"It's getting dark, are your eyes alright?" the middle-aged woodcutter asked with a worried expression.
"Yes, don't worry, I can do it. I can see a glimmer of light." Perhaps because she had strained her eyes to find the acupoints for Wang Er, Ruoxi's sense of light, which had only recovered a little bit earlier, was now completely depleted. But in order to get the woodcutter and Wang Er to agree to set off as soon as possible, she lied to them.
Upon hearing this, the three of them finally began their descent down the mountain.
However, as the saying goes, "Going up a mountain is easy, but going down a mountain is hard. Going up a mountain is tiring but not dangerous, while going down a mountain is less strenuous but very easy to slip and fall."
On the way down the mountain, the middle-aged woodcutter carried the drowsy Wang Er on his back, with a rope tightly tied around his waist made of a bundle of mountain vines cut down with a machete. He held the other end of the rope, leading Ruoxi, whose eyes had completely lost all light. He hurriedly and anxiously traversed the mountain path, which was full of trees, shady trees, and strange rocks.
As the weather worsened, the middle-aged woodcutter unconsciously quickened his pace.
Along the way, Ruoxi was clearly falling further and further behind the middle-aged woodcutter. In her haste, she suddenly lost her footing and let out a scream. The woodcutter was startled and turned around to help her up, asking with concern, "Are you alright? Be careful!"
However, Ruoxi continued to stumble and encounter numerous mishaps. Sometimes she would miss a step and her whole body would tremble; sometimes she would bump into a large tree and be startled; sometimes she would slip into a stream in the forest and stagger; and sometimes her legs would hit the rocks hard, revealing a pained expression on her face...
In order not to become a burden to others and to ensure Wang Er's safe descent down the mountain as soon as possible, Ruoxi endured her pain and smiled as she shook her head at the middle-aged woodcutter's every concerned glance, saying, "I'm fine, go quickly!"
Just when they were less than halfway down the mountain, the clouds in the sky grew thicker and thicker, the rumbling thunder in their ears suddenly intensified, and the howling mountain wind, mixed with raindrops, suddenly began to rage wildly, hitting people and causing them to feel a sharp pain. Ruoxi couldn't help but gently rub her aching arm.
Just then, a bolt of lightning suddenly burst from the sky, crashing down menacingly towards a tall pine tree beside the middle-aged woodcutter.
In an instant, a long strip of bark was torn off the pine tree, leaving only a bare half of the trunk.
After the tree trunk above it was snapped in half, flames and thick black smoke rose from it as it crashed down viciously onto its head.
At this critical moment, whether Ruoxi, who was in a state of panic, suddenly regained her sense of light or because her hearing had become stronger after losing her sight, she suddenly stopped and listened carefully. Then, she took a step forward and, with all her might, pushed the middle-aged woodcutter, who was in a hurry to get on his way and had not noticed her, with lightning speed. He fell to the ground.
The middle-aged woodcutter was suddenly pushed forward so far without any reason that he didn't even have time to react and turn around to see what had happened. He only heard Ruoxi, who had already separated from him, shout a loud warning, "Watch out!"
When he turned around in a panic, he saw that Ruoxi had already rolled down the steep hillside with the half of the tree trunk that was emitting black smoke and flames. In an instant, both the person and the tree disappeared without a trace, leaving only a mess behind her.
The middle-aged woodcutter was stunned by what he saw as he looked around at everything that was happening.
He collapsed to the ground, staring wide-eyed in astonishment at everything around him for what seemed like an eternity. He held his breath, as if everything around him had vanished, his ears ringing. He couldn't believe that such a frail woman had saved his and Wang Er's lives. Just moments ago, and even now, he still thought of her only as a blind woman with a disability.
The middle-aged woodcutter recalled everything that had happened that day with mixed feelings. After a long while, he sat up slowly and blankly, as if he had just come to his senses. Then he scrambled to the edge of the hillside and hurriedly looked for a way down the slope, only to find that it was a steep slope that he could not climb down.
Then, as if by instinct, he panicked and cried out repeatedly towards the hillside where Ruoxi had disappeared, "Miss, Miss..."
At this moment, the middle-aged woodcutter looked helpless and was almost in tears, while Wang Er, who had been rescued and fallen to the ground with him, watched all of this unfold. This seven-foot-tall man was already lying on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, his fists pounding the ground repeatedly, muttering self-blame, "It's all my fault, it's all because of me that all of this happened..."
Just then, the heavy rain began to fall from the sky, wetting the middle-aged woodcutter's dark face. Awakened by the rain, he hesitated and looked down the hillside again, then turned back to look at Wang Er, who was lying on the ground, extremely weak.
Seeing that it was getting dark, he gritted his teeth, made up his mind, clenched his rough hand into a fist, slammed it hard on a big tree on the hillside beside him, sighed heavily, "Alas!", then quickly got up, walked over, picked up Wang Er again, and ran down the mountain.
At this moment, in the Qin Prince's Mansion in the east of the city.
With Cheng Liang's encouragement and company, Xuan Yuanhan finally composed himself and rushed back to the palace as night fell and a light rain began to fall.
As soon as he dismounted, Xuan Yuanhan felt a sudden, sharp pain in his chest, as if being stabbed with a knife. He stopped abruptly, frowned slightly, and then reached out and pressed his hand heavily against his firm chest. His usually stern and imposing face suddenly showed a look of extreme discomfort.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Liang rushed forward to help him up, asking with concern, "Your Highness, are you alright?"
"It's nothing!" Xuan Yuanhan seemed to suddenly sense something and hurriedly reached out to stop her. Although he spoke casually and nonchalantly, he thought to himself, "Could it be her..."
When he regained his composure and stepped into Chenghua Hall with Cheng Liang, Lu Xian and his son were already waiting inside. In addition, two palace servants specially sent by Emperor Jing to escort them accompanied them closely.
Upon seeing Xuanyuan Han enter, the father and son, along with the two palace servants, hurriedly stepped forward and respectfully bowed to him, saying:
"This old man pays his respects to Your Highness, the King of Qin! Long live the King of Qin! Long live the King of Qin! Long live the King of Qin!"
"Tianlin pays respects to His Highness Prince Qin, may you live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years!"
"Your humble servant greets Your Highness, the King of Qin! Long live the King of Qin! Long live the King of Qin! Long live the King of Qin!"
"Get up, all of you!" Xuan Yuanhan said coldly to the people in the hall as he stepped forward and sat down.
"Why are you here? And what are you holding?" Xuan Yuanhan suddenly looked up and noticed that Lu Xian was tightly holding something that looked like a scroll, and asked.
Lu Xian then raised the painting high above his head with both hands and deliberately said in a loud voice, "I have come here on the orders of His Majesty to personally deliver a painting to His Highness Prince Qin."
"Send me a painting? I didn't hear my brother mention it at the morning court session. What painting is it? Cheng Liang, bring it here." Xuan Yuanhan asked, feigning confusion.
"Yes!" Cheng Liang accepted the order, walked to Lu Xian's side, took the document, and then respectfully handed it to Xuan Yuanhan.
"What is this?" Although Xuan Yuanhan had a general idea of what was going on at first glance, he was still stunned when he opened the scroll and stared at its contents.
At this moment, Lu Xian slowly explained, "This is a portrait of Ruoxi, the guardian of Western Qin, which was entrusted to me by His Majesty. It took me seventeen years to repair it recently."
"A portrait of a guardian? The guardians of Western Qin have always taken it upon themselves to protect the emperor of Western Qin. What does this have to do with me? What is the meaning of showing this to me?" Xuan Yuanhan asked coldly.
Lu Xian then said with a serious expression, "Reveal the Emperor's decree, Prince Qin, receive the order."
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Han hurriedly stepped down and knelt down with everyone in the hall, saying, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Lu Xian conveyed the imperial decree: "The Guardian of Western Qin has been missing for many years, which is a great pity. As a result, our Western Qin Kingdom has been plagued by internal and external troubles, natural disasters and man-made calamities in recent years. Therefore, finding the Guardian is a major matter for the members of the Xuanyuan royal family, and we cannot shirk our responsibilities. In order for the peace and prosperity of Western Qin, I hereby order the King of Qin to spare no effort and do everything in his power to find the missing Guardian. So be it!"
Xuanyuan Han: "Your subject will obey Your Majesty's decree!"
At this moment, Lu Tianlin took out another scroll from his person and handed it to his father, Lu Xian.
Lu Xian then said earnestly to Xuan Yuanhan, “Your Highness, my daughter is deeply favored by the Princess Consort and has been accompanying her in the palace for some time now. I miss her very much. Last night, out of boredom, I made this portrait of my daughter from memory. I would be very grateful if Your Highness could give it to my daughter to express her longing for me.”
Xuanyuan Han remained silent, and Cheng Liang quickly stepped forward to take it from him.
Lu Xian glanced at the sky outside the window and said, "It's getting late. I must return to the palace to report to His Majesty. I'll take my leave now. I hope Your Highness will take care!" As soon as he finished speaking, the two palace servants followed closely behind Lu Xian and his son, like lackeys watching over them. The four of them walked away in a hurry.
Watching his departing figure, Xuan Yuanhan looked on with suspicion: Lu Xian nowadays is not such a sentimental person, and besides, Lu Tianjiao usually exchanges letters with Xi Qin Academy very frequently.
This time, Lu Tianjiao only stayed at the Prince Qin's residence for a little over half a month. In the past, when the Dowager Consort was alive, even if she stayed in the Prince's residence for more than half a year, Lu Xian would ignore her as if she didn't see her. How could it be like this now?
A glance revealed Cheng Liang rolling up the portrait of the guardian that had been spread out on the table, holding the scroll that Lu Xian had given to Lu Tianjiao, and about to leave. Xuan Yuanhan quickly called out to stop him, "Wait..."
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