In the dense forest.
"Reporting to the Crown Prince, the headcount has been completed..."
The subordinate who came to report stammered, and Tadar had already anticipated what was going on. He lowered his eyes to look at the bowing subordinate and said in a deep voice, "Speak!"
When the messenger heard Tadar's suppressed anger and authoritative tone, even the seven-foot-tall man couldn't help but tremble.
Not daring to delay any longer, he said, "Your Highness, from last night to today, fifteen people have gone missing."
The more than 1,000 people were divided into two groups. One group was responsible for guarding the mountain range, while the other group was responsible for searching the mountain. As a result, 15 people were lost.
For Tadar, this was an absolute disgrace!
As soon as his subordinate spoke, Tadar's face turned ugly. He grew up in a grassland tribe and was exposed to the sun more often than he ate cattle and sheep. You could see the bulging veins under his dark skin.
The men surrounding Tadar felt as if the surrounding temperature had plummeted to rock bottom.
For a moment, apart from the birdsong, the heavy breathing of the men climbing the mountain in the forest subsided.
Fearing that a moment's carelessness might anger the unpredictable eldest prince, he ordered the food to be chopped up and fed to the eagles.
"Okay, okay!"
Having not rested well for two consecutive days, Tadar's eyes widened, his bloodshot veins particularly noticeable, and he suddenly shouted, "They're all a bunch of useless trash!"
They couldn't even capture a seriously injured crown prince of an enemy country!
"You still haven't managed to find the enemy prince today, and now you're all being sent to sacrifice to the gods for me!"
Centered around Tadar, a group of about a hundred men, all burly and strong, stood scattered around. When they heard these words, their hearts trembled.
The hundred or so people instantly became extremely alert, wishing they could dig three feet into the ground to find the enemy country's crown prince!
"Yes! Your Highness!" A resounding voice echoed through the mountains and forests, startling the birds into flight.
After giving his orders, Tadar led a group of men down the mountain, but after working for most of the day, they didn't see a single ghost.
Having been a drinker for years, he had long since developed an alcohol addiction. His mouth tasted bland, and a sense of irritability surged within him, growing stronger and stronger.
He struggled to control his craving for alcohol and asked his subordinates, "How much longer until we reach the bottom of the mountain?"
"Your Highness, there is still half an hour left."
Tadar's nostrils flared, he let out a long breath, and walked down the mountain with a furious expression on his face.
His subordinates followed closely behind, but he couldn't understand why the eldest prince's drinking problem was getting worse.
I went into the mountains early in the morning with a bag full of wine, and it took me no more than half an hour to finish it.
Watching the eldest prince walk further and further away, he put aside all the things he couldn't understand and hurriedly chased after him.
Knowing their whereabouts had been discovered, the three Shadow Guards dared not alert the enemy and continued deeper into the mountains until they reached a precipice.
To make matters worse, a chorus of curses erupted from behind.
"That damned enemy prince! I'll catch him, break both his legs, and drag him to the eldest prince to claim credit!"
"The lackeys and scoundrels of the Great Jin Dynasty are like bedbugs hiding in dung!"
"Once we've caught that short, two-legged sheep, the eldest prince will order the wizard to skin the enemy prince and make him into a drum, hahahaha."
Upon hearing this, the curses turned into laughter.
The sound grew clearer, and the Shadow Guards knew that the Tartars were getting closer and closer.
Ahead lay a precipice, and behind them ruthless enemy troops; the three Shadow Guards had nowhere to go.
Now that there was no other way, the Shadow Guard approached the cliff and looked down. The cliff was a hundred feet high, and if they fell, they would surely be reduced to ashes.
The three looked at each other, their minds spinning like tops, unable to come up with a good solution even after a quarter of an hour.
Just then, one of the Shadow Guards pulled out a bag and took out two pitch-black spheres from it.
He said, "This is poison given by the village chief of Kangle Township. We must take the antidote before we can fight to the death!"
The prince is still waiting for them. Even if it means their own death, they must wipe out the Tartars and save the prince from danger!
......
Inside the cave.
Lu Qiqi's tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably.
In the wounded soldiers' camp, she was already used to seeing seriously wounded soldiers, and she never changed her expression as she stitched them up and applied medicine to them.
Now, facing the seriously injured Song Yanqing, not only could he not control his tears, but even the fingers that were taking his pulse could not help but tremble.
Not to mention being able to diagnose the illness from Song Yanqing's weak and superficial pulse.
The only option now is to give Song Yanqing a heart-protecting pill to prevent damage to his heart.
Using the spring water as a medicinal guide, the heart-protecting pill can achieve its maximum efficacy.
Song Yanqing's voice was hoarse as he told her not to cry; all she could hear now was his faint breathing.
Lu Qiqi held him in her arms, carefully using her mind to retrieve the medicine from her spatial storage, afraid that she might accidentally cut off the kitten-like breathing in her arms.
At this moment, in Lu Qiqi's eyes, Song Yanqing was like a fragile glass doll; the more she cared about him, the more careful she became.
She brought the heart-protecting pill to Song Yanqing's lips, her fingertip touching his warm, rough lips, and then fed him a few mouthfuls of spiritual spring water.
Fortunately, Song Yanqing had a strong will to survive. Even with her eyes closed, she still swallowed unconsciously.
After doing all that, Lu Qiqi looked around. The light coming through the rotten tree hole wasn't much, but it was enough to make out their surroundings.
This place is too cramped to examine the patient's condition or treat Song Yanqing's injuries.
Now that Song Yanqing is seriously injured, and with over a thousand people searching the mountains and the Tatars guarding the foot of the mountain, escaping is now an impossible task.
It would be better to take Song Yanqing into the space to heal, and then find a way to take him out of the mountain after he recovers.
Just as Lu Qiqi was about to use her mind, the person in her arms moved slightly. The movement was small, but it was enough to move her heart and force her to stop controlling her mind.
Before long, in the dim light, Lu Qiqi could see Song Yanqing's eyes, which were as dark as ink.
With her thin lips slightly moving, Lu Qiqi, whose hearing in her left ear was impaired, could not clearly hear what Song Yanqing was saying, so she put her right ear close to Song Yanqing's lips.
She said softly, "Are you saying it hurts? Tell me, where does it hurt?"
After saying that, a warm breath came to her ear, and a familiar voice rang in her ear. Song Yanqing said hoarsely, "Qiqi, if I cannot get out safely, you should go down the mountain under the cover of night and whistle two short and one long whistle to summon Tayun."
"At that time, you will ride back to camp on your Cloud Chaser and inform Qin Shiyu of the news so that she can prepare accordingly."
These words, spoken as if entrusting her final wishes, sounded to Lu Qiqi like hundreds of knife cuts on her body, each cut icy cold yet burning hot to the core.
She could no longer hold back her sobs, and said in a tearful voice, "You'll be alright, and I won't let anything happen to you!"
After listening to her quietly, Song Yanqing slowly said, "Qiqi, you are a good girl. It is my regret in this life that I could not marry you. If there is an afterlife, I will definitely wait for you on the Naihe Bridge."
Upon hearing this, Lu Qiqi's tears fell like pearls from a broken string.
One of the tears fell into Song Yanqing's mouth. Everyone says that tears are salty and bitter, but he only tasted a hint of bitterness.
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