At this moment, a strange scream was suddenly heard.

"Your Majesty."

"What is it?"

A soldier rushed up to Rong Zhen in a panic, his face terrified, as if he had seen something strange.

"The brothers found a river ahead and were about to go down to wash their faces, but were suddenly pulled in by something in it. Everyone said there was a water ghost inside!"

Gu Yunru, who was not far away, also heard it and pricked up his ears to listen carefully to the details. Unexpectedly, these soldiers started talking about ghost legends again.

"Take me to see it." Rong Zhen's face was as calm as a rock, and he was not moved at all. He did not believe that there were water monsters in the world, so he followed the soldiers to a swamp forest. The dead trees here were very strong and sturdy because there was a certain amount of water here to nourish them.

"Qingxing, why don't we go and take a look too?" Gu Yunru really wanted to join in the fun, but she didn't know what Qingxing was thinking. Qingxing dozed off, and when she saw the young lady was going to take a look, she pouted and said, "Young lady, we've been walking for a whole day, I want to take a rest."

"Okay then I'll go first."

Gu Yunru quietly followed the troops' pace and also saw the swamp forest. From the outside, it looked no different from a normal lake, but as long as a tree trunk was thrown into it, the trunk would sink at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Rong Zhen was about to take off his boots and try them out, when Gu Yunru immediately rushed behind him and shouted, "Wait a minute!" Rong Zhen retracted his foot in time after hearing the voice, looked at Gu Yunru who was panting behind him and asked, "Why are you here?"

The soldiers made way for Gu Yunru. She came behind Rong Zhen and pulled him back a step. "Are you not afraid of death? This is a swamp. If you step in, you will be sucked in."

No one had ever found such a swamp on the way to the outside of the Great Wall. After hearing what Gu Yunru said, everyone looked at each other and expressed their incomprehension.

"But there is water up there that should be drinkable." The soldiers murmured to each other. After a short rest, they had to prepare sufficient food and licorice, so that they could get some relief after arriving at the post station. The post station was located in the market outside the Great Wall, where there would be abundant food.

"The water above is just an illusion, it's actually only a thin layer." Seeing that everyone didn't believe him, Gu Yunru took out a long branch and gently slid it across the water surface. It turned out that only the thin layer was water, which was a natural phenomenon.

"But... two brothers were just arrested. There must be something underneath!"

"Yes! No matter what it is, we must return the lives of our brothers!"

Everyone started to clamor, but Rong Zhen just stared at Gu Yunru without blinking.

"Everyone calm down. People will die if they fall into this kind of quagmire." Gu Yunru began to explain to everyone with great effort. After hearing what she said, Rong Zhen felt a little worried.

"You all go back first, and don't go near this quagmire again." Rong Zhen began to give orders, and the soldiers kept silent and went back in disappointment.

Gu Yunru looked at Rong Zhen standing there motionless. If you didn't know better, you would think he was frozen. She gently rubbed his arm, blinked at him and said, "What? Do you want to try to go in?"

There was a hint of deepness in his eyes, as if he was thinking about something. He turned to look at Gu Yunru and said, "I have thought of a battle plan. If it really comes to that, we can set this as a trap and let them fall into it."

"I don't understand military tactics, but this move is too cruel."

A hint of rebellion flashed across Gu Yunru's gentle eyes, and she smiled and said, "We are not far from the post station. Do you think the border tribes will really fight?"

She still cherishes her life very much. If a fight really breaks out, she will quickly leave this place of trouble. She is vaguely worried that Rong Zhen will have a stress response due to the fighting on the battlefield. It would be bad if the psychological treatment she has finally given him was abandoned halfway.

"I don't know. We'll tell you when the time comes." Rong Zhen said this coldly and turned away, leaving Gu Yunru alone at the edge of the swamp. Gu Yunru stuck out her tongue at his back and was about to move forward when she suddenly felt she stepped on something wet.

“Ah!”

Rong Zhen heard a scream from behind, it should be Gu Yunru. When he turned around, she was buried half up to her waist in the mud. He quickly walked forward and grabbed her hand.

"Don't worry about me, just go away. I don't want both of us to die in this place." Gu Yunru struggled to get these words out of her throat, and they soon drowned out her chest. The more she moved, the faster she would sink into the mud.

"Don't move!"

Rong Zhen's neck was swollen and red, veins popped out on his forehead, and he used all his strength to prevent her from falling in.

Huang Zijun rushed over and saw the two people arguing, so he walked forward and grabbed Rong Zhen's waist. With the combined efforts of the two, they finally pulled her up. Gu Yunru had lost all feeling in her body, especially her legs, which seemed to no longer belong to her.

"Take her back to the camp immediately and ask the medical officer to take a look."

This work is organized and uploaded by Liujiu Book Bar~~

"yes."

Huang Zijun followed Rong Zhen's instructions, so he picked her up and carried her back to the military camp. Rong Zhen knelt on one knee and vomited blood from his chest. He didn't know when his old injuries relapsed. Whenever he exerted all his strength, the blood rushed up and he spurted out blood.

In order not to worry his subordinates, he ate goat's whisker grass every day to calm his mind, and gradually became dependent on the medicinal properties.

Qingxing was taking a nap when she saw General Zijun carrying the young lady back to the camp. She hurried forward and asked with concern, "What happened to the young lady?" Seeing that the young lady was wet all over and her feet were covered with mud, wasn't there a desert nearby? How could there be mud?

"Go call a medical officer!" Huang Zijun laid her flat on the bed without having time to explain. Gu Yunru was shivering from the cold. It was the first time she was so close to death. Her heart felt like it was filled with mud and rocks.

"yes."

On the other side, Shuying came to visit Gu Yunru with her sick body. Seeing the doctor's frown, she looked concerned and said, "I wonder how Miss Gu is doing."

The medical officer stroked his goatee and sighed, "Miss Gu's heart is damaged. She needs to rest for a few days. She should not travel too much during these days. I'm afraid it will delay her trip."

The team has been delayed for some time, and a sandstorm is about to come. Everyone is waiting to avoid the center of the storm and rush to the post station so that the plan will not be disrupted.

"this……"

Shuying frowned, feeling a little guilty. It was all her fault. She had insisted that Miss Gu bring her to this place. It was already dangerous, and now her health was in trouble again.