A cold wind blew past, and Xiao Nanhui suddenly shrank back into the cave entrance.
If Tiancheng's army had already passed Sanmu Pass, then it would only take a few hours for Yexiao to arrive with reinforcements. Risking leaving now might miss the best chance to reunite with them, but would remaining in the cave mean waiting for death?
Dawn is just ahead, but the darkest moment is right before our eyes.
By the time she rushed back to the cave, the fire was out.
The man had woken up and was standing under the huge mural. A cold light outlined his figure from behind, and in a trance he had merged into one with the god in the mural.
He heard the noise but didn't turn around.
"Is someone coming?"
She nodded, panting, and the sound of the flying line breaking through the air seemed to be still in her ears.
"Friend or foe?"
Xiao Nanhui didn't say anything. She just stared at him, as if she could let him know what was going to happen without having to say anything.
After a pause, she made a decision.
She walked quickly forward, took off the only piece of cloth armor she was wearing, and carefully put it on the man.
"Although this cave is warmer than outside, it is still very cold at night. If Your Majesty doesn't know how to make a fire, you will probably freeze to death."
Then she gathered up the remaining food on the ground, wrapped it up and placed it in his hands, and carefully covered the ground where the fire had been made with sand and gravel.
He looked at her calmly: "What are you going to do?"
"I...I will lead them away."
She lowered her head when she said this, but her tone was firm.
She used the titles of monarch and minister again, as if to remind herself not to forget her identity.
"Yexiao has just gone to report the news. It won't be long before Tiancheng's men arrive. I will lead them away. Your Majesty, just stay here and you will be saved."
After she finished speaking, she seemed to feel a little more hopeful.
From the day she decided to step onto the battlefield, she had been prepared to die. She should feel honored that her hope could be passed on to someone else, and that person was the most noble person in this dynasty.
The emperor looked at her quietly.
In the darkness, that dirty face was embedded with a pair of determined and bright eyes, carrying the warmth and fragility of life.
Even though she was afraid just now, when the moment came, she still mustered all her courage.
The fearlessness of the ignorant is worthless, but those who understand fear and still choose to be brave are as valuable as gold.
"No need."
She stared blankly at the hand that was holding her, which was still wrapped with the new cloth strips she had just put on it today.
"No need to leave, stay here and enjoy the dawn with me."
"But they are coming..."
"There is no entrance or exit here. If you leave from here, they will come in from there. How can I protect myself?"
Xiao Nanhui stood there like a piece of wood, unable to move forward or backward.
He is right.
But now, does she have a better solution?
"I don't know how they tracked me here, perhaps by scent. If I put on your majesty's clothes and leave somewhere else, perhaps they will catch up..."
"Xiao Nanhui, do you still remember what you said?"
She was stunned for a moment, then knelt on one knee and uttered her oath: "I remember. As long as I am alive, I will protect Your Majesty."
"That's not what I said."
Isn’t this the sentence?
I have said at least tens of thousands of things, but which one are you talking about?
Before she could ask, a loud rumbling sound came from deep within the cave, and a layer of dirt fell from the rock wall with a rustling sound, choking people and making them cough.
In this cave, even sounds from thousands of miles away could be transmitted through these rock walls to every corner, let alone such a vibration.
The aftermath of the rumbling sound faded away, and faint footsteps began to be heard from all directions.
What is coming will eventually come.
The statues on the surrounding murals looked at them quietly, neither sad nor happy, as if they were spending the most ordinary day in the long years they had guarded here.
However, the air was filled with a solemn atmosphere, which was the tranquility before the gates of hell opened.
The flat string stretched out, its rusty patterns stained with blood. It was the last line of defense in front of the two men.
Xiao Nanhui's face was still a little pale, but his hand holding the weapon did not tremble at all.
She imagined the unknown fear, which had yet to manifest, as a pack of wolves in the wilderness. If she couldn't escape, she would face it. She would be the dog protecting the flock, fighting to the bitter end with a fierce determination to tear the other party apart.
"Xiao Nanhui."
He called her name from behind her, his voice so close.
She turned her head slightly and found that he had taken off the Buddhist beads that he had been wearing on his left hand. Then he pulled her hand holding the gun and put the beads in her hand.
"Here you go."
She was unable to react for a moment: "What?"
He actually smiled: "Aren't we going to fight soon?"
Xiao Nanhui was speechless. He looked at the other person's slender fingers without even a trace of calluses and smiled a smile uglier than crying: "Your Majesty, please stop making trouble."
The footsteps were getting closer, and the echoes in the cave mixed the chaotic sounds into a mess, like a swarm of bees about to attack.
He stopped smiling and seriously lifted Xiao Nanhui's hand. The string of Buddhist beads slid to her wrist, carrying a hint of body warmth. "When everything is over, you must put it back on my hand. No matter what, you must do it."
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