On the grassland.
A brightest shooting star suddenly streaked across the clear starry sky, but Tuoba Hong was completely unaware of it.
He was lying on a small hill near the military camp, staring blankly at the vermilion box in his hand that contained the remaining half of the Resurrection Pill, as if he still couldn't figure it out.
Suddenly, he took out the pill, slowly brought it close to his nose, smelled it carefully, pinched off a tiny bit, put it on his tongue, and closed his black eyes as if he were trying to deeply understand something.
As if she had finally remembered something, she suddenly opened her eyes, but paused for a moment, as if thinking about it carefully again. This time, she sat up abruptly in surprise and murmured, "This Rejuvenation Pill is surprisingly similar to the Youthful Rejuvenation Pill that I gave Wu Le back then. How come I didn't notice it back then?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he confirmed once again, "That's right, the Rejuvenation Pill is the Youthful Rejuvenation Pill, it must be so."
However, another question arose at the same time: "If the Rejuvenation Pill is the same as the Youthful Appearance Pill, then why are the effects of taking the medicine so different the two times?"
Suddenly, he remembered that Wu Le had told him that she had obtained the Rejuvenation Pill from a Taoist priest she had met by chance. Then he realized that his own Rejuvenation Pill was no different.
On that day, he was searching for a magical herb in the vast desert when he encountered a Taoist priest who was dying of thirst. He gave up the last bit of water he had with him to save the priest's life.
After being rescued, the Taoist priest said to him with great gratitude, "Since we are destined to meet, I will give you two pills, each of which is unique in the world. One of them is this Rejuvenating Pill."
After listening to the Taoist priest's explanation of the miraculous effects of the Rejuvenating Pill, he wondered what use these medicines would have for him. Unexpectedly, the Taoist priest turned out to be a very prescient person.
Upon realizing this, Tuoba Hong murmured to himself, "Could it be that the unfathomable and elusive Taoist priest we encountered is the same person?"
Her thoughts continued: "Perhaps... only by finding him can everything be explained?"
With this thought in mind, he slowly lay back down, let out a long sigh, and gazed at the countless stars twinkling in the sky, wishing, "I really hope this great battle will end soon. Otherwise, I really don't know what I'll become. I wonder, when I reappear before Wu Le, will he also sense that I've become another cold and ruthless person?!"
He lay there, arms under his head, gazing at the starry sky, lost in thought for a long time. Suddenly, he came to his senses, his eyes softening with tenderness. "Wu Le," he said, "I wonder if you've woken up yet? Aside from having people give you the necessary nutrients for your body during your coma, there's nothing I can do to help you. It turns out I'm always so powerless in your presence. Perhaps, if you were by Qin King Xuan Yuan Han's side, things would be different? He truly lives up to his reputation."
Suddenly, as if sensing someone slowly approaching, she abruptly stood up.
Turning around, I saw a graceful and slender woman standing there.
Under the bright moon hanging high in the night sky, he took two steps forward and looked closely. Overjoyed, he ran towards her, opened his arms, and pulled the woman into his embrace, holding her tightly.
Overwhelmed with excitement, she exclaimed, "Ule, is it really you? Am I dreaming? You're awake! You're actually awake! When did you wake up? You're finally awake! This is wonderful! This is truly wonderful! Thank heaven, thank earth, thank all things in the world, thank the gods of the grasslands..."
Without letting Yi Shangyun say anything, he hugged her tightly and chattered on and on.
Yi Shangyun felt as if she was being embraced so tightly that she could hardly breathe, and her whole body stiffened in his warm embrace.
When Tuoba Hong finally realized she couldn't breathe, he quickly released her and then held her shoulders, still excitedly asking, "Wule, how did you get to the battlefield? How did you end up here?"
Yi Shangyun then buried her head and took a deep breath.
Then, while fumbling for the Heavenly Horse Military Talisman in his sleeve pocket, he frowned and scolded him, "I came here specifically to deliver this military talisman to you. With a great battle imminent, how could you be so careless as to leave such an important item with me?"
"I..." When Tuoba Hong saw the incredibly familiar object that Yi Shangyun presented to him with both hands—an object that, to others, symbolized supreme power on the grasslands, but to him, felt like a shackle—he slowly lowered his head, clearly unsure of where to begin.
“I know the Second Prince doesn’t want to be the heir to the Northern Lie Kingdom, but you can’t keep running away like this. You should find a way to face it and solve this problem.” Seeing his melancholy, Yi Shangyun sighed and said.
"Second Prince...you already know who I am..." Tuoba Hong suddenly raised his head and stared at her face in surprise.
Yi Shangyun took Tuoba Hong's hand, placed the military tally in his hand and held it firmly, then slowly turned around and said to him, "Actually, I should have realized long ago that your identity was extraordinary. My maid has already told me everything. It turns out that the person who has been secretly protecting and helping me all along is you."
"Wule, for you, I'm willing to do anything. If you're willing, I can even give up everything and take you away from here right now. To the ends of the earth, as long as I can be with you, we'll go anywhere!" Tuoba Hong said with great anticipation, almost pleading.
"Second Prince, wake up! I wish you were just an ordinary herdsman's son, so you would be much freer and happier, but you are not. If that's the case, you can act willfully and recklessly, but what about your elderly father? What about the Northern Lie Kingdom? What about the upcoming Northwest War? What about the millions of herdsmen on the grasslands? Do you want to be a deserter for the rest of your life?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun couldn't help but get agitated, and said angrily with her back to him.
He paused, then said sadly, "In this world, none of us can live entirely according to our own wishes. You know, I can't give you any promises. You're not worth it for a woman like me."
“It’s worth it, you’re worth it…” Tuoba Hong said urgently.
Yi Shangyun interrupted him sharply: "Stop being so stubborn. In this world, some people are simply not meant to be. If you insist on forcing it, I'm afraid we won't even be able to be friends anymore. The Second Prince has been kind to Wu Le, and Wu Le doesn't want things to end like this between us."
Hearing her unusually resolute words, Tuoba Hong finally composed himself and said coldly, "In the end, you still can't forget him, can you?"
“It has nothing to do with him; it’s all Wu Le’s fate.” Yi Shangyun felt a pang of pain in his heart and said bitterly.
Tuoba Hong looked at the Heavenly Horse Military Token handed to him by Yi Shangyun, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly said coldly, "Very well, I'll take it as you speaking your mind. Now that you've handed me this token, don't you have anything else to say to me? For example... tell me, how should I fight the upcoming battle? Now that the token is in my hands, and considering how he hurt you, do you want me to be ruthless towards Xuanyuan Han, or let him go?"
As expected, Yi Shangyun's heart skipped a beat. After a pause, she took a breath and replied, "You know I am a citizen of the Western Qin Kingdom. If Western Qin falls, I will fall. So how can I possibly control what the Second Prince should do regarding the war between our two countries?"
He paused mid-sentence, slowly turned back to look into Tuoba Hong's eyes, and finished his sentence: "I think the Second Prince should listen to his heart and think carefully about what he really wants, and what the people of Beilie Kingdom want, before he can know what he should do."
"The Second Prince will surely know what to do." After saying this, Yi Shangyun turned around and walked away on his own.
Where are you going?
It wasn't until she had walked quite a distance that Tuoba Hong came to his senses and asked her question as she walked away.
Yi Shangyun suddenly stopped, but did not turn around. She smiled faintly and said to him with her back turned, "Thank you, Hong. Thank you for your meticulous care and concern for me all this time. I have fulfilled the old king's request. I think it is time for me to leave here."
"Leave? Where are you going?" Tuoba Hong exclaimed in surprise at his retreating figure.
"The world is vast, I'll go somewhere where nobody knows me and start my life anew, carefree." Yi Shangyun said with a sigh of relief and continued walking forward.
But she smiled and silently said in her heart, "Goodbye, Hong. You will live forever in my memory. No matter what happens in the future, you must live well."
"You are not allowed to leave, you are not allowed to leave, you are not allowed to leave. I, the prince, command you not to leave my territory, not even half a step, and you are not allowed to leave the territory of my Northern Lie Kingdom."
Tuoba Hong roared and gave orders at him like a madman while quickly chasing after him.
He suddenly grabbed her from behind, turned her around abruptly, buried his face in her mouth, and sealed her lips with a kiss...
Suddenly feeling a sharp pain on his lips, Tuoba Hong gasped in pain and hissed.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yi Shangyun pushed him away forcefully. Tuoba Hong hurriedly reached out and gently wiped his thick lips, only to find that his fingertip was covered in bright red blood.
He stared at her in disbelief and asked, "What are you doing?"
Yi Shangyun hesitated, then coldly said to him, "Second Prince, please have some self-respect!"
Unexpectedly, Tuoba Hong became furious and suddenly became unreasonable, saying with a somewhat ferocious expression, "This is the territory of my Northern Lie Kingdom. As the future king of this grassland, I can do whatever I want. No one, including you, has the right to resist or refuse me."
As he spoke, he moved closer to him again.
Yi Shangyun retreated in terror, shaking her head and pleading, "No, Second Prince, you can't do this, you can't..."
With a "thump"...
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