Xuanyuan Han sighed softly, then asked Cheng Liang beside him, "By the way, weren't you chasing after that escaped Tuoba Ze's bodyguard? Why are you sitting here without moving?"
Cheng Liang scratched his head and chuckled, "Oh, I was just following the trail of blood here when it suddenly disappeared. So I had people search the area thoroughly. Seeing Your Highness here alone, I came over to keep you company..."
Before Cheng Liang could finish speaking, he suddenly saw one of his guards rushing forward, holding a pink object that looked like needlework or something similar.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Liang quickly stood up and took two steps forward. As soon as the guard approached, he bowed to Cheng Liang and said, "Reporting to the general, when I was searching for the fugitive's trail in the rear, I found this at the entrance of what appeared to be a rugged path leading up the mountain. Moreover, the bloodstains disappeared at the same time at that entrance, so I guess the fugitive stopped there and bandaged his wounds, which is why there was no trace of him."
As soon as the guard finished speaking, he presented the object he was holding mysteriously with both hands. Cheng Liang took it and placed it in his palm, examining it closely.
It looked like just an ordinary sachet for women. He pondered it for a long time but couldn't figure out anything special about it.
At this moment, Xuan Yuanhan, who had been sitting to the side, finally came to his senses and stood up. As he walked towards the horses, he instructed Cheng Liang, "Alright, I will continue to bypass this northern mountain and head towards the ancient road in the northwest. Tuoba Ze has no choice but to take Yun'er back to Beilie. You should finish what you need to do as soon as possible and come to meet me immediately."
As soon as he finished speaking, just as Xuanyuan Han was about to mount his horse and leave, another guard came running up breathlessly to report, "Your Highness, a mysterious cave entrance has been discovered in the grass at the southeast foot of the mountain. It seems to be the exit of a secret passage that leads straight to the southwest."
"The secret passage exit leads to the southwest..." Xuan Yuanhan murmured to himself upon hearing this.
After a moment, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly threw off the reins and strode toward the guard, staring intently into his eyes as he asked, "Did you also find a pink sachet embroidered with butterflies and magnolias?"
Just then, he seemed to smell something else, and immediately turned his head to follow the scent.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang, who was behind him, lowered his head again to take a closer look at the pattern embroidered on the pink sachet he was holding in his hand. He was extremely surprised to find that it was exactly the same as what Xuan Yuanhan had described.
So, he hurriedly spoke up from behind Xuanyuan Han, "Is Your Highness referring to this sachet?"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan immediately looked over and saw Cheng Liang's hands. Cheng Liang quickly stepped forward and handed them to Xuan Yuanhan. Xuan Yuanhan stared wide-eyed at the pink sachet Cheng Liang had given him, his hands trembling slightly. He shakily brought it to his nose and gently smelled it, excitedly smiling as he said, "Yes, yes, yes, that's right. This is exactly the rose tea sachet that Yu Niang mentioned, the one she personally gave to Yun'er when she left."
"Rose black tea? Yes, how come I didn't think of that? No wonder I felt there was a faint, familiar scent in this sachet, but I couldn't quite place it. I've smelled this scent before in Wanjiao Pavilion. Wanjiao Pavilion does indeed have this very precious, top-grade rose black tea from the South! I just never imagined that someone would use this tea to make a sachet." Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang suddenly realized.
Xuanyuan Han asked anxiously, "Where was this sachet found?"
Cheng Liang immediately ordered the guard who had just reported, "Aren't you going to lead the way?"
"Yes," the guard replied, equally astonished.
Soon, the guard led the group to the spot where he had picked up the sachet earlier. He pointed to a withered branch on a short crabapple tree at what appeared to be a fork in the road at the foot of the mountain and said, "Your Highness, please look. I just found this sachet on this crabapple tree. It's hanging on this branch."
As Xuan Yuanhan looked up and carefully examined the unfamiliar terrain and environment of the surrounding mountains, Cheng Liang stomped his feet hard along the edge of the road, heading north up the mountain. It was obvious that the higher he went, the looser the soil became compared to the flat ground in front of him.
Suddenly, he seemed to notice something amiss with the soil beneath his feet. "Your Highness, please look. This mountain path is rarely used, so it doesn't look like a road at all."
As he spoke, he suddenly bent down and knelt down, brushing aside the layer of dead branches and leaves covering the ground. He exclaimed, "Your Highness, look! There are hoof prints! Judging from the direction of the hoof prints, they must have gone up the mountain. There weren't many of them, but the soil around the prints isn't even dry yet! They must have been up there not long ago."
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Han also bent down and looked at everything before him. After a moment, the two looked at each other and said in unison:
"Tuoba Ze took Yun'er up the mountain."
"Tuoba Ze took Miss Yi up the mountain."
"But I've heard that there's a cliff on the east side of this North Mountain that's extremely dangerous, and no one dares to go up there normally. Why is Tuoba Ze taking Miss Yi up the mountain instead of rushing back to Beilie with her? Could it be that he wants to..." At this point, Cheng Liang clearly didn't dare to continue thinking or speaking any further.
Xuan Yuanhan's thick brows furrowed tightly, and the pink sachet in his hand looked as if it were about to be crushed. He coldly said, "Go up the mountain!"
Immediately, everyone headed up the mountain, leaving only a few people to guard the path down.
Halfway up the mountain, beside the same stream as before, Yi Shangyun washed herself up briefly and drank two mouthfuls of clear spring water before feeling refreshed and clean.
This time, she got up again and strolled to a sunny clearing not far from the cliff edge, where she sat down on a rock. She casually picked a blade of grass and tore it into pieces.
At that moment, looking at the clouds drifting freely in the air, she suddenly remembered a saying: "When you reach the end of the watercourse, sit and watch the clouds rise."
Right now, the sky is clear and the wind is gentle; it's springtime once again.
The warm stream meanders through the mountain valley, and all things are beginning to revive. He too is about to leave behind everything he has met and experienced in Western Qin over the past six months, and will follow Tuoba Ze to Northern Lie to start a new life.
All of this seemed perfectly suited to her. Perhaps once she arrived in Beilie, she wouldn't have to be bossed around, moving from one mansion to another like a transit station, constantly being transported like cargo.
And then there are those people she doesn't know how to face. For example, her so-called father and mother, to whom she feels no parental love whatsoever; and that Third Young Master Yi and Prince Qin, Xuan Yuanhan…
"Xuanyuan Han, Xuanyuan Han..." For some reason, she found herself repeating the name over and over again, her mind filled with all the beautiful memories they had shared...
Suddenly, she felt a figure moving behind her. Yi Shangyun, clearly disturbed, turned around abruptly and shouted angrily into a bush, "Who's there?"
Upon hearing the sound, a tall and imposing figure suddenly appeared. When he emerged completely, it turned out to be Tuoba Ze, who had just been poisoned by snake venom. Yi Shangyun glanced at him contemptuously and said irritably, "So it's you. As a prince of an incomparably noble status, what are you trying to do, sneaking around in broad daylight?"
After finishing everything, Tuoba Ze silently followed Yi Shangyun. He had been hiding in the bushes for a long time, watching Yi Shangyun's every move. He felt that the woman in front of him was just like the veil covering her face, mysterious and charming.
Seeing that he was not well received upon his arrival, he smiled and casually said, "You saved my life just now, and I haven't thanked you yet!"
“No need. Even if you were just a stranger on the street, I would still help you.” Yi Shangyun said frankly and decisively.
However, Tuoba Ze said, "But you know very well in your heart that I am not a good person, am I?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun's eyes shot towards him like arrows, but she was speechless.
At this moment, Tuoba Ze suddenly said to her in an extremely gentle tone, "Thank you so much. You are indeed very kind. So kind that even if the other party is an enemy who threatens your life, you can't bear to watch him die from poisoning. But do you know? Often, your kindness may not be reciprocated in the face of cruel reality."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun finally gritted his teeth and finally spoke out the words that had been lingering in his heart for so long, words he didn't know how to express: "Yes, I used to only know that 'good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished; it's not that retribution won't come, it's just that the time hasn't arrived yet.' But now, I have personally verified this retribution in my own life."
"What is it?" Tuoba Ze asked curiously.
Yi Shangyun glared at him fiercely and said, word by word, "You repay kindness with enmity."
"Oh? What do you mean by that?" Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze suddenly became amused and asked with a smile and a hint of doubt.
Yi Shangyun chuckled and then said coldly, "I ask you, did you not keep our agreement at all: I would go to Beilie with you, and you would let Yu Niang go home? Instead, you kept her locked in the secret room of Wanjiao Pavilion, never seeing the light of day, and ignored her, leaving her to fend for herself, didn't you?"
However, upon hearing these words, Tuoba Ze seemed completely unafraid that Yi Shangyun would find out the news, and arrogantly said to him, "Since you already know about this, I think you should also know that now... you have no other choice, do you?"
As soon as Tuoba Ze finished speaking, he glanced at the unfathomable cliff behind Yi Shangyun.
Yi Shangyun was stunned by this highly threatening statement.
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