyun said, "It seems to have left?"
Long En, however, dismissed it, saying, "They didn't leave; they went to summon their companions!"
Yi Shangyun looked at Long En's face in shock: "You mean..."
Before he could react, a pack of six or seven wolves suddenly appeared from another direction.
Yi Shangyun then realized that the wolf from earlier was actually a scout wolf, whose role was to find food targets for the wolf pack.
It now appears that it has summoned a pack of wolves, and she and Long En are their targets.
Among the wolf pack, the largest wolf, with a cold and fierce expression, lay at the front, while beside it was the gray wolf that had been following them.
Long En immediately gave instructions, saying, "Ruoxi, listen, those are wolves! Listen to me, when I say run, no matter what happens, you must run as fast as you can and never look back."
Yi Shangyun was terrified and shook her head: "No, you're injured, you can't run away. I can't leave you behind, I can't..."
Seeing that she was still acting on emotion even now, Long En scolded her, "What kind of time is this? How can you still be so stubborn? If you don't run away, neither of us will survive. I have a way to deal with these beasts. If you don't leave, you'll only be a burden to me..."
Yi Shangyun felt utterly helpless, but what Long En said didn't seem to be entirely unreasonable. Long En at least possessed martial arts skills, while she was completely powerless to resist.
In the end, she could only nod weakly.
Having devised a plan and taken necessary precautions, Long En pulled out a dagger and shouted, "Run!"
Yi Shangyun then took off running.
Then came a howl from the wolf king behind him, and the seven or eight wolves attacked Long En together.
But to everyone's surprise, even more wolves joined in, their numbers multiplying, and standing at the very front was once again a tall and mighty wolf king.
At this moment, the Gobi Desert on both sides was steep and dangerous slopes, which made it difficult for Yi Shangyun to climb. Moreover, driven by the wolf packs that split into two groups, he headed towards the cliff.
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