Cheng Liang seemed to be deep in thought when he suddenly stood up, grabbed the distraught Yi Junhao, and hurriedly ran down the mountain road.
"What are you doing? I need to stay with Ya Tou. I have to be with her. She must be so scared, so helpless, so lonely. Let me go. I want to stay here and watch over her. I will never leave her again, never abandon her..." Yi Junhao struggled in Cheng Liang's arms as he spoke with heartache.
"I need to see her alive or dead. What's the use of just guarding this place? I'll take you to find her!" Cheng Liang said firmly.
Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao exclaimed in surprise, "What?"
"Young Master Yi, our Prince has endured countless hardships and dangers since childhood, experiencing trials unimaginable to most. On the battlefield, how many times has he not persevered to the very last moment? Even when he is riddled with holes and covered in wounds, even when he finally collapses amidst countless enemy corpses and pools of blood, he will still hold onto his breath, waiting for Cheng Liang to find him and bring him back to the land of Western Qin. Even in such a perilous situation, he survived. Cheng Liang refuses to believe that with the protection of our ancestors and the Empress Dowager..." Protected by the spirit, even Yama, the King of Hell, dared to take my Highness's life. Cheng Liang refused to believe that His Highness would truly abandon the people of Western Qin, whom he had devoted so many years of painstaking effort to protect. Therefore, even if His Highness had fallen into this precipice, Cheng Liang would still search for him as always and bring him back to the Qin Prince's Mansion in the east of the city, even if His Highness truly… But Young Master Yi, if you believe that Miss Yi is dead, perhaps… she really is dead. However, if you also do not believe, whether alive or dead, and still want to see her one more time, then come with me.”
Cheng Liang suddenly stopped, as if he was angry, and shook off the hand that was tightly gripping Yi Junhao's arm. He took a deep breath, frowned, and while recalling, he spoke to him quite seriously.
After speaking, Cheng Liang turned and left alone. Yi Junhao was stunned by Cheng Liang's heartfelt and impassioned words.
He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and never had to worry about anything. He was second only to the emperor, worshipped by all, and lived a life of luxury, never experiencing hardship, let alone going to the battlefield.
He never cared about who won or lost in the major and minor wars of Nan'an Kingdom, as if he would never be involved in them in his life. Yet, these worldly burdens fell solely on his shoulders. Apart from medicine and a life of leisure, he cared about nothing else, and so he fled.
Only when he met Yi Shangyun, she was the first and only exception to his life, suddenly barging into his life...
Yi Junhao was lost in thought, unable to pull himself out of it for a long time. When he suddenly came to his senses, he saw that Cheng Liang had already walked several feet away by himself, so he quickly leaped after him.
As soon as Yi Junhao caught up with Cheng Liang, he put a hand on his shoulder and said with a smile and confidence, "I will go with you. I want to see her alive or dead. I believe that girl... she would never die so young."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang seemed encouraged and nodded vigorously, saying, "Yes, isn't there a word called 'miracle'? My prince and Miss Yi are both pitiful people. As the saying goes, 'Heaven cherishes life,' I believe that after this separation of life and death, they will surely fall in love and 'true love will prevail.'"
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Yi Junhao's expression suddenly changed. He quickly withdrew the hand that had been firmly resting on Cheng Liang's shoulder, put on a stern face, and snorted coldly, saying, "What 'mutual affection'? It's enough to believe in miracles. As for 'lovers will eventually be united,' forget it! I, the Third Young Master Yi, know my girl's thoughts better than anyone else. She has never had any feelings for your master."
"Your girl? Young Master Yi, stop trying to make yourself look good. When did Miss Yi become your girl? I had no idea. You can say that to me, Cheng Liang, but if His Highness hears you, you won't be able to fool him so easily. I advise you to watch your mouth..." Cheng Liang and Yi Junhao continued their bickering and arguing as they walked down the mountain.
"Wait, oh no!" Just as the two were about to reach the bottom of the mountain, Yi Junhao suddenly stopped and exclaimed in surprise.
"What's wrong?" Cheng Liangyi stopped abruptly, looked at Yi Junhao, and asked with a puzzled expression.
Yi Junhao said, "How could I have forgotten about him?"
"Who is it?" Cheng Liang asked.
"Tuoba Ze is still over there. In a fit of anger, I stripped him naked on a tree branch and left him to bake in the sun, planning to roast him like a whole pig to feed the vultures? No, if it's like this, I have to keep him alive first. If the girl is alive, she can deal with him. If... then I will make him taste all of my unique recipes, making him wish he were dead."
Before Yi Junhao could finish speaking, he lifted the hem of his robe, turned around, and hurriedly ran up the mountain.
"Young Master Yi..." Cheng Liang said, then could only sigh deeply and hurriedly chased after him.
"Where is he?" Yi Junhao flew up to the top of the big tree where they had just been, and searched around for a long time, but Tuoba Ze was nowhere to be found.
Just as he was frowning in bewilderment, Cheng Liang, who had followed closely behind, also squatted down and saw the empty tree branch in front of him.
Yi Junhao, still incredulous, frantically searched around, muttering to himself in utter bewilderment, "Impossible! I stripped him bare, leaving only his underwear, and used it all to tie him to this tree. Just in case, I even sealed all his acupoints. There's no way he could have escaped! It can't be like seeing a ghost in broad daylight under the blazing sun, can it?"
Cheng Liang followed his gaze, looked around, and then jumped down from the tree.
Suddenly, he looked down and noticed that on the loose soil he was standing on, there was a series of footprints left by others besides his own.
So he gently lifted his foot off the loose soil, and then, as a normal person would, left a new footprint in the empty space of the loose soil.
Immediately afterwards, he left the loose soil again and squatted down to carefully examine all the footprints left on the soil. Sure enough, there was more to it than met the eye.
The trail of footprints, not left by me, consisted of one large and one small footprint, but were about the same size as mine, clearly left by two men.
The distance between them was much closer than the distance between two people walking side by side normally. One of their footprints was uneven, indicating that he must have been seriously injured and was being supported by the other. Moreover, the starting point of these two footprints was exactly the same depth as the one he had left when he jumped down from the tree.
After a slight hesitation, Cheng Liang asked, "Did Tuoba Ze suffer severe internal injuries?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao jumped down from the tree and said indignantly, "Yes, he was already seriously injured from the start, which must have been given to him by your master. Later, I was still angry, so I added some more to his body, and he was almost on his last breath before I put him on the top of the tree. I didn't expect that he could still escape like that, it's really unbelievable."
Cheng Liang immediately confirmed his thoughts, stood up and said, "There are no ghosts, but there is one person who must have rescued Tuoba Ze."
Yi Junhao angrily asked, "Who?"
Cheng Liang said, "His younger brother is Tuoba Hong, the second prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom."
Yi Junhao then looked over and saw a pile of footprints on the loose soil beneath Cheng Liang's feet, and instantly understood everything. "That's right, how could I have forgotten about him?"
After a slight hesitation, Yi Junhao continued, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten. Weren't you the one fighting him just now? Could it be that you, a vice general of the Spirit Void War God, couldn't even defeat that weak and indecisive prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom who has already changed his nature?"
Cheng Liang chuckled and said, "Don't underestimate him. He's not weak at all."
"Oh?" Yi Junhao asked, his face full of questions.
Cheng Liang said, "Actually, he's nothing like Tuoba Ze. He's actually quite a gentleman, and he didn't win the favor of the King of Beilie. It's just that with an unscrupulous brother causing chaos everywhere, one day the country will surely perish..."
As Cheng Liang spoke, he hesitated, then said, "Never mind, let's hurry up and find His Highness and Miss Yi. 'The monk may run away, but the temple can't.' We'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with him later."
After descending the North Mountain, the two headed back along the path they had taken that morning, turning back for about ten miles. Gradually, they began to run towards a forest path that appeared faintly in the woods on the left, a path that was neither a road nor a trail.
Once inside the jungle, Yi Junhao was completely lost, finding no way out. It was a deserted and isolated wilderness.
Underfoot, weeds grew rampant. Looking into the distance, the trees here were different from those elsewhere. The trees, which formed a canopy over the sky, grew lush and verdant. It seemed as if a warm spring breeze was blowing through the forest, exuding a comforting atmosphere.
Warm sunlight filtered through layers of foliage, casting dappled patterns on the trees. Wildflowers of all kinds bloomed in the woods, emitting an alluring fragrance. Birds chirped merrily, their calls echoing in the air along with the babbling of the forest stream.
The enchanting scenery was truly breathtaking, but the two had no intention of appreciating or feeling it at all. They hurried through it, using their swords to push aside the layers of branches and leaves, and kept running forward.
Following closely behind Cheng Liang's footsteps, which took several turns, Yi Junhao suddenly looked up and glanced around. He saw that the sun was already setting in the west, shining from the left side of the blue sky and white clouds, indicating that Cheng Liang had been leading him north.
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