At dawn.
A massive fire broke out across dozens of miles of grassland, illuminating almost the entire southern sky.
Beneath a blood-red sky, the heart-wrenching cries of men, women, and children, filled with unbearable anguish, helplessness, and terror, echoed across the entire grassland...
Meanwhile, Tuoba Ze, who was leading his troops to the location with his head held high, was enjoying the view from afar as he rode his horse, occasionally letting out a sinister laugh that sent chills down the spines of the soldiers behind him.
He closed his eyes slightly, waved his hand, and said loudly, "Look at the bright red sky ahead, listen to this melodious sound, how inspiring everything is!"
The soldiers behind him listened intently, but silently swallowed hard.
Tuoba Ze opened his eyes and sighed, "The poison of the water spirit of Nan'an Kingdom is indeed incredibly powerful and ruthless. I never imagined that without firing a single shot and without lifting a finger, it could help me take the lives of these despicable, fly-like Western Qin army."
Overjoyed, Tuoba Ze blurted out, "You old codger, do you see? Even without the Heavenly Horse Military Seal, this prince can still gallop across the battlefield and dominate the world."
Seemingly realizing his slip of the tongue, Tuoba Ze cleared his throat and continued gleefully, "Just hearing that voice from afar, I was already incredibly pleased, and felt a surge of exhilaration. I imagine that Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, must be engulfed in that inexplicable sea of fire right now, burning with great ecstasy. Before his death, his heart must have never felt such pain! This is the price he paid for threatening me."
After saying those harsh words, he paused, then gave a cold laugh and shook his head.
Finally, glancing left and right at the two generals on either side of him, also seated high on horseback, who were already listening in stunned silence and sweating profusely, he continued, "Tsk tsk tsk, a man who doesn't even know how he died, how pitiful and tragic! So satisfying, so very satisfying! Hahahaha, hahahahaha..."
Just as he was laughing wildly with great satisfaction, a general behind him seemed unable to hold back any longer and finally mustered the courage to timidly whisper a word of advice.
"Your Highness, although Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, is young, he is incredibly cunning. Not only is he a seasoned veteran and exceptionally shrewd, but he is also known throughout the Lingkong Continent as the War God Prince Qin, a title he holds for a reason. We should be cautious. In my humble opinion, should we send someone to investigate the truth behind the poisoning in the Western Qin army camp? If we rashly charge in, what if we are ambushed…?"
Before he could finish his jarring remark, Tuoba Ze immediately reined in his horse, his smile vanished, and he turned to glare at him angrily, shouting, "Shut up! What do you know? Do you know that you are boosting the morale of others while diminishing our own? You are undermining the morale of my Northern Lie army!"
"This humble general dares not!" When the general met the sharp gaze that shot towards him like a cold, gleaming sword, he was so frightened that he quickly lowered his head and helplessly kept quiet.
Seeing this, Tuoba Ze took a deep breath and slowly withdrew his gaze. He continued walking, still fuming, and said, "How dare he cause trouble and provoke me on my Beilie territory! I'd like to see who can help him this time. Could it be that he truly has the ability to foresee the future, knowing that I intend to poison him, and would rather not eat, drink, or touch a drop of water? If he were to come into contact with water mixed with the poison of the water spirit…"
He paused mid-sentence, his mood seemingly improving again. He narrowed his eyes slightly and gave a cold laugh, saying, "Hmph, that's the peerless poison, the Water Spirit. No one can cure this poison. Unless, a descendant of the vampires, the guardian of Western Qin, appears. Her miraculous blood, capable of curing all the world's most potent poisons, might be able to cure it. However, even if she were still alive, it would be too late."
After speaking confidently, Tuoba Ze steadied himself, his eyes gazing intently towards the distant Western Qin army camp. He declared with unwavering resolve, "Once I have taken the head of King Xuanyuan Han of Qin, I will personally lead him into the Western Qin palace. After conquering the Western Qin Kingdom, who on this Spirit Void Continent will be my match?"
Upon hearing this, the soldiers looked at each other, speechless...
Near the Western Qin military camp.
In a very secluded grove of trees.
Cheng Liang hurried toward Xuan Yuanhan and reported, "Your Highness, the military camp is already surrounded by ambushes, and the route along the water source has also been deployed."
Xuanyuan Han, dressed in a black brocade robe, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the sea of fire burning in the direction of the military camp below the hill, amidst the scattered battle robes, armor, and weapons.
"Zhao Ping'an clearly wasn't lying. The water spirit poison must have been cured. How did this happen? Who has such skill to cure such a vicious poison?"
After hearing Cheng Liang's words, he slowly came to his senses, exhaled, and asked in a cold voice, "How much longer until Tuoba Ze's troops arrive?"
Cheng Liang said, "According to our intelligence, it should take about half an hour."
Xuanyuan Han asked again to confirm, "Are you sure Tuoba Ze is indeed in the group this time?"
Cheng Liang said with certainty, "I am certain. It seems he couldn't wait any longer. He even broke camp before setting off with his troops and personally led them to break through the encirclement."
Xuanyuan Han pondered for a moment, then asked, "What about the Second Prince Tuoba Hong? Did he come along?"
Cheng Liang looked at the open space beneath his feet and recalled for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It seems that I didn't see Tuoba Hong in the ranks. However, someone saw that a few days ago, Tuoba Hong seemed to have rushed back to the heartland overnight, but I don't know why. I have already ordered people to closely monitor his every move. Not only that, if there is any large-scale military unrest anywhere in the entire Northern Lie Kingdom, we will receive the news immediately and send the nearest troops to suppress it."
He trusted Cheng Liang to handle things. But whenever Tuoba Hong was mentioned, Xuan Yuanhan seemed to instinctively think of Yi Shangyun again.
So, he frowned, remained silent for a moment, and then instructed, "At this crucial final moment, we must not let our guard down."
"Yes," Cheng Liang accepted the order.
Xuanyuan Han then asked, "Are there still enough straw figures to make?"
"Your Highness, rest assured, there's absolutely no problem. After learning that the Northern Lie royal family had broken through the encirclement at the cost of their innocent lives, the herdsmen were filled with hatred for them and volunteered to help make straw figures. I never expected that Zhao Ping'an would be such a skilled straw figure maker; the straw figures he made have real features, and when dressed in our Western Qin's battle armor, they look exactly like the real thing. We're so lucky to have him this time!" Cheng Liang said happily.
"Hmm," Xuan Yuanhan hummed softly.
Just then, a hint of hesitation appeared on Cheng Liang's face.
Seemingly sensing his doubts, Xuan Yuanhan glanced at him and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Cheng Liang frowned, puzzled, and said, "Your Highness, on my way to deliver straw figures to the herdsmen, I encountered a few people. Judging from their backs... it looked like Young Master Yi and his two unruly maids, as well as the Third Prince of Dongning, Mei Zhixuan, and his entourage."
Xuanyuan Han looked at Cheng Liang's face in surprise and asked, "What are they doing here?"
Cheng Liang said, "I was also curious, so I asked the herdsmen around us. I heard that they seemed to be looking for someone."
Xuanyuan Han shifted his gaze back, pondered for a moment, and then said, "You mean they also suspect that Yun'er did not die, but went to the Northern Lie Kingdom."
Cheng Liang nodded, then shook his head: "I heard from the herdsmen that the man who looked like Young Master Yi and the two women had been on the grasslands for a long time, arriving here around the same time as our group. As for the one in the back view of Mei Zhixuan, he arrived here not long ago. Although Mei Zhixuan is a prince, he is not of high rank in the Dongning Kingdom's royal family, and he dares not refuse the marriage. It seems that Young Master Yi must have followed our group here first and discovered something before informing him later."
Seeing that Xuanyuan Han was already deep in thought, Cheng Liang said worriedly, "Your Highness, if Miss Yi is indeed the legitimate princess of Dongning Kingdom who was lost to our Western Qin, then what will become of our Western Qin and Dongning Kingdom in the future..."
Cheng Liang was at a loss for words to imagine the predicament Xuan Yuanhan was in at that moment, so he silently fell silent.
After a long silence, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly spoke up, saying, "No, it seems we must find Yun'er before Young Master Yi and Mei Zhixuan do. We absolutely cannot let her know that she is the legitimate princess of Dongning Kingdom."
Cheng Liangsha asked, puzzled, "Find Miss Yi? But Your Highness, didn't you say before..."
Xuanyuan Han interrupted him, saying coldly, "Times have changed. It seems that Beilie Kingdom is no longer safe for Yun'er."
After a moment's thought, Cheng Liang asked, "So, after we find Miss Yi, what should we do with her?"
After pondering alone for a long time with his back to Cheng Liang, he said in a deep voice, "Since I can't avoid her or hide her, I might as well keep her by my side."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang's face lit up with joy. "That's wonderful! Miss Yi can finally stop wandering alone outside and can finally go home. I'll immediately send people to search for her and bring her back."
"Why did you pretend not to recognize me when we met last time?"
Xuan Yuanhan finally breathed a long sigh of relief. Although he was still puzzled, he was already looking forward to their reunion...
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