I could hear Xie Yuancheng's laughter without even looking up. He must have known, but he deliberately told me to walk forward.
"You're so annoying! Are you even the person I'm supposed to marry? All you do is sweet talk to me, and when there's danger, you make me the first one to step in!"
Xie Yuancheng carried me forward: "Of course, if I don't let Ying'er get scared first, I won't have a chance."
"How come the ground here is alive? When I stepped on it just now, it felt like I was stepping on cattle and sheep."
"This is a living swamp; it's very dangerous to cross it. What I was about to say, Ying'er just went ahead without even calling me, so naturally I didn't have time to warn you."
"Stop making excuses, you're a cunning person. Put me down, I need to walk too." I clung to Xie Yuancheng like a koala, so it was difficult for him to walk.
“No, I can lead you across. But if you fall down here, I won’t be able to pull you up. We might end up committing suicide together before we’ve even finished our business.”
"Your hand is injured, it breaks my heart~" I leaned up and could see Xie Yuancheng's beautiful chin.
"Knowing that Ying'er loves me to the core, you don't need to make such heartfelt declarations every time. I'm not the kind of person who can remain unmoved by a woman's advances."
"I'm serious, if you get hurt, I'll be in trouble. Let me down."
Xie Yuancheng looked at me with his head down: "I'll be over in half an incense stick's time, it won't affect my hand."
"Really?"
"When have I ever lied to Ying'er? Hold me tight, or I'll really be unable to get up if you fall."
When I heard him say that, I quickly leaned on his shoulder, just like when my mother used to hold me when I was little. When I was three or four years old, she liked to hold me like that when we went out.
Xie Yuancheng walked very steadily, and at a relatively slow pace. I saw behind him that the places he walked through were very close to the swamps on both sides. No wonder I felt that the ground was alive, because the ground was floating.
I hugged Xie Yuancheng tightly from the back, but he wasn't even panting: "Yuancheng, are you so tired that you can't breathe?"
"Don't speak yet. If we make the wrong judgment, we might really disappear together."
Xie Yuancheng paused for a moment, and hearing his words, I quietly leaned on his shoulder. Why did we come to this godforsaken place? Couldn't we just leave?
In the last few steps, Xie Yuancheng was particularly cautious, but thankfully we made it to the other side.
"Yuancheng, are we going to go back the way we came in a bit?"
I stood on the ground, looking at the horse on the other side. If I were to walk back, my heart would probably stop beating.
"Ying'er, I will take you away safely in a little while. The clan chief is performing a sacrifice now, and we should go and participate as well. For the next two weeks, we won't have to endure the elements all the time."
"You're going to stay here?"
"Of course not. We'll take their route. Not only will we get the information quickly, but we'll also know the situation in the central city. The Crown Prince and his men won't be able to find that way."
I leaned over and wiped his sweat: "Did you go through this before?"
"Yes, this was only a small part. You can see you can't take it anymore. I won't take you on dangerous roads in the future."
"No way! If you take other women with you, I'll teach you a lesson."
Xie Yuancheng laughed and pulled me forward. His shoes were covered in mud, while I was completely unharmed. It was a pity I couldn't carry him, otherwise I could have saved him some trouble.
As soon as we arrived at the place where those people from the Western Regions were, we heard funeral music. It was strange, since we were not far away. How come we hadn't noticed it before?
The clan chief stood at the front and began reciting the sacrificial text, while the people of the Western Regions below knelt in a huddle. Xie Yuancheng also pulled me to kneel behind him. The clan chief's voice was generous and impassioned, full of energy.
He spoke in the Western Regions language, so I was completely confused, but the kneeling Western Regions people all looked very serious and attentive.
After the clan chief finished reading, he began to offer sacrifices of cattle and sheep. At his command, the cattle and sheep were thrown into the large furnace to be burned.
I was a little afraid to look. Although they were all livestock, the fate of those who were sacrificed was too tragic. Now Xie Yuancheng needed his protection, and I couldn't very well hold his hand, so I had no choice but to continue kneeling.
At that moment, a melodious sound came, and some women dressed in red gauze carried a palanquin, which was also covered with red gauze curtains, and a young girl sat inside.
When the palanquin stopped, the chieftain reached out and asked the girl on it to dismount. Her appearance seemed to make even the flowers and grass of time lose their color; she was simply too beautiful.
I used to pride myself on being one of the top beauties in the Great Zhao Dynasty, which is why Xie Yuancheng, a sucker for good looks, fell head over heels for me. But this girl is probably only sixteen or seventeen years old, and her looks are already top-notch.
I instinctively glanced at Xie Yuancheng. If he even moved his eyes, I would definitely punish him. Xie Yuancheng didn't move at all, but out of the corner of his eye, he told me to kneel properly and not cause any trouble.
I then knelt down quietly. The girl was singing, and when she climbed a little above the Heavenly Pillar, she looked like a fairy descending to earth.
However, the subsequent rituals were so bizarre that they didn't end until nightfall, when the lanterns were lit and flew into the air.
The Western Region people kneeling below all stepped forward to touch the girl's head, then whispered something before leaving. Xie Yuancheng pulled me back, and I wanted to ask him if he wanted to go forward too.
This time I didn't want him to carry me like a baby. Before I could even say anything, Xie Yuancheng picked me up and made me hold the tinderbox towards the horse.
"Yuancheng, it's dark now, can you see here?"
"How could we not see it? Ying'er, you must not lift it to the wrong angle, or we will all fall down."
Aren't we going to go with them?
"We'll split up in the middle, and it'll be more dangerous going back over there at night. Let's go this safer way. Don't say anything yet. Once we're on horseback, you can say whatever you want."
I absolutely adore Xie Yuancheng whenever he gets serious. I kissed him on the cheek and then held up the lamp.
This time it went much more smoothly than before, and we quickly got to the horse. I massaged Xie Yuancheng's legs, looking very ingratiating.
"Ying'er, let's mount our horses first and get some rest today. We'll leave early tomorrow morning."
"Okay, whatever you say, I won't object."
Xie Yuancheng patted my head. I mounted my horse first, and then he mounted. We were both tired this time, so we just focused on traveling. I kept asking him about the ritual, but he said now was not the time to talk about it and concentrated on our journey.
The journey was relatively safe, except for the occasional howl of wolves, but the horses remained undisturbed. When I looked back, I saw some green eyes, but Xie Yuancheng was very calm, so I wasn't afraid.
This time, we arrived at the tribe in just over half an hour. As soon as we entered, the people from the Western Regions were chatting and laughing with Xie Yuancheng. I couldn't understand what they were saying, so I just followed them until we reached the tribe chief's tent.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com