Chapter 46: Running Thousands of Miles
The pursuers behind him roared with all their might, but Yong Shaolan rode even faster. Zhao Yan clung to the man's waist to prevent herself from falling.
Beyond Guanyang Prefecture lay the territory of Baicheng, and beyond the city gates lay a barren mountainous landscape. They ran for who knew how long, from day to night, but they still couldn't shake off the soldiers behind them.
As night falls, a cool breeze blows.
Zhao Yan clung tightly to Yong Shaolan's back, trying to keep warm with the body temperature of both of them. The sound of horse hooves and the roar of officers and soldiers could be heard from behind.
"Seventh Prince, you are at the end of your rope. Don't run away anymore—"
"His Majesty has ordered you to go to the Northern Frontier. As long as you follow me back obediently, I promise that His Majesty will not do anything to you!"
The people behind him kept chasing and shouting, but Zhao Yan didn't have the heart to pay attention to them. At this time, the horse ran into a woods. The path was winding, and the horse's speed immediately slowed down.
Zhao Yan pressed against Yong Shaolan's back, hugging him tightly: "Why did you suddenly come here?"
Yong Shaolan tightened the reins and grabbed Zhao Yan's wrist: "You can't outrun them."
Yong Shaolan dismounted, signaling Zhao Yan to be quiet. After Zhao Yan landed, Yong Shaolan turned the horse around, pointed it back in its original direction, and gave it a hard smack. With a long neigh, the horse bolted down the path.
Yong Shaolan grabbed Zhao Yan's hand and walked deeper into the woods. Soon, a rapid sound of horse hooves passed by: "Seventh Prince, your horse can't run for much longer with two people on it—"
The sound passed by their ears and then chased in the direction of their horses.
Zhao Yan held Yong Shaolan's hand and walked in the overgrown woods, one foot deep and one foot shallow. The dew quickly wet their shoes and socks.
They walked on and on in silence until dawn.
Zhao Yan tripped over something and fell flat on his face. A large area of his hand was scratched by the stones on the ground: "Hiss..."
The palm of his hand felt hot, Zhao Yan instinctively snorted and quickly closed his mouth.
Zhao Yan: "I, I'm fine, continue."
They had been walking for a whole night, so they were naturally tired. Yong Shaolan had been marching for years, so this distance was nothing to him. But Zhao Yan was a pampered little prince, and even though he had been traveling with them all these days, he was not as miserable as he was now.
Yong Shaolan stopped and took a handkerchief to wrap the boy's hands, "I'll carry you."
"No, no need..." Zhao Yan whispered, "I'm already very tired..."
Before Zhao Yan finished speaking, Yong Shaolan had already turned his back and looked back at him: "Come up."
Zhao Yan climbed onto Yong Shaolan's back.
Are autumn nights so cold?
In the past, at this time of night, the Jinling River was particularly lively, with the sound of stringed instruments and orchestras echoing endlessly along both banks. The Nangong Mansion's small three-story flower boat floated on the water, and the exaggerated luxury cruise ships always attracted a crowd of onlookers when they set out.
"His Seventh Prince is out playing again!"
"Your Highness is so handsome at such a young age! I am so delighted to see you!"
Zhao Yan sat in a rocking chair on the deck, listening to the singing of the women, the poetry of the students, and the beautiful women on both sides of the Jinling River who were secretly looking at him. He then played a game of Go with Shen Buyu and drank a glass of wine. When he was slightly tipsy, he lay down on the sedan chair and was carried back to the Nangong Mansion, where he was scolded by his mother.
And now, his lower body was completely wet, his clothes were sticky to his body, he had been riding the horse for seven or eight hours, his butt was rubbed and burning, and his hands... It was so scary here, so eerie, and he could hear the sound of bats from time to time.
Zhao Yan leaned on Yong Shaolan's back, tears streaming down her face.
Fortunately, Yong Shaolan's body was warm, and his back was spacious and reassuring. Zhao Yan hooked his arm around the man's shoulders, pressed against the back of his neck, and murmured softly, "Brother Lan, we don't have any horses now, how can we go to Liaodong..."
Yong Shaolan said gravely, "I still have some money on me. Once we get to the city, I'll find someone to register my household. That will make things easier for me."
"Um."
"It's great to have you here..." Zhao Yan wiped away his tears, "If it weren't for you, I would have been killed by Zhao Chengga now... Even if he didn't kill me, he wouldn't let me have an easy time."
"The Northern Frontier doesn't sound like a good place to go."
"Thank you, Brother Lan."
Zhao Yan felt more and more aggrieved as he spoke, "You treat me better than my mother does."
After saying that, Zhao Yan gently lifted Yong Shaolan's hair and kissed him on the ear. Her tears rubbed the man's face: "You are the best person to me in this world."
"I'm not tired anymore, put me down."
Upon hearing this, Yong Shaolan slowed down his pace, lifted Zhao Yan up a bit, and continued to grope his way through the woods, one foot deep and one foot shallow: "Rest for a while."
"No!" Zhao Yan twisted his buttocks twice: "Put me down, Brother Lan, I'm really fine. Hold my hand and let's find a stick to explore the way. There are weeds all over here. It would be bad if we step on a snake."
Zhao Yan stopped crying. Yong Shaolan had carried him for half an hour, which helped him to adjust his mentality. Yong Shaolan did not force him anymore and put Zhao Yan down on the ground steadily. In the dim moonlight, Zhao Yan climbed up a tree that was not too tall, broke off a thick branch, and used it to explore the way with Yong Shaolan.
Zhao Yan held Yong Shaolan's hand tightly and followed him: "Let's go, how long will we have to walk?"
"I don't know. If you're lucky, you'll see farmland in a little while. If you're unlucky, you'll just keep walking."
Zhao Yan nodded: "Okay, let's go."
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the sun slowly rose, and the morning mist formed, making it almost impossible to see anything in the forest. Zhao Yan held Yong Shaolan's hand tightly and followed him through the forest.
At this moment, someone came out from behind them and said, "Damn it, where did that person go?"
Zhao Yan immediately became alert and glanced at Yong Shaolan. It was the same group of soldiers from last night. Without saying a word, the two men increased their pace considerably. After another hour of walking, they finally reached the end of the forest.
It's a lake.
The fog had dissipated, and soon someone spotted them. "The people are just ahead—"
Yong Shaolan protected Zhao Yan behind him. After a shout, many soldiers in armor came towards them with machetes. Yong Shaolan only had a dagger in his hand that was no longer than his forearm.
"Your Highness Prince Yong, surrender."
Zhao Yan also carried a dagger, but his kung fu was just a show, and he couldn't help Yong Shaolan at all: "Brother Lan, what should we do?"
Yong Shaolan held the dagger in his hand and said solemnly, "Wait."
Before Zhao Yan finished speaking, Yong Shaolan rushed forward with a dagger in hand, and the group quickly engaged in a fight. The bloody scene was nothing like what was shown in TV dramas. Yong Shaolan's clothes were soon stained red. One after another, officers and soldiers hacked at the men, and one by one, their necks were slashed. The scene was so cruel that it could not be described as anything but brutal.
Zhao Yan picked up a machete from the ground and rushed over to see Yong Shaolan in a state of decline: "I'll help you!"
The young man had no idea what to do, just chopped people's faces like chopping melons and vegetables, but he missed everyone: "I'll fight you!"
Zhao Yan turned his back to Yong Shaolan and watched the few people standing up unsteadily from the ground. He turned around to look at the man and found that Yong Shaolan had a long scar on his arm and his face was pale.
"Seventh Prince, please stop and follow me back obediently. His Majesty will not treat you unfairly."
"Pfft..." Zhao Yan glanced at the lake at the edge of the forest. It was about a few meters high, so he should be able to jump in without any problem. Zhao Yan raised the long knife and slashed it across his neck: "Don't come over here. If you come over here, I will commit suicide!"
"I'm going to die. My mother will never let Zhao Cheng go!"
Yong Shaolan had a strong smell of blood on his body, and his face was also stained with blood, and his complexion was pale.
This trick really worked. The officer in the lead raised his hand and retreated towards the soldiers approaching them: "Step back further. Give me time to think it over."
When Zhao Yan and Yong Shaolan retreated to the edge of the forest, with nowhere to retreat, the leading officer finally felt relieved and ordered them to lay down their weapons. "Seventh Prince, I will give you a quarter of an hour. Follow me back to Yujing, and you will remain the current prince."
Zhao Yan frowned and asked Yong Shaolan in a low voice: "Brother Lan, are you okay?"
Yong Shaolan tore off a piece of his belt and bandaged himself briefly: "It's okay."
With just one glance, Yong Shaolan understood what Zhao Yan was going to do. Zhao Yan glanced behind him, then threw away the machete in his hand and pulled Yong Shaolan into the lake.
"not good--"
With a bang, both of them fell into the water.
Zhao Yan was uninjured and a good swimmer. After falling into the water, he quickly tried to rescue Yong Shaolan and quickly pulled him to the surface. Looking up, they saw several soldiers in the forest watching them. It was obvious that none of them could swim.
Zhao Yan held Yong Shaolan's clothes with one hand and swam towards the shore: "Are you okay?"
Yong Shaolan's face was pale, and he was obviously not feeling well, but he still nodded reluctantly: "Yeah."
"Hold on to me," Zhao Yan knew Yong Shaolan couldn't swim as soon as he saw him. "I'm a very fast swimmer."
It only took Zhao Yan half an hour to drag Yong Shaolan to the shore. There were many water wheels in the shallow water, used to irrigate farmland, so there should be people living there.
But those soldiers saw them fall into the water and should be able to find them soon.
After reaching the shore, Zhao Yan sighed twice and hurried to check Yong Shaolan's wound. The lake water had washed away most of the blood, including the wound on his shoulder. "Does it hurt?"
Yong Shaolan gritted his teeth and wiped the algae off the wound, "It's okay."
"Let's go into the village first." Yong Shaolan stood up, wrung out the water on his body, and pulled Zhao Yan to squeeze the water off him: "Let's go."
Zhao Yan nodded: "Okay."
Yong Shaolan had some money on him, so he walked more than ten miles and found a hunter's family. He made up a reason to elope and finally found a place to stay.
In the evening, Yong Shaolan developed a high fever.
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The author has something to say: Here it comes!
Thank you all for the nutrient solution! [kiss][kiss]
I will send everyone small red envelopes tomorrow, thank you!
Good night zzz~
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