Chapter 86 Side by Side, She Decides to Lure the Enemy Away
The moon sets in the secluded valley, and the forest path is covered with a layer of pure white frost.
Mingying, carrying the items, spurred her horse and galloped towards Cuifeng Pass.
She didn't know whether the pursuers would be the Wuhuan or General Zhou's men, so she dared not leave herself any room for maneuver. The sound of horses' hooves was as loud as raindrops, bringing with it a gust of wind.
The closer to the border, the looser the jurisdiction, and people from all walks of life from various countries roam about. As a woman, she could only tear off her outer garment to use as a headscarf to cover her face, leaving only her eyes exposed.
It's not far from Cuifeng Pass; if we travel day and night, we can arrive in just one or two days.
The horse beneath her was exhausted and could not move no matter how hard she tried to urge it. Mingying dismounted and led the horse to the riverbank.
As the horse drank water downstream, she slowly squatted down upstream and scooped up a handful of water as well.
Only when her palms touched the flowing water did a glimmer of life appear in her eyes.
She recalled the scene of fierce fighting in Yanshan when she left.
I wonder how He Lianqing and the others are doing...
The most urgent thing now is that the item is with her, and she must deliver it to her so as not to let them down after delaying for her.
She lowered her head, drank two sips of water, washed her face, lowered her sleeves, and prepared to get up and continue her journey.
Suddenly, a broken Central Plains dialect came from behind.
"Young lady, there's a battle going on at the front. Where are you rushing off to?"
The man speaking was frivolous and dissolute, and his speech was not fluent; he was clearly a foreigner from the surrounding area.
Mingying's heart leaped into her throat, and a chill ran down her spine.
When traveling alone at the border, it's inevitable to encounter people like this; this time, no one can help her anymore.
She crouched down, listening to the approaching footsteps of the man behind her.
The man, dressed in a wide blue robe, was a thief in this area. Seeing someone riding alone, he secretly followed Mingying for a while. Although she had her face tightly wrapped with a headscarf, it wasn't hard to tell from her figure and waist that she was a woman. Even if there was no money to rob, robbing her of her body wouldn't be a loss.
Mingying squinted, scanned the open space around her, and gently brushed aside the grass clippings with her fingers, touching a sharp twig.
Seeing that she neither spoke nor resisted, the man in blue immediately bent down and pounced on her. When he lifted the headscarf, he saw that she was indeed a beautiful woman with a bright and beautiful appearance.
Just then, Mingying waved her hand, and a tree branch pierced the man's right eye, causing blood to gush out.
"Ah—" The man clutched his injured eye, blood trickling from between his fingers, and roared furiously, "You little bitch, I'll kill you!"
With that, he grabbed Mingying's neck with one hand, his face contorted in a horrifying way.
Mingying was ultimately no match for his strength and was pushed to the ground. A force tightened around her neck, like a venomous snake coiling around her, making it difficult for her to breathe.
The man covered his eyes with one hand and pinched her with the other. Mingying's face turned blue and purple as she struggled, gripping the man's wrist tightly until he loosened his grip slightly.
If I'm going to die, I must deliver the goods safely. Then I'll die without regrets. I can't die here! I can't die at the hands of people like this!
A stubborn glint suddenly appeared in her unfocused pupils. She groped for the blood-stained branch again, tightened her grip, gathered her strength, and stabbed the man's neck three times.
The sound of flesh and blood flying everywhere was clear and loud, and the weight on my body suddenly tilted to the side.
She sat up, panting heavily. It took her a long time before a trace of color returned to her face.
The man seemed to be dead, his eyes staring out, bloodshot and one of them a horrifying bloody hole.
With a calm expression, she decisively threw away the branch. Fearing that the man had accomplices, and to avoid being discovered, she dragged him to the riverbank and kicked him into the river.
The person sank down in no time.
She scooped up a handful of water to wash the blood off her hands, then led her horse away.
The further we went, the louder the wind became; even in June, the weather was comparable to the dead of winter.
With her hands, which were frozen and numb, Mingying kept touching the two things on her body. Each time she felt their clear outlines, she felt relieved.
She shook her dizzy head, and a voice rose in her mind: Hang in there a little longer, Cuifeng Pass is just ahead.
She certainly hoped that General Zhou and his men would catch up with them, but she didn't know the situation and dared not linger, in case it was bandits who caught up with her...
They continued their journey until the morning of the second day, when the sun rose and the sandstorm finally subsided.
The army formation, once the size of black beans, is now clearly visible, with the outlines of men and horses.
Her smile was pale. She took a few deep breaths, gathered some strength in her heart, and continued on her way.
There was no food for either the man or the horse on the road, and they were extremely exhausted, so the man and the horse traveled slowly.
A soft sound came from the woods behind them; as it drew closer, it sounded like the turning wheels of a carriage.
Due to excessive tension, she developed an unusual sensitivity, able to detect any human-made sounds other than the sounds of wind and insects.
Why is there a horse-drawn carriage...?
Before she saw anyone, she quickly dismounted, tied the reins to a tree nearby, and hid in the thicket. With nothing on the ground to defend herself, she picked up a sharp stone and held it in her palm.
Finally, the simple carriage approached and stopped after seeing the horse she had abandoned by the roadside.
She held her breath, her eyes sharp, and pushed aside the jagged branches obscuring her view, revealing a man's figure.
The man, dressed in white, was tall and elegant. He looked at the horse she had left behind with a hint of urgency in his expression.
He chased after her all the way here and clearly saw her, so how could she have disappeared again here?
"Miss Ming, it's me."
Upon hearing this, Mingying froze on the spot. Her heart felt like a bell that had been struck, and before she knew it, hot tears were streaming from the corners of her eyes.
Lin Xian, why is he here...?
"I'm here." Her voice was hoarse as she broke off the grass and trees blocking her way and walked out step by step.
As the breath he had been holding came down, his limbs and bones felt warm and weak.
That time, she was going to Cangxi Valley to deliver a letter to her brother, and she concealed the correct departure time from Lin Xian because she didn't want him to follow her again and get hurt.
"Why are you here?" She didn't realize that her eyes were blurry with tears, and her voice was heavy and distorted.
She could tell from how he addressed her that he still hadn't regained his memory.
Lin Xian's throat tightened. Looking at her dusty face and even the scraped skin on her forehead, she pursed her lips slightly and said, "I'm worried about you."
He wanted to go to Cangxi Valley with her, but she lied to him. When he went to look for her the next day, he found that she had already left.
Later, he went to chase after her without hesitation, only to find that Cangxi Valley and Langzhou were at war. The soldiers drove him back, but he returned the way he came.
After the war in Langzhou finally ended, he went to Langzhou, only to be driven out of the city gates again.
He just wanted to see her. It wasn't until the imperial army went out of the country to attack the Wuhuan that he had the opportunity to enter Langzhou City and inquire about her whereabouts. He went to places like Elifang and Yanshan.
Finally, they found her trail in Yanshan and followed her horse all the way there.
Mingying was stunned, listening to him recount the whole story, while before her eyes was a hazy, watery image.
She looked at his travel-worn appearance, his robes stained with dust and specks of blood, indicating that he had suffered a lot along the way.
"You should go back, it's too dangerous."
The guilt she felt towards him would never be erased in this lifetime.
He had lost his memory, so she wanted him to live a good life and spend the rest of his days in peace. That's why she lied to him, not wanting him to be in danger.
His arrival surprised her greatly, and at the same time, she felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if needles were pricking it.
Lin Xian shook her head, looking at her eagerly: "Can you tell me, what was our relationship before?"
He followed because he was worried about her and also because he wanted the answer.
Why did he keep her portrait so carefully? Why couldn't he resist getting closer to her whenever he saw her?
Mingying turned her head away, forcibly averting her gaze.
Pei Xiaoyun's words echoed in her mind again: he said she didn't love Lin Xian at all.
She couldn't tell whether what he said was right or wrong.
Regardless of what happened in the past, she truly has no energy left to love anyone.
Is it not a good thing that Lin Xian lost his memory? He is like a blank sheet of paper, and he will have a stable life. She doesn't want him to be in danger again because of her.
“Ordinary friends.” She said each word with conviction.
As Lin Xian had expected, he smiled and said, "Ordinary friends are ordinary friends. As a friend, I can't just watch a woman like you go into danger alone."
If she didn't want to tell him, so be it. Regardless of their past relationship, he was willing to stay by her side.
Mingying's tone deflated, and she turned her face away: "Go back."
Lin Xian was adamant; he had come this far with her and would never go back.
He walked to the tree and untied the horse's reins from it. "Let's go, we're almost at Cuifeng Pass. Would you like to take a carriage or ride a horse?"
"Lin Xian," Mingying called his name.
Lin Xian gently pried open her palm and placed the horse reins in her hand: "I'm willing, just like you were willing to risk your life to deliver the message."
The morning light bathed his face in a warm and gentle glow. Mingying looked at him and seemed to see him many years ago, when she first met him at Fuguang Tower. He was dressed in white, a gentleman as fine as jade, and said to her, "The beauty of the world has no permanent owner."
At the time, it seemed like nothing special.
That year, no one expected that everything and everyone would develop to this point where it's impossible to undo what happened.
She ultimately failed to persuade Lin Xian to return. She abandoned her horse, which could no longer move, and together with Lin Xian, drove the carriage towards Cuifeng Pass, which was just a few steps away.
The moonlight shimmered, and night once again enveloped the mountains and forests.
Mingying estimated that they would arrive around midnight. Lin Xian had brought some dry rations, and the two of them ate a piece of bread with some cold water. After regaining some energy, they continued their journey.
Although the journey was arduous and bumpy, Lin Xian cherished the moment, being so close to her, sitting together as if the whole world consisted only of the two of them.
With the two traveling together, Mingying was no longer as worried as she had been on the first half of the journey. She thought that after delivering the things, she would go back with Lin Xian.
In the latter half of the night, the wind howled and extinguished the guiding lamp.
The wind swept away the fallen leaves, and a few extraneous noises mixed into the originally vast sound of the wind. Mingying and Linxian exchanged a glance and both recognized the sound as horses' hooves, and their hearts tightened involuntarily.
Then, flickering lights appeared from behind, indicating that quite a few people had arrived.
Mingying became suspicious. Could it be one of General Zhou's men?
The situation was urgent, and she dared not make a conclusion. If they were not one of their own, and they were careless, it would be like lambs to the slaughter.
Therefore, she and Lin Xian quickly abandoned the carriage and, taking advantage of the darkness of the night, hid in the woods.
"Whoa—"
A few rough sounds broke the silence of the mountain forest.
It was indeed a group of people. They reined in their horses and stopped there. Seeing the lone carriage, they looked around and asked, "Where is everyone?"
Immediately, voices echoed: "It must be nearby, hurry and look for it."
Mingying's pupils contracted as she looked at the group's attire and listened to their accents, guessing that they were Wuhuan people who had come to chase them.
Fortunately, they abandoned their car in time and took shelter here.
The group of people held torches and shone them around. They then went deep into the bushes with long knives and hacked wildly, muttering something incoherently, which seemed to be cursing.
They cleared all the grass on the left side; they'll find this way sooner or later.
A bead of sweat dripped from Mingying's forehead. Lin Xian held her hand, their two cold hands clasped tightly together, trembling slightly.
Her heart pounded, knowing that if they didn't find a way to escape, they would both die here, and they wouldn't be able to deliver the goods.
Unable to find anything on the other side, the enemy turned around and headed towards this side, raising their blades high, emitting a dazzling, cold, silvery light.
Lin Xian moved his wrist, trying to get up and distract these people, but Ming Ying seemed to see what he was trying to do, so she held him down firmly and looked him in the eye, both of their eyes burning with bright fire.
She took out the medical books and medicine she had on her and put them in his hands, saying to him in spoken language, "Take these to Cuifeng Pass for me, don't worry about me."
To his astonishment, she pulled the short blade from his waist, rushed out of the woods, ran to the carriage, cut the reins, mounted the horse, and galloped away.
Hearing the commotion, the enemy turned around sharply: "Quick, after them!"
The sound of horses' hooves was hurried, the firelight faded, and she went away like the wind, leaving only endless darkness behind.
Lin Xian clutched the two items, her eyes wide with rage, her vision blurring.
—
Two days later, Pei Xiaoyun received a letter from Langzhou saying that there was a way to cure the poison, and they would send someone to deliver the antidote as soon as possible.
What he didn't know was that the antidote had changed hands several times and ended up in Mingying's possession. However, Mingying had disappeared to lure the enemy, and Lin Xian, following her instructions, delivered the medicine alone.
Upon receiving the letter, he was overjoyed and immediately sent someone back to meet him. The person he sent returned in half an hour and met Lin Xian just ten miles away.
Lin Xian was completely distraught, his face devoid of color. He handed the things to the people who came to meet him and begged them to help him find Ming Ying.
Without orders, the deputy general dared not act rashly and had no choice but to take him back to the camp and report the truth to Pei Xiaoyun.
"It's you?" Pei Xiaoyun's expression was extremely complicated when he saw Lin Xian.
He found out everything about Lin Xian's injury and amnesia, and how she ended up in the Northwest.
He never expected to see this person here.
He loathed this person and had always felt only hostility towards him, but he didn't know where this hostility came from.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." Upon seeing the emperor, Lin Xian first knelt and bowed, as if meeting him for the first time. His words and actions showed only the reverence of a commoner for the ruler of a country.
Pei Xiaoyun stared at him coldly, not telling him to get up, and said indifferently, "Did you send this?"
He was quite surprised that the antidote was actually given to him by someone else.
Lin Xian shook his head, his words hurried and rapid: "This humble subject dares not take credit. It was a friend of mine who risked her life to escort the medical book and antidote all the way here. We were chased by the Wuhuan people on the way, and she gave the items to me, entrusting me to escort them, while she lured the enemy away. I beg Your Majesty to save my friend."
Upon hearing this, Pei Xiaoyun's expression hardened: "Who is your friend?"
"Her name is Mingying." Lin Xian kowtowed again. "Your Majesty, please save her."
Upon hearing the name, Pei Xiaoyun suddenly frowned deeply, her mind in turmoil.
He recognized the name; she was Shen Mingshu's sister.
But he also felt that Mingying was more than just his sister.
He is a more important person.
His thin lips, pressed into a thin line, parted slightly. "Which direction did she go?"
Lin Xian quickly replied, "The mountains and forests to the east."
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Author's Note: [Laughing out loud][Laughing out loud][Laughing out loud][Laughing out loud]
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